Better Game Characters by Design : A Psychological Approach (Hardcover)

Foreword by Tim Schafer Preface About the DVD I First Impressions What Is Covered and Why Who Will Find Part I Most Useful Overview of Key Concepts Take-Aways from Part I 1 Social Surface 1.1 What Is Covered and Why 1.2 The Psychological Principles 1.3 Design Pointers 1.4 Interview: Gonzalo Frasca 1.5 Summary and What Is Next 1.6 Exercises 1.7 Further Reading 2 Practical Questions--Dominance, Friendliness, and Personality 2.1 What Is Covered and Why 2.2 The Psychological Principles 2.3 Design Pointers 2.4 Summary and What Is Next 2.5 Exercises 2.6 Further Reading II Focus on the Player What Is Covered and Why Who Will Find Part II Most Useful Overview of Key Concepts Take-Aways from Part II 3 Culture 3.1 What Is Covered and Why 3.2 The Psychological Principles 3.3 Design Pointers 3.4 Interview: Ryoichi Hasegawa and Roppyaku Tsurumi of Sony 3.5 Interview: Lewis Johnson 3.6 Summary and What Is Next 3.7 Exercises 3.8 Further Reading 4 Gender 4.1 What Is Covered and Why 4.2 The Psychological Principles 4.3 Design Pointers 4.4 Interviews with Gamers-Personal Perspectives 4.5 Summary and What Is Next 4.6 Exercises 4.7 Further Reading III Using a Character's Social Equipment What Is Covered and Why Who Will Find Part III Most Useful Overview of Key Concepts Take-Aways from Part III 5 The Face 5.1 What Is Covered and Why 5.2 The Psychological Principles 5.3 Design Pointers 5.4 Summary and What Is Next 5.5 Exercises 5.6 Further Reading 6 The Body 6.1 What Is Covered and Why 6.2 The Psychological Principles 6.3 Design Pointers 6.4 Interview: Chuck Clanton 6.5 Summary and What Is Next 6.6 Exercise 6.7 Further Reading 7 The Voice 7.1 What Is Covered and Why 7.2 The Psychological Principles 7.3 Design Pointers 7.4 Further Directions--Emotion Detection 7.5 Interview: MIT Media Lab's Zeynep Inanoglu and Ron Caneel 7.6 Summary and What Is Next 7.7 Exercise 7.8 Further Reading 7.9 Answers to Exercises IV Characters in Action What Is Covered and Why Who Will Find Part IV Most Useful Overview of Key Concepts Take-Aways from Part IV 8 Player-Characters 8.1 What Is Covered and Why 8.2 The Psychological Principles 8.3 Design Pointers 8.4 Interview: Marc Laidlaw 8.5 Summary and What Is Next 8.6 Exercises 8.7 Further Reading 8.8 Acknowledgments 9 Nonplayer-Characters 9.1 What Is Covered and Why 9.2 The Psychological Principles 9.3 Dimensions of Social Roles and NPCs 9.4 Common Social Roles in Games 9.5 Design Guidelines 9.6 Summary and What Is Next 9.7 Exercises 9.8 Further Reading V Putting It All Together What Is Covered and Why Who Will Find Part V Most Useful Overview of Key Concepts Take-Aways from Part V 10 Process 10.1 What Is Covered and Why 10.2 Arguments for Bringing a Social-Psychological Approach to Game Development 10.3 The Development Time Line 10.4 Building in the Social-Psychological Approach 10.5 Interview: Tim Schafer 10.6 Summary and What Is Next 10.7 Further Reading 11 Evaluation 11.1 What Is Covered and Why 11.2 The Psychological Principles 11.3 Current Evaluation Practice in Game Design: Market Research and Play Testing 11.4 Taking Design to the Next Level with Preproduction Evaluation 11.5 A Note on Postproduction Evaluation 11.6 Evaluation Checklist 11.7 Games Usability Perspectives 11.8 Interview: Randy Pagulayan 11.9 Interview: Nicole Lazzaro 11.10 Affective Sensing: An Evaluation Method for the Future? 11.11 Summary 11.12 Exercises 11.13 Further Reading Appendix Index