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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Warbridge" data-source="post: 4260797" data-attributes="member: 63977">The crux of the issue does revolve around escapsist entertainment.  People like to try new things once in a while, regardless of old favorites.  Not only are we playing to be entertained, but some of us are playing to entertain others as well.  Trying out a new character or two is simply a way of stretching the creative muscles and exercising the imagination in ways which may be unacustomed when using old standbys.  A few of the new characters may last a good deal longer, with some select few becoming the next regular face.  It depends entirely on how much the player enjoys playing that character, why, and probably a little bit of how others seem to get along with the new face as well.  The sad flipside is that a large number of the experimental characters will fall to the cutting room floor: deemed a poor idea, unsuitable for extended play, or simply less fun than expected.  Given this, the creative process does seem a little wasteful, but not every idea is a good one.Your own commentary on the issue shows that you have gone through a similar process of creating characters over the years.  I don't expect those seven you mentioned were all created fully formed over the course of a weekend then played regularly for eight years.  There's a good chance that you made a couple, then gradually added here and there.  Each character crafted for specific reasons with as rough or detailed a sketch of their backstory and personality you deemed necessary at the time; the great depth of each coming later as an organic process built upon myriad interactions with others and new ideas of your own.  If true, then at some point you were guilty of that which you now highlight for discussion.  Everyone with more than one character to rub together will of course share equally in guilt, myself included.I'm not convinced the new characters you see are the problem.  In fact, I'm not sure if you are convinced they are the problem so much as they underscored a deeper issue.  The difficulty of beginning new interactions with unknown characters is a long complex process that involves a lot of work.  Often we start by trying to find some point of commonality or reference at which to interject.  Sometimes that point never arises and we "force start" an interaction, but this seems a bit less reliable and awkward.  Once in a while it proves to be really easy to start that first interaction, allowing the beginning of a long term bond.  Any of these situations can contribute to frustration should the character disappear: either you put in a lot of work that is now lost, or you won the lottery for a change with an easy start.  Woops, there they go down the drain.To me it parallels real life.  If I go into a room full of people I may mill about aimlessly for an hour feeling ill at ease unless I find either someone I know or happen across someone I discover a common interest with.  Starting with someone you know is safe and easy.  Striking up a conversation with a stranger can prove to not only be difficult and scarey, but ultimately might prove to be a more enriching experience.  Simple and easy just do not test us in the ways that stepping outside our comfort zone do.  This is what I refer to in my "Greater Theory of the Internets" by the subtopic of "Meeting Girls is Hard," which is not actually about meeting girls at all.  The sentiment in those four words is readily understandable and relatable to anyone.Oh, and Ariel has a valid point about the senility.  The forgetfulness may just stem from the fact that we enjoy a hobby that per person could ultimately consist of more text than a set of encyclopedias.  Getting older doesn't help us remember all that detail, but the RPing may help to keep the mind and memory more engaged leading to a lesser likelihood that we'll have to deal with senility, dementia, or something similar.</blockquote>

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