the icing model: writing more satisfying and inclusive npc romances

The ICING Model:Writing More Satisfying and Inclusive

NPC Romances

Heidi McDonaldGame Designer, Schell Games LLC

What this talk is NOT about

COM106 Assignment:“Examine an area of media that interests you and report on your results.”

ZOMG!!! I can studiezGAMEZ for GRADEZ!

Why study this?Learn about player motivation and behavior

Learn how important NPC romance actually is

Identify patterns and models that can help improve NPC romance

Learn about player motivation and behavior

Learn how important NPC romance actually is

Identify patterns and models that can help improve NPC romance

OK, so…“Relationships in

Games…”1. Analyzed my own gaming behavior.

2. Asked a few other people about their gaming behavior.

3. Realized…hey, this could be a legit study!

Who here has ever had a crush on an

NPC in a video game?

ROGUE

ROGUEEMO

EMO CHASTE

EVIL

EXTREMIST

VIOLENT

Jesse Schell

Jennifer Brandes Hepler

Sheri Graner Ray

Yes! You might be on to something!

Study it some more!

Cool! You go for it, girlfriend!

Need help with your survey questions?

No, BioWare doesn’t collect data like this. But if you happen to collect some…let us

know!

Using SurveyMonkeyPRO’s+ Easy design+ Easy participation+ Anonymous+ Data makes sense

CON’s- Honesty-dependent- Not scientific - People can skip questions- People can re-take survey

The Respondents• 525 Respondents• All gamers and/or game developers• 62% female, 33% male• 71% straight• 57% romantically attached• 85% 18-40 with a 40% majority of 18-24

FEMALE

MALE

What gender character do you prefer to play when you are playing a single-player RPG?

Again: Respondents are 62% female, 33% male in real life. But 69% prefer to play a female!

(This finding supportsNick Yee’s work.)

Do you, or would you ever role play a character with a gender different to your real-life gender?

Again: Respondents are 62% female, 33% male in real life. Only 18% said NEVER, meaning that 82% of players are changing it up at least some of the time!

Sometimes Often

NeverAlways

Do you, or would you ever romance a different gender character than you would in real life?

OftenAlways

Sometimes Never

Which romance combinations have you, do you, or would you play?

MalePlayer,Female

NPCMale

Player,MaleNPC

FemalePlayer,MaleNPC

FemalePlayer,Female

NPC

• 25% of the women surveyed identified as bisexual.

• Several women surveyed said that the reason they romance female to female is that they are bisexual in real life, monogamous with a male partner, and gaming is their only outlet to express the other side of their sexuality.

EXAMINING DATA BY GENDER:

Identity Tourism“The process of appropriating another identity on the web, and more specifically, an identity involving another gender and/or race other than one's own, particularly on the internet and in video games.”

~Lisa Nakamura

Identity TourismLet’s flip it on its head:

Can Identity Tourism be a GOOD thing?

Safe Spaces?

TAKEAWAY #1Identity Tourism CAN BE

a good thing that helps people’s

self-awareness and tolerance.

How important is romance to your overall experience in a

single-player RPG?

Somewhat

Take or Leave

Very

Not muchNot at all

Romance is IMPORTANT

• 89% romance to see where the narrative goes.• 80% say romances add depth to their gameplay.• 76% romance for entertainment and to

experience as much content as possible.• 60% HAVE had felt connection to a romance-

able NPC.• 53% find NPC romance emotionally stimulating.

What is most appealing about

NPC romance?• 86% NPC’s personality• 77% Dialogue• 71% Integration of romance into game narrative• 65% Voice/accent• 55% NPC’s back story• 49% Facial features• 32% Body type

EXAMINING DATA BY GENDER: SIMILARITIES

• Both genders experience emotional connections to game characters, though it happens less frequently with men.

• Both genders are turned off by “religious” characters.• Both genders find romance to be an important

component in single-player RPGs, though, for different reasons.

• Both genders experiment with gender and sexuality in single-player RPGs, but in different ways and at different frequencies.

EXAMINING DATA BY GENDER: DIFFERENCES

Men WomenConnect with book charactersand game characters

Connect with movie charactersand game characters

Romance for story and emotional fulfillment

Romance for story and in-game benefits

Experiment a lot with romance but play characters close to who they really are

Don’t experiment a lot with romance but experiment a lot with the characters they roleplay

Ultimately want more romance choices

Ultimately want romance decisions that are high risk, high reward

More likely to hide their NPC Romance from their real-life partner, or be jealous of their partner’s NPC Romance

Much less likely to hide their NPC Romance from their real-life partner, or be jealous of their partner’s NPC Romance

Maslow’sHierarchy of Needs

TAKEAWAY #2Romance is important in single-player RPGs.

ROGUE

ROGUEEMO

EMO CHASTE

EVIL

EXTREMIST

VIOLENT

PEOPLE BOTH AVATAR

PEOPLE BOTH AVATAR

Use these!

Dr. Jane McGonigal’s TED Talk, based on her book.

Use these!

Dr. Carolyn Kaufman’s work in using Jungian Archetype and the concept of the Shadow Personality in romance writing.

A Note onUniversally Disliked

Descriptors• Chaste• Childish• Helpless• Needy• Religious

Use these!

Jason VandenBerghe's "5 Domains of Play" Lecture using Big 5 Theory to address player motivation.

Applying VandenBergheTo Romance

Big 5 Category Player Motivation Type of Romance Openness Novelty               Unconventional characteristics

with strange or funny backstories

Low Openness Predictability     More predictable, archetypal

Conscientiousness Challenge     "Hard to get" character that must be actively wooed and won

Low C-Score Ease of play       Damsel in distress to be saved

Extravterted Stimulation         Lots of fun banter

Low Extraverted Low Social Engagement Aggressive NPC

Agreeableness Harmony           Uncomplicated romance that ends well every time

Low Agreeableness Discord             Tumultuous romance such as Neuroticism Threat             Dark stories or bad endings

TAKEAWAY #3Heidi’s Research

Gaming Scholarship

WritingScholarship

ICING…on the content cake

The ICING Recipe

The Writing Processas I’ve experienced it in games

• Character development

• Interactive component

• Player perspective

• Story construction

• Ending

ICING

nclusiveness(Lisa Nakamura)

haracter perspective (Dr. Jane McGonigal)

nterference (Dr. Carolyn Kaufman)

ot using universally-hated descriptors (Heidi’s research)

ratifying endings (Jason VandenBerghe)

SIDEBAR: MAKE NPC ROMANCE MORE

SATISFYING FOR BOTH GENDERS!For the benefit of both men and women: --Improve the female characters--Make them less disposableFor the benefit of men: --Include access to exclusive equipment or weaponry --Make the choices high risk, high rewardFor the benefit of women (and EVERYONE!):--More romance choices outside the binary

Now that we know…1. People like experimenting2. Romance is important3. We can make tastier ICING on the content cake

Let them eat cake!

Special Thanks:• Jesse Schell / Schell Games / ETC• Sheri Graner Ray / Schell Games• Schell Games Co-Workers• Jennifer Brandes Hepler / BioWare• BioWare Social Network• Brenda Romero / LootDrop• Jason VandenBerghe / UbiSoft• The CA’s from GDC 2012• Phyrra.com• Feminists in Games• Dr. Katie Cruger / Chatham University• Dr. Prajna Paramita Parasher / Chatham University• Alex McPhearson / Catalina Games• My kids, who taught me to keep asking “why”

WORKS CITED:Alexander, Phill. "He's The Kind of Girl Who Wants Matching Daggers." World of Warcraft and Philosophy. By Luke Cuddy and John Nordlinger. Chicago: Open Court, 2009. 153-64. Print.Benedetti, Winda. "Is 'World of Warcraft' the Future of Online Dating?" Ingame. Msnbc Digital Network, 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://www.ingame.msnbc.msn.com/technology/ingame/world-warcraft-future-online-dating-123662>.  Kaufman, Dr. Carolyn. Archetype: The Fiction Writer's Guide to Psychology. Archetype Writing, 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.archetypewriting.com/articles/articles_ck/archetypes3_anima-animus_partI.htm>."Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." Motivation Theory. Project Management Course, 2005. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://www.abraham-maslow.com/m_motivation/Hierarchy_of_Needs.asp>.McGonigal, Jane. "Gaming Can Make a Better World." TED2010, Long Beach, CA. 18 Feb. 2012. Lecture. Nakamura, Lisa. Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet. New York: Routledge, 2002. Print.Rosenbloom, Stephanie. "It's Love at First Kill." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 22 Apr. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2012."The Attitude-Behaviour Gap: Why We Say One Thing But Do The Opposite." PsyBlog. PsyBlog, 24 Mar. 2008. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. <http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/03/attitude-behaviour-gap-why-we-say-one.php>.VandenBerghe, Jason. "The Five Domains of Play." Game Developers' Conference. Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, CA. 7 March 2012. Lecture.

Tack så mycket!Heidi McDonald

@Death_Bowwww.deathbow.com

hmcdonald@schellgames.com