A Methodology for Incorporating Personality Modeling in Believable Game Characters

Strong human personality models exist but are not easy implemented within current gaming systems. The main stumbling block to utilizing classical personality models to drive real time game characters is a hierarchy, standards-based methodology that ties low level 3D movements to semantic gestures, through to emotion and time based personality sequences. Personality is the combination of qualities and traits that makes us unique. Good game character personality models allow for more natural and believable non player character scenarios hence increasing player engagement. In this paper we overview our multidimensional hierarchical approach to modeling known human personality systems into a customizable and parameterized facial character system. We describe well established psychological personality models and detail our XML based facial animation language for scripting such systems.