Creating Emotion in Games: The Craft and Art of Emotioneering™

Chapter 2.4. Emotioneering Techniques Category #4: Deepening Deepening Techniques

Simple ways to create complexity.

In Chapter 2.2,

we looked at seven ways to add emotional depth to an NPC. For most of the examples, however, the sense of emotional complexity—the emotional or psychological layers—in an NPC couldn't be accomplished quickly. Those techniques required getting to know an NPC over time, as in the case with the female alien whom your partner almost killed (in Chapter 2.2, “NPC Deepening Techniques”).

Can you give an NPC depth if he or she has only two lines or only one line of dialogue in the entire game?

Give Your NPC Some Depth

Yes, you can pull this off. To demonstrate a few of the ways, we'll return to Chapter 2.3's Cook who serves you ...