Give them a good Motivation for what they're doin', give them a large personality (or a simple, non-schizofrenic one), and if they're Female, DO NOT HAVE THEM TALK ABOUT MEN ALL THE TIME.
Escapists: What makes a person/character "deep"?
- Thread starter Charisma
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A character arc, they should end the story as a different person, having changed through what they experienced, whether for better or worse.
The character should also react to situations in a way that suits their character, not in a way that the plot says they should, and their characteristics should be in some way derived from their backstory.
And characters should have several characteristics, not just a unique appearance and one defining characteristic:
He is well built, and serious, is not a deep character.
He is well built, a mercenary, very cocky and confident, has learnt to rely on only himself, and thus does not take orders well, he can be a sociable person, but not when he's working, as he removes business and pleasure from each other as a mechanism to cope with what he does.
The character should also react to situations in a way that suits their character, not in a way that the plot says they should, and their characteristics should be in some way derived from their backstory.
And characters should have several characteristics, not just a unique appearance and one defining characteristic:
He is well built, and serious, is not a deep character.
He is well built, a mercenary, very cocky and confident, has learnt to rely on only himself, and thus does not take orders well, he can be a sociable person, but not when he's working, as he removes business and pleasure from each other as a mechanism to cope with what he does.
Several combinations things--usually things that aren't covered by your typical trope templates. Flaws and ambitions are usually mistreated things in bad characters. You know those Saturday morning cartoon villains that are out to take over the world? Have you ever stopped to ask why? Is that really what they want? Why do they want that? What do they hope to accomplish from it? The way you answer those questions can define a character and their purpose quite clearly and uniquely.Charisma said:
Also, making them out to be the sum of the events of their past can be very satisfying to the audience. For example, say you've got some enigmatic character who refuses to talk about their past, and they've got some strange quirks, fixations, or even fears. Then when you finally reveal their past and how it connects to the present, the audience has the opportunity to recall things they've done and see how this new piece of the character's puzzle fills in the gaps. There's nothing more satisfying for an audience than that moment where just one oddly-shaped puzzle piece makes connections and explains things that transcend what they expected.
I once read a quartet of books where one unusual thing that should have been questioned was introduced in the first book, but the characters didn't think much of it, so I didn't either. I went through all of the books without thinking twice about the thing, and then at the very end of the last book, the identity and purpose of that thing was revealed, and it changed everything about every event that occurred with that single thing.
I could think back to events involving that thing in the very first book--things that I had just passed off as "fantasy logic"--and I could see what was really going on. It all just made perfect sense. So much so in fact, that I'm going to reread the quartet soon, just so that I can go through the series with that piece of knowledge and catch the nuances I just let slide before.
Well, I hope that helps
Oh, and if you're looking for unique traits or quirks to give your characters for a story of your own, look no further than the people around you. Just go to the supermarket sometime or ride the bus and look at everyone around you. Look at the broad range of emotions and ways they are handling the situation, and be on the look out for little physical quirks that could have a story behind them. Or even things about your friends, like quirks or sides of them you've never seen before. I suggest keeping some sort of notebook--whether a physical one or just notes in your cell phone. Write these down as soon as you see them. You wouldn't believe how much this comes in handy in the creative process
And why not? Are female characters supposed to just act like men don't exist? That's the fastest way to make a two-dimensional character, like those 18-year-old kids cartoon characters that don't seem to know anything about sex. The best way to make a good character is to think of them as real people. Believe in them. Put yourself in their head. Give them a set of parameters and beliefs, prejudices and opinions. And the whole way through the process, ask why. Why are they like that? Is it something in their past? Were they raised that way? Are they rebelling? Are they afraid? Why is that? Are they thinking rationally about it? Why or why not?dylanmc12 said:
We females know that men exist, and we each have our own opinions on that. And not all men are created equal, either. Some men are friendly, some are jerks. Some are polite, some are pigs. What you were referring to was probably those stereotypical boy-crazy girls, right? Well, if properly set up, that could actually be a very compelling character. You just have to ask the right questions.
Why can't she stop thinking about men? Her sister died from an illness, and on her deathbed told her that she wants her to find love and be happy. So now her only purpose for waking up is to keep that last promise to her sister. But in her blind rush for love, she's forgotten the other half of that promise--be happy. She's using that last promise to keep her sister alive in her, but at the same time she's stopped living. And she never follows through with the relationships, as putting that promise to rest would symbolically mean putting her sister to rest.
When making characters and stories, nothing should be off the table. With the nearly endless library of stories and characters that have already been written, you need every weapon in your arsenal that you can carry. Don't dismiss every trope or stereotype that comes up. They might just be diamonds in the rough that lead you to that one, great epiphany that pulls it all together
And double post, because two medium sized walls of text are easier to read than one gigantic one.
I was wodnering this the other day myself and I`m going to be honest. Depth doesn`t matter as much to me as liking the character.
As for what makes someone `deep` I haven`t a clue. Complexity, perhaps.
As for what makes someone `deep` I haven`t a clue. Complexity, perhaps.
It's not having a Lack of Personality or a Character bein' an absoloute dipshit. No-matter what there's always going to be a Scener where 2 of the Female characters tlak aboLilani said:And why not? Are female characters supposed to just act like men don't exist? That's the fastest way to make a two-dimensional character, like those 18-year-old kids cartoon characters that don't seem to know anything about sex. The best way to make a good character is to think of them as real people. Believe in them. Put yourself in their head. Give them a set of parameters and beliefs, prejudices and opinions. And the whole way through the process, ask why. Why are they like that? Is it something in their past? Were they raised that way? Are they rebelling? Are they afraid? Why is that? Are they thinking rationally about it? Why or why not?dylanmc12 said:
We females know that men exist, and we each have our own opinions on that. And not all men are created equal, either. Some men are friendly, some are jerks. Some are polite, some are pigs. What you were referring to was probably those stereotypical boy-crazy girls, right? Well, if properly set up, that could actually be a very compelling character. You just have to ask the right questions.
Why can't she stop thinking about men? Her sister died from an illness, and on her deathbed told her that she wants her to find love and be happy. So now her only purpose for waking up is to keep that last promise to her sister. But in her blind rush for love, she's forgotten the other half of that promise--be happy. She's using that last promise to keep her sister alive in her, but at the same time she's stopped living. And she never follows through with the relationships, as putting that promise to rest would symbolically mean putting her sister to rest.
When making characters and stories, nothing should be off the table. With the nearly endless library of stories and characters that have already been written, you need every weapon in your arsenal that you can carry. Don't dismiss every trope or stereotype that comes up. They might just be diamonds in the rough that lead you to that one, great epiphany that pulls it all together
And double post, because two medium sized walls of text are easier to read than one gigantic one.
It's not them being Stereotypical or not Interesting at all I have a problem with, it's jsut that in almost every Drama Movie there's always a scene where the 2 Woman talk about nothing but MEN. I just can't stand it. You make some good points though, but I just simply can't stand the Clique'd and Stereotypical "Man Obsessed" Love interest.Lilani said:And why not? Are female characters supposed to just act like men don't exist? That's the fastest way to make a two-dimensional character, like those 18-year-old kids cartoon characters that don't seem to know anything about sex. The best way to make a good character is to think of them as real people. Believe in them. Put yourself in their head. Give them a set of parameters and beliefs, prejudices and opinions. And the whole way through the process, ask why. Why are they like that? Is it something in their past? Were they raised that way? Are they rebelling? Are they afraid? Why is that? Are they thinking rationally about it? Why or why not?dylanmc12 said:
We females know that men exist, and we each have our own opinions on that. And not all men are created equal, either. Some men are friendly, some are jerks. Some are polite, some are pigs. What you were referring to was probably those stereotypical boy-crazy girls, right? Well, if properly set up, that could actually be a very compelling character. You just have to ask the right questions.
Why can't she stop thinking about men? Her sister died from an illness, and on her deathbed told her that she wants her to find love and be happy. So now her only purpose for waking up is to keep that last promise to her sister. But in her blind rush for love, she's forgotten the other half of that promise--be happy. She's using that last promise to keep her sister alive in her, but at the same time she's stopped living. And she never follows through with the relationships, as putting that promise to rest would symbolically mean putting her sister to rest.
When making characters and stories, nothing should be off the table. With the nearly endless library of stories and characters that have already been written, you need every weapon in your arsenal that you can carry. Don't dismiss every trope or stereotype that comes up. They might just be diamonds in the rough that lead you to that one, great epiphany that pulls it all together
And double post, because two medium sized walls of text are easier to read than one gigantic one.
That's only being realistic. As a woman, I know for a fact that we sometimes do sit down and just talk about guys for a bit. It just happens sometimes, even to those of us who aren't "boy crazy." It's more or less just sharing what's on our minds, not just talking about guys for the sake of talking about guys. Love is a major thing in anyone's life, and to not explore that facet of a character at least once is just downright neglectful.dylanmc12 said:
Of course, most women don't do it all the time, and when they do it just makes them into that boy-crazy floozie with no personality. But to automatically tune out just because the women stop to talk about guys for a minute just means you're cheating yourself out of learning more about the character. Not all female characters are created equal, and neither are all conversations about guys. Try to read between the lines. If you close your mind to certain situations or characters, then all you're really is shutting out character development and plot in a story you might otherwise have come to enjoy.
All I'm saying is keep your mind open. Yeah, there are a lot of boy-crazy dipshit female characters out there, but always leave yourself room to be surprised. I know I've been pleasantly surprised by character traits I thought I would detest in the past.
One of the major things that gives characters depth in my opinion is them actually being able to understand the effects of their actions (they don't have to apologize or anything like that, but it helps if they're aware that they just ruined someone's life). Think about it: if you're watching a movie where the main character only exists to gun down every single person who gets in his way, you won't exactly feel very connected.
Another thing that makes characters deep is a character's ability to show selfishness, but still be reasonable about getting what they want. Superman's pretty flat because he never just sleeps in for once while somebody new decides to burn down the world. On the opposite end, supervillains also tend to be flat because if they want something their first option usually involves killing or enslaving people.
Another thing that makes characters deep is a character's ability to show selfishness, but still be reasonable about getting what they want. Superman's pretty flat because he never just sleeps in for once while somebody new decides to burn down the world. On the opposite end, supervillains also tend to be flat because if they want something their first option usually involves killing or enslaving people.
Complexity is what makes a character truly deep. You can't pin it down to one defining element like "suffering" or "pain" because not every character who has those elements necessarily has any depth. You also risk entering the world of cliches, which is literally the antithesis of depth.
Something where you can say "yeah, I can imagine an actual human doing that in those circumstances" is generally a good start.
"Depth" to me equals "plausible personality", and it's then the job of the story to provide the events - big and small - which allows that personality to show and shine.
The most interesting stuff arise when extraordinary situations bring out ordinary human reactions to them. But a character can't really be deep on its own, or at least its depth can't be conveyed without a proper storyline to spotlight it. So deep characterization is a combination of a well written (i.e. believable) character in a well written (i.e. interesting) scenario.
"Depth" to me equals "plausible personality", and it's then the job of the story to provide the events - big and small - which allows that personality to show and shine.
The most interesting stuff arise when extraordinary situations bring out ordinary human reactions to them. But a character can't really be deep on its own, or at least its depth can't be conveyed without a proper storyline to spotlight it. So deep characterization is a combination of a well written (i.e. believable) character in a well written (i.e. interesting) scenario.
A game character, specifically, is deep when he or she can hold a conversation with you for 5 minutes straight and express a genuine opinion/idea that is anything more than retardedly derp. So for example, Cass from Fallout New Vegas is deep because she can discuss with you at length why the legion is in some ways BETTER for the caravan business than the NCR. interesting, genuine, not retarded. Check, check aaand check. What can I say, I have low expectations.
But I have a distinct feeling like I'll be alone in this....
But I have a distinct feeling like I'll be alone in this....
You sir, deserve a cookie!SilentCom said:Sounds like Batman, the part about him having everything he wanted and having both his parents killed. It is also noted that he may have psychiatric problems after the death of his parents. Yep, Batman is pretty coolMazza35 said: