Close examination of two sets of computer-based characters and analysis of the ways in which those characters evoke strong, affective responses in their "readers' leads this researcher to speculate that many other computer-based stories are missing an opportunity to accommodate the purposes of individual readers. This researcher posits that University of Washington's HIT-Lab project, "SpiderWorld", and Carnegie Mellon University's Oz Project's "Woggles' provide two excellent models for how computer-based characters might better accommodate their "readers' and offer absorbing narratives.