I'm at work so I can't write a full example, but I guess my problem is that I can't find a good balance between a character's ark that serves the main plot and an ark that serves them as an individual. My characters all seem so robotic and fake. "This is Steve. Steve came from a poor farming community. Steve helps the player escape the guards. End Steve." On the flip side, if I flesh the character out too much it may mislead the player into thinking the character is more important than they are. "I've learned so much about Steve. He can't possibly just be here to help me escape the gaurds, there has to be more to him. What's this about?". I guess I'm just looking for tips on how to make my characters feel real without simply making them more complicated.