So what types of characters does your game need? Does your game need a villain? Is it important to have a bad guy? Let's ask an expert. >> It's very important to have a bad guy in your game. [LAUGH] >> Huh. Well, let's talk about some of the types of non-player characters you might include in your game, and the purposes they might serve. [SOUND] Villains. Villains are great. They mess up stuff, so your hero will need to fix it. They give personality to the problems your player needs to solve. A good villain can make a series of problems feel like a specific adventure. If your villain is doing their job, they'll create some strong adversarial feelings with your player, and make the victory all the sweeter. However, keep in mind that sometimes villians can make our planning too easy. They can end up behind every single problem, and that might get repetitive or even nonsensical. Don't forget that there is all sorts of reasons your player could find challenges that could be outside a villians power, like mistakes, or natural disasters, or a betrayal. [SOUND] Townspeople. Adding some towns people can help make your world feel like a real place with real consequences. If everyone is a hero or a monster, your game can feel unreal or cartoonish, which isn't always a bad thing. But a towns person can tell your player what their world is like, they can tell stories, give tips, or fill in details from your game that your player wasn't around to experience otherwise. [MUSIC] Adventurers. Your player might run into fellow adventurers, they could be good, or not so nice, they could help your players, or they could be competing with your player towards the same goal. The nice thing about adventurers, is sometimes, they've already tried the things your player is about to attempt. And they can have unique perspectives and secrets that they might share for a price. [MUSIC] Friends. Running in to old friends is a good way of adding back story to your game. A character's friends can tell you a lot about that character. If all their friends are woodland animals or spiders or nerds or jocks or imaginary, it's going to say something about that character. [SOUND] Monsters. Classic monsters. Monsters in every shape and size, from the microscopic to the planet-sized, they're the most widely used NPCs in all of video games. Monsters aren't only there to challenge your character, they can also help your player learn something about their world, or even change the course of your adventure. For instance, your player might encounter a bear, and when your player is bitten, they might suddenly have a strong taste for honey. [NOISE] And they become a ware-bear! That could really change the course of your game. Turn coats and traitors. Speaking of wear bears, any of these characters can change into any other character. A friend might become a monster, a monster might become a friend, who knows? When you feel like you need to add a new character to your project, take a moment to ask yourself if the point you are trying to achieve can be met by revisiting a previous character and learning something new about them. That way, you'll end up with a character that has more depth rather than two characters that you've only partially developed. This is by no means a complete list of character types. I didn't even get into hermits, or ghosts, or astronauts. The list goes on. The point is, there's a lot a new character can add to your story, and there's a lot an old character can add to your story if something new is revealed in them.
