Beyond Cutouts

Miranda Verswijvelen explores designing compelling characters.

It’s 10 am on a Tuesday morning. Raised voices can be heard from the meeting room. “That is not how Sunil became a chef!”, a voice exclaims. “Cooking is his way to show his heritage. He learned watching his grandma and wants to start a little, authentic restaurant!” “No way. That’s not him at all.” another voice counters. “Sunil went to culinary school, and his big dream is to go to Paris and work in a Michelin restaurant.”

Two people discussing an acquaintance? Actually, that was me and a colleague learning designer arguing about a character in a scenario-based course. Whose design finally was brought to life doesn’t matter, but the argument (which we both lovingly remember!) showed that we cared deeply about the inner workings of the characters we were designing for learning.

Characters are at the heart of any well-designed story. Designing them is so much more than slapping together a name and a backstory; it’s a careful balance of psychology, storytelling and alignment with the learning goals.

When learners emotionally invest in characters, they’re more likely to engage with the content. They are interested in what characters do and say, and care about the choices they make for them in the interactive story.

So, how do we design characters that learners will care about?

Characters have wants, actions and traits

The imaginary world of your story is populated by a hierarchy of characters. Let’s start with an exploration of the elements we need to determine for each character. Top of the hierarchy is the protagonist, who is most likely the learner’s avatar in the story, so creating a connection between them is critical.

The protagonist

We need three crucial elements to make a strong protagonist:

• Their need or goal: what is their primary motivation, what is the “why” behind their actions? Do not confuse this with the learning goal. Nobody’s goal is to go forth and apply a company policy. Their goal is to accomplish a task, have a conversation about a topic, help someone etc.

• Their actions: how do they pursue their goal? The actions of a character should align with the plot, inherently led by their goal and their flow of decisions.

• Characterisation: what are their defining traits? Do not confuse traits with facts. Ages, shoe sizes and job titles do not make an interesting character. Are they impulsive or thoughtful, trusting or suspicious, assertive or passive?

The key to each of these elements is emotion. Characters who face relatable challenges, linked to universal human emotions like fear of something new, lack of confidence, overconfidence, being overwhelmed, or maintaining a friendship, resonate deeply.

Overloading the learner with detailed backstory when introducing a character is a common mistake. It is less essential than we think. While it makes sense to align our protagonist’s backstory with the envisaged learner, research shows that players identify more with a situation and the emotional turmoil a character experiences, than with them being a close replica of themselves. Instead, focus on conveying a “why”, an emotional driver, a situation and allow the learner to fill in details with their imagination. Add a layer of complexity, like conflicting desires or goals between characters, and you’ve got a recipe for drama that drives both engagement and learning outcomes.

As an example, here’s a quite typical introduction to a health and safety course, where we introduce a protagonist who is going to encounter safety hazards in the course of the action:

Laura has worked as a nurse at Starburst Hospital for five years. She is on the early shift today, but she is running late. There was so much traffic on the Southern motorway today and her little boy, Jamie, who is 4, decided to protest against the clothes she laid out for him! Definitely no time for a coffee before her shift starts. She speeds to the ward.

Ask yourself: “What is actually happening here? What is Laura trying to achieve, and what are her challenges? How do we help the learner build rapport with the nurse in their workplace context, but mainly convey an emotional atmosphere?”

In essence, this paragraph says:

“Our protagonist is a nurse, late for work, in a hurry due to traffic and domestic challenges”. Let’s rewrite this, making Laura’s lateness a personal effusion and using a strong dialogue-like expression that makes her talk to the reader.

“There goes my morning coffee,” Laura sighs as she rushes to the ward, late for her shift. “Ugh! Crazy traffic, and a non-cooperative child. What a morning.”

By using subtext and linking the character emotionally through dialogue, we infer things rather than explicitly stating them. We have indeed written less to convey more. We connect through emotions: Laura is flustered, still a bit upset, panicking because she is late and exasperated because she really needed that coffee. Now, when Laura unexpectedly encounters a spilled drink in the corridor (there’s the hazard, it’s a health and safety course!), these emotions may influence Laura and the learner’s decision to either stop and clean up or move on as her colleagues are waiting for handover.

Elements in backstory and traits that really matter for the story need to be released slowly: through flashbacks, dialogue, or actions. This gradual discovery keeps learners intrigued and invested. In case the story about the discussion between my colleague and myself did not make this clear, it is ok, even highly recommended to know much, much more about your protagonist than you will ever reveal in the story.

The antagonist: visible, invisible or friendly?

A second important character in your story is an antagonist. They can be visible or invisible – who is out to challenge the protagonist, thwart their plans or mislead them? For example, in a cybersecurity course, your antagonist is invisible – we rarely know who is sending out phishing emails, right? As a designer, we do need to imagine them though, to infuse the story with relevance and reality: what does the antagonist want, what are their actions?

Building character believability

Learners want meaningful connections with characters, whether it’s the protagonist they embody or the NPCs that populate the world. A believable character feels autonomous - consistent in behaviour yet capable of occasional surprises – just like real humans. They need to react dynamically to the learner’s actions (choices), enhancing both realism and engagement.

Another aspect of believability is consistency in a character’s behaviour and dialogue, with occasional deviations such as an unexpected behaviour or reaction to emphasise pivotal moments in the story. It’s a precarious balance: if the level of unpredictability is too low, the learner may become bored; if the level is too high, the difficulty of the interaction may alienate them. That is where the careful writing of choices comes in.

Choices are part of character design

The protagonist – played by the learner – makes choices in the story. These choices are intrinsically linked to the character design. What the learners choose matters, but which choices they are offered matters more. Choices need to align with the character design and push believability: are they actions that align with their goal? What do the options for the learner tell them about the character: what are they capable of, what can they think and do?

Let’s return to Laura. When she encounters the spill, is she someone who thinks fast on her feet when agitated? Can we provide three options that align with who she is? Is she capable of not caring about people slipping, and just running on? The believability of the options build Laura’s character believability. This will require you to move away from straight-up multiple-choice questions that simply convey easy wrong or right. You need to present viable options that do not include simply ignoring the hazard, but still plausible reactions for Laura: e.g. she may look around for someone else to alert, do a quick swipe with her foot to remove the worst of the liquid, or grab her phone to call reception while running. If you want to learn more, my article in Dirtyword issue 5 explores the intricacies of choice design.

Conclusion

Designing characters for scenario-based eLearning is an art and a science. By focusing on emotional depth, relatability, and a balance of consistency and surprise, you can create characters that learners not only engage with but also remember after the learning ends, linking real-life behaviour to the story they played.

Looking for more story-based learning design advice, or support with interactive story design and writing?

Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com /in/miranda-verswijvelen/