better game characters by design

[...]... not just game design, but character design for games A topic near and dear to my heart! I had no idea this kind of thing went on How amazing! And what good news for the future, right? If kids in college today are studying character design for games, then maybe the industry will be flooded with fresh talent just dying to make better characters and better games! (Not to say anything bad about games today—except... improving game character design Designers can use these principles to make characters that are more socially and emotionally powerful for the player and that are also more fun, engaging, and believable—all qualities that help enhance the game- play experience Reading this book will help any design team learn what great character designers do instinctively Each chapter includes relevant examples from games... thumb and inspirations for character designers Using the principles in this book can help take the guesswork out of character design making it far more likely that a game s characters will be appealing both at the surface level and also within the ongoing context of game play itself, where a character is truly judged by players Better character interactions make the game more appealing, and that encourages... principles that I found most helpful in creating characters The Value of Improving Characters with Psychology There are plenty of things to worry about in the game- design process, and there are already models and advice books from cinema and fiction writing that can be xix O921-Prelims.qxd 5/19/06 11:15 AM Page xx PREFACE drawn upon when creating a game s characters Why add another layer of complexity?... what makes games fun Katherine discusses character design not just in terms of what is interesting to dissect, but also in terms of what will actually enhance the game experience After all, we’re not just making up characters for the sake of showing off, right? Well, maybe we’re doing that just a little bit But mostly we’re trying to make a rich experience for the player If the characters in a game have... these principles will enhance later game- play experience of these characters and the level of overall social and emotional engagement with the game itself Who Will Find Part I Most Useful Part I will be of greatest value to game designers, artists, and animators Programmers, audio specialists, and dialogue writers may also find it interesting, though there are few design tips specifically related to... the babyface effect—the tendency to react to adults with babyish features as if they were childlike The chapter examines babyface cues in detail and how they impact choices about character design Stereotypes Chapter 1 concludes with a discussion of stereotypes—how they function psychologically and the benefits and limitations they impose It covers ways character designers use stereotypes to make characters. .. the kind of word-of-mouth marketing that all game publishers hope for Making choices based on the player’s social experience of characters will also help eliminate wasted development time spent on assets that the player is eager to skip And it can broaden the audience of a game by including players who care more about social interaction than the hard-core gamer might (see Part II for a discussion of... understand perception, attention, and action, and their findings have a great deal of relevance to general game design issues—understanding how a player thinks and using this knowledge to anticipate and test ideas for game physics, graphics behavior, game- play mechanisms, enemy AI construction, and related design choices • Behaviorism An older (and somewhat discredited) approach to understanding human psychology... with characters: the moment in a social encounter before the first word is spoken—the first glance—surface impressions Human beings automatically and instinctively apply interpretive strategies from the moment they lay eyes upon one another Players do the same with game characters Knowing how and why the social surface works can help designers make wise choices about the physical appearance and early game . design for games, then maybe the industry will be flooded with fresh talent just dying to make better characters and better games! (Not to say anything bad about games today—except that the characters. fundamental ideas, whether it be for games or for other applications. Better Game Characters by Design: A Psychological Approach Katherine Isbister Artificial Intelligence for Games Ian Millington Visualizing. Authors Leonard Daly and Donald Brutzman Game Physics Engine Development Ian Millington O921-Prelims.qxd 5/19/06 11:15 AM Page iv Better Game Characters by Design A Psychological Approach Katherine