The Art of Making Players Care About Your Game Character

You’re watching someone play your latest creation. On the camera view, you see their face contort with fear, and at the pivotal moment, they can’t help but scream. You did it! As their scream echoes in your headset, your heart beats with pride and joy at evoking such a strong reaction.

As game developers, we all search for the answers to the same questions: How do I make my game stand out? How do I get players hooked? How do I make them come back, again and again? How do I mesmerize them so much that the game feels real, that they feel fear, sadness, and joy as they play?

Could the answer be amazing, high-end graphics? That doesn’t seem right. Not every player has the equipment to enjoy high-end visuals. And let’s be honest, if the answer were truly high-end graphics, pixel games wouldn’t stand a chance. Is it the story? The arcs with their dizzying highs and lows? As a writer, it saddens me to admit, even that doesn’t always hold true. I’ve seen games with no written words or storyline capture the attention of millions.

The answer, as the title suggests, is the characters. In a world where we’re all seeking connection, building multidimensional characters is more important than ever. This applies not only to games, but also to books and films. Everyone remembers the death of Glenn in The Walking Dead, which caused ratings to drop because viewers cared for Glenn and after his death, they lost motivation to keep watching. Book characters such as James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, and Jane Marple have kept readers returning for decades, even long after their authors died. Similarly, many successful game franchises are built around their characters: Lara Croft from Tomb Raider, Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher, Agent 47 from Hitman, and Dante from Devil May Cry.

One of the most important ways to get players to commit to your game is to create a character they truly care about.

More evidence can be found in players’ reactions to changes in beloved characters. In The Last of Us Part II, Ellie’s character arc changed dramatically, dividing fans and sparking backlash. Players who loved her in the first game felt disconnected. On top of that, the game forced them to play as Abby, a character they hadn’t bonded with, which caused some to drift away, lowering player retention.

This isn’t an isolated case. Many franchises have stumbled when shifting focus away from the character players had bonded with, often leading to backlash, lower sales, or a fractured fan base. Players expecting to play as Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 2 were disappointed when most of the game featured Raiden, since Snake was the emotional anchor of the series. The same thing happened when Devil May Cry shifted to Nero from Dante. Players missed Dante’s charisma, weakening their engagement.

Halo presents another example. Marketing for Halo 5 heavily featured Master Chief, but the game focused largely on Locke, leaving fans who wanted more time with Chief feeling disconnected. Red Dead Redemption made a similar misstep by killing John and leaving Jack for the epilogue. Many players found the personality shift jarring as they mourned John, a character they cared for deeply.

Creating a Game Character

So how do you create a character that resonates with players? And how do you balance being too basic with being too complex in character creation?

I like to divide character creation into two main aspects: physical aspects and the character core, or persona. I find it helpful to start with the persona since the physical aspects will be influenced by it. The persona can include (but is not limited to) the character’s backstory, education, family ties, health, character traits, mental and emotional traits, inner life and voice, and beliefs.

Let’s try a case study for creating a persona. Can you guess which famous character this belongs to?

Persona Analysis – A Case Study

Backstory:

• Born into a privileged environment with access to wealth, education, and travel.

• Early life was marked by curiosity and exposure to different cultures.

• A pivotal event in adolescence (a brush with mortality) led to rejecting a sheltered life and embracing independence.

Education:

• Formally educated at elite institutions, excelling in both academic and physical disciplines.

• Intellectual foundation in history, archaeology, and linguistics, combined with survival training for extreme environments.

Family Ties:

• Comes from a distinguished lineage.

• Parental relationships shaped the worldview: one parent’s adventurous spirit and the other’s absence created independence and unresolved emotional weight.

Health:

• Maintains peak physical condition, honed through years of exploration, climbing, diving, and combat training.

• Resilience is as much mental as physical.

Character Traits:

• Core Traits: Determined, resourceful, adaptable.

• Supporting Traits: Curious, brave, self-reliant, occasionally reckless.

• Flaws: Stubborn, obsessive in pursuit of goals, slow to trust.

Mental/Emotional Traits:

• Strong problem-solving skills under pressure.

• An insatiable drive to uncover truth or solve mysteries.

• High emotional resilience, though occasional loneliness surfaces.

Inner Life & Voice:

• Always assessing surroundings, running through possible outcomes, and questioning motives.

• A voice that blends authority with dry wit, often used to mask vulnerability.

Beliefs:

• Values knowledge, personal freedom, and self-determination.

• Deep respect for history and culture.

• Operates with a personal code blending adventurer’s daring with a scholar’s respect for truth.

It’s easy to imagine Lara Croft now, even without gender, name, age, or ethnicity mentioned. These core traits determine the character’s choices and how their background and personality shape the story.

Potential Downsides of a Broad Persona

The more detailed the persona, the fewer choices and freedoms you have in the story. The persona above doesn’t allow for many deviations. Lara Croft will always do what’s right. For example, it’s hard to imagine her selling historical artifacts for profit or betraying her values. If someone’s life is in danger, she will risk everything to save them. These values, however, are what make her a heroine and one of the most successful characters in a franchise spanning games, movies, and merchandise.

Physical Aspects

The persona gives strong clues about physical aspects. “Honed through years of exploration, climbing, diving, and combat training” describes a fit character dressed for survival and battle. Without the archaeology and survival training elements, it would be easy to imagine a rich blonde from an influential family dressed for a fancy dinner, covered in diamonds.

Her core traits shape her look. Can you imagine a real-life Lara Croft without scars after all that climbing and fighting? Or one wearing high heels and haute couture in the field? The core inevitably creates the physical aspects.

Bonding With a Game Character

Given how broad this persona is, it’s easy for players to find something to relate to: an absent parent, a love of mysteries, a dream of exploring ancient ruins, or a passion for solving puzzles.

The more a player sees themselves in a character’s values, background, goals, and desires, the deeper their attachment will be. They empathize with the character’s successes and failures as if they were their own. It’s not just the character leveling up or gaining rewards; the player feels rewarded for their time and dedication. This emotional satisfaction becomes part of the gameplay loop, increasing retention.

How to Create a Good Game Character

When creating complex yet relatable characters, consider these five tips:

1. Give your character a clear motivation that drives their actions. Of course, the game can have multiple side goals and plenty of embedded storylines, but the main motivation is what drives the story from start to finish. Whether it’s survival, revenge, or solving a mystery, this overarching goal should take precedence over side objectives, which the player may choose to ignore. Most importantly, the main motivation must align with the character’s persona. A strong, consistent driving force keeps the story focused and the player invested, and this motivation should only change if there is a strong enough plot twist.

2. Keep them authentic to themselves. The entire purpose of creating a persona is to let it guide the character’s decisions. Can Sherlock Holmes ignore a clue? Can James Bond leave a damsel in distress? In the same way, your character must stay true to their established traits and values. If they make choices that contradict their persona, it breaks immersion and risks disconnecting the player from the experience.

   

3. Include at least one flaw that affects gameplay or dialogue choices. People may flock to META characters in MMORPGs, but none of us is perfect, and your characters shouldn’t be either. Creating a “flawed” character helps players bond with them more easily. These flaws don’t have to be dramatic; small imperfections can go a long way toward making characters more believable and relatable.

4. Show growth over time and reward the player’s investment with change. The whole point of progression is to create a noticeable difference. If your character starts and ends the game in the exact same state, what’s the point? If you want players to invest their time and energy, reward them with meaningful, worthwhile progress.

5. Build relationships in the game world that reveal new sides of the character. In real life, we all wear different hats throughout the day: boss or employee, child and/or parent, sibling, spouse, or friend. Your character is no different. They might be a fearless warrior in battle, but have a soft spot for animals or children. They could be a ruthless demon hunter and also a charming flirt. Developing different and sometimes contrasting facets of your character helps create a multidimensional personality that keeps players engaged.

Remember: Whether you’re crafting a grizzled space captain, a curious archaeologist, or a silent wanderer, players don’t come back for pixels or polygons. They come back for someone they care about.