Usually, a designer will be working on part of a game. It may be a general story line, creating a character or the look of a game. Some designers are more involved in writing the game “narrative” and others are more on the art side. Some do both.
Today We’re Designing a Character
What’s your character’s back story?
Your character needs a few things – probably a name, clothes (maybe not if it’s an animal ), a way of moving around in the game. Let’s start first, though, with who your character is.
An example of back story
Watch one character’s back story here.
A presentation about back stories
Three characters who need a back story
This character’s name is Phoenix. That has to be his name and he has to look like that because his grandparents paid us money to have him in our game (really!) Right now he is in our game, Forgotten Trail, in Detroit. I have no idea what he is doing in Detroit. Maybe I should move him to Crossroads? What do you think?
This character only has a story stem
This character will be in the next level of Forgotten Trail. Our main characters arrive in Detroit out of money. He gives them advice and helps them find a delivery job.
Why does he help two strangers? What’s his back story? What’s his name, anyway? What does he sound like?
I actually met this character
The real person this character is based on was in a game design class I taught. One of her parents was black and she told me we needed a multi-racial character in our game.
I thought that was a good idea, so here she is.
The actual person was a very good student and the kind of person that her friends were always asking for help.
The character in the game doesn’t have to be that way, though. She can be a villain if you want her to be.
Game Design Worksheet to Complete
- Read example game design documents.
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