Philosophy #29 | A Different Brush

Philosophy #29 | A Different Brush

Across the story, you've garnered the interest of different love interests and met different characters. Each of these characters has their own interesting quirks or tendencies or personality traits. Over the years of development and the course of this long story, you've seen how all of these things have molded these characters. I'd like to think by now you can see their personalities and how they differ more than ever.

When I first started outlining the story, I'll admit that I didn't do anything special or fancy. It came from a basic idea and used that idea to create building blocks to create a foundation for each character. For example, I wanted a girl who had an edge from 'the other side of the streets' and that character eventually became Erika. I needed a professional girl who was attractive with an icy and distant demeanor. That turned into Vanessa. Harlow came from the idea of a shy girl. Riley was an old crush who was unattainable. That's it. Just one idea turned into a fully-fleshed out character that I'll continue adding to until the story is complete.

I know it might seem cheap or generic or cliche to create a character from an idea. But I've taken these shallow ideas and tried to add as much depth to them as possible. Just like a painting begins with a single brushstroke or a drawing starts with a line, all of these characters come from these basic ideas and turn into something more. And they're all painted with a different brush.

I've outlined the characters ahead of time and their foundations are rock solid. As the story has progressed, I've built on these foundations and turned them into something more. I've done my best to give these characters a natural development from the archetype I've chosen for them. The great thing about this is that it's all happening organically. It's easy to write how Vanessa would react in a certain situation because that's how I've set her up. The same goes for Erika. The same goes for Harlow. And so on.

So, what does it mean to you knowing that these characters were all built with different foundations and meant to blossom into dynamic characters? Consider life itself and the dynamics you see in different people. I'm not talking about the people you know. Think beyond your friends and family. Think beyond your coworkers or classmates. Think beyond people in your town or city. Think about people in general. All over the world. From the past or present. People you don't even know.

All of these people are different. You've seen these people in different situations and you've seen them react differently. Some of these people you can nod and relate to. And on the opposite end, some of these people you just have to shake your head and wonder what they're thinking.

People aren't the same. That much is obvious. In the case of this story I'm telling, it's a good thing.

Every character is different because they have to be different. The story wouldn't be interesting if everybody had the same personality with the same sensibilities and the same reactions to every situation. It's these dynamics that make you laugh, make you smile, make you cringe and make you angry.

All of these personalities also stop the characters from being redundant. I didn't use the same mold for any of these characters and I did my best to make sure they're not copies of one another, even if there seems to be some overlap in certain aspects of who they are. Every character is meant to fill a role and have a purpose.

I didn't create any characters that I personally disliked. I never said to myself "I don't like this girl but I know there's some people who are into that, so I'll just throw her in there." Even though I like every character, I know that it'd be impossible for every player to like all of them the same as me. I won't try to convince you to like the characters just because I wrote them and I like them. Something like that will always come down to personal preference. What I'd like you to consider though is that these characters are different. They're like-minded in a lot of ways but their personality traits differ and as you've advanced through the story, they've continued to diverge from one another to become more defined in who they are. What does that mean for you? It means you get to be in the driver's seat as the MC of this story, which is intriguing (I hope) in no small part to the differences in all of these characters.

In your life, you should enjoy and appreciate who you are. You're the one constant more than any other person in your life. 'A Man for All' isn't any different. You're the stability in the lives of all of these characters. The other characters might rock the boat from time to time. It's going to get bumpy dealing with them. But you're going to be there to stop the boat from going over. So when things get rocky, don't worry about capsizing. Instead, enjoy the ride. With so many different characters, there's always bound to be some excitement.

I know that all philosophies turn into rambling and I can say a lot without actually saying anything. It's hard for me to articulate what I'm trying to say quite often. This was all just a long-winded way of me saying that the characters are different, I did my best to separate them, and I think it makes for an interesting story.

Are there any characters that have personalities that stick out to you? Is there anybody you really like? Is there anybody you really hate? Is there anybody you've changed your opinions on? Is there anybody you've felt the same about for the entire story? There's plenty more to learn about all of these characters and I'm looking forward to continuing to dig deeper into what makes them all tick.

On Episode 14

Episode 14 is built around just a few scenes. These scenes are all big scenes with lots of big and busy renders, so they're all taking more time than I've anticipated. I'm doing my best to get through all of them as fast as I can while maintaining the quality I'm happy with. There are a lot of big story moments in this episode as well as major groundwork for what happens in future episodes.

Right now, I'm still early in the rendering process because of how complicated some of these renders are. I'm working on the episode though and making progress little by little. I don't usually give an estimate on release dates and I'm not going to start now. Just know that I'm working on it. I should have the first official progress update the first week of February with a few previews of what I have so far.

January has been a relatively quiet month. I apologize for not posting more often than I usually do but there just isn't that much to report. I do have some poll ideas but I'm not sure when I'll get around to them. Special renders for the month are around the corner.

In the meantime, I hope you're all doing well while waiting for more content and updates. Send me a message if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Take care and I'll talk to you soon.