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BETTER GAME CHARACTERS BY DESIGN: A PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH

Katherine Isbister



 

Games are poised for a major evolution, driven by growth in technical sophistication and audience reach. Characters that create powerful social and emotional connections with players throughout the game-play itself (not just in cut scenes) will be essential to next-generation games. However, the principles of sophisticated character design and interaction are not widely understood within the game development community. Further complicating the situation are powerful gender and cultural issues that can influence perception of characters.


Katherine Isbister has spent the last 10 years examining what makes interactions with computer characters useful and engaging to different audiences. This work has revealed that the key to good design is leveraging player psychology: understanding what's memorable, exciting, and useful to a person about real-life social interactions, and applying those insights to character design. Game designers who create great characters often make use of these psychological principles without realizing it.


Better Game Characters by Design gives game design professionals and other interactive media designers a framework for understanding how social roles and perceptions affect players' reactions to characters, helping produce stronger designs and better results.

 

PUBLICATION DETAILS

LANGUAGE

BINDING

EDITION

ISBN

YEAR

PAGES

English

Hardcover


9781138427778

2018

336

 

TAGS


Publishers: #CRCPress (CRC Press)

Languages: #English

Format: #Hardcover

Accessibility: N/A

Year: #Year2018

Genres: #GameDesign


Companies:

#DoubleFine (Double Fine)

#Insomniac (Insomniac Games)

#NaughtyDog (Naughty Dog)

#Nintendo (Nintendo)

#Valve (Valve)


Public Figures:

#ChuckClanton (Chuck Clanton)

#GonzaloFrasca (Gonzalo Frasca)

#MarcLaidlaw (Marc Laidlaw)

#NicoleLazzaro (Nicole Lazzaro)

#RandyPagulayan (Randy Pagulayan)

#RoppyakuTsurumi (Roppyaku Tsurumi 鶴見 六百)

#RyoichiHasegawa (Ryoichi Hasegawa 長谷川 亮一)

#TimSchafer (Tim Schafer)


Games:

#AnimalCrossing (Animal Crossing)

#BlackAndWhite (Black & White: Creature Isle)

#CrashBandicoot (Crash Bandicoot)

#DDR (DDRMAX: Dance Dance Revolution)

#DonkeyKong (Donkey Kong)

#Doom (Doom 3)

#FinalFantasy (#FinalFantasyX [Final Fantasy 10, FF10, FFX, Final Fantasy X])

#GrimFandango (Grim Fandango)

#HalfLife (Half-Life)

#Halo (Halo: Combat Evolved)

#Ico (Ico)

#Jak (Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy)

#LeisureSuitLarry (Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love For Sail)

#MaxPayne (Max Payne)

#MetalGear (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty)

#MonkeyIsland (The Curse of Monkey Island)

#MortalKombat (Mortal Kombat)

#NBALive (NBA Live 2004)

#Neopets (Neopets)

#PaRappaTheRapper (PaRappa The Rapper)

#Petz (Petz)

#Pikmin (Pikmin)

#Planetfall (Planetfall)

#PrinceOfPersia (Prince of Persia)

#Psychonauts (Psychonauts)

#RatchetAndClank (Ratchet & Clank)

#SpaceInvaders (Space Invaders)

#SSX (SSX 3)

#StarWars (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic [KOTOR])

#SuperMonkeyBall (Super Monkey Ball 2)

#TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

#There (There)

#TheSims (The Sims)

#TwistedMetal (Twisted Metal: Black)

#Warcraft (Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos)

#Zelda (The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker)


Misc:

N/A

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