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Canterlot Cast Responsibility


SteelEagle

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These are my personal thoughts on cast characters here at Canterlot, and in no way reflect the stance of staff or administration.

So, you play cast or want to play cast, eh? Can't blame you, it's a lot of fun!

It's also a heavy responsibility in many aspects. You are the beacon that shines the brightest to attract those with the willingness to RP. Original Characters are the lifeblood of the Roleplay, but those charged with playing cast are what gets the ball rolling. When someone looks for a Pony roleplay, they look to who plays what character, how well that character is played, and how active that character is. When all works out, you have people excited by the prospects of playing with their favorite ponies. And once they get in and discover that, heck, THEY could play as their favorite ponies?

Their tiny little hearts practically explode in their beating breasts.

Then they read the rules and app guidelines and their excitement, fueled initially by cast, helps them get over the hurdle that getting into the World of Equestria RP is a process with some heartache to it.

Is Cast the only reason? Heck no. But it is a big part of the appeal, that we have active, high quality, high access cast. You'd be shocked how many people know Canterlot for that reason. It's rarer than you'd think!

So, playing cast is a big honor. However, as you could guess, there is a responsibility. Guests look at your posts and use that, among others, as a barometer for the forum. In other words, cast characters are a form of advertisement and your role is important. With that established, consider the following if you play cast or want to play cast(also, none of the following are rules, so follow them as well):

1- Play characters you think you can play well-

This should go without saying, but you shouldn't try to play characters that you don't have much of an idea for. This is often taken as meaning don't go out of your comfort zone, but it isn't. Take that leap, but take that leap with a solid idea of how you want to play the character. This will come through in the highest quality posts you can put out and as interesting a character as you can manage. If you don't do this, characters come across as slap-dash and uninteresting, or rule-breaking and weird.

2- Play characters for the right reasons.

Make sure you play characters because you love the character or the idea you have the character, you want to see them shine in the RP, and you want to use our setting to see them develop accordingly. Don't play a character because you like the name, colour combination, want to hoard, or want to save a character from others ad that is your main drive. Your motivation comes across in your posts and when there is a lack of motivation or drive, posts seem hollow. If you play for the right reasons, the motivation comes across just as well and posts seem to take on a certain energy all their own.

3- Play characters you can keep active and engaged

Along with motivation and quality, activity is vital. So vital that we have rules governing cast activity. Yet just because you pass by the rules doesn't mean your activity and engagement are a bonus to the RP. Active and engaged characters that keep the RP world a thumpin' are the lifeblood of the RP. Slow or inactive characters can kill threads and turn off swathes of roleplayers more effectively than poor quality ever could. Being able to look for a character and see that he or he is active and able to be found reasonably in the RP world is a huge bonus for us. Being unable to do so hurts us.

So, should you keep your characters/apply for one? Ask yourself the following:

1- Do I really want to play this character?

Different from, "Do I like this character?" as playing entails taking a significant amount of energy and devotion and putting it into a single character. Playing isn't always easy but part of the cast responsibility is that even when your energy is low, your creative mind floundering, tired and a cat is biting your ear, you have to push through eventually and get it done. It isn't always easy.

2- Do I have the time?

Whether it is real life or you have a thousand characters already, this is a vital question. If you don't have the time to get a character involved in the RP, then you really shouldn't try applying or keep playing that character. Not only does it just stress you out, but it hurts the RP and the site's advertisement.

So, the end is this: Are you willing to accept the responsibility of cast, not just per the rules, but the duty it implies for you as a member of the forum?

I hope so.

(Note- Some things have been left out, either for use in a future blog or because I'm tired.)

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It's frustrating to see how some high tier cast chars are not used to their full potential. Here's hoping things will get better in the future. Cast characters deserve to be played to their full potential!

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I used to be A Cast player like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee...

I used to be a cast player like you, then someone shot an arrow at my knee...from behind

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2- Do I have the time?

Whether it is real life or you have a thousand characters already, this is a vital question. If you don't have the time to get a character involved in the RP, then you really shouldn't try applying or keep playing that character. Not only does it just stress you out, but it hurts the RP and the site's advertisement.

Can't absolutely agree with you more on that point. If real-life junk ever severely interferes with my ability to post with my cast characters in a timely manner, I'd do what is right for our forum and give my cast ponies up so that other RPers may have them.

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Yeah... That last one is pretty much the reason why I don't apply for cast characters.

However the bigger reason is kinda similar to your first question "Can I play this character well." In some cases, I feel like I could play the character just fine. Like Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy, however, for me there is a disconnect in my mind, even me knowing that I could probably do it, I can't bring myself to do it. This is because even after 3 seasons I feel like I'd drag the character in my direction rather than the direction of the show. Which is why I don't like fanfiction. (Yeah, it is actually more of a personal aversion to putting my will on the creative spark of someone else, there are very few fics that I've read that actually felt organic with the original work, and I don't think I could replicate that with many characters)

Perhaps one day I'll do a T-3, or if Discord is put into the mix, I'll app him (along with half of Canterlot I'm sure). Honestly, Discord is the only exception because I grew up with characters like him, either Q from Star Trek TNG or Loki from Marvel or The Mask or you can even argue that Gogo Dodo was a similar type of character. I know how they think and operate. And unlike other characters, their development is more in line with what they can or can't do, rather than their overall personality. Even Discord in the most recent ep, won't likely cease screwing with Celestia just for fun (Actually I'd love to see a Spin-off series about that, but I doubt that would ever happen), but rather will tone down what he'll do in fear of reprimands or losing his only friend.

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I treat playing a top tiered cast character, in this case for me, Applejack, as if I'm putting on a costume at an amusement park. It's fun to be THAT guy in the suit that walks around and makes all the kids happy and gets to act like the character and be silly. But it's also a responsibility. I take it upon myself to not just play the characters because I enjoy it, but also because others can enjoy it too. The moment I fail to represent a presence of the character for other people, not just myself, then I have ceased the fruitfulness of that character entirely. It's important to have fun, it doesn't need to be a job. But important characters can't afford to be small scale. Who knows? If you're playing an important character of fan favorite, some visitor to this site might base their entire interest in this based on how their favorite character is being portrayed and how often. I know it has happened before.

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I find the lack of Steven Magnet requests disturbing...

Neh.

That's why I like my role as Steven, really - I'm not a fashionista, but I love playing one. I just love his speech patterns and body language!

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