MU Peeves Thread
-
If you keep this up you are going to get an ACTUAL PONY for Christmas. I hope you have a plan on where to keep it.
-
I cannot stand played-bys.
Hear me out. I’m a blind player of text games and have been for a long time, but was only introduced to the idea of a PB when I got into mushing. Where I play currently, it’s a common thing on wikis and the like for the people who want to put them, which is obvi fine. When I started to app on Ares games, though, the played-by as a literal component of character creation kind of grated on me, especially since it shows up at the end of character descs and the name of the actor is in the profile. I have to go to staff every time like yeah hey sorry im leaving this out because i can’t see. But this isn’t a dig at Ares, just the prevalence of pictures to convey imagery in what’s supposed to be a text medium.
I know this is like probably super unpopular and obviously a very personal bias. I’ve spent years honing my knack for physical description, and one of the main draws of a mush for me, other than them being one of the only types of games I can play, is the niche art of making pretty stuff with words. I don’t think PBs negate this or anything, but it’ll always be a peeve for me when I can’t get a good visual from a desc because the person is relying more on a picture. I have the same philosophy about ascii but that’s a whole other rant. -
@Artemis If it makes you feel better I’ll top your unpopular opinion. I think a big part of why PBs are the rage is because people want to fuck with and be fucked by actors and models.
EDIT: I also think that’s fine. Do you. Or Henry Cavill. Or, guaranteed, Jason Momoa show me a game where he’s not someone’s PB.
-
@Artemis Your peeve doesn’t have to be shared by multiple people to be valid.
-
@Artemis I think for a lot of Ares games, it’s listed as an option, but by no means mandatory to put one done. I’ve seen a lot of people just put their own art up and leave the Played By space as blank.
As for descriptions, I have this particular mental or creative block when it comes to describing faces. I can write concepts and themes and systems all day. But describing how something looks? I also struggle with it to the point where it just becomes far more frustrating than what it’s worth.
-
@Artemis This is such a useful perspective, thank you.
I personally just don’t care about PBs. I enjoy poking around and finding my own to help myself envision my own character, but never once will I ever look at another person’s PB and I also find it irritating when it seems like I’m supposed to check or remember them. On the other hand I also don’t really read descs so maybe I’m the problem.
-
@Artemis I will further build off your peeve by saying PBs feel really weird and uncomfortable to me, like trying to steal an actor’s charisma and social clout for yourself. I think if I found out someone stole a photo of me to claim to look like me in interactions with others, I would feel very violated.
-
@GF I think it’s unenviable position. Either you’re really good at describing how someone looks, or you’re a good enough artists to make your own PBs. Or you just pay someone to do the art for you, which is always a viable option too.
I dunno if there’s a better option for people who lack both of those skills. But that sounds like a me problem where I just imagine everyone as the gray NPC template with their name plastered on their forehead.
-
Third option: have a friend write your desc.
Also, I wish we would normalize not-pretty descz but functional descs.
He is slightly shorter than an average man. His hair is brown. He has few noticeable muscles. His eyes are brown. He has a scar above his right eyebrow.
-
@junipersky Oh that’s terrifying. How about you ask me to call my doctor to make my own medical appointments while you’re at it.
-
PBs don’t bother me really except that once they are common, not having them feels like being a second class citizen.
-
I’m pretty sure the only reason I like PBs is because I hate writing descs. It’s so much easier to say “I look like that girl, except taller.”
But I see the other sides of the argument. I’m just so lazy. I’m also (BONUS PEEVE!) one of those people who hates when other players go into depth about what they’re wearing. I’m sorry, idek why it bothers me so much!
-
@Snackness lol I don’t like when people link the clothes.
-
@tsar Oh yeah that is just beyond the pale
-
@Snackness lol and it’s really one of the most innocent things. No one is going to make me click it! But I turn into an old lady. GET OFF MY LAWN.
-
@Testament said in MU Peeves Thread:
@GF I think it’s unenviable position. Either you’re really good at describing how someone looks, or you’re a good enough artists to make your own PBs. Or you just pay someone to do the art for you, which is always a viable option too.
I dunno if there’s a better option for people who lack both of those skills.
Some folks have had good luck with Artbreeder!
-
T Tez forked this topic on 19 Jan 2023, 20:52
-
Chucked AI art generators into their own thread per preemptive request.
-
I don’t really like PBs either. They’re never “right”. It helped me to think of it like, this actor is cast as my character in the show that is our game, but my character is still how they look in my head and in my description, so anything “wrong” about the PB is the natural variance between the “show” and its “casting” and the story I’m playing.
But even when I have great pbs there’s a little part of me that is like, grumble mutters grumblegrumble.
-
@shit-piss-love said in MU Peeves Thread:
PBs don’t bother me really except that once they are common, not having them feels like being a second class citizen.
This is my thing with it! I’m never going to include a PB for my character, and I’m confident enough in my descriptive skills that it doesn’t feel like anything is lost, but it’s a matter of principle for me and anyone else who eschews them. This isn’t to say I knock the people who do use them, just it feels sucky to stick out like a sore thumb for a thing I can’t participate in.
Also @junipersky I agree with you, and I think the normalization of basic descs might mitigate the utility of PBs.
And @sao you write awesome descriptions that I consistently love, I can visualize your chars really easily! -
There’s a term I forget what it’s called. Where someone has issue being able to actually visualize something in their mind. It’s the difference between people who can just draw something from their mind and those that need something to see in order paint/draw/whatever.
I’m the exact same way with writing. I can’t actually describe anything from my mind that actually exists in reality. I can describe a concept, because it’s something intangible, but something with three dimensions just doesn’t appear in my mind. And there’s a term for this, I remember reading about some time ago and going Holy shit, that’s me.
So for me, this is why needing images is so important. Once I have seen thing inspired by, it’s easier to write. So while I won’t say that PBs are essential, it does, oddly, help me become more familiar with a character, even if it’s not my character and someone else’s.
Which is also why losing my sight is likely my biggest fear on this planet.
ETA: Aphantasia. That was the word I was thinking of.
