Character Development Tips: An Article

poc301 · Wed 02/11/2011 16:40:20

Hi all,

Just wanted to let anyone who was interested know that I wrote my first article for the AGS blog dealing with character development, how to work on it, what to do and not to do, etc.

If anyone was interested, it can be seen at http://ags-ssh.blogspot.com/2011/11/character-development.html

There might be a few tips you can use when developing your next game.

-Bill

Ponch · Wed 02/11/2011 21:48:57

Cool. A new blogger for the official blog of record. That was a helpful article and here's hoping for many more to come.

tzachs · Wed 02/11/2011 21:55:23

Welcome to the Enterprise!
It was a very nice read...

Dualnames · Wed 02/11/2011 23:45:27

Quote from: tzachs on Wed 02/11/2011 21:55:23
Welcome to the Enterprise!
It was a very nice read...

Ponch · Wed 02/11/2011 23:55:52

I have a question:

If Dual is Kirk, SSH is Scotty, and the new guy is Bones...

Who gets to be Khan?

ProgZ? RickJ? Mods?

Can I be the rubbery reptile guy that Kirk shoots with a homemade cannon?

poc301 · Wed 02/11/2011 23:59:13

Quote from: Ponch on Wed 02/11/2011 23:55:52
I have a question:

If Dual is Kirk, SSH is Scotty, and the new guy is Bones...

Who gets to be Khan?

ProgZ? RickJ? Mods?

Can I be the rubbery reptile guy that Kirk shoots with a homemade cannon?

Wait, I don't want to be Bones. He whines a lot... Can I be Spock? Or Uhura? Hehe.

Bill

Ponch · Thu 03/11/2011 00:06:46

Well, if Bones is up for grabs, can I be Bones? I loved that guy. Grumpiest old man in Trek. I could be that grumpy! Just give me a chance.

Or don't. Damn kids. See if I care.

You young whippersnappers and your fancy holodeck internets. When I was your age, the internet was just a motorized chair you sat in. And all it could do was make beeping noises. One beep for yes. Two beeps for no. And we thought it was the greatest thing ever. Damn kids today.

Dualnames · Thu 03/11/2011 00:20:14

Quote from: poc301 on Wed 02/11/2011 23:59:13
Quote from: Ponch on Wed 02/11/2011 23:55:52
I have a question:

If Dual is Kirk, SSH is Scotty, and the new guy is Bones...

Who gets to be Khan?

ProgZ? RickJ? Mods?

Can I be the rubbery reptile guy that Kirk shoots with a homemade cannon?

Wait, I don't want to be Bones. He whines a lot... Can I be Spock? Or Uhura? Hehe.

Bill

I assigned you as SPOCK, and damnit, I R TEH CPTN.

poc301 · Thu 03/11/2011 00:24:48

Aye aye captain.

Bill

RickJ · Fri 04/11/2011 00:05:31

poc301 nice article.

I agree completely about importance of character development and would a couple of points.

The back-story of characters can (and probably should) be more extensive than what is presented in the game. As your article states, the characters' back-stories tell the developer how the game should unfold. It's not wasting time and effort to fully develop the game characters. The time spent shows up in the quality of the finished product, IMHO.

straydogstrut · Wed 09/11/2011 21:37:22

Nice first article, congrats

I liked your little analogy of multiple arcs, I hadn't really thought about it like that. My writing usually focuses on one character - the classic 'hero's / heroine's journey' - and how they are in the beginning, what their motivations are, and how they change/see things differently over the course of the story. It's almost inevitable that the other characters will be going through their own arcs, I think, but i've never planned for it as such.

Quote from: RickJ on Fri 04/11/2011 00:05:31
The back-story of characters can (and probably should) be more extensive than what is presented in the game.

I wholeheartedly agree. Just because you've done all the research and crafted a complete backstory for your character doesn't mean you need to shoehorn it into the game in huge monologues. If you've put in the effort it will come across naturally in your writing. That's one of the things I love about adventure games: the smallest details can really enrich their worlds and be very telling about the characters without being too vocal about it.