Character Creation: Behind the Scene

[Tieru Ocarre]

I was just thinking how did you guys create your character? What is the behind the scenes...?

My character isn't really new - I created him off the basis of my former character at a different board almost 7 years ago. The galaxy was different, but the young personality has always been with me since all my RPing has been done as a teenager. None of my characters really have an adult description, but I try to give them all a twist of maturity beyond their years.

So, from the ideas of my first RPing characters I jumbled them up to create Tieru Ocarre.


What about you all?

[Kyapi-kyapi]

Kyapi-kyapi came from looking at the picture in my signature. Then I slowly started developing her character from that as I wrote her biography. She's ended up this clumsy person whose clumsiness happens to be timed PERFECTLY to make her a good fighter. And when she tries to fight... she stinks.

Basically, I've had a rough time lately, and I needed some comic relief in my life... out stemmed Kyapi-kyapi. I actually created her on a real-time text-based RPG about three weeks ago. When I came here, I figured I'd just bring her with me. It'll be fun to see how she develops differently between the two different scenarios.

[Morgan Evanar]

Sometimes I just need a photo to start, and then it springs to life from there. I generally have very cinematic scenes in my head of who and what the character is. Building a psychological profile and understanding who they are and their past is very important, or I can't write them worth a damn.

[Javier Spencer]

I start with the setting, come up with the appearance, give a name, and once that happens everything else falls into place rapidly and naturally. If it's a character for an open-ended storyline (here, or in the few table-top RPGs I've played) it's enough to have an idea of the character's personality and physical capabilities. For something more defined (say, a short story or novel) then I also pin down important events and feats that should happen to the character in the present/future. Backstory always writes itself a little at the time of creation, then more as the character moves along.

[Dasquian Belargic]

The thing I spend the most time on is picking a name for my character. I am very choosy about names, I need them to have the right vibe to them. Similarly, I need exactly the right character image. If I don't have these two things, the character just won't "come alive" in my mind and I find writing them difficult and uninspiring.

Since I have had so many characters, I won't go into detail about the inspirations for all of them right now - but I'd be happy to flesh out the history behind any characters that people are curious about :)

[Itala Marzullo]

It's all in my wiki.

[Wyl Staedtler]

The thing I spend the most time on is picking a name for my character. I am very choosy about names, I need them to have the right vibe to them. Similarly, I need exactly the right character image. If I don't have these two things, the character just won't "come alive" in my mind and I find writing them difficult and uninspiring.

Truth.

Wyl actually started out as a fanfic in the SW genre--although I don't know how honest that is, since the character he spawned from was completely different. Gradually the "original" Wyl ('Metzger Annaud', incidentally) led to another character, once again very far off from the present. There are elements of both incorporated into the current incarnation as well as new bits, and a lot was added once he actually began to interact on the boards--the death of his mother, for instance, was something I'd never actually considered happening. :)

(And his last name came from a pen company. huzzah.)

[Ever Talbot]

I usually get some wonderfully random inspiration, decide what the character should look like and a name, then work on a backstory.I usually can picture them in some setting, and then build from that image in my head.

I like to actually write everything down on paper as opposed to typing it (I think because I don't have a computer at work, and I do a lot of writing there). Ever is actually a character from a story I'm writing (and posted a little bit of in the art forum) -- originally, she was a werewolf, but I decided to mix my sci-fi story idea with that. Her last name is taken from a Neil Gaiman short-story.

Kyashi/Sudoku actually started out based on an anime character, but after the reset he kind of grew into his own. I think he's the best character I've made; he's extremely fun to write for :D lol.

[Tieru Ocarre]

The thing I spend the most time on is picking a name for my character. I am very choosy about names, I need them to have the right vibe to them. Similarly, I need exactly the right character image. If I don't have these two things, the character just won't "come alive" in my mind and I find writing them difficult and uninspiring.

Since I have had so many characters, I won't go into detail about the inspirations for all of them right now - but I'd be happy to flesh out the history behind any characters that people are curious about :)

Well, what about Dasq?

[Dasquian Belargic]

Alright, ramble time...

Dasquian was created primarily because, at the time, there was a shortage of active Jedi on SWFans. To try and remedy this, Jeseth Cloak and I decided that we would create a pair of Jedi to help combat the ludicrous number of Sith that were around at the time. We decided that we would make our characters participants of something like the 'Outbound Flight' project. Both would be Jedi Knights who had served under Yoda et al, before the arrival of Luke Skywalker and his allies.

We decided that they would have an 'Old Republic' feel about them, and so went with the image of Legolas because - aside from being awesome :cool - it had an 'olde worlde' look about it. I think we both wanted to use the picture, so in the end we just decided to say that the Belargic boys were twins.

I came up with their last name. Or rather, I 'adapted' it from a source that I often look to for inspiration - Discworld. Just a couple of letters removed and Bes-Pelargic, a seatown on the Disc, became a suitably name. Dasquian itself is also from Discworld, though not from the books. Dasquian was an adminstrator of the text-based Discworld game which I used to play, the Discworld MUD.

Dasquian's personality just kind of evolved of its own accord, I guess. I wanted him to be fairly traditional, as far as Jedi go, but he was a little stubborn about that :P Mikey (who plays Kelt Simoson/Sieken Kasstra) commented to me that Dasquian and I have the same personality, and I'm not sure that's a good thing! Either way, he has matured a little since the reset. He is more easy going now :)

[Terran Starek]

Terran is my favorite and best character for two reasons.

First, he represents the ideological side of me. He's loyal, dutiful, caring, honest, really naive, and very traditional (especially as far as Jedi go). He looks out for the little guy, cares about the poor, and he's really purposed. He knows he's a part of something much, much bigger than himself and he won't let go of that. I don't always live up to those things, being a lazy human being, so I take a lot of joy in writing him because he doesn't fail me. He'd be a terrible anti-hero because he's really straight-laced. :lol

Second, he represents all the things that encapsulate my love of Star Wars. Ever since I was small, I was enamored by the lightsaber and by the thought of "Space Knights" who were able to kick tail when everyone else had a gun or a spaceship. I love the Jedi and I think Terran is like my childhood self living out his ideal Jedi Knight life in a galaxy far, far away. :D

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena came about with a name and "I'm gonna play a sith!" Her look was much different when I first started, but after a few months I found the pictures of Razor that have been "LD" ever since.

I wrote her backstory after I joined TSO, and generally tried to give her a big chip on her shoulder. Like all Sith should have, right? :uhoh

Consequently her personality changed and softened as time went on, through her experiences in different RPs and relationships with other characters. So I guess you could say I start with a kernel of an idea and then just jump in with both feet. Over time I get a feel for the character and they really start to gel, but it all starts with a name and a little idea.

Arya Ravenwing is a result of conspiring with Mark to create a kick-butt female smuggler for some RP idea of his or another. She sort of took off from there and got a complete life of her own.

[Mu Satach]

It starts with an image, an attitude and then I see where the action takes it.
Character is as character does.

(I actually wrote a ton of crap and then decided that was the best, most concise explanation of my process.)
:)

[Wesley Paige]

Most of my characters start out with a face that I love, so an actor or singer. Then I build up their character, give them flaws, experiences, and personality, and then usually the character takes off on their own. Making the character is one of my favorite aspects of RPing!! :)

[Hartus Kenobi]

Hartus Kenobi:
"Hart Kenobi" was the name I used when I decided to first post at SWFans.net, but I did so reluctantly. "Hart" was my OOC name, and "Obi-Wan Kenobi" was the name I RPed under (a distant descendent of the Kenobi line). Unfortunately, CCNet's battleground had started to die off, and so when I decided I would come over here, I was pissed to learn that someone had already registered "Obi-Wan Kenobi" locally at the SWFans ezboard. So I chose "Hart Kenobi" not because I loved it initially, but because I just wanted to quickly make a username that I could post with, and it was a combination of the OOC and IC usernames.

From the start, when I registered at SWFans, I had the idea of Hart being a Jedi from the past, having been reanimated after decades or centuries of being frozen in carbonite. I knew I wanted him to feel out of place in the present, but other than that I kept his past vague. I wanted to develop his past over time, so I actually had Hart develop temporary amnesia due to the carbonite. It was a great way to uncover cool new things about Hart's past, and even bring him to dead ends or false leads.

What he did learn is that he was actually one of Anakin Skywalker's closest childhood friends while training as Jedi younglings at the Temple, and it was actually Anakin, as Darth Vader, that froze Hart in carbonite as a trophy for the Emperor. This opened up new dynamics: Hart as a relic. He eventually split from the GJO because many of the Jedi of the GJO swore, drank, smoked, used darkness for cover, etc. This was unacceptable to someone trained during the Old Republic. Furthermore, I later decided that Hart would develop a disease from his time in carbonite, and thus need to wear his armor.

Other things I let Hart "discover" about his past was that he was actually a clone of Obi-Wan Kenobi taken from DNA taken from the site in which the Jedi Apprentice killed Darth Maul. Then I threw in the plot twist that it was actually Darth Maul's DNA that created Hart, and he surgery was performed to make Hart look like Obi-Wan, and he was brainwashed to believe he was a Kenobi. Both of these leads were false.

So that's my method of developing my character. Keeping his past vague, and slowly throwing in discoveries and flashbacks to help really flesh him out.

Of course, since I've rejoined SWFans and had to re-register, I decided to go with "Hartus Kenobi," since it sounded a little more heroic and alien. Future plans for Hartus are undecided, but I've been developing a pretty cool past storyline again concerning clones. And after each thing I think up for Hartus' past, the more I can do with him in the present and future.

Darth Fernal:
Haven't really RPed with him yet. Basically I took the lead from Darth Sidious and Darth Vader. I had heard a rumor that Darth Vader's name came from the word "Invader." I knew Darth Sidious referred to him being "Insidious." So I looked through the dictionary for words starting with "In-." I found "Infernal." Hence, Darth Fernal. I originally envisioned him being repulsive and evil-looking, but then I decided that there is not nearly enough racial diversity on the board, so I decided to give him a good-looking Asian face. Other than that, I haven't given him much thought, and he's currently not three-dimensional as a character. I just know he's going to be pure evil, and a difficult guy for other Sith to be around, because he is a TRUE dark-sider. Aside from taking on a master, he wouldn't want to share power with other Sith, and will likely stab them in the back once he has the opportunity to.