As part of the teams research into existing compelling NPC's found within games I've completed a small four page case study on Frank Fontaine, an antagonist found within first person shooter, Bioshock.
"Being a game driven mainly by its narrative, the NPCs found within the world of Rapture are of many different varieties. The most interesting of all perhaps, is Frank Fontaine, a con-man who arrived in the city twelve years before its demise. Fontaine first makes his appearance in Bioshock under the guise of Atlas, a pleading Irishman who contacts Jack as he takes his first step into the city. Speaking to the player via a radio transmission, Atlas explains what has happened to the city and why, informing Jack what he’s lead himself into. Atlas then goes on to mention that his wife Moira and infant son Patrick are lost somewhere in the city, desperately pleading Jack to help him get them to safety."
"Being a game driven mainly by its narrative, the NPCs found within the world of Rapture are of many different varieties. The most interesting of all perhaps, is Frank Fontaine, a con-man who arrived in the city twelve years before its demise. Fontaine first makes his appearance in Bioshock under the guise of Atlas, a pleading Irishman who contacts Jack as he takes his first step into the city. Speaking to the player via a radio transmission, Atlas explains what has happened to the city and why, informing Jack what he’s lead himself into. Atlas then goes on to mention that his wife Moira and infant son Patrick are lost somewhere in the city, desperately pleading Jack to help him get them to safety."
"After studying Fontaine throughout the course of Bioshock, we’ve learnt that you can easily lead and trick the player by creating a convincing character, making them think and act exactly how you want them to. In Bioshock, the fact Atlas appears at the very beginning of the game and educates players on a world they know nothing about automatically lays a level of trust between that character and the player. Then, match this with Atlas’ many convincing traits and the player will perform his every request. The switch between Atlas and Fontaine makes the characters personality far more interesting, especially after seeing how quickly the player warms to him at the beginning of the game. Due to this plot twist found in Bioshock, the Atlas/Fontaine character has become very well known throughout the entire industry."
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