Put an arc on it!

I’m a bit obsessed with giving every character some kind of arc. 

There are a lot of reasons why I feel this is good craft, and I doubt this in itself is controversial to anyone…

But I’m not just talking about the protagonist, the antagonist, and their respective number twos. When I say “every character,” I mean every character.

Here’s an example, and why I think it’s valuable.

Recently, Haus of Park invited me to write for their Movie Palace Online ARG in support of Don’t Nod’s latest release, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, and oh boy did I get to cook.

One of my assignments was to pen the titular proto-movie streaming service’s weekly newsletters. The main purposes here were to move the story forward, and to create some immersion in this alternate-reality Hollywood of 1995. I decided that a Hollywood gossip column written under the persona of a feisty mouse. 

Nobody would have faulted me for using it as a venue to churn out some cheese- and rodent-related puns–which I did, believe me–but, like, I said I want every character to have an arc. So even the gossip columnist got to have an Icarus arc.

Check out the slideshow to read it!

So, what’s the point of this? Here are a few reasons I do it:

• It makes the world feel lived in. Nothing breaks immersion quicker for me than NPCs who feel like their lives revolve around the protagonist.

• It supports thematic resonance. Minor arcs can echo, contrast, or subvert the themes of the main story to help reinforce the “big ideas” in subtle ways.

• It adds texture and tonal variety. Adding tonal counterpoint sharpens your overall tone.

• It gives depth without needing scale. You don’t need epic plotlines, just a tiny revelation or change can do it. What do a few extra sentences cost?

• It makes the experience stickier. Fans might just latch on to these characters and their journeys, especially in an ARG or transmedia context. We saw exactly this happen in Unknown 9: Chapters, leading us to make the character part of the larger universe.

• It lets form and medium shape the story. When the form and content match, these stories feel authentic and immersive. Consider how a small arc told through a 90s gossip column feels different than one told through, say, a pub’s daily special menu or a conspiracy blog–two other sites where I inserted mini-arcs in this ARG! 

So that’s why I think that even “throwaway NPCs” deserve a designer's respect. 

What do you think? Am I just over the top?