DB

“What’s that one concrete goal that motivates all your actions?”

One of the gifts of the Internet that keep on giving is Starkid’s musical, The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals. Among one of its many musical numbers is a number called What Do You Want Paul, where Paul’s boss interrogates him on behalf of the audience to find out what Paul’s motivation is. It’s…very meta, and very forward, and just a little terrifying. It’s worth its own watch, so check it out!

I recently participated in an acting workshop because that’s something that a responsible improviser/actor/performer should do, right? I started taking acting and improv classes to become a better performer for my games, and while I have learned that I really don’t like doing scripted theater for more than a few performances, I did learn that I enjoy acting! And improv! With that being said though, acting is…hard. There’s a lot of nuance and juggling to get closer and closer to the cove of honesty that intersects between what is true for myself and what is true for the character.

One of those things to carry into a scene, and with your character, are wants. What does the character want, and how does that inform their actions? How does it affect their tone of voice? How urgent is the want, and what’s their relationship with the person that they’re trying to get it from? By better understanding what your character wants, you can act accordingly to the character.

I would say–that’s it, but it’s not!

There are a few layers of wants, which was briefly touched upon in the workshop. There can be deep wants, or wants that have to be resolved over a whole, longer, character arc. Maybe your character wants to stop being compared to their father. That’s not something you can typically solve in a single session, or an episode. But, it is something that can inform your actions in a subtle way.

And for a scene, sometimes there are more immediate wants. What does your character want right now? If they realllly have to pee, then they may be brash and short with a person who’s trying to hold them up from trying to pee. Or well, give that same urgency of needing to pee to anyone who wants–who needs–to be somewhere else right now. Sometimes it’s something from the character that you’re playing opposite in the scene, or your character wants an obstacle to resolve a certain way.

Maybe there are two people having an argument in a scene where you’re more of background character–let’s say that these two characters are your character’s friends. Let’s give them names: Jack and Jill. We have a classic love triangle situation, and your character is interested in Jack, and they’re arguing with Jill. Jack’s gonna push Jill down the hill, even though they had seemed like they were going steady for a while!

Depending on your character’s values, personality, and temperament, they may want to try to settle the argument. Is this sort of fighting productive between friends? Maybe, your character might want the fight to run its course. It’s not your business. Or…maybe that fight can get you a chance with Jack.

Although the scene is the same, an argument between Jack and Jill, your character’s actions and the way that they carry themselves will be different based on their wants, and the outcome that they may want in the scene (which is sometimes based on those deeper wants).

Anyway, that’s it. Keep your wants at the front of your mind, even when making NPCs! They definitely help me in creating and living in NPCs in a way that makes them feel more alive. Happy gaming!