How to Write a Character Story on this Game
By
Aggelakis,
Posted on: 2012-02-11 16:31 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
BAD CHARACTER STORY: Visit the "Rumors about the ressurection of Marcus Cole." thread.
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So? People don't want to read, I've grown to accept this, but I fail to see how compromising my story is going to solve that. None of what you suggested as good strikes me as something I'd remember after having read it.|
Originally Posted by New_Dark_Age
People dont understand, especially on Virtue, that no one wants to read a novel so if your character isnt summarized quickly in your bio like an Encyclopedia article...its worthless cause no ones going to read pass the first 3 sentences unless it grabs their attention. Sorry Virtue ...
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This is the old "brevity is the heart of wit" argument all over again, and it's one that's never going to be settled. YOU aren't going to read longer bios. That's fine. I've had plenty of people call me up specifically to congratulate me on my extremely long ones.
There's no one "right" way to write a story because there isn't one single type of audience in this game.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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It is the way you write that makes your character sound good by explaining the concept you have. Having a direct to the point story/description increases the probability of other players seeing that concept. So you would probably have twice as many people congratulating you on your story if you just wrote more directly and wrote to capture attention and put spaces in your bio.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
So? People don't want to read, I've grown to accept this, but I fail to see how compromising my story is going to solve that. None of what you suggested as good strikes me as something I'd remember after having read it.
This is the old "brevity is the heart of wit" argument all over again, and it's one that's never going to be settled. YOU aren't going to read longer bios. That's fine. I've had plenty of people call me up specifically to congratulate me on my extremely long ones. There's no one "right" way to write a story because there isn't one single type of audience in this game. |
Any maybe if more people do what I recommend there actually could be a sensible way to have a Biography costume contest because currently its impractical cause of the time it takes to read the novels of 50 people.
Seriously no one cares about little Henry.
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The problem is what's in the info box isn't your story. It's the blurb on the inside of the dust jacket that's supposed to get people interested in the story.| So? People don't want to read, I've grown to accept this, but I fail to see how compromising my story is going to solve that. None of what you suggested as good strikes me as something I'd remember after having read it. |
And in City, it doesn't need to be any bigger than the current space allows.
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Who are you, and what have you done with the real Venture? You keep talking sense that I simply agree with.
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I'm sorry, but I couldn't disagree with you more. There's a reason people say that greatness is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. A good story is good almost entirely based on how it is told. Ideas are cheap. Any even moderately-savvy movie-goer can give you good idea after good idea all day and never run out, but a good idea told in a sentence is nothing more than an empty, unrealised concept.|
Originally Posted by New_Dark_Age
It isn't the way you write that makes your character good. Its the concept you have. Having a direct to the point story/description increases the probability of other players seeing that concept. So you would probably have twice as many people congratulating you on your story if you just wrote more directly and wrote to capture attention and put spaces in your bio.
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Imagine, if you will, trying to retell Luke Skywalker's story at the end of A New Hope. "He's a young boy who got drafted in a war and blew up the Death Star." Exciting! Maybe you see it differently, but I see nothing about this character that I care to explore, because that one sentence tells me nothing about him that's interesting. It's a statement of fact, and unless that idea you're talking about is pure divine providence, that fact is not interesting.
It is my experience that some of storytelling's best stories are also the simplest, most basic ones, made great not because they are such novel and unheard-of ideas, but rather because the people who put them together were very, very skilled.
This, really, is a large reason why contemporary writing in City of Heroes is in such a sorry state - because it does what you suggest. It boils every story down to its bare bones essentials that even a distracted 8-year-old could stick out to the end, and as such simply excludes everything that makes a good story good. It gives me no reason to care about any of the characters therein and thus I lack any investment. It fails to give me any any real emotion because that takes pacing, build up, structure and payoff. It fails to give me anything more than a plot synopsis would.
The soul of a story is in the telling, and a character's biography is that character's story. Granted, it's a very SHORT story and there certainly is a science to making one, but it is a story nonetheless.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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If you can convey the same thing in less words, it is usually better to do so (especially if you want other players to read it). However, your examples haven't just trimmed out extraneous details, they've trimmed out everything until what's left can't even really be called a story. Impervious Hard Man's bio tells you absolutely nothing about the character other than his Invulnerability powerset and that he's a villain, which you can already see if you're /info-ing him without needing to read the bio.|
Originally Posted by New_Dark_Age
GOOD CHARACTER STORY
1:Genectically engineered to be the ultimate destroyer, Coldar is a powerful villain who wields the cold of space.............. 2: The Impervious Hard Man is a destructive villain that is completely invulnerable to physical damage and possesses immense strength and endurance. No known substance on Earth can penetrate his skin................................... 3: 8-Ball is evil cause he makes money selling crack to children.......................................... ............ (Actual bio of a former player on Champion) |
I do agree that the "sweet spot" for a bio, at least in the sense of the ones that I find both interesting and memorable, usually are one paragraph or less.
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Thank you, thank you. |
Originally Posted by Venture
The problem is what's in the info box isn't your story. It's the blurb on the inside of the dust jacket that's supposed to get people interested in the story.
And in City, it doesn't need to be any bigger than the current space allows. |
This is why direct is almost always better.
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Disagree how? You cant argue that a more direct to the point bio gets you concept across better. |
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
I'm sorry, but I couldn't disagree with you more. There's a reason people say that greatness is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. A good story is good almost entirely based on how it is told. Ideas are cheap. Any even moderately-savvy movie-goer can give you good idea after good idea all day and never run out, but a good idea told in a sentence is nothing more than an empty, unrealised concept.
Imagine, if you will, trying to retell Luke Skywalker's story at the end of A New Hope. "He's a young boy who got drafted in a war and blew up the Death Star." Exciting! Maybe you see it differently, but I see nothing about this character that I care to explore, because that one sentence tells me nothing about him that's interesting. It's a statement of fact, and unless that idea you're talking about is pure divine providence, that fact is not interesting. It is my experience that some of storytelling's best stories are also the simplest, most basic ones, made great not because they are such novel and unheard-of ideas, but rather because the people who put them together were very, very skilled. This, really, is a large reason why contemporary writing in City of Heroes is in such a sorry state - because it does what you suggest. It boils every story down to its bare bones essentials that even a distracted 8-year-old could stick out to the end, and as such simply excludes everything that makes a good story good. It gives me no reason to care about any of the characters therein and thus I lack any investment. It fails to give me any any real emotion because that takes pacing, build up, structure and payoff. It fails to give me anything more than a plot synopsis would. The soul of a story is in the telling, and a character's biography is that character's story. Granted, it's a very SHORT story and there certainly is a science to making one, but it is a story nonetheless. |
Hate to break it to you but you arent going to affect emotion with your character story. I'm sorry. Best you can hope for is to describe the character and let people feel what they want for themselves.
Once again no one is going to read a novel so they can feel the way you want them to feel.
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Originally Posted by Hopeling
If you can convey the same thing in less words, it is usually better to do so (especially if you want other players to read it). However, your examples haven't just trimmed out extraneous details, they've trimmed out everything until what's left can't even really be called a story. Impervious Hard Man's bio tells you absolutely nothing about the character other than his Invulnerability powerset and that he's a villain, which you can already see if you're /info-ing him without needing to read the bio.
I do agree that the "sweet spot" for a bio, at least in the sense of the ones that I find both interesting and memorable, usually are one paragraph or less. |
The first sentence of the bio is most important. That is why it is a general description. So..if someone reads the first sentence then stops reading they know who they are dealing with.
The other sweet stuff comes after the general description.
You really dont have the space to write an extensive story by the way. And even if you did no one would read it. So.. direct is the logical way to go.
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I agree with your overall point, I just think you chose really bad examples to illustrate it.
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Originally Posted by New_Dark_Age
The first sentence of the bio is most important. That is why it is a general description. So..if someone reads the first sentence then stops reading they know who they are dealing with.
The other sweet stuff comes after the general description. You really dont have the space to write an extensive story by the way. And even if you did no one would read it. So.. direct is the logical way to go. |
I write bios simply to amuse people. And by people, I pretty much mean me.
What entertains someone else is highly subjective. Other than amuse myself, my aim is to inject a sense of the characters personality. I write them all different ways - in first person, in third person, as letters, one as the summation of a psychiatric report, another is from PPD Hero Files report. I have some that are 1 or 2 sentences. Some struggle to fit in the allotted space. I don't think ANY of that matters. What matters is, do YOU enjoy the dickens out of your bio?
I think if people wrote in this fashion more often, we'd all enjoy reading them more, too.
Eh, problem is, I find the limited room a problem.
Not because of horribly long rambly life stories. I much prefer to keep it short and sweet, as people have already mentioned.
However, that still doesn't cover other things that are important, in my case for example, in RP. Extra details that might not be obvious; pose, any odd scents, any weird sensations, magical auras. That kind of thing. There's usually not room to fit in both a *Decent* potted version (I like writing, and I like it to be of a good quality when it's my own stuff) AND extra stuff that might need mentioning so people have a quick reference card.
Ultimately, though, I'd just be happy if they went back and fixed the smeg-damned bugs with the text box itself. That thing has been wearing its pants on its head since the AE came out, and never got fixed... 
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Originally Posted by Zwillinger
GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.
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Originally Posted by Captain_Photon
NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.
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Oh a personal jab at yours truly? How good of you to show an example of your own shining character traits that far exceed my own RP characters controversial natures.|
Originally Posted by That_Ninja
BAD CHARACTER STORY: Visit the "Rumors about the ressurection of Marcus Cole." thread.
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Which are actually reguarly complimented upon by random folk who actually appreciate the use of game lore.
On topic I am with Sam on this one. OP seems to think over simplified earns instant kudos. I myself really only give props to bios that make heavy use of game lore. veer even a little ofcourse ill send a tell explaining how wrong you are and how you can improve it to fit within the game world. Anyone who pulls the Tidus "Its my story and it will go the way I want it to or Ill end it right now" BS can go play water soccer.
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Actually, that story isn't bad (or at least the idea of it).|
Originally Posted by That_Ninja
BAD CHARACTER STORY: Visit the "Rumors about the ressurection of Marcus Cole." thread.
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It's problem is that it seems to expect everyone to follow it.
What's even more funny about this, is people like other stories that mess with canon and tend to be known amongst the forum goers, and does exactly what that poster did, but they're accepting it, and seem to often call for it to be made canon.
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I prefer well written long bios to badly written short ones. I also prefer well written short ones to badly written long ones. It's not the length of the bio that matters to me.
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Pretty much this. The things so broken that I'm actually discouraged from making any edits or additions once I type it in the first time.|
Originally Posted by Techbot Alpha
Ultimately, though, I'd just be happy if they went back and fixed the smeg-damned bugs with the text box itself. That thing has been wearing its pants on its head since the AE came out, and never got fixed... |
Anyways, I usually keep mine short, just for a personal preference of my brain going 'tl;dr' at unedited walls of text. I usually just start with anything apparent with the character that can't be conveyed with the character models, then height (since the scales are wonky, there's no standard height system. So I feel the need to at least inform them), Outward personality, and then a good paragraph of backstory, at least to establish a motivation (again, tying into the personality.)
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I... uh... I think part of my brain just died. I feel exactly the same way. Venture just said something I completely agree with and have been saying myself for years.|
Originally Posted by Shadowe
Who are you, and what have you done with the real Venture? You keep talking sense that I simply agree with.
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This is definitely a first.
Don't count your weasels before they pop dink!
1023 characters (which includes spaces) is not a novel, nor is it too much to read.
No one's going to get upset with you if you don't want to read all of it, but calling everyone out for using the space provided is kind of childish.
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No they aren't. Especially if they are filled with words like "reguarly"|
Originally Posted by Demetrios Vasilikos
Which are actually reguarly complimented upon by random folk who actually appreciate the use of game lore.
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Most of the time, I rarely bother reading bios. I don't like tying people down to a piece of work they may have written a while ago and just failed to update appropriately.
Provided the story makes sense and doesn't constantly trip itself up, I'll roll with it.
"I saw my advantage and took it. That's what heroes do." - Homer Simpson.
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This
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Originally Posted by Hopeling
If you can convey the same thing in less words, it is usually better to do so (especially if you want other players to read it). However, your examples haven't just trimmed out extraneous details, they've trimmed out everything until what's left can't even really be called a story. Impervious Hard Man's bio tells you absolutely nothing about the character other than his Invulnerability powerset and that he's a villain, which you can already see if you're /info-ing him without needing to read the bio.
I do agree that the "sweet spot" for a bio, at least in the sense of the ones that I find both interesting and memorable, usually are one paragraph or less. |
I actually enjoy the challenge of creating a good bio in 1023 characters. It forces me to think and re-think my selection of words and the relevant information about the character that I'm trying to convey. Kind of like doing a drabble (100-word story) challenge.
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378944: Too Clever by Half / 459581: Kill or Cure / 551680: Clerical Errors (NEW!)
Not sure if this thread OP is serious or not trolling. I have so much experience with bios that contradicts this I won't even consider the OPs suggestion.
If you want to know what I think? I say make your bio as big as you want to make it, and roll with the concept as you want to. I've seen bios that were hilarious that were only 3 sentences long. I've seen riveting and enthralling bios that took up the whole space provided. My only requirement is that the writing follows the correct format of proper literature. If the whole thing is in caps, I usually just stop. If the thing is a big block of text with no lines of separation, I can't read it because my eyes will jump from line to line and I get lost.
When I write my bios, I usually take up the whole space provided. My characters are just that: characters. They have a past, a present, a future, a personality, and exist dynamically. I can't convey nearly all of that in the bio, so I try to put down the important parts, which consist of the following:
- Real name
- Origin
- Backstory
- Motivation
- Power explanation.
Something I saw done once that I enjoyed so much that I did something similar myself was when someone took the backstory of their character and make an AE arc out of it. Me and a few guys play-tested it with him, and it was awesome. So, I made my own to help explain the more mysterious of my toon's bios.
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There's technically something like that already on the Titan Network, the Ouroboros Portal site. I personally haven't used it in ages (heck, I have a hard time even keeping my VV up to date) but it's something that's there if you're so inclined.
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Originally Posted by Blood Red Arachnid
What we need is a website like Crey Industries hero threat database, or Virtueverse, except for the all of the servers. Something like an extension from the main site that lets people write the elaborate tales behind their heroes.
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Just being honest here but was playing on Virtue lately and realize that no one knows how to write a character story. Motivation for this thread was made when debating someone who wanted there to be more room for their character stories. While I guess I am fine with that.. seriously I dont see the problem in explaining a character with the space given. Its irrelevant anyway since no ones going to read your character story if its a long novel.
Example:
GOOD CHARACTER STORY
1:Genectically engineered to be the ultimate destroyer, Coldar is a powerful villain who wields the cold of space..............
2: The Impervious Hard Man is a destructive villain that is completely invulnerable to physical damage and possesses immense strength and endurance. No known substance on Earth can penetrate his skin...................................
3: 8-Ball is evil cause he makes money selling crack to children.......................................... ............ (Actual bio of a former player on Champion)
BAD CHARACTER STORY
1: When he was 7 Henry enjoyed watching cartoons at his moms house............................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ..................his parents were killed............................................ .................................................. ...............................he made a costume .................................................. ............................................he became a hero called General Justice........................................... ........................ now he protects the city.
2: I was sick of all the widespread crime in my neighborbood. When I was younger the gangs would harass me and my friends .................................................. ................................................. ...... the toxic waste gave me power .............. ........ .......... I no longer recognized myself in the mirror.......... I killed a gang member not knowning my own strength. ......... I ...blah blah blah. .................YAWN
People dont understand, especially on Virtue, that no one wants to read a novel so if your character isnt summarized quickly in your bio like an Encyclopedia article...its worthless cause no ones going to read pass the first 3 sentences unless it grabs their attention. Sorry Virtue ...
EDIT: Also put spaces in your story for each paragraph. No one wants to read a big block of text.