Creating Emotion in Games: The Craft and Art of Emotioneering

People are dimensional, and your NPCs should be too, especially the important ones.

For major NPCs, I create what I call a Character Diamond.

I try to give all major NPCs at least four different Traits that is, one for each of the four corners of their Diamonds. For instance, say you have a Greek warrior. He's:

1. Sly: He steals some food off of a merchant's cart.

2. Heroic: He'll always jump into a fight for a just cause, no matter the odds against him.

3. Absent-minded: He forgets where he puts things.

4. Aesthetic: He likes to pause and enjoy a scenic vista or a striking sunrise.

I call the preceding attributes of the NPC his "Traits." A Trait is a major facet of the character's personality, and thus governs how the character sees the world, thinks, speaks, and acts.

All of the character's action and speech is guided by his or her Character Diamond, except for situationally appropriate emotions. For instance, if your Greek warrior was attacked, he might get angry, even though anger isn't one of his core Traits. But it would be situationally appropriate.

If the NPC trips a lot, that isn't a Trait. It's irrelevant as to how the NPC sees the world, thinks, and speaks.

On the other hand, a characteristic such as "Reckless" can be a Trait. If it's an important aspect of the character's core personality, then it affects how that character sees the world, thinks, speaks, and acts.

The Character Diamond is like an architectural blueprint. When building a house, you follow the blueprint. When creating a major NPC, the NPC's dialogue and actions conform to the Traits of the Diamond.

Let's say your character's Traits are:

1. Heroic

2. Loyal

3. Honest

4. Ethical

Would this NPC have a Diamond?

Yes, but a very boring one.

A cliché character is one who has a combination of Diamond Traits that we've frequently seen before in film, TV, or game characters. Even more commonly, cliché characters don't have three, four, or five familiar Traits, but rather just one or two for example, a villain who is Cunning and Vicious.

Thus, we find that a cliché space pilot who's a knockoff of Han Solo has Diamond Traits that make him:

1. Swashbuckling

2. Brave

3. Have a dry wit

4. A bit arrogant

A cliché knockoff of Gandolf would be an NPC with a Diamond comprised of the Traits:

1. Magical

2. Mysterious

3. Good

4. Wise

A major NPC doesn't need to have four Traits to be interesting. Three would be enough.

An NPC can also have five Traits. More than five for an NPC might easily turn the character to "mush." That is, it might be hard to get a strong feeling for who this character actually is.

While major characters with five Traits aren't uncommon in film and television, even the most important NPCs are rarely around long enough so that you can easily squeeze in five Traits without their identities becoming confusing to a player. This isn't to say it can't be done, for it absolutely can. It just means proceed with caution.

If a character has three major Traits, or even five, I still call this combination the character's Diamond. (I use the word "Diamond" because four Traits is the most common number, and because it's easy to remember. You just need to wrap your mind around the idea of a three-sided Diamond or a five-sided one.)

While it isn't a hard and fast rule, your main characters will probably have more Traits than your minor characters.