What Is Character Design?
Character design refers to the appearance, abilities and personality of your virtual presence in a game. This can range from flat characters with no development to well-rounded, believable actors in a make-believe setting. The choices made during character design will have a major effect on the gameplay and possibly the lifespan of a video game series.
Other People Are Reading
-
History
-
Character design has been a major component of fiction and historical works predating even the Greek tragedies or "Beowulf." For video games, it became a powerful part of the design process once players were able to leave the virtual space of "Pong" and actually jump, climb ladders or perform other actions with a more human avatar. Characters from Mario to Solid Snake have added to this history of constant development.
Appearance
-
The most superficial design to a character is their appearance. Gender, race and build are very important and can mean the difference between a character that will result in a Duke Nukem or a Lara Croft. Female characters that are chosen to play in typically male arenas such as explorers or military will often have exaggerated features that make them appeal to the opposite sex.
-
Personality
-
Many designers base their characters' appearance on stereotypes and focus on their personalities to lend greater depth and familiarity. This is conveyed largely through the player character or PC's interactions with other entities in the game world. Often, such as in the case of Mario or Blackthorne, it is the player who will choose what these interactions may be. Otherwise, scripted events will reveal the true nature of a player's on-screen persona.
Development
-
Characters usually develop in at least one of three ways. They can develop new skills or abilities, such as Mario's Fire Flower powers and Samus' energy whip. Their appearance may change based on taking damage as in the Doom series of games. The final is a personality shift. As a character learns more about the world they exist in, they may change sides and even become a whole new being. Games such as the Final Fantasy series are very strong adherents of personality development.
The Future
-
Game character design has come a long way since the only choices were where to put the pixels that created a hat. Already we have seen games that allow players to upload their own images or customize the character appearance. Greater depth of interaction is likely to occur in the future. Games such as "Fallout" lead the way with personal choices creating the character's personality design and both "sandbox" and "shooter on rails" style games will benefit from greater characterization.
-
