I have been considering the difficult nature of making a developed, deep, and emotionally compelling character within the video game space. Almost all game characters (if not all) are defined by the interactions the players have with the game, by the game mechanics. A character’s motivations, therefore, are simplified to flow with the limited interactions possible through a video game controller. This simplification due to interaction constraints nearly eliminates user-influenced personality traits, values, and motivations.
The result of this game mechanic-driven story is that players can only experience the game in one pre-scripted way. Not that this creates a bad experience, by any means! In fact, one could say some people play video games to experience this other kind of life – so that they might be able to live vicariously through the main character in the game. Games like the Uncharted series would fall under this category – the player does not make choices about Nathan Drake’s personality, about his desires in the game. Rather, Drake has been equipped with very specific skills that translate well into controls, and those interactions help to define his character.
What would happen, though, if games were able to take the player’s actions into account, if the game reacted to the emerging personality that the player generates through play? What if the player’s choices in the world, big or small, reverberated through the game space from that point forward? Could this kind of game be possible across genres, across even platforms? I am not sure about that, but I think the best place to start this form of character development is in an RPG.
One reason I think RPGs are the best place to start is because they are already knocking on this character development door. Players customize their characters by selecting playing classes, races, and even looks. Through this customization process a character is being born. Another reason the RPG is a good jumping board for serious character development is that it is already an extended, very involved game experience. Most experienced RPG players would not bat an eye at a game with over 50 hours of game-play involved. In order to develop deeper characters, players will have to invest more time rather than less. So again, the audience base is already in place for such an involved experience.
A third reason I think RPGs would be the right genre to start off with is because they already try to develop personalities in their games. However, this typically happens through some form of multiple-choice interactive cinematic. Games like Dragon Age give the player the option to choose how to respond to the NPCs during the cut scenes. Depending on these player responses, the appropriate cinematic will play, which makes it seem like the NPCs are reacting to the player’s choices.
Now, while I do think RPGs are on their way to achieving real character development, I also think the approach to this character development is backwards. Creating an RPG is based around how to tell the best story possible. In generating the interactive process for telling a story, I think the game developers added interactive cinematics for the purpose of giving the player a more personalized experience. The side-effect of these interactions was that characters in the game developed small personalities. To make the choices clear and unique, the developers of the game simplify the player’s choices into very different traits – aggressive or passive, inquisitive or focused, casual or demanding.
It is through these choices that players can derive a personality for their character. However, what would happen to the RPG experience if the developers focused more on rich character development to make a more compelling game than on mechanic-driven stories? I think the story told through a character-development method would be enhanced exponentially – if the players were able to feel more connected to the character, the story will carry a much greater impact.
But how can the character be developed entirely by the player, without the overt guidance of those select few dialog choices? If done, I think it would have to emerge as the player interacts with the world. The game would have to track not just if the player completed a quest but how the player completed it. This means that there would have to be multiple ways to complete quests. Take, for example, a quest to retrieve some diamonds from a nearby town. One way to get the diamonds would be to kill everyone in the town until you find the diamonds. Another way would be to enter the town and talk to the locals, gathering information about where the diamonds are stored.
Perhaps there is even a third way to retrieve the diamonds, by sneaking through the town searching people’s homes or pick-pocketing folks on the street. Each of these solutions is representative of different personality traits and even different values, but rather than stating these traits overtly, the game learns based on how the player interacts. To make actions in the game feel important, they would have to carry repercussions in the game. Once an action has been done, the game must change from that point forward in some way. These changes do not all have to be big, story changing events, but the AI in the game must react to the player’s choices in some way, through NPC actions or perhaps even through quest distribution.
In the diamond example, the player to tears through the town killing all who stand in the way would gain a fearsome reputation. Not only would NPCs show fear when looking at or speaking to the character, but they might even begin to offer information without having been asked, for fear of feeling the character’s wrath. The player who chooses a more diplomatic approach would be known as a character who can be reasoned with – the character might be well-liked across the land, though some NPCs may try to take advantage of this characteristic by lying or sneaking. Finally, the sneaky player may be known to value life enough not to kill needlessly, but not so much that killing is out of the question. This character would likely not be trusted by many, but also would not be crossed readily by NPCs.
Essentially, one’s actions in the game result in very real consequences. The game would evolve as the play progressed and the story would ultimately be about this character’s journey through the space. I think this highly reactive AI should be applied to more than just quest solutions also. Take World of Warcraft as an example. In that particular game, players can build reputation nwith any number of factions, earning achievements along the way. Other achievements can be unlocked through simple tasks like world exploration.
These kinds of achievements result in character titles in World of Warcraft (i.e. Meadie the Diplomat or Iceman the Explorer). The titles show other players of the game what kind of player you are, but they have little effect on the AI of the game. What if the game itself reacted to these achievements, though? What if you explored an entire world map and discovered all the corners of the world and then the NPCs addressed you with reverence toward this world explorer accomplishment? What if they gave you quests tailored to your accomplishments – for the world explorer, quests might be require more traveling through the world.
I feel that this extra kick would push RPGs even further into the realm of complex character devilment than they already are. This development process could potentially continue indefinitely, especially in a game like World of Warcraft where there is no real end to the game. In this case, players would have the opportunity to change their character’s personalities and motivations over time by simply changing how the player responds to the game in certain situations.
Characters who usually deal with a situation diplomatically could suddenly lose patience and kill lots of NPCs. This sudden change would cause a stir in the game – NPCs would look differently at the character after that event. Perhaps if that reaction was not repeated frequently, the NPCs would mostly forget about the incident. However, the event would still affect the game, maybe by giving pause to NPCs who once thought they could easily swindle the once-pushover diplomat. Basically any action ntaken in the game would have to affect the game.
I do not know if this kind of AI is even possible – I do know it would be a monumental feat to build it. I also know that I, for one, would be much more invested in a game that took my actual style of play into account, rather than forcing me to simplify my reactions to dialog choice 1, 2, 3, or 4. I think interesting things can happen when this line between what is essentially a story machine and a linear story begins to blur. I think by approaching games from the perspective of developing deep characters rather than purely simple characters that serve the purpose of driving a story along, that line may just start to blur.
18 February 2010
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