Chapter 2.2. Emotioneering Techniques Category 2: NPC Deepening Techniques

Chapter 2.2. Emotioneering Techniques Category #2: NPC Deepening Techniques

Giving your NPCs heart and soul.

This chapter

focuses on techniques that give major NPCs emotional depth and complexity.

They say children usually drown in the shallow end and I believe it. The word "shallow" itself has a cold breeze blowing through it, as in "shallow grave." Try diving into the shallow end of a pool, and there's nowhere to go. All that comes of it is an opportunity to get to know your local head-trauma specialist on a first-name basis.

note

For either major or minor NPCs, it's not a requirement that they have emotional depth. If your game is comedic in tone, you might not have a single NPC with depth. This would be completely fine.

That having been said, you'll find that most comedic characters are enriched by a little depth. Think of The Simpsons, for example. Each one of them, at times, expresses deep, genuine emotions.

No one comes to the defense of "shallow."

What about your NPCs? Are they shallow? If so, perhaps it's time to give them a shallow-ectomy.

In the last chapter, we looked at ways to make major NPCs interesting. There are also ways to give major NPCs emotional depth. I call these techniques NPC Deepening Techniques.

If you want your NPCs to have some depth, open an Emotioneering tool chest. Let's take a look at a few techniques you'll find.