The aim of this research project was to determine whether it is necessary for the player character to be designed, I was considering whether the player character is merely a tool for the user to navigate the space and enable the player to complete their tasks. My initial judgment was that for more immersive, entertaining gameplay it should be in the first person perspective and not providing in depth descriptions of the character, allowing the player to tell their own story, however throughout my secondary research I found many reasons that in fact prove the character to be a key element of the gaming experience.

 

The results of the survey indicate that the player character is not important to the player. 62% of respondents state that they would not be put off a video game because of the main character and 51% would not buy a game based on the main character either. 37% state that they do not have a gender preference and 45% say that the gender should be the most appropriate to the story – so the story has priority. Again in terms of perspective, 51% do not have a preference therefore you would assume it is the gameplay and the story that are more important to the player. 56% stated that they make decisions in the game based on how they think the consequences will affect their progress, which suggests detachment from the character. Finally, 32% prefer to create their own character from scratch, so by judging the overall results there seems to be no need for the game designer to design the player character.

 

However, as with all forms of entertainment there are many types of consumers who have different preferences. For example, if game designers decided to not design the player character, the 64% of players who like to be given a character, a choice of characters, or a character that they can personalise, would not be catered for. Additionally, 49% of respondents would buy a game based on its character and 45% of respondents prefer to play in the third person perspective therefore want to see a character. By excluding these players the designers are leaving money on the table so to speak. There is also the fact that two players playing the same video game will play it differently telling their own individual story, take Grand Theft Auto, many players choose to go from mission to mission wreaking havoc in the game environment, whereas I personally find a nice car, drive sensibly and cause as little damage as possible, both these scenarios are with the same character, but it is how the player chooses to play the game, yet to not have a character changes the game completely.

 

The secondary sources of information show a deeper analysis of how a video game character can impact the player; these sources are from academics and professionals in the industry so it may be that they look at video games from a different perspective to that of a traditional consumer at whom the survey was aimed. Also, these survey results are through one platform – social media. My aim was to gather results through online gaming forums also, as people who are active in the gaming community and regularly document their experiences of playing video games may have different opinions to those who play for a few hours in the evening. 

 

Lebowitz (2009) raises the point of what a player really wants, he states that ‘what a player consciously thinks he wants from a story may not be the same as what the player truly wants, as judged by his enjoyment of the story,’ his focus was on player-driven versus traditional storytelling in video games, however the point also applies to this research project in that what a player thinks they want from the player character may actually be different to what they really enjoy regarding the player character. Therefore to further investigate the hypothesis it would be beneficial to test consistencies between what the player says they enjoy and what they actually enjoy.

 

Choice and variety is important in the entertainment industry, as mentioned consumers enjoy different things so by giving the player the option of playing in the first person perspective allowing them to feel as though they are in the game, or the third person perspective where they can see a character, whether the game focuses on a detailed plot and story revealing the characters emotions and motivations or a game where there are no characters and you have to hit a ball between two paddles, designers are giving every consumer the opportunity to find a game style they enjoy.  Furthermore, for game designers themselves they can continue to push the boundaries in terms of game design and technology, look at the detailed visuals of characters in games today compared to two decades ago with the original Mario, the future of video games is an exciting topic to consumers and professionals in the industry and there is certainly space for both the character and the player.