I always start with very basic premise, and build up the character and the backstory based on experiences, interactions etc. in the actual game. This is why people in my factions don't "skip" ranks in RP - start from the bottom, build your way up while building up the character's story through experiences and interactions.
Think movies where the protagonist is often coming in from the academy, after being recruited to the pirate world, or one that has lost his memory, so the audience gets to explore and develop with them, as opposed to just being a pre-set set in stone NPC without development and unearned attributes.
Even e.g. on Caps I'd have the big boss be a faceless CO, while "my" character is a lower level officer not making big decisions - and then you build them up through experiences, get attached to their story that progresses organically
(07-24-2025, 01:42 AM)TheSauron Wrote: What I find helps me personally with some of the awkwardness is treating it like writing, not acting. Rather than impersonate someone I am writing about someone. I never really make myself the character, just act based on the best "what would they do" kinda guess. It's a bit vague, I suppose, but I find that little bit of distance helps a ton in easing into a character, particularly one less aligned with my iRL self (different race/gender/ideology/etc) or in an unfamiliar setting/situation.
Conversely, I personally believe that using some part of you however small, to write a character is quite the benefit, actually. It provides a base for inspiration and personality and is far easier than trying to profile something or someone that's entirely separate from you, and it assists with developing a story out of it should you choose to. Walk before you run and all that. Could be an event that shaped you, a past detail you're not proud of, or maybe something you are. Somebody you met, a hobby etc. Besides that, inspirations from things or people you enjoy is also a big help, just be careful with how much you take from it.
As for getting into character...I've always had a big imagination so luckily it's been pretty easy for me to escape the real world and immerse myself in something that isn't mine, or me. Freelancer was actually somewhat of a catalyst for that when I got into it as a young'un. Space was always very cool to me. I was a hell of a daydreamer growing up (still am, even at age 30) and would always create scenarios in my head which were always inspired by games I was playing at the time, so putting that to some practical use via RP is fortunately quite easy for me. Certainly no expert though as I almost never write things down as a permanent note and therefore head-canon tends to forget details here and there.
I usually get my ideas by just taking showers. If I'm motivated enough to pursue what I have been thinking of, I type it down as soon as I possibly can and hope it sticks. But yeah, for me, it's either just "hey wouldn't it be cool if x did this thing" and I just try to roll with it from there, or me getting a sudden spur of motivation by consuming recent media, mainly other video games, and mimicking the writing style or the topics to the best of my abilities.
As for how I actually get into the character(s) I just made up... well, I usually try a light hearted trope - such as, "Cardamine tripping Lane Hacker that sometimes speaks in vague internet shitposts and humorous references", or "Liberty Gunboat trainee instructor", or even "Totally Not Klaes Ashford From The Expanse", or "Italian person". These are all things I can understand, and I make an estimated guess over how they would feel in some particular situations, and thus, I can get into character easily.
What I can recommend is thinking about what your character thinks and feels - be descriptive! Make your character yap a lot, make your character show off what they are like and what they've gone through and how they circumvent their problems. Just don't be scared, and be confident in what you're doing. Let the world know about your character, just don't forget about where you started from!
I've been inspired by a lot of great media and significantly better roleplayers who came before me. It's also just an evolving practice of mapping out what sort of person your character is and charting all the little things. For example, I can tell you that Damien likes blueberry soda, hates smokers, his favorite season is winter, his favorite colors is blue, he's a big horror movie fan, and is really good at math.
Slowly develop all the little ingredients which once assembled make a person.
On indefinite hiatus because the current state of gameplay sucks - ping me over discord if replies are needed
I have three tics and a set of goals pretending to be a complete human being. I kind of completely suck at anything long-form, so in the interest of not inflicting mediocrity on everyone else, I stick to borderline one-shot characters who just keep coming back.
Have you ever had to write a paper on your favorite movie character in school? Basically, yeah. That. But you are just making it up on the fly.
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