Major Types of Characters in Games
The ones the player controls
(player can play as)
Hero(protagonist)
Sidekick(assistant)
Yourself(customisation)
A group of characters (team, military unit)
God-like role
Sees through characters eyes
Most times you don't sees the body or face More likely to See hands and weapons
The "I" experience
Highly immersive
The player fills in own personality but visually limitation (no way to have a character hug or kiss without it being or looking weird)
First-person
Third-person
You observe your character (like a movie)
Less immersive
Rood for games where you need to see the whole body (running jumping, etc)
Gives character strong identity
Play can get attached to the character
Player-pov
Advantages and disadvantages to both first-person and third-person
Games jump between both
Greatly impacts way of experiencing the game
Need to be decided early on
impacts on basic designs graphics and gameplay
The one the AI controls (NPC)
NPC Types
Allies of the Protagonist (friend, fellow warriors)
The Antagonist (villain or enemy of the player)
Neutral Characters (shop keeper, drinker in bar)
Henchman of Antagonist
Red Herring(seems villainous but is innocent or seams innocent but is villainous)
Helper you can Summon(gives hints to assist, NPC may provide clues, colour or humor)
Civilian/Background Characters (non-interactive NPC, my ignore the player but won't necessarily interact)
