CSE1GDT Character Building

1. http://thecontaminated.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/super-mario-lego-building.jpghttp://thecontaminated.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/super-mario-lego-building.jpg CSE1GDT Character Building Paul Taylor 2010

2. Typical Character Depth Book Characters Deep mental / psychic struggles Movie Characters Emotional and physical struggles Game Characters Almost entirely physical struggles

3. 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

4. http://www.acepolls.com/uploads/0088/5535/Nathan_Drake.jpg 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

5. http://www.gearlover.com/images/james-bond-height-chart1.jpg But Which Bond???

6. http://a3.vox.com/6a00b8ea071cde1bc000c22526e35b604a-320pi 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

7. Blank Slate Characters Scott McCloud: A simple character in a detailed world makes the player relate to the character Detailed worlds can seem alien, every detail that does not match your mental image, reduces the player’s connection A 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.

8. http://www.gossipgamers.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/1237687236272.jpghttp://www.gossipgamers.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/1237687236272.jpg • Odd one out?

9. http://www.blogcdn.com/www.urlesque.com/media/2010/04/penguinhandshake.jpghttp://www.blogcdn.com/www.urlesque.com/media/2010/04/penguinhandshake.jpg WoW Characters See: http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/31/avatar-days-short-examines-wow-characters-and-their-players/ • Creepy! • Multidimensional Reality

10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Toby_Gard_-_E3_2005.jpg The true Story of Lara Croft Toby Gard – Designer of the original Tomb Raider and avatar Lara Croft

11. 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.

12. 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......

13. 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

14. 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 Gaze The Meaning: Where scenes, scripts, etc are from the typical male perspective There is such a thing as ‘Female Gaze’ too http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MaleGaze

15. Character Development - Elliot Feldman • Writer at Sony Online Entertainment

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. Meat Factory Excursion Characters • Hero : Barry • Mentor: • Companions: Barry Jr. • Enemies: Barry Jr’s Evil Twin BadBarry • Bosses:

20. 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?

21. 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

22. The Nice Version http://www.ieeetclt.org/issues/april2005/index_image010.jpg

23. The Ugly Version! http://media.photobucket.com/image/Interpersonal%20Circumplex/SKYNET_2007/Image2-4.jpg

24. 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)

25. 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

26. Conflicts and Changes are Interesting Also make sure your NPCs’ do not take status away from the player accidentally!

27. Signs of Status High 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!

28. 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.

29. 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

30. 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?

31. http://jonathanjoly.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/uncanny-valley1.jpghttp://jonathanjoly.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/uncanny-valley1.jpg Avoid Uncanny Valley

32. The End!