|
Request
Jul 23, 2011 0:13:54 GMT -5
Post by Drift on Jul 23, 2011 0:13:54 GMT -5
I would appreciate your thoughts/comments on how to improve Drift, please.
|
|
|
Request
Jul 23, 2011 8:10:57 GMT -5
Post by Assault/Arthur Aldrin on Jul 23, 2011 8:10:57 GMT -5
I have no real problems with the way you play Drift. You do a good job at it, though it'd be nice if you could tone down the meta-thing that was mentioned. It's not a problem that he feels about things or thinks in certain ways, but it is sometimes a problem how you present it. For example, saying that Guzzle just blindly shoots and doesn't take it into consideration that Drift is there. He's a gunman who's been in numerous wild combat situations, he wouldn't do that! And it wasn't entirely clear if those were his own paranoid thoughts or what was actually happening.
But for the rest? I enjoy Drift! He's a fun character, and you made me like him, which even the Drift miniseries didn't really do.
I would also like to take this chance to say that I don't want to see you leave or drop your characters. I like having you around, and it would be a real shame if you did leave.
|
|
|
Request
Jul 23, 2011 9:41:12 GMT -5
Post by Drift on Jul 23, 2011 9:41:12 GMT -5
He has entirely IC reasons for not liking/trusting Guzzle, based on canon and his experiences with Autobots here. (Actually I'd typed them all up but it all turned into a massive tl;dr no one would read anyway). Let's just say that, well, Guzzle's combat style tends to feed into Drift's impression already that Autobots here are sloppy and undisciplined. That might extend to...not watching their firefan.
As to how the meta was presented, I guess I've always gotten the benefit of the doubt from other players before that, uh, I'm not a dick? I've played an intensely psychotic and paranoid character before with, obviously, the same poor meta choices, and he was actually rather successful.
Other than tagging a disclaimer onto every post that the thoughts represented are the character's and not my own, with possible canonciting footnotes as to why he is reacting this way, what is an appropriate fix? I could just skip his thoughts entirely and keep his meta simply to his actions and words. Would that work?
|
|
Frenzy
Minor
Emperor of Profaningshire
Fscking Bigjobs
Posts: 339
|
Request
Jul 23, 2011 10:16:01 GMT -5
Post by Frenzy on Jul 23, 2011 10:16:01 GMT -5
|
|
|
Request
Jul 23, 2011 10:20:16 GMT -5
Post by Mayday/Maddox Wayne on Jul 23, 2011 10:20:16 GMT -5
I think that in the case of Guzzle it's not an issue of thinking anyone is a dick, player or character. Rather, it's simply a matter of clarity and making sure to distinguish between what's meta (ie. Drift is worried that Guzzle is going to accidentally shoot him) and what's description of the environment (ie. Guzzle actually is shooting blindly at Drift). In the case of confusion of this sort, no amount of disclaimers are going to help people sort out what's meta (and thus Drift's opinion) and what's intended as description.
I imagine the easiest solution for that would be to explicitly tag any of Drift's thought-meta that could be confused with descriptive prose with things like 'He thinks...' and 'Drift wonders if...' and '...in his opinion' and such. Another thing I do when I know my character is thinking something that doesn't actually fit reality is to make my own meta jibes at their own opinions.
Then again, it doesn't really hurt to limit the amount of meta you use. The most important part of a post is what characters can directly react to, and in the end meta is just flare, as amusing as it can be. Which isn't to say I think you should eliminate your meta completely, but if you're unsure of how it's working out for you, it's pretty simple to limit it, like sticking to [character action] + [character's direct thoughts relating to said action].
And to answer your original question, I don't think there's anything wrong with how you characterize Drift (or D. Skyfire, for that matter). The only issue I've had with you is some mild frustration related to OOC communication difficulties.
|
|
|
Request
Jul 23, 2011 10:48:59 GMT -5
Post by Drift on Jul 23, 2011 10:48:59 GMT -5
Skyfire's a non issue. He's gone. That's why I'm not asking about him. He was terrible. His voice was inconsistent, and he never got any traction at all. I'd offered him to be killed by Overlord as part of something to make Overlord even more badass and terrifying, so at least he could bring something other than bland and fail to the game, but that offer was rejected. So he'll just fade into well-deserved obscurity.
I think it best that Drift keep his opinions of others to himself and off meta. That's what I've done his last two posts.
It was suggested to me I keep this post focused on improving Drift and not about me. If you'd like to get into your problems with me, since you brought it up, I am online on IM. I'd rather you not tear into what a failwad I am personally in a public forum.
|
|
|
Request
Jul 23, 2011 11:01:41 GMT -5
Post by Assault/Arthur Aldrin on Jul 23, 2011 11:01:41 GMT -5
Mayday mun nailed it! Continue toning it down like that, and I think a lot of problems that peeps have with the way you play him will fade.
|
|
|
Request
Jul 23, 2011 11:06:20 GMT -5
Post by Mayday/Maddox Wayne on Jul 23, 2011 11:06:20 GMT -5
I think you are being unnecessarily self-deprecatory. I do not think you are a 'failwad', nor would I be inclined to 'tear into' you, either in public or in IM. A communication difficulty is just a communication difficulty. Because humans aren't psychic, they tend to happen, and communication takes two people, so I admit that some of the fault is mine. I know I have difficulty talking with people I don't know, particularly if it's something potentially negative, as I dislike confrontation and get anxious about possibly making people feel bad, even though that's not my intention.
I will say I'm sad to see Dark Skyfire go, though, despite the communication issues related to his involvement. I thought he was an interesting and entertaining character and wanted to see how he could adapt to the Decepticon ranks.
|
|
|
Request
Jul 23, 2011 11:36:31 GMT -5
Post by Drift on Jul 23, 2011 11:36:31 GMT -5
Skyfire was dreadful. I'm mortified I inflicted him on you. Admittedly, a lot of his voice problems could have been worked out if he'd gotten in a one-on-one thread, and I'd certainly tried to get someone interested, instead of the chaos that is a multicharacter round-robin, but, well, that never happened. I'd thought I'd gotten a handle on him in that Overlord thread, but that exploded abruptly so...I guess not. No worries. He's not worth the effort to salvage at this point. He doesn't really bring anything to the game.
I'm not saying that to be talked out of it. I'd already decided: Skyfire's gone. I'm wavering on dropping Drift entirely. Which might be better for all involved. I'm trying to see if the issues are salvageable.
If, however, as you seem to indicate, the issue is *me*, then...I'm afraid no amount of stripping down meta will help.
|
|
|
Request
Jul 23, 2011 11:47:23 GMT -5
Post by Mayday/Maddox Wayne on Jul 23, 2011 11:47:23 GMT -5
I'm going to have to disagree with you on Skyfire. This isn't an attempt to try and talk you out of dropping him, I'm just stating that I had no problem with how you played Skyfire and I enjoyed playing with him. However, if you felt you had difficulty with him or weren't enjoying playing him, that's certainly a legitimate reasons to drop him! RP is supposed to be fun, after all.
I am not indicating that the issue is you. The only issue I indicated was one in which we seemed to have difficulty exchanging ideas. The solution to a difficulty in communication is as simple as engaging in more communication. The only other there may be is with your current writing style resulting in slightly confusing meta, but this is also fixed easily.
|
|
Overlord
Cadet
Plot Character
Please Attend Carefully
Posts: 88
|
Request
Jul 23, 2011 11:47:43 GMT -5
Post by Overlord on Jul 23, 2011 11:47:43 GMT -5
I apologise for being unclear in my reply to you. I wouldn't normally discuss this publically, but since you publically mentioned that I had rejected your offer, I felt it prudent to reword my reply, since I did not convey my intended meaning the first time. I thought that, "Now, if you really, really want to kill off Skyfire for good, I can work with you on that" was clear, but I see now that it must have been confusing. I'm sorry. So. Let me be perfectly clear. You want Skyfire dead? Let's do it. If you have anything in specific that you'd like to happen, please PM me as to the specifics. This thread, "Contains Its Own End": tfdeadzone.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=space&action=display&thread=3750 would be a great place for someone to die. On the other hand, if you don't have any specifics in mind for how you'd like Skyfire to be murdered, I'd be happy to think of something. Off the top of my head, it might be kind of nifty to punch Skyfire's rocket fuel ignition system into his own fuel tank, so he explodes from the inside out. It'd be a very spacer-specific way to kill someone, and taking Skyfire out of the picture would make sense, so that Skyfire can't chase Overlord. That is just one option, however, and I'm just throwing the idea out there. Take it or leave it as you wish.
|
|
|
Request
Jul 23, 2011 11:56:40 GMT -5
Post by Drift on Jul 23, 2011 11:56:40 GMT -5
One thing I'd like to offer as a general suggestion in this game is this:
PMs are private messages. PRIVATE. Outing them, as well as posting IM snippets, is really...ethically icky to me. I have a pile of PMs from various people calling me unpleasant things. I am not naming names, I am not posting snippets. I am simply generically referring to them as 'people who have issues with me.' I do that because when they sent those PMs they had a presumption of privacy, and could speak freely to me about things without worrying about what the world at large might think.
Exposing a PM or direct IM to public scrutiny destroys that implicit trust. This is the second time this has been done to me in this game and it is really destroying my trust. Please reconsider your policy of exposing other people's PRIVATE WORDS to others?
ETA: IRONICALLY, I sent you a PM regarding Overlord, as that is irrelevant to the topic of this post, which is Drift.
|
|
|
Request
Jul 23, 2011 12:48:38 GMT -5
Post by Emirate Xaaron on Jul 23, 2011 12:48:38 GMT -5
Hmm, you might have more fun with Drift if he gets a chance to meet some characters who are more 'his style', that he can relate to.
* It might be fun if Drift and Dinobot have to go on a ship patrol, to check and make sure there's no Decepticons sneaking around or anything like that, and they stumble on a stuck door and have to sword the door open and one of them slips up and mentions opening doors like that before, in a... criminal sense. And they get to talking. They are, after all, second-class citizens, who were oppressed by the upper classes, who were criminals, who were suckered in by the charisma of Megatrons, who were abused by their bosses and so decided to defect. They might find that they have a lot of common ground and aren't as alone in the world as they think. Maybe they can knock back a six-pack together and complain about stupid bosses and stab things.
* You play Drift as having a distaste for powers and mods. It might be fun if Drift and Ani Prowl get stuck together on some duty, a watch, or whatever. Ani Prowl has a lot of really cool mods, but he also has the philosophy that, "It's not the mods; it's the bot," so it might be jarring and cognitively dissonant to Drift, to see someone with so many cool powers insist that your personality and convictions are more important than any special powers.
* Drift meeting Bay Jetfire could be cool. Bay Jetfire used to be a Decepticon, but he gave it up, because there was too much hate in his life. Maybe Bay Jetfire could give Drift some advice on how to let go of a little bit of the hate and anger to live a happier life.
* Maybe when they get to Earth, Drift could fight off some Decepticons, and some of the weaker Autobots could thank him and decide that maybe Drift's a jerk, but they're glad that he's on their side.
|
|
|
Request
Jul 23, 2011 18:47:28 GMT -5
Post by Drift on Jul 23, 2011 18:47:28 GMT -5
I'm not sure that the solution to Drift's issues is throwing him at more people, uninvited, unless I've shown I can improve.
|
|
|
Request
Jul 23, 2011 19:38:33 GMT -5
Post by Rampage/Xavier Goodkind on Jul 23, 2011 19:38:33 GMT -5
At this point I think you may want to sit down and ask yourself, what do you want to do?
|
|