The ICING Model: Writing More Satisfying and Inclusive NPC Romances Heidi McDonald Game Designer, Schell Games LLC.

Presentation on theme: "The ICING Model: Writing More Satisfying and Inclusive NPC Romances Heidi McDonald Game Designer, Schell Games LLC."— Presentation transcript:

1 The ICING Model: Writing More Satisfying and Inclusive NPC Romances Heidi McDonald Game Designer, Schell Games LLC

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5 COM106 Assignment: “Examine an area of media that interests you and report on your results.” ZOMG!!! I can studiez GAMEZ for GRADEZ!

6 Learn about player motivation and behavior Learn how important NPC romance actually is Identify patterns and models that can help improve NPC romance

7 1.Analyzed my own gaming behavior. 2.Asked a few other people about their gaming behavior. 3.Realized…hey, this could be a legit study!

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10 ROGUE EMO CHASTE EVIL EXTREMIST VIOLENT

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12 Jesse Schell Jennifer Brandes Hepler Sheri Graner Ray Yes! You might be on to something! Study it some more! Cool! You go for it, girlfriend! Need help with your survey questions? No, BioWare doesn’t collect data like this. But if you happen to collect some…let us know!

13 PRO’s + Easy design + Easy participation + Anonymous + Data makes sense CON’s -Honesty-dependent -Not scientific -People can skip questions -People can re-take survey

14 525 Respondents All gamers and/or game developers 62% female, 33% male 71% straight 57% romantically attached 85% 18-40 with a 40% majority of 18-24

15 FEMALE MALE What gender character do you prefer to play when you are playing a single-player RPG? Again: Respondents are 62% female, 33% male in real life. But 69% prefer to play a female!

16 (This finding supports Nick Yee’s workNick Yee’s work.)

17 Do you, or would you ever role play a character with a gender different to your real-life gender? Again: Respondents are 62% female, 33% male in real life. Only 18% said NEVER, meaning that 82% of players are changing it up at least some of the time! Sometimes Often Never Always

18 Do you, or would you ever romance a different gender character than you would in real life? Often Always Sometimes Never

19 Which romance combinations have you, do you, or would you play? Male Player, Female NPC Male Player, Male NPC Female Player, Male NPC Female Player, Female NPC

20 25% of the women surveyed identified as bisexual. Several women surveyed said that the reason they romance female to female is that they are bisexual in real life, monogamous with a male partner, and gaming is their only outlet to express the other side of their sexuality. EXAMINING DATA BY GENDER:

21 “The process of appropriating another identity on the web, and more specifically, an identity involving another gender and/or race other than one's own, particularly on the internet and in video games.” ~Lisa Nakamura

22 Let’s flip it on its head: Can Identity Tourism be a GOOD thing?

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24 Identity Tourism CAN BE a good thing that helps people’s self-awareness and tolerance.

25 How important is romance to your overall experience in a single-player RPG? Somewhat Take or Leave Very Not much Not at all

26 89% romance to see where the narrative goes. 80% say romances add depth to their gameplay. 76% romance for entertainment and to experience as much content as possible. 60% HAVE had felt connection to a romance-able NPC. 53% find NPC romance emotionally stimulating.

27 86% NPC’s personality 77% Dialogue 71% Integration of romance into game narrative 65% Voice/accent 55% NPC’s back story 49% Facial features 32% Body type

28 EXAMINING DATA BY GENDER: SIMILARITIES Both genders experience emotional connections to game characters, though it happens less frequently with men. Both genders are turned off by “religious” characters. Both genders find romance to be an important component in single-player RPGs, though, for different reasons. Both genders experiment with gender and sexuality in single-player RPGs, but in different ways and at different frequencies.

29 EXAMINING DATA BY GENDER: DIFFERENCES MenWomen Connect with book characters and game characters Connect with movie characters and game characters Romance for story and emotional fulfillment Romance for story and in- game benefits Experiment a lot with romance but play characters close to who they really are Don’t experiment a lot with romance but experiment a lot with the characters they roleplay Ultimately want more romance choices Ultimately want romance decisions that are high risk, high reward More likely to hide their NPC Romance from their real-life partner, or be jealous of their partner’s NPC Romance Much less likely to hide their NPC Romance from their real- life partner, or be jealous of their partner’s NPC Romance

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31 Romance is important in single-player RPGs.

32 ROGUE EMO CHASTE EVIL EXTREMIST VIOLENT

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35 PEOPLE BOTH AVATAR

36 PEOPLE BOTH AVATAR Use these!

37 Dr. Jane McGonigal’s TED TalkDr. Jane McGonigal’s TED Talk, based on her book.

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39 Use these!

40 Dr. Carolyn Kaufman’s workDr. Carolyn Kaufman’s work in using Jungian Archetype and the concept of the Shadow Personality in romance writing.

41 Chaste Childish Helpless Needy Religious

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43 Use these!

44 Jason VandenBerghe's "5 Domains of Play" Lecture Jason VandenBerghe's "5 Domains of Play" Lecture using Big 5 Theory to address player motivation.

45 Big 5 Category Player Motivation Type of Romance Openness Novelty Unconventional characteristics with strange or funny backstories Low OpennessPredictability More predictable, archetypal ConscientiousnessChallenge "Hard to get" character that must be actively wooed and won Low C-Score Ease of play Damsel in distress to be saved ExtravtertedStimulation Lots of fun banter Low ExtravertedLow Social EngagementAggressive NPC AgreeablenessHarmony Uncomplicated romance that ends well every time Low AgreeablenessDiscord Tumultuous romance such as NeuroticismThreat Dark stories or bad endings

46 Heidi’s Research Gaming Scholarship Writing Scholarship

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48 Character development Interactive component Player perspective Story construction Ending

49 nclusiveness (Lisa Nakamura) haracter perspective (Dr. Jane McGonigal) nterference (Dr. Carolyn Kaufman) ot using universally-hated descriptors (Heidi’s research) ratifying endings (Jason VandenBerghe)

50 SIDEBAR: MAKE NPC ROMANCE MORE SATISFYING FOR BOTH GENDERS! For the benefit of both men and women: --Improve the female characters --Make them less disposable For the benefit of men: --Include access to exclusive equipment or weaponry --Make the choices high risk, high reward For the benefit of women (and EVERYONE!): --More romance choices outside the binary

51 1.People like experimenting 2.Romance is important 3.We can make tastier ICING on the content cake

52 Jesse Schell / Schell Games / ETC Sheri Graner Ray / Schell Games Schell Games Co-Workers Jennifer Brandes Hepler / BioWare BioWare Social Network Brenda Romero / LootDrop Jason VandenBerghe / UbiSoft The CA’s from GDC 2012 Phyrra.com Feminists in Games Dr. Katie Cruger / Chatham University Dr. Prajna Paramita Parasher / Chatham University Alex McPhearson / Catalina Games My kids, who taught me to keep asking “why”

53 WORKS CITED: Alexander, Phill. "He's The Kind of Girl Who Wants Matching Daggers." World of Warcraft and Philosophy. By Luke Cuddy and John Nordlinger. Chicago: Open Court, 2009. 153-64. Print. Benedetti, Winda. "Is 'World of Warcraft' the Future of Online Dating?" Ingame. Msnbc Digital Network, 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.. Kaufman, Dr. Carolyn. Archetype: The Fiction Writer's Guide to Psychology. Archetype Writing, 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.. "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." Motivation Theory. Project Management Course, 2005. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.. McGonigal, Jane. "Gaming Can Make a Better World." TED2010, Long Beach, CA. 18 Feb. 2012. Lecture. Nakamura, Lisa. Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet. New York: Routledge, 2002. Print. Rosenbloom, Stephanie. "It's Love at First Kill." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 22 Apr. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. "The Attitude-Behaviour Gap: Why We Say One Thing But Do The Opposite." PsyBlog. PsyBlog, 24 Mar. 2008. Web. 23 Mar. 2012.. VandenBerghe, Jason. "The Five Domains of Play." Game Developers' Conference. Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, CA. 7 March 2012. Lecture.

54 Tack så mycket! Heidi McDonald @Death_Bow www.deathbow.com hmcdonald@schellgames.com