Thursday Report: The Conventional and the Non

I thought I’d use this report to look back at some of the design work I’ve done, particularly regarding characters.

Animals are always a fun way to capture certain characteristics that bring out a role. We all anticipate a way a monkey would act against, for example, how an owl would act — then we can take that further into the real world, how would a monkey lawyer conduct themselves compared to an owl lawyer?

It’s surprising how easy our minds allow the personification of animals. A monkey in a pinstripe suit doesn’t require much justification to be immediately believable, and there’s already a huge weight of traits we assume about him.

The task I had, then, was finding that balance. Riding on those assumptions too much and we have a cliche, steering away too far and things begin to feel ridiculous.

Let’s say we’re designing a scuba diving character. We might immediately start considering a penguin, maybe a seal, or perhaps even a dolphin that walks on its flippers. What if it was a blackbird? Why would a blackbird be going under water? Wouldn’t its feathers get wet? Suddenly we feel that sense of doubt, it could happen, but it’s a bit goofy — it’s trying to steer away from expectation. Why couldn’t it just be a penguin?

There are still roles I’m having a hard time deciding on, and maybe I’ll concede and choose the obvious. However, there are some characters I’ve settled on that I think were the perfect choices.

Constellations will play an important role in ‘Walled Gardens’. Players will need to discover which stars to connect with which to unlock certain bonuses. I needed a character that would provide that knowledge, and more, to the player. So — what animal would be looking to the stars?

Our aforementioned owl is the obvious choice. Maybe a bat could have been another. I settled on a heron. A bird known for standing very still by the riverside, it’s head often turned upward. And while nothing specifically is carried over from a heron to a night, or even astrological theme, here we have an animal known for its patience, observation and staunch neck — having a heron with a telescope in hand suddenly doesn’t seem so outlandish.

And what about a character known for digging, making tunnels? Our minds probably immediately go to a mole. While a pig might not be known for it’s digging underground — showing a pig character covered in mud and dirt is just what we’ve come to expect, so it doesn’t take such a leap of faith to give it a mining hat and a certain ‘can-do’ attitude.

Again, I still have a fair few more to consider, but hopefully this gives an insight into my designs.

Shying away from the conventional choice just gives everything that slight edge, it feels new and carries with it that bit of magic.

But, at the same time, not so unusual that it doesn’t feel familiar, and doesn’t feel at home.

‘Home’ is ultimately what I want to capture.

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