Character Development In Games

Gamasutra has a piece up examining techniques for character development in games. The article describes these techniques using the movie standards of dialogue and relationships. From the article: "Character development in and of itself isn't going to make your gameplay any better, but it will create a more satisfying experience because you're furnishing a more well-developed context, a more immersive world for the player to explore. You can't read a review of an adventure game or shooter without seeing some kind of reference to the storytelling, the dialogue, the characters. Can you relate to the characters? Are they well-developed? Are they interesting? It's become an expectation, an industry norm. Cliches and stereotypes are unacceptable."

Comments

Old Ultima Online memory

[Sierpinski]

This article made me think back to the days where I played Ultima Online, and had a rather hilarious (at least I thought it was) meeting with a NPC.

There I was, riding my trusty steed through the wilderness, when I encountered a wandering healer by the name of Stella. (Her name was 'Stella the Wandering Healer') So naturally I dismounted, walked up to her, and I said:

"Stella!!!"

Her response:

"Ooooh, Colors!"

I played that game for over five years, and for some reason its one of the most prominent memories I have of the game. Offtopic or not, I wanted to share, because I still think its funny. :)