Just a little curious

[simj26]

Let's get right to the point, aight, dudes? Thing is, I've been around a little bit, just a little, and reading up on the characters here and there, and I've noticed an explosive amount of characters with a certain archetypal past and personality-type. S' not that I wanna complain about the characters. Quite the other way around. I just wanna know, why, though?


Why create a miserable character, or one that hates hir life? Why a character with a horrible past, of death and crying and revenge? Is it because of easier character depth? Is it because it's much easier to develop the Thawing Ice King/Queen rather than a naive fool who slowly learns that the world isn't as happy as s/he envisions it to be (as an example, of course). 'Course, I ain't sayin EVERYONE's doing it, but I notice like, a lot of 'em. And the follow up personalities are also pretty much the same: either shy and anthropophobic, dark and brooding, or generally an effort made by creators to cement the fact that 'yes, the character is really screwed thanks to hir past, why do you ask?'.


Now, if I sounded a little sarcastic or acidic, I really apologise. I know this is le interwebz roflol, and words might seem a little off-putting to some, and I've honestly tried to sound less hostile. Sorry if I sound too malicious. In any case, however, I really, really, REALLY wanna know why. Thanks, in advance, for any answers.

 

[GentlemanJack]

I've been RPing on different mediums since about 2000-2001 and the trend of miserable characters with an estate's worth of baggage is more like, in my observation, a trait of RPers who are either new or disregard seeing writing as a technique in pure preference to seeing writing as only entertainment.


Characters are interesting because we relate to them, and their stories are interesting because we want to know how they resolve conflict, right?


For a writer with a small narrative repertoire (that is, the inexperienced and those who don't really pay attention to what they've read), loss and suffering appears to be the easiest element to use to both introduce conflict within a character and make them relatable (well, intend to make them relatable). We've all experienced loss/suffering in some form and loss/suffering can create interesting plots and twists.


Why that stands out and is hard to relate to, however, is usually because the loss-and-suffering traits of their character are applied simply to generate loss and suffering standalone rather than point out why that loss and suffering should matter to the character in the first place and they miss the point. The point they miss is that what the character holds dear (in terms of self-realization, moral value or sentimentality) is what we, as readers, actually relate to for also having those values.


When those things get threatened by loss/suffering we care about them because those values we identify with are at risk. A new writer remembers that suffering part being important because a skilled writer put them in suspense. They don't, initially, get why. And so they recreate what they observed without understanding. What you get is a character who is a bunch of "what"s, few if any "why"s, and it makes them stand out and act in a predictable manner.

 

[simj26]

You're alright. Your response's alright. That helps, if only just a little, in empathising for the writers that use these tropes. Thanks for the response.

 

[Deadkool]

Some people do enjoy the edge-lords, and anthos, while there is an over abundance, (pretty sure we could do op without edge-lords) you can't really change what people want. Also, denying said person because of that makes you look like an (obscenity). Personally I prefer playing the intelligent, charismatic, but weak geek. As for the tragic past, I think most people just put it there for filler. Nobody(?) likes reading about precise details of the mundane if they're prepping for a superhero genre.

 

[simj26]

No, no, it's not like I'm gonna deny anyone for playing a certain type. Like I said, I don't really mind these characters. Quite interesting to read them sometimes. I just wanna know, ya know, what draws people to play these types.

I'm no archaeologist, but I'm betting Checkursaurus came before Wreckursaurus.

​

 

[NessieAlways]

I don't know if it'll answer the why question, but I can offer what might be considered a factor into creating tragic stories for the typical RP character aside from the "It's easier to create depth" factor.


I tend to save most of the character I make...why not really relevant. What is relevant is that a couple of weeks ago I went back and looked through my characters and noticed that some of my most successful characters had some sort of dark twisted story. (It was kind of scary how a lot of my characters were, in a way, F'ed up.)


I started thinking of why it was that I wrote characters with single parents, drug abuses, neglect, etc, if ,thank God, I haven't gone through any of that. I went back to the RPs that I had created the characters for and realized that even if they did have a dark twisted story it didn't reflect in the RP, for the most part.


I started to think that by giving a character some tragedy it would increase the character's humanity and explain their personality in some way that makes the character more than just "Shy, quiet, and nice". With the tragic story there was now an explanation as to why the character was shy and quiet, but still kept their manners and was nice.


I might be completely wrong, but I think the tragic stories are to explain the personalities. If you have a rebellious person, it'll most likely be related to parent troubles. If you have a tomboy girl, single dad, or family reject. Spoiled character, rich with negligent parents. If you have gay guy, the dad will mostly be an a-hole and so on. I'm not saying that all of the characters fit this stereotype, but I've come to find out that a lot of them to follow a trend.

 

[Wreck]

Why create a miserable character, or one that hates hir life? Why a character with a horrible past, of death and crying and revenge? Is it because of easier character depth?

I just wanna know, ya know, what draws people to play these types.

@simj22


Maybe, in my experience anyway, some people find that it's just easier to connect to the brooding types. Everyone's past is different, everyone's emotional experiences are different. Truth is, many people do find sadness and dark feelings attractive, addictive even, and they crave those emotions and trauma through their characters or their characters' personality. It's all based on what your looking for, and what you want your characters to do for you. It's not really that hard to understand. One of those "let people be people" kinda deals.


As long as you know that tragedy doesn't equal poor penmanship, and many of the sadder characters make for some insightful dialouge. When played correctly of course.

 

[simj26]

The world's pretty gloomy, huh? Maybe it's because I've led a sheltered life of looking on the bright side of every single thing ('Oh, grandma died? She's in a better place now than this earth.' sorta outlook) but I, in my perspective, find it very difficult to empathise with brooding characters. But eh, every man sees noon at his own door, as the French say.


And besides, it makes for a much more crippling and depressing character development if a character previously established as chaste, nice and kind, even naive, is broken through the events of the entire story, and begins spiralling down the rainbow road of deteriorating insanity, rapidly losing every last shred of their once characteriestic love and kindness until only a husk remains AhahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA--


I'm getting off topic. Sorry. That was a joke. I would NEVER make a character go through that torture. hahaha, as if


But hyeah! Good answers, good answers! Keep em coming! Your perspectives and opinions matter! To me anyway. I simply love absorbing new information about how other roleplayers think and behave so I can better understand them. And be less of a huffy little man.

I'm no archaeologist, but I'm betting Checkursaurus came before Wreckursaurus.

​

 

[Wreck]

@simj22


I was intoxicated at the time I wrote that. But I still feel the same way.

 

[Gabe]

Y'know, when we look at the past of our own lives, the things that stick out the most are the sad ones. The loss of a beloved one, the one time you broke your leg, those are the most vivid memories that dot our consciousness.


Starting writers often recall memories when they write their stories. And what are the most prominent ones? Bingo, Sad stories. I don't blame them at all, sadness, fear, they are etched into our mind, to know what it's good or bad, it's a matter of survival.


We gotta give those people who only write sad stories to know that there's more to it. You can write a good story without having the character suffer. We gotta show these ones that life, even the one that you're writing, is full of emotions, ranging from euphoria to depression, nausea, lust, happiness. That, if helps on their writing, might even help them see the good side of life.

 

[Quilboarian]

Whenever I do make characters, I often make it so that their backstory isn't so dark. Well, unless the RP scenario calls for it to be dark, but even then, it wouldn't be exceptionally horrible.


Having a character without a dark backstory allows different advantages and faults. Your character could be overly cocky when it comes to some situations, or they might be unsympathetic with others due to not going through similar experiences. Sometimes I have characters that are screwed up, but without a dark backstory to justify it. [ex: a soldier who enjoys spilling blood out of plain ideological hatred, rather than "the other side killed his family" or something.]

 

[Wreck]

. Sometimes I have characters that are screwed up, but without a dark backstory to justify it. [ex: a soldier who enjoys spilling blood out of plain ideological hatred, rather than "the other side killed his family" or something.]

this is honestly.... unsettling.

 

[Quilboarian]

this is honestly.... unsettling.

Yeah, I tend to play a lot of assholes like that. I think it's because I'm usually a GM, so I give my characters personalities similar to the ones you'd expect NPCs to have.

 

[Wreck]

Yeah, I tend to play a lot of assholes like that. I think it's because I'm usually a GM, so I give my characters personalities similar to the ones you'd expect NPCs to have.

Yeah, I mean unsettling in a very good way. I'm a better GM than I am a player.

 

[simj26]

Yo, man, this ain't your personal chatroom. You gon talk stuff like your GM skills, get it outta here. Non-sequiteur topics, CAN IT, buddy.


Here's the counter! Yo, if you see a beggar down the street, you feel for the man, but you'd never feel like the man, that's the difference. Humans are whack like dat. Doesn't matter if you got a crap past, you can always feel for another dude, even if you can never feel his feel, ya know what I mean? The capacity to empathise and subsequently sympathise boils down simply to: "You a sociopath?"


Yo, does that mean, you think angst-filled pasts are just another way to get sympathy from others? Might be reading a little too much between the lines here, tho.

I'm no archaeologist, but I'm betting Checkursaurus came before Wreckursaurus.

​

 

[Wreck]

@simj22

Yo, does that mean, you think angst-filled PANTS are just another way to get sympathy from others?

that's how i read your reply

 

[Quilboarian]

Yo, man, this ain't your personal chatroom. You gon talk stuff like your GM skills, get it outta here. Non-sequiteur topics, CAN IT, buddy.
Here's the counter! Yo, if you see a beggar down the street, you feel for the man, but you'd never feel like the man, that's the difference. Humans are whack like dat. Doesn't matter if you got a crap past, you can always feel for another dude, even if you can never feel his feel, ya know what I mean? The capacity to empathise and subsequently sympathise boils down simply to: "You a sociopath?"


Yo, does that mean, you think angst-filled pasts are just another way to get sympathy from others? Might be reading a little too much between the lines here, tho.

I'm no archaeologist, but I'm betting Checkursaurus came before Wreckursaurus.

​

Yeah, makes sense. You can feel bad for people because you haven't been in their situation. I guess it only goes with identifying with it.

 

[Lokipi]

I will be honest, I find it impossible to play the dark brooding types. My characters tend to be the joker, regardless of having a brutal bleak life, or a normal one with living parents, a dog, garden and a house


I think most people go for that type of character simply because dark and brooding badasses are cool... totally resisting putting ' 'Cause I'm BATMAN' in massive text (edit: I caved. My will is so weak!)


The dark past give people something they can use to justify characters actions ei, they are seeking to kill this person because they killed a family member, rather than putting 'I dunno... 'cause I wanna?' as it simply doesn't have the same effect. Plus using the first excuse doesn't make you out to be a creepy person (I know this isn't true btw, most people are fine but I think we all worry our posts will give the wrong impression).


Adding to that, in almost every story we are presented today, the main character always have some form of a chip on their shoulder (Orphan being the fave it would seem). So I guess its what people expect and want to recreate when they do their own adventure.


This is just a random rant, so feel free to ignore. Just wanted to add :0


Also forgive the poor typing, I'm on a bus and predictive text is deeply annoying.

 

[White Masquerade]

Raizel touched on it: we just don't know any better. A few people in the right/key places can sway a crowd. It just so happens that authors of the dark and brooding have won out.


This is a new development of course because back during the WW2 era, the comics, stories, and such were all about being good, righteous, and heroic. This is why Superman was so popular back then as opposed to now. With those dark times being over, the scales have tipped in favor of the grim. If real life isn't giving us our fix of sadness, why not make stories that do? This is where our current phase of loving darkness started.


You can see the dynamic clear as day with the success of the Dark Knight movies. I personally hate Batman, but the filming was well done. It got people saying, wow- being dark and gritty can be kind of cool-.


Unlike with Batman, the movie Superman Returns did horribly for two reasons. One, life is relatively good for most people in developed countries; they don't need more goodness in their stories. Two, the movie was done horribly. I'm a Superman fan and was choking while watching. I can imagine it'd turn average people off to the whole good-guy/happy archetype.


Now check this out. Because it did so poorly, the directors brought in people that worked on Batman to help make Man of Steel, the second Superman movie. Which..got better reviews than the 1st. You see where I'm going with this?


Dark and gritty is all we know. Dark and gritty has been shown to be exciting. Nice and just...doesn't give people that same rollercoaster experience. Rather the authors have a hard time showing people that it can be cool too.


I still believe in good/happy characters and only play those because being an unstoppable bastion of hope really appeals to me. We just have to find good creators to make it appeal to others. Or fall into another desperate situation in real life like another brutal World War.


As I end, let me say, it may also have to do with what country we're from. Users in the comfy US may be creating more dark characters then say, users from a country like Nigeria, where things are absolutely horrid. People there would really lean towards characters of hope.

 

[amdreams]

If I may put my two cents in here, personally, I believe most people gravitate toward a dark, brooding character with a twisted past for generally the same reason. It's popular. It's just popular.


Now, I don't think most people do it while conscious that it's popular but I believe that people are all too easily influenced by the things they see. Right now, the media is pumping out dark stories like chickens with eggs. From movies to tv shows, and from books to comics. Even manga and anime. We're surrounded by tales of the dark hero with the tragic past desperately clinging to a goal or something. And people just love it. I have no idea why. I mean I love a dark, twisted story and I don't even know why. Maybe it's like Masquerade said and it's shown to be exciting, but for some reason or another, people are drawn to it. Or at least more than the plucky hero trying to spread hope and rainbows to the world. There are many exceptions of course, but this is what I've generally seen.


And well, from what I can tell, authors are greatly influenced by the things they like and the things they see. From their stories to their characters and even their writing styles. I myself have evolved over the years by taking influence from those around me. My art is influenced by artists I like. My writing is influenced by the people I roleplay with. And my stories and characters are greatly influenced by what music or other media I'm obsessing over at the time.


Now from my experience, generally, when someone pops in some dark character in a roleplay, other characters trend to be drawn to them. It's almost like some sort of game. Everyone wants to be the one to break the shell of the brooding guy and thaw that frozen heart. Perhaps it's because if this happens in the movies, that would be an accomplishment that deemed you more special than the others.


I mean, I have a fairly dark character (though she's more eternally angry than brooding) and when I used to play her in the past on different sites, she was pretty much treated like a trophy. People wouldn't leave her alone, constantly trying to be her friend or love interest (ironically, they were all using methods that made her hate them more). It got to the point where people kept asking me to give them "cheats" on how to win favor with her.


Anyway, back to the subject at hand, I think that we see these characters being popular and perhaps unconsciously want people to like our characters as much so we create more of the brooding characters to get the same amount of attention. I even see roleplays more geared toward some form of dark past, even if it's something as simple as just hiding your true self because otherwise people would shun you. And the more we see of it, the more we replicate it which then turns into just about everyone doing it.


Personally, I do like reading about dark pasts as long as there is some variety to it and I can easily see how it shaped their general characters. It does get pretty annoying though when you get that emo character constantly doing the "pity me" dance though. Even worse when you have multiple of those characters and they're having a showdown and just adding more "tragedy" into their backstories to see which one has the worse past.


Of course, this is all my own theory with nothing really to back it up. So it can just be disregarded I guess.

 

[simj26]

Non-sequiteur, but

emo character constantly doing the "pity me" dance

I LOVE IT. Stealing this.


EDIT: Second post


In any case, damn, you guys are on the ball with these replies. All good views, and I ain't gonna disregard none of them. I'm gonna take all of them and just keep them in mind when I see more unhappy characters. Who knows, maybe one day, I'll be playing the cheerful character hounding your unhappy one, trying to bring rainbows and sunshine!

 

[flaav]

the loneliness of ones own pains, suggests something more for eternity, doesn't it?


----


oh woops, more than just one page. Sozry...


Think about it.

 

[Zidlijan]

True, humans grow up with a vision of the world and their own vision of how it works


and slowly grow up to make their own decitions about them (pardon bad spelling). In


fact it's very unrealistic when a character simply decides "oh tHE WORLD SUCKS!!"


only because of things of their past. Yes, your past may be bad but it has no effect in the


near or far off future, in fact there are a lot of normal things and mundane things that


tend to slowly heal old wounds.


Let's take the rape victims, rape is a VERY serious matter and is often poorly handled


by some of the unexperienced writers unless they are portraying their experience and


the way they live/cope with it. The reason certain character (let's call it Hal) acts like


an ass is because they were raped. Hal thinks no one is worth it, or that everyone is


out there to get them and hurt them and worse, or they're an absolute apathetic person


that doesn't care about anyone ot anything, in fact, they are super cold and bold and a


bit of a butt. Why? oh they were raped. No.


Rape and molestation come with very serious consequences for the victims and it always


works differently depending on the person, some outgrow it and are casual about it and


actually open minded, loving and supportive. Some grow severe ptsd and become very


codependent and even abusive or worst, maybe developing other mental illnesses. Or even


some become rapists themselves in the future, everyone reacts different because that's the


way humanity works, the human psychology of cause and effect is very deep and complex


and often overlooked for the sake of "oh because of their past".


TLR: A horrible past means nothing if the character is a shallow king/queen/overlord of the ice


and buttness and other things. Personal opinion (i keep saying this but i don't want to fight).

 

[Gilzar]

You ask a very good question, and while someone may have ready said this because I haven't read everyone else's response.


I'm going to be short and to the point. People make characters with tragic backstory because they are more "hero' material. It's more enjoyable playing a character whose actually gone through and has to overcome something than just that normal character.

 

[Jabroni]

You want honesty? Life isn't fair. You can take a tall, "beautiful" human being with few imperfections and match him up side by side with someone who just didn't win the jackpot of genes. That's just the nature part. As you may very well know, the world we live in isn't all that ideal. War, poverty, hunger, disease, disasters...These themes are inherent in human history. While I can skirt over those issues and develop what I perceive to be a level-headed, "every day" person, the lingering notion is that I'm leaving something out. What that is is up for debate, but I suppose it's the "human element". What makes your character human, you know?