Characters and Arcs - Video Game: Storytelling - page 52

dreadful weapon that can be used to bring any rebellious factions into line,
or to simply obliterate them. As the Death Star's commander, Tarkin is ex-
ceedingly proud of his new baby.
When word gets out that the Rebels have obtained schematics that
could threaten the Death Star (and thus his and the Empire's power), he
aggressively moves to find and retrieve the plans. After his Henchman
Darth Vader brings the suspected Rebel Princess Leia before him, Tarkin is
determined to wring the information out of her by any means possible. He
threatens to destroy her home world of Alderaan unless she reveals the
location of the Rebel base, where he believes the plans to be. And even
when she tells him where the base supposedly is, he destroys Alderaan
anyway.
Why? Not simply because he's a bad guy. He even explains his thinking:
“No star system will dare oppose the Emperor now.” Every action Tarkin
takes in the story makes sense from his point of view and is a reflection of
his character: his desires, his plans, and even his personality traits. He re-
acts to the evolving situation, and continually updates his moves accord-
ingly.
Even Tarkin's single (but fatal) mistake feels completely in character for
him. Given the chance to escape the Death Star during the Rebels' attack
on it, he rebuffs the offer due to his pride: “Evacuate? In our moment of
triumph? I think you overestimate their chances!”
It can still surprise me when I come upon a story in a Hollywood movie
or a bestselling novel in which the writer clearly hasn't thought the Villain
through to any real extent. It's not that hard to check your Villain's actions
to make sure they hold together. Every time you decide to have the Villain
do something, ask yourself:
▪ What does this Villain want?
▪ What is his plan for getting it?
▪ Does this current action jibe with the previous two answers? Does it
seem to be part of an evolving plan?
▪ Does it make sense? Is it believable?
▪ Does it make him look smart, stupid, or just random?
For every action the Villain takes, the answer to “why did he do that?”
cannot be simply, “Because he's evil.” It must be, “Because he wants [this].”