Designing for Science fiction and Fantasy

With the benefit of designing characters for a game that combines both Fantasy and science fiction, I have an opportunity to create designs that attract fans of both genres. This could be as simple as adding some memorabilia triggers in my character designs, e.g. could be a dialogue quote from a famous sci-fi movie or fantasy movie.

Genre mash up:
As it stands when you mention the word fantasy people immediately think of awesome knights concept art with giant monsters/dragons. This from a design perspective already gives a large range of ideas for characters and creatures, but as this is a combination of two genres which needs to be an equal give and take e.g. if characters are influenced by the fantasy genre then the science fiction genre will take over in weapons vehicles or environment. As it stands if I was to focus on designing for the main stream audience then the best option would be to add a combination hobbit like characters or creatures in order to get that fan base attracted to the art style of the game.

My Goal:

With the reaserch I have conducted its clear that character design is a wide and vast pool of knowledge and that the only way to fooly learn errors in design is through trial and error.

Goals:

-I have a maltidude of characters required this week I  will be assembling the list of my character assets required and using the research gathered in terms of what makes a good character design gives me a great starting point of how I should be thinking and the best way to approch these characters.

-Weapon design and 3d models: I also intend on creating the characters weapons as this is a task I feel better left to the character designer as I would have made that character I can ensure that the weapon design fits to my description and make adjustments when parts just dont make sence, as I said in the beggining have to ask ourselves why, and my interpritation of this is even though the game is based on an alien world why are we using magic and fantasy instead of the standard strong scifi influence , and why if it important for my characters to look,move,act,and fight the way I design them as long as I can answer these questions I know my designs are heading down the right direction.

-I also I intend to look into character rigging and animation as well as weapon rigging, even if it not possible to learn or rig that many models in that time a full understanding of each will allow me to design my characters arcodingly, enduring that the rigging process will be smooth will save time in development and if I am able to master the rig and animating section this would also speed up developement, and give us more time to polish game mechanics and character mechanics.

WHAT MAKES GOOD CHARACTERS?? (PART:5)

Weapons:


With a various amount of charcater designs primary weapons are also key to defining the charcaters possbile attitude and how players will view him.

The weapon can aslo play the role of the characters big sword (essentially his key ability against enemies or even a key mechanic that could relate to the story line).

With various weapon designs that seem a bit rediculus for realistic use e.g. cloud final fantasy sword: even though the sword is cleary to large for the character depending on the mechanics of the enviroment the player is in allows for the posibility of strecthing reality, but taking the sword to realistic perspective its too big and too heavy to be practical and even then it would take a character with bigger muscle mass to handle this e.g.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xogheZdAO18&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLUUGFk1wE5OHqeNDwp2q9_ZiPqKlWNc6V  




 With a maltitude of possible examples of insane weapons, with my character designs I gonna use the toy reference method.

-by purchasing childrens toys e.g, nurf rifles, I will be able to create a realistic weapon that I have a real life model as a refences that shape can be altered but if I ensure I follow the mechanics of fire system or blade height and weight , I am positive I will be able to pump out amazing weapon designs and 3d model prints.


Doing this can also allow me to better design the best way the character could run and use  the weapon.y sword:

WHAT MAKES GOOD CHARACTERS?? (PART:4)

-Found a website which gives some pretty sound advice on different charcater crceation methods which is very helpful in creating an Original character:

Types of personality flaws

(These are some of my favourite tips given in character creation, which will benefit me as I aim to create characters based in an entirely different world and environment, which means its key that I create something new or different and something that stands out about my characters building a unique feel to my designs.)

• Sarcastic or cynical. Maybe it's just me, but I'm a sucker for guys who are constantly insulting everyone in a very funny way. Try to decide why the character is sarcastic, though... What makes him moody or bitter in his humour? What happened in his past to make him insult everyone now? Is he afraid of relationships or wary of trust?
• Egocentric. Let the character think she's better than everyone. If other people can do something, she can do it better. She's also much more intelligent than everyone, and, of course, the most beautiful. She's fun to write and fun to read, because you love to hate her.
• Easily fascinated. I just love a character who will stare at balloons forever and delights at a passing butterfly. They're flaky, they're shallow, they're generally useless, but they're so funny to watch. They spout off the randomest pieces of knowledge and don't know when to shut up.
• Fierce or hot-tempered. This one is becoming a bit overdone, but I still enjoy a girl who's more likely to knock you out than allow you to rescue her. If you go for the gender-role-reversal thing, a fierce girl is a lot more fun to write than the usual damsel-in-distress. Hot-tempered guys can be great, too - he may be easily provoked or loses his temper at the mention of his father. But don't overdo it. How many people got really annoyed by Harry's constant angst in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix?
• Mysterious. You have to be careful with this one, but sometimes it's interesting to have a character who you can't predict and who's thoughts and actions you don't understand. It can get annoying, though, if the character knows more than the reader. So be careful.
• Hyperactive or flamboyant. A character that never seems to run out of energy or questions can be amusing. Maybe he has an obsession with trying to get the other characters to dance with him. This is a fun one if you like gender-role-reversals. Guys who are easily excitable and like to give big sloppy kisses don't come along too often, and we love to laugh at their antics.
• Melodramatic. The drama queen (or king). This is a character who exaggerates everything and makes tiny events seem like huge catastrophes. She's fun to write and even more fun to read. This is the character who jumps to conclusions and thinks everything is way funnier than it is.
• The bully. Personally, I like the guy that pushes everyone around. He thinks he's cool, but maybe he's secretly really insecure. A good example would be Sirius Black and James Potter from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.
• The nerd. Okay, so it's fun to have a girl who rattles off physics equations in the middle of battle and tries to predict events based on scientific calculations... espcecially if she's wrong or no-one ever listens to her. Another variation of the nerd is the kid who's rather the swot and always likes to be right.
• Accident prone. She screws things up because she trips over her own feet. She's clumsy. She gets in the way, and she can't be stealthy no matter how hard she tries. She drops things.
• Forgetful or absent-minded. He's sort of dim, gets teased a lot, puts his shoes on the wrong feet. Perhaps he's brilliant but can't remember more than two things at once. He can't remember why he's in the kitchen or where he put his glasses.
• Compulsively lies. She rarely tells the truth. Lies are so much more interesting - and it's not really lying, it's just a form of acting. She may give her companions wrong directions and after awhile they may not trust her very much. Useful if you like the boy-who-cried-wolf type of story, where she doesn't tell the truth until it really matters, and then no-one believes her.
• Awkward. He's nervous and a little paranoid and doesn't know what to do with himself when a girl is in the vicinity. He may trip over his own tongue or be fearful of revealing anything about himself.
• A hypochondriac. She's convinced she's dying. A splinter becomes life-threatening, and she cannot travel if she has bruised her knee. Occasionally she crashes into hard surfaces 'on accident' and sustains grievous injuries. She always thinks she's ill or coming down with something contagious.
• A kleptomaniac. He compulsively steals things. His companions don't understand why their shoestrings and coins seem to disappear. Most of the time, he doesn't, either.
• A pyromaniac. It doesn't get much better than a fire-obsessed girl who likes to experiment. Whoever knew that the hero's boots burn such a strange shade of blue? Or that unicorn hair won't burn unless you douse it in beer?
• Anything that ends in -iac. Noticing a theme, aren't we?

WHAT MAKES GOOD CHARACTERS?? (PART:3)

Character designs (clothing/Armour)

Why the complex clothing on charcaters.?
-put it simply why is it most popular game characters seem to have high detailed armour and variations in size, e.g big and bulky.

- Don't get me wrong they all look amazing but the main reason I am questioning this is  mobility of the characters, for example if we take a look at one of the most popular games out there right now "Assassins Creed". The character design behind this I find to be more sensible although there are arguebly a few changes that could be made to the character clothing, the charcater during the gameplay is designed to be extremly agile e.g: fast movements, free running ability to leap across building, and the ability to blend in when required.

Even though the game mechanics are fantastic behind the character the clothing adds issues with the mechanics.
-for starters charcater has a big cloak which helps hime hide in crowd but during running and building leaps the cloak is still there no matter how much training an individual recieves you will trip over that cloak simple solution would be a  backpack or folding system for the cloak. (I fill this should have been a responsebilty of the charcater designer)
-The colour palets for the charcater, besides looking awesome I fill this is heavily impacting the blend mechanic they have to hide from gaurds, white, brown, blue, and red, who wouldn't notice someone wearing these in the middle of brown cloaked monks. Fair enough players can change the colours of the clothes but I feel there was room to add a mechanic there (if you choose to wear colourful clothing that makes you stand out then hiding in crowds isn't an option for you.)

It seems more or less that in characters development the need to make the charcater stand out more takes over more that the actuall necessity of the assets he has. This is a major downside even though correct these issues would improve the look of the characters and aspects of the game play it seems a nessecary sacrifice in order to make the game functional this could have been a fault the character designer having to work with a brief of whats needed on the character and what he/she cannot do to alter the character, a way of fixing this is to make more character designers who start with mechanics and focus their way up and teams talking and judging the charcaters and asking why they need certain assets.

-judging from this it seems best that if your designing a soilder to go with the standerd soilder look and feel with your own added designed to it but if your characters required certain abilites of movement skills his armour or clothing reflects that, a simple mechanic of adding and removing armour during gameplay would be a cool way of informing the player of what he/she character can do when put a situation that they have more or less armour.

 Hollywood character design:
- The best area of character design is hollywood in my opinion. This is based on the fact that all their assets in terms of armour and clothing are created for actors to wear if something is too big or too heavy its scraped as its not realistic enough, not ammount of futuristic or medevil armour can break the simple law that if an actual person cant walk or move in it why would it be the best armour for battle. The main reason they have this advantage over games is that the assets are made to add a sense of realism to what otherwise would be a digitally created world, popular cities are used in movies to add that sense of emerssion in the cinema so people can imagine and see what would happen if Gozilla really did run through Manhattan.
An example of this is the armour seen in "Pacific rim" created for actors with a combination of prop and 3d creation a pefect armoured suit was created, e.g.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qBfMPFmmm4

If this process what combined in games I think a new level of characters would emerge ones players would be able to easily accept and belive in their capability of movement.

WHAT MAKES GOOD CHARACTERS?? (PART:2)

Well with the good and evil base research established this is a great starting point but not good enough for me to even begin creating the type of characters I want for the game.

Step 1 : find a distinction between the good and evil characters. (done)

Step 2: What  makes for a great leading character??


What  makes for a great leading character:




Anyone who likes a good story will tell you that what drives them to read on is wanting to know what happens to that central character. They want to follow this person’s journey from the first page until its final conclusion. And in order to make the reader want to remain loyal to this person, they need someone who is compelling, who is charismatic and more importantly, they want someone who is filled with intrigue and personality. Not just a plain persona made out of the heroic mold. They want someone who they can relate to, someone perhaps they can see themselves as being.

We can see this in some of literature’s greatest protagonists; Odysseus, who longs to return to his family and kingdom; Frodo Baggins, who desires to spare his homelands from the ravages of war; Harry Potter, who must face a destiny that is beyond his control.


Even with this basis  the hollywood way isn't enough anymore, being taken on adventure through game and film can be in many forms, I fill as with my character designs and character mechanics I could push for a new type of hero.

(Would people enjoy a game in which what they precieved as the main charcaters are just the same as any ordinaryu soilder, that is just a story told through their eyes or through someone elses eye who witnessed the characters efforts???)

Essentials:
-Great/Interesting personality

-One hell of a back story (pretty much to establish the bad ass in them)

- enemy (this is a tricky part the best possible enemy could be themselves or their sociaty, relating to mordern day society e.g. political/economic issues,  what does that mean to put it simply theres a superman comic where he fights hitler : http://comicsalliance.com/inglourious-basterd-the-history-of-hitler-in-comics/)

 

 The message sent by my charcaters doesn't need to be as on the nose as DC but pretty darn close, whats the point in creating characters if they just look good but represent nothing that where comic books have it right sounds a hell of a lot like I'm being preachy but as a child growing up with comics you always want to be like your hero.

-Now back to the point I'm trying to say no matter what mechanics I add to my characters, why they fight their back story whilst standing for something that is based on morden day issues which people face everyday, this will allow the character to become more of an icon.

WHAT MAKES GOOD CHARACTERS?? (PART:1)

-Bringing my work back to basics and focusing on the simple requirements for a good character

Brand recognition: this could essentially mean wether he/she is recognisable as a good or bad character.

As far as tatcking back to basics on the characters it is clear that my characters need to be recognisable as good and evil characters:

-By ensuring my charcaters are easily recognisable I can start experimenting more and more with their design till I find what I like as my base colour for my enemy charcaters.

An example of great brand recognition is the power rangers saga:

Establishiong this will as my root base of design will allow me to ensure that even if I design a dark  character as my hero he/she is still regocognised as the hero: e.g: Darksider Death character

With all of this in mind my basis for the recognition of my charcaters will be simplfied to two colours blue for the light/good guys, and red for the dark/bad guys.

-This allows me to be able to change my main characters armour as long as they maintaine that blue essence in some form  throughout the game.

-This still doesn't answer the question of what makes good character designs?, its a partial answer that I'm sure will reveal answers as I progress through the game.

WHY?

Well good start to the MA with the simple question why?

Even though I intend to make characters for a fully functioning game through my MA, the question of why will evovle my project in a way I actually have no idea how.

Put is simply why is why?????? why is that design the best, what purpose and so on......

I've started coming up with question I know I need an answer to in order to make my character designs and models meaningful and unquie to most games , but these are just the beggining of the questions.

Lesson of the day :WHY?

Hi everyone well to cut things short my name is Sean Gore and I'm a 3D artist within the gaming industry. I've recently started my MA in Games Design at the University of Central Lancashire and this blog will allow me to document my development as I progress throughout the months.


I have recently finished my BA (honors) in Game Design, I have focused my talents on character design and 3D modelling, With my MA I will be working on my first game title as an indie developer focusing on the character art of the entire game.

Through the course of my MA i will be exploring the different styles of character development and with the help of my tutor: Josh Taylor, By the end of the game project I will hopefully have created some pretty awesome characters.