Stop Making Lifeless characters! Part 2

[Jesse66126 4]

Step 1:

I'm not sure where to put this tutorial, so I'm just posting next to part one.

This one is designed to make the characters lively in the non-literal sense.

 

When creating a character, I typically draw the character out right, but you can also just use your imagination.

Also decide on a name of course. This is Alina.

Step 2:

Current Occupation.

What does he/she do for a living?

Alina is the Goddess of Ishtar, the creator of all life on the planet, in a way, she is their mother.

 

Step 3:

Think of a back story.

What defines this character, makes him/her, who he/she is?

Alina's earliest memories are of the cold, darkness of space, drifting along side her beloved lion, Jeremiah.

 

Step 4:

Dialogue.

Think, how does this character relate to the other characters?

 

Obviously, Alina has a very close relationship with Jeremiah, there things she would tell him, but never tell her other "children." Her fears, for example.

With other characters, she talks to them like a mother. All except for Ryan, the human boy from another planet, whom she is simply fascinated with!

 

Step 5:

Problems and Fears.

What does that character fear the most, and what problems does he/she face everyday?

 

Alina's greatest fear is being completely hated by her creations, especially the humans. Thus, she very hesitant to involve herself in their conflicts, so as to not take sides. This could lead to one of the factions of humans considering themselves the "master race" while the other factions feel she neglects them.

 

After meeting Ryan, she realizes she is not the only God or Goddess in the universe. This, in a way, terrifies her.

What if they're not friendly and try to hurt her or destroy her planet?

Later on, Ryan confronts her about not stopping the humans from going to war with one another. This causes her doubt her leadership abilities and gets her to interfere in a village siege. Then, soldiers yell at her, claiming since she had never been human, she had no right to tell them how to live their lives.

This leads her to desire to be human for a while, if only to understand them better.

 

Step 6:

Motive.

What makes them do what they do? What do they get out of it?

 

Alina simply enjoys bringing happiness to others, but more than that, she craves their acceptance as their creator.

 

Step 7:

Hobbies and habits.

These are what make your character truly unique.

 

Hobbies:

Alina enjoys caring for small children and the elderly in the village of Abel, and

in her spare time, she likes to create random new species of flowers, which make certain areas in the game extremely

beautiful compared to others.

 

Habits:

Alina's powers are not only immense, but they have a direct relation to the entire planet's weather.

If she is happy, clear skies. Angry,it storms and hails with a chance of tornadoes and hurricanes.

Depressed, it just rains, and if she's scared, it snows.

(Yes, snow is a sign of impending doom on Ishtar.)

 

Step 8:

Now draw many faces of your character to use in text conversations.

Such as Happy, Surprised, Scared, Angry, Blushing, etc.

A picture is worth a thousand words after all.

If the player can see the fear on your character's face, he/she knows the scene is serious.

Edited April 30, 2012 by Jesse66126

[FranklinX 37]

Good tutorial. I made a similar for villains. A character's history and personality are what attracts me to certain characters. :)