RavenReverend
12-04-2008, 04:31 PM
I'm a total comic book fan girl. Most people who know me know this. Considering we've been talking about WoW cliches that drive people batty, I've noticed a few things that I disagree with and I've noticed a lot I -do- agree with. Also being a bit of an "artist", and I use the presumptious word rather lightly, I've turned to Stan Lee frequently when it comes to keeping my anti-heroes and heroes interesting to play. I draw on his expertise alot, so I figured why not post some of the legend's advice.
So, from the article on Game Spy:
"What To Do, What to Avoid
At some point, everyone who creates anything is staring at a blank page. Soon that space will be occupied by a hero. How do you make one that stands the test of time? Lee says you have to "make the audience care," and that's accomplished by giving the character some depth. Characters should have hang-ups, worries, problems, issues, flaws... stuff in his or her closet. Heroes need more than one side if they're to stick.
Stan Lee speaks about character
Asked what people should avoid when creating heroes, his answer was a no-brainer: Don't be dull. He elaborated, stressing that you always have to keep people something new, especially when it comes to action. Here he brought up action movies: Fight scenes have changed dramatically over time. It used to be you'd see fist-fights. Then there was a big push to do more kicking and stunts. Then you had a watershed like The Matrix, or Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, where people hovered in the air or ran up walls. People hunger for something new, so you've got to keep pushing the envelope of action and how you depict it.
At this point he mentioned that it helps to be a very violent psychopath. That's good advice all around, in our opinion.
Creating memorable villains is the same as creating heroes. You need to make them interesting, obviously. More importantly, you need to motivate them, and you need to make their end goal new and different. He paused to say that one of his all-time favorite villains that he created was Dr. Doom. He liked Dr. Doom because he was the King of his own country and had Diplomatic Immunity in the 'States, a concept that Lee just loved. He also pointed out that you can get a ticket for littering, or a ticket for jaywalking, but it's not a crime to want to rule the world...
A final question asked if Lee comes up with totally different superhero origin stories nowadays thanks to the different technology that fills the world we live in. Lee answered that he doesn't really think that way, and still creates characters as he did back in his old studio: he tries to find a way to create an original character that's just "a little different" than what people have seen before, a little different than what they expect. He tries to surround that hero or villain with interesting characters that play off of his or her personality. And from there, he doesn't think about technology: he thinks about the medium he's trying to create for. "
Here's the actual link: http://www.gamespy.com/articles/584/584675p2.html
My point I guess here is that in RP, it really doesn't MATTER how original your character is. Dynamic, ever-changing, flawed somehow...That's what drives the character to become interesting. To draw attention.
Even in James Bond you notice that there is something wrong mentally with him. He can't commit to a "normal life" and the fear of associating himself too close with someone I think drives him to put himself into more and more lifethreatening situations, as well as his flagrant disregard of socially acceptable relationship practice. His villains are usually physically flawed, they have some motivation to do the things they do.
To create an immortal story you must have conflict. Either this comes from within or from something in the game. The drives of the character, the issues resulting from current setting situations, that's what causes them to change.
In the game, Arthas was once a hero. Driven by his noble blood, his compassion for the people, his anger turned to rage and hatred and motivated him to do the evil things he did. The Lich King, is in essence, a monster created by his surroundings. That's what makes him such an awesome character. His virtues became his flaws, and the damage he carries in his psyche drives him to exacerbate those same flaws and his paradigm to shift.
This blather is brought to you by the letter C and the number three. For the cups of coffee I've had in the last hour.
So, from the article on Game Spy:
"What To Do, What to Avoid
At some point, everyone who creates anything is staring at a blank page. Soon that space will be occupied by a hero. How do you make one that stands the test of time? Lee says you have to "make the audience care," and that's accomplished by giving the character some depth. Characters should have hang-ups, worries, problems, issues, flaws... stuff in his or her closet. Heroes need more than one side if they're to stick.
Stan Lee speaks about character
Asked what people should avoid when creating heroes, his answer was a no-brainer: Don't be dull. He elaborated, stressing that you always have to keep people something new, especially when it comes to action. Here he brought up action movies: Fight scenes have changed dramatically over time. It used to be you'd see fist-fights. Then there was a big push to do more kicking and stunts. Then you had a watershed like The Matrix, or Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, where people hovered in the air or ran up walls. People hunger for something new, so you've got to keep pushing the envelope of action and how you depict it.
At this point he mentioned that it helps to be a very violent psychopath. That's good advice all around, in our opinion.
Creating memorable villains is the same as creating heroes. You need to make them interesting, obviously. More importantly, you need to motivate them, and you need to make their end goal new and different. He paused to say that one of his all-time favorite villains that he created was Dr. Doom. He liked Dr. Doom because he was the King of his own country and had Diplomatic Immunity in the 'States, a concept that Lee just loved. He also pointed out that you can get a ticket for littering, or a ticket for jaywalking, but it's not a crime to want to rule the world...
A final question asked if Lee comes up with totally different superhero origin stories nowadays thanks to the different technology that fills the world we live in. Lee answered that he doesn't really think that way, and still creates characters as he did back in his old studio: he tries to find a way to create an original character that's just "a little different" than what people have seen before, a little different than what they expect. He tries to surround that hero or villain with interesting characters that play off of his or her personality. And from there, he doesn't think about technology: he thinks about the medium he's trying to create for. "
Here's the actual link: http://www.gamespy.com/articles/584/584675p2.html
My point I guess here is that in RP, it really doesn't MATTER how original your character is. Dynamic, ever-changing, flawed somehow...That's what drives the character to become interesting. To draw attention.
Even in James Bond you notice that there is something wrong mentally with him. He can't commit to a "normal life" and the fear of associating himself too close with someone I think drives him to put himself into more and more lifethreatening situations, as well as his flagrant disregard of socially acceptable relationship practice. His villains are usually physically flawed, they have some motivation to do the things they do.
To create an immortal story you must have conflict. Either this comes from within or from something in the game. The drives of the character, the issues resulting from current setting situations, that's what causes them to change.
In the game, Arthas was once a hero. Driven by his noble blood, his compassion for the people, his anger turned to rage and hatred and motivated him to do the evil things he did. The Lich King, is in essence, a monster created by his surroundings. That's what makes him such an awesome character. His virtues became his flaws, and the damage he carries in his psyche drives him to exacerbate those same flaws and his paradigm to shift.
This blather is brought to you by the letter C and the number three. For the cups of coffee I've had in the last hour.