Week 4 – Second Concept – Character Designs Pt 2:

Taking into account the findings of my research, I began the actual designs of the characters to appear within the game, starting with the players character, the girl. Though we may not necessarily see much of the character due to the 1st person perspective of the game, I feel it wise to have a definite design in place in case a situation should arise in which the player can see themselves in a mirror or a cut scene.

Opening concept sketches of main character

To create the feeling of cuteness in the character, I applied some of the ideas I had found in my research, namely the slight over sizing of the head and eyes to emphasise those areas. Giving her long hair and a summer dress both served dual purposes; both emphasised the idea of the character being female by following traditional stereotypes, but both also provided opportunities for large areas of colour. My making her dress blue, the character will fit in with the opening environment of blue buildings, yet her hair allows her to remain distinct at the same time. I have made the hair a-symmetrical (whereas other character’s will have symmetrical hair) for the same reason. A final decision was to give the character opaque tights to avoid problems with having the skirt flailing about.

Coloured concept sketch of main character

In this concept, the girl will have the teddy from the beginning, carried in one hand in most situations. Teddies have traditionally been seen as a symbol of innocence, which was my reason for its inclusion in the earlier concept, so her having it will hopefully enhance the idea of her being an innocent character. The concept of her connection to the teddy, and how it may help her persevere in the situation (by hugging it or even talking to it) is also an interesting idea, and I may include moments in the game where the teddy is used in game mechanics.

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For the Extremists themselves, I originally planned to have a similar human form, but use hard angles and straight lines as opposed to soft, curved elements. I then had the idea of designing them to look like robots, with blocky bodies and clunky, mechanical movements. This would represent the idea of the extremist party brainwashing them with propaganda until they become a mindless pawn of the group.

Some of the references collected during research into media examples of human-shaped robots.

The colour schemes of characters will coincide with the ‘blue v red’ concept I devised earlier; so while the player and friendly characters (if I decide to put any in) will be mostly blue in colour scheme (their skin and hair will be normal, but clothes will be blue), the extremist characters will be completely red.

Opening Concept sketch for design of Extremist characters. All of them will use an identical model, so represent the concept of their individuality being lost when they joined the group; now they are all the same brainwashed minds.