For many players, good characters are what make or break a video game. After all, the best thing about playing video games is the chance to lose yourself in another world but that’s almost impossible if the characters you’re surrounded with aren’t believable. Amazing characters are everywhere, from Super Mario and World of Warcraft, to the free slots at https://www.caesarsgames.com/. So, where do designers begin when it comes to creating these incredible video game characters? Here are 5 steps that will help lead us in the right direction.
Sum it up
When starting out at the very beginning it’s important to get a general idea of who your character is. While it doesn’t have to be too detailed at this point, you should be able to sum them up in a sentence or two. To do this, it’s important to think about what you want your character to achieve and then how their personality will help them to do this. Are they brave? Are they morally corrupt? Deciding on exactly who they are at this point and sticking to it will help you to create a character the audience won’t forget.
Building a backstory
So, you’ve decided who your character is as a person and what their aims are, now it’s time to decide why they are the way they are. All good characters come with a backstory which explains the character’s motivations and behavior to the audience. An interesting backstory will draw the player in even deeper and help them to become emotionally connected to the character. Simply decide what defines your character and come up with a way to illustrate it.
A touch of the unique
If you want players to love your character, then they have to feel like they know them on a more personal level. A backstory and motives are one thing but showing off a character’s actual personality can take the gamer’s experience to the next level. Are they impulsive? Do they procrastinate? Show how the backstory has impacted your character’s decision-making and traits.
Adding aesthetic appeal
A well designed character is undoubtedly essential but when it comes to making yours the best of the best it’s all about the small touches. Think beyond a character which is visually perfect and into the way in which their movements truly reflect who they are. The better you can highlight the complexities in your character, the more a gamer will be able to connect with them. Say for example their backstory dictates that they hate authority figures, then having them scowl or turn their nose up at them throughout gameplay will clearly show the depth of the character. It’s these small touches which help distinguish between a good character and a great one.
Function is key
Your character looks incredible with an intriguing backstory and subtle touches that makes them stand out above all others, so what more could you want? Well, all of those other achievements are more or less useless if the player doesn’t react to the character the way you want them to. Above all, using a character in a video game has to be fun. The player must enjoy the way they move, speak and interact with others, helping to increase their enjoyment of play, the challenges posed and the game as a whole.
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