What makes a poor OC? Post your thoughts here!

Started by Renatan, 2014 Apr 27, 22:45:47

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DashieFanBoy

Quote from: Midnight Breeze on 2014 Apr 27, 22:51:51
Alicorns.
Hybrid species.
Extracanon powers.
Blood relative to a canon character.


Or all of the above at the same time. Like an alicorn dragon pony who is Rainbow Dash's brother.


Oh... Because my OC is Rainbow's Brother. V_V   D:

equestrianAce

OCs with neony, rainbow designs. Or OCs that have black and red everywhere. Demon ponies or possessed ponies. Alicorn ponies in general seem to be Mary Sues/Gary Stus. Stripes, spots, demonic pupils, antlers. Generic personalities such as "violent", "sweet", or "weird" and making that their only trait.

My OC is kind of generic, but I guess I'll tell you about her anyway. Her name is Feathera Quillpen. She is a unicorn pony with a green coat and a black mane kept in a braid. Her talent is writing, hence, her cutie mark is a quill. She is mostly quiet as she doesn't really know how to socialize. She has a couple friends, but mostly prefers to stay quiet around every other pony. She hopes to become a writer someday and is currently writing a book. Feathera also has a good sense of humor, though she amuses herself way too much.

Likes: Writing, Cooking, Sightseeing, Shopping.
Dislikes: Dishonest Ponies, Drawing, Being Adventurous, Interacting With Other Ponies.
What do you think of her?
"You're asking me why? I did it 'cause I was bored."

GoldenTerrabyte

I agree with all that, except neon is good.
I'm back

Naura

When it comes to Alicorn Oc's, I usually can accept them as long as they got a good reason to be princess, like, we got the princess of sun, of moon (including stars), of love and of friendship. I had a plan on a princess, may or may not use it, and it was supposed to be the princess of Joy/enjoyment. Not the best idea, but if an alicorn doesn't have a good reason of alicorn powers, I just have a hard time to accept it...
Feel free to check out my [URL=http://forum.legendsofequestria.com/index.php?topic=11982.0]Oc page[/URL]!

AaronMk

Quote from: Naura on 2014 Jun 25, 07:50:01
When it comes to Alicorn Oc's, I usually can accept them as long as they got a good reason to be princess, like, we got the princess of sun, of moon (including stars), of love and of friendship. I had a plan on a princess, may or may not use it, and it was supposed to be the princess of Joy/enjoyment. Not the best idea, but if an alicorn doesn't have a good reason of alicorn powers, I just have a hard time to accept it...


Spoiler: show


All hail Queen Whiskey.


#DeposeGothsFromRomanClay

Renatan

I'm not sure if I've already mentioned this but another thing that bothers me is when people make a blind/deaf/lame pony to try and be "special" or seem all accepting towards disabled people but end up making a slap in the face to them.

Don't know what I mean? Take Snowdrop, an ever so popular OC whom I only recently realized how awfully she is written. *Before someone mentions how my avatar is/was Snowdrop that's because I like her DESIGN, not her "personality" if you could call it that.* During the entire episode short thingy most of everything she did added up to her complaining about being blind. She had no personality outside of "I'm so sad because I'm blind and no one likes me! Boo hoo I wish I could seeee  D: Audience, are you pitying me yet? I'm a sad little guuuuuuurl! :c"

First of all, let's address the class: kids aren't that mean. Sure some might bully her but most wouldn't. Most kids would be really interested in talking to a blind child! The class was written lazily and without a second thought. Also, why wasn't Snowdrop in a blind school? If Earth has them I'm sure Equestria does too! She shouldn't even be in a regular public school!

Snowdrop: Great design, horrendous personality. She just complains about being blind and wishes she could see. Most peope don't realize something, something that Snowdrop's creators also missed: blind people focus on everything that ISN'T their blindness. Why waste time on that? They can pretty much do everything a seeing person can do with just a few acceptations so why would they get all hung up on it? It also seems that Snowdrop was born blind so she'd care even less probably. She doesn't know what it would have been like to see so she wouldn't personally miss anything. It's not like she fell in love with colors and such only to learn that she would never see them again (the only time it is acceptable to write a character mourning their loss of vision for a short while. Don't let it consume them.

I'll stop harassing Snowdrop now. My point is making deaf or blind or lame OCs is just fine but remember that they are people too! Don't focus on what they don't have, focus on what they do have. What do they like? What can they do? What are challenges they face? It's fine to mention their disability but don't make it all they exist for. I'm making a deaf filly OC (and her mother, father, and perhaps a grandmother too) but I make her deafness what she ignores. She's still a child; she's curious, likes to play and explore, she's outgoing and uses affection as a way to display emotions that she can't voice, she can get into mischief and misbehave. She's more than a slightly flawed body. She's a living creature with a soul and personality. She exists and wants to make the most of it.
Beware the writer. She will feed off everything you say and store it into her memory, so don't be surprised if a few years from now you open up a book and see something you said years ago there. I'm always watching ovO

Ramisha

When I read that, I  remembered another trait some fail OCs share. They lost one or both of their parents early in their life, and in their adolescent years go on a quest to find them. :l seriously? If you lost your parents that early they might be dead or don't want to see you. Not to mention you don't know how they look and why does it matter anyway, you grew up without them. You're an adult now, why would you need parents anymore?
Ps. This doesn't apply to pony characters exclusively.

GoldenTerrabyte

I'm back

S_Realm

Eh? I thought this topic had died a quiet death. Now we're gonna get all these people's asking for help on making their OC's look pretty. Problem is there's so many people who need help. Where to even start?  DD: (they all need help!!!)

Naura

When somepony goes like:
"This Oc of mine lives (now I'll just use some examples) In a volcano/ in the castle in canterlot/ at this tiny island outside ponyville that nopony knows it exists."
I mean like, some places, like the volcano, just no. You can't live inside one! not even if your talent is fire >:O And in a castle? Okay, maybe some guards sleep there and so, but living in like the princesses castle for no good reason is just stupid! They wouldn't (probably) even allow that. And for the last. If your Oc doesn't happen to live early in the ages of equestria, then how is it supposed to live on a place nopony knows that it exsists? Maybe a place in everfree, but that's because of reasons, almost more than one pony must know where you're home is, if not you are a lone pony who doesn't have any friends...


TL;DR Living in bizarre places is not a trait any oc should have...
Feel free to check out my [URL=http://forum.legendsofequestria.com/index.php?topic=11982.0]Oc page[/URL]!

Bro1997

Quote from: AaronMk on 2014 Jun 25, 09:31:07
Quote from: Naura on 2014 Jun 25, 07:50:01
When it comes to Alicorn Oc's, I usually can accept them as long as they got a good reason to be princess, like, we got the princess of sun, of moon (including stars), of love and of friendship. I had a plan on a princess, may or may not use it, and it was supposed to be the princess of Joy/enjoyment. Not the best idea, but if an alicorn doesn't have a good reason of alicorn powers, I just have a hard time to accept it...


Spoiler: show


All hail Queen Whiskey.


My OC is an alicorn and he's a prince. What's so bad about that? He could marry the other three alicorns (Princess Cadance is already married though)

Naura

Oh, I didn't mean that having a prince alicorn is bad, I meant why they're a prince/princess is usually weird and bad.
Feel free to check out my [URL=http://forum.legendsofequestria.com/index.php?topic=11982.0]Oc page[/URL]!

Night Pony

Quote from: Bro1997 on 2014 Jul 31, 11:50:49
My OC is an alicorn and he's a prince. What's so bad about that? He could marry the other three alicorns (Princess Cadance is already married though)


Stating it like that makes him look bad. There are thousands of Prince alicorns that are black with white/red/gray and etc. What's different between your OC and theirs? Why is he a prince? Any reason he is an alicorn? Any explanation why as to how he is a male alicorn? Since most think only mares can be alicorns.

People make a lot of assumptions in everyday. So without features to distinguish your OC from the bad, it's largely assume he is bad too.

I want to thank all of the artist that have drawn my OCs.
Night Shine and Moon Violet

Bro1997

Quote from: Night Pony on 2014 Jul 31, 12:09:10
Quote from: Bro1997 on 2014 Jul 31, 11:50:49
My OC is an alicorn and he's a prince. What's so bad about that? He could marry the other three alicorns (Princess Cadance is already married though)


Stating it like that makes him look bad. There are thousands of Prince alicorns that are black with white/red/gray and etc. What's different between your OC and theirs? Why is he a prince? Any reason he is an alicorn? Any explanation why as to how he is a male alicorn? Since most think only mares can be alicorns.

People make a lot of assumptions in everyday. So without features to distinguish your OC from the bad, it's largely assume he is bad too.

He's a special alicorn, but yeah I know what your talking about. I just feel alicorns could be male too.

Post Merge

Quote from: Naura on 2014 Jul 31, 12:01:48
Oh, I didn't mean that having a prince alicorn is bad, I meant why they're a prince/princess is usually weird and bad.

I am weird in general so I guess it doesn't bother me

Night Pony

Define special alicorn. Alicorns are already special if you ask the majority of the fandom and making him even more 'special' feels cheap.

I want to thank all of the artist that have drawn my OCs.
Night Shine and Moon Violet

Bro1997

Quote from: Night Pony on 2014 Jul 31, 12:18:40
Define special alicorn. Alicorns are already special if you ask the majority of the fandom and making him even more 'special' feels cheap.

Sorry about that. I don't use the right terms sometimes.

Mango Dolphin

In truth, what I believe to be a bad character isn't just the lack of consistency, overly bright neon colors whereas I am very guilty of, relation or relationship with a canon character, cliche use of species, generic and sometimes even invalid excuses for a personality, or amping up their powers to an 11, but the lack of the character doing something worthwhile and lacking a situation where they must work hard to see the light of day. They're made just to be special, make you feel special, and super powerful. But what's the point when they're going to get out of it anyways? And in roleplays, even when you aren't allowed to powerplay, that OC has nothing to worry about because they're going to get out of it easy anyways. What's the point?

AaronMk

2014 Jul 31, 18:10:05 #77 Last Edit: 2014 Jul 31, 18:20:57 by AaronMk
Quote from: Ramisha on 2014 Jul 31, 09:20:51
When I read that, I  remembered another trait some fail OCs share. They lost one or both of their parents early in their life, and in their adolescent...


Though not directly relevant to the questing part later I do front to challenge this baseless assumption with:

Spoiler: show

Father never mentioned, if not: then very little. Effectively gives up on mother when she goes to chase a mare into the wide world.


Never knew her father because Stable 99 tradition and likely died long ago. Mother dies mid-story before she's forced to gas her entire Stable and become homeless and parentless


Mother dies early in story, effectively orphaning her. Later parental drama involving opiate-addicted father.


Laundry list of issues including but not limited to not knowing her lineage as well as being responsible for murdering her own foal. Can't kill herself out of the guilt.


Her roll in her relevant story fluctuates between looking for her mother on the side to "what in the blazing wastelands happened to her".


The ENTIRE PLOT of Pink Eyes is pretty much Puppysmile's quest for her mom.


You can't really say such a thing is a defacto universal truth to a terrible OC since I can probably dig up an exception in the FoE-verse, which is the biggest fannon universe I've really bothered with. But not being a "canon" species, having lost their parents, being an alicorn, or any card I've seen pulled here doesn't mean that they're terrible. I can still keep finding exceptions that disprove the rule.

So, in the ultimate end:



Quote from: Bro1997 on 2014 Jul 31, 11:50:49
Quote from: AaronMk on 2014 Jun 25, 09:31:07
Quote from: Naura on 2014 Jun 25, 07:50:01
When it comes to Alicorn Oc's, I usually can accept them as long as they got a good reason to be princess, like, we got the princess of sun, of moon (including stars), of love and of friendship. I had a plan on a princess, may or may not use it, and it was supposed to be the princess of Joy/enjoyment. Not the best idea, but if an alicorn doesn't have a good reason of alicorn powers, I just have a hard time to accept it...


Spoiler: show


All hail Queen Whiskey.


My OC is an alicorn and he's a prince. What's so bad about that? He could marry the other three alicorns (Princess Cadance is already married though)

You ain't even got the prestige modifier, kid.


#DeposeGothsFromRomanClay

Luminescence

Firstly, As said below, there is one constant I have found in practicaly everything. "For every rule, there is an exception, even this." So I can only say for most OC's what problems might be.

A big thing that bothers me, is names. Chances are, if your name includes things like: Master, King, Boom, Rainbow, Explosions, Power, yada yada, It needs some more, muchness. This is a leading tip off that the following OC may just be a Power Point Stew in a pony shape. Sometimes not even pony shaped.

Second thing, Names. Different thing. If I can read your name, and imedeatly guess what your talent is, it makes me intrigued. Usually, it means you can't think of something else that would fit. EXEPTION 1: Like a recent OC I've talked to, sometimes the they have a family name that is what things are related to. Example: The Apple Family EXEPTION 2: Recently, I've figured, "Since there are so many canon ponies with clearly cutiemark related names, perhaps at the cutie cienera, there is a renaming ceramony if they wish. It would explain a lot..."

Third thing. OP. Usually handled poorly.

Fourth thing. They aren't normal... This is a bit esoteric, but a lot of OC's seem just so... off. They can have tragic backstories, that isn't a problem. Equestria can't all be sunshine and rainbows, look at Manehatten, an alicorn couldn't get a cab. They can even be outrageously colored, but if they aren't handled well, it feels so... off. I want to say things like, stiff and ridged, almost mechanical, but that doesn't cover everything. It is almost as if you can feel them being used. It doesn't feel organic.

Sorry If I am just being a bit strange, this is just what I think of as bad.
I believe the shape of happiness resembles glass. Even though, we don't usually notice it, it's still definitely there, we merely need to change our point of view slightly, and that glass will sparkle whenever it reflects the light. I doubt that anything else can argue its own existence so perfectly

Renatan

Quote from: Naura on 2014 Jul 31, 10:25:39
When somepony goes like:
"This Oc of mine lives (now I'll just use some examples) In a volcano/ in the castle in canterlot/ at this tiny island outside ponyville that nopony knows it exists."
I mean like, some places, like the volcano, just no. You can't live inside one! not even if your talent is fire >:O And in a castle? Okay, maybe some guards sleep there and so, but living in like the princesses castle for no good reason is just stupid! They wouldn't (probably) even allow that. And for the last. If your Oc doesn't happen to live early in the ages of equestria, then how is it supposed to live on a place nopony knows that it exsists? Maybe a place in everfree, but that's because of reasons, almost more than one pony must know where you're home is, if not you are a lone pony who doesn't have any friends...


TL;DR Living in bizarre places is not a trait any oc should have...


Heh, I may be slightly guilty of that one. I have an OC Dark Grave who lives in a cottage outside Ponyville hidden in a small forest thingy (Of which everyone seems to assume is the Everfree. Bro. Dark Grave doesn't want to live in Hell on... Equestria. ) But it's not unknown that it's there. Some ponies know it's there but they don't know exactly who lives there. Others just assume it's abandoned. So I'm pretty sure it's not as bad as being like "she lives in a secret cave outside Ponyville nopony knows about!" but it isn't completely guiltless either.
Beware the writer. She will feed off everything you say and store it into her memory, so don't be surprised if a few years from now you open up a book and see something you said years ago there. I'm always watching ovO

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