Character Defining Actions

That the choices of actions players make define their characters.

Characters under players' control in games give people the possibility to interact with the game world. Doing so does however also provide a means for those players to define those characters by changing their characteristics, or by filling in blank areas of their personalities or changing these. This can either be on a mechanical level by updates through game state variables or be on a social level on the agreement between players.

Examples

With the successfully use of a skill or ability in table-top role-playing games such as CORPS and Basic Roleplaying System one gets experience in those skills, and the skill will increase after enough use. A similar system is used in the Elders Scroll Series.

The choices players make in the Fable II changes their alignments, several independent measures including Good-Evil, Slim-Fat, Pure-Corrupt, and Scary-Funny. Besides influencing how NPCs react to the player characters, changes in these alignments also change the appearance of the avatars.

Using the pattern

Using the Pattern: Character Defining Actions can be implemented by using patterns of Character Development (Björk, Holopainen, 2005) where the performed actions determine the areas of Gaining Competences— via Skills (Björk, Holopainen, 2005), Improved Abilities (Björk, Holopainen, 2005), and New Abilities (Björk, Holopainen, 2005). Alternatively, actions can change the relations between the PC and NPC via Actions Have Social Consequences. The use of characters introduces pattern Character Defining Actions, as to how the player or the game system guide the character influence on how a player interprets the character. Consequences: The choices of a player influence the perceived personality of the character. Moreover, the choices the player makes shapes the gameplay to match the traits of the character. Relations ——Instantiates: none ——Instantiated by: Character (Björk, Holopainen, 2005), Enforced Character Behavior ——Modulates: none ——Modulated by: Character Development (Björk, Holopainen, 2005), Gain Competencies (Björk, Holopainen, 2005), Skills (Björk, Holopainen, 2005), Improved Abilities (Björk, Holopainen, 2005), New Abilities (Björk, Holopainen, 2005), Actions have Social Consequences, Player-Designed Character, Internal Conflict ——Potentially conflicting with: Narrative Structures (Björk, Holopainen, 2005), Cut-Scenes (Björk, Holopainen, 2005)

Diegetic Aspects

As the Fable II example shows, changes in the way players' Characters are presenting is one way of providing feedback on Character Defining Actions.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Characters

History

An updated version of the pattern Character Defining Actions, first introduced in Lankoski 2010.