Post by Cid on Aug 16, 2011 10:59:57 GMT -5
Cid's idea of a good profile
By Cid
Introduction
I will go through, step-by-step, how to create a decent profile. This is by no means a mandatory list, but if you want me or any of the writers to take a personal stake in your character, you may want to follow along for a few fresh ideas. Note that writers (myself included) will generally write better battles/events, read RP's more carefully, and generally care more about a character if players are consciously trying to make their character all that they can be. Remember: not all profiles are alike, nor do they have to follow a specific format. In fact, I may ask players with like-profiles to re-do them so that each person has put the same amount of time into creating their character.
1. Theme
Establishing a theme before you even start your profile may go a long way in helping you completely cover all your bases. A theme can be anything from making the profile read like a psych evaluation, to something more graphic-oriented like a wanted poster or bridal invitation. Something I personally like to do is open up my wallet (or someone else's!) and look at all the varying ID cards I have. Or, doing a general image search for police application forms or union forms--anything that requires a person to put their name, date of birth, height, weight, etc. From this, I get a general feel of what sort of information I want to display, and how I can use said format to effectively portray my character to an audience.
2. Profile subject
This may not seem all that important to you, but how you word your profile thread's subject may affect the frequency of hits from your average, perusing member. So make it exciting, able to catch someone's eye while still showing who the profile's for. Try simply summing up your character's temperament in one fragment of a sentence.
3. Body
Try not to make the body of your profile too disorganized. Separating general information, temperament, fighting tactics, and biography into different categories helps the reader not feel over-burdened by text. Try to remove yourself and think more of what the reader may want.
General information should at least include your character's age, gender, and other, aesthetic characteristics. People should not just immediately think of a hooded nobody when they think of your character. Though you could probably get through most of the game without telling us what color your character's eyes are, it wouldn't hurt to throw in a few fun details. This section is designed to be quickly scanned over by battle writers, and is best at the beginning of a profile.
Next, you should briefly describe the character's temperament, or how they generally act. Try not to make it too all-encompassing. Meaning, try not to use absolutes like, "Wilma is always in a bad mood" or "Zed never runs from a fight." These statements are not believable, nor are they all that interesting. Though it's hard to not be cliche, it is fairly easy to take a cliche and make it your own through careful planning. If Wilma is always in a bad mood, explain (in detail) why--what were the fundamental reasons for her turning out that way. Or, if Zed never runs from a fight, maybe he needs a basic plot element that led him to have such a philosophy. Another thing to remember is that people are flawed, so making a superman character who does no wrong will not only be disappointing in the long run for you, but people will simply write it off as a silly, hastily thrown together character. This section, again, is used by battle writers to get a good feel for your character without having to re-read your entire profile. Many of these traits can be delved into deeper in your biography section.
Since this is a action-based game, briefly describing how your character carries him or herself in battle would go a long way in developing them as an asset to the game. Again, this should not be over-the-top and should be based somewhat in fact. Try to incorporate the character's history as reason for some of the things they do. If a character was victim of a pirate space raid and lost their family, maybe they aren't the biggest fans of ship-to-ship combat--or, maybe this gives them an edge over the competition. Really, this can be just about anything--as long as it makes sense.
After you've cemented the general feel of your character, you could also take this opportunity to describe any of his or her's wingmates or other NPC's that may need explaining. I generally save this for last, after I've written my biography or gotten a few RP's under my belt. Do not think that simply because your character's listed on your profile that he/she won't die. That's just not the case! Only through good writing and rationale will NPC ever be considered important enough to name in-game and gain special perks outside of the realm of levels.
4. Biography
After the aforementioned basics are down pat, it's time to expand it all into a narrative of some kind. Though the popular way to do this is to simply list events chronologically in a basic essay-style paper, it isn't the only way to go about it. I don't know about you, but essays were never my strong suit in high school and college. So what I've found to be more effective (as well as more fun) is to write an actual story using what basic information I want portrayed weaved throughout it. This is your chance to really make readers look for things, and though you don't want to exhaust or annoy them, it's also a chance to make your character into much more than just a cookie cutter mobile suit pilot. In fact, I use this part to build my character up into something larger than life, yet keeping it grounded in reality through basic flaws. If you write it in such a way that they've bitten off more than they can chew, it's a lot easier to write conflict into RP's later on and keep things interesting. It's common knowledge that most men don't live up to their legacy, and that most people aren't anything like the person you read about in books. But, like always, don't make this over-the-top. There's a fine line between carefully plotted legacy and dumb, fanciful fiction.
Having a general idea of where you are going with your character is great, but it's okay if you don't have an exact plan from the beginning. Try to set a tentative plan for your character for however long the game plans to run. Stay open minded, and don't get discouraged if things don't go your way. Things from left field can sometimes offer interesting RP opportunities. This "general plan" can be the basis of your profile, where in-game activities and RP's fill in the details later on.
Since this is most likely the longest portion of your profile, it's best to create a new post within your thread. This is great for organization and will make it easier for you to edit it later on. As this is probably the biggest commitment you can ask of a reader, you'll probably want to be doubly sure you aren't over-doing things. Never start sentences the same way, and try to keep them within a respectable length. Run-ons are never okay, nor are fragments. Using a fragment to highlight a certain point is sometimes permitted, but this is generally what italics are for. Switching up pronouns is also a good idea, as you never want to just refer to people by their given name all the time. Tense is also important. If you're writing third person, stick to it until the end. Unless, of course, you are working in chapters and switch to someone else's perspective in a different time/place. If you do this, be sure to stick to it until the end of the chapter. And lastly, the following are not to be confused: their (showing ownership), there (referring to a location), and they're (a contraction of 'they' and 'are'); effect (noun) and affect (verb). Most people know this stuff, but I find it's best to briefly go over it in case of stragglers.
5. Graphics
If you wish to put images of your character or places he/she's been (which I highly recommend), this is the place to do it. Make a new post to do this, and set it up as a pseudo "image gallery." A profile with images all over it isn't going to feel very together, and will most likely confuse people.
You can use this space to put up a detailed image of your character. I highly discourage people from using images from pop cultures, or ones that will be readily recognized by the community. My reasoning is simple: if you use a person from a known TV show or movie, that person already has an identity attached to them. You'll be not only working double-time to persuade people that he/she is indeed yours, but you'll show everyone how little time you spent in actually putting together your character. If you show laxity anywhere, most people will take that as you not really giving a hoot. If you don't give a hoot, then it must be okay to kill them off because you can just go make another John or Jane Doe with little effort.
A good place to find interesting, uncompromised images is on blogs. A lot of artists have blogs where they showcase their random doodles. These people are generally unknowns (no offense!), so the chance that someone out there is using that image is next to none. Obviously, you should give them credit if you use their material. Check the MLA guide on how to do that.
6. Bibliography
A new post with a listing of all your RP's and battles/events is a nice way to catalog your progress and keep track of how active you are. It's also a nice "thank you" to the battle writers who usually have to weed through months of RP's and battles to get familiar with your character. Since their job isn't the easiest (by far), it's nice to do a little writer-service, instead of the usual fan-service, from time to time. Be sure to differentiate the RP's from the battles/events, though, otherwise it's free-reign here.
Concluding thoughts
No matter what you do, if you're at least attempting any of the aforementioned, it's more than likely you'll find yourself having a fulfilling, enjoyable experience. It's always a good idea to talk to me about certain pathways your character can take before committing to one fully. Overall, though, this is your game and your chance to really stand out! I'll try not to get in the way of something you really, really want to do, but if it isn't in the best interest of the game, or if I think you probably wouldn't have a good time with it, I may bar you from following through with it. It's important to keep the game interesting for all parties, so don't hate me for caring too much!
By Cid
Introduction
I will go through, step-by-step, how to create a decent profile. This is by no means a mandatory list, but if you want me or any of the writers to take a personal stake in your character, you may want to follow along for a few fresh ideas. Note that writers (myself included) will generally write better battles/events, read RP's more carefully, and generally care more about a character if players are consciously trying to make their character all that they can be. Remember: not all profiles are alike, nor do they have to follow a specific format. In fact, I may ask players with like-profiles to re-do them so that each person has put the same amount of time into creating their character.
1. Theme
Establishing a theme before you even start your profile may go a long way in helping you completely cover all your bases. A theme can be anything from making the profile read like a psych evaluation, to something more graphic-oriented like a wanted poster or bridal invitation. Something I personally like to do is open up my wallet (or someone else's!) and look at all the varying ID cards I have. Or, doing a general image search for police application forms or union forms--anything that requires a person to put their name, date of birth, height, weight, etc. From this, I get a general feel of what sort of information I want to display, and how I can use said format to effectively portray my character to an audience.
2. Profile subject
This may not seem all that important to you, but how you word your profile thread's subject may affect the frequency of hits from your average, perusing member. So make it exciting, able to catch someone's eye while still showing who the profile's for. Try simply summing up your character's temperament in one fragment of a sentence.
An Ackbar example: "Joshua Chamberlain, wily Union commander"
3. Body
Try not to make the body of your profile too disorganized. Separating general information, temperament, fighting tactics, and biography into different categories helps the reader not feel over-burdened by text. Try to remove yourself and think more of what the reader may want.
General information should at least include your character's age, gender, and other, aesthetic characteristics. People should not just immediately think of a hooded nobody when they think of your character. Though you could probably get through most of the game without telling us what color your character's eyes are, it wouldn't hurt to throw in a few fun details. This section is designed to be quickly scanned over by battle writers, and is best at the beginning of a profile.
Next, you should briefly describe the character's temperament, or how they generally act. Try not to make it too all-encompassing. Meaning, try not to use absolutes like, "Wilma is always in a bad mood" or "Zed never runs from a fight." These statements are not believable, nor are they all that interesting. Though it's hard to not be cliche, it is fairly easy to take a cliche and make it your own through careful planning. If Wilma is always in a bad mood, explain (in detail) why--what were the fundamental reasons for her turning out that way. Or, if Zed never runs from a fight, maybe he needs a basic plot element that led him to have such a philosophy. Another thing to remember is that people are flawed, so making a superman character who does no wrong will not only be disappointing in the long run for you, but people will simply write it off as a silly, hastily thrown together character. This section, again, is used by battle writers to get a good feel for your character without having to re-read your entire profile. Many of these traits can be delved into deeper in your biography section.
A Sisko protip: Using historical or literary personae as inspiration is never a bad idea. Since this is already an anime-oriented game, try reaching out into other mediums and plucking character traits that aren't already displayed in Gundam. The more obscure, the better! Also, this is also a good time to say how your character interacts with other people.
Since this is a action-based game, briefly describing how your character carries him or herself in battle would go a long way in developing them as an asset to the game. Again, this should not be over-the-top and should be based somewhat in fact. Try to incorporate the character's history as reason for some of the things they do. If a character was victim of a pirate space raid and lost their family, maybe they aren't the biggest fans of ship-to-ship combat--or, maybe this gives them an edge over the competition. Really, this can be just about anything--as long as it makes sense.
A Zaku don't: Trying to convince the reader that your character is a Patton on the battlefield isn't probably going to win you any followers. If your character went through a lot of pain and hardship to get them where they are, and worked feverishly to become the top of their class, maybe we'd be willing to accept that he's good on some level, maybe. But do we really care about him? Remember that most people root for the little guy with the intricate backstory, not the bro-ish ass with a giant war robot fetish who we know next to nothing about.
After you've cemented the general feel of your character, you could also take this opportunity to describe any of his or her's wingmates or other NPC's that may need explaining. I generally save this for last, after I've written my biography or gotten a few RP's under my belt. Do not think that simply because your character's listed on your profile that he/she won't die. That's just not the case! Only through good writing and rationale will NPC ever be considered important enough to name in-game and gain special perks outside of the realm of levels.
4. Biography
After the aforementioned basics are down pat, it's time to expand it all into a narrative of some kind. Though the popular way to do this is to simply list events chronologically in a basic essay-style paper, it isn't the only way to go about it. I don't know about you, but essays were never my strong suit in high school and college. So what I've found to be more effective (as well as more fun) is to write an actual story using what basic information I want portrayed weaved throughout it. This is your chance to really make readers look for things, and though you don't want to exhaust or annoy them, it's also a chance to make your character into much more than just a cookie cutter mobile suit pilot. In fact, I use this part to build my character up into something larger than life, yet keeping it grounded in reality through basic flaws. If you write it in such a way that they've bitten off more than they can chew, it's a lot easier to write conflict into RP's later on and keep things interesting. It's common knowledge that most men don't live up to their legacy, and that most people aren't anything like the person you read about in books. But, like always, don't make this over-the-top. There's a fine line between carefully plotted legacy and dumb, fanciful fiction.
Having a general idea of where you are going with your character is great, but it's okay if you don't have an exact plan from the beginning. Try to set a tentative plan for your character for however long the game plans to run. Stay open minded, and don't get discouraged if things don't go your way. Things from left field can sometimes offer interesting RP opportunities. This "general plan" can be the basis of your profile, where in-game activities and RP's fill in the details later on.
Since this is most likely the longest portion of your profile, it's best to create a new post within your thread. This is great for organization and will make it easier for you to edit it later on. As this is probably the biggest commitment you can ask of a reader, you'll probably want to be doubly sure you aren't over-doing things. Never start sentences the same way, and try to keep them within a respectable length. Run-ons are never okay, nor are fragments. Using a fragment to highlight a certain point is sometimes permitted, but this is generally what italics are for. Switching up pronouns is also a good idea, as you never want to just refer to people by their given name all the time. Tense is also important. If you're writing third person, stick to it until the end. Unless, of course, you are working in chapters and switch to someone else's perspective in a different time/place. If you do this, be sure to stick to it until the end of the chapter. And lastly, the following are not to be confused: their (showing ownership), there (referring to a location), and they're (a contraction of 'they' and 'are'); effect (noun) and affect (verb). Most people know this stuff, but I find it's best to briefly go over it in case of stragglers.
A Batman resource: Check your local MLA style guide for details, or go to PurdueOWL.edu for general information. You can also ask staff or other players for assistance.
5. Graphics
If you wish to put images of your character or places he/she's been (which I highly recommend), this is the place to do it. Make a new post to do this, and set it up as a pseudo "image gallery." A profile with images all over it isn't going to feel very together, and will most likely confuse people.
You can use this space to put up a detailed image of your character. I highly discourage people from using images from pop cultures, or ones that will be readily recognized by the community. My reasoning is simple: if you use a person from a known TV show or movie, that person already has an identity attached to them. You'll be not only working double-time to persuade people that he/she is indeed yours, but you'll show everyone how little time you spent in actually putting together your character. If you show laxity anywhere, most people will take that as you not really giving a hoot. If you don't give a hoot, then it must be okay to kill them off because you can just go make another John or Jane Doe with little effort.
A good place to find interesting, uncompromised images is on blogs. A lot of artists have blogs where they showcase their random doodles. These people are generally unknowns (no offense!), so the chance that someone out there is using that image is next to none. Obviously, you should give them credit if you use their material. Check the MLA guide on how to do that.
Some Gihren wisdom: You can use images of just about anything. Some ideas: mugshots, military badges, childhood home, dog Sparky, before and after images, loved ones. The list goes on! Just be sure to use captions so we know what we're looking at!
6. Bibliography
A new post with a listing of all your RP's and battles/events is a nice way to catalog your progress and keep track of how active you are. It's also a nice "thank you" to the battle writers who usually have to weed through months of RP's and battles to get familiar with your character. Since their job isn't the easiest (by far), it's nice to do a little writer-service, instead of the usual fan-service, from time to time. Be sure to differentiate the RP's from the battles/events, though, otherwise it's free-reign here.
A Rancor thought: Maybe you could make this section into a timeline or something! That would be sort of neat!
Concluding thoughts
No matter what you do, if you're at least attempting any of the aforementioned, it's more than likely you'll find yourself having a fulfilling, enjoyable experience. It's always a good idea to talk to me about certain pathways your character can take before committing to one fully. Overall, though, this is your game and your chance to really stand out! I'll try not to get in the way of something you really, really want to do, but if it isn't in the best interest of the game, or if I think you probably wouldn't have a good time with it, I may bar you from following through with it. It's important to keep the game interesting for all parties, so don't hate me for caring too much!
Things that make Mr. GM sad: Posting a profile with any of the sections listed as "coming soon, not finished, etc" or not representing them at all (AKA posting unfinished profiles). Using bad formats like putting the entire profile on one page or not sticking to the same format throughout.