[Accepted] Carprillo's IPC Application!

[C a r p r i l l o]

BYOND Key: Carprillo

Character Names: Samuel Sprague (EDIT: Fulton Salen, too.)

Species you are applying to play: IPC (Industiral Frame)

What color do you plan on making your first alien character (Dionaea & IPCs exempt): N/A

Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes sir/ma'am!

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Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question

Why do you wish to play this specific race: Because, frankly, IPCs in general are one of my favorite races to play on SS13 servers. Due to their artificial nature, they have a very interesting perspective for role-playing (covered below). And while I do enjoy playing as human characters, I find IPCs much more interesting to write out backstories and characters for.

As for why specifically I chose the Industrial Frame? Well, I've played IPCs of the 'Shell' and 'Baseline' frames on other servers, and while they WERE entertaining and (in my opinion at least) unique characters, they're incredibly common. However, the Industrial setup caught my eye because it's different. It's new to me still, unexplored in terms of characterwork. An Industrially-inclined IPC would likely have very different programming, mannerisms, and generally be a very separate experience from the other two forms of IPCs, and I find this incredibly intriguing and interesting to flesh (steel?) out.

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: IPCs are much more dissimilar to humans than one might suggest. Even disregarding the physical differences, their mentalities are considerably different as well, as a species. Physically, obviously, IPCs are entirely mechanical, made on an assembly line. They lack blood or lungs, along with any organs period, but they do have their own mechanical equivalents and, of course, the needs they have to keep their bodies running. And, as with any machine, they have their structural weaknesses that come with the differences and benefits they have in comparison to humans.

From there, we move past the obvious physical differences and delve into the mental processes and psychological structures of the IPC.

As one would likely expect, the opinions, thoughts, and perspectives of a synthetic are just that: synthetic. While that makes them no less valid, it's important to keep in mind that IPCs are aware that they're artificial. However, unlike those among organics that may see this as a downside or inferiority, IPCs simply accept that it's their nature. But as a result of this synthesized nature, it's not uncommon for some synthetics to be designed "function-first". By this, I mean IPCs that are programmed specifically based on their frames -- an Industrial IPC having a very practical, studious personality, whereas a baseline IPC set up for medical work would be very cold, calculating.

However you look at it, humans and synthetics, for all their similarities, are very different. IPCs had no "upbringing", being programmed with their "childhood" already complete. IPCs have immensely different memories and mannerisms, which is simply an inherent part of their kind. While the personality programming for synthetics can be wildly diverse, overall they do lack much of the individuality (as a whole) of humans or other organic species.

 

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Character Name: (Industrial Unit OW.i6:) HAMMER-25

Please provide a short backstory for this character, approximately 2 paragraphs

IPCs. Factory-built sentience, and in many ways the perfect line of workers. Sleek, unprecedented, and marvels of technology each and every one. But as with any revolutionary piece of technology, there's bound to be those that just don't make the cut. That get tossed aside or recycled for some other purpose. Industrial Unit OW.i6:HAMMER-25 was one such cutting-room failure, suffering from multiple issues with his positronic brain that arose late in testing. He had developed a rather shy, peaceful, and inept personality, which was an issue given his original design was for a heavily-armed weapons-manning synthetic. However, the company producing him was a subsidiary of Czerka Arms, a ruthless corporation with a knack for finding a use for even the most degenerate, rejected pieces of scrap on the assembly line. So, that's what they did, taking the failed military-grade IPC and retrofitting him with an industrial, heavy-duty chassis. Now they just needed to find a place for this awkward, timid machine.

Thankfully, IPCs were almost always in demand, and they had no issues finding him a workplace...which later sold the flawed machine off to another owner...who sold him off to another...and another and another, including a particularly synth-unfriendly mining corporation that used him as a work mule and, at times, literal punching bag. HAMMER cycled through several such traumatic workplaces, causing his already meek demeanor to become even more pronounced. Eventually running out of power, the IPC was shoved in a dusty crate and forgotten about, before he mistakenly ended up in a cargo hold on one of Sol V's moons. His intimidating plating marking him as a potential asset as a security worker, the poor, hapless IPC was charged up and sent off to work on an installation known as the NSS Aurora. HAMMER was a bumbling, fearful 'bot, who had really just been trying his best this entire time. He could NEVER have prepared himself for the seemingly endless torrent of rogue crew, malfunctioning AI, and ruthless competing corporations that awaited him...and probably never WILL, as the unlucky bastard barely knows what's going on half the time. Combine that with a clunky, heavily-practical frame and you've got a recipe for disaster.

Poor guy.

What do you like about this character? Honestly, the rather contradictory dichotomy between his kind, albeit cowardly and inept, personality and the practical, intimidating chassis he was placed in. Characters like this are loads of fun for me to play, because I'd consider myself much more outgoing and social than HAMMER. It's fun to be someone different, y'know?

And like I said, that kind of "opposite personality" inside such an unfitting, hastily-built shell really just fills my head with ideas for possible interactions with the different crewmembers and how he handles the responsibilities that come with whatever job he's assigned. Somewhat building on this, another element I look forward to exploring is the hard-coded programming that DIDN'T become corrupted. There's some parts of his positronic brain that are still very much a heavy-lifting military IPC, and it's probably safe to assume he'd have to keep that in check under specific circumstances, though whether or not it works...remains to be seen.

Overall, I think he'd just be a fun character to develop over time as he interacts with the Exodus crew more and more. However, obviously, I will leave that to your discretion.

How would you rate your role-playing ability? I'll be real, 8/10. I absolutely adore in-depth roleplaying and I've been doing it for a pretty long time. I'd like to think that I've kinda got the hang of it by now. But, of course, it's important for me to know what other people think of my roleplay skill as well, so hopefully this whitelist (and application!) help give a better picture thereof.

 

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Notes: I'll get it out there now, I don't have a lot of playtime on the server. In fact, my first time playing Aurora was yesterday. If this is an issue, which it very well may be, so be it. I'll just have to play more. However, I'm cautiously optimistic that the quality of this application will at least help form an image of the kind of seriousness and roleplay skill I hope to bring to the server.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope to see more of y'all serverside!

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Hello! I'm sorry for the delay. Due to the lack of the feedback I'm going to judge this application on its own merits.

You have a solid grasp of the race and a coherent character design. However I'm wary at his security job. Industrials tend to fare poorly in the role when others have tried - I haven't narrowed down exactly what drives people out of it, but I do remember my own industrial was almost always overheating.

Topping onto his mechanical faults in the role, the personality also gives me pause. Remember, NanoTrasen tries to vet its workers before putting them in such roles. Can you say that Hammer -25 would be able to function as a capable security officer? Even if he's not the best officer, would you say he would be able to pass entrance exams and complete the training required? Or is he meant to be bumbling and incapable of handling antagonists?

[C a r p r i l l o]

No worries! The delay's given me some more time to play on the server and get a grasp of how it works.

Your concerns are perfectly understandable, honestly. Hopefully I can help at least partially put them to rest. First, your wariness regarding his Security role. I admit you have a point there, I had momentarily forgotten the specific characteristics of the Industrial Frame when I wrote that. But to answer your question, would he be a CAPABLE officer? Yes. Would he be a GREAT, or even a GOOD one? No, and perhaps. This applies to any role, not just Security, if you would prefer I choose a different occupation for him.

This segues into your troubles with his personality, which are partially my fault as I didn't clarify the extent of his awkwardness in the OP. Is he somewhat inept and timid? Most definitely, but I should have added that he's not so incompetent that he can't handle antagonists, otherwise I'd not have written him for a game like Space Station 13. He'd most likely freak out and panic, but still try to do his job to benefit the station. In other words, he's not useless. He can do his job, he just might not be the Most Totally Efficient member of the crew.

Hopefully this helps put some of your worries to rest regarding this character!

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Your response has definitely put my mind at ease. Application accepted!