Writing the Romance-able NPC:
ICING on the Content Cake
Heidi McDonald
Game Designer, Schell Games LLC
COM106 Assignment:
“Examine an area of media that
interests you and report on your results.”
ZOMG!!!
I can studiez
GAMEZ for
GRADEZ!
Learn about player motivation and behavior
Learn how important NPC romance actually is
Identify patterns and models that can help improve
NPC romance
1. Analyzed my own gaming behavior.
2. Asked a few other people about their
gaming behavior.
3. Realized…hey, this could be a legit study!
VIOLENT
ROGUE
EVIL
ROGUE
EMO
EMO
EXTREMIST
CHASTE
Yes! You might be on to
something!
Study it some more!
Jesse Schell
Cool! You go for it,
girlfriend!
Need help with your
survey questions?
No, BioWare doesn’t
collect data like this.
But if you happen to
collect some…let us
know!
Jennifer Brandes Hepler
Sheri Graner Ray
PRO’s
+
+
+
+
Easy design
Easy participation
Anonymous
Data makes sense
CON’s
-
Honesty-dependent
Not scientific
People can skip questions
People can re-take survey
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525 Respondents
All gamers and/or game developers
62% female, 33% male
71% straight
57% romantically attached
85% 18-40 with a 40% majority of 18-24
FEMALE
MALE
What gender
character do
you prefer to
play when you
are playing a
single-player
RPG?
Again: Respondents are 62% female, 33% male in real life.
But 69% prefer to play a female!
(This finding
supports
Nick Yee’s
work.)
Do you, or would you ever role play a
character with a gender different to your
real-life gender?
Sometimes
Often
Never
Always
Again: Respondents are 62% female, 33% male in real life.
Only 18% said NEVER, meaning that 82% of players are
changing it up at least some of the time!
Do you, or would you ever romance a different
gender character than you would in real life?
Often
Always
Sometimes
Never
Which romance combinations have you, do you,
or would you play?
Male
Player,
Female
NPC
Male
Player,
Male
NPC
Female
Player,
Male
NPC
Female
Player,
Female
NPC
“The process of appropriating another identity
on the web, and more specifically, an identity
involving another gender and/or race other
than one's own, particularly on the internet
and in video games.”
~Lisa Nakamura
Let’s flip it on its head:
Can Identity Tourism be a
GOOD thing?
Identity Tourism CAN BE
a good thing that
helps people’s
self-awareness and tolerance.
How important is romance to your
overall experience in a
single-player RPG?
Take or
Leave
Somewhat
Not much
Not at all
Very
• 89% romance to see where the narrative goes.
• 80% say romances add depth to their gameplay.
• 76% romance for entertainment and to
experience as much content as possible.
• 60% HAVE had felt connection to a romance-able
NPC.
• 53% find NPC romance emotionally stimulating.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
86%
77%
71%
65%
55%
49%
32%
NPC’s personality
Dialogue
Integration of romance into game narrative
Voice/accent
NPC’s back story
Facial features
Body type
Romance is important
in single-player RPGs.
VIOLENT
ROGUE
EVIL
ROGUE
EMO
EMO
EXTREMIST
CHASTE
PEOPLE
BOTH
AVATAR
PEOPLE
AVATAR
BOTH
Use
these!
Dr. Jane McGonigal’s TED Talk, based on her book.
Use
these!
Dr. Carolyn Kaufman’s work in using
Jungian Archetype and the concept of the
Shadow Personality in romance writing.
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Chaste
Childish
Helpless
Needy
Religious
Use these!
Jason VandenBerghe's "5 Domains of Play" Lecture at GDC
2012 using Big 5 Theory to address player motivation.
Big 5 Category
Player Motivation
Type of Romance
Openness
Novelty
Unconventional characteristics
with strange or funny backstories
Low Openness
Predictability
More predictable, archetypal
Conscientiousness
Challenge
"Hard to get" character that must
be actively wooed and won
Low C-Score
Ease of play
Damsel in distress to be saved
Extravterted
Stimulation
Lots of fun banter
Low Extraverted
Low Social Engagement
Aggressive NPC
Agreeableness
Harmony
Uncomplicated romance that ends
well every time
Low Agreeableness Discord
Neuroticism
Threat
Tumultuous romance such as
Dark stories or bad endings
Heidi’s
Research
Gaming
Scholarship
Writing
Scholarship
•
Character development
•
Interactive component
•
Player perspective
•
Story construction
•
Ending
nclusiveness
(Lisa Nakamura)
haracter perspective
(Dr. Jane McGonigal)
nterference
(Dr. Carolyn Kaufman)
ot using universally-hated descriptors
(Heidi’s research)
ratifying endings
(Jason VandenBerghe)
1. People like experimenting
2. Romance is important
3. We can make tastier ICING on the content cake
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Jesse Schell / Schell Games / ETC
Sheri Graner Ray / Schell Games
Schell Games Co-Workers
Jennifer Brandes Hepler / BioWare
BioWare Social Network
Brenda Garno / LootDrop
Jason VandenBerghe / UbiSoft
The CA’s from GDC 2012
Phyrra.com
Feminists in Games
Dr. Katie Cruger / Chatham University
Dr. Prajna Paramita Parasher / Chatham University
Alex McPhearson / Catalina Games
My kids, who taught me to keep asking “why”
WORKS CITED:
Alexander, Phill. "He's The Kind of Girl Who Wants Matching Daggers." World of Warcraft and Philosophy. By
Luke Cuddy and John Nordlinger. Chicago: Open Court, 2009. 153-64. Print.
Benedetti, Winda. "Is 'World of Warcraft' the Future of Online Dating?" Ingame. Msnbc Digital Network, 2011.
Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://www.ingame.msnbc.msn.com/technology/ingame/world-warcraft-future-onlinedating-123662>.
Kaufman, Dr. Carolyn. Archetype: The Fiction Writer's Guide to Psychology. Archetype Writing, 2012. Web. 26
Mar. 2012. <http://www.archetypewriting.com/articles/articles_ck/archetypes3_anima-animus_partI.htm>.
"Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." Motivation Theory. Project Management Course, 2005. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.abraham-maslow.com/m_motivation/Hierarchy_of_Needs.asp>.
McGonigal, Jane. "Gaming Can Make a Better World." TED2010, Long Beach, CA. 18 Feb. 2012. Lecture.
Nakamura, Lisa. Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet. New York: Routledge, 2002. Print.
Rosenbloom, Stephanie. "It's Love at First Kill." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 22 Apr.
2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.
"The Attitude-Behaviour Gap: Why We Say One Thing But Do The Opposite." PsyBlog. PsyBlog, 24 Mar. 2008.
Web. 23 Mar. 2012. <http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/03/attitude-behaviour-gap-why-we-say-one.php>.
VandenBerghe, Jason. "The Five Domains of Play." Game Developers' Conference. Moscone Convention
Center, San Francisco, CA. 7 March 2012. Lecture.
Heidi McDonald
@Death_Bow ~ hmcdonald@schellgames.com
www.deathbow.com
Thank You!
Heidi McDonald
@Death_Bow
www.deathbow.com
hmcdonald@schellgames.com