Hey, I am in the process of making stuff and wanted some input from other living beings. Do any of you have a simple way to create a character, not just a picture, but an attitude(enough so I would be able to ask myself "what would this character do"... and answer it), and basically an understanding for him/her. Perhaps a template, or just some simple things to answer. In addition, I would like to know if they are any decent websites that you already know about, that would help create an rpg(program independant)

I don''t know if it''s "Easy", but try this.

Whats his name?
Is he angry, or misreable or something?
Why is he that way, didn''t something bad happen to him as a child or recently?

Three quick questions that make you design the basics of a character. Granted theres a lot more, and when putting him with other characters, you get paradoxes and stuff, but this at least gets you into the thinking phase which is where you need to be for this kind of stuff.

I was just thinking about that, my definition of easy is probably different than anything else. My definition of is as follows:

1). All questions (steps) are clearly set out and organized

2). Once completing all of the steps, I have a complete character

3). The number of steps does not affect its complexity.

... Yea, think of me like a drone, I can follow any set of steps, no matter how big, as long as I reach my goal.

1) Do you want to fit a character to a role, or a role to a character? If the former, go to 2; if the latter go to 6;
2) What role is the character to fill?
3) Why is the character there? What brought them to do what they are doing?
4) Create a chain of events leading up to question 3 from early childhood. Basically, recreate the characters life *backwards*, by going one step at a time - why did they get to their current point, then why did they get to *that* point.
5) go to 10;
6) What was the characters childhood like? What was their family like (rich/poor;overbearing/gentle)?
7) What was their early adulthood like? How did their experience as a child effect this?
8) What are they doing now?
9) Why are they in the story? What role do they play?
10) Add some quirks. Little extras - hobbies, interests, unimportant trivia.


For Mother GameDev!

When creating their attitude, think about what role they are playing in the game/story (whatever it is you are making ).



Those aren''t bugs...they''re added features

You need to construct what is called a character biography.

It goes back two generations, has physical, mental and emotional makeups, (oh, so the character can act characteristically? How evil) goes into their psychology, attitudes, pov, all kinda stuff that will make them believable to others, predispositioned towards the twists and challenges you put in front of them.

E-mail me at animrep@yahoo.com, and I''ll send you a Word 2K file as a reply attachment (28K), and it should be everything you need.

Adventuredesign

1) Name (a name generator might help you)
2) Sex
3) Age

4) Childhood outline. Where they went to school, what their parents were like, what they wanted to be when they grew up. That sort of thing.
5) Young person outline. Did they go clubbing on fashionable islands off the coast of Spain, or did they plot world domination from an armchair?
6) Old person outline. Did they retire from whatever job they had? Do they have grandkids?

Use the final 3 steps as is necessary for your character (i.e. a child won''t need steps 5 or 6). I think a biography-type thing is better because it encompasses all aspects of their personality. You could say ''well, if they did that, what would they do here?'' A person who went clubbing is more likely to be comfortable in social situations, and so on.

Music. I find music to be a slight help. I'm no pro, mind you. But find a track or three that a given 'character' would listen to. Helps you to get in the mindset.

Also think of physique. If you're a tall guy, and have been all your life, this no doubt plays in to how you approach problems in life. Same with someone who's short, fat, skinny, etc.

~Jef.

YIM & AOL: LOOFFEJ
MSN: Jeffool@hotmail.com

[edited by - Jeffool on September 7, 2002 3:54:28 AM]

I have done some writing in the past and I have come to realize that the easiest way to continually write "in-character" characters, is to link them so someone you know that most fits the character you are trying to create, then think to yourself, "what would this person do in this situation?"

It''s also fun to put reflections of yourself into the characters, whether it be what you see yourself as, your weaknesses, your strengths, what you wish you were more like, and so on.

Hope that helps...

_/_____
/Akaida*

I agree with the character bio that adventuredesign suggested.


NicolasX

Those aren't bugs...they're added features

[edited by - NicolasX on September 7, 2002 10:37:55 PM]

[edited by - NicolasX on September 7, 2002 10:39:15 PM]