Contemplating

[Prince Inigo]

Our characters are in Shibuya.

If you don't know Shibuya, think about the Las Vegas Strip. There just seems to be people walking around, never stopping, intersecting each other. They're people that we don't know; they're just pedestrians on the road to whatever they want to go.

Do you ever think about when you make an app, what you are really doing? Are you giving birth to a character? Are you plucking them out of your head and putting them randomly in a sector?

For me, I sometimes think they are in Shibuya: They were always there, but they didn't have the spotlight.

Could you say that they are millions of Mirabelles in each District, then? Yes. Could you say that all of them exist? Yes. Could you say that they had equal opportunities? No. Why? Because only one got the spotlight, and that was by me.

Think about it further. Why is the application here set up as it is? Appearance, Personality, and then History? If you never thought about it, then here:

In Shibuya (or the Strip), you see who they are, but they are just shells. Hardly do they do anything for their Personality or History except for walking. You see how they dress, how they walk, and more, but there isn't anything below the skin that you see. (Hence why you don't know if they have disabilities, until you get to know their History or Personality). This is why Appearance is first. As they are put under the spotlight, all you see if their face, clothes, and physical behaviors.

In Shibuya, if you step up to them, you then see their traits. You might make them crack a smile, or they are just so distant and detached that they shove you away. Hardly do they just spill out their past unless they know your personality, as well. After you get past seeing who they are, you then see who they are. Who they are inside. This is why Personality is second. When you establish their face and their outside looks, you then get deeper into their Personality.

In Shibuya, if you get to know them, you then see their past and their aspirations. Because they trust you enough (judged by Personality), they will tell you more about themselves. They will say what happened when they were younger, what they want to happen when they get older, and what is happening currently. After all, you don't want to tell a stranger your past loves, do you? You'd rather establish a bond first. History sharing is a very important link in a bond, and this is why History is third and last of the major sections in this RP's app.

Then how does this explain the Other Info and Basic Info? In the Basic Info, of course, you state your name, age, and that kind of stuff. (Not really gender, unless it's hard to tell if you are a male or female). Do you really get their Personality from this kind of information? Not really. Perhaps you note how they say their words, how friendly they are to you, but it's not the deepest parts of Personality we get out of this. History? No, not really. The only exception should be Appearance; but, because it is a major section, it goes after Basic Info, grouped along with Personality and History.

So how about Other Info? It's not necessary; it's extraneous and sometimes negligible. Do we really need to know their favorite color to love them as a person? Probably not. In my opinion, this is why it is last of all the major things.

So, sometimes when I think about NPCs and new characters in my head, I think of them not as babies I'm giving birth to, literary-speaking, but people in Shibuya.

There were always there; they just didn't have the spotlight yet.

They were walking in my mind; just I wasn't concentrating.

I see them, but I don't see them.

And they are negligible pieces of imagination. For they are just people walking in Shibuya.

[Jasik]

Wow. I've never thought about it like that. That's a really interesting way to look at character creation.

[WT]

Monday, I've said before that you're brilliant, right? Pretty sure I have. If not, well, you are. That was fascinating. o.o