cse1gdt character building
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CSE1GDT Character Building
Paul Taylor 2010
http://thecontaminated.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/super-mario-lego-building.jpg
Typical Character Depth
Book CharactersDeep mental / psychic struggles
Movie CharactersEmotional and physical struggles
Game CharactersAlmost entirely physical struggles
Types of Avatars
• Your choice of avatar is critical to the gaming experience
The word ‘Avatar’ is derived from Sanskrit, which refers to a god magically taking physical form on the earth, very fitting!
We want the player to project their consciousness into the
character
Avatar Type #1 - The Ideal Form
• An easy way to empower the player• Let them be someone great– James Bond– Nathan Drake– A Jedi Knight– The world’s best Poke-trainer
For the ideal form to work you MUST connect with a players appeal towards the character type
http://www.acepolls.com/uploads/0088/5535/Nathan_Drake.jpg
But Which Bond???http://www.gearlover.com/images/james-bond-height-chart1.jpg
Avatar Type #2 - The Blank Slate
• The opposite of the Ideal Form• This is a character which is so plain they can
be whatever the players mind decides• Stick Figures• Simple Characters• Invisible characters
http://a3.vox.com/6a00b8ea071cde1bc000c22526e35b604a-320pi
Blank Slate Characters
Scott McCloud:A simple character in a detailed world makes the player relate
to the characterDetailed worlds can seem alien, every detail that does not
match your mental image, reduces the player’s connectionA low detail avatar in the game will typically draw the players
towards it as their mental image of the avatar will rarely clash with it.
• Odd one out?
http://www.gossipgamers.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/1237687236272.jpg
WoW Characters
See: http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/31/avatar-days-short-examines-wow-characters-and-their-players/• Creepy!• Multidimensional Reality
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.urlesque.com/media/2010/04/penguinhandshake.jpg
The true Story of Lara Croft
Toby Gard – Designer of the original Tomb Raider and avatar Lara Croft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Toby_Gard_-_E3_2005.jpg
• Drawing from fighting games such as Street fighter 2 and Virtua Fighter, Toby noted the male players enjoyed the ‘aesthetic appeal’ of the female characters.
• Toby realised that as Tomb Raider was to be in 3rd person, players would have to spend a lot of time looking at the back of their characters.
His conclusion was......
Players would rather “watch her bum than some bloke’s bum” (Beyond Game Design, p223).
Not the ideal catalyst for ‘girl power’ in gaming but it worked
In 2000, roughly 20-25% of Tomb Raider players were female. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lara_Croft)
February, 2009: “... Lara's image devolved from one of intelligence to a virtual blow-up doll.” (http://au.wii.ign.com/articles/955/955082p1.html)
http://www.theage.com.au/news/technology/girl-power/2006/04/19/1145344091493.html?page=fullpage
The Theory: Gaze Theory
Gaze Theory: Theory of the relationship between the media, how it is observed, and how it is meant to be observed.
The Specific Term: Male GazeThe Meaning: Where scenes, scripts, etc are from
the typical male perspectiveThere is such a thing as ‘Female Gaze’ too
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MaleGaze
Character Development - Elliot Feldman
• Writer at Sony Online Entertainment
• Determine your main characters• Complete a bibliography for each character• Create an interaction diagram• Create dialogue for characters• Buy ‘The art of dramatic writing’ and
The Hero with a Thousand Faces’
http://i.ehow.com/images/a02/2k/e5/design-video-game-characters-1.3-800X800.jpg
Compelling Game Characters
Hopefully you’ve decided that great characters can take your game to the next level
If you haven’t go play Uncharted 2 - Now
Character Functions
• Why is the character in your game?• What should they do?• Or what do you need to get done, and who
could you create to fill the void?
Barry’s Excursion to the Meat Factory
Meat Factory Excursion Characters
• Hero : Barry• Mentor:• Companions: Barry Jr.• Enemies: Barry Jr’s Evil Twin BadBarry• Bosses:
Define and Use Character Traits
• A second approach to developing great characters is to define their traits
• Barry is: Strong, Quiet, Small, Tough• What traits would a companion need to roll
with Barry on his adventure?
Exploit the Interpersonal Circumplex
• Big Words! = Characters interacting!• In the psychology world this is represented as
a two axis graph– Friendliness (Hostile <-> Friendly)– Dominance (Dominant <-> Submissive)
• It is all relative to the character in the centre• You use it by placing the other characters
around this character
The Nice Version
http://www.ieeetclt.org/issues/april2005/index_image010.jpg
The Ugly Version!
http://media.photobucket.com/image/Interpersonal%20Circumplex/SKYNET_2007/Image2-4.jpg
Make a Character Web
• This is an extension on the Interpersonal Circumplex– Basically it is writing an explanation for each of the
positions characters take in the graph.
• Barry– Barry Sidekick: Barry finds them irritating, but
comforting to have around– Darth Barry: Barry’s nemesis he stands for everything
that Barry hates (including tomatoes)
Use Status
• In any interaction people fight for status– It is a lower level than talking, but always takes place
and someone always takes the higher status• Today I’m taking the higher status as lecturing
you• In the Army the chain of command dictates status
pretty effectively, and punishments are in place to keep the status tree standing
Conflicts and Changes are Interesting
Also make sure your NPCs’ do not take status away from the player accidentally!
Signs of StatusHigh Status:Being Relaxed, In Control, Strong Eye Contact, Not moving your
head, etc
Low Status:Fidgeting, Avoiding Eye Contact, Touching your own face, Being Tense, stumbling words, stuttering, etc
Status is also relative between characters!
Use the Power of Voice
• Great voice acting can be very powerful• In movies and theatre the actors read and amend
the script as they feel it should be.• The industry tends to write the game, create the
characters, then hire the voice actors.• Removed from their natural position of imagining
the character, actors are put in a position of fulfilling an existing character.
Use the Power of the Face
• Facial Expression makes up a HUGE amount of the language we transmit. Games are becoming more and more capable of divulging facial behaviours to players. Use it!
• Imagine watching a movie where all characters had a Paper Bag on their head – Ugly Bob style
http://teamghru.110mb.com/images/thrutheghru08/ugly_bob.jpg
Powerful Stories Transform Characters
• Study Films and Novels, you’ll see that the characters get transformed through the story.
• Meaningful changes in the key characters of a game will add interest to the story
• Imagine Lord of the Rings without Frodo going hard-ass? Or with Frodo hard-ass from the start?
Avoid Uncanny Valleyhttp://jonathanjoly.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/uncanny-valley1.jpg
The End!
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