Not much to say, so I won't bother with the front paging nonsense, as this is largely for anyone who's weird enough to wonder if I'm still alive. Or if the RPG thinger is, in any case.
i worked out a Phantom-Brave style "keep the pointer in the ellipse" deal for the battle system, and made some action icons so that if I ever feel like sinking a few minutes into it at random again I can get the bare bones of battle started (finally). It's a bit pointless without anywhere to test it, so expect some of the ugliest early version art ever seen on the internet because if I want to make crap work *I just want to make crap work,* and have determined I can make it pretty later.Also there's a new WIP song on my Newgrounds, which I can't be bothered to link to because it's a WIP and I'm lazy to boot.For non-RPG stuff: finalizing some stuff for the Redux print version and working on Matt Matter slowly but surely for all you non-furries out there.I believe that is all. Hopefully soon I'll have something a smidgen more substancial. Meanwhile, go play DeathSpank, it's awesome.
YOU'RE ALIVE :D
It dawned on me you were probably kidding a bit after I posted it, but I've had enough serious pitches of the argument from people that I went the route of "better safe than sorry."
JOIN THE DARK SIDE ZARON
Make sure your characters don't all think like you do. Else you have a very boring story. Not many people care to get in the author's mind; they want to find out what his mind has created and see if it entertains them.
I don't necessarily think anthropomorphic characters are a bad thing. Like Cyrus said, look at Star Fox. Look at games like Sly Cooper, Blinx, Donkey Kong. I honestly can't get into a lot of human characters because (from bad storytellers anyway) they're all the same. But the problem with animal characters is that Disney's done all of them five times.Now if to you, anthropomorphism is a fetish, then people might question your reasoning. Otherwise, they can be a good representation of the character without having to take the time to get to know him.Technically, writers will form characters out of parts of themselves, so to some extent they will all think like me, but only so far within reason. The one blatantly modeled after me, Sam, yes, it's basically meant to be me if I'd had a very different upbrining, but on the other side of things is J, the spaztard, and Hiaté, the conservative mild-mannered bashful girl.
Oh, and Hickory. He sells poo.I suppose my point is, characters will all think like the writer, even if the writer develops schizophrenia in the process so that he can think like his characters. C:PUMPKINS
Developing schizophrenia isn't a bad idea, really. You'll be the greatest writer of all time, despite being called crazy.
Anyway, let me use my own characters as a reference. My protagonist, for example, is a braver, more forward version of me. I've got a character with a good sense of humor, a rather shy one, a demanding, feminist one, and an abused kid who doesn't know how to handle things.In a way (and I'm talking more about minor details), the characters are all like me. But the problem I'm facing is that they're too alike, and this makes readers/players less able to bond with them, which makes for a less interesting story.So I came up with someone who stands out a bit:, a secret, cunning, and tomboyish girl, who is absolutely nothing like me. But the problem I have with her is getting how she thinks. So despite my attempts to present my argument, I agree with you there. It is hard to get into the mind of a character if they don't share similarities with you.But it's a real skill to be able to create (interesting) characters that bear no resemblance to you or anyone you know, though, you'll probably spend hours or even days on that character alone, and if you're like me, pick them as your favorite.I love storytelling and writing. I could rant all day about this stuff.YIFF!
Actually, no, this one's not a bitch to the protagonist. On the contrary, she's rather helpful. But remember that in writing, there are several archetypes. The shy, reserved girl is overdone as much as the tough brave leader. Archetypes are typically used for more static characters who don't need to be developed much.
And no, this one isn't an archetype.