Life stories as default.

[Under the moon]

This is an old complaint, and written about before, but I figured it should belong here.

When I take a look at someone, the first thing I should see should not be,

Race: Kran (as I could see that already)
Siblings: None (can tell that just be a face, huh?)
Father: Weapon smithy (can tell that at a glance, obviously)
Mother: Animal trainer (wait...Kran, mother and father? That is besides the point, though)
Preferred Child activity: Guilty nights on roofs. (has his juvey record on his forehead as well.. and too much info)

The point is, you don't see anything about what they actually look like when you look at them.

Wish within a complaint:

First thing seen. Hardcoded categories with user written text.

Hair/fur: None (300 character limit)
Eyes: White (100 character limit)
Skin: Blue-green with flecks of amber (300 character limit)
Build: massive, with wide shoulders (300 character limit)
Clothing and accessories: (500 character limit)
Distinguishing features: (600 character limit)

Next thing seen.

<user written text> (no limit) Write all you want here about how you childhood sucked, and who your daddy was.

[lordraleigh]

I prefer to write just a physical description of the character, IC-wise others won't know your character past history.

[Nurahk]

When I take a look at someone, the first thing I should see should not be,
Race: Kran (as I could see that already)

What about
Race: Lemur

I know what you are saying, but, for now we need the Race there due to a lack of models...and even then, I see no reason to take it out.

As for the rest, I agree that the family history and all that shouldn't be there and I like your idea, though it may intimidate some of the newbies who will come across it.

[Idoru]

I think what you are saying is quite sensible. If you post a pic on the forums its hardly likely that I can tell what your father did for a living, or likewise, what you did for a job in earlier years. It is obvious that I should be able to see what race you are from your pic and presumably your sex and get a rough idea of your age.

[emeraldfool]

I agree that your life story should be left to RP and not in your description (though usually I just read through it out of interest and then pretend I don't know anything IC - I actually find it can help liven an RP, since you know what to ask to get an interesting response, rather than asking generic, random questions like "What's your story?" or "How's your past?", etc.)


What I don't really like is:

Hair/fur: None (300 character limit)
Eyes: White (100 character limit)
Skin: Blue-green with flecks of amber (300 character limit)
Build: massive, with wide shoulders (300 character limit)
Clothing and accessories: (500 character limit)
Distinguishing features: (600 character limit)

Next thing seen.

Which I feel would be very constrictive. Maybe there's something special about your eyes that you can't limit to 100 characters, but that would be apparent upon looking at them. Maybe you wear a lot of accessories, or have many distinguishing features. I don't like the idea of basing a character's appearance around how well you can fit it into the description.

Although I do see a positive side, in that a template could really help newbies to make a description. Lots of them just don't seem to know where to start, or what to put.


Also, as a writer, I tend to let people use their own imagination on my characters. It makes it realer for everyone, if they can relate them to someone or something they're familiar with. Being forced to describe specific details rather than a general 'feeling' would suck. (For example, I tend to use emotions and impressions to describe characters, rather than colours and accessories - "He stands tall and proud, with a roguish cast to his face, and an agile grace in his step." as opposed to "height: 6'1", weight: 150 lbs., eyes: green, etc.")

[Idoru]

Same here Emeraldfool, I do disagree with the template concept, but the general idea is good.

[Under the moon]

The template would be for a quick glance. That is why the limit. I too, would love to see everyone give a naritive detailing of what they look like in grand literary format, but it just is not going to happen for most folks. I disagree with the template as well, but it something that is needed.

I suppose the template could be an optional thing, but it should be there as default when first creating a character. Delete it if you will, but at least new folks would have -some- idea of what should be expected. As it is now, a good many of them likely think that is the character backstory button. I have seen even people I consider as good RPs with just a lengthy peom in there description, and maybe a little about what they look like at the end.

Don't know, maybe there could be a dual layer description (as has been tlaked about before). The first 'glance' gives you the template, and then a button at the bottum says [Look closer], which would send you to the other. [Look closer] could even send a /tell to the player you are looking at. "You may notice <name> looking closely at you." Maybe.

Oh, and you do not need the 'Race: whatever' because at the very top of the window, it says "You see a <gender> <race>", so the second is being redundant.

[Narure]

I rarely can be botherd to read a description past 1 turn of the scroll wheel when standing round talking to people. However if I am sitting at a fire with them for a long time, during the time they are typing I'll read their description bit by bit, which is why I think a good structure for a description is slowly adding more detail as it goes but starting with the most distinct things as opposed to the long winding things most people have pumped full of un-needed adjectives to describe the most mundane things.

[Parallo]

Adjectives are rarely unneeded.

[emeraldfool]

Adjectives are rarely unneeded.

You're scrupulously facetiously joking with irreverent irony, am I not most veraciously correct?

[Parallo]

I mean in descriptions. If it helps you visualise the character, it should be there.

[emeraldfool]

I mean in descriptions. If it helps you visualise the character, it should be there.

Not really. Part of - if not the most important part of - creative writing is getting the idea across without boring the reader to death, or bogging down the narrative with details that most people are going to forget in a few minutes anyway.

[Narure]

Plus people may only have seconds to read a description. They are hardly going to print them out for bed time reading as some people are under the impression we are.

[Under the moon]

Truthfully, I skip any descriptions that start going into the character's past, or tell me what I 'feel' when looking at the character. so, if there is any important details somewhere in there about how one looks, they are lost as well.

[Parallo]

I often read peoples descriptions from afar, if they don't have a life story, so that when I do see them my character can tell instantly what they look like. I do this with most people and then I just need a brief check to see if it changed in future, ie. scrolling through it in two seconds.

@Emerald: That's typing, not writing.