Whether it is animation, VFX, or immersive media… character development in storytelling is tough to get right. It can seem like an impossible task to produce engaging characters that your audience/players can emotionally connect to (identification). No matter what genre you prefer, fantasy, medieval, comedy, drama... the characters must be complex, knowable, and feel real. The characters must be capable of change (i.e., Arc). But where do you start? To flesh out characters, you begin with their motivations, backstories (influences from their history), psychology, and external relationships. Next, it is essential to differentiate their wants, goals, and needs. This session examines character conflict (e.g., internal, external, environmental), causality, and how difficult choices define a character. What is at stake? (i.e., survival, safety, love, esteem, etc.) What drives a character? Fear? Determination? Once you know your characters, you can create character-driven stories/experiences so your audience will care about what your characters are going through.