Better game characters by design : a psychological approach

* About the Author* Foreword by Tim Schafer* Preface* About the DVD*I First Impressions* What Is Covered and Why* Who Will Find Part I Most Useful* Overview of Key Concepts* Take-Aways from Part I*1 Social Surface*1.1 What Is Covered and Why*1.2 The Psychological Principles*1.3 Design Pointers*1.4 Interview: Gonzalo Frasca*1.5 Summary and What Is Next*1.6 Exercises*1.7 Further Reading*2 Practical Questions - Dominance, Friendliness, and Personality*2.1 What Is Covered and Why*2.2 The Psychological Principles*2.3 Design Pointers*2.4 Summary and What Is Next*2.5 Exercises*2.6 Further Reading*II Focus on the Player* What Is Covered and Why* Who Will Find Part II Most Useful* Overview of Key Concepts* Take-Aways from Part II*3 Culture*3.1 What Is Covered and Why*3.2 The Psychological Principles*3.3 Design Pointers*3.4 Interview: Ryoichi Hasegawa and Roppyaku Tsurumi of Sony*3.5 Interview: Lewis Johnson*3.6 Summary and What Is Next*3.7 Exercises*3.8 Further Reading*4 Gender*4.1 What Is Covered and Why*4.2 The Psychological Principles*4.3 Design Pointers*4.4 Interviews with Gamers - Personal Perspectives*4.5 Summary and What Is Next*4.6 Exercises*4.7 Further Reading*III Using a Character's Social Equipment* What Is Covered and Why* Who Will Find Part III Most Useful* Overview of Key Concepts* Take-Aways from Part III*5 The Face*5.1 What Is Covered and Why*5.2 The Psychological Principles*5.3 Design Pointers*5.4 Summary and What Is Next*5.5 Exercises*5.6 Further Reading*6 The Body*6.1 What Is Covered and Why*6.2 The Psychological Principles*6.3 Design Pointers*6.4 Interview: Chuck Clanton*6.5 Summary and What Is Next*6.6 Exercise*6.7 Further Reading*7 The Voice*7.1 What Is Covered and Why*7.2 The Psychological Principles*7.3 Design Pointers*7.4 Further Directions - Emotion Detection*7.5 Interview: MIT Media Lab's Zeynep Inanoglu and Ron Caneel*7.6 Summary and What Is Next*7.7 Exercise*7.8 Further Reading*7.9 Answers to Exercises*IV Characters in Action* What Is Covered and Why* Who Will Find Part IV Most Useful* Overview of Key Concepts* Take-Aways from Part IV*8 Player-Characters*8.1 What Is Covered and Why*8.2 The Psychological Principles*8.3 Design Pointers*8.4 Interview: Marc Laidlaw*8.5 Summary and What Is Next*8.6 Exercises*8.7 Further Reading*8.8 Acknowledgments*9 Nonplayer-Characters*9.1 What Is Covered and Why*9.2 The Psychological Principles*9.3 Dimensions of Social Roles and NPCs*9.4 Common Social Roles in Games*9.5 Design Guidelines*9.6 Summary and What Is Next*9.7 Exercises*9.8 Further Reading*V Putting It All Together* What Is Covered and Why* Who Will Find Part V Most Useful* Overview of Key Concepts* Take-Aways from Part V*10 Process*10.1 What Is Covered and Why*10.2 Arguments for Bringing a Social-Psychological Approach to Game Development*10.3 The Development Time Line*10.4 Building in the Social-Psychological Approach*10.5 Interview: Tim Schafer*10.6 Summary and What Is Next*10.7 Further Reading*11 Evaluation*11.1 What Is Covered and Why*11.2 The Psychological Principles*11.3 Current Evaluation Practice in Game Design: Market Research and Play Testing*11.4 Taking Design to the Next Level with Preproduction Evaluation*11.5 A Note on Postproduction Evaluation*11.6 Evaluation Checklist*11.7 Games Usability Perspectives*11.8 Interview: Randy Pagulayan*11.9 Interview: Nicole Lazzaro*11.10 Affective Sensing: An Evaluation Method for the Future? *11.11 Summary*11.12 Exercises*11.13 Further Reading * Appendix* Index