Characterization

I've noticed that as I've worked more and more on my writing, I've begun to take notice different things that I didn't pay much attention to before. One thing that caught my attention was the characters of a video game I played through called Infinite Undiscovery, a fairly recent title by Square Enix. Specifically, what caught my attention was they way they were developed.

Sadly, they were developed very poorly.

One problem I found was that the cast was too big. New characters were constantly being introduced, so much so that by the end of the game, the pool of characters you can pick from for your party (of 3) consists of 17 people. No form of media short of a very long book series has enough time to develop 17 different stories, motivations, and personalities. A lot of the characters in Infinite Undiscovery felt like they were just kind of there without a purpose.

For instance, you get the last two characters of your party about an hour or two before you beat the game. Those two characters have no role and no clear use. During cutscenes involving those two, I found myself thinking "Why are you talking? Hurry up and let me go beat the big boss baddie." They were nothing but dead weight.

The main characters were also somewhat poorly done. They never developed strong voices or personalities. The protagonist seemed to be downright stupid more often than not. All but one of the supporting characters were flat and transparent, if not downright annoying. The main baddie's past was non-existent and his motivation was murky. My feelings at the end of the game consisted mostly of "I guess I'm supposed to kill this guy, because apparently something bad will happen if I don't. I think."

By contrast, I started thinking about some other games I've played. Final Fantasy X, another title Square Enix, jumped to mind. That was a game worth playing.

Each one of the seven characters in your party was so well developed. The last time I played the game was a couple of years ago, but I can still list each of the characters and explain their motivations, their personality quirks, and why I liked (or, if the character was evil, disliked) them. From Tidus's broken relationship with his old man, to Yuna's dedication to following in her father's footsteps, to Auron's promise to his friend, to Seymour's twisted yet almost understandable logic; every story is believable and impactful.

Personality quirks, history, motivation, goals, emotions.

I want to learn to write characters with these things. I want to have readers crying, laughing, and rooting for my characters every step of the way. Infinite Undiscovery failed to do that, but by looking at what it did wrong, hopefully I can pick up some lessons on how to avoid similar pitfalls.