This week the lecture helped me look more in depth than I have ever perceived character design and it's importance in the grand scheme of a game. Needless to say, it is clear that in every game the first thing to notice is the main character (or even the first character you have contact with). An interesting thing to ask yourself is "What makes a character stand out to me?". Most likely you wouldn't have a straight forward answer as this is practically impossible. As with real life humans characters in a game are different ... they are So different and complex that you can not find one that has that "Thing" but none other does.
It is often that a good character design makes a great impression, and mostly with the main character who is usually "you" whether in first person or third person games, the aim is to make the player feel for the hero. And this doesn't even cut it anymore. A good design of a great game is completed with a stunning character envisionment that plants you in the main characters head (or put the whole game world in your head). However, this might be hard or even borderline impossible ... and it definitely is a challenge, and very rarely you can have contact with a game character who makes the whole experience feel like reality (or as close as it can get). This is why many RPG designers, for whom creating a world you can feel a part of and practically live in, rely on the type of story telling that creates the illusion of a fairy tale or a story.
For example one of my all time favorite game stories with stunning characters and immersive worlds is The Witcher. The designers were inspired by a book, yes ... But translating a form of linear media into something that depends on you for the most part, is a immense accomplishment. They had the idea of creating the narrative as if a secondary character tells the story of a legendary hunter, however, even in that you get lost in the moments you simply play as Geralt.
To summarize my thoughts, a great character story and design in whole is a really tricky process and what makes one hero "The one" wouldn't work for another. You need to think really hard into what would make the player relate, feel in control, yet have an extraordinary life or assets that will translate to the person behind his digital representation
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The progress of our game vision
Talking about our ideas so far we decided to implement a subtle story that explains the setting and makes the character feel like he is a part of this place. We are giving the player the choice to embark on the journey as one of few characters. For now we agreed to a warrior, who finds himself in a bad situation which involves the death of family members. And the rogue - a skilled thief who takes off on a forced journey to find his dissipated sister.
There were many other opportunities for characters such as a hunter who finds himself in the ruins of his village after coming back from a hunt. Realizing his daughter is missing he runs out into the woods to find her. There he finds the rogue who tells his story briefly and they get separated due to some circumstance. In order to keep the game personal, yet make it feel like you are not alone. There was an idea to add a wizard character, but this could be thought through in the future.
The characters will most likely be story driven but not something you can't snap out of in order to keep it simple for the main aspect of our game, which is the settlement management. The story that we are thinking over is the aspect that defines our characters, the asset that explains their circumstance, the world and the possible outcome if succeeded or failed.
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