Faces in the Crowd

Ok, Chyna confesses to confusion here. It may be my inexperience. It may be that my brain doesn't work on all the higher levels. (Entirely possible!) But it may also be that others are having the same challenge, so thought I'd just put it on the table & see what happens.

Here's the thing. We have these kinda sub-characters called NPCs (non-player characters, technically). And we use them for filler--bartenders, servers, kids playing in the street, that kinda thing. Some people use them as background in tribes or mob scenes & stuff, too. It's all good, gives a sense that there's more to Fort River than you see day to day.

Here's where the problem comes in. Some players have a tendency to name NPCs when they use them.

Names are special things. Players are very creative when it comes to naming & describing their characters & then playing them true. And in homage to all that creative effort, I work really hard to keep the names of primary & secondary characters straight from scene to scene & thread to thread! But believe me, the work is even more challenging if someone expects me to remember the name of the 3rd kid on the left in the last mob scene or the little NPC tribe-member that appeared 500 posts back. It's just not happenin', guys!

NPCs are meant to be throw-aways. Just another face in the crowd that comes & goes according to the needs of the moment or the scene.

It would be a HUGE help--just in keeping the stories & the important characters straight--if we could resist that urge to give a name to every face in the crowd.

Just food for thought...

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"