As we build out our Storyline within our game, a crucial element is the development of strong players and characters. This guide will cover some of the tips and tricks to creating strong players and characters within your game.
Focus on the Player First
Your design should focus first on the actual player. Who are they within your game?
In a classic board game the player may be represented by a token. Often the token is simply a symbol or object to hold progression or location within the game. Very little to no backstory or character development is provided. If that is hat your game needs, then providing this simple player representation is sufficient.
By contrast, a compelling first person shooter game will provide strong character development and background. In order to have character development, the player needs a starting point in regards to skill and ability. Can the player use multiple types of weapons at the start or does the player have to level up their skills before using more advanced weapons.
Let’s assume that we are creating a first person shooter game where the player is fighting off aliens attacking from outer space. When we start in level one, the player may have a backstory of being a simple farmer that only has experience shooting vermin with a shotgun. As the user progresses and advances their skills, more advanced weapons can be unlocked which provide better accuracy and strong fire power.
The Players Background
In the example above we gave a very simple background to our player - that of a farmer with some experience with a shotgun. This is a good, simple starting point for a characters background. We may want to expand it - or we may choose to just leave it as is.
When creating a backstory, keep in mind that It can be very difficult to convey a lot of background to the players. Most players want to start playing your game and are not interested in reading a lot of text in a long opening scene. For this reason, focus in on the primary 2-3 concepts you want to convey at first, then find ways to introduce more backstory as the user progresses.
Continuing our example above, the farmer can start shooting some aliens with the simple backstory we provided. As the farmer moves around the house, we may notice hunting trophies or even pictures of the farmer at shooting competitions. The pictures could even display different types of weapons. This can be a method to help provide more backstory into the characters background and skill level.
Developing the Character
As the character progresses through the game it is important to provide additional points for the character to grow and develop. This can be achieved through attaining skill through actions or even by displaying items that convey things to the player.
In the yard we may find a car and a helicopter. The character may be able to drive the car, but might need to attain a skill before it can fly the helicopter.
In the yard we may also find a tombstone representing the grave of a loved one. Every-time the player gets close to the tomb they may become temporarily sad and distracted which could open up an opportunity for enemies to attack it.
Creating Character Progression
As you think about your characters, define a starting point and an ending point. Think of what you want a character's skill, appearance and strength to be when they start. There may be additional attributes such as equipment, size, etc, depending on the type of character you have
Now provide details on what you want those attributes to be like when they are fully leveled up. Imagine this as a different version of your character. Don’t worry too much at this point about whether or not the start -> end progression is too big or not big enough. For now just create two different versions of your character.
With both your starting versions and ending versions in mind, now start creating versions in between. You may choose to have all elements level up at the same time, or have each level up on their own progression paths. Which one you choose depends on how much control over the details you want to give users.
An easy way to create this progression document is to use a spreadsheet. Put the element name at the top of each column (such as size, strength, skill, appearance, etc). Then in the first brown put your starting values for each attribute. In each row underneath put an improved version of each attribute until you reach your desired value.
Have fun with it
As you create your characters - be sure to have fun with their development and backstory. The characters are truly a spot where you can expand upon your overall storyline and theme of your game. You can provide characters that are simple and straight forward or have characters with a lot of depth in them.
