Building a Casual Game Character System Using Sitcom Principles

What the talk is about

Yuliia Malikova explains how to build a casual game's character system on sitcom principles, using the cruise-themed solitaire Solitaire Cruise from Belka Games as her example. Because events come out weekly with no through-line plot, characters cannot have arcs and return to their usual state after each episode, just as in a sitcom. Conflict comes from clashing character types, so the team based its cast on Scott Sedita's eight comedy characters. To make heroes feel three-dimensional, they combine traits from several types, give each a distinct way of speaking, and hint at a "dark side" only briefly, in a line or two, since players dislike heavy sadness. She argues that lively characters bring players back and help retention and conversion to paying users. Useful for narrative designers and writers in casual games.