O921-Prelims.qxd 5/19/06 11:15 AM Page i If the characters in a game have depth, complexity, consistency, mystery, humanity, and charm, then they are going to feel real to the player, and that helps the whole game world feel real, and allows the player to suspend his or her disbelief and get lost in the world. Everything the player does will be more exciting if they’re doing it for someone, or with someone, or in opposition to someone who feels real. Simply put, good character design helps the player to have what we all know can be an amazing, unforgettable experience. This book is not just about making great charac- ters, but also about making great games. —from the foreword by Tim Schafer, Double Fine Productions Katherine Isbister skillfully draws upon various psychological constructs elevating game development to a more comprehensive level. Taking a Psych 100 class? This book transforms the sometimes stuffy theories of Freud, Skinner, Rogers, and Maslow into fresh and entertaining relevancy as the author weaves these ideas into game content. The next time you play a favorite video game, read this book—that game will take on a whole new light and who knows? You may be able to ace that psychology final. —Pauline Pedersen, Course Director, Full Sail Real World Education The notion of using psychological principles in games continues to be of great inter- est to the games industry, but few researchers have been able to discuss in depth how psychological research can actually be applied to game design. Katherine Isbister’s book not only makes complex psychological concepts accessible to the games commu- nity, but also demonstrates its application in current games through the use of con- crete examples (on retail products), and possible design tips and recommendations. —Randy Pagulayan, PhD, User Research Lead, Microsoft Game Studios Katherine Isbister has crafted a text that covers a far greater scope of psychological concerns than I would’ve previously thought possible, and each area of psychology she covers has the potential to bring games to a higher level. For any individual studying, teaching, or working in Game Design this is a must-have text. —Robin Koman, Associate Course Director, Full Sail Real World Education A valuable tool for applying effective principles of psychology to create readable, enter- taining, and high-impact game characters—a must-have for today’s game developer. —Andrew Stern, co-creator of the interactive drama Façade and the virtual pets Dogz and Catz Well researched and perceptive, this book offers new insights on creating more emo- tionally engaging game characters. If you have ever been curious about the psychol- ogy behind better character design, this book is a must read! —Nicole Lazzaro, President, XEODesign, Inc. O921-Prelims.qxd 5/19/06 11:15 AM Page i This page intentionally left blank O921-Prelims.qxd 5/19/06 11:15 AM Page iii Better Game Characters by Design O921-Prelims.qxd 5/19/06 11:15 AM Page iv The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Interactive 3D Technology Series Editor: David H.Eberly,Geometric Tools,Inc. The game industry is a powerful and driving force in the evolution of computer technology. As the capabilities of personal computers, peripheral hardware, and game consoles have grown, so has the demand for quality information about the algorithms, tools, and descriptions needed to take advan- tage of this new technology. To satisfy this demand and establish a new level of professional refer- ence for the game developer, we created the Morgan Kaufmann Series in Interactive 3D Technology. Books in the series are written for developers by leading industry professionals and academic researchers, and cover the state of the art in real-time 3D. The series emphasizes practical, working solutions and solid software-engineering principles. The goal is for the developer to be able to imple- ment real systems from the fundamental ideas, whether it be for games or for other applications. Better Game Characters by Design: A Psychological Approach Katherine Isbister Artificial Intelligence for Games Ian Millington Visualizing Quaternions Andrew J. Hanson 3D Game Engine Architecture: Engineering Real-Time Applications with Wild Magic David H. Eberly Real-Time Collision Detection Christer Ericson Physically Based Rendering: From Theory to Implementation Matt Pharr and Greg Humphreys Essential Mathematics for Games and Interactive Applications: A Programmer’s Guide James M. Van Verth and Lars M. Bishop Game Physics David H. Eberly Collision Detection in Interactive 3D Environments Gino van den Bergen 3D Game Engine Design: A Practical Approach to Real-Time Computer Graphics David H. Eberly FORTHCOMING Real-Time Cameras Mark Haigh-Hutchinson X3D: Extensible 3D Graphics for Web Authors Leonard Daly and Donald Brutzman Game Physics Engine Development Ian Millington O921-Prelims.qxd 5/19/06 11:15 AM Page v Better Game Characters by Design A Psychological Approach Katherine Isbister, PhD Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO Morgan Kaufmann Publishers is an imprint of Elsevier O921-Prelims.qxd 5/19/06 11:15 AM Page vi Senior Editor Tim Cox Publishing Services Manager Simon Crump Project Manager Dawnmarie Simpson Assistant Editor Rick Camp Editorial Assistant Jessica Evans Cover Design Chen Design Associates Cover Illustration Chen Design Associates Text Design Yvo Riezebos Design Composition Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd. Technical Illustration Dartmouth Publishing, Inc. and Thomas Burns Copyeditor Elisabeth Beller Proofreader John Bregoli Indexer Broccoli Information Management Interior printer The Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group Cover printer Phoenix Morgan Kaufmann Publishers is an imprint of Elsevier. 500 Sansome Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94111 This book is printed on acid-free paper. © 2006 Katherine Isbister. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks or registered trademarks. In all instances in which Morgan Kaufmann Publishers is aware of a claim, the product names appear in initial capital or all capital letters. Readers, however, should contact the appropriate companies for more complete information regarding trademarks and registration. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher. Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail: [email protected]. You may also complete your request on-line via the Elsevier homepage (http:/ /elsevier.com) by selecting “Customer Support” and then “Obtaining Permissions.” Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Isbister, Katherine, 1969– Better game characters by design: a psychological approach/by Katherine Isbister. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and Index. ISBN-13: 978-1-55860-921-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 1-55860-921-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Computer games—Design—Psychological aspects. 2. Computer games—Design—Social aspects. I. Title. QA76.76.C672I72 2005 794.8Ј1536Ј0019—dc22 2005024294 ISBN 13: 978-1-55860-921-1 ISBN 10: 1-55860-921-0 DVD ISBN 13: 978-0-12-369535-2 DVD ISBN 10: 0-12-369535-X For information on all Morgan Kaufmann publications, visit our Web site at www.mkp.com or www.books.elsevier.com Printed in the United States of America 060708091054321 Working together to grow libraries in developing countries www.elsevier.com | www.bookaid.org | www.sabre.org O921-Prelims.qxd 5/19/06 11:15 AM Page vii This book is dedicated to my students, who remind me everyday of the delight and thrill of creative work. And to my Dad, who passed along his curiosity and love of learning to me. vii O921-Prelims.qxd 5/19/06 11:15 AM Page i This page intentionally left blank O921-Prelims.qxd 5/19/06 11:15 AM Page ix ABOUT THE AUTHOR Katherine Isbister is an associate of the Social and Behavioral Research Laboratory and an associate professor in the Department of Language, Literature and Commu- nication at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Her research focus is social psycho- logical and affective approaches to HCI (Human-Computer Interaction), with special attention to games and other leisure and social technologies. In autumn 2004, she established the Games Research Lab at Rensselaer. Initial studies in the lab have explored the social and physical aspects of party games. She has presented insights from this research at the Game Developers Conference and at the DiGRA (Digital Games Research Association) conference. Before joining the RPI faculty, Katherine developed and taught a course in Stan- ford University’s HCI series—Designing Characters for Computer Games—now part of Rensselaer’s games curriculum. She has also created and exhibited games-related artwork in venues including San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Toronto’s Design Exchange, and San Jose’s Works Gallery. See www.simgallery.net for an overview of this artwork which is a collaboration with sculptor Rainey Straus. Katherine is also part of the European Network of Excellence project HUMAINE, devoted to evolving appropriate usability and evaluation strategies for assessing affective interfaces. As part of this work, she has an ongoing research collaboration with the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1999, she was selected as one of MIT Technology Review’s “100 Young Innovators” most likely to shape the future of technology. ix O921-Prelims.qxd 5/19/06 11:15 AM Page i This page intentionally left blank O921-Prelims.qxd 5/19/06 11:15 AM Page xi TABLE OF CONTENTS About the Author . ix Foreword . xvii Preface . xix About the DVD-ROM .