Far Cry 3's lead writer, Jeffrey Yohalem, informed a GDC panel last week that he wishes to see method acting brought to videogames Polygon reports.
Yohalem told attendees that be believes games are the latest and most evolved form of performance. He said players embody characters in games but unlike movies or theatre games place players in the shoes of characters, rather than simply their clothes.
This grants gamers agency.
The writer went on to describe his approach to narrative development and commented that method acting allows for an understanding of a character's psychological motivations and gives people the ability to more easily connect the character's experiences to their own.
Gordon Freeman's work activities in Half-Life or the death of Bruce Wayne's parents in the Batman comics are relatable and profoundly human experiences which allow people to connect to these characters in a way they might otherwise be unable to.
"The protagonist's role must be made second-nature," says Yohalem. "The player must have one consistent super objective within the first thrity minutes of the game." he added.
This allows gamers to find a clear motivation to carry on. Often games rely on external factors such as the pursuit of revenge or the discovery of an ancient relic. Yohalem would prefer if a character's central motivation was more personal, the pursuit of love or courage for instance.
