Ambiguous ages

[kara24601]

Hmm , I am curious to know people's opinion on how important it is to have set ages for some characters. In one of my stories...I think all people need to know is that the player character is younger than another character ....it is obvious throughout that both of them still live with a parent / both their parents. But even in real life there are some adults who still live with their parents , it's still possible to have one person be younger than somebody they've fallen in love with , and they are both adults. Even though it could be like that , I can also easily see my story falling into the "school romance" zone even though...even if I took that route...the actual story would take outside of school....

Oh , and...it's also possible for an adult to still like "kiddish" / "childish" things so really it shouldn't always be thought that "ok this character likes games and collects dolls...she's a kid / teenager"

[PyTom]

Hmm , I am curious to know people's opinion on how important it is to have set ages for some characters.

IMO, it's exactly as important as the game-maker wants it to be. You can choose to leave it vague, or you can give it in precise detail. The former helps more people to identify with the characters (maybe), while the latter helps us learn more about them. There's no right answer here.

Which is better? Sunlight or Guitar Music?

[papillon]

Mmm, I think age is relevant if you're aiming for anything resembling realism, because it makes a big difference.

Are they old enough to take control of their lives, or are they under the control of their parents? (Yes, some adults live with their parents, but that generally implies a different personality and backstory than living with parents as a minor does! It's important to KNOW if they're adult-with-parents.) Are they old enough to drive? Are they of an age to be just about to finish school, and thus thinking about their futures?

There are settings where it doesn't matter - like a romance on a summer beach vacation. People of any age could be there, and many real-life concerns are temporarily suspended.

And age to the exact day is not necessarily important - thirteen might be just about the same as fourteen for story purposes, twenty-three might be just as good as twenty-seven, but 14 and 27 are obviously not the same!

[kara24601]

Which is better? Sunlight or Guitar Music?

I pick guitar music as long as its done well....
I hate sunlight even though I know it's good for plants.
It seems like it's almost always too bright during the day.

Hmm...at one part the older character drives but I've thought about both them being old enough to drive and in a way ...even if you're an adult you can feel like your parents control you / try to control you too much

Age is just a number but alot of people place alot of importance on it too...especially when it comes to relationships....

but that generally implies a different personality and backstory than living with parents as a minor does!

I know , but I disagree that it's all that important to know they are adults living with parents. It's nice to have some stories be obscure about certain things ...maybe one or both characters don't like to discuss it....there could be a variety of reasons for them both still living with their parents even at the ages of 17 / 18 or twenty-something...( or a little bit older )

I haven't really decided the ages of the characters but even if I was / am leaning towards them being adults....alot of the text and situations suggest lives that could just as easily be with two teenagers.....

I also disagree about the personality thing. Some people will have ( more or less ) the same personality their whole life. I'll probably still collect dolls , read comic books , and play ren'ai games when I'm in my 40's or whatever

[papillon]

I'm not saying you have to tell the player what the reason is that the character is living with her parents, but you the writer need to have thought about it. Not every bit of detail you invent for a character ever needs to come out. Lots of it just goes into shaping the way the character thinks and acts.

If you have an adult character, they have to get their money from somewhere. And unless the game is taking place on a vacation, that source of income is probably important to their life and affects their actions. You may not ever need to tell us what job they do, but if the character is just wandering around doing whatever they want every day, then probably either the writer's pretty sloppy or the character is a member of the idle rich. Readers will notice and wonder.

I also disagree about the personality thing.

Disagree about what personality thing? Nobody has said anything about personality changing as you get older, or that older characters shouldn't like dolls.

All I said is that "I am 25 and live with my parents" brings across a whole different set of connections, images, and questions than "I am 15 and live with my parents". There are many reasons - maybe housing costs are really high, maybe the parents need care, maybe the character is scared to be alone. The reader will probably wonder about these things.

[kara24601]

Sorry .

You're right , a writer needs to give thought to how they are getting the money if you've shown so far they are doing things like going to the movies or clubbing or whatever...I haven't really thought about that that much and was just writing out that they go here or there and currently there is no mention of money throughout the story though it stands to reason that going to the movies or eating out or something like that costs money. X_X;;

Nobody has said anything about personality changing as you get older, or that older characters shouldn't like dolls.

Well , in real life , people may treat you differently if you're...say...20 something and show even the slightest sign that you like console games , dolls , or comic books. Even though nobody brought it up in here that older characters shouldn't like dolls...I thought of how people can be treated in real life and how it can carry over to certain characters.... I think the first thing was just a misunderstanding on my part...sorry.

So far , there is a mention of a mom for the other character but since I'm still working on everything there's no mention of the player character's family....the mom has a very minor role in the story ...really , she is only "in" a few scenes / mentioned in passing. ( like '...answered her cell phone.' "Oh , hi mom." ...one part 'her mom got out of the car and called her over' )

I'm thinking of having the player character living with her dad and making him have a high paying job or some such thing....

[musical74]

Hmmmmm I think I'm in favor of the characters being a bit ambiguous...either mention something about *so and so is in college* or high school or whatever, By keeping it somewhat ambiguous it's fun - for me, anyway - to guess why X hooks up with Y or why they get along so well...in Persona: Revelations it's mentioned the playable characters are juniors in high school, but you don't know their EXACT age. WIth Garden Society Kykuit, all that is known is that Arthur's in high school...I'd rather have some idea but not know exactly. BUT, as Pytom pointed out, that really depends on the gamemaker.

And Guitar music =)

[dizzcity]

I personally think it really revolves around the gamemaker... and sometimes, depends on the story. For example, my project "Wedding Vows" really relied on the reader knowing precisely what age the characters are at each point in the story, because it serves as the reference point tying all the scattered bits together. But some other stories can be completely vague without losing anything.

-Dizzy-

[mrsulu]

Are they old enough to take control of their lives, or are they under the control of their parents? (Yes, some adults live with their parents, but that generally implies a different personality and backstory than living with parents as a minor does! It's important to KNOW if they're adult-with-parents.) Are they old enough to drive? Are they of an age to be just about to finish school, and thus thinking about their futures?

No, no, no, they're ANIME PARENTS. They're in Hawaii, or dead, or travelling, or whatever. You're living on your own for some crazy reason and money just comes out of nowhere, and no one seems to care.

I read somewhere that Disney movies frequently have only one parent because it's much cheaper to only develop/draw/animate one.

[papillon]

That's why I said if you're aiming for realism.

"Hi, son, we just won the lottery and we're going to travel around the world for a year, here's ten thousand dollars and the house to yourself, try not to get arrested!" Perfectly normal anime plot. Especially if right afterwards, five beautiful women, each claiming that your parents owe THEM ten thousand dollars, show up and insist on moving into your house for the year...

[Alessio]

Cool, papillon just came up wth a good plot for NaNoReNo. ^_^

[monele]

Agreed XD

[musical74]

I don't know....maybe that plot requires more than a NaNoReNo entry! Good stuuf, definitely!

[papillon]

Hey, I've already given you guys a plot I want you to write for me. Get back to the first bunny!

[Counter Arts]

I'm already on it. Give it time. And I'm making it kinetic to make it release faster.

Hehe... It's like going to be the aftermath of "What's it all about?".