Character Data Sets and Parameterized Morality

Creating dramatic and engaging characters is one of the ‘holy grail’ issues in video games. Another – related – focus is the implementation of morality in game characters. We look into a combination of these two issues inside the game character’s definition. This character data set forms the backbone of the game entity and a basis from which behavioral engines can operate. Some of these data features refer to established character definitions from traditional media, including physiology, sociology and psychology as three defining elements of dramatic characters. Historically, games have developed game character physiology, but how do data sets provide for the other two elements? We refer to three games (Chrono Trigger, Fable and Ultima Online) and examine their character data sets in regard to: a) their range, limitations and contents b) ways in which they mimic social and ethical references Based on the analysis we suggest a basic rethinking of a character’s data set combining the elements of consistency and granularity that allow for a clearer tracking and representation of moral behavior as “parameterized morality”.