Friday 14 March 2014

Question Time: The Same Character

In my head, the character I've played from my first MMO is still the same guy in my current MMOs, at least the "main" ones (as opposed to when I trial games and sent alts) - the same goes for what I think of all my guild mates characters. I'm wondering if there are other people who think this way too, or if you segment each character into their own little "chapters" who retire or die off when you decide to neglect them and/or move on?

Joseph Skyrim drawn by Christy Lijewski

6 comments:

  1. I used to have a motto of "new game, new character". Meaning that characters from different games were completely different entities from characters in another game. Nowadays I am lazy so I have been reusing characters names but the idea is still basically the same.

    I just find it hard to believe in one game the character is an orc and in another he is a dwarf just because in the second game orcs are not a playable race. Also I guess I just don't like to play the same character over and over again too or even just the same races.

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  2. I use the multiverse approach. There is infinite amount of my characters and each is in his own space, thus every main character I make in a new game is just another version of the same character. Who knows, maybe they someday meet each other and decide to go on a quest.

    Generally I leave my characters as they are when I move on. No finale or something in that manner. Thus if I ever come back I can start where I left of and fill in the blanks wherever necessary.

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  3. I do both. I tend to just invent new names and backgrounds based on the game's lore and end up with a stable of new characters that way. The tendency possibly stems from a writing and tabletop RPG GM background, one needs 101+ characters to populate a world, so creating someone new is never a problem.

    Those types of characters tend to be more "on freeze" in mind when I'm not playing them. They're tools and avatars, moving in time only when I log on and play 'em, and on hold otherwise.

    But there are a few favorite characters whose names I sometimes re-use. Same personality, same name, tweaks to the background to make 'em world appropriate, and I reconcile it with the parallel universe / multiverse concept. The names represent a kind of archetype, they have the same nature and ethics, but may end up shaped differently due to different circumstances.

    For these special ones, I highly doubt they retire or die when I neglect them, I'm sure they're off having their own adventures when I'm not looking.

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  4. All my characters in different games are me. and I only ever play one character. judging from the blogosphere, that's pretty rare / weird ;)

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    Replies
    1. Huzzah, someone as weird as me then! ;)

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    2. that's pretty much me as well syl, most of mine tend to represent me in some idealised sort of way and they rarely have any backstories to them.. They're my vessel into these worlds

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