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

One of the best character development games out

[GoNINzo]

I'd vote that the best game for character development is Jade Empire right now. Everyone has their own story, and it branches based on your reactions. It makes the game so much more intereting and keeps you going forward so you can find out the guy's wife or why this guy left the order, etc. To me, that's proof that character development makes a huge difference.