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Creating Overall Characters

The Dramatica software allows for the creation and development of both Archetypal and Complex
characters. For simplicity's sake, we'll focus on archetypal characters only. Later you may decide to
develop your characters beyond the archetypal mold, but we'll begin with these simple characters.

The advantage of using archetypes for characters is that they are instantly recognizable by an
audience. As a result, much less time needs to be spent on developing them.

(NOTE: If you are working with a Dramatica structure template, the eight archetypes already have
been created for you. Also note that the Main Character has been assigned the archetype of
Protagonist, a combination that makes that character function as a typical hero. The archetype
assigned to the Impact Character may vary depending on which template you are using. You may
want to change it if it doesn't seem to fit the story you have in mind, swapping its archetype with that
of another lesser character.)

If you create more characters, some will be temporarily left without a dramatic function in your story.
But don't worry -- later you can reassign dramatic functions to give those characters dramatic
purpose also.

Dramatica's eight archetypal characters are best understood when presented in four pairs:

PROTAGONIST and ANTAGONIST

The Protagonist is the prime mover of the Overall Story--the one seeking the goal. Through mental
effort, he Considers the Overall Story Goal, and influences others to also consider it. Using
physical effort, he leads the charge towards the Overall Story Goal, and rallies others to follow him in
his physical Pursuit.

The Antagonist is directly opposed to the Protagonist and seeks to prevent the Protagonist from
achieving the goal. Through mental effort, the Antagonist gets others to Reconsider their attempts
to attain the Overall Story Goal. Using phsyical effort, the Antagonist tries to Prevent or Avoidance
the Overall Story Goal from being achieved.

GUARDIAN and CONTAGONIST

The Guardian is the helper/teacher who provides a sense of conscience in the Overall Story.
Through mental effort, her strong sense of Conscience influences the conscience of others in the
Overall Story. Using physical effort, the Guardian supplies Help to the efforts to achieve the Overall
Story Goal.

The Contagonist distracts the protagonist from his quest for Overall Story Goal. Through mental
efforts, the Contagonist provides the Temptation to lead the Protagonist off the proper path. Using
physical effort, he Hinders the efforts of the Protagonist.

A note of difference between Antagonist and Contagonist: Whereas the Antagonist clearly wants to
defeat the Protagonist, the Contagonist is concerned with misleading him, usually with trickery.

REASON and EMOTION

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The Reason character provides the logical perspective in the Overall Story. Through mental effort,
she's motivated by Logic. Using physical effort, this character represents Control.

Contrasting the Reason character, the Emotion character expresses feelings in an agitated manner.
Through mental effort, he most represents Feeling in the Overall Story. Using physical effort, the
Emotion character is Uncontrolled.

SIDEKICK and SKEPTIC

The Sidekick is the faithful supporter. Through mental effort, the Sidekick represents Faith in the
Overall Story. Using physical effort, this character is the chreerleader for the Overall Story, lending
his Support towards the Goal.

Conversely, there's the Skeptic, or naysayer. Through mental effort, the Skeptic represents
Disbelief in the Overall Story. Using physical effort, she will Oppose all endeavors in the Overall
Story.

Keep in mind that these are archetypes. Many other characters can be created simply by swapping
around some of their characteristic traits.

Example: Archetypes in Star Wars

The Protagonist: Luke Skywalker
Luke is the Protagonist, doing whatever it takes to get the plans to the Rebels and destroy the Death
Star.

The Antagonist: The Empire (Gran Mof Tarkin)

The Empire is the force of evil in the galaxy, diametrically opposed to the story's goal of destroying
the Death Star.

The Sidekick: R2D2 and C3PO

C3P0 & R2D2 jointly fulfill the role of Sidekick, forever faithful to whomever they are assigned.

The Skeptic: Han Solo

Han Solo is the Skeptic, arguing his disbelief in the Force, and his opposition to just about every
course of action.

The Reason Character: Princess Leia

Princess Leia is Reason, coldly calculating in her role of bringing down the Empire, calm-headed and
the real planner of the group.

The Emotion Character: Chewbacca

Chewie is the Emotion Character, who responds frequently with little or no thought and acts solely on
the basis of his feelings.

The Guardian: Obi Wan Kenobi

Obi Wan Kenobi is the Guardian, protecting Luke and company and providing "moral" guidance.

The Contagonist: Darth Vader

Darth Vader is the Contagonist, representing the temptation of the "Dark side of the Force" and
hindering the efforts to protect the Rebellion from the Death Star at every turn.

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To see (and perhaps later, change) the characteristics assigned to your Archetypal characters, you
need to go to the Build Characters window.

BUILD CHARACTERS WINDOW

To get to the Build Characters window, you will need to exit from the StoryGuide path by closing this
window. You should then have the Dramatica Desktop on your screen. Select the tile marked
"Characters." This will take you to a new window with several options.

On the left side of your screen will be several tiles, each of which opens a different character
development tool. On the right hand side of your screen is an icon for each of the characters you
have already created with the appropriate name attached for identification.

To get a better feel for your characters, you may first want to give each a face. To do this, select the
"Casting" tile from the list on the left.

How to use the Casting Window:

On the left side of the screen is a scrolling list of your characters. On the right are several scrolling
lists of character images. To give a character an image, simply click on the character you want to
work with on the left, then scroll through the images until you find the one you want to associate with
that character. Click on the image and it will replace the current character image on the left and
everywhere else that character's icon shows up. You can do this for all of your characters, and you
can change a character's icon as many times as you like.

Once you have chosen an image for each character, close the Casting Window and return to the
Characters Window. All of your characters should have the new images you assigned.

Now let's go to the Build Characters window and see which characteristics have been assigned to our
Archetypal characters. Don't swap the characteristics between character icons, unless you want to
turn the Archetypal characters into more complicated Complex characters!

From the Characters Window click on the "Build Characters" tile. This will take you to a new window
with your characters on the left, a grid of character elements in the middle, and a graphic
representation of character relationships on the right. You will also notice a grid of push buttons
marked "Purpose," "Evaluation," "Motivation," and "Methodology." There is also a pull down menu
marked "Character Type" We'll explain how to use each of these areas.

The Character Element Grid

To assign specific functions (characteristics) to a character, simply select that character's icon, drag it
to the element you wish to assign, and drop the character's icon on that element. The character's
icon will now "stick" to that element, which is now associated with that Character.

For example, we might drag our character named John to the element "Faith" to indicate that John
represents the quality of "Faith" in our story. This means that whenever the subject of Faith comes
up, it will most often be by or in regard to John. Please note that John doesn't have to be the only
person who deals with issues of faith or who has faith, but simply that in regard to the story's central
issue, John will represent how well "Faith" fares in resolving that issue.

You can assign as many or as few elements to a character as you like, but each element can only
be assigned to a single character. Otherwise, it would be confusing to an audience as to which
character they should be using to evaluate how well that element fares in the story and the
message would be diluted.

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Although you can assign but a single element to a character if you like, the end result would be a
rather shallow personality.

Finally, by highlighting a character's icon that has been assigned to the grid, you can see a basic
description of that character's dramatic relationship with other characters in the grid, visible on the
right side of your screen. A character should NOT have a relationship with himself or the dramatic
functions will become obscured. As a result, you should not assign a character to more than one
element in any group of four.

HOW TO USE CHARACTERISTICS

Characteristics that you assign to your characters by designating them Archetypes (or by making
them more Complex) are listed along with your characters' attributes--such as Description, Activities,
etc.--in Dramatica's character reports. They show up in there to remind you of the function in the
story that you have given that character. As an example, if in the story you need to throw doubt on
the Protagonist's likelihood of achieving the story goal, give dialog or actions to the Skeptic
character that display Disbelief or Opposition.

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