Level 3 Team Project - Analysis of NPCs within Fable II

As part of the teams ongoing research, I have performed an analysis of non-playable characters found within the Xbox 360 title, Fable II. The five page document discusses NPC archetypes and stereotypes, compares the characteristics of certain NPCs to others and provides an analytical insight into their roles.

Fable II [Lionhead Studios, 2007]
 

"The NPCs found throughout Fable II are interesting, as despite having large roles in determining the final outcome of the story, they’re all shallow, uncharismatic bots whose entire list of traits and characteristics can be viewed at any time via a small dynamic menu screen. Merely shells for the mechanic they so influence, NPCs not directly linked to the main storyline in Fable II are a very common affair, with hundreds scattered throughout the land of Albion, though each one fits the same purpose as the next. It isn’t each individual NPC that directly matters in Fable II, but the views of large groups of them affecting several of the player’s stats. As an example, the more quests the player does for NPCs found around town, the higher renown score they gain. Similarly, the more gifts a player gives to different NPCs, the more they’re appreciated."

"One thing to mention- the mentor character of Fable II, Theresa, interestingly breaks the typical mentor archetype by both being female and having a large disability. The Hero of Strength, Sister Hannah, is another interesting character to consider, her character being reversed with Garth, the Hero of Will. Typically, the female would take the role of the wispy magic user while the male would assume the role of the powerful warrior. This switch aids in helping both characters appear more surprising and compelling to the player. Despite obviously having no dialogue or characterisation, the dogs actions throughout, and especially towards the end, of Fable II help shape it into a compelling character, especially since it is linked with one of the biggest decisions the player is presented with."

"By creating stereotypical minor NPCs, Lionhead has managed to create multiple characters out of one personality, perfectly fitting for the roles those characters play. However, due to this, these minor characters are thoroughly uninteresting and do nothing but contribute to the games mechanics."

To download the full five page .pdf version of the analysis, click here.
 

Level 3 Team Project - Week 3

This week the team began work on our design document, pitch and plan. In our two meetings at University we discussed work completed so far and what's expected from us for the deadline on the 9th of March.

At the beginning of the week three I performed a second source analysis, this time on the book "Game Usability: Advice From The Experts For Advancing The Players Experience" written by K. Isbister and N. Schaffer. I found the book interesting, although only a couple of sections were relevant to us and our research question.
I also spent some time this week writing up a project methodology report, discussing several different types of software development processes, how they're used in industry and if they're useful to us. I concluded in saying Scrum was the most appropriate software process for us to use and that it should be considered sometime during the project.

By next week I hope to help get the project pitch finished entirely (that way it's ready for the hand in at the start of week 5) along with a report on the NPCs found in the game 'Fable II.'

I felt the team has worked well again this week, with some good feedback given regarding our work left with Claire and Amanda.

To view the Team Fable project blog, click here.

To view all of the Team Project diary entries, click here.

Level 3 Team Project - Project Methodology Report

As part of the teams research this week, I decided to write a document looking into Project Methodology. Software development processes Scrum, Waterfall, Agile, Spiral and Iterative are mentioned, with a short explanation as to what each one is along with some examples of how the process can be used and whether or not it would be useful to us. The report concludes saying the team would benefit most from the Scrum process, making good use of its two to four week sprints and frequent meetings.

"Software Development Processes are a very important aspect of design, with each aiming to aid teams along the development cycle by providing an organised project flow and several different terms and phrases to help identify ‘stages’ of production."

"As part of our project research, we’ve decided to look into several of these software development processes and decide which one would best suit us. The processes looked at here are Scrum, Waterfall, Agile, Spiral and Iterative. A short explanation as to what each one is will be given, along with some examples of how the process can be used and whether or not it would be useful to us. The five development processes featured are some of the most popular used throughout the games industry, with development studios such as High Moon making use of Scrum."

To download the full five page .pdf version of the report, click here.

Level 3 Team Project - Source Analysis - Book 2

As part of the team's ongoing research, I've looked into testing methodology using the book "Game Usability: Advice from the experts for advancing the players experience" written by Katherine Isbister and Noah Schaffer as my source. I've created a two page document discussing the relevant information found in Chapters VII, IX and XV and given an insight as to how we can use the information gathered in testing of our own.

“Game Usability: Advice from the experts for advancing the players experience” [1] written by Katherine Isbister and Noah Schaffer gives a good insight into effective testing within the games industry. Chapters VII, IX and XV provide the most relevant information regarding our project, talking about evaluation, metrics, biometric measurement and tracking real time user experience."

"An in-game feedback application as seen in Voodoo Vince [6] could be a useful tool for gathering data. One advantage of this being the player can tell us exactly what they’re thinking the moment it is happening within the game. It’s also possible to present players with an application such as this while masked as an in-game mechanic, asking players if they wish to engage more conversation with NPCs or not, whether or not they wish to travel with one NPC over another and so forth. Games such as Team Fortress 2 [7] offer in-game questioners on certain servers, allowing players to rate the current map they’re playing on, the people they’re playing alongside and the quality of the server. This links back to information found in Chapter VII, as if we’re to include such an application in our product it will have to remain easy to use and simple to understand."

"Game Usability: Advice from the experts for advancing the players experience’ by Katharine Isbister and Noah Schaffer has been a useful source to consider when looking into testing both our prototype and final product. While most sections in the book were not entirely relevant to our project, some of the points made throughout can still be considered, such as the information on the evaluation process and hints to how we can collect data effectively. We may also benefit from including in-game logs as mentioned by Kim in chapter XV and also record player emotion by using equipment such as a web camera to see facial expressions throughout the testing."

To download the full three page .pdf version of the source analysis, click here.

Level 3 Team Project - Week 2

This week I contributed to the teams research into compelling NPCs in games. Each of us was to write a case study on a non-playable character of our choice and also complete an analysis of a book relevant to the project. Both papers were printed and shown to lecturers during the two team meetings we had during the week.

I decided to write my case study on Frank Fontaine, an antagonist character from the FPS game 'Bioshock.' I feel my case study was relevant to our project and that the NPC himself was interesting and compelling, though I admit I felt my final document was a little too wordy and became more of an essay than I would've liked.

The team has decided to wait until more information is given about the design document in the lecture next Tuesday before we begin working on it. Also, the results of our NPC surveys regarding Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins are still being collected.

I felt we've all worked well this week and have made a great start to the project, jumping in at the deep end and writing two research papers each.

To view the Team Fable project blog, click here.

To view all of the Team Project diary entries, click here.

Level 3 Team Project - Source Analysis - Book 1

As part of the teams research into non-playable characters in games, I borrowed the book 'Better Games Characters by Design' written by Katherine Isbister. I've created a three page document analysing certain areas of the source that are relevant to our project.

"'Better Game Characters by Design’ by Katharine Isbister has been a very useful source for finding out information on NPCs within games and how players react to them depending on a variety of different variables. Reading this book has helped us to look deeper into many aspects of characters within games and a lot of examples and suggestions given by the author must be taken on-board if our characters are to be convincing and realistic."

To download the full three page .pdf version of the source analysis, click here.

Level 3 Team Project - Case Study - Frank Fontaine (Bioshock)

As part of my Level 3 Team Project research I've completed a small case study on Frank Fontaine, an antagonist found within first person shooter, Bioshock.

"Being a game driven mainly by its narrative, the NPCs found within the world of Rapture are of many different varieties. The most interesting of all perhaps, is Frank Fontaine, a con-man who arrived in the city twelve years before its demise. Fontaine first makes his appearance in Bioshock under the guise of Atlas, a pleading Irishman who contacts Jack as he takes his first step into the city. Speaking to the player via a radio transmission, Atlas explains what has happened to the city and why, informing Jack what he’s lead himself into. Atlas then goes on to mention that his wife Moira and infant son Patrick are lost somewhere in the city, desperately pleading Jack to help him get them to safety."

"After studying Fontaine throughout the course of Bioshock, we’ve learnt that you can easily lead and trick the player by creating a convincing character, making them think and act exactly how you want them to. In Bioshock, the fact Atlas appears at the very beginning of the game and educates players on a world they know nothing about automatically lays a level of trust between that character and the player. Then, match this with Atlas’ many convincing traits and the player will perform his every request. The switch between Atlas and Fontaine makes the characters personality far more interesting, especially after seeing how quickly the player warms to him at the beginning of the game. Due to this plot twist found in Bioshock, the Atlas/Fontaine character has become very well known throughout the entire industry."

To download a .pdf version of the full case study, click here.

Level 3 Team Project - Week 1

This week saw the introduction of the Team Project module, with me finding out who I would be working with and information on deadlines and marking schemes. I attended an hours briefing session Tuesday along with our first in-class group meeting with Claire at 13:45, then at the end of the week on Friday had a short team meeting with Brian and Phil.

My group has the title 'Team Fable' and I'm working with fellow students Kyle Cherry, Lewis Morgan, Adam Parker and Stephen Austin. We've all worked together with each other at some point during previous units, therefore we're all quite comfortable as a team for the final project. 

We've decided that as three of the five members in the group had very similar project ideas in the Project Skills unit, we're basing our final project around those questions. We're hoping to advance NPCs as they relate to game narratives, and to further ways of engaging players through these NPCs.

So far we've made a good start on work and have performed numerous tasks to help push the project forward. I personally have set up and designed the team blog, begun producing the teams 'Gantt Chart' and collected all of the data from the team meetings that took place during the week. Other members of the team have begun researching into our chosen subject area and have posted up their findings on the blog.

Communication between team members has been excellent so far with frequent meet-ups and messages over Windows Live Messenger sent. An advantage we have is that four out of our five team members live together in the student dorms making team meet-ups a very simple affair.

Next week we plan to have made a start on out Project Design Document, of which is handed in on the 9th of March. The next diary will have more information regarding our project, the questions we hope to answer and a reflection on work done during the week.

To view the Team Fable project blog, click here.

To view all of the Team Project diary entries, click here.