Thesis

1. Thesis Peter Ingham

2. My Question ‘What are the differing levels of player empathy between stock and player created characters in a non-collaborative single player console based RPG?’

3. My Objectives What elements are necessary to create good empathetic characters Interested in how players forms bonds with avatars in games How differences in player/character empathy impact playing enjoyment

4. Development Timetable

5. What is...Empathy “Empathy is a complex socio-psychological construct. Defined as “the cognitive awareness of another person’s internal states, that is, his thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and intentions” [15], empathy enables us to vicariously respond to another via “psychological processes that make a person have feelings that are more congruent with another’s situation than with his own situation” [14].” (McQuiggan, 2008) The user connecting on an emotional level with their avatar Being able to put themselves in ‘someone else's shoes’

6. What are...RPGs RPG = Role Playing Game Evolved from table-top to consoles Console = Home entertainment systems such as Playstation 3 Xbox 360 Wii ZX Spectrum

7. The Great Divide Due to the fact that RPGs fall under a large tent I had to specify the two ends of the spectrum that I would be focusing on. Japanese Role-playing games (JRPGs) Predominantly stock characters Story driven narrative Linear plot Western Role-playing games (WRPGs) Predominantly player created characters Player driven narrative Non-linear plot

8. What are...Stock Characters By stock character we mean an avatar that has been created by a writing team that has his or her own look, personality and behavioural attributes.

9. Example of Stock characters in RPG’s Squall Leonheart: Final Fantasy VIII (Square, 1998) KaimArgonar: Lost Odyssey (Mistwalker, 2008) Lloyd Irving: Tales of Symphonia (Tales Studios, 2004) Cloud Strife: Final Fantasy VII (Square, 1997)

10. What are...Player Created Characters By a player created character we are referring to an avatar that the player has control of in areas such as: Appearance: The way the player looks Skills: The type of player they are e.g. Mage, Barbarian Dialogue: Their responses to questions and the direction they take the story in.

11. Example of Player Created Characters in RPG’s Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda, 2007) Neverwinter Nights 2 (Obsidian Entertainment, 2006) Diablo II (Blizzard Entertainment, 2000)

13. Why Research this? General lack of research into how empathy affects enjoyment Important because games writing is becoming a larger part of the design process Can easily tie in with my practical project

14. Building my Arguments To build on my knowledge for the thesis I researched various authors that I came to use in my literature review.

15. Building my Arguments cont. Bateman, C. (2007), Game Writing: Narrative skills for videogames. Charles River Media, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Covers the role of a character in terms of narrative and game purposes, archetypal characters and how we can reveal character and personality through actions and events. “If writers don’t create the character from the character’s emotional level, they won’t get an emotional response from the player.” (Walsh, 2007)

16. Building my Arguments cont. Sheldon, L, E. (2004), Character Development and Storytelling, Thomson, United States Book covers areas on creating characters in chapters such as ‘respecting characters’, ‘character roles’, ‘character traits’ and ‘character encounters’. “Emotion lies at the core of all great literature…what touches us…what illuminates a truth a truth about the human condition…is at the heart of what entertains us.” (Sheldon, 2004)

17. Building my Arguments cont. J., Simon (2007), Narrative, Games, and Theory, GamestudiesVol 7 issue 1 August 2007. Avaible at http://gamestudies.org/0701/articles/simons (Accessed: 21 November 2008) Conflicting views from theorists that believe that people do not such as EspenAarseth and Mary-Laure Ryan which provides me with an interesting contrast to my other theorists. “According to Aarseth (2004), “We might say that, unlike literature, games are not about the Other, they are about the Self. Games focus on self-mastery and exploration of the external world, not exploration of interpersonal relationships (except for multiplayer games).” (Simon, 2007)

18. Building my Arguments cont. “Moreover, ludologists argue that game players do not identify with their avatars in the gameworld as readers or spectators of a narrative do with the main characters of a story” (Simon, 2007)

19. Methodological Stages Stage 1 : The Questionnaire Stage 2: Create the game Stage 3: The user test Stage 4: The close interview

20. Methodologies – Part 1 The Questionnaire Why use a questionnaire? Garner wide range of views Allows me to ask many questions Easy to distribute via Web Will show me the ‘clusters’ gamers fall into The Questionnaire will focus on The different ways in which players may empathise with the characters, main and secondary How character and story can impact enjoyment Game interfaces and systems e.g. Levelling, classes RPG Questionnaire

21. Methodologies – Part 1 What it should tell me Show the clusters that people who have taken the survey fall into Obtain a rough indication of how players feel towards both stock and self created characters How character is linked to enjoyment How game mechanics affect player enjoyment

22. Methodologies – Part 2 The Game To test my hypothesis I was initially going to test 2 industry released games. However to make sure the practical part worked with my thesis it was decided that I should create my own game. 2 iterations of the same game 1st with the emphasis on: Character driven narrative Linear story Little freedom in dialogue More of a passive story experience akin to JRPGs

23. Methodologies – Part 2 The Game 2nd with the emphasis on: Player customisation Choice in how the story unfolds Lots of choice in dialogue More of a active story experience akin to WRPGs

24. Methodologies – Part 2 The Game: How do we craft Empathy? Drew on my own experiences, games, books and TV

25. Methodologies – Part 2 The Game: How do we craft Empathy? Thought about what resonated with me Good characterisation Flaws in character Growth

26. Methodologies – Part 2 The Game: Genre Overview Due to the nature of the question the game that was going to created was of course an RPG Turn based battle system Heavy emphasis on dialogue and character Top down view People should be familiar with it

27. Methodologies – Part 2 The Game: Conveying this in my game Drew on answers from the questionnaire Tried to create relatability in the protagonist Make them vulnerable Make characterisation important However Difficult task for such a short time Could result in gaining opinions on what could have been rather than what was

28. Methodologies – Part 2 The Game: Overview Even though players were going to test a small part of the game it would have been part of a larger game. Revolved around a government that were poisoning its citizens so they could sell a cure to them Protagonist had to find the ‘resistance’ so they could expose the corruption Meet new characters and learn more about their friend that was killed Grow from a character that was in some ways weak and indecisive to one that could lead an uprising Ultimately bring down the ‘Corporation’ ‘They all live happily ever after’ as it goes

29. Methodologies – Part 2 The Game World Created in RPG Maker XP Familiar software which made it easy to design for

30. Methodologies – Part 2 The Character Driven Game Wrote a script that had an existing relationship with characters Character had back-story and original character design

31. Methodologies – Part 2 The Player Driven Game Character had more choice over dialogue and game direction Character could choose their own class, appearance etc

32. Methodologies – Part 2 The Player driven game

33. Methodologies – Part 2 Problems Encountered Some coding issues, but they were easily solved Graphics took quite a while to make such as sprites and face graphics, although most of the source material was easily obtainable Minor problems with text being cut-off Choice box on 2nd game could only hold a few words so there was some ambiguity about the choices people made

34. Methodologies – Part 3-4 User Testing and Close Interview I plan to implement user testing to: Focus on the varied spectrum of users revealed in my questionnaire Ask more in-depth questions relating to character>player empathy The user test will focus on The different ways in which players may empathies with the characters, main and secondary How character can impact enjoyment The differing levels of empathy towards stock and player created protagonists See Close interview document

35. Interpreting Data – Part 1 Questionnaire Examples Questions were focused within the objectives set The first few questions determined the demographic Age Gender Playtime

36. Interpreting Data – Part 1 Questionnaire Examples: Objective 1 Elements necessary for good empathetic characters 13. Would you say that your aesthetic sensibilities control aspects of gameplay such as the type of character you would be? E.g. Rogue, Mage 15.a.Would you say that you have ever been able to relate to a character’s feelings of sadness? E.g. A character has lost something dear to them: person, pet, object 47. In terms of characters, how important are these factors?

37. Interpreting Data – Part 1 Questionnaire Examples: Objective 2 Emotional bonds between player and avatar and how it affects empathy 5. Do you fully follow the Main story missions for RPG’s without delving into sub-plots? 23. What type of character do you prefer to play through a main storyline as? 33. Would you say that you have ever been able to relate to a character’s feeling’s or decisions in an RPG?

38. Interpreting Data – Part 1 Questionnaire Examples: Objective 3 How differences in empathy affect enjoyment 4b. Of the above list, which one do you play the most? 37. Would you say the main story of a game can drive you to keep playing a game until its end? 46. In terms of story, how important are these factors.

39. Interpreting Data – Part 1 Conclusions drawn from Questionnaire In terms of my 1st objective Strong individual characterisation Relatability People who play RPGs expect well developed characters These elements are needed to create a sense of empathy

40. Interpreting Data – Part 1 Conclusions drawn from Questionnaire In terms of my 2nd objective Players were not affected by how the character is portrayed in terms of looks but more in terms of their actions and dialogue Create characters that are natural The bonds can grow with relatable situations

41. Interpreting Data – Part 1 Conclusions drawn from Questionnaire In terms of my 3rd objective Story and character are main driving points for a persons enjoyment More so with those who play more JRPGs Different genres that people play can affect their empathy towards characters People want well developed characters as they add to enjoyment

42. Interpreting Data – Part 2 Close Interview Question Examples Did you empathise with any of the playable characters in the 2 game demos? Yes: Which do you feel was a stronger connection? Why/why not? No: Why not? Did you like the genre of the game? A. Yes: Did this add to your enjoyment of the game? b. No: Did this detract from your enjoyment of the game?

43. Interpreting Data – Part 2 Close Interview Question Examples Do you feel you had an adequate amount of time to form an opinion of the both the games you played? Which character did you feel most of a response from, if any? Why? Why not?

44. Interpreting Data – Part 2 Conclusions drawn from Close Interview People preferred the character driven game more due to the characterisation An interesting split between empathy for the protagonist in both games and Sabien the NPC Most people felt they had enough time to empathise with the protagonist from the character driven game However some people felt more they needed more time for the player driven one People who played RPGs more were more empathetic and in turn enjoyed the game more The genre added to some peoples enjoyment but detracted from others

45. In Conclusion... People found the character driven game more enjoyable and would have continued playing that compared to the player driven game Empathy from not just he protagonist but from other NPCs added to this Players empathy towards the protagonist drove them to want to keep playing the game even though it was more so in the character driven game People who were familiar with the RPG genre (JRPGs) in particular showed more empathy towards the protagonist

46. In Retrospect... The results may have been based on opinions on what could have been in terms of their empathetic response but their enjoyment I believe to be genuine It depends what the player wants from the game that they are playing More time was needed to properly assess how character empathy affects enjoyment

47. Future Implications Like to see characters and story the same priority as gameplay mechanics as they can bring forth enjoyment More testing into how empathy affects other genres Would have liked to test more people from different spectrums of the games demographic Would have liked to monitor the candidates for a longer period of time

48. My References Focus on character and story Game Writing Narrative Skills for Videogames - Various Authors Character Development and Storytelling for Games – L. Sheldon Game Story and Character Development – M. Krawczyk, J. Novak Narrative, Games, and Theory – J. Simon (EspenAarseth & Mary-Laure Ryan) Methodology Observing the user experience – M. Kuniasvsky Enjoyment and design process Game Design Workshop – T. Fullerton The Pleasure of the Playable Text: Towards an Aesthetic Theory of Computer Games – G. Lauteren

49. Questions? Welcome to come over to my table and ask anything

50. Thanks All my tutors over the semesters, especially module leaders for the dissertation People who helped in the test period Everyone for listening