Character improvement

"It must be asked whether it is necessary for characters to improve during play; the answer is that this is never necessary. . . . The more significant question is, in what sense can the character advance?

In discussing character generation, it was recognized that the character was a tool which the player used to achieve goals. Improving a character means making it into a better tool. Thus if a starting character in a gamist game is a rubber mallet, improvement might take it through stages of being a tack hammer, claw hammer, ball peen hammer, sledge hammer, jack hammer, and ultimately pile driver. That is, the character gets more effective at meeting the challenge, because it is a tool designed to meet challenges.

If we consider the function of the narrativist character, we find that it exists to enable the player to address the theme, and as such it has to be tied in to the issues of play. Improving the character means connecting it more deeply or in new ways with the theme. It can mean deeper commitments, stronger relationships, more determined moral positions; it could also mean greater conflicts, increased doubts, more personal connections."

--M. Joseph Young, from "Applied Theory"