Right, as anyone who just looked at the lists can see, we have a very large number of charecters. It's nice to have a visual sometimes - and someone like me who lacks descriptive powers can greatly benefit from this. However, this does create a potential problem - we quickly run into a situation where you end up saying, "You know, so and so would be perfect for the role, but is already pegged." So, here are some thoughts.....
First, PCs and very regular NPCs should be considered taken. Or ones who, while not yet very regular, are VITAL to some particular plotie. Sara is an example of this - this AI has shown up in one post, but I have a multi-seasonal arc in which she becomes a major charecter.
Arch-Nemesis certainly fall into this category. Ethan Kale may not have shown up much, but he probably will.
Which raises an interesting question: what about minor NPCs? Truthfully, Mutantgrad's stand-up comic is sort of an in-joke between Amanda and I. We both enjoyed MSS's press conferences immensly, so that was something of a tribute to him.
However, the vital question is relatively minor parts. Who do I classify in this? Most of the Valhalla people, for one, and a number of decesead XI. These are charecters who show up to move some minor plot part along, then vanish into obscurity or are left out there as potential "plot hooks" later on.
Personally, I'm inclined to think most of the actors are suitable for reuse after a "cooling off" period. Some people might simply start as a guest or cameo, then become a regular. Harry Morgan in M*A*S*H (the series) is a good example of this. He played a crazy general when Blake was still in command; then later came back to play Colonel Potter.
Simply put, there is an advantage to this. We don't end up having a case where an actor is denied someone because they have a fairly minor role and that role is likely to continue as minor. In which case, the actor goes to a "pool" of available actors.
As a cooling off period, want to recomend that a "pool" actor be available to play one charecter per seasonal/mid-seasonal period. So, Salma Hayek is out for other roles during this first "monthly" period. Once October roles around, if nobody has said "ok, this charecter is now necessary to run the plot" she goes to the pool. This means that anybody can peg her for any role during the first monthly, including reprising her old role if that becomes necessary.
RECURRING CHARECTERS
I'm thinking here of people who are not necessarily required for the plot, but still show up in a recurring theme. Think of Bester on Babylon 5: Walter Koening's Psi Cop isn't necessarily required to move the story arc of the show as a whole foward. However, Bester is a recurring charecter.
IMO, a recurring charecter might be suitable for reuse as another charecter with a longer period. Once a charecter shows up for three consecutive periods in the same role, I think they become "recurring." A good period for cooloff in this case seems to be two consecutive periods of abscence - in which case, the actor goes back to the pool.
We might grant exceptions for some of the "noteable persons" in who's who.
*phew*. Thoughts?
- Login to post comments
Post to Twitter
Some thoughts on actors.....
Well, you already know my thoughts on this, Adam, since we've just been discussing it. But for the record, this is something that has bugged me for some time. It's great to have a visual of any character used in the story, but it does become tedious when there's an "actor slot" used up by including a picture of said actor for that character when they wind up dying in the very first post in which they appear. This applies to both Fantastic Legends and LA By Night. Characters in both games have had this treatment.
I like the idea of reassinging used actors back to the available pool if such a thing happens to them. So half the Valhalla team on FL, and on LABN characters such as Adam's very own Cassandra (:wink: at Adam) should be able to have their actors reused a season or two after the season in which they appear is over.
The corollory to that is: it's not necessary to assign an actor to every tiny little role that comes up. It's quite acceptable to describe a character and leave it at that. If a character isn't going to appear in more than one or two posts, then I'd be very much inclined to argue that they don't require an actor. In the description, it would be ok to describe them as being somewhat LIKE a particular person - but still leaving that actor available for other roles.
For instance, to borrow Adam's description of Cassandra from LA By Night, in the one and only post in which she appeared... A 30-year-old woman sat across from him, her long, straight hair casually draped over one shoulder. She wore a black dress which served to accent her figure rather than hide it, and a simple silver cross hung around her neck.
Now, instead of assigning an actress to this role, it would be quite possible to either leave the description at that, or for a stronger visual it could be amended to include something like... "Whenever she wore her hair up in a ponytail, he couldn't help but be reminded of Susan Ivanova from the show Babylon 5."
This leaves Claudia Christian available for a more major npc role, if someone so chose, but definitely conveys a Claudia Christian feel to the character of Cassandra. :) (Sorry to keep using her as the example, Adam, but she was the one I'd just done in my own npc list on LABN, so she's fresh in my mind.)
Ok, I'll get off my soap box now....
Some thoughts on actors.....
Yeah, my general rule of thumb for "does this NPC need an actor" is a question: how vital is this NPC to the story? I've broken it a couple of times, but I think that the notion that, "Once used, anytime, never available again" is a little silly. Sometimes an actor doing the "guest shot" is justifiable, though.
For Cassandra (if we're going to use that example), it was mainly because she was a major part of Galen's backstory. It's not a question of number of posts they appear in to me as much as it is of plot requirements.
The goons that get whacked, even in a major event, need no actor. In the great scheme of things, we aren't interested in them from the point of view of the story. They're cannon fodder, or the guards outside the cell the hero escapes from.
Then there are those who might only show up on occassion, but are still important to the story. I'll use another SF example on my mind, Star Wars. I would argue that, if done in our format, an actor for Palpatine is quite justifiable if we were doing Empire Strikes Back. He shows up once, but Palpatine is the prime mover. He's the reason the Empire is the way it is, and while Darth Vader is the enemy in the field, it is ultimately Emperor Palpatine who calls the shots.
But might agree - it is a question of quality of plot moving, whether it be overall or in a charecter's particular arc. If the charecter will only show up for, say, one or two posts, but not be integral to the plot, we can use the 'appears like x' reference and leave the actor available for a more major role.
In short, my rule of thumb is strictly a question of how much a charecter contributes to the plot and not necessarily the quantity of posts someone appears in. "Once used, once discarded" can be justified in some cases, depending on the situation.
Some thoughts on actors.....
For the moment, until a "casting call" page can be set up I propose putting some sort of indicator on an actor's appearance in your post.
"Starring {Celebrity Blah} as {character}" indicates that that character is 'locked' for use by other players. They will either be a PC or a regular NPC who will be appearing in a critical (and memorable role).
"Guest Starring {Celebrity Blah} as {character Blah}" Is more of a temporary lock and means you want to hold this NPC's casting for a while before making a decision. Guest Stars cannot be used as a 'feature' until they are dead, well and truly not coming back, or they can be upgraded to a 'starring' role.
"Featuring {Celebrity Blah} as {Character Blah}" is more of a this character sort of looks like this indicator. After these actors are used they are recycled next season.
Once Heather and I get it together for LABN I will be compiling a "casting call" list of who has played what NPC in the game along with an icon
Locked or 
Unocked to indicate availability.
Anyone who wants to COMPILE the list for FL, post it here and that will speed getting these things online.
Some thoughts on actors.....
Uh, Dave... Adam's already done a list. Next thread down, sweetie. :)
And I've finally got off my arse and finished that list I was doing for LABN. Yay!! Check LABN for details. :)
Some thoughts on actors.....
Well... it's possible I might have missed some people when drawing up that list. But I'm also willing to at least keep the cast list for FL up to date (N.B. I will cease doing this if you saddle me with so much as a single mod power). Though the recurring charecter notion, I think, is a good one. Even if Dave's system is simpler. hehe.
Heather will kill me for bringing it up now, but I would even be willing to do the same for the LABN list.
For right now, I've spoken with enough people about plot ideas that I can make some educated guesses as to who goes in the pool and who does not and can start a preliminary list. Basically, if you have an NPC who is not listed your nemesis (Ethan Kale, Psyspell, Cerberus) and they're important enough to keep on, PM me.
MSN messanger works fine. E-mail does not, because quite frankly, I get too much of that as it is.
Basically what I can do each season/midseason is maintain a "master list" of who is playing what NPC, and a list of people we have used but are in the pool - along with recurrings and whoever is used and as who.
Some thoughts on actors.....
:) Too late, Adam. I've already posted up the list for LABN. But thanks for the offer.
Some thoughts on actors.....
I know you posted it up - I was being lazy and letting you finish compiling. ;) I was talking about doing maintinence to the list afterwards. :)