Minimalistic Approach to Crafting Memorable Characters

What the talk is about

Ranko Trifkovic explains how to craft memorable characters with minimal means. He argues that a character's look says very little on its own, and that narrative design is not just writing text but connecting gameplay with story. He walks through the anatomy of a character: the role (story drivers versus passengers such as sidekicks, skeptics, reason and emotion), a goal tied to the plot, motivation as an easily adjustable slider, and ethos, meaning how the character goes about things; a shift in ethos produces the strongest twists. His main point is that characters become memorable through the actions they can or cannot perform, not through visuals, dialogue or long backstory. Positive traits are best shown through actions available to the player. Useful for game designers, narrative designers and writers.