Gaming Industry Essay - Character Design
Character design is used in many forms of media, fiction and storytelling today. It is used to plan and
show how a particular medium will demonstrate what kind of likes, dislikes, goals and overall
personality a fictional character has. Character design can also be used when trying to create caricatures
from real-life people. One of the biggest things character deign is used for is the computer game
industry. Mostly character design is used to tell stories, with more detailed characters providing more
interesting stories. Character design is like the visual version of the common technique used in writing
literature and text, 'show don't tell'. This means that when writing, it is better to describe what
something is, rather than just saying what that something is. Character design provides a more literal
take on this concept through attention to small details used to create traits that 'show' what a character
is like. The need for character design in the graphics industry has arisen due to people's desire to
entertain and grab others attention. but how does one go about when creating a character in topics
such a gaming, and what is a good exsample?
Character design is used in almost all of today's visual media. It is used in many things such as movies,
television programs, advertising and video games. When the final product is viewed by the audience,
character design can look like a simple process. For example the characters from well known television
show 'South Park' look like simple cut out paper circles. From a character designers view however, a lot
more work would go into their design and production than one may first assume. In fact, there are
many examples of seemingly simplistic popular characters that are actually designed the way they are
intentionally to achieve a specific purpose. For example, Mickey Mouse is drawn with four fingers to
make him easier to animate. Finn and Jake from the cartoon 'Adventure time' are shown as a boy and
his dog to help viewers remember their childhood and see themselves as the characters. Woody from
'toy story' is modeled with a cowboy hat, and boots to emphasize the cowboy stereotype the audience
is familiar with. 'The Simpsons' is another good example. 'The Simpsons' look like a series of simple
bright colors, except, the bright yellow skin color, is done very intentionally. When The BBC interviewed
creator of 'The Simpsons' Matt Groening, he stated:
"they're yellow because when it was time to pick the color for the cartoon I didn't want the conventional
cartoon colors.
An animator came up with the Simpsons' yellow and as soon as she showed it to me I said: 'This is the
answer!' because when you're flicking through channels with your remote control, and a flash of yellow
goes by, you'll know you're watching The Simpsons."
The process put into creating these characters, as well as other good characters is a long delicate one.
Many things need to be thought about to make sure characters are rememberable. The first step to
character design is brainstorming and just coming up with a good base idea. There are a few smaller
steps that fall under the brainstorming. One of these is thinking about who the character is aimed at. If
your going to aim your character at children you want the character to mainly be not frightening. Bright
colors are mostly used when creating characters for kids because this demonstrates fun and playfulness.
Darker and more neutral plain colors are used when creating colors for older people because they like
more realistic characters. Other things to think about are what medium you will be using? Will it be 3D
or 2D? This helps to plan what programs or material you will need to design the characters.
Once the main foundation idea for a character has been thought of, the first thing that needs to be done
is research. This means researching other peoples versions of similar characters. If the character is based
around something that is easily stereotyped, it is very helpful to look at these stereotypes because
abiding to them will help demonstrate what genre of character you are trying to create, and makes it
easier for viewers to recognize things like the characters profession and other characteristics. The next
part of the character design process is the biggest, actually designing the character. There are many
steps that need to be thought about and achieved during this part of the process. First step is creating
basic sketches of your character. If you have planned well, you will already have a basic idea of how you
want the character to look so sketching will be easy. Another step that needs to be considered is making
the character distinct. This helps to make the character stand out above the hundreds of other
characters out there. You can make characters more distinct by adding exaggerated features. For
example if you wanna make a character cute use oversized eyes, if you wanna make a character look
strong and imposing, then use huge muscles. One other thing that helps to reinforce making characters
distinct is the use of particular art styles and aesthetics. If you are creating a 2D character the way you
use line can make a character very interesting and original. If your creating a 3D character different
filters and details can help to do this. A good example of style used in 3D character models is the work
done by gaming production companies '2K' and 'Gearbox' in their video game 'Borderlands'. Everything
in the world of 'Borderlands' has a cell shading filter, making it stand out from other forms of how
characters look.
After the character has been designed in the industry, all sketches and drawing are turned into one
single, easy to view design. This picture usually shows the character from multiple angles to help show
how it would look if it was not just a 2D, flat image. From this picture a 3D modeler creates a 3D digital
model of the character who then gives it to a rigger who makes a skeleton like structure within the
digital model so it can be easily moved and posed. After the character has been rigged it is now ready to
be animated and used in products such as video games.
An extremely good example of character design is the character Joel, in the post apocalyptic video
game, 'The Last of Us'. There are two different versions of Joel used in 'The Last of Us', a Joel that lives a
mostly normal life before the apocalypse and one that has survived for twenty years during the
apocalypse. The games designer, with the help of very subtle dialogue, creates two contrasting versions
of the same character that when put together demonstrates some of the best storytelling and character
design ever. The first thing that helps create an idea of what kind of character Joel is to the game
player, is his voice. The creators have chosen a Texan accent which instantly gives background to where
he is from. The first time Joel is introduced in this game, he is younger and is wearing a scruffy looking
grey shirt and jeans. This attire helps to fortify the fact that Joel is most likely a tradie, which is further
revealed in the first few sentences when he mentions being 'on site'. These clothes also help the player
to connect with the character because the are clothes commonly worn by everyday people. As the story
progresses Joel must leave the safety of his house quickly. Eventually he returns, covered in blood. Later
when asked about the blood he states it is not his own, he says this in such away that it sounds
unsympathetic. This emphasizes he is a strong capable character as well as showing the violence and
horror of the apocalypse is changing him.
After the prologue, the game is set twenty years after the zombie apocalypse. The first thing you see is
Joel waking up from a nightmare, meaning that he is tortured by twenty years of surviving in a post
apocalyptic world. Once Joel steps out of the shadows you can see how he has aged. Instead of looking
young and energetic, he looks old and tired and his hair is gray. He has many wrinkles under his eyes
reinforcing the idea he is tired and has experienced much in the past twenty years. In contrast to how he
looked previously, Joel is skinner but looks more toned, indicating he has been keeping fit during the
twenty years. The way Joel now talks shows he is less kind, and he seems to no longer care. This non caring is also shown in his clothes, now ripped and dirty, reflecting the fact the world does not have time
to worry about clean clothes anymore.
In conclusion I have given a short summary of the process that is used to create and interest character
for a video game. As well as this I have given a example of good character design used in the industry of
video games. By giving this example I have shown and demonstrate how character design is used to tell
stories.
References
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