- Establishments
So you wanna make a character, eh? This guide has essential information for filling out your application as well as a quick rundown of what we look for in a character, but, as always, feel free to ask for clarification if you can't find your answer here or in the Rules and FAQ. Let's get creating~
The Visual App
The visual application above is for all playable characters (click here for the NPC app) and is clearly labelled for your ease of use. No additional written information need be added onto the app.
The right side is meant for your character's app art. This must be a full body image, and must be drawn completely by you.
The Description
Name: Your character's name. First names are required; last names are optional.
Gender: What gender your character identifies as.
Age: No restrictions as to age, but keep it reasonable. Younger characters may likely have a guardian of sorts, be it a sibling, friend, parent, or otherwise; further, characters between the ages of 5-16 are required to attend Cog Academy unless they have a parent or guardian willing to homeschool them.
Species: Which species your character is. Note that certain species are restricted.
Ability: Must be an ability that is compatible with their species. Hidden abilities are allowed.
Hometown: Where they lived prior to coming to Steam. Please keep it canon.
Birthdate: The day and month of birth; year is optional.
Nature: Your character's nature; see below for a complete list of natures.
Summary Characteristic: Your character's best-fitting characteristic; see below for a complete list of characteristics.
Personality: A summary of their personality traits; optional but recommended. Personality traits should contain a blend of positive and negative traits, but nothing that directly contradicts, e.g. having jolly/untrusting is ok but nice/mean is not.
History: Give an insight into your character's backstory; at least two decent-sized paragraphs. The history must contain an explanation as to how your character came across their letter, but they should not be written as already on the island. See below for a quick guide on creating a character.
Moveset: They can have up to four moves; moves must be learned by canon means, i.e. level, egg, tutor, machine... no event moves!
Extras: Further details that don't fit in the other sections; optional.
Restricted Pokemon
Articuno • Zapdos • Moltres • Mewtwo • Mew • Raikou • Entei • Suicune • Lugia • Ho-Oh • Celebi • Regirock • Regice • Registeel • Latias • Latios • Kyogre • Groudon • Rayquaza • Jirachi • Deoxys • Uxie • Mesprit • Azelf • Dialga • Palkia • Heatran • Regigigas • Giratina • Cresselia • Phione • Manaphy • Darkrai • Shaymin • Arceus • Victini • Cobalion • Terrakion • Virizion • Tornadus • Thundurus • Reshiram • Zekrom • Landorus • Kyurem • Keldeo • Meloetta • Genesect • Xerneas • Yveltal • Zygarde • Hoopa • Volcanion • Diancie
Natures
Bashful :: Shy, doesn't like or want attention.
Docile :: Submissive, does what it is told
Hardy :: Robust, able to endure unfavorable conditions
Quirky :: Has peculiar habits or traits, odd
Serious :: Not allowing humor or being affected by it, solemn
Adamant :: Unyielding, will not allow their opinions to be changed
Brave :: Daring, ready to face danger with displaying little or no fear
Lonely :: Solitary, doesn't seek the company of others
Naughty :: Not behaving in the desired manner, disobedient
Bold :: Willing or wanting to take risks, confident
Relaxed :: Stable, free from worry and easygoing
Impish :: Mischievous, wanting to cause trouble
Lax :: Not wanting to do work or commit to something, lazy
Modest :: Assuming that one's abilities are moderate, not vain or arrogant
Mild :: Reserved, behaving peacefully
Quiet :: Not noisy or outspoken, no big or sudden movements
Rash :: Not thinking before acting, impulsive
Calm :: Placid, not easily worked up
Gentle :: Peaceful, being pleasant or pacifying in actions & words
Sassy :: Having attitude, not respectful
Careful :: Cautious, not willing to take risks or not think things through
Timid :: Easily frightened, irrational fear or lack of courage
Hasty :: Working with excessive urgency, unwilling to focus for long periods of time
Jolly :: Happy, very agreeable and easy to talk to
Naive :: Lack of experience or judgement, innocent
Summary Characteristics
Loves to eat
Proud of its power
Sturdy body
Highly curious
Strong willed
Likes to run
Takes plenty of siestas
Likes to thrash about
Capable of taking hits
Mischievous
Somewhat vain
Alert to sounds
Nods off a lot
A little quick tempered
Highly persistent
Thoroughly cunning
Strongly defiant
Impetuous and silly
Scatters things often
Likes to fight
Good endurance
Often lost in thought
Hates to lose
Somewhat of a clown
Likes to relax
Quick tempered
Good perseverance
Very finicky
Somewhat stubborn
Quick to flee
Quick Guide
Alright, we're gonna brush the surface of the nitty-gritty here. The following information is completely optional reading, but it's here to give you a taste of what we're looking for in an app. Take it as a grain of salt.
Visual DesignSure, we all love to play around with drastic changes to a species' original design, especially being an anthro pokemon group—hair over scales? fingers instead of pincers and fins? arms and wings?—but don't neglect the little details that make your character unique.
Since we're a steampunk group, you'll need to incorporate those elements into your character's clothing. Steampunk is a loosely defined and highly aesthetic genre, so you're going to have to do some playing around, but notable keywords include: gears, clockwork, victorian, industrial, 19th c., goggles, corsets, boots, leather, suspenders, top hats, tuxedos, bowties...
Stretch those body proportions, repeat those design elements, and make your character unified and fun-to-draw.
Character DevelopmentHaving a character concept can help tremendously in creating your character. Whenever you get stuck, just remind yourself of your character's concept. This does not have to be limited to "steampunk" jobs, because having only mechanics would be boring and predictable.
As of writing this, currently underused concepts include: milliner, biologist, clocksmith, poet, cobbler, stablehand, chimneysweep, lamplighter, mortician, taxidermist, archaeologist, arbologist, falconer... Combine this with an adjective/adverb or two or three and you'll have something of a quick note you can always look to.
When writing your character's history, try to show how they're reacting to the events in their life. This will also give you a good sense of their personality.
Conflict is good, but don't overdo it. If you must, limit your character's backstory to ONE big dramatic instance. Furthermore, negative events should have a negative impact on your character.
Final Thoughts
Stay away from self-inserts. They're prone to poor development. If you find yourself thinking "what would I do" as opposed to "what would my character do," then you're likely making a self-insert. Do not include canon pokemon characters in your history. We're talking Ash Ketchum, Nurse Joys, experiments from Prof. Fennel... They do not exist in this iteration of the poke-verse. Steer clear of character-inserts. Having a farfetch'd named Hatsune Miku or a foongus named Toad can be fun, but don't create a carbon copy of a copyrighted character. It's not clever. Your character cannot know about Steam prior to arriving. They may have heard of the "legend of Steam," but nothing more. They wouldn't know it's a real place until receiving their letter. They may not be related to nor know any important NPCs already living on Steam. In the rest of the world, the island is only considered a legend, so even if they have heard of Old Man Time or Mayor Cornelius, they certainly wouldn't know them. Outrageous color combinations and drastic changes to species design will give us the grounds to decline your app. Slight changes are perfectly fine—i.e. having an eevee a lighter or darker brown—but no direct color swapping. Keep everything balanced and realistic and HAVE FUN!Revamped 2015 June 23 by vireosy
