Developing Your Character

This is a beautiful set of suggestions! I seriously need to make improvements on my theme song. Mostly, I love that you suggest telling a story. Amplifying that great suggestion, there's a short true set of details that go into a basic story. it's more simple than you think.

The basic short story goes like this
1) Character has loves and hates, thrills and desires, and then discovers a problem. (His opponent in this case)
2) tries to solve the problem and fails
3) tries again and fails, but learns something
4) tries again and succeeds!
5) then you say something/do something that closes the story - this is a statement of wisdom learned or a message delivered - then the end

Like I said that's BASIC. (Credit Aldys Budrys teaching on writing stories) But remember in stories, our character fails! That's what makes him interesting. In our lives we fail 10 times a day. Late for work, burned dinner, cut off on the freeway - something. in the gym we engineer the experience to create an artificial failure - one we grow from. Heroes fail. Villains fail. We are worthy of story when we fail.

So in cyber, a story looks more like this example maybe. Player tries a move and it works somewhat on the opponent but the opponent comes back. Player gets clobbered! He comes back and tried again. He gets his favorite hold on his opponent, but the bastard escapes.... then he learns what his weakness is and goes for the finish. The reward is given, a statement is made. The end.

The outcome isn't predictable, win or lose. This makes tension. The reader wants to get to the end to answer the kid-like question, "And then what happened...?" So this means maybe considering how your action looks to readers outside your action as you do it. Don't be afraid to edit to sharpen that story if it doesnt change the organic actino of the match.

I love the OH NO moment when your hero gets trapped in the villain's dreaded submission hold. Jobber or Heel, this moment sells the story.

So let's say you're a jobber and want a beating. How do you make plot tension when you aren't there to seriously win anyway? Well jobbers in the ring pretend they want to win. Maybe even think they're invincible and find out they are not. (The hard way.) The story then becomes a narrative of his crumbling expectations of himself. Then maybe there's the dreaded secret that the jobber really is a masochist painslut and never knew it. The villain thrills in showing him his error and hurts him good. That's a story!

There was a heel I knew that went by the name the_mauler62. He was GREAT at the hinting at approaching doom of the hero. I did some fun battles with him. Of course my friends thought I was insane for loving him, but he had a way of slowly crushing a hero that always made for a good story. (Love you Mauler, you know who you are.)

I guess there's one more element to good stories that's hard to shove a description into one paragraph, but in the business they call it "Progress." It's a way of hinting to the reader what's at the end of this story. So for example, in Lord of the Rings, we all know we're going to Mordor. They have this map. They show us that here's the end, big circle around it. Up front on page one!

In cyber maybe you are fighting for fuck rights as top. So you lay out the place where you plan on fucking your opponent after you win, IF you win. And that says up front what's at stake so the reader has a reasonable expectation of the end. This can be followed to that predicted finish (like in Lord of the Rings) or violated (maybe like in the Raiders of the Lost Arc. The big surprise is that no one in the actual story gets the Arc.)

Give a hint to the reader what's the big goal at the end and they will have a better chance at wanting to go with you to that ending.

I am running on, but so happy that DRP 119 posted this. Bravo man - you are a star here for this!

Erik. Eloquent, thoughtful, useful, informational, clearly laid out and ever so awesome tips as always. I wanna be like you when I grow up!!!!!

Hey DRP, thanks very much for this post! My characters (AgentJamesMason is only one) aren't used for traditional pro matches, but more for action/adventure roleplay where fighting is more like what you get in an action film, but this advice and these pointers, is your character a hero or a villian, the need for character growth, etc, are just as pertinent for all kinds of roleplay that involves fighting. Really appreciate most of all how you are giving back to the community here. Well done good sir!

I'm just a musclehead, Agent Mason ;)

For DRP, really good outline. I think the only thing I'd add is that people possibly (more likely probably) haven't read all your matches to get a trajectory. Might fit into your profile which they probably did read or you reference your mood (briefly) in the setup "After my humiliating loss to Eugene Scott, I'm hungry for a win. I want to take this guy down hard," for example.

I'll probably address this in a future post about building a rivalry.

This!! This is my first time diving into an actual character (had a genetic muscle boy but…hot guy with no personality does get old). I did everything here, backstory, body, photos, movesets, weaknesses, etc. As someone who enjoys mixing roleplay with fights, the psychological and narrative aspect is a must.

Getting started can be tough. When there's literally thousands upon thousands wrestlers to fight, how do you stand out?

A lot of people have really bland characters that never age or develop and it's not long before people get bored of them and create new characters they hope won't have the bad rep. It's not a bad strategy but the more you flesh out your character, the more interesting you become and the more interesting you become, the more people want to fight you.

Here's some ideas to help you develop your character.

First off, what kind of fighter do you want to be? Do you want to be a Face or a Heel. Faces tend to be the good guys. On the soft side, you get Baby Faces, people like 2016 Baylee who go around saying they're "Huggers" and always try to be positive. Then you got the Stone Cold variety that don't give a damn as long as the day is saved. The opposite end of that is the Heel. The low level Heel is just selfish and only cares about themselves. The higher end heel is a straight up villain. They don't care about any one and only want to rule the world. They can be pure evil.

You can use this to develop your moveset. A baby face is always going to try and win the fight clean. They might avoid moves that are considered cheap and dirty. A heel on the otherhand would have no qualms about low blowing someone. Maybe you like to play by the rules but if someone breaks the rules, you don't mind stooping to their level. You should try to pick at least ten to twelve different moves you think work best and one or two you want to use as finishers. You don't have to use every move in a match but you also don't want to be like Brock Lesnar and spamming suplexes until you can hit your finisher. Don't be afraid to watch a few matches, see what moves you think work for you. Are you strong? Maybe you like power moves. Are you weaker? Maybe you like using kicks and other attacks to weaken your opponent. Are you more of a submission specialist and want your opponent to tap or do you want them to be knocked out? Even if you don't plan on winning a lot of matches, having a finisher and being able to threaten your opponent with one will make you more of a threat. Nothing's more humiliating than being finished by the jobber.

With that out of the way, it's time to decide what your character's back story is. Are they more of a fan wanting to break into the business? Are they someone with a past in fighting who wants to get better? Are they someone who's dabbled with it? Are they a federation fighter with years of experience? Are they something more than the casual wrestler? Use your attire to tell the story. A dabbler might wear something informal like a bikini or a pro might wear elbow pads and knee pads. Maybe you wear more protection or less protection to show how tough or weak you are.

Next, pick a theme song. Find something that gives your fighter a vibe. Are they cool? Find something with a good beat. Are they bad ass? Get some metal. Are they sweet? Find a pop song. What song do you identify with? What's something you want other people to associate you with? Use obscurity or popularity to your advantage. A rare indie title might show how you're not like every one else or a popular beat might show you know what's hip. You could also use a bad song to indicate you're out of touch, nerdy or even purposely trying to intimidate your enemy.

Let your matches tell a story. Is it your first time? Did you win? Did you lose? How'd you feel? How hurt are you? Maybe your first match went south and now you don't know if you're cut out for it and you're nervous you could get hurt. Maybe you almost won but you made one mistake. Maybe you feel like if you tried a little harder or got more experience, you could be a real threat. Maybe you want to take on seasoned fighters to learn the basics and improve. If it went well, maybe you think you're good enough to be a champ and decide to take on the higher class fighters. Use your wins and loses to flesh out your character. A winner wins, a loser loses but what happens when the balance is tilted? If you lose against someone, do you cheat the next time you face someone? Do you push yourself harder? Do you try and fight the pain to push past your previous losses and come out on top?

Build relationships with your opponents. It doesn't matter if you win or you lose. Every time you establish a relationship, every person who clicks on your profile will get an idea about you. A person with a lot of wins might seem intimidating or a person with a lot of losses might seem like an easy W. You could become the prey or the hunter by doing this. If someone sees you beat X, Y might want revenge. Likewise, you could see someone beat you but lost to another and challenge that person. You could create a dynamic where you beat the man who beat you. Imagine the rematch with your opponent going in, knowing you beat the person who beat them.

Get psychological!

Is your character friendly? Maybe you want to start the match by shaking hands. Maybe you want to surprise them with a gift. Disarm your opponent. Make them feel good they're in the ring with you. Is your character imposing? How? Are they tall? How much taller? Are they buffer? Are you squeaky clean or are you dirty? Are you dressed to impress, dressed for a fight or are you there looking for a fight. Maybe, you want to win by seducing the opponent. Maybe you mention your standout features. Features you think would distract someone. Is something bigger on you than your opponent? Are they prettier, uglier, fatter? A heel might attack something their opponent thinks is stand out.

Let your character grow. Maybe in your first match, you have glass balls and lose after a vicious low blow. Maybe in your next match, you wear a cup or you change your posture to prevent a repeat. Maybe, you start training to make yourself tougher. Maybe after a nasty loss, you started working out to get in better shape. Maybe you brought in someone to distract your opponent, maybe you took on a trainer, a manager. Maybe you realized your outfit was silly and switched it up to make yourself a better fighter. Change to the situation or maybe let your refusal to change become part of your story. Maybe you're a baby face who refuses to cheat and constantly lose to cheaters. Maybe, you believe if you keep trying and work hard, one day, you can overcome the bad guys.

There's more you can do but following these steps will help you create a more dynamic character and lead the way to better fights.

Character development can come in all types. Most important think I think, is to make sure you keep yourself consistant. Let's your history affect your future and grow from it. Maybe a loss might teach you a lesson about being too competitive, or realize when you've gone too far when you win. Maybe you ought to look at important things outside of just competing.

However you shake it, growth makes your character a lot more deep. Richer flavor to you overall, and some folks will enjoy more. My two cents on the matter at least. Go try something new, might just find it enjoyable.