NPC Alchemy: Creating Compelling Companions
What makes a good companion?
Hello from the new issue of GameDev’s Journey! Thank you for those who have subscribed the newsletter since the last issue. I hope you enjoy and find these things useful as much as I do. In today’s issue:
NPC Alchemy: Creating Compelling Companions
Tutorials
Tips, and more
LET’S GO.
Game Design
NPC Alchemy: Creating Compelling Companions
In a previous discussion, we explored the elements that make Kingdom Come: Deliverance's quests unforgettable and distinctive. Now, let's delve into another aspect of crafting remarkable quests: the art of creating compelling companions. These characters, who accompany us throughout our journey, wield a significant influence on our gaming experience. But what truly makes a good companion? I believe two key factors hold the answer: believability and usefulness.
Let’s start with believability. To create an emotional bond between the player and a companion, first we must convince players that this NPC is genuine person living in the game world. Its appearance, first of all, whether it’s a human or not, should be coherent with its background and its role in the story. Take Sten from Dragon Age: Origins as an example. He is from another race called Qunari. His appearance is different from Humans, and just by looking at his body and face, you can understand that he is a very disciplined-warrior.
Expression of Emotions is another important factor for believability. An ideal companion should authentically display their feelings and respond to the player's actions and events unfolding around them. Your companions in Dragon Age: Origins react to your choices and every major event. They won’t be so open about some of their thoughts at the beginning. However, as you spend time with them and aid in achieving their goals, they gradually open up and reveal more intimate sentiments.
Having personal goals is also very important. A companion should have its own goals and act accordingly. Your companions might leave you if your actions don’t align with their beliefs in DA:O. In games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, your companions may deceive you throughout the journey due to their distinct paths, individual plans, and unique aims. They are not just there for the player. They are there for their own goals.
Lastly, companions should never feel like burdens that players need to carry along. Instead, they should prove useful in aiding the player's progress throughout the game. Consider Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite as a shining example. She actively helps you open doors, find ammo, and stay alive, making her presence invaluable.
Ultimately, the key lies in organically nurturing a relationship between the companion and the player, incorporating these essential factors. This involves weaving the companion's relevance and importance seamlessly into the story and gameplay. For more, please visit the links below.
"People fear, not death, but having life taken from them. Many waste the life given to them, occupying themselves with things that do not matter. When the end comes, they say they did not have time enough to spend with loved ones, to fulfill dreams, to go on adventures they only talked about... But why should you fear death if you are happy with the life you have led, if you can look back on everything and say, 'Yes, I am content. It is enough.'" - Wynne from Dragon Age: Origins
Sources
Petri Lankoski and Staan Björk. 2007. Gameplay Design Patterns for Believable Non-Player Characters. In DiGRA Conference. 416–423.
Elizabeth Bouquet, Ville Mäkelä, Albrecht Schmidt. 2021. Exploring the Design of Companions in Video Games. In Mindtrek Conference.
What Makes a Good Video Game Companion? ➣ RagnarRox
Tutorials
How to Create Interactive Books in Unity
I love finding and reading books about the lore in the game world. This is very simple to achieve thanks to TextMesh Pro in Unity. This short tutorial from Christina Creates Games explains how to do it.
TextMesh Pro Documentation
Speaking of TextMesh Pro, here is a documentation showing all the advanced things you can do with it.
Door Interactions - Devlog | Designing Mechanics & Using ChatGPT AI
Creating a photorealistic rain scene in Unreal Engine
Other
The best free tools for narrative games
Impostor Syndrome: The Hidden Challenge for Game Designers
Programming Fundamentals (Book Bundle)
Me
Reading: Mort by Terry Pratchett. Wanted to reread it since it’s one of my favorites.
Watching: Vinland Saga season 2. First season was great. Let’s see whether season 2 lives up to it.
Playing: Pathfinder: The Wrath of the Righteous. 40 hours in. Still going strong.
Listening:
And that’s it from today’s issue of GameDev’s Journey. I hope you enjoyed it and find it useful. If you did, please like and leave a comment. Let me know your thoughts, suggestions, objections, etc.
But regardless, thank you so much for reading, and have a great game dev journey.