Character Development

The improvement of characters' abilities, skills, or powers.

Games that include characters under players' control often make it possible for these to have Character Development. On a general level, this can either be in the form of becoming more likely to succeed with actions, or make actions that were previously unavailable possible. It is typically explained within the setting of the game as the development of powers or skills, possibly through access to new tools, or the change of other characters' attitude towards that character.

Examples

The characters in the Sims series have numeric values of how well they are at the existing skills, and increasing these are a form of Character Development. Improving (or possibly decreasing) relationship values towards other characters can also be seen as a form of development, as can the increase in material wealth. Using a less complex model, the influence of virtual pets that Tamagochi toys allow players to have can be seen as a similar form of Character Development.

Many Tabletop Roleplaying Games allow various ways of Character Development. Some allow increases in individual skills (e.g. Call of Cthulhu, GURPS, Hârnmaster, and Mutant) while other use character levels (e.g. Dungeons & Dragons) as the main measure, but practical all let the acquisition of tools and equipment affect mechanical aspects of gameplay and the development of social relations affect narration or social actions. Gaining new powers is also common, e.g. both GURPS and Dungeons & Dragons supports this. The various systems have carried over to Computer-based Roleplaying Games, e.g. the Elder Scrolls series letting skill improvements drive level improvement while gaining levels in Dragon Age II and Torchlight allow players to give their characters new powers.

Both Bloodbowl and the computer-based version of the game have rules for individual players gaining experience points, and, when enough are acquired, new star player powers.

Using the pattern

Roleplaying Player/Character Skill Composites Mules Gameplay Statistics Levels Multiplayer Games Late Arriving Players Enforced Agent Behavior Extra-Game Consequences Varying Rule Sets Persistent Game Worlds Warp Zones

Character Development is defined by two characteristics: what caused the development and what effect the development has. Common causes for Character Development are from parts of Rewards or Investments. The latter is usually done by various forms of Collecting (e.g. "experience points") to complete Gain Competence goals; Character Levels is a common way of structuring this that supports Leveling and can be found in Dungeons & Dragons, the Elder Scrolls series, and the Dragon Age series. What specific events lead to Character Development can vary: while many games, e.g. Torchlight and Dungeon & Dragons, provide "experience points" for winning Combats or finishing Quests, others make the use of Skills the prime mechanism for improving these (this is found in the Elder Scrolls series and to a certain extent in Hârnmaster) while other still simply make it an effect of the unfolding of Predetermined Story Structures. A specific case related to use of Skills is to reward Crafting by making this lead to Character Development.

The actual development is often by explicitly affecting the characters possibilities to influence the game state. This can be in the form of New or Improved Abilities, which may either expand a Limited Set of Actions or increase Attributes, Resource Caps, or Skill. The changes in abilities may also be explained as changes in which Powers the Characters have. A form of Character Development can also be achieved by letting them have access to better Game Items such as Armor, Equipment, Tools, or Weapons. Providing Character Development in this way opens up for it being lost through Stealing and makes it easier latter have, maybe temporary, Ability Losses. Character Development may also take the form of joining Factions or having improved relation to them (see for example Oblivion and Fallout:New Vegas for examples of this), and this provide another explanation to have Ability Losses, e.g. not being able to attack Faction members or innocent bystanders. These kinds of Ability Losses do not need to be explicitly enforced, they can instead be enforced through Actions Have Diegetically Social Consequences.

Regardless of what the actual development is, there are several ways of modulating it. Letting players chose one or a few options regarding Attributes, Powers, or Skills it a way to give them a Freedom of Choice in the Character Development but restricted through a Limited Resource of "development points" (see Dungeons & Dragons, GURPS, and the Fallout series for a couple of different examples of how this can be done). Having Classes in games is a way to limit which Powers and Skills can be affected by Character Development based on a thematic stance. Making the advancements into Irreversible Events is a easy way to make the the choices more serious for the players.

Character Development, especially of Skills, can be limited by Balancing Effects such as Diminishing Returns to modulate the increase rates over time; for example, skill increases happen often when one is a novice in the skill and happen rarely when one is an expert.

More generally

Diegetic Aspects

To maintain Diegetic Consistency, the development of Characters should in many cases be noticeable in Game Worlds through how their associated Avatars look. In some cases this is more or less automatically present, e.g. when Character Development is through the equipping of new Game Items, but the Fable series shows how the appearance of players' Characters can change due to how they develop. These change may in most cases only be Extra-Game Consequences, but can serve as reminders for the players that caused the Character Development and can provide clues to other players of the Characters' abilities to other players.

Interface Aspects

Character Development typically requires the updating of Character Sheets or special Secondary Interface Screens, or at least special components in those provided for viewing Characters.

Narrative Aspects

Character Development is a way to make Characters advance Narration Structures of games. Especially the use of Character Defining Actions can be a clear way of combining the development of the character with the development of the story.

Consequences

Character Development is a form of Abstract Player Construct Development that, quite obviously, affects Characters. When players have some Creative Control over the development this is quite likely to lead to Player-Planned Development and the Anticipation this gives. If players are given this freedom before gameplay begins, it gives Player-Created Characters. When Character Development is based on Collecting activities, this can easily lead to Grinding.

The introduction of New or Improved Abilities can over time produce Paper-Rock-Scissors structures that provide Varied Gameplay between playing different Characters. Providing players with New or Improved Abilities through Character Development can give them an Exaggerated Perception of Influence. Character Development can upset Player Balance in Multiplayer Games with Persistent Game Worlds since players that started to play earlier or have played more are likely to have better Characters.

While Character Development can be planned as part of Narration Structures through Predetermined Story Structures, it can in itself create Narration Structures. Similarly, while Character Defining Actions can be designed to be options in the allowed structures for Character Development, making improvements due to Character Development into Irreversible Events also makes them into a form of Character Defining Actions.

Character Development between game or play sessions are a form of Trans-Game Information that not only passes the original Characters between sessions but also introduces changes.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Extra-Game Consequences, Freedom of Choice, Narration Structures, Rewards

with Collecting

Grinding

with Creative Control

Player-Created Characters, Player-Planned Development

with Improved Abilities or New Abilities

Exaggerated Perception of Influence, Paper-Rock-Scissors, Varied Gameplay

with Irreversible Events

Character Defining Actions

Can Modulate

Ability Losses, Attributes, Avatars, Character Sheets, Characters, Factions, Limited Set of Actions, Narration Structures, Powers, Resource Caps, Skills, Secondary Interface Screens

Can Be Instantiated By

Armor, Equipment, Improved Abilities, Leveling, New Abilities, Tools, Weapons

Can Be Modulated By

Ability Losses, Character Defining Actions, Character Levels, Classes, Collecting, Combat, Crafting, Gain Competence, Investments, Irreversible Events, Limited Resources, Predetermined Story Structures, Quests, Skills, Stealing, Rewards

Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

Player Balance when used together with Persistent Game Worlds and Multiplayer Games

History

An updated version of the pattern Character Development that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design.

Acknowledgements

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