Howdy, partners!
Hello, friends! Thank you so much for appreciating our last devlog on reworked progression! Today’s topic is… characters!
What makes a game like Stardew Valley so cozy and familiar? The characters! The ones we trade with, the ones we get to know and explore their world. It’s a big deal for us while working on “Cowboy Life”, making our characters likeable and memorable.
1. Shaping a concept
Before adding any character, we define their traits and motivations and link them with others and the protagonist meaningfully.
Instead of simple stereotypes, our characters have conflicting traits, and hidden secrets that the player can uncover.
Some of them will go through a lot, trying to find their own role in the world, learning and proving themselves worthy, but will emerge stronger and happier because of players' actions.
Like in classic Disney’s films, our characters have meaningful names: some of them reflect the character’s personality, others – their occupation or behavior. Some names even reference real-life historical figures, likeour town architect, Frank Lloyd.
2. How our NPCs affect (and are affected by) gameplay
– Engaging NPC routines
Your neighbors like to have a drink or a round of cards at the Saloon in the evening, they go to church on Sundays, or visit their favorite spots in the wilderness in their free time… Just like real people do!
– Part of the bigger picture
In small communities, word spreads fast.
If you complete a quest for one character, their best friend will know about it,
and if you do something that benefits everyone, all characters will be grateful (some discounts maybe?).
– Bringing the Wild West to life
They do more than give you quests. They let you discover hidden secrets, surprises, and personal adventures. One moment, a friendly chat might start an exciting quest. Next, a mysterious stranger might refuse to help until you prove yourself worthy of trust.
Each meeting shows you a new layer, leading you deeper into your cowboy adventure.
3. Writing realistic dialogue
“Cowboy Life” does of course take place in the Wild West. We all know our howdies and yeehaws, but we cannot allow dialogue to become a caricature. Keepin’ it stylized, but moderate, partner.
Characters’ personalities affect the way they speak. A well-educated pharmacist will have a different way of expressing herself than a simpleton living out in the mountains.
The story is an important driver, but since it's not an RPG, but a mix of RPG and a simulator, and plenty of people will want to click through dialogues. And that's alright! That’s why we take extra time to make the dialogues as short and saturated as possible.
All our dialogue is written and programmed using a narrative design tool called Articy:Draft.
4. Implementation
Every character needs a 3D model, of course. Before that usually comes a concept sketch,
but as we are quite a small studio, we do not have a Concept Artist.
Instead, visual references are gathered, usually by the Narrative Designer, and delivered to
our 3D Artist with a short description of the character’s vibe. Often these references are
even pictures of real-life people: actors, historic figures, or people we, the devs, actually know!
For example, references for our charismatic and broad-shouldered carpenter, Ted, were taken from our designer’s husband. For our Mayor – of that husband's grandfather, a military physicist specializing in explosives. One of the most notorious bandits in our game is modeled after a… well, we will keep this one a secret a little longer.
Then, it’s just designing the callendar, giving the character stuff to sell, setting up their homes, their shops, and their routines.
The community
And how does the player character fit in all this?
The community of Bravestand is troubled by bandits, drought and distrust. Not very cozy, right? It’s the player’s role to make the townfolk find trust again, to stand together against the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men, to live up to the name of their little town!
It’s you, the player, that is the agent of hope, finding inner peace through helping others.
We hope you’ll find it satisfying and rewarding!
So what do you think? Don’t hesitate to reach out, comment, suggest, or share a laugh! Follow us and shoot us a message at our Instagram – @odd.qubit. We’d also love to have you over on our growing Discord server – here’s the [link].
Happy trails, friend.