Incongruous Avatars and Hilarious Sidekicks: Design Patterns for Comical Game Characters


Dormann Claire Boutet Mish
2014 DiGRA '13 - Proceedings of the 2013 DiGRA International Conference: DeFragging Game Studies

Integrating humour in games or designing humorous games can be challenging but rewarding. Contributing to practical knowledge of these contexts, we examine the role and value of humour in game character design. We begin with a brief review of main theories of humour. Next, we outline our methodology, describing steps taken to develop game design patterns on humour. From our investigation, we present a classification of comic characters and discuss a sampling of patterns for characters, highlighting design considerations particular to these. Then we enrich our collection by situating our character patterns within the comic worlds the characters inhabit. Our intent is to create tools that game designers can use for laughter-inducing entertainment, to generate new, amusing gameplay experiences.

 

The appeal of cute monkeys


Tosca Susana Pajares
2003 DiGRA '03 - Proceedings of the 2003 DiGRA International Conference: Level Up

If we agree with Sega and Nintendo advertising and look at the selling numbers of the game Super Monkey Ball, it seems that its characters, MeeMee, GonGon, Baby and AiAi would have to be some of the most successful computer game characters ever created. The game doesn’t have any story, but the monkeys have personality and are ever so cute. Is it possible that the “aesthetics of cuteness” so prevalent in many Japanese consumption and entertainment products has also now conquered Western hearts? This paper examines the construction and reception of the four characters, and reflects about the relationship between the pure visual design element of a game and its success as an entertainment product, including a qualitative study conducted with a number of test subjects exposed to the game.

 

Exploring the Uncanny Valley with Japanese Video Game Characters


Schneider Edward Wang Yifan Yang Shanshan
2007 DiGRA '07 - Proceedings of the 2007 DiGRA International Conference: Situated Play

Dr. Masahiro Mori's robotics design theory, the Uncanny Valley, has become a common reference in virtual character design. The theory holds that robots whose appearance is very close to being human, but not fully, will evoke a very negative human reaction. The theory is often referenced in design outside of robots, especially in video games, but there is very little data to support this application. The attempts at photorealistic graphics in the latest round of video game hardware have made reference to the valley common in even mass media discussion. This study asked 60 subjects their opinions on 75 different virtual characters from both inside and outside video games to investigate the relationship between human-like appearance and attraction. The results found definite parallels between Mori's predictions with robots and subject opinion on virtual characters, and have direct application to video game character design.

 

From Individual Characters to Large Crowds: Augmenting the Believability of Open-World Games through Exploring Social Emotion in Pedestrian Groups


Szymanezyk Olivier Dickinson Patrick Duckett Tom
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play

Crowds of non-player characters improve the game-play experiences of open-world video-games. Grouping is a common phenomenon of crowds and plays an important role in crowd behaviour. Recent crowd simulation research focuses on group modelling in pedestrian crowds and game-designers have argued that the design of non-player characters should capture and exploit the relationship between characters. The concepts of social groups and inter-character relationships are not new in social psychology, and on-going work addresses the social life of emotions and its behavioural consequences on individuals and groups alike. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of current research in social psychology, and to use the findings as a source of inspiration to design a social network of non-player characters, with application to the problem of group modelling in simulated crowds in computer games.

 

Characters in Computer Games: Toward Understanding Interpretation and Design


Lankoski Petri Heliö Satu Ekman Inger
2003 DiGRA '03 - Proceedings of the 2003 DiGRA International Conference: Level Up

Interpretation of characters is a fundamental feature of human behavior. Even with limited information available, people will assign personality – even to inanimate objects. Characters in computer games will be attributed personality based on their appearance and behavior. The interpretation of these characters affects the whole game experience. Designing the protagonist character in computer games is different from the design of static characters (e.g. film or literature), because the player’s actions will affect the nature of the character. There are, however, many ways to control and guide the actions of the protagonist and thus the character’s nature. By setting goals, scripting pre-defined actions and choosing what kind of actions to implement, the game designer can restrict the player’s freedom. This, together with the characterization of the character, will affect the interpretation of the character.