"Original characters"

[FOAtHeart]

For artists. What is your opinion on original chracters?

I don't have any original characters. I don't think it suits my personality; and to be honest, it gets irritating seeing "hey guys this is my character ^_^" because really, a lot of the time they are terribly designed, uninteresting, and so on.

Then there is the aspect of attaching a backstory to a character...which I can not relate to, because I am an artist, not a writer. I draw pictures for them to look pretty. I understand this isn't how everyone does it.

Something just seems totally obnoxious about the whole idea.

Does it depend on the artist?
The character?

I am interested in your opinions.

[CherryLunar]

Well, I myself have had several "original characters" and none of them stayed with me for very long. The only one I would consider "original", which isnt very, is my old PSO character that has been my alias for the past 4 years. :| More of a mascot than a original character though I guess.

I attach stories to most of my works. But not so much to characters.

[Solstis]

It's a bit hard to write stories without your own characters (though you can). For my stories, though, I just generally have names that I like and I stick some personalities to them. If I ever get anything published, though, I'll probably have to set firm backstories. Darn... it really is refreshing to feel as if you're starting with something new every time you type/write.

Elaborate backstories in fanfics can be really annoying, especially if the story is just an excuse to talk about someone's character. I think that I started out that way.

It really depends, I guess.

[CupOfCoffee]

Definitely depends on the character and the artist. I've seen "original characters" that were just random anime cookie cuts, and those ones are the kind that annoy me the most... of course, that's just my personal preference. I'm not a big fan of anime style art in general, though much of it is amazingly well-done.

Another thing is how much effort was put into the character. You can tell when someone really loves the character they've brought to life through writing and drawing, and those ones usually take on a unique, endearing quality. It seems to come naturally to certain people more than others, though, and the ones who get it right usually don't seem to have to think about it much.

Long story short, I don't find original characters to be inherently more annoying or less-good than ones created by others, but that's probably the part of my mind that remembers that every character was once someone's original idea.

[TheyCallMeJoe]

I've never really had a problem with characters...considering as this is a PSO FanWorks forum Would you expect something different? Now that's not saying unrelated artwork is bad; I like yours FO and it's almost never regarding PSO. But when you read a PSO Fanworks forum you're bound to find a bunch of original characters. It's just to be expected.

I usually find backstories rather bland, however -_-. I'm more an art person too, and although I can write, I find drawing to be so much more involving. After all, a picture's worth a thousand words, right?

it gets irritating seeing "hey guys this is my character ^_^" because really, a lot of the time they are terribly designed, uninteresting, and so on.

[FOAtHeart]

Some thought-provoking responses! Thanks, guys! :>

But when you read a PSO Fanworks forum you're bound to find a bunch of original characters. It's just to be expected.

Strangely, it's not in Fan Works that I see it that much. I visit lots of other communities. It's extremely prevalent in DA, which is one of the reasons I stopped going there.

Hm. It's nice to see different viewpoints. I should make thread like these more often!

[TheyCallMeJoe]

Oooh....Sorry, I assumed you were discussing PSO FanWorks exclusively. And would you mind helping a noobie out and telling him what DA is . I'm a culture fool lol.

[AzureBlaze]

Original characters have their place.
I am assuming you're talking about in the fan community for stories/games/anime etc. With fanfic and fan art for traditional things like say... DBZ, Harry Potter, etc--anything where you're writing in a 'universe' where the characters are already established is a traditional fanfic. In this, an author-avatar is a Mary Sue. An original character appearing in this situation is most often a Sue of some type. Other OC's in these traditional fics may be fill-in characters, just someone that was needed to move the plot. The easiest way to spy a Sue? The story revolves around them, somehow.

I actually wrote & published a book on Fanfic, and how to write it, so I've done 'the homework' on stuff like this.

The non-traditional stuff comes up with games like WOW, and PSO/U. In these, you are literally encouraged to BE a Mary Sue with your char. EVERY char is somehow an author-avatar, interacting within the context of that universe. Because that's what they want it to be. It's also part of the appeal.

There's 2 camps on the traditional: Sue haters and sue writers/non-minders. People hate Mary Sue because reading a story with her in it, tends to be REALLY DULL to the audience. She's only interesting for her writer. Sonic fanfic is utterly notorious for these types. But some people genuinely enjoy reading other people's Mary Sue stories (there's even a club) and that's great for them.

There's also 2 camps on the Non-traditional
Some people think that only NPCs should be used to write fic about, even if the universe they exist in is an MMORPG with PC running all about. So this would create a story of like...what was Break and Sophia's relationship before the whole thing went south? Or What happens to Glustar and Stella down on ragol?

The other camp leans toward using ONLY pc in this situation, because no one is 'worthy' of writing for the NPCs except the game authors, and writing such things could confuse the 'real issues' of the story.

The PSO/MMORPG side of things seems from my view to be a more relaxed place regarding PC and OC (it has to be, by nature pretty much) And there are many good outcomes to be had here, as well as making it harder to be obnoxious with stories or art.

For example...
NPC stories & art can be enjoyed by everyone on here, and often are.

PC stories are too, DangerGirl and DikkyRay are currently running stories with their own guy in it, I think Deathscythe alpha and Shurikane did in the past as well as HUnewearl Meira, and you've seen people post up their chars a bunch as art too.

And then the last type:
Stories/art of chars that are no one's, just made up the whole thing 100% and there are also no sues, you're just writing or drawing in the universe because you like it. I wrote a illustrated fic that fits this last catagory, but am afraid to post it.

But since you wanted an opinion...
I don't like sues where they don't belong. I tend to think they're dull and most of them are obnoxious. I won't read a DBZ fic or save a DBZ/Sonic/FF/Pokemon/Whatever art if it has a sue.

I don't mind most sues on PSO themed writing, because nearly everything HAS to be one. The NPCs were woefully underdeveloped in most cases which didn't make for good charachterization to build upon realistically.

I do mind them when they're waaaay OOC (in this case out of context, not out of char) Like guys with billions of stupid powers you don't get in the game, like your girl can run as fast as The Flash and use her psychic powers to throw people across the room, designs you can't possibly get in the game, like your guy is a transformers helicopter but somehow gets into the hunter guild and no one notices.
Why?
Because it busts up the context of the game story. It makes it feel unreal and that it doesn't belong in PSO. It also screams "Mary Sue" and becomes a front for boasting about yourself/avatar.

Whee! As you can see this topic pushed the old 'talk a lot about it' button.

[Danger_Girl]

I personally enjoy original characters and backstories. Not everyone is a gifted writer, but I'm willing to give anyone credit for trying. This is Phantasy Star Online, so as the name would imply I have no problem with people fantasizing about their characters and sharing what they come with. I certainly don't think its obnoxious. I also wouldn't criticize anyone for finding backstories dull. Forums aren't exactly the most reader friendly format in the world. I for one an am avid reader. I read prolifically and I love it, and that includes fanfics. I think Ishan80's Enslaving the Darkness has been fantastic so far, as has xxTrystanxx' Trial by Fire. HUnewearl Meira's fanfic was very well done as well. I haven't read CupofCoffee's fanfic yet, but I fully intend to. I invite everyone to read my fanfic. I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a professional writer, and I don't consider myself a literary artist by any means. I just like to dream up and tell stories. This one happeneds to be about my PSO character.

Anyway, I try not to take a condescending attitude about it. People should persue whatever creative outlet they feel like.

I find drawing to be so much more involving. After all, a picture's worth a thousand words, right?

I'm up to about 20,000 words now. *grin*

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Danger_Girl on 2006-07-12 21:54 ]</font>

[Cranberry]

I really appreciate original characters. I really appreciate original ideas in general. Especially when it comes to PSO. I believe the games vauge story is not an accident. I believe that PSO was made for fan works like drawings and fanfiction. I love seeing the drawings and stories about people's characters here.