How do you remember the ‘finer’ details of roleplay?

[Zani]

Hello everyone,

 

Throughout my time here in GTA W, I’ve been very impressed by certain roleplayers with just how well they stick to their character on smaller details that people seem to overlook. This could be something as small as saying their favorite line, having a habit of spinning a pen with their fingers when they’re not doing anything, or any minor action which really makes the character more alive.

 

I wanted to ask how do you guys ‘remember’ the finer details about your character? Do you have it written down, is it a type of character you’ve been portraying for a while, are you that good in just remembering your characters traits and personality, or do you (often) forget? Also, feel free to give an example with some small detail your character tends to do.

[EffPee]

I think eventually it just becomes second nature once you're completely immersed in your character's development.

 

One way I'd say that probably influences how I do it is by writing a character story before I start roleplaying on the character, and then I update the story as I roleplay. The 'pre-context' story as I like to call it allows you to mould character traits for your character, their likes/dislikes, their flaws and their setbacks. While it helps to leave most up to development based off of in-game events and affairs, having a set-out personality/trait-list for your character really helps you set yourself apart from the competition.

 

For example, my main right now is a kid who lives with his mother and sister and therefore cares for them greatly, so he is constantly found mentioning his baby sister (who doesn't actually exist as a real player). This is more on-the-nose than what you've mentioned, but it fits in the same context. I've decided my character is this way so as I roleplay I make sure I keep track of what my character feels/thinks just to reinforce the development and the strength of the character story.

 

I personally think the finer details are what keeps me interested in anyone's characters, as it gives off a more unique feel and I'm less inclined to believe someone has just made their character based off a usual template.

[Hugh-Gi-Oh]

It's hard to say just how I remember exactly how my character works, I guess it just comes natural. I don't have a list of characteristics or ticks or anything, because a person is far too complex to just list out. I think about my character as something as complex as a real character, someone with conscious and subconscious thoughts, someone whose experiences affect their way of thinking and their way of being. And when I start to play them, I just completely immerse myself in that persona, and it becomes harder not to do the things my character would do, than to forget it. I find it very difficult to do something my character wouldn't do for, say, OOC reasons that dictate it'd be better to do something the other way. When it doesn't align with the thorough persona that I've crafted around this character, it's just nearly impossible for me to do. 

 

For example, my character would never want to buy plastic bottles, and she never has plastic bottles in her home. Seems like such a simple thing and it's easy to remember, but I don't think of it as just a loose characteristic to remember, I think of it as part of a greater whole; my character's deep concern about the environment. Everything around it just comes natural, and not doing everything around it just feels unnatural. 

[Koko]

I discover my character's quirks through RP and trying to get into the headspace of things people do when they're sitting around doing nothing. One of the defining aspects of my character is that he has a very characteristic laugh that sounds like a hyena. That came naturally just through imagining how a person who laughs pretty often might sound like, while giving him some humanity in the process

 

As a student in ULSA, going to Nursing School, I took inspiration from the old meme of how Doctors have terrible handwriting, and although my character is a nurse I gave him an illegible cursive.

 

One of his quirks is also that he's quite hyperactive even if he presents as chill and laid-back. Whenever there's music in a room he'll be bobbing his head or tapping his feet to it. This came to me seeing how through normal RP I realized how the character tended to not say much, and then break into rants when he felt comfortable, so I gave him expressive, talkative hands and I stressed the fact that he has a very expressive face. This then led to him being describe as a very bad liar due to his natural reactiveness.

 

So to me it's all about slowly exploring the character and contextualizing what you find yourself doing, finding simple reasons to explain your portrayal and how they got there.

[Wasloos]

My characters usually have a very specific and unique way of talking because I'm not as good with /me's or /do's.

 

For example, my old character was from New York so I had him talk very chaotic and with a specific type of grammar, however my new character talks in a very relaxed and calm manner but he's also fond of his specific greetings like "Hey, hi" and also his habit to repeat things three times.

 

It's just small things that I think off from the get-go that I then develop further during roleplay.

[Adv]

I think it comes with time and experience, in all honesty.

 

You find ways to keep yourself busy, and immersed as you continue to roleplay - especially in lengthy discussions, I personally find that I like to throw an emote here or there, and i'd rather visualise my response through actions rather than just responding in text - Depending on the situation. RP can be fairly fast-flowing, so its finding the right medium between both and having an interaction in the conversation or actions that are going on at the time.

 

My characters are very different people, and part of my immersion whenever I play each character is a different playlist on Spotify. I also take some influence from research and an initial paragraph I write as a backstory back when I start a character. The look of each of my characters certainly defines them a bit more I feel, so I know that when I look at them while RPing I can pretty much judge how they would handle a situation.

[Dom.]

5 hours ago, Adv said:

I think it comes with time and experience, in all honesty.

 

You find ways to keep yourself busy, and immersed as you continue to roleplay - especially in lengthy discussions, I personally find that I like to throw an emote here or there, and i'd rather visualise my response through actions rather than just responding in text - Depending on the situation. RP can be fairly fast-flowing, so its finding the right medium between both and having an interaction in the conversation or actions that are going on at the time.

 

My characters are very different people, and part of my immersion whenever I play each character is a different playlist on Spotify. I also take some influence from research and an initial paragraph I write as a backstory back when I start a character. The look of each of my characters certainly defines them a bit more I feel, so I know that when I look at them while RPing I can pretty much judge how they would handle a situation.

I fuck with the music thing. I do this as well, helps me get into roleplaying the character a lot better. 

[Ketamine Kowboy]

Easy to remember when it becomes a habit 

[Late]

Habeeb speech. It's taken over my life oocly mens, I can't stop. 

[Midwest]

Notes notes and notes, paper or online. This is a bit much in a casual sense for most but at least for me worked extremely well with more 'finer' details or longer term situations.