The document provides tips and techniques for writing player characters in games. It discusses: 1) Types of player characters including cipher characters with no personality, fixed characters with set backstories and abilities, and customizable characters where players define the character. 2) The balance between player agency, which allows player actions to affect the experience, and authorship where writers control authored stories with limited agency. 3) Tools that bring characters to life including character profiles, psychology, concept art, animation and cinematics. 4) Questions to consider when defining characters such as their purpose, traits, abilities, knowledge, governing traits and flaws. 5) Tips for creating diverse characters including avoiding stereotypes, focusing

1. WRITINGPLAYER-CHARACTERS
TIPS & TECHNIQUES

2. TYPESOFPLAYER-CHARACTERS
START BY IDENTIFYING THE PLAYER-CHARACTER TYPE
Cipher – have no discernible personality; they are blank slates
The Fixed Character – backstories, personalities, abilities are fixed
The Customizable Character – players build and define character
during the gameplay
Fixed background, customizable character - mixture of authored
and customizable
GAME NARRATIVE TOOLBOX, ED. TOBIAS HEUSSNER ET AL.

3. Agency – the ability for the player’s action to
affect the experience
Authorship – player controlled by writers
and designers; in authored stories, agency is
limited
How do you balance agency and authorship
for the effect you want?
AUTHORSHIP
VS.AGENCY
LOCATE YOUR CHARACTER ON A SPECTRUM
HANNAH NICKLIN, WRITING FOR GAMES: THEORY AND PRACTICE (2022)

4. Character profiles
Character psychology
Graphic elements:
Concept art, character modeling,
animation, cinematic
WHATBRINGS
PLAYER-CHARACTERS
TOLIFE?
THINK ABOUT TOOLS AT YOUR DISPOSAL

5. ADAPTED FROM GAME NARRATIVE TOOLBOX, ED. TOBIAS HEUSSNER ET AL.
QUESTIONSTOASK
WHEN DEFINING AND DEVELOPING CHARACTERS
1. Define his/her purpose or function within the story
2. Decide if you want to use traits or abilities as vehicles
3. Decide what they know and what they don’t know?
4. Define exactly one adjective for your character
5. Select governing trait or governing ability
6. Pick a suitable conflicting trait or ability
7. Flesh out character with character-design template, “merits and
flaws,” etc.

6. Avoiding or subvert tropes and stereotypes
Know the difference between tropes vs. stereotypes
Trope: a known concept which is usually popular
enough or such a deep part of cultural knowledge
that audience knows it
Stereotype: a cliché using a single concept to
provide superficial character development
Don’t put a label on your characters
Write with and against genre and design
conventions
Focus on characterization, not just personal identity
OTHERTIPS&
TRICKS
FOR CREATING DIVERSE CHARACTERS

7. Dialogue, narration, exposition, and other genres
shared by other media
Barks - things characters say in-between gameplay
Found objects - use of space, architecture, objects,
and place
Item descriptions - can be functional for gameplay,
story, world building
Lore - world building and environmental storytelling
Tutorial Texts, Clues, Hints, To-Do Lists
Menu and UI Text
GAME-SPECIFIC
WRITINGFORMATS
HANNAH NICKLIN, WRITING FOR GAMES: THEORY AND PRACTICE (2022)

8. FOURQUESTIONS
APPLICABLE TO ALL GAME-SPECIFIC FORMATS OF WRITING
HANNAH NICKLIN, WRITING FOR GAMES: THEORY AND PRACTICE (2022)
Voice: Who or what is speaking? In whose voice is the writing composed and
delivered?
Verb: What is the primary role the writing serves?
Characterization, worldbuilding, functional, to show relationship, etc.
Visual affordance: How will the writing be displayed? Will format determine
style and content?
Dependencies: What is the writing dependent on? Does it need to work for
specific situations?

9. CHARACTER-DESIGN
TEMPLATES