Plot is Dumb, Character is Cool: Writing for DLC
March 3, 2015, Game Developer Conference, San Francisco—Anthony Burch from Gearbox Software noted that game developers and designers tend to fixate on the plot and action, whereas players become attached to the characters. The issues for the developers is to find a good balance of plot and storyline consistency with character development.
People remember and like character-related content much more than things related to the plot. The challenge is to write downloadable content (DLC) in a way that expands the story, illuminates more of the universe, and adds to the lore of the story. The successful efforts also require that you create new art to support the side stories and you have to make decisions about the universe very early in the design cycle.
For example, in one game, the first pass was just another side plot. The second DLC had lore nuggets that could be placed n a vault. Although the general response was positive, no one wrote back to say how wonderful the DLC was. Nevertheless, they continued to generate new DLC with all plot and lore until they got stuck at some point and had to spend most of their efforts on the characters.
The DLC had a simple plot line, but added some interpersonal content and issue resolution. Player response was overwhelming, even though this segment was just basic stuff. DLC content shouldn’t have to be epic, as that is the function of the main game, but needs to have interesting character arcs.
The DLC that focused on character helped to increase sales, even though they are just small stories. In Mass Effect 3, The Citadel, there is a small DCL that has you plan and attend a house party. Players responded that this segment worked well because it was well worth the cost and effort to play, helped to develop the characters, and was different.
Triple A games usually don’t do small character development, so the DCL is less restrictive than the game proper. The important epic stuff goes into the main game but DLC content can be weird and kooky. If a DLC is all about character development, you only need a few new assets and can be used to justify and direct functions, like the mechanical functions for the character. The nice thing about this small-scale content is the segment is not an all or nothing episode in the game.
A DLC can be used to initiate some mechanics, like turn on a generator. The player needs to understand that the mechanical function is important to the game. For example, you want the player to turn on a generator. You can direct the action by making a case that the shields need a power source, then let the player find and turn-on the generator. Once the basic mechanics are learned, the following stages can assume the player will find and turn on generators before moving on with other tasks. The DLC can also offer ways to add small personal slices to the character, which the users generally appreciate and enjoy.
