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Character Development

Character Development. Graeme Browning Sean Wikant. Goals Of Character Design. Memorable characters that the player can care about Can be complex (not hero or villain) Not a simple challenge. Many factors effect good character design Well drawn (suitable art style)

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Character Development

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  1. Character Development Graeme Browning Sean Wikant

  2. Goals Of Character Design • Memorable characters that the player can care about • Can be complex (not hero or villain) • Not a simple challenge. Many factors effect good character design • Well drawn (suitable art style) • Well constructed (harmonious voice, body clothing etc. • Distinctive • Behave believably • Relatable • Good characters are one of the main reasons you remember a game • Driving force behind sequels, or paraphernalia

  3. Relationship between Player and Avatar • The avatar is the protagonist in the game • Players relate to character in varying degrees • Freedom to control character creation • Seen in Neverwinter Nights 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_hZEKmdcj0 • Avatar is a mask the player wears

  4. Specific and Non-Specific Avatars • Specific Characters have a history • Spy Fox (talks to you) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Uhh2QMzXt4 (29:50) • Non-Specific characters don’t have a back story. The designers don’t know anything about them either! Playing yourself • X3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUZyNPwP_Rg • Papers Please • Middle Ground • The Witcher: Play as a character based on a series of books. (middle ground because he has amnesia)

  5. Effects of Control Mechanisms • Indirect: • Point and Click • Spy Fox • Player is a guide • Direct: • Steer Body • Skyrim • Player becomes character, inherits their abilities • Can feel like a puppet which stops the player from worrying about the character’s emotions

  6. Male and Female Characters • Historically game protagonists are more relatable to guys. • Also seen in other forms of media • More recent games have featured female protagonists. • But can be very masculine still, which still doesn’t appeal to women. They prefer more believable female characters • Women tend to prefer more avatar customization, where as men are fine with premade characters.

  7. Designing an Avatar Character • Use the previous option to cater to your intended audience • Don’t make an unjustifiably unpleasant character

  8. Visual Appearance • Art Driven Character Design • Come up with an appearance first and then build the character around it • Good for games where the personality is stagnant or not important to the story • Good for making merchandise • Good for designing series mascots • Link, Mario

  9. Visual Appearance • Character Physical Types • Humanoids • Arms, Legs, Head, decent proportions • Animal faces are modified (ex: eyes at the front) • Non Humanoids • Monsters, Cars, etc. • Can still have personalities (see any pixar movie) • Goo Balls? • Hybrids • Mix of the above

  10. Visual Appearance • Cartoon Qualities • The physical qualities of the character describes their personality • Cool, Tough, Cute, Goofy are common stereotypes • Watch out!! Often the visual cues we associate with the above stereotypes vary between cultures. • This also depends on the target audience.

  11. Visual Appearance • Hyper Sexualized Characters • Exaggerate sexual attributes • Lara Croft • Samus • Kratos • Ivy • Appeals to teenagers (and some adults) • Limits your audience because some people hate this • Doesn’t distinguish your game characters

  12. Visual Appearance • Clothing, Weapons, Symbolic Objects, Names • Can flesh out the characters • Back story • Personality • It’s good to make use of historical or cultural meaning • Jewellery often relates to magic ability • Most game genres have associated symbolism • Can be used to identify the main character easily • Keyblade • Triforce

  13. Visual Appearance • Colour Palette • Makes the character distinctive, and easily recognizable

  14. Visual Appearance • Colour Palette • Hints at personality

  15. Visual Appearance • Sidekicks • Allows contrast • Personality • Additional abilities • Can be there to provide information

  16. Character Depth • Story Driven Character Design • Start with a character’s personality, role, and behaviour

  17. Character Depth • Role, Attitude, and Values • Good to have these well defined for a character • Determines how the character reacts in the game world • When it’s better show rather than tell • Appearance, Language, Behaviour • Exposition is boring! • Can use the character’s reaction to events

  18. Character Depth • Attributes • Data describing the character with symbolic or numeric values • Property • State of relationships

  19. Character Depth • Attributes • Status attributes • Change frequently • health, location • Characterization attributes • Core details of the personality • skill points

  20. Character Depth • Character Dimensionality • Zero Dimensional • Discrete emotional states • Enemies • One Dimensional • Spectrum for one feeling • Moral decisions are somewhat harder • Two Dimensional • Multiple variables that don’t conflict • Three Dimensional • Multiple conflicting variables • Any player created avatar

  21. Character Depth • Character Growth • Compare • Saints Row (Action) • Mass Effect 2 (Adventure) • In games where you make an avatar, the onus for character growth is on the player • Again SHOW DON’T TELL, use plot, and reaction to events

  22. Character Depth • Character Archetypes • Pre-set moulds for character’s to fit into • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPALnjfUZ8U • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMIMkoB7Wyo • Can give the player an understanding of the character’s personality quickly • Use as guidelines, not rules

  23. Audio Design • Sound Effects and Music • Auditory feedback for character events • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvODpHnV9o4 • Psychological expectations • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha1PSF5MstI • Character themes • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq_jS6o3OoY • Give the player control over sounds • Music can distract from important sound effects • Cell phones are used in public • Annoying music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RPV9FqugOc

  24. Audio Design • Voice and Language • A character’s speech conveys a lot about them • Consider: • Vocabulary • Grammar • Accent • Delivery • Vocal Quirks • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FptizCE0wPI • Voice audio files should be separate from sound effects and music

  25. Summary • Whether characters are avatars created by the player or premade characters, they should fit in the world they are created for

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