As a character artist it is my goal to not only make visually stunning characters, but also characters that are memorable and stay with the player. Players want to care or at least feel something for the characters they play/interact with whether negative or positive; a successful character is one the player will remember.
Franchises can become successful just of the backs of a great character, one of the biggest example of this being the Super Mario series. With games like The Last of Us, Life is Strange, the Telltale games and even shooter games such as Battlefield, games are becoming more character and story central. It's not good enough to just have the game play anymore players want something more to work towards to, whether it be trying to save someone/find them, or games such as God of War where you are hunting people down for revenge.
To find out some more opinions on this I asked people around me about who their favourite characters was and why. I also thought about who my favourite characters were.
These were my findings:
Link (Legend of Zelda): doesn't talk, colours and outfit design, speaks more with his actions, immersive; can project yourself onto him
Professor Hershel Layton (Professor Layton): simple character design with block
colours, shows emotion well, gestural, feels human (personification of character), because of simple design and lack of distraction his personality is able to show through, not overwhelming
Mario (Mario Bros): he was designed for the gameplay, ages well, iconic look solidified from original and stood the test of time
47 (Hitman): quiet, has a presence, alpha, silent-type, cool
G-man (Half-Life): sinister, ambiguous
Rhys (Tales from the Borderlands): anti-hero, realistic,
Tiny Tina (Borderlands): outlandish, extrovert, keeps player guessing, exciting
Varric (Dragon Age II): cynical humour, witty, makes questing more interesting with dynamic dialogue
Lee (Walking Dead Telltale): father figure, turns over new leaf, good heart
Joel (Last of Us): father figure, unwilling hero, good heart, gruff, chooses options the player would, relatable personality
Ellie (Last of Us): strong-willed, independent, survivor
Emily (Until Dawn): someone people love to hate, good survival skills
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy): murderer, anti-hero, goes against players' moral ideas, kills of the character you care about
Lara Croft (Tomb Raider): Adventurous, strong female character,
Vaas Montenegro (Far Cry 3): ruthless, insane, unpredictable, makes the player feel something
Pyramid Head (Silent Hill): terrifying, sharp design, uncanny, slowly walks towards you, nervous
Customisable characters: The player gets to completely control what their character looks like, whether it be themselves or something completely different, inhuman, or what takes their fancy.
Characters people like:
Silent characters help the player project themselves into the story
Immersion is highly important to the player actually caring about the game
The Underdog
Unpredictable people keeps them on their toes
Good outfit designs
Expressive and gestural characters that feel alive/human
Interesting personalities
Nostalgic
Anti-heroes
Gruff exteriors with good hearts, prove everyone wrong about them
Interesting character arch, you can see them grow and adapt to their situation
Extroverted outlandish personalities
Realistic in that they don't follow the stereotypical tropes
Independent and self-assured
Scary characters
Character people don't like:
They can't relate to them
Go against moral standings (to a point)
Forgettable
Stereotypes (not done in ironic ways or important to story)
Irritating, generally companions that break immersion to tell you something irrelevant
Lack of personality
Kills someone the player cares about
Useless characters that don't do anything to help themselves (princess in tower types)
Characters that represent something you dislike IRL
How does this help me?
By looking at what to aim for and what to avoid, I can hopefully create characters that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also personally/emotionally.
That being said, as a character artist there's only so much I can add to how the player will feel about the character as most of the emotions and actions are done by the animators but I can add to their story by:
Their age
Are they even human?
Their outfit
Personality in dress style, accessories
Wear and tear: scars, dirt etc.
Colour schemes
Bibliography
Characters in gallery contain the following:
FANDOM. (2014) Link. [Online image] Available from: http://zelda.wikia.com/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_The_Wind_Waker_characters?file=Link_Wind_Waker_3.png [Accessed 26/10/16].
CASTING CALL CLUB. (2014) Professor Hershel Layton. [Online image] Available from: https://www.castingcall.club/characters/professor-hershel-layton [Accessed 26/10/16].
FANDOM. (2014) Mario. [Online image] Available from: http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Mario?file=Mario_-_Mario_Party_10.png [Accessed 26/10/16].
HITMAN FORUM. (2015) Agent 47 poster. [Online image] Available from: http://www.hitmanforum.com/t/the-look-of-agent-47/2054/293 [Accessed 26/10/16].
COMBINE OVERWIKI. (2011) The G-Man. [Online image] Available from: http://combineoverwiki.net/wiki/File:G-man_heart_to_heart_headshot.jpg [Accessed 26/10/16].
COSPLAY AMINO. (2015) Rhys. [Online image] Available from: http://www.aminoapps.com/page/cosplay/1279625/rhys-pect-the-rhys [Accessed 26/10/16].
GAMING LIVES. (2012) Tiny Tina. [Online image] Available from: http://www.gaminglives.com/2012/07/13/borderlands-2-interview-with-gearbox-vp-steve-gibson/ [Accessed 26/10/16].
FANDOM. (2014) Varric. [Online image] Available from: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/File:Varric-new.png [Accessed 26/10/16].
FANDOM. (2013) Lee Everett. [Online image] Available from: http://walkingdead.wikia.com/wiki/File:NTL_Lee_Shed_Box.png [Accessed 26/10/16].
The Last of US. (Date Unknown) Joel. [Online image] Available from: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/288300813627162964/ [Accessed 26/10/16].
FANDOM. (2014) Ellie. [Online image] Available from: http://thelastofus.wikia.com/wiki/File:Ellie.png [Accessed 26/10/16].
FANDOM. (2016) Emily. [Online image] Available from: http://until-dawn.wikia.com/wiki/File:EmProfile.png [Accessed 26/10/16].
VIDEO GAMES ANIMO. (2015) Emily. [Online image] Available from: http://aminoapps.com/page/video-games/1444386/villain-dream-team [Accessed 26/10/16].
WIKIPEDIA. (2013) Lara Croft. [Online image] Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lara_Croft#/media/File:Lara_Croft_(2013).png [Accessed 26/10/16].
FANDOM. (2012) Vaas Montenegro. [Online image] Available from: http://farcry.wikia.com/wiki/File:Vaas_3.jpg [Accessed 26/10/16].
SILENT HILL. (Date unknown) Pyramid Head. [Online image] Available from: https://plus.google.com/photos/104492387632637898415/albums/6250094376041044545/6250094377024661474 [Accessed 26/10/16].
