http://www.gamespy.com/articles/596/596223p1.html?fromint=1 According to this articleory, empathy and characters are at the heart of a good story. Gosh!, and I alwayz thought that Big Guns and explosions were at the heart of stories. sarcasm. How can we increase empathy with characters? Make more sympathetic and empathetic characters? Characters that you want to help? Can we put empathy with characters as an important element of the player's goals. Ie. What they are doing, and why they are doing it? How can we have characters that people care about, and aren't just signposts to the next quest? [Edited by - Ketchaval on April 15, 2005 12:53:03 PM]

We empathize with characters because we identify with them, i.e. we see some aspects of ourselves in them. A good character is more than a weapons platform. He (or she) has flaws. He may be tempted to do the easy thing instead of the right thing. He believes in something and will make sacrifices for that something. He behaves consistently from one situation to the next, unless he passes through some crisis that changes his priorities. He's an ordinary person in an extraordinary position. In short, he's a lot like you and me. If you can imagine what you would say and do in your character's place, you're most of the way there.

It's a difficult question. My quess is that it takes a lot more effort to create a world with emphatic, caring beings, than creating 'just' another shooter.

I think that what would help make a character "empathetic" is just frequent repetition, as well as what light he is shown in. In FF6j, There are two characters who you run into often--General Leo, and a power-hungry magician (I think) named Kefka. Leo is portrayed as honorable and righteous, while Kefka is a cruel bufoon that will stop at nothing to attain his goals.
[!!!SPOILER WARNING!!!]
About halfway through the game, you get to play as Leo (where he is shown to be an awesomely powerful character) for exactly one battle (against Kefka). He is then killed by Kefka. Even though Leo was only on your side for a very short time, you still felt attached to him (I even recall going through the fives stages of grief with this guy. Yes, I know it's sad).
[!!!END SPOILER WARNING!!!]

SO, in essence, I think it has a lot to do with how the character is presented. Remeber Darla in Finding Nemo? You only see her at the end of the movie, but the buildup to that point is intense. Whenever anything bad happens in the fish tank, Darla's picture is in the background, the glass covering the picture is cracked early on, and she looks like she's crying.

So, yeah. My two cents.

Hopes and dreams and mortality:

Could it be that characters talking about their hopes and dreams and views on life would make them seem more real, and bring their concerns to life.

Ie. When you are camped round the campfire, you talk about what you hope life will be like in the future, or your plans for opening a shop. Likewise, I don't think that enough characters openly consider the risks they are taking - ie. why it is worth risking their life for?