Communicating Player Character Background

Authoring General Design Discussions
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Hi there. As you may be able to intuit, I am writing a game. Wow!

I’ve been writing for a while- 5 years might not sound like a lot for some of the elders here, but it is a large portion of my life. I think I’m a decent writer, at the very least, so that’s not really what this is about.

This is more about how those skills overlap with gamewritry- How do you characterize the player character in a way that is meaningful, while not being intrusive?

I’ve done a bit more writing for The Manik, and have come to the conclusion that the Main Character, Crowe, will be a person to theirself, with a backstory as an electrician and repairperson.

These aren’t totally irrelevant set dressing either- Crowe’s survival will sometimes depend on their familiarity with circuits and electronics. (And some clever hacks to work around the more mystical elements)

(Yes, this is the same game I described as a fantasy with early 20th century era technology. Trust me, it’s like, really cool)

Now, my question for you- How do you go about characterizing the point of view? Is this something you avoid doing? What are some things you avoid, if you choose to do it? And what examples would you point to as good or bad?

(I’m not asking you to turn on your fellow gamewrites, but if you can think of any examples that won’t put you on anyone’s shit-list, I’d love to hear them)

Thank you!

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I think of three levels of “inhabitance” for the Player Character:

  • AFGNCAAP [1] (Ageless, Faceless, Gender Neutral, Culturally Ambiguous Adventure Person) is when the identity/characterization of the point-of-view character doesn’t matter and the author goes out of their way to not provide specifics so the player can essentially self-insert that the adventure is happening around them. Usually this will manifest in the game that the player is a random stranger who happens upon an ongoing story or explores a location where a story has already happened. NPCs will generally not know who the player is and address them as a stranger, usually without name or details.
    – In some narratives, the player might be AFGNCAAP but told they are a ‘chosen one’ or in the case of Infocom’s Enchanter given a sliver of a background information [2] (in this case, a novice Enchanter who can cast spells right off the bat) even though the PC is not otherwise defined or given a backstory. Often these are “first day on the job” stories: the player is a rookie news reporter or photographer which hand waves that everything is unfamiliar.
  • Protagonist Co-Creation - Some games will let the player specify a name, gender, details about themselves, perhaps roll or determine stats. This may be like D&D setups in an initial menu or determined diegetically - “What’s yer name, rookie?” barks the Captain. [Please type your first name:___] These details may affect the plot very little with just name insertion and pronoun substitutions to customize the text output, or these choices could somewhat alter the game, say if the player decides they are a magic user versus a warrior, or a librarian versus an ex SEAL from the military.
  • Full Role-Play - The character inhabits a pre-determined fully-fleshed character and basically role-plays as them with all of their characteristics. I’m John Smith, an ex-felon who is an expert at safe-cracking and NPCs know and interact with full history. Sometimes in these types of situations the PC might actually refuse an action that goes against their character. If I’m playing a Belgian nun, she may refuse to randomly kiss people or steal objects that don’t belong to her. If I’m a 600 year-old vampire, draining blood from other NPCs may be allowed and even required - whether that’s how the player would behave or not.
    –Sometimes the amnesia trope will be thrown in where the player actually discovers full details about who they are through the course of the game, or an unreliable narrator situation where the player’s initial idea of their role and who they are gets completely upended as a meta plot twist.

  1. AFGNCAAP is an abbreviation that stands for Ageless, Faceless, Gender Neutral, Culturally Ambiguous Adventure Person. The term comes from Zork Grand Inquisitor , where one of the NPCs (Dalboz of Gurth) gives the PC this name. It is essentially a joking reference to the convention of Infocom games to encourage players to conflate the story’s protagonist with themselves; a practice which necessitates the protagonist having the most generic identity possible. --from IFWiki ↩︎

  2. He recites a short spell and you appear. Belboz approaches, transfixing you with his gaze, and hands you the document. The other Enchanters await his decree. “These words, written ages ago, can have only one meaning. You, a novice Enchanter with but a few simple spells in your Book, must seek out Krill, explore the Castle he has overthrown, and learn his secrets. Only then may his vast evil be lessened or, with good fortune, destroyed.”

    The Circle rises and intones a richly woven spell, whose many textures imbue the small, darkened chamber with warmth and hope. There is a surge of power; you are Sent.     ↩︎

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A problem with the idea of “AFGNCAAP” is that few things in this life are neutral. Life experiences can encourage assumptions about what is and isn’t neutral. People with different experiences might experience neutrality quite differently. While we often remember those old Infocom characters as neutral or undefined, there were notable slips along the way.

(I see nothing wrong with AFGNCAAP, by the way, but it is far less common than one might guess.)

Most of the time, characters wind up with qualities whether authors want them to or not. Zork’s adventurer is quite obviously ambitious, if nothing else. I think it’s better to make deliberate, conscious decisions about character, since those characters are probably going to have distinguishing qualities anyway.

There are practical benefits to characterization. A character might have specific skills, or a specific voice. This is mentioned in the OP. Background is a way to construct what Graham Nelson calls the “magic” of the world. Mike Russo’s thread on Counterfeit Monkey has been on the front page for a while. That’s a game with distinct character, ability, and voice. Calling it successful would be an understatement.

People love customized messages in parser games. If we have an idea about the personality or voice of the game, we have a way to plan our own custom messages.

My personal preference is an individuated protagonist. I think the decision point is how vocal the game is about the individuality, rather than whether or not the character is an individual. Some games soar because they are quite vocally personalized. Other games have a more reserved approach. The character and voice are present, yet they are presented in an understated way. There are a lot of choices a writer can make regarding characterization once they have decided upon it.

Another important decision is distance. Is this a power fantasy? Am I Captain Marvel? On the other hand, perhaps the work has deliberately created distance between the player and the character.

As for how I do it: in my one published work and three works in progress, I have always started with an idea of the character first. That becomes a window into the game’s mechanics and all of the work’s action responses. It comes before writing much, in other words. Character and a sentence-long “elevator pitch” of the story are first. Everything follows.

This isn’t the only way to do things, of course, but it gets me into the work.

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Actually, I wanted to use the amnesia trope in a very limited way- Instead of forgetting everything about their life, Crowe blanks out on the ‘unplanned expedition’ they were asked to tag along on shortly before the events of the story.

So, they know where they are, who they are, and everything leading up to setting foot in the dark place where everything went to shit.

I guess that’s not quite the trope as it gets used most often, though. I think it’s slightly less obnoxious, but that’s just me.

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In my opinion, the best way to characterize an IF protagonist is the same way you’d characterize a third-person protagonist in static fiction. Writing can show the character’s thoughts, opinions, and feelings about things in a way film can’t; use that to your advantage by coloring all the descriptions through the protagonist’s eyes.

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Here are some ways you could characterize a PC:

  • tell the player at the beginning: This is fine if the PC is very simply characterized (AFGNCAAP or similar) or a basic trope (e.g. spy) that facilitates the plot. Otherwise you risk text dumping and too much information.
  • memories: Usually for past experiences (and sometimes puzzles), but also useful for characterization. I tend not to like this because it forces me to detach from the present and think about something else, but sometimes flashbacks are the only way to present a piece of information.
  • NPCs: Character interactions (if present) are really important because they show some of the motivations of the character. In a work where the player is providing most of the directions, the dialogue can show what kind of person the PC is, outside of the actions they’re doing in-game.
  • messages to the player: These add some flair to otherwise generic messages (e.g. error messages) and immerse the player more in the character. However, being too quirky with these can lead to more frustration, since players usually want solutions when they see errors, not a scolding of their intelligence (even if the PC might be the type of person to do this as a joke).

Generally, it’s better to show, not tell.

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I did a presentation at Narrascope last year on how I approach PC characterization in my IF; the slides and text (in the notes section at the bottom) are online here.

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In general, @EJoyce and I like to have the PC’s “voice” subtly shade the writing. If you’re describing things through their eyes then that’s something that should come across in item descriptions as well as the PC’s interactions with the world. Interjecting snarky asides is a classic way to add flavor, although it’s certainly possible to overdo. (EJ and I use this a lot in Lady Thalia since the protagonist’s thief career is well developed by the time of the first game, but I would also point to Dr. Ludwig and the Devil as one of my all-time favorites in terms of PC characterization.)

Everyone else in this thread has given great advice but I’m going to address this point directly. For any skills that are going to be important to the plot, gameplay, or both, I think the most important thing is establishing them early on. If the PC’s skills with electronics are going to be very important then I think it’s imperative to throw them into a situation that requires them very early. (As a bonus, if this sequence is both interactive and simple then you also have a tutorial!)

Starting inventory items / equipment (if your game has them) can also be useful here. You can’t rely on them entirely (unfamiliar players might not examine them when you think they will) but a PC who starts out wearing a labcoat and carrying a potentiometer will certainly give players an impression!

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Yeah, for me the key thing is that every bit of text in a game—every description, every action—is a chance to tell the player something about the POV character (which is usually your PC), and I think it’s important to be aware of that and to be actively thinking about taking advantage of it as a means to scatter breadcrumbs about this character’s personality and backstory. In most cases you don’t want to be dumping a huge tangent about the character’s past in response to every action, or anything, but equally, don’t assume that any parser response or choice game passage is too mundane or too function-oriented to serve any characterization purpose.

Also, of course, keep in mind that in most cases each individual player is only going to see some of the text in your game, so if a piece of information about the PC is important, you either have to put it somewhere that’s not missable or replicate it in a few different places.

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I think a really good example of both of these (plus, sort of, character interaction - or lack thereof) is Violet. The interactions are clever and tell you about two of the characters simulatenously.

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yeah, I think a good way to find out how others do it is to play more games with strong pcs.

Some reccs:

  • Violet (already mentioned) - not only the narrator, but the PC (who are separate), have very strong personalities, wants, and urges.
  • Coloratura - an alien’s perspective and strange abilities
  • Birdland - good kid protag and all the angst that comes with growing up
  • Repeat the Ending - from the pov of a mentally ill person-- everything you think and do is laced with characterization
  • The Edifice - not as obvious as the others, but you get a taste of how different people will narrate the world they see differently, all in the same game!
  • A Rope of Chalk - same but more obvious
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Homestly these are all perfect examples. I think actually Coloratura is the ultimate example of making a player feel comfortable controlling something completely alien in such a short time.

Birdland’s characters are very good. All of Brendan Patrick Henessy’s Bell Park series has really developed PCs and NPCs. And I just love RTE.

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On the char background, I have already pointed that in my major WIP has a major twist… and is definitively a novelty, I think.

Best regards from Italy,
dott. Piergiorgio.