Characters you actually connect to?

[Doug R.]

I've learned to switch it off also, more or less, but at the same time, doing that makes the game less engaging for me. Then again, if I was any more engaged, Cantr would be a full-time job.

[Xander]

You do have to be really careful not to get too attached to a character. I've only ever really been overly emotionally attached to one character, and I was addicted to the emotions that came from playing him. I don't think I should go into too much details, and a few people will know which character I'm talking about, and the events surrounding him and the groups involved, but it took me months to finally unattach myself from him and see him not as an extension of myself or even a conscious being, but as simply just a character that only ever existed in text and in my head. When he died, he felt nothing, because it was just a part of the program that says when a battleaxe is swung into a badly injured person with no shield (he wasn't murdered, he was executed) in the game, that character is either going to die, or going to be fatally injured (he died before NDS).

The sad thing is, I had great RP with him and the characters around him, even if I didn't play him consistently (he was scared of being executed, but he had a habit of being a smartarse with a big mouth), and my view of the group he was being held by, and some of the actual players of those characters, was tainted by OOC influences form a now banned member who was far too obsessed with the game, and it ended up hurting them in real life.

I like a lot of my current characters, and I would miss them if they suddenly died today, but I'm not attached to them in the same way as I was attached to the character I'm talking about in this post. I'm more considerate of choices, of considering a path before walking down it, and whilst I do wish things had been different for my character, in the end his story is what it is. Has any character ever lived a life that satisfied their player 100%? I doubt it.

[destinysWalrus]

Not quite the same "connection" direction as you guys are talking about, but I think one of my characters got my ADD. She's also my favorite character at present and I'd be really unhappy if she died anytime soon. She also decided out of nowhere that she wanted to create a language, so now I have to.

[hyrle]

Not quite the same "connection" direction as you guys are talking about, but I think one of my characters got my ADD. She's also my favorite character at present and I'd be really unhappy if she died anytime soon. She also decided out of nowhere that she wanted to create a language, so now I have to.

And I love that character of yours. I really do hope you find time to really play her the way you want to play her.

[Wolfsong]

In the beginning, before Cantr, back when I would hit up MUDs and even forums, I'd get pretty into my characters. MUDs, mostly - forums less so. There's more of a barrier between the player and the character in more slowly paced RP, and you generally use third person when writing actions, so you always feel like the author guiding your character along, and less like a poltergeist. But then, MUDs, I'd have the same character for ages - and it wasn't like Cantr, where everything is easy and you can coast along for years and years without getting yourself into any real danger. At least, that's not how I played - I would throw these characters into (usually) military or paramilitary roles, where they'd be out fighting, hunting, ranging, doing something adrenaline-rushy. And the action is immediate, it's not like Cantr. It's fast-paced, it happens right there as you're watching. You get so adrenaline high that your hands shake, your fingers turn into claws, and typing is almost impossible - which doesn't help when you're fleeing from some big baddie who just nearly killed your PC, and your PC is bleeding out as they stagger along, and maybe they've dropped their weapon in their hurry to get away, lost and alone in the dark, because the sun sets as you're running back to the city and all your torches and flint kits were left behind in the rout. And then, eyes in the dark, permadeath, and wham. All those hours and hours of playtime you put into that PC, gone. Every single moment, relationship, achievement - people will remember them, and talk about them, but suddenly that's all over. So you roll a new character, and you do it again. And they die. And this happens numerous times over six, seven years.

Eventually, you learn to distance yourself from the impact of big events. Everyone gets into their PCs, and that's good - you should, to an extent. You should be able to relate to them, their sorrows, their tribulations, their shortcomings. But it gets exhausting after awhile. So some distance is needed.

Edit: More to the point of the topic...

There are currently... 6-7 characters on my Character List that I can "connect to" - by which I mean, as soon as I look at their names, I get very separate impressions of them, how they act, how they move, every little nuance. They're distinct characters with their own mannerisms, goals, habits and quirks, and I've played them well enough now to know how they act and react, that's all mostly internalized. The rest of my characters are still cut-outs. They might have distinct styles and personalities, but there's no immediacy when I look at the names. I have to remind myself they do x or y.

[Marian]

I'm trying to find that fine line between connecting more than is healthy to my characters and just being bored with them because they're nothing but a few meaningless lines of text....haven't had to deal with any serious life-threatening situations or drama yet so the verdict is still out on whether I've succeeded or not.

This time around I'm playing them all with very straightforward personalities, which might be helping...no complex hidden inner lives to get all tangled up about. And since a lot of the unpleasantness in the past came from speaking with or knowing too much about other characters' players, this time I won't be outing any of mine until they're long dead. (It's kind of weird, in other RP games talking to a player after intense events has been a good way to de-stress and remind yourself it's just a game...while here it's basically the opposite. I guess in Cantr it's not uncommon at all for a person to get so into their char they see everything from their point of view and just can't let it go though.)

Also, Wolfsong, you just made me sooo nostalgic for MUDs, I wasted so much time in highschool playing Carrion Fields. Sadly I was never actually any good at it though I'm a terrible typer unless I have time to stop and proofread and proofread again, and everytime I took a break for a couple weeks all my friends had left me in the dust.

[Xander]

I guess in Cantr it's not uncommon at all for a person to get so into their char they see everything from their point of view and just can't let it go though.)

Yeah, the character I became emotionally addicted to would write notes (that I made uneditable so they couldn't be destroyed) that were basically hyperbolic self-pity parties and designed to make a certain group look bad. They actually treated him pretty well, but in the months after his death, and I have to admit even up until the present day (mainly when I'm tired/stressed) I would daydream about him being treated far worse than he really was. I can't remember most of what the notes contained, which is a good thing, and I hope no character of mine ever comes across them.

The sad thing is, I've lost characters who were far more interesting and fun to play than he was, and yet they are barely ever thought of or really remembered.

[hyrle]

I used to play MUDs and MUSHs as well. I still log into one that I wasted tons of time on every now and then... it's still up even after nearly 20 years.

[EchoMan]

Heh, gave me a flashback. I was once the main "archwiz" on amud, responsible for all programming. Thank god I upgraded to be chair of the Programming Department of a text based web game.

[CrashBlizz]

Ooooohhh, the amount of times I've quit due to people using OOC knowledge to kill me ... I mean, my characters.....

But yeah, in my opinion, doesn't matter how detached you are - this is roleplaying - you're putting yourself in that role, its 'your' emotions (or ideas of what that would feel like) that are going into it. Of course you become connected, even if you don't want to admit it.



Although there are those random characters you spawn to see how quick you can get them killed...

[Marian]

Although there are those random characters you spawn to see how quick you can get them killed...

Yeah, I know it's frowned upon, but it can be a lot of fun sometimes. And sometimes it's amazing what you can get away with (what's this, resources and tools lying everywhere and three unlocked longboats in the harbor? Don't mind if I do!) I look at it as testing a town's security system in a way. And being completely law abiding and just seeing how quick it takes a town leader to forget their own laws and physically lash out at someone just for being rude is always interesting too.

A couple of my favorite characters started out as smart-mouthed thieves. Now that is a way to get an emotional connection to a character, because whether you get away with it or not, it's such a rush having all that tension and drama right from the start. Doubly awesome if the right sort of people are the ones to catch you, because playing the prisoner and later the sort-of-reformed-but-still-snarky thief can be great too.

Sadly this more or less seems to be an era that's passed...between radios and the huge number of fast vehicles around, a thief on foot stands no chance, and so I hardly see the casual grab and run kind any more unless it's someone completely suicidal.

[CrashBlizz]

Sadly this more or less seems to be an era that's passed...between radios and the huge number of fast vehicles around, a thief on foot stands no chance, and so I hardly see the casual grab and run kind any more unless it's someone completely suicidal.

It still happens, day 26 and counting = still rich and still running. Welcome back to the game me The trick is to be really strong, an expert fighter and steal a scimitar, iron shield and healing food. You kinda take the chasers by surprise....

[Otherside]

I've had a loud mouthed newspawn thief that was eventually caught, was almost killed, begged for their life, did the time but is now fairly successful, but still pretty roguish. They are great characters to play.. I love that rush.

And there are definitely times when I get overly attached to certain characters at certain times of their lives, always checking them first.. and I'm always a little gutted when these times end. I haven't been brought to tears, but often been frustrated with the outcome.

The thing I find the hardest is not having emotions from one character flow into another and their actions... E.g. not showing any animosity to a players other characters after one of theirs has had a run in with mine, especially if another of mine is in a relationship with theirs. Also, if things on one char are getting quite heated ( ) I have to be really careful what I say to my other chars partners..

I think you have to connect to get the most out of it, as long as you can detach whenever you need to..

[Marian]

I think I finally figured out how to enjoy playing a character without getting too connected:

Any time anything major happens now, I just try and think of it as performance art--my character being part of a story and ad-libbing their role in the most entertaining or dramatic way possible, and a good performance is the goal rather that just 'winning'.

[hyrle]

I agree, Marian. Also, defining what "winning" really is should be different to each of your characters. Some of my characters have grand goals and huge dreams... others are content just to be good workers and helpers and lovers, and they have more humble goals. I enjoy watching the evolution of my characters as they work for their goals, and either succeed or fail. In either case, their life experiences change them somehow. It's really fun to evolve. I realize that - at any time - another character with dark and demented goals could potentially cut my character's life short, but that's part of the excitement.