Recent Computer Role Playing Games, such as Skyrim and Breath of the Wild, have entranced us with their expansive, complex worlds. However, the Non-Player Characters (NPCs) in these games remain lackluster outside of scripted events. This is, in part, because games typically do not simulate NPC emotions. Wouldn’t these games be more interesting, if NPCs reacted more appropriately to the situations they find themselves in?
To be able to do this, designers need an engine that models emotion based on inputs from the game world and from other designer-defined character elements such as personality and goals. Unlike AI agents and simulations of cognitive psychology theories, an emotion engine for games need only be plausible and interesting – not correct. I propose an efficient emotion engine design based on two psychological theories – Plutchik’s psycho-evolutionary synthesis and Lazarus’s cognitive appraisal – to potentially meet the needs of game designers and players.
Geneva Smith. 2019. Towards Emotional Game Characters. In Melody Devries (Chair) Confronting Ecologies of Emotion: Design, Implementation, and the [Social] User Experience. Panel presented at the 20th Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association (MEA). June 27–30, 2019, Toronto, ON, Canada.