Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
each icon hold the number of skill points for that skill so far; each additional point
strengthens the effect of the skill during play.
Character Design
The design of tabletop RPGs allows the player to create her own avatar character
before the game begins. Most CRPGs follow this model, particularly multiplayer
online RPGs. Single-player CRPGs sometimes allow the player to create not only an
avatar character but all the members of the party. Others let the player create only
the avatar, then add further, predefined characters to the party as the player
encounters them in the game world.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
OF PREDEFINED AVATARS
A small number of single-player games come with predefined avatar characters that the
player may initially customize in only a limited number of ways. This system constrains
the player to use the given characters, which players who want complete freedom may
not like. However, it has the great advantage that it enables you to tell a story in which
the avatar already has a past and relationships with other characters when the game
begins. Because you already know something about the avatar, you can build those
details into the quests that the player will face. If you know nothing about the avatar
(because he doesn't exist until the player creates him), you must make all the quests
and other interactions in the game generic so they work for any kind of avatar. See the
section “Specific and Nonspecific Avatars” in Chapter 6, and the sidebar “Character-Agnostic
Plots and
King of Dragon Pass
” in Chapter 7, for further discussion.
Ty pically, players set their cosmetic attr ibutes any way they like : name, gender, hair
color, clothing, and so on. They can also choose their character's race, class, and
moral attributes if the game implements such features. For other characterization
attributes, the usual mechanism is to allow the players to roll simulated dice to gen-
erate a number of points and then allow them to distribute the points among their
attributes however they see fit. This lets them concentrate their points in whichever
attribute they're most interested in developing. Players are sometimes allowed to
ask for a new die roll if the first one is too low.
Once you know what the player is going to do, you need to think about where he's
going to do it. You should design the setting before the story. This advice is the
opposite of that normally given to writers; the setting of a role-playing game is
essentially a vast playground to adventure in. Decide what kind of environment
is suitable for the sorts of activities you have in mind.
