Poll: Preference for character longevity

[nessalin]

set up

[Marauder Moe]

I don't understand the question.

[BlackMagic0]

I don't understand the question.

I am assuming, The question is what is the preference for a characters life in RL time. How long do you prefer your favorite characters to live, before a few times happen. Either they die or you get bored... Supposing...? 

[Janna]

I went with a year as a general rule of thumb, though I've had a few I would have loved to have played much longer.

[Lizzie]

Between 6 months and a year is good for me. It's long enough I can really dig into the plotlines in the vicinity of my character, and short enough I can still feel things are "fresh" and look forward to a new PC without frustration of the old one. After a year, even when I enjoy the character, I start wondering when I'll be able to try something new.

[Marauder Moe]

Oh.

I don't think it's character's longevity that contributes to me getting bored with them.

[RogueGunslinger]

This poll doesn't apply to me, because I've never had a character for over two months. Hell one month is pushing it.

That's not due to preference, either. I usually get tired of my character and suicide/retire, Or they die.

I guess you could say my preference is for short lived characters, but I -really- want a long lived one.


Edit: P.S. There is a typo in the poll options.

[nessalin]

The poll is entirely about your preference, not your prior success / failure with keeping a character alive.

[RogueGunslinger]

I don't think I could 'prefer' to do something I've never done before.

I can want to do something I've never done, but that doesn't mean I prefer it over something I have.

[FuSoYa]

At about the six month or 20-25 days played mark I notice myself becoming bored and getting stuck doing the same things over and over again.  So if I can't find something fresh at that time I normally begin to wish for something to happen and start planning another character.

Brandon

[Mood]

This poll doesn't apply to me, because I've never had a character for over two months. Hell one month is pushing it.

That's not due to preference, either. I usually get tired of my character and suicide/retire, Or they die.

I guess you could say my preference is for short lived characters, but I -really- want a long lived one.


Edit: P.S. There is a typo in the poll options.

RGS and I could possibly be the same person. Shit.

[Delstro]

I usually get tired/too connected to a character after 6 months to continue playing. I start acting like them IRL, or I just stop logging into Arm because at that point as it is too boring when everyone avoids me for 2 months.

[Ender]

The longer I play a character, the more attached to them I become.  I've had instances where the character has become really boring for awhile, and normally I can just chug on through and grow to appreciate it more.

I tend to invest a lot of time, emotion, and effort into my PCs so it will usually keep them fresh for me as long as I keep playing them.  So I don't really have a preference on the max amount of time I want to play a PC.

[a strange shadow]

The longer I have a character, the longer I can explore them and the more in-depth their story becomes.

The occasional break is inevitable with such a long-lived PC, but I've always come back feeling fresh.

[Bogre]

The longer I play a character, the more attached to them I become.  I've had instances where the character has become really boring for awhile, and normally I can just chug on through and grow to appreciate it more.

I tend to invest a lot of time, emotion, and effort into my PCs so it will usually keep them fresh for me as long as I keep playing them.  So I don't really have a preference on the max amount of time I want to play a PC.

seconded

[musashi]

I enjoy a long lived character over a shortlived one, but on the flip side, when that long lived character dies it makes creating a new one all that much more of a pain in the ass for me.

Sort of like: The further along I get in the game, the less and less I want to start over, if that makes sense.

[BlackMagic0]

I've loved all my long characters, and I'll echo everyone else..

The longer I play a character, the more attached to them I become.  I've had instances where the character has become really boring for awhile, and normally I can just chug on through and grow to appreciate it more.

I tend to invest a lot of time, emotion, and effort into my PCs so it will usually keep them fresh for me as long as I keep playing them.  So I don't really have a preference on the max amount of time I want to play a PC.

seconded

Thirded?..... 

[Pale Horse]

The longer I play a character, the more attached to them I become.  I've had instances where the character has become really boring for awhile, and normally I can just chug on through and grow to appreciate it more.

I tend to invest a lot of time, emotion, and effort into my PCs so it will usually keep them fresh for me as long as I keep playing them.  So I don't really have a preference on the max amount of time I want to play a PC.

seconded

I enjoy a long lived character over a shortlived one, but on the flip side, when that long lived character dies it makes creating a new one all that much more of a pain in the ass for me.

Sort of like: The further along I get in the game, the less and less I want to start over, if that makes sense.

QFT

[BlackMagic0]

I feel shamed.. Pale Horse did not add me in the quoting part of seconds and thirds! 

[Pale Horse]

I've loved all my long characters, and I'll echo everyone else..

The longer I play a character, the more attached to them I become.  I've had instances where the character has become really boring for awhile, and normally I can just chug on through and grow to appreciate it more.

I tend to invest a lot of time, emotion, and effort into my PCs so it will usually keep them fresh for me as long as I keep playing them.  So I don't really have a preference on the max amount of time I want to play a PC.

seconded

Thirded?..... 

I feel shamed.. Pale Horse did not add me in the quoting part of seconds and thirds! 

Fourthed

[Morrolan]

I prefer characters on slow burn, that last over a year.

[Gunnerblaster]

I've had roughly up to 11 to 12 characters, within the past year and a half - So I guess I haven't really gotten a preference for "Character Longevity", yet.

The amount of time I want to put into a character really depends on how much fun I get out of it. I spend less amount of time on the more boring characters, so they tend to live longer then my active, "Yay, this rocks" characters.

[Vessol]

Currently playing my first long-lived character, I can say that it is fun, but can get rather boring sometimes. What is fun is having that rich backstory that you have seen develop as you play that character. The plots that are formed and end within your life. Being able to look back, as your character, at past events and be able to comment on them IC. Yes, it can get boring however. You oftentimes find that your character grows flat. Oftentimes I sometimes notice that many of my characters words are my own, or that their personality has shifted to my own. I find it is hard to play a very different character who has a different personality than my own, for great amounts of time.

[Maso]

MY best experience by far was with a long lived character (nearly 2 years RL and 60ish days played). I don't think it is the longevity that made it fun, but the fun that made it last. I still miss that character now, even though I'm well into another one and would quite happily drop any role to have it back. I could probably have played her quite happily until the end of Arm, and was more than ready to.

Thus my answer is 1year + for sure. Because if I have character that lasts that long - it means I'm really enjoying it. If I'm bored I usually do dumb things and die.

[UnderSeven]

The thing about this question to me anyway is we all have the tools to make our chars go away.  Retirement, for instance.  But part of the fun for me is trying to maintain them as long as I can.  And this might be against other people trying to kill them or taking risky chances.