Petri Lankoski

Lies and Seductions

Character-Driven Game Design: A Design Approach and Its Bases In Character Engagement

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Back cover says:

In the Character-Driven Game Design, Petri Lankoski presents a theory that illuminates how game characters contribute to shaping the playing experience. Based on this theory he provides design tools for character-based games which utilize methods and theories derived from dramatic writing and game research.

“The use of Lajos Egri’s bone structure for a three dimensional-character and of Murray Smith’s three levels of imaginative engagement with characters allows the candidate to expose the full complexity of the imaginary persons represented and controlled in a single-player game. What makes his design-center approach even more interesting is that gameplay is an integral part of it.”
Bernard Perron, Associate Professor, Université de Montréal

“Lankoski does a great job laying out the theory of primary interest to him, and making the case for the need to tether character design to game design more tightly than has been the case in the past. Certainly, too, putting attention to social networks of characters and finding useful design patterns to guide this level of game design is also of great value, and underexplored in the field.”
Katherine Isbister, Associate Professor, Polytechnic Institute of New York University

CONTENTS

List of Publications	9
Acknowledgements	10
Introduction	11
– Characters as Facilitators of the Playing Experience?	12
– The Context of This Study	13
– Game Design	14
– Game Research	15
– Cognitive Sciences and Film Studies drawing on Cognitive Sciences	16
– Dramatic Writing for Theatre and Film	17
– Goals	18
– Methods	18
– Qualitative Analysis	19
– Gameplay Design Patterns	19
– Structure of This Thesis	20
Game Characters	21
– Understanding Other People	21
– Mimicry and Empathy	22
– Person Schema	22
– Player Characters	23
Game and Gameplay Design	29
– Game Design Approaches	29
– Game Design and Character Design	30
– Missing Link: From Character Design to Gameplay Design	33
Character Engagement and Game Design	35
– Characters in Computer Games: Toward Understanding Interpretation and Design	35
– Player Character Engagement in Computer Games	35
– Gameplay Design Patterns for Believable Non-Player Characters	36
– Gameplay Design Patterns for Social Networks and Conflicts	37
– Lies and Seductions	38
– Character-Driven Game Design: Characters, Conflict, and Gameplay	38
Conclusions	41
– Characters and the Playing Experience	41
– Game and Character Design	44
– Concluding Remarks	46
References	47
Appendix 1: Research Material	57
Appendix 2: Gameplay Design Patterns	61
– Actions Have Social Consequences	61
– Character Defining Actions	62
– Detective Structure	63
– Enforced Character Behavior	64
– Faction	64
– Information Passing	65
– Internal Conflict	66
– Internal Rivalry	67
– Loyalty	67
– Melodramatic Structure	68
– Outcast	69
– Player-Designed Character	70
– Social Gatekeeper	70
– Social Maintenance	71
– Social Norms	71
– Traitor	72
– Trait Regulated Behavior	73
– References	74
Appendix 3: Lies and Seductions Credits	75
Articles
– Article 1	76
– Article 2	92
– Article 3	116
– Article 4	132
– Article 5	156
– Article 6	162
Abstract	182