Creating Systems that Invoke Diegetic Motives Enhance RPG’s Player-Character Connection
Keywords: Diegetic Motives, RPG, Player-Character Connection, Systems, Immersion, Engagement
INTRODUCTION:
Systems created to invoke diegetic motives from players enhance player-character connections, especially in RPGs. RPG, short for role-playing game, is a game in which the player takes on the role of a character in a fictional world. RPGs with diegetic motives are important because this is when the player selects outcomes based on what you as the character would do in certain situations. RPGs have the player take on these character roles, so it is beneficial to create systems that invoke diegetic motives to make the player-character connection more immersive.
PSYCHOLOGY PRINCIPLE:
As a player playing an RPG, it can sometimes be hard to get into the character’s perspective. However, when games have systems in place to derive diegetic motives it can be easier to immerse yourself in the fictional world and have a better player-character connection. It is also why many games such as Hogwarts Legacy create systems that invoke diegetic motives from their players, creating successful player-character connections.
Berglind gave data on this stating, “respondents had their in-game choices most frequently influenced by the diegetic frame. 283 respondents (89.8%) answered “Often” or “Very often” on how often the diegetic frame strongly influenced their in-game choices. This corresponds with that a clear majority of the respondents deemed the diegetic frame to be important to them” (Berglind, 2014). Berglind data shows us the importance and effects diegetic framing has on players. When presented with systems that have diegetic frames/motives the player can better connect with their character and were more likely to make in-game choices influenced by those systems.
EXAMPLES:
Hogwarts Legacy (Avalanche Software, 2023) created a talent tree system that invokes diegetic motives from players, enhancing the player-character connection by allowing the player to select what kind of magic they would master to become the witch/wizard they wanted to be.
A big part of this game is bringing up your level stat to receive new talent points. Each talent point will allow the player to choose one category to upgrade their abilities. In Figure 1, you’ll see a screenshot from Hogwarts Legacy showing the Talent Card Spells, Dark Arts, Core, Stealth, and Room of Requirement. Highlighted in yellow, I depicted where I have used all of my acquired talent points. Hogwarts Legacy’s skill tree promotes diegetic motives by allowing the player to choose which category they will excel in. As the player, I selected only “good witch” outcomes based on what I would do as the character in this world.
This fits into the MDA-GFI framework due to how the ultimate goal of Hogwarts Legacy is to finish the game and experience the story. Having a system created to invoke diegetic motives that enhance player-character connection is crucial in finishing and staying engaged in RPGs. Invoking diegetic motives by utilizing their talent tree system to reflect the mechanics the player chose to master for the witch/wizard they wanted to become. This mechanic supports the overall gameplay dynamics of exploration, as the player is more likely to continue playing a game with a character they can connect with. This is why one of the main aesthetics of Hogwarts Legacy is Fantasy. This game requires a ton of exploration from Hogwarts, and Hogsmeade, to unknown territory making the player get a sense of make-believe as if they were that character exploring for the first time in this world. Through this, the player must interpret the meaning behind the choices they make as the character and the world they are in.
In open-world games such as The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller, 2021) it is not always easy to distinguish what you should and should not do as the character. That is because they have a system set-up where the player must experiment, doing certain actions to learn from them, allowing the story to progress.
Figure 2’s screenshot displays stealing an antidote as an example of this occurring. The developers created a system that invokes doom upon the player and their surroundings when they make choices that are against the golden rule. However, throughout this game, the player will be presented with sad stories from other NPCs which they could help. However, sometimes the choices that could help cause your doom. This goes against diegetic motives because instead of choosing what I would do as the character, I am now choosing whatever I know won’t lead to my downfall. This did not make me connect with my character, but instead, put them in the lense of someone else doing these tasks to get through the story.
Looking at the MDA-GFI, having these types of mechanics available to me that could help others, but causing my doom in the process makes them regretful. This is because the system tells me it is wrong, making my motives go based off the system and not my own. This type of game’s intended aesthetic is Narrative. However, due to the system going against diegetic motives, I tend to forget that I the player am a part of the narrative. Instead, I feel like a bystander just doing tasks that I know won’t set off the golden rule. Causing me to feel unattached to my character and uninvolved in the narrative itself, but instead, a narrator that makes things happen based on my choices. This can further frustrate the player as they interpret the actions they would do in their character’s place as something that results in a restart of the game, making it impossible to actually do what you would in their place without inciting doom one everyone.
CONCLUSION:
When players are given systems that invoke diegetic motives, hence allowing them to make choices based on what they would do as that character in the world, immersing themselves in the game and becoming the character they are playing. While systems that don’t prioritize diegetic motives lead to a lack of player-character connection and are less influenced by their choices/motives as the player.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Avalanche Software. Hogwarts Legacy. [PS5, Version 1125348]. Warner Bros. Games, 2023. Played April 2023.
Berglind, J. (2014, October 10). Choices and characters in roleplaying games: How types of choices affect the player/character connection. DIVA. Retrieved April 19, 2023, fromhttps://www.divaportal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A734263&dswid=1341
Modern Storyteller. The Forgotten City. [PC]. Dear Villagers, 2021. Played January 2022.
