Hello Developer forum! I’m a big fan of games with a good story. Games like Life is strange, death stranding, Detroit: Become human. I was wondering what would be the best way to set up a bigger narrative and support character growth if I was to create a game like one of these.
I’ve already though about hiring an animator to make a lot of cutscenes. This way I can flesh out the character’s personalities and thoughts. But I do need help in creating a game with good and realistic story elements
The trick of making someone attached to a character is to show what they’ve been through, and make them feel emotions for them.
What I mean is, these games are specifically made so you get attached to the character. Here are some tips and tricks to make players get attached to your characters.
Main character:
In order to make the player feel any emotional attachment to their character, you have to flesh him out a bit, and give him/her their on personality. Make it clear their feelings towards other characters, and since actions speak louder than words, add missions/tasks centralized around those characters.
Side characters:
Cutscenes are key. In order for a player to bond with a side character, to you have to share their experiences, and let them know where their coming from. Of course, you will have wanted to start building a bond between the player and the main character for this.
Villain:
A good villain is one that you hate, but you give clear motives to the point that you can see where they are coming from. Make the villains actions speak for themselves, and put cutscenes or notes, hinting towards his past and shining light on why this villain does what they do.
RemadeAlternative already made a good reply, so I’ll add some input myself if you are still stuck.
Try following the Hero’s Journey. It can outline the most basics of their character, and hits all the things required in a character such as their hopes, weaknesses, and many others. A very simple formula if writing stories is difficult for you. It is criticized for making stories bland, but if you change the formula up a little, it might turn out interesting.
I would rather write a story myself first then see to the Hero’s Journey to see if applying it can help.
I would like to add on my reply. Here are a few examples!
Hero: I personally thought the Spider Man game for the PS4 was a well-made game. (Warning: The following spoiler contains spoilers towards the game) At the end, Aunt May died, the main character’s (Peter Parker) aunt. Because she had always been there every time, I simply felt so many emotions all at once when she died
While this next example ins’t the best, I know we can relate: Piggy. If you’ve ever gotten the true ending, it would shine light on why Mr. P (the main antagonist) did what he did. Many people went from assuming that he was trying to follow through some crazy plot to take over the world, to figuring out it was an accident, and all this time he was trying to contain the virus.
Hope these were good examples!
Note: I can’t write these replies too well because I’m on iPad lol