Rules for Characters:
- Always have a recognisable silhouette. You need the audience to be able to remember and recognise your character so that they can buy more games if the character is involved. If you make your character’s silhouette boring and standard then it will just fall into the pit of useless characters, which will be very bad for you and your company.
- Do not over complicate your character. You will need to be able to produce quick sketches of your characters a lot, if you make them overly complicated then you will waste important time. Another reason, is that the audience needs to be able to remember your character. Fan-based armies rule the gaming world, you need your audience to be able to remember the few little traits that your character has, not every little tiny detail.
- Use the correct colour theory. There is nothing worse than looking at someone’s overly saturated, brightly coloured character and having a seizure. Seizure’s are not good, you need to keep your audience alive to buy your games. Therefore, stick to the colour wheel and chose colours that compliment each other, not every single colour imaginable that looks like a clown has just thrown up on your character.
- Check out characters that sell well, think of characters such as Lara Croft and think why they are so popular. Look and research why she is how she is and try and do the same for your character. Ideas can be stolen, but be careful not to just copy someones idea, this will be obvious and annoying to any fans of the original. Angry fans are angry, stay clear of them.
- Make sure to research your ideas. There is no use designing a character for a game based in the 1800’s and give them the newest blackberry curve, with a tight short dress and massive killer heels. That may be suitable for this century, but you certainly wouldn’t see David Oliver Allen texting and friend requesting his homies back in the 1800’s.
- Personality needs to be researched. You don’t want your character to be boring and guessable. You need the audience to fall in love with your character, (or hate them, if they are a baddy) Giving your character a mixed personality would confuse the audience. Nobody likes being confused, so don’t do it.
- Don’t offend your audience by having massivly in-your-face stereotypes which could be taken as an insult.
- You should have one strong idea radiating throughout the design. If you create a weak, flimsy, scared character, you don’t want people to get the wrong idea and think he’s a massive hero and then by shocked when he runs off at the first sign of conflict.
- Make sure you know there back story. Don’t elaborate some BS because you have no idea why and what he’s doing in his life. You need to have a strong idea and be happy with it before making your character. Don’t make your character hollow, make sure he has a dedicated backstory.
- It’s very difficult not to get “precious” over your designs. They are your little children and someone is there ripping them apart. These people who are criticizing you are paying your wages. Shut up and crack on.
- Listen to other’s opinions on your character, don’t liet your pride get in the way. Listen and take on board what people say. Obviously if you totally disagree then don’t do it, but make sure you take in all the hints and tips from others and change your character if you think it would be best.
Rules for Environment:
- Pathetic Fallacy. Use it. It was recognised for a reason, it will help you convey meaning and emotional response in your environment. Which will result in the correct emotion being displayed in the audience.
- Don’t mess around with colour theory. Objects in the environment are coloured for a reason, you can sometimes use colour theory to provoke and emotion in the audience. For example, a darkened hallway will show danger and the audience will respond to that with the emotion of fear.
- Have a dedicated light source. You may wish to have more than one light source in your scene, that’s fine as long as you know how to shade appropriately according to these light sources.
- Like the character, research where you want to make an environment to make sure it is believable. Believability is what sells, people buy games to escape, you don’t want there to be blatant flaws in your environment which stops that.
- Imagination will help you design environments that are interesting and beautiful to the audience. Let your imagination run wild, but make sure you have the believability still there.
- Props are important features in the environment, too many or too little will shape the way the audience reacts with your environment.
- Makes sure you don’t use colours that could cause an injury, we’ve all seen them scenes were you have to squint your eyes really far so that you don’t get a raging headache when trying to read a sign with white writing and a bright yellow background. Don’t do it, your audience will thank you.
- Take criticisms and use them to your advantage. It will most likely improve your work which will improve your pay check. They may seem harsh, but make sure you take them on board.
- Stay within a recognized genre. Don’t mix them unless it’s the very very last thing you need to do in your life. You need a strong clear idea of an environment and genre, don’t stray too far from this genre and you should be safe.
- Get a steady balance of reality and imagination. Both of these will prove useful in your environment. But you need to make sure you don’t go OTT on both. A steady mixture and flow will help create an environment to be appreciated.
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