Hi, I'm a COH player (although I bought a lifetime sub when CO came out). I've always spent a lot of time working on character concepts, biographies and costumes.
What I'm wondering is: Do people even read Character Descriptions here, or am I wasting my time? I mean, I do it more for myself, but I've had a few people compliment my costume already, which lead me to wonder if they read the background behind it.
Occasionally people do. At least as many as bothered to back in CoX. I always approach it form the standpoint that I create bios for me. It adds depth to my characters, a sense that there's more to them than a collection of stats and powers. If someone else takes the time to notice and makes an appreciative comment that's a bonus.
__________________________________________________
The poster formerly known as Lightwave!
Yep, if people like your costume and concept they'll often take a moment to look. I like to check out bios while I'm hanging around Defender waiting for the right kind of alert or a Nemcon group.
__________________________________________________
The poster formerly known as Lightwave!
Who has time to read a well-thought out bio when everyone is doing a 2 minute drill Alert?
Sarcasm aside, I used to include a decent bio for my chars AND their nems. However, no one can see the bio of a Nem unless it is your Nem. Still, I firmly believe these backstories really enrich the character.
.
-=-=-=-=-=-(CO in-game handle: @WarCan )-=-=-=-=-=- "Okay, you're DEAD, what do you do NEXT?"
I still have no idea why people write such elaborate bios for their characters... That's why I always put words of wisdom in mine in case anyone actually does read anything.
Me,along with many,many other people(mostly RPers) read Bios,I usually read them whenever I'm not doing anything,or after we finish an alert,I might read someone's bio there,but if you really want to show a bio off,I'd suggest going to the current RP capitol of CO,Club Caprice,WARNING:RPers in club caprice aren't always "Mature" about stuff,but some of them are,but if you encounter such a thing as an immature RPer,don't say I didn't warn you.
Yep, if people like your costume and concept they'll often take a moment to look. I like to check out bios while I'm hanging around Defender waiting for the right kind of alert or a Nemcon group.
Agreed 100%. If I like how your character looks, I'll punch my /targetinfo bind and take a look for a bio. There's a surprisingly large amount of RPers out in CO it seems, or at least those who put something into their bio.
Just FYI - the formatting system is NOT WYSIWYG. You'll have to use HTML codes to space things out.
To be honest, I have gone so far as to keybind "targetinfo" so I can read bios without wading through the menu system. If someone looks or acts interesting, I'm sure to open up his info screen and see what he wrote. I also get pleasantly surprised occasionally by people who open up my main character's bio and get the references. So I certainly know I'm not alone.
But it does feel like at times most people simply don't bother to read or write.
Hi, I'm a COH player (although I bought a lifetime sub when CO came out). I've always spent a lot of time working on character concepts, biographies and costumes.
What I'm wondering is: Do people even read Character Descriptions here, or am I wasting my time? I mean, I do it more for myself, but I've had a few people compliment my costume already, which lead me to wonder if they read the background behind it.
Almost all my CoX alts had a bio, so my CO alts get one too. We get html formatting here too! Colors!
bios are everything they explain why your toon can lift a car to why s/he cares so much about getting even with this or that villain group...i have had people tell me some of my bios were well written and interesting and i always read the bio if there is one when i see a toon i like..i love original looks and stories..it shows that people care about the themselves and the game ..so much better than some default look and power fool who is just another ninja..kind of...whatever...
For some odd reason Bio's never load correctly for me. Haven't since, oh, about a year after launch. It just sits there, on a blank screen, loading until either I or the other player leaves. It's a darn shame, to. Some of those Bio's were genuinely funny and/or creative.
'Wen considered the nature of time and understood that the universe is, instant by instant, recreated anew. Therefore, he understood, there is in truth no past, only a memory of the past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.' Terry Pratchet The Thief Of Time
I used to read character info blurbs all the time and I would even put them on my Nemesis too. Nowadays though I am far too concerned with getting my grind done and gathering Q for conversion. I have read some awesome bios though.
I hope people read descriptions, because some of mine are crafted with loving care, and others are intended to be funny (those tend to be short). Also, I just started a new toon today, the Dork Knight, and I'm curious to see how many people understand why the secret Clown Monastery is located in Baraboo, WI...
"Science teaches us to expect -- demand -- more than just eerie mysteries. What use is a puzzle that can't be solved? Patience is fine, but I'm not going to stop asking the universe to make sense!"
If I see a toon I like or they engage me in conversation or I bored yes I read Bio's.
My own toons get their bio around level 20 once I have a feel for the character, unless the idea for a Bio was what made me create the toon then it will start with a Bio.
For some odd reason Bio's never load correctly for me. Haven't since, oh, about a year after launch. It just sits there, on a blank screen, loading until either I or the other player leaves. It's a darn shame, to. Some of those Bio's were genuinely funny and/or creative.
If it sits there and says 'Now Loading' or whatever, that means there's no bio (or someone used that for their bio for some weird reason). For some strange reason, they used that instead of, "No Bio" or whatever.
If it sits there and says 'Now Loading' or whatever, that means there's no bio (or someone used that for their bio for some weird reason). For some strange reason, they used that instead of, "No Bio" or whatever.
Really!?
Thanks Man!
I've spent the last two years thinking something was wrong with my game:biggrin:
'Wen considered the nature of time and understood that the universe is, instant by instant, recreated anew. Therefore, he understood, there is in truth no past, only a memory of the past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.' Terry Pratchet The Thief Of Time
I read em constantly, and I'm always getting complimented on mine. We have bio contests, too.
I actually put about a year and a half of research into Chernobyl's bio, about the accident and some of the science involved in a nuclear meltdown. I've seen similar research quite a few times, the physics nerds in this game can come up with some impressive things. Some of us take bios pretty seriously. It's actually a shame you can't read nemesis bios, I've seen some really detailed bios randomly in nemcon and wished I could see how they got their enemies.
In game, I am @EvilTaco. Happily killing purple gang members since May 2008.
I wonder if someone already did the joke of "Your bio is in another castle/character"...
Someone was talking about making a HW character that was a riff on Mario. If this is actually done, the bio should read, "We're sorry, Mario, but your bio is on another character."
"Science teaches us to expect -- demand -- more than just eerie mysteries. What use is a puzzle that can't be solved? Patience is fine, but I'm not going to stop asking the universe to make sense!"
Someone was talking about making a HW character that was a riff on Mario. If this is actually done, the bio should read, "We're sorry, Mario, but your bio is on another character."
I still have no idea why people write such elaborate bios for their characters...
And I still have no idea why people don't...
I don't check for bios anymore because the VAST majority of characters don't have them. I like writing them because a fleshed out character is way more fun. Case in point, my Soldier AT, Frontline, was just "ex soldier who now fights crime". I was totally bored with this character. Deleted and replaced her with another Soldier AT: Wild Bill Tick-Tock, a cowboy robot from Snake Gulch who was in Millennium City for system upgrades when the invasion struck. Exact same power set, a million times more fun to play.
Yes, they do read bios. Usually at tailor or in powerhouse. Can't say how often they read bios in Caprice, because I'm rarely there.
If there is something interesting in characters name or costume, they do.
Though some bios are really too long. I rarely bother with reading bio which is longer than one scrolling in target info panel. People need to learn that beauty lies in simplicity.
I'm the same way with character descriptions as I am with NPC descriptions and item flavor text - every one has to have SOMETHING, even if it's just some placeholder text. I actually have a couple characters whose descriptions are something like "I haven't quite decided what this character's biz is yet. Check back soon!"
I try to write descriptions that explain the character's powerset and reason for being a hero, and I sprinkle some jokes and puns in there too whenever I can. I tend to stay on the more concise side, but sometimes I can get pretty wordy (Gammaroo's bio is four paragraphs long, because I figured "She's like the Hulk but like, magic?" wasn't going to cut it).
As for "do people read descriptions?" well, probably not most of them. But I write for the people who DO read, not for the people who don't.
I usually write something lengthy unless it's a character I'm really rushing to get out in the game because it's OMIGOD TOO AMAZING RIGHT NOW FOR ORIGIN STORY(it usually gets deleted a week later because of my chronic altitis).
However, the lack of one on just about every bio I check except for people who clearly RP regularly is sometimes depressing. Some days it makes me actually go inside Club Caprice and just... listen to people. That makes me slightly happier as Club Caprice is a pit of scum and villainy, and one should tread cautiously in there because drama. So you don't think about the lack of bios in the vanilla populace, as I sometimes think of them. The ones without flavour text.
Then again, today I saw Vegeta talk to Ghost Rider then both got berated for being clones by Superman. I'm not sure what the heck is going on with other people as I suspect that that was actually intentional and was a brilliant form of in-game sudden street perfomance. A PSA done with characters in game about the perils of cloning (namely that Superman will swoop in and threaten you and stuff which was apparently effective or something I'm so confused aaaa)
This is my personal behavior, don't let this stop you from making a good bio.
I interact with them without having read their bio. If I need to cheat, I read the bio.
Visuals > Conversation > Experiences > Bio(if all else fails)
I find it helps out interaction when you know as much about the other character as your character might in that situation, which is not much at all until he gets closer or has talked with them for a while.
But that's the default bio for all wolf/demon-looking toons
The problem is, they always seem to be "rebellious" as in wanting to seize the throne of Hell for themselves. I want to see more along the lines of Heckfire (who I might have to bring back), who have grown fond of the mortals and want to save them, not rule them.
"Science teaches us to expect -- demand -- more than just eerie mysteries. What use is a puzzle that can't be solved? Patience is fine, but I'm not going to stop asking the universe to make sense!"
But that's the default bio for all wolf/demon-looking toons
I'm all for people playing what they want to play, but I don't waste my time reading over Uberwolf #508 or Huge Demon #721.
It also, as a roleplayer, tells me whether or not I should waste my time. A bio can usually tell me if the person is illiterate, rolling a glamor toon, or just otherwise not worth me being around. I've noticed several things. Below is a list.
1- There are a LOT of lesbians. Oddly enough, most of them act like juvenile males.
2- A lot of people somehow think demons are created by a chick being kidnapped and used in a ritual.
3- I didn't know what a futa was until I started playing CO, but when I found out I took a shower with all the lights off and threw up in the tub.
4- I still think 'furry characters' are horrible, and I won't ever even take the time to acknowledge them in RP, much less read their bio. (Note I did not say furries, because apparently those are a new ethnic group or something).
5- There's this one guy with like 7 accounts, and they all revolve around the same type of fetish girl.
I read player bios from time to time when wandering around. Generally when the character catches my eye. Want to see how much or how little effort is put in. How much when the character looks good, how little when the character looks like a clone.
However, the lack of one on just about every bio I check except for people who clearly RP regularly is sometimes depressing. Some days it makes me actually go inside Club Caprice and just... listen to people. That makes me slightly happier as Club Caprice is a pit of scum and villainy, and one should tread cautiously in there because drama. So you don't think about the lack of bios in the vanilla populace, as I sometimes think of them. The ones without flavour text.
I used to have bios on all my alts as I could type them up my phone while I was not in game and then use the my character page and paste them in. But then many of them got broke with weird formatting and then the my character page went away so no more bios.
(I know i could paste directly into the game but I always forget)
I love reading descriptions. I'm always pleasantly surprised when I find one to read in-game.
I don't like to play characters that don't have descriptions either, so I try to make sure I have a reasonably sized one that fits into the game world.
I tend to limit my descriptions to some general information about welcoming RP interactions and what a person on the street would notice about the character: How old they appear. How fit they look. Do they exude a magical aura. Stuff like that.
I don't feel the description field is a place for a full bio. I'd rather talk to someone IC to learn about them.
4- I still think 'furry characters' are horrible, and I won't ever even take the time to acknowledge them in RP, much less read their bio. (Note I did not say furries, because apparently those are a new ethnic group or something).
Well no, let's not be too hasty here. Of 25 characters, I have one that would classify as a 'furry'. However, she's a manimal, and I hope that her bio is in line with the established lore.
I'm very fond of her and would hate to think that people write her off without even looking at her bio . Hopefully, I can track down a Lore meister in game to help me confirm that her bio is in line with Manimal Lore.
As far as bios go, I love to read them. I get a kick out of people who put so much effort into their charcter's look as well as their identity.
I tend to limit my descriptions to some general information about welcoming RP interactions and what a person on the street would notice about the character: How old they appear. How fit they look. Do they exude a magical aura. Stuff like that.
I don't feel the description field is a place for a full bio. I'd rather talk to someone IC to learn about them.
That's my philosophy on bios as well. If you want a full bio, go to Primus DB, where you can read Thundrax's bio (or you can go elsewhere and read "War and Peace" if you want something shorter.) Mind you, I sometimes get people who look at "well-known Canadian superhero" and declare they've never heard of him, but the issue of what aspects of a person's bio should be accepted in RP -- whether, in a world of movers and shakers, it's okay to give yourself a reputation or whether it has to be earned through interaction and RP -- is a separate one.
On some of my less-played characters, I do put in a lot of extra info, mostly to remind myself about the guy when I pick him up after a long absence. I should stop doing that.
Being a comic book fan for many, many years, I treat my toons like they are new comic book characters (this is a comic-ish game after all). I have incredible alt-itis, and even the deleted characters have bio's - this has actually saved some characters, as it's much harder to delete a character if you feel like you know them.
Like several others here have mentioned, I like to read bio's when I see a great character, or when standing around waiting for an alert, hanging at Club Caprice, or at a costume contest. Sadly, most people don't approach bios as stories, if they think about them at all. But I love it when I find a well written one, especially if they have incorporated Champions lore, or anything else that reeks of creativeness.
I have come to the conclusion that people like at least some of my bios, as I do get the occasional compliment on my character's bio. So far, the one with the most compliments is my newest toon, who gets several comments per hour when I play him. His name is SuperMayan, and his story lays the premise for how he got to 2012's Millenium City from the ancient Mayan times.
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The poster formerly known as Lightwave!
I found another thread where people were discussing formatting, so there must be at least a few people interested!
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The poster formerly known as Lightwave!
Sarcasm aside, I used to include a decent bio for my chars AND their nems. However, no one can see the bio of a Nem unless it is your Nem. Still, I firmly believe these backstories really enrich the character.
-=-=-=-=-=-(CO in-game handle: @WarCan )-=-=-=-=-=-
"Okay, you're DEAD, what do you do NEXT?"
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I'll......FOAM FINGER YOUR BACK!
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Agreed 100%. If I like how your character looks, I'll punch my /targetinfo bind and take a look for a bio. There's a surprisingly large amount of RPers out in CO it seems, or at least those who put something into their bio.
Just FYI - the formatting system is NOT WYSIWYG. You'll have to use HTML codes to space things out.
Razira's Primus Database Page
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And I like to keep mine short and sweet, who, why, when. :B
=^ _ ^= Kitty Lives!
But it does feel like at times most people simply don't bother to read or write.
Almost all my CoX alts had a bio, so my CO alts get one too. We get html formatting here too! Colors!
Oh really now. *strokes chin thoughtfully*
Cheers
'Wen considered the nature of time and understood that the universe is, instant by instant, recreated anew. Therefore, he understood, there is in truth no past, only a memory of the past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.' Terry Pratchet The Thief Of Time
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My own toons get their bio around level 20 once I have a feel for the character, unless the idea for a Bio was what made me create the toon then it will start with a Bio.
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If it sits there and says 'Now Loading' or whatever, that means there's no bio (or someone used that for their bio for some weird reason). For some strange reason, they used that instead of, "No Bio" or whatever.
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Really!?
Thanks Man!
I've spent the last two years thinking something was wrong with my game:biggrin:
'Wen considered the nature of time and understood that the universe is, instant by instant, recreated anew. Therefore, he understood, there is in truth no past, only a memory of the past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.' Terry Pratchet The Thief Of Time
I actually put about a year and a half of research into Chernobyl's bio, about the accident and some of the science involved in a nuclear meltdown. I've seen similar research quite a few times, the physics nerds in this game can come up with some impressive things. Some of us take bios pretty seriously. It's actually a shame you can't read nemesis bios, I've seen some really detailed bios randomly in nemcon and wished I could see how they got their enemies.
RIP Caine
=^ _ ^= Kitty Lives!
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Darn it!
What about the Team Fortess 2 engineer monologue?
=^ _ ^= Kitty Lives!
Wait? Whaaaa..?
And I still have no idea why people don't...
I don't check for bios anymore because the VAST majority of characters don't have them. I like writing them because a fleshed out character is way more fun. Case in point, my Soldier AT, Frontline, was just "ex soldier who now fights crime". I was totally bored with this character. Deleted and replaced her with another Soldier AT: Wild Bill Tick-Tock, a cowboy robot from Snake Gulch who was in Millennium City for system upgrades when the invasion struck. Exact same power set, a million times more fun to play.
If there is something interesting in characters name or costume, they do.
Though some bios are really too long. I rarely bother with reading bio which is longer than one scrolling in target info panel. People need to learn that beauty lies in simplicity.
Whoever you are, be that person one hundred percent. Don't compromise on your identity.
I try to write descriptions that explain the character's powerset and reason for being a hero, and I sprinkle some jokes and puns in there too whenever I can. I tend to stay on the more concise side, but sometimes I can get pretty wordy (Gammaroo's bio is four paragraphs long, because I figured "She's like the Hulk but like, magic?" wasn't going to cut it).
As for "do people read descriptions?" well, probably not most of them. But I write for the people who DO read, not for the people who don't.
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thisᅚᅚᅚᅚᅚᅚᅚᅚᅚᅚᅚ
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...me too. :biggrin:
However, the lack of one on just about every bio I check except for people who clearly RP regularly is sometimes depressing. Some days it makes me actually go inside Club Caprice and just... listen to people. That makes me slightly happier as Club Caprice is a pit of scum and villainy, and one should tread cautiously in there because drama. So you don't think about the lack of bios in the vanilla populace, as I sometimes think of them. The ones without flavour text.
Then again, today I saw Vegeta talk to Ghost Rider then both got berated for being clones by Superman. I'm not sure what the heck is going on with other people as I suspect that that was actually intentional and was a brilliant form of in-game sudden street perfomance. A PSA done with characters in game about the perils of cloning (namely that Superman will swoop in and threaten you and stuff which was apparently effective or something I'm so confused aaaa)
I interact with them without having read their bio. If I need to cheat, I read the bio.
Visuals > Conversation > Experiences > Bio(if all else fails)
I find it helps out interaction when you know as much about the other character as your character might in that situation, which is not much at all until he gets closer or has talked with them for a while.
But that's the default bio for all wolf/demon-looking toons
=^ _ ^= Kitty Lives!
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
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I'm all for people playing what they want to play, but I don't waste my time reading over Uberwolf #508 or Huge Demon #721.
It also, as a roleplayer, tells me whether or not I should waste my time. A bio can usually tell me if the person is illiterate, rolling a glamor toon, or just otherwise not worth me being around. I've noticed several things. Below is a list.
1- There are a LOT of lesbians. Oddly enough, most of them act like juvenile males.
2- A lot of people somehow think demons are created by a chick being kidnapped and used in a ritual.
3- I didn't know what a futa was until I started playing CO, but when I found out I took a shower with all the lights off and threw up in the tub.
4- I still think 'furry characters' are horrible, and I won't ever even take the time to acknowledge them in RP, much less read their bio. (Note I did not say furries, because apparently those are a new ethnic group or something).
5- There's this one guy with like 7 accounts, and they all revolve around the same type of fetish girl.
Silverspar on PRIMUS
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"Stop doing that you'll go blind!"
Nepht and Dr Deflecto on primus
They all thought I was out of the game....But I'm holding all the lockboxes now..
I'll......FOAM FINGER YOUR BACK!
"My dad can beat up your dad!"
Wait? Whaaaa..?
I used to have bios on all my alts as I could type them up my phone while I was not in game and then use the my character page and paste them in. But then many of them got broke with weird formatting and then the my character page went away so no more bios.
(I know i could paste directly into the game but I always forget)
I don't like to play characters that don't have descriptions either, so I try to make sure I have a reasonably sized one that fits into the game world.
I don't feel the description field is a place for a full bio. I'd rather talk to someone IC to learn about them.
Well no, let's not be too hasty here. Of 25 characters, I have one that would classify as a 'furry'. However, she's a manimal, and I hope that her bio is in line with the established lore.
I'm very fond of her and would hate to think that people write her off without even looking at her bio . Hopefully, I can track down a Lore meister in game to help me confirm that her bio is in line with Manimal Lore.
As far as bios go, I love to read them. I get a kick out of people who put so much effort into their charcter's look as well as their identity.
Keep writing them people, I'll keep reading them!
You're a lunatic with a mad man's dream of a milk proof robot!
___________________________________________________
That's my philosophy on bios as well. If you want a full bio, go to Primus DB, where you can read Thundrax's bio (or you can go elsewhere and read "War and Peace" if you want something shorter.) Mind you, I sometimes get people who look at "well-known Canadian superhero" and declare they've never heard of him, but the issue of what aspects of a person's bio should be accepted in RP -- whether, in a world of movers and shakers, it's okay to give yourself a reputation or whether it has to be earned through interaction and RP -- is a separate one.
On some of my less-played characters, I do put in a lot of extra info, mostly to remind myself about the guy when I pick him up after a long absence. I should stop doing that.
Like several others here have mentioned, I like to read bio's when I see a great character, or when standing around waiting for an alert, hanging at Club Caprice, or at a costume contest. Sadly, most people don't approach bios as stories, if they think about them at all. But I love it when I find a well written one, especially if they have incorporated Champions lore, or anything else that reeks of creativeness.
I have come to the conclusion that people like at least some of my bios, as I do get the occasional compliment on my character's bio. So far, the one with the most compliments is my newest toon, who gets several comments per hour when I play him. His name is SuperMayan, and his story lays the premise for how he got to 2012's Millenium City from the ancient Mayan times.