No Broad Brushes: The Art of Quality Game Characters

Back in 2015, I took a look at how characters can be leveraged in games to get players invested in the title’s in-game locales and goings-on. With a console generation’s worth of time now having passed, it felt high time to apply the Pro/One X (pick your side) treatment to the topic of sound characterization in games.

Be they cartoony or realistic, up-close or seen from an isometric POV, characters serve as the player’s shepherds–helping them understand the mechanics, systems, and themes that define the gameplay experience. On top of that, characters act as representatives of the game world they inhabit–with the likes of Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2020) and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (2021) being eager to highlight figures from all walks of life and with unique gameplay/narrative traits.

As in real life, there’s no one way to mold a virtual person–especially when factoring in thematic and mechanical needs that can greatly vary from one game to another. That’s not to say, however, that there aren’t clear areas in which developers may devote their time and energy fleshing out the denizens that’ll meet and greet players. Either with open arms or arms that have had their safety taken off.

---

Identify distinguishing physical traits

Game characters, like real people, depend on first impressions to intrigue audiences from the get-go and hopefully have them stick around for the virtual experience. Given the human predilection for judging things and folks on an audiovisual basis, said first impressions tend to consist of the physical attributes that characters embody to make themselves seen, heard, and felt wherever they go. This can prove beneficial not just for communicating their gameplay potential, but also for telling a story via their bodies. (Tattoos are an easy way to do that.)

For example, a character who's thin and sickly may give players the idea that they aren’t fit for combat or the recipient of a happy childhood. Likewise, a figure who’s scarred and brawny can suggest they’re a force to be reckoned with–one who’s been through a lot and could be eager to relay any tale that their body already isn’t telling through the cuts and blisters dotting said figure’s flesh. But while clarity for the sake of gameplay and storytelling is important, that’s not to say that characters can’t hide any bodily marks and fool onlookers into thinking they’re someone with few tricks up their sleeves. Or skeletons in their closet.

Hero and class-based shooters are great examples of games that sport characters whose bodily traits stand out and can compel players to gravitate to them so as to optimize their preferred gameplay style. From the brawny Heavy and scrawny Scout in Team Fortress 2 (2007) to the svelte Genji and dirty Junkrat in Overwatch (2016), characters in games can make their abilities and stories felt through how they look, sound, and act. That both examples can manage that through the limited first-person POV speaks volumes of the developers’ ability to unobtrusively communicate character information.

Determine what characters carry and wear

Of course, it’s not just bodily traits that can reveal a character’s place in society and with regards to their gameplay potential. How they present themselves through their attire and equipment (or lack thereof) can also shape players’ and other in-game people’s impressions of the character in question. This is an area in which developers can unleash their imagination, but also one in which restraints should be exercised to clarify the character’s gameplay role and narrative standing.

Armor, for instance, can suggest that the character’s one to expect trouble at every turn and that they’re a fighter in society rather than an innocent bystander. Alternatively, someone who carries lots of junk and knick-knacks in the backpack they’re hauling can make one think that said someone’s a wandering soul who’s seeking fortunes (through treasure-hunting or ware-peddling) in a world that doesn’t have a nicely carved hole made for them like something out of a Junji Ito story.

This design consideration can be most keenly felt in the likes of Octopath Traveler (2018) and Dragon Age: Origins (2009), where the emphasis on character background sheds light on their choice of trade and, in turn, couture. When factoring in the need to consider how gear can affect the player’s gameplay approach, the developers must exercise great care in choosing how they wish to present characters through their belongings–which also includes the way in which different people with different clothes, types of equipment, and social standings can contrast one another.

Figure out their line of thinking and how that’s impacted by shifting events and locales

First impressions matter, sure, but why stop there when you can dig further into what makes and breaks other people? In this case, this would involve understanding how a person behaves in general and reacts to different circumstances and surroundings. After all, the mental MO of a character can have an impact on how the narrative progresses and is depicted, as well as on how gameplay flows–especially if said character is an ally the player depends upon or an enemy the player must overcome.

A hot-tempered foe, for instance, can make combat fast-paced and resort to short lines instead of lengthy ones due to their desire to let their weapon do the talking for them. Likewise, a cool bean for an ally can make exploration more relaxing and their deliberate pace means that they can spot things that other characters–including the player–can miss. How a character thinks and reacts, then, is a crucial point to consider when determining the level of energy seen in gameplay and storytelling beats.

From the familial bond between Amicia and Hugo that invites the former to pace herself and keep her cool while caring for the latter in A Plague Tale: Innocence (2019) to the boons and fears that can impact squadmates in Valkyria Chronicles (2008), characters–like real people–aren’t rigidly defined in a way that makes them impervious to nature’s whims. Developers bear the responsibility to not only craft memorable gameplay and stories, but also to bear an eye for ways that characters may react and grow–ensuring that players’ curiosity about virtual people lasts in the long run.

Nail down their goals within the game’s narrative

In all good stories, one can’t expect the narrative to plausibly progress if the characters don’t harbor hopes and fears that take them across different obstacles that test their resolve and promote character development. The same principle applies to game characters, which affects both the way they advance the story and navigate their circumstances and surroundings through gameplay abilities. Without a character’s want, only the player’s desire to beat the game would remain–and thus the in-game meaning of their actions wouldn’t be as impactful.

That said, the character’s wants shouldn’t be vague, conflicting with the game’s themes and tone, or only achievable outside the title’s scope. On that last point, the sense of closure a character gets from achieving a goal within a single game should match the sense of closure the player gets from beating the game. That way, the sense of journey that the player and avatar experienced can be a shared one–reinforcing the bond between audiences and the characters they played as, allied with, or fought.

Between Ethan Mars’s desire to find his son and bring his kidnapper to justice in Heavy Rain (2010) and Stranger’s need to hunt bounties and acquire enough cash to go under the knife in Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath (2005), games can depict all sorts of driving forces that can be as mundane as Kurt Vonnegut’s “glass of water” or as epic as a Homeric poem. The key is to have narrative reasons and the characters’ temperament align with the intended emotions developers wish to evoke through gameplay so as not to create ludonarrative dissonance.

Flesh out their background to understand how they became who they are today

While the sense of closure from achieving their goals should be shared between the player and in-game characters, that’s not to say that characters don’t have anything else going on in their lives (or minds) that didn't exist before the game's opening. In fact, side stories that involve the characters’ upbringing and worldview may play a role in their choice of goals and the manner in which they pursue them. Additionally, background details showcase the depth of character desires and convince players that the characters’ pursuits of happiness aren’t arbitrary.

Have the characters witnessed a traumatic event that made them fearful of the unknown and caused them to become hermits? Or have they gone through a “rags to riches” phase that left them in a better financial place, but made them afraid of giving wealth away for fear of becoming poor once more? Whatever the reason, the game’s story and gameplay should serve as conduits for character development that gradually reveal the characters’ past–which adds weight and purpose to their actions.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019) offers a novel example of not just revealing backstory, but also weaving it into the gameplay flow and using Cal Kestis’s traumas to push him to improve as a Jedi and person via combat and exploration. The tutorialization of key backstory moments means that the actions players can take in the here-and-now are, from Cal’s perspective, a constant reminder of the role model the avatar looked up to–as well as of the “ghost” that haunts the avatar throughout the title and must be conquered for the story to reach a sense of closure aligning with the player’s beating the game.

---

Like real people, there’s a lot more to characters than meets the eye–and rightfully so if the developer’s goal is to craft believable and idiosyncratic personalities who ensure that players remain entertained and immersed in their virtual surroundings and circumstances. A tall order in any work of art, but especially so in games where player interactivity can lead to in-game results that reveal a character’s depth… or shallowness.

Using the guidelines detailed throughout the article, developers can add to characters layers of dimensions to the point where they outnumber the ones that make up the game’s world and perspective. Success in that area can translate to personalities worthy of players’ emotional investment, with sizable payoffs via convincing character development and revealing interactions.

Let me know what you think of my post in the comments section, and feel free to ask questions and share the article.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Watfen64

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Michformer

Email: [email protected]