Task - Week Ten

Games have a big visual impact, and the first thing most people will have to judge a character with is their appearance. Often the main character/s will be the very first thing someone sees on the art on a poster or the front of the box for the game, and the way they are portrayed is the starting point of a person's opinion of or reaction to that character.

There are a lot of visual tricks to use to trigger a response in someone to a particular character. Their clothing, stance, facial expressions, the way they move and what body language they use should be planned to a specific end in a good character design. Often silhouette and good choice of colours is essential, as these often get a subconscious response that the player may not even be aware of. Certain shapes and patterns symbolise things that have been ingrained on our brains for such a long time that we are not always aware when we recognise them. These can be very helpful in very stylised games, that allow for exaggerated shapes and facial expressions.

It can often be hard to use these in heavily realistic games, as there are strict design boundaries to be followed that mirror real life. Often this calls for greater subtly of design, and less exaggeration. How far can those boundaries be pushed while still remaining intact?

While appearance and visual are important, the way they behave (if this is out of a player's control) and they way they address other characters are also key to getting the desired response. Their dialogue has to fit the image you've built for this character, otherwise he becomes completely unbelievable... or ridiculous. The character's actions in turn have to mesh with his appearance and his dialogue, otherwise he appears to be contradicting himself.

While appearance is important in games, as a largely visual kind of entertainment, all of the elements of a character have to mesh together to support each other, or one particular element will seem jarring and wrong.

http://www.designersnotebook.com/Workshop/CharacterWorkshop/characterworkshop.htm
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20000720/gard_01.htm
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10216
http://gamasutra.com/features/20060324/cifaldi_01.html
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20001204/davies_01.htm