Viewpoint Disappointing OCs

[StorytellerLathos]

I'd like to know about any OCs that you look back on and are disappointed by. When I say disappointed I mean OCs you felt you could have done more with, OCs that didn't develop in a way you would've liked, or OCs that you felt had an interesting concept or gimmick that eventually turned out to be annoying or boring. I think it's important to talk about these OCs and reflect on them, I know that's a cliche thing to say but I think its true. Not to mention that a lot of these characters aren't ever used again because of the bad experiences a person has with them, I think this is a perfect opportunity to dig up these old OCs and build them into better characters.

So basically this is what I'm looking for:
. Your disappointing OCs
. Discussion about why OCs end up being disappointing
. Discussion about the possibility of using these OCs again
. Sharing ideas that can make these OCs better


My own disappointing OC was... well I don't even remember their complete name anymore. All I remember is Lockinminer was a part of their name, so that's what I'll refer to them as. Lockinminer began as a good character, he was inventor thrown out by his family and using whatever he could find to build his machines. But one little quirk I gave him went way out of control, so because he was an exiled member of this renowned family and he had lived so long on the streets he was a little insane. This insanity was basically supposed to make up his story arc that would then lead into another arc of redemption with his family, instead it led to my character being very disappointing.

So first off, the insanity thing was just annoying, it often derailed the RP or annoyed the other players and didn't make the character any more interesting than he already was. Secondly in a desperate attempt to save the character's "insanity arc" I had him slowly begin to act more creepy, I had hoped that this would get the other players' attentions and have them ask my character about his problems. It got their attention but instead of trying to help my character they put him in a mental asylum, and looking back on it I don't blame them. I also really hate just how little I worked on the character beyond his insanity, I think that the only time he even came close to having any sort of development was one time when he went against the wishes of the captain.

As for why he's disappointing today, well I'm sure its obvious for most but for me I haven't been able to really answer this myself for a long time. This is because I truly believed the character was good, even at the point that he was strapped to a chair in a padded cell. So the reason he's disappointing, for me at least, is because of how my views on how to RP have changed over time, I once I believed these personality quirks made up a character's arc and that without them you had a stale character.

Finally is if I would use him again, no. I know a part of this is about trying to get these characters to work again but I personally can't bring myself to look at this character and fix him.

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

. Your disappointing OCs
Never been disappointed in an OC. How the hell does that even happen? You created the damn thing...

Been disappointed in many RPs, never an OC.

. Discussion about why OCs end up being disappointing
I have no idea. That's all on the writer. Impossible for the OC to carry any blame when you created them, and you're writing them.

. Sharing ideas that can make these OCs better
Put more thought into your characters. But more specifically, give them a real purpose. I know some people play fast and loose with character development as the RP throws twists and surprises at them, but good characters don't stumble into themselves. They are built with themes and layers that create growth and payoffs. A character needs direction and they should be created with the plot you're joining in mind.

Practice story telling more. You should know what a character is going to be like before you ever begin IC, leaving virtually no room for surprises or disappointment. A lot of folks create sleeves; just a set of skills and a personality. Then they charge off into IC, going wherever the wind takes them, having fun and seeing what shakes out. Instead try to come at it like you're writing a novel together. Who is this character? What is their purpose and place within the story? How can I make the absolute most of that and tell a personal story with them that will resonate and come together? And how can that personal story contribute to and weave into the story itself?

Synergy and cohesiveness are paramount for great characters.

 

[PaulHaynek]

All my OCs are disappointing.

Because they come from a disappointing creator.

 

[ashwynne]

Ooooh boy! Interesting thread!

I don't know that I've ever actually had a disappointing OC though. I've had concepts that were not as enjoyable or didn't work as well as I intended, but that just resulted in me creating or utilizing some sort of trauma/event in the RP to "fix" the elements that were disappointing to me. Some of my favourite OC's have been the result of this process!

As an example, a few years back I had a character named James Hawthorne. He was part of a zombie apocalypse RP and I wrote him as a goofball who used humour to cover the fact that he was terribly insecure. He basically acted like a complete idiot all the time. It was a bit fun at first but with time it started to get annoying. A complete airhead turning everything into a joke just didn't work with the tone of the overall RP.
So. I took the setting and a few of my RP partners, and I invented trauma for him. An encounter with zombies that resulted in his very near death and the mangling of his leg so that he could no longer walk/run normally. For a good chunk of time afterwards he was either bedbound or restricted to moving with crutches. This event sobered him and gave him an opportunity to reevaluate his life. Athleticism was something he had valued in himself and now it was taken away so he went through a mini arc of bitterness, followed by a desire to find something to fill that void in his life. As it turned out, learning to ride a horse ended up being his saving grace. It granted him a new form of mobility again and a chance to learn skills and discover something he was good at, which in turn helped him begin to overcome his own insecurities.
It all resulted in him becoming a more well-rounded character who still used humour to deal with situations, but not in a ridiculous or inappropriate manner. In essence, he grew as a character.

That said, I've certainly had my share of bad characters, especially when I was first starting out with writing. Cliche's left and right, mary-sues, gary-sues... you name it. But at the time none of those were disappointing to me and I still love them dearly.

Ultimately, I don't believe in allowing OC's to be disappointing. If their concept isn't working out or I'm beginning to find it disappointing I make it my mission to root out the problem and fix it within the story. People are complex and capable of change, there are so many layers to a person's psyche that can be explored or manipulated, and the same holds true for characters. It can take a fair bit of work to hammer out the issues, but it's worth it in the end when you're left with a character you absolutely adore that now has even more depth behind them because they were forced to grow.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Psychics. Not so much individual characters as just this power-set I kept reusing over a period of time and always led me to writing myself into a corner.

They are super hard to write without a clear timeline in place and even then I never manage to keep on track long enough for the pay off.

Mostly I stopped doing them outside of like “spider sense” type psychics that sense immediate danger or something.

 

[FoolsErin]

Oh sweet mother, where do I start? I have a bunch of instances of this, but there’s two noteworthy occasions that come to mind.

I came up with this ent character based off of one of the fake people Miis I made for Tomodachi Life. Said fake person Mii was basically a stereotypical fat guy. (I was like 9/10 when I first made him, give me a break.) Unsurprisingly, fat guy traits don’t really pass onto a tree guy that well, and he ended up really flat. Didn’t find him interesting in the Discord 1x1 I used him in, and eventually he was scrapped.

The second time that I was majorly disappointed by an OC was a kung fu future seer for a superhero roleplay. I meant for her to be a mysterious, nonchalant, kind, and chill lady who would leave people with questions. Unfortunately, due to the fact they were pretty in the middle of a story arc, that didn’t happen. Instead, she was shoehorned in, stripping her of a proper entrance, and she wasn’t any better from there on out. The thing I thought at the time was a “character reveal” during a power swap was instead a lazily excused instance of me changing her personality out of nowhere. I also decided that she was from elsewhere and that her English wouldn’t be great, so I had this cringy broken English shit going that didn’t add anything at all. That Kung fu stuff I put on her sheet? Never used. She was just a giant missed opportunity that didn’t get any better. I killed her off, and she was scrapped along with the old character she was based off of.

There’s also the one-note personality elemental girls I made during my Roblox roleplaying forum years. I have nothing to say about them except that it was a product of my youthful idiotic brain.

 

[silvercharizard]

My Fallout-based OC honestly. I haven't really gotten to use her much and I've been working on her for some time as much as I can but I'm afraid at this point she cant grow unless I actually use her. And that doesnt seem to be happening anytime soon

 

[Bum Bear]

After reading a manga called Beast Star, I got really excited to make a character for the universe and
that's how my boi Borneo came into being. He was a young Tarsier, a middle schooler whose main goal
was to become a batter and be a regular for his school's baseball team. However, because of his large eyes
due to his species, he was relegated to being a catcher and an outfielder, being told that his arms were to scrawny
for a batter. I liked the premise, but I had a hard time pinning his personality down. I wanted to make him aloof while hardworking
at the same time, just a young boy trying to make his dreams come true. I kinda got stuck on him being too aloof and apathetic
which made it hard for him to interact with other characters because I wrote him in away that forced him to keep his distance
from others. I think if I go back and fix him now, I would probably be a little more lenient with his apathy and aloofness.
Kinda feel like I didn't let him grow outside of those two personality traits. Then again, I ain't great when it comes to personality.

 

[Crayons]

I had a thing where I would make "nice guy" characters caught in situations that were beyond their control, because I thought they were cute. But they were never satisfying because they didn't really have any goals or motives, or uniqueness, or ... anything. :/ and I realised I needed to give them an edge of some kind. They got better after that.

 

[Minako]

All my OCs are disappointing.

Because they come from a disappointing creator.

I relate to this on a spiritual and emotional level...