Getting a meaningful backstory from players

[Knaight]

The more RPG I play, the less I'm convinced a backstory is necessary. A major source of fun in the RPG is creating your character's story as you play, and backstories are surprisingly irrelevant to that. People spend too much time caring what happened to a character in someone's head before the campaign when what really matters is what happens to the character during the campaign. In fact, a lot of times, I find backstories make the game less fun. The more involved your backstory is, the more it impedes your ability to create your character's story in play. When a major event happens in play, it is more transformative for a character the more of a blank canvas your character is. Now, this isn't to say all characters should be faceless, lifeless drones at the beginning of your campaign, but most backstories are way too overwrought. A simple backstory, with something like a hometown, a personality quirk, and an uncomplicated life goal, such as "I want to wrestle," can easily be enough for a character.

I agree with this. I prefer little background. A character is defined by what they accomplish during the game.

I'd agree with these, but that remaining background is essential. The character pretty much needs a high concept (beyond species-class), and at least a little to anchor them into the game world. To use a recent example, a PC was introduced to me (as GM) as a bioweapons expert with connections to some shady organization. That's not a lot, but it's enough to work with, particularly as the character introduction scene came off very well.