How To Make Interesting Characters - HOLY SHIZZ AN UPDATE

[Moosetroop11]

You know what, I'm actually thinking about my characters and how adding a few moments here and there could help convey their personalities better by reading some of your posts. There's some good, common sense tips here ^.^

[Rikou]

Ok, you said you wanted characters, so here are the mains of my Wild Arms 2 parody RPG (Fans of the game will notice that these characters are similar to it's characters; that's why it's a parody!):

Main Party Characters;
Alex Backstrom: A 18-year-old teen with a gentle demeanor, he does his best as a ranger (type of local protection force) to help others. However, he constantly questions what makes a hero, well, a hero. He has a strange innate fighting ability, and his combat skills betray his personality. Even odder, he has a mysterious being inside of him that tries to make him kill anything and everything in very gory ways (Though he harnesses the being's power later on to transform into a 'hyper form' of sorts). He has a close friend in a young girl, Rena Thodge, at his home town of Perol. He was raised within a normal family, until at the age of 12, when his family was murdered by Mercs for a mysterious reason.

Chuiko Sonnet: A 15-year-old girl with a happy-go-lucky attitude, she dictates the mood of the party. Her older brother, known only as Garland, was a great magician, and in fact better than her at everything. While she has the ability to surpass her brother, she's abit too clumsy to harness her true magic capabilities, and suffers for a major lack of self-confidence. Even worse, she's like a bad-luck charm to the party, and even herself. Despite all that, however, she never let's anything deter her, and keeps on goin'! She is the youngest of the legendary Sonnet family, who have been strong magicians for generations.

Hugo Whalen: A 26-year-old man with a cold and calculating mood, he is the strategist and powerhouse of the party. 5 years prior to the beginning of the main story, Hugo was arrested by his fellow comrades because he had been framed for killing the squad captain, and his own best friend. Fighting for years, Hugo had to've been one of the best soldiers alive, and became a war hero. He belives that when there is peace, "heroes" like him would only bring more suffering, so he accepts his fate and becomes a death row inmate. Hugo doesn't hesitate when it comes to violence, and he can at times be sort of a pyromaniac. He thinks of Alex as a hopeless fool hoping to be a hero, and dislike Lilka because she constantly gets them into trouble. His upraising is unknown, but he claims that it was nothing special.

Raziel, Alex's Access Form: A mysterious being, and the very thing that tries to make Alex kill others. He contains immense power, and harnesses the hatred and darkness of those around him to destroy his foes. This is the very being that tried to destroy the planet 1000 years ago (storywise), and here, he's the main villian, but for now, Alex has full control over him (which pisses Raziel off to no end). This is kinda like Naruto and the Kyuubi (Nine-Tailed Fox), but whatever...

Major Side Characters;
Ricardo Dumont: A mysterious man who supports Alex & co. on their journey, he provides help (As well as comedy and perverted jokes). He doesn't look like much, but the heroes soon find out he's only part of a much bigger story...

--

That's all for now! Ricardo needs to be thought on alittle more, though..
This isn't completely accurate to Wild Arms 2, since I'm only about 6% through, but it's good enough for now, right? And besides; this way, it won't just be a WA2 clone, now will it? I kinda started getting lazy near the end of Hugo's bio.. *gets punched*  Damn critics...

[DragonBlaze]

You have a very nice tutorial going here, i'll add it to the recommended tutorials

[Dele]

Changing things now to make my main character seem less blah. Thanks.


PS:   Just got rid of Internet explorer 4 nights ago. To hell with that lol. <3 Firefox. Anyways carry on!

[Phayre]

1. I've been reccomended! HA! *happy singing* Glad I could help poke holes in your characters...... it's all for the greater good, my friends, all for the greater good.
And now..... for my first official Character Poking! Yay! *happy dance with the singing*

I haven't played WIld Arms (yes, I'm sure it's blasphemy..... go play Tales of Destiny, sillies), so I'm not gonna go into that little aspect. But..... here we go on the other stuff....

Alex Backstrom:
Name: Seems like just a random name, sort of doesn't fit with the idea I'm getting from your game. (Isn't the hero of WA Rudy or something like that?) Maybe look up the meaning of WA's hero's name on behindthename.com and do a play off it (like if you were doing an FFX ripoff, go from Tidus to something with a water meaning..... or something....) or try for a connotation involving his struggle. Alexander (I'm assuming that's the full name) is associated with Alexander the Great, is rather common, and means "protector of man". Is this your Alex?
Backstory: Nice backstory and character struggle. I like it muchly (and am interested in your story already, silly me ^^), although I know you just nabbed it for your parody. Well, whatever. Go with it. Make sure to add little things, like family and stuff. I like that he has a logical job other than hero man. How did Raziel get in him? Is this a WA thing I should know about? *is puzzled*
Personality: I like that he has questions about the role of a hero and all..... but try and get past that too. Every RPG hero and his dog has hero insecurity, except for jackasses like avatar man Squall, who just angst all the time. ^^ Add more personal struggles, even past his nasty beastie and all. Nasty beasties are cool, but they probably aren't his only problem. Moving on now.

Chuiko Sonnet:
Name: ....Sonnet??? Chuiko Pain-in-the-arse-to-write-poetry-form? I know RPGs often have last names like that, and maybe it's another WA thing I don't get..... but I don't like it. As for Chuiko.... is that Japanese? Sounds Japanese. I'm not saying you did this, but randomly choosing cool-sounding Japanese names tends to seem out of place. Especially with the last name Sonnet.
Backstory/Personality: I like the familial relationship here. What's this Garland like? He sounds cool. ^^ Dictates the mood of the party..... what does that mean? Is she one of those awful contagious people who spreads sunshine wherever she goes, or does she impose her moods on others forcefully? As far as cliches go, Chuiko is in danger of falling into the cheerful, clumsy heroine type, or the awkward but awesome type, neither of which are fun. Make sure to flesh her and her cool brother out more. ^^

Hugo Whalen:
Name: When I say HUGO, you say GILCHRIST! HUGO! *waits.....* I said, HUGO! *....* Damn. Somebody say Gilchrist and get it..... I'll love you forever......
Anywho..... *is a TOD geek today*
Maybe it's just my own personal connotations, but both Hugo and Whalen seem like names for a very serious old fat guy. (.....Whalen?!) Maybe reconsider, something with a stronger feel to it.
Backstory/Personality: Keep in mind that "pyromaniac" does not mean "Oooooh, fire is pretty; I'm gonna go light a match and stare at it for an hour." That's just weird. As for the whole framed traitor thing...... have you played FFXII? If not, don't, but if yes...... Basch..... you don't want to make another Basch, because the world WILL disown you. If this isn't part of your parody, change it somehow to freshen it up. It's a common idea in games and literature. I also don't understand his reasoning for staying on death row (would they have a death row in this time/place? unless it's recent past, present, or futuristic..... probably not!) Could you expand on this for me?

Raziel:
Name: AWESOME NAME. Can I steal it? Please? *grin* Sounds sort of angelic, like something in Milton. Is it from Milton? Hmmm.
Backstory/Personality: Uhhhh..... I don't have a lot to work with here. I think it would be cool if when Alex is under Raziel's control, he exhibits Raziel's mannerisms and personality occasionally in addition to the "kill stuff" ethic. In my novel, one of the characters created an alternate personality for when he has to kill stuff, and when he goes into it, it's like he's a different person. Alternate personalities are fun to write, but hard to do well.

I'm not gonna touch Ricardo. Not enough there, really. ^^ *punch* Yep, I'm a critic.
Don't take what I said wrong. It's all just opinion, yadayadayada, blahblahblah. Do let me know if I helped you at all, and others are welcome to post until I think of something else to write here.

[Phayre]

Another stirring installment!
Mannerisms are the way your character moves, speaks, reacts, et cetera, at least for my purposes here. They can really give a feel to a character, even if the character has no real significance. It can make an unimportant person memorable. Note: Most examples are corny, as always, but they get the point across, I think.

Let's take a totally incidental made up guy. His name is Gideon Montgomery Jones. Gideon here is the member of an elite class of swordsmen. He's boastful and arrogant, and he hates people who don't respect his prowess.
Fair enough, right? Nah, not really. It bored me just writing that. How can we demonstrate this better? Let's start with speech mannerisms.
To me, Gideon Montgomery Jones sounds like a snobby name, and he seems like a snobby guy. To show that, let's go beyond NPCs going, "Oh, look at that goddamn snob, Gideon, woooooo!" That's lame. Instead, let's make Gideon talk like a snob. For example, Gideon is at the inn. It's full. What does Gideon say to the innkeeper?
1. "But I really wanted a nap..... couldn't you make some room?"
2. "Aw, shucks. I'll go down to Billy's inn, then. Dang."
3. "Kick those idiots down there out, then!"
I think 3.

Another aspect is word choice. Made up person 2, Mimi Draper, is a loud, brash young girl from the backwater village of Ketner. How does she say, "Which way to Muskrat Town? I need to buy some eggs."
1. "I do believe I'm lost. Can you direct me to Muskrat Town? I am in need of eggs, with which I shall bake supremely delicious cookies!"
2. "I needs me some eggs. Which way is, uh, Muskrat Town?"
3. "Like, OMG, where the heck is Muskrat Town? I TOTALLY need eggs."

Is she a hick? Choose 2. Is she more educated than you'd expect? Choose one. Is she a valley girl? Choose 3. It really depends on your character. Not everyone from a backwater village is a hick.

Do keep in mind that my examples are exaggerated. They shouldn't be this pronounced, but they should be noticeable. Comic relief characters can be more exaggerated. Try this little guide:

1. Longer, complex sentences for more educated people.
2. Slang for a young or "cool" person, or outdated slang for a wannabe-hip adult
3. Apostrophes to leave letters out and create an accent ("Oh, look! It's 'arry Potter!". Not to be overused. Play 9, check out Conde Petie. Great example of accent spelling.
4. Use more intricate wording for some characters, but don't just pull out a thesaurus. Use words you really know, both context and meaning.

Movement is hard in RPG Maker, so I'll cover facial expressions. If you're using custom facesets and changing the faces with the character's emotions, be careful. Not everyone gets mad the same way, for example. A tough guy might furrow his eyebrows and grit his teeth, whereas a whiny girl might squeeze her eyes shut and scream. Think about your character's personality while making expressions. Every last one should show their personality, not just their emotions.

Next.......... I dunno.

[A Forgotten Legend]

Bravo!

[drenrin2120]

Very well thought out. This is all very good! Give me ideas for when developing characters, which is one of my weak spots.

[Phayre]

Yay, an update.
All right, so I was thinking as I worked on the story for Ember Sky, about how to create a dark character with a bad attitude and a usually troubled past. You know the type: FFVIII has Squall, FFVII has Vincent, ToD has Leon, KH has Riku..... yeah. You get the picture.
I wanted to have a darker sort of character as a foil to a happier, more carefree character. Thing is.... how does one create such a character without delving into extreme angst?
First, let me explain what I mean by angst. Angst, as most people understand it (not a technical definition), is continual brooding, sulking, and pessimism over something that has no bearing on the current situation. For example:
Mark van Markymark is an orphan. When he was younger, he witnessed the brutal murder of his parents. He then wandered around, alone, for years upon years, building up an intense hatred and bitterness about the world. He joins your party, but everytime the main character mentions anything regarding family, love, or relationships, Mark gets a sad, fangirl-bait look on his face and whispers, "I don't know anything about.... love.... sniff...."
Think about it. You would be very sick of Mark in a matter of minutes.... unless of course you're a screaming fangirl. In which case, go away.

It is perfectly fine for a character to feel and exhibit sadness, despair, bitterness, worry. They're human emotions, and without them, the character would be strangely flat. Thing is, you don't want them to display it all the time. There needs to be some anger, surprise, even *gasp* happiness.

In order to make a truly "badass" brooding type, rather than a simple wishy-washy angstmuffin, you need to first determine the cause of their bitterness et cetera. Maybe they can see the future, and have seen something horrible that they can't stop from happening. Or maybe they are responsible for a horrendous crime, but they are torn between coming forward and facing the penalty or getting away with it while someone else takes the blame. These have both been done.  In order to give the character a darker feel, this incident/circumstance should play a role in their personality. Yes, they can be more low-key, maybe not smile as easily as other characters. Do not, no matter what, refer to their predicament at random intervals. Try not to make everything they say seem so steeped in angst that you could drown in it. For example:
Arla Shang is a battle-scarred ex-soldier. She accidentally shot and killed her best friend, Jack Benimble, who had once taken a bullet to save her. Yeah, that could get pretty angsty. She's with you on your massive spaceship, the Jorgenheimerschnitzelpoof. You ask her where you should go next. Tell me, which seems more like something a real person might say:
"It doesn't matter. Anywhere we go, the past.... the past will always.... follow...."
Or....
"I don't care, okay? I'm busy."
Both could fit her character. The first one, however, is insanely stupid.
More later. I have stuff to do.

[Roland_Deschain]

Hey, Phayre, d'ya mind if I expand on the Badass part of the tutorial? I mean, I make games with said type of hero, so I have a few things you didn't mention...
Nice tutorial, though!

[Phayre]

You can post a description of your character as an example, for those who learn best by example.
Jeez, RD, stop being so dang helpful.
I'm going to continue my little rant now.


A lot of the dark, brooding feel in a character is created by how they speak. Yeah, you're gonna get a brooding sort of feel from a guy in black or whatever, but it'll seem more realistic if he talks "darkly" as well. Try the following:
1. Use ellipses (...) before some things they say to indicate a pause for thought. Don't do this on everything, or else it just seems like evrything the say is "...ANGST", and you don't want that. Also try, but don't use too much, a simple "..." when the person has nothing to say.
2. Use larger, or simply more elegant words to create a brooding poetic type character, but don't make them speak as if they're reciting bad poetry. That's stupid. For example:
"Come dawn, we press on.",
"We're gonna head out in the morning.", or
"When the fair golden orb of fiery rage lifts her crackling chin to the cruel, cold sky, we shall rise like stars of glory and roam like freed pigeons towards our treasured goal.........."
#1, alhtough it uses common words, has an elegant, quiet feel to it, whereas #2 sounds fairly commonplace. #3 sounds like the stuff you hear in high school creative writing classes. Ick, what a horror show. This kind of BS is fine for a parody character. Always think critically about what your character says. Does it suit them? Does it make sense? Do you know anyone at all who would say that?

Another note on the brooding type: pretty boys are not the only people who brood. In fact, they have no more reason to be brood-y and dark than your main heroine, or the crazy old guy who lives in the cupboard of the airship. Brooding prettyboys are all well and good. They're also known as fangirl bait, and having an army of screaming fangirls to do your bidding is never a bad thing. A quick list of "brooding prettyboys", so you can see how common this is if you haven't already caught on (note that this is all ripped from experience with my insane fangirl companions, who glomp anything that angsts)
Draco Malfoy (Harry Potter)
Vincent Valentine (FF7)
Squall the avatar ma--- I mean, Leonhart (FF8)
You'd be surprised at how many teenage girls consider Auron "pretty" (FF10)
Leon Magnus (Tales of Destiny)
Riku [Rikku? Ack.] (Kingdom Hearts)
There's at least one in every anime I've ever seen. You know, the wiry whiny type who spends his time sparking dirty fanfics on the internet.
There are a few "prettyboys" on the list who have earned their book/game/series more screaming fangirls than it deserves. So yes, if you want screaming fangirls, make yourself a brooding prettyboy. (ES has one, mainly by accident. -_-) They will make pictures of him, stick the word "Bishonen" on his face, and claim that they have rightfully caught him and are training him to help them become a Bishie Master. It's scary.

If you're going to have a brooding character, try some other things. The following character types are rarely made darker:
1. The heroine
2. An older guy
3. A little kid
4. Actually, females in general....

Always make sure there's a reason, though. Don't just throw in some darkness.

Other traits of a brooding character commonly include sarcasm, cynicism, apathy, loneliness, and stubbornness. If your character has traits like this, it's fine and dandy. Perhaps use them to show growth? For example:
FFVIII's Squall starts the game being a quiet, nasty SoB. Through his interactions with some brighter, cheerier characters, he retains his core qualities (quiet, somewhat cynical), but becomes a little more outgoing.
Small steps like this are excellent, especially in this type of character, because you don't notice it all the time. Maybe when the person starts their game over, they meet the character again and they say, "Hey, I don't remember him/her like that. Wow, they changed." Or something. Stagnant characters aren't fun at all.

More later.

[Roland_Deschain]

Okay! Alex, my character in Abyss, is a good example of a dark, brooding badass. He's not whiny about his past, although he does have a few evident regrets (I can't say them yet, that's a HUGE spoiler). While his life has not been up to snuff, he does express the different emotions in his own vague way. He expresses happiness with sarcasm, anger with threats, sadness with silence, and most other emotions normally.
He is not, nor does he ever have a reason to be, lonely. He may seem quiet, but that's only because he's planning how best to kill you if you betray him. His major flaw is paranoia, although his quick temper and moderate arrogance do hold him back a bit.
Also, Phayre, keep up the good work!

[Yhtomitsu]

good tutorial many new people coud learn from this

[Phayre]

Everybody loves that bloody name, Alex. Jeez, I don't get it. Why not Alexander or Alexei or something? *sigh*
Anyway....
To counter the mini-tut here on dark characters, here we have a bit on happier characters.
Every story needs a bit of sunshine. Even the darkest, grimmest of stories needs someone who starts out optimistic and innocent, if only as a foil to show how dark things really are. Many of these cheerful charactersnd up being annoying, especially in non-professional games and stories. They're all bouncy-bouncy candy-high, and don't seem to do much else. Can you avoid this? Well, sure.
Your first step is to figure out why your person is so optimistic. Perhaps, as is often the case, they haven't seen as much as your other characters, and thus don't understand how bad things really get. Keep in mind that such an innocent character would be easily scarred, however. In the face of hardship, they would break very easily.
For example:
Happy-go-lucky Misa (what? I don't watch Death Note.... *hides) has never left her happy village of Grapesodaville, until she goes to a private school in Root Beer City (i love soda....). On her way to the city, her party is attacked by bandits. Despite the fact that no one died, one of her guards was hurt. A sight like this would send innocent Misa into hysterics.
Some examples of innocent characters who undergo change:
Terra (FF6)
Aeris (FF7)
Rinoa (FF8.... hey, everybody knows Final Fantasy, it seems)
Dagger (FF9)
Yuna (FFX)
Those are just Final Fantasy examples, but it's a common motif in literature. However, video games tend to make the innocent character female. It's annoying. Males can be innocent too!

On the other hand, a character may be optimistic because they've seen worse. A character who's lived a hard life may be used to hardship and would be able to maintain a facade of happiness. Few people use this in stories, but cheerfulness can be a way to cover up pain.
For example:
Jack McSweeney's family was murdered before his eyes. His village was destroyed, and he was almost killed. He hates talking about the incident, or even thinking about it. Subsequently, he has blocked it out. He still remembers it, but forces himself to be happy, knowing that life could be much worse.

More coming.
Maybe.

[ellie-is]

Awesome job phayre! This tut is one of the best tuts I ever read! Congratulations!