on writing games

signposting character traits

Above many other things, the consistency of actions and personality of our main character is central to maintain the illusion of disbelief.

There is a very specific risk that we run in interactive fiction when we allow our character to have traits or when certain choices define their personality.

The problem lies in the fact that if this choice of personality or trait comes at a later stage in the game, the player may a already have a preconceived notion of how their character should act in different situations.

And when this doesn’t happen, there is a moment of disconnection and even displeasure.

I’m sure you’ve experienced this a thousand times, not only in interactive fiction but also in books.

Luckily, the solution to this problem is practically the same: Signposting.

If we did a good job of “painting the picture” of who the character is up to a certain point and we have an option that adds depth to the personality (for example, choosing 1 out of 5 personality traits), the best thing we can do is write a signpost for each type of personality.

That is, write scenes or descriptions that help us make sense of the character’s future actions thanks to their new personality or trait.

In this way, we include a transition stage between how the character behaved before, and how they should behave afterwards, improving our chances of not falling into actions that the player finds dissonant.