Basic Character Creation in an RPG

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Basic Character Creation in a Role-Playing Game (RPG)

A role playing game (RPG) in general emphasizes on narratives and interactions between characters and a player. Characters become the most important element in every RPG as they are responsible to deliver the story, and gameplay mechanics. They also attract the player with their qualities, and generate good or bad impressions on the game and the characters themselves. That is to say, characters can simply either make the game or ruin it. Because of these reasons, an RPG developer needs to learn how to create and develop effective characters.

In this article, I will provide you basic concepts in creating a character in an RPG, including its physical appearances, characterizations, and in-game attributes, as well as some other advices.

Physical Appearances



The very first thing to consider when creating a character is its physical appearance. How can you extinguish a character from another? The simplest answer would be “To look at it”. You need to make sure that the character you create can be identified at a glance, and it will not be confused with another character. Ask yourself the following questions: Should your character be a man or a woman? How old should the character be? What should the character look like? What hair color should the character has? What clothes should the character wear? Etc.

A physical design of the character can make various impacts on the player. As human generally does judge a book by its cover, appearances can create good or bad impressions. For example, some people do not appreciate fat characters, some people may have racist attitudes toward black people, and some people prefer a game with more female characters than males. In addition, unique designs can make the characters iconic and memorable. For examples, gamers recognize Mario from “Super Mario Brothers” for his red and blue overall, red hat, and a mustache, meanwhile they can identify Link from “The Legend of Zelda” for his green tunic and a long cap.

Characterization





The next question regarding the character is “what are the characters of this character?” A character would remain an empty shell unless you characterize them, which can be done by giving the character basic characteristics and qualities, including its personality, its roles and purposes in the narrative, its relationship with other characters, and its developments throughout the game.

Most players would demand the characters to be “original, realistic, and lovable”. This can prove you a difficulty and a challenge as you need to create a character that has unique characterizations and endearing qualities, so that the player would care about them.

In-Game Attributes



Unlike characters in novels, RPG’s playable characters, i.e. the “heroes” do not only narrate the story, but they are also controlled by the player, and you need to make sure that the characters you have created can function properly in the systems that the game have.

A character is constructed by variables and descriptions which reflect their “status” or the character’s information and functionalities within the game, which may include health points (how much damage the character can take from an enemy without dying), magic points (how long the character can use special abilities and magic), stat points (variables which display comparable aspects between the character and other characters), special abilities (perks and gameplay styles the character has while the others do not), specific strengths and weaknesses (such as the character’s elemental resistances), and equipment restrictions (what kind of weapons and armors the character can and cannot use.)

Typically, the status is depicted via the character’s “class” (occupation of the character), such as warrior, priest, thief, wizard, engineer, etc, all which have their own special attributes, strengths, and weaknesses. For example, a warrior is physically strong, and is capable of killing an enemy quickly, while a wizard is weaker, but tends to be more flexible as it can cast elemental magic to fight against multiple types of enemies. These differences add variety and complexity into the game in the way that the player is given an opportunity to choose different characters to play and develop strategies with.

Other Advices in Character Creation

There are few other advices that you can take to develop a character. First, take your time. Rome wasn't built in a day, and a good character is never created in one sitting. Next, try letting other people evaluate the character or try studying the characters provided in other people’s works to get some inspirations. Lastly, do not expect perfection, as there is no such thing. Different people will always have different opinions about the character you create. What you should do, however, is that you should do your best, and never give up.

Final Remark

In any RPGs, good characters can provoke good impressions and emotional impacts on the player as they narrative the story and introduce him/her gameplay mechanics. Therefore, it is important that you know the basic of how to create a good character in order to make your game fun and memorable. A good character should have unique and stunning appearances, it should have interesting and lovable characterizations, and it should have clearly defined in-game attributes. Lastly, it is advised that you never rush the production, always get inspirations and new ideas, always do your best, and never give up.

Good luck.


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