Ben Watts
I Am No One
So recently I had a run in on a forum where characters deaths were the normal. Any given month 2-5 characters would perish and I have to say I quite enjoyed it. Now, granted, the moderation ran a bit differently than it does here and there was also nowhere near the member base as there is here, but at the same time I have to say that the death aspect of it brought a whole new level of intensity and fun writing. Over the next few days I would like to discuss the whole prospect of character deaths with you guys and see what the general feel is.
So to open up this little tangent I want to state the obvious thing here: No one wants their character to die. Absolutely no one, myself included, especially with Ben. Ben is an old... old.... old.... character. I think I first created him around 2005ish? If he died now, especially without my expressed written consent, I would not be happy. That is years worth or work and dedication to a character only to have it slip away on probably what I would consider to be a sub par situation.
At the same time, though, it adds an entirely new element to the game we are playing here. How would things have changed if that safety net was not there? Would some of your characters have done some of the things they attempted in the past if the fear of death was there? Isn't that such an intriguing thought? I know Ben would not have attempted some of the things he did if I knew there was a very real chance he would die. Hell, he made a living scraping by on some very hairy situations, chances are my man would have died when he was a Jedi Knight.
But of course the real question here is: How would this be regulated? Do we rely on the admins to make the decision to axe a character? Oh my god could you imagine some of the disputes that would generate? But, at the same time, who would thrive and who would hate it? Obviously there are characters that are god like, but, even god like characters have to die. How crazy would it be if everyone said "You know what, screw this guy, lets go and kill him." Even the best fighter in the world could not stave off 10-15 force users.
And therein lies another, much bigger, problem: Meta and Power Gaming. Oh yes, everyone loves those words, but most people do not even really understand them. To be brief, Meta Gaming is when you take information gained OOC ( IE I tell you that my character has a weakness and you exploit it in the very next post. ) Where as Power Gaming is when you collude with ( Typically ) a group of people to try and bone someone IC. ( I ask 5 other people to help me go and kill someone because they pissed me off OOC. ) These are very, very, very, loose definitions so don't murder me. The point is, if deaths were the normal, the increase in meta and power gaming would be absurd.
So I think a nice medium here, something I think you should all try, is to create a character that you are not afraid to let die and be very realistic with it. Know your limits and put yourself into situations you know you cannot handle. Go and fight a Sith Lord as a Jedi Padawan and see if you can write yourself out. The thing is, you have to be honest, and if they die they die. The thrill is so exciting, knowing that one mistake in your writing can lead to your characters death. One thing that I love about writing is how it can invoke such strong reactions from the people writing. How I can feel such pain and anguish over a character I created with nothing but my fingertips. It may not feel great, but damn it, you feel. And if you write and do not feel then maybe you are doing something wrong with your character.
Anyways, the floor is open after my little rant, how do you guys feel about Character Deaths? Do you support them? Do you think they are stupid? Is it your decision when your character dies or should it be left up to fate?
Ending disclaimer: I am not in any way trying to promote character deaths on the board. I am just interested in a discussion on the topic.
EDIT: I am pretty sure I accidentally posted this in the wrong sub forum. I meant to put it in the Writers Workshop. Sorry admins.
So to open up this little tangent I want to state the obvious thing here: No one wants their character to die. Absolutely no one, myself included, especially with Ben. Ben is an old... old.... old.... character. I think I first created him around 2005ish? If he died now, especially without my expressed written consent, I would not be happy. That is years worth or work and dedication to a character only to have it slip away on probably what I would consider to be a sub par situation.
At the same time, though, it adds an entirely new element to the game we are playing here. How would things have changed if that safety net was not there? Would some of your characters have done some of the things they attempted in the past if the fear of death was there? Isn't that such an intriguing thought? I know Ben would not have attempted some of the things he did if I knew there was a very real chance he would die. Hell, he made a living scraping by on some very hairy situations, chances are my man would have died when he was a Jedi Knight.
But of course the real question here is: How would this be regulated? Do we rely on the admins to make the decision to axe a character? Oh my god could you imagine some of the disputes that would generate? But, at the same time, who would thrive and who would hate it? Obviously there are characters that are god like, but, even god like characters have to die. How crazy would it be if everyone said "You know what, screw this guy, lets go and kill him." Even the best fighter in the world could not stave off 10-15 force users.
And therein lies another, much bigger, problem: Meta and Power Gaming. Oh yes, everyone loves those words, but most people do not even really understand them. To be brief, Meta Gaming is when you take information gained OOC ( IE I tell you that my character has a weakness and you exploit it in the very next post. ) Where as Power Gaming is when you collude with ( Typically ) a group of people to try and bone someone IC. ( I ask 5 other people to help me go and kill someone because they pissed me off OOC. ) These are very, very, very, loose definitions so don't murder me. The point is, if deaths were the normal, the increase in meta and power gaming would be absurd.
So I think a nice medium here, something I think you should all try, is to create a character that you are not afraid to let die and be very realistic with it. Know your limits and put yourself into situations you know you cannot handle. Go and fight a Sith Lord as a Jedi Padawan and see if you can write yourself out. The thing is, you have to be honest, and if they die they die. The thrill is so exciting, knowing that one mistake in your writing can lead to your characters death. One thing that I love about writing is how it can invoke such strong reactions from the people writing. How I can feel such pain and anguish over a character I created with nothing but my fingertips. It may not feel great, but damn it, you feel. And if you write and do not feel then maybe you are doing something wrong with your character.
Anyways, the floor is open after my little rant, how do you guys feel about Character Deaths? Do you support them? Do you think they are stupid? Is it your decision when your character dies or should it be left up to fate?
Ending disclaimer: I am not in any way trying to promote character deaths on the board. I am just interested in a discussion on the topic.
EDIT: I am pretty sure I accidentally posted this in the wrong sub forum. I meant to put it in the Writers Workshop. Sorry admins.
