Character concepts (and some more things)

Started by Blondbraid, Wed 15/07/2015 19:49:02

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Grok

Quote from: Blondbraid on Tue 06/10/2015 19:07:43

The spotter doesn't seem equally excited about this prospect though. ;)


The spotter has the potential to be a really interesting character.
Looking forward to see what you will come up with. :)

Blondbraid

QuoteThe spotter has the potential to be a really interesting character.
Great to hear! What I'm aiming for is a man who you never really know whether he is a dumb man trying to sound clever or a clever man pretending to be dumb.
But the sniper will hopefully be an interesting character as well, who loves stating pretentiously grandiose communist platitudes even more than she loves shooting enemies of the state in the head.
She spent most of her time before the war as a lone wolf after losing her family in the revolution, and it's eventually revealed that
Spoiler
the reason she lost them is that her parents were members of the aristocracy, her father even a prince. Turns out she was actually a princess all along! :-D
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Does this sound interesting?


Grok

Quote from: Blondbraid on Fri 16/10/2015 15:23:32
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But the sniper will hopefully be an interesting character as well, who loves stating pretentiously grandiose communist platitudes even more than she loves shooting enemies of the state in the head.
She spent most of her time before the war as a lone wolf after losing her family in the revolution, and it's eventually revealed that
Spoiler
the reason she lost them is that her parents were members of the aristocracy, her father even a prince. Turns out she was actually a princess all along! :-D
[close]
----
Does this sound interesting?

It does make me think of this colorful ww1 character.
Spoiler
Princess Eugenie M. Shakhovskaya was Russia's first woman military pilot. It is unknown if she actually flew any combat missions. She was ultimately charged with treason and attempting to flee to enemy lines. She was sentenced to death by firing squad. Since she was pregnant she was personally pardoned by the Tsar and sentenced to life-long stay in a monastery She was freed during the Revolution and became a member of the secret police. She was later named chief executioner of Kiev. She also was a drug addict. She shot one of her assistants in a narcotic delirium and was herself shot.
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Blondbraid

QuoteIt does make me think of this colorful ww1 character.
A most interesting read, thank you Grok! I had no previous knowledge of this very interesting person! ;-D

I suppose my primary source of fact's and inspiration for the sniper has been the book War's unwomanly face
by Svetlana Aleksijevitj (who is receiving the Nobel prize in literature this year) and a certain Don Bluth movie.
I've also posted a new screenshot on the ags in production thread today! http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=52586.0


Blondbraid

And I almost forgot :-[ I should add that some of the women described on the site http://www.rejectedprincesses.com/ also served as a bit of inspiration, partially their description of sergeant Mariya Oktyabrskaya (though she drove a tank, and it was called the fighting girlfriend, and personally wrote to Stalin and asked for permission to buy said tank and kill Nazis with it to avenge her dead husband).

I've also been musing on the spotters backstory
Spoiler
While his parents are alive, they both served in the Women's battalion of death during WWI, his father disguising himself as a lady so that he could follow his lover into battle.
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Priabudiman

You adapt the Propaganda Thingy beautifully!

Everything is tip-top, the artwork, the style, but maybe for me is the colors, maybe more shading and depth will bring them more alive? even just a bit. But that's just a one man's opinion, You've done great and keep up the good work!

Blondbraid

Quote from: Priabudiman on Wed 21/10/2015 12:25:44
You adapt the Propaganda Thingy beautifully!

Everything is tip-top, the artwork, the style, but maybe for me is the colors, maybe more shading and depth will bring them more alive? even just a bit. But that's just a one man's opinion, You've done great and keep up the good work!
Why thank you very much!
As for depth and and shading, it's a bit tricky. Partially because I'm going for a 40's cartoon aesthetic, but also because it's hard to animate (at least for me).


Blondbraid

#47
It's been a while, but I have finally come up with a new character design that I wanted to share and hear some opinions about.

This is what appears to be a very jittery, paranoid old lady which the spotter has to ask for directions.
Spoiler
The overstrung paranoia may have something to do with the fact that the old "lady" is a German deserter trying to disguise himself. The spotter may or may not notice this.
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I suppose I took some inspiration from this scene in monty python and the holy grail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvKIWjnEPNY
So, what do you think?


Blondbraid

I have a new concept for a character!

This is supposed to be a soldier from the eastern end of the soviet union, not far from Mongolia. He's meant to be holding a PTRS-41.
story:
His real name is Temujin, named after the medieval conqueror. The other soldiers just call him Tim though. He grew up in a yurt on the steppe, and originally volunteered to take care of the red army's horses, but since they kept getting slaughtered and eaten he ended up fighting with the soldiers on the front line instead. To him this has been his big chance to see the cities of Europe up close and he wants to see as much as possible before it gets destroyed, and unlike his namesake, seeing the widespread damages and destruction truly saddens him.

I thought it would be fun to empathize the vastness of the soviet union, spanning all the way from the Baltic sea to the pacific.
As much as I love the 1940's cartoon aesthetic though, nearly all Asian characters are pretty terrible caricatures, reflecting the attitudes at the time. I wanted this character to be a subversion of those stereotypes while still compelling in his own right.
If anyone has any thoughts or opinions on this character, or notice anything that needs to be changed in the picture, let me know! :)


Cassiebsg

He looks great! I was about to ask in the other thread if he was asian, guess he is! :D So well done transmitting that into the character. (nod)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

SilverSpook

I like the Temujin character concept visually and the background story.  Russia is indeed massive, and that will be a nice touch to give the player a sense of its expansiveness, and cultural / ethnic diversity. 

The right eye / cheek area might be just a little bit off but it could be part of the aesthetic.  You can definitely tell he's got the high Asian-ish cheekbones there!

Blondbraid

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Fri 15/01/2016 18:14:20
He looks great! I was about to ask in the other thread if he was asian, guess he is! :D So well done transmitting that into the character. (nod)
Quote from: SilverSpook on Mon 18/01/2016 05:43:25
I like the Temujin character concept visually and the background story.  Russia is indeed massive, and that will be a nice touch to give the player a sense of its expansiveness, and cultural / ethnic diversity. 
The right eye / cheek area might be just a little bit off but it could be part of the aesthetic.  You can definitely tell he's got the high Asian-ish cheekbones there!
Thank you both for your comments, I'm happy to hear that you liked the character and that I managed to convey his ethnicity in a successful way.
Here is the in-game sprite I made of him, what do you think?


Cassiebsg

I kind of like his "indifferent" expression better from the draft. But if you need him to be in "mean" mode, than it's good.
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Blondbraid

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Mon 01/02/2016 11:17:14
I kind of like his "indifferent" expression better from the draft. But if you need him to be in "mean" mode, than it's good.
Well, I'm unsure what would be most interesting for the situation, but for context
Spoiler
The spotter finds himself face to face with a tiger (the tank, not the animal), and things look bleak but he is saved in the nick of time as Tim takes the tank out with a well placed shot.
[close]
I haven't quite decided on his mood and temperament...


Cassiebsg

Okay, I had guessed that he was guarding something. Like "You can't in there..." or something like that.
I think he would probably be feeling pretty good about himself by just having taken care of it... wouldn't you?
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

nameplace

After reading up a little bit I was trying to figure out what time period would make the most sense for your new character.
(Does it need to fit into a correct year? Probably not. But if you wanted to give a background that fits with the wikipedia's
'completeness')

Wikipedia
"However, by 6 December it became clear that the Wehrmacht did not have the strength to capture Moscow, and the attack was suspended. Marshal Shaposhnikov thus began his counter-attack, employing freshly mobilized reserves,[59] as well as some well-trained Far-Eastern divisions transferred from the east following intelligence that Japan would remain neutral."

So it could fit nicely into the soviet counter-offensive of 1941... but that isn't really necessary because you stated he already had his reasons and volunteered.

Stalin ordered the retreating Red Army to initiate a scorched-earth policy to deny the Germans and their allies basic supplies as they advanced eastward. To carry out that order, destruction battalions were formed in front-line areas, having the authority to summarily execute any suspicious person. The destruction battalions burned down villages, schools, and public buildings.[57] As a part of this policy, the NKVD massacred thousands of anti-Soviet prisoners.[58]

This may help, can zero in on a more absolute time/absolute place.   Of course no one except for a very few would even know the history as they were not present. I like the design! Hopefully pasted wiki-info isn't a letdown!

Blondbraid

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Mon 01/02/2016 13:09:08
Okay, I had guessed that he was guarding something. Like "You can't in there..." or something like that.
I think he would probably be feeling pretty good about himself by just having taken care of it... wouldn't you?
Quote from: nameplace on Mon 01/02/2016 14:36:59
After reading up a little bit I was trying to figure out what time period would make the most sense for your new character.
(Does it need to fit into a correct year? Probably not. But if you wanted to give a background that fits with the wikipedia's
'completeness')
This may help, can zero in on a more absolute time/absolute place.   Of course no one except for a very few would even know the history as they were not present. I like the design! Hopefully pasted wiki-info isn't a letdown!

Cassiebsg: Thank you for specifying, I agree and decided to try and make him look a little bit more happy and confident, having just pulled off a heroic deed and whatnot. Nothing drastic, just a few small changes to his facial expression.

nameplace: Thank you for your interest and presenting me with some really fascinating facts! I've read a little bit on the subject beforehand, and appreciate reading about new and unconventional perspectives on the time period. While I try my best to faithfully depict the era, I deliberately chose to keep the exact date and location ambiguous, since it is a fictional story with fictional characters. One could say that my game takes place about the time when things are just, but only just, about to turn, but that is how precise I can be...
If you have the time, do check out the AGS games in production page for Sniper and spotter being patriotic! ;)
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=52586.0


Cassiebsg

Following from here: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=52586.msg636532051#msg636532051

Quote
You have a good point, I suppose I didn't want to make it too hard seeing as it may take a few tries for the players to figure out what to do.

Spoiler

I guess, in the end, it depends on what type of game you want. If the game is to be more puzzle oriented, as in solving the puzzle and not just "fast at the trigger", then I have no problem with this solution. Seems to have a nice balance to it as in not to frustrate the player. Just don't over do it, so the player won't get bored either. ;)
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There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Blondbraid

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Sun 20/03/2016 22:44:31
Following from here: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=52586.msg636532051#msg636532051
Spoiler

I guess, in the end, it depends on what type of game you want. If the game is to be more puzzle oriented, as in solving the puzzle and not just "fast at the trigger", then I have no problem with this solution. Seems to have a nice balance to it as in not to frustrate the player. Just don't over do it, so the player won't get bored either. ;)
[close]
Good advise! ;-D All in all it is't a very long sequence,
Spoiler
Only three snipers spread out over a large room. I don't want it to get too repetitive.
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While the player can get killed in various ways, there is no timed puzzles or similar stuff in this game.


Blondbraid

I wanted to have one more patient in the sick-room in the game, and learning that today is international Roma day, I thought why not make him a Rom?
This is Victor, a young man who joined the red army to help provide for his family. I haven't come up with much backstory yet, or exactly how he got injured. I suppose this might add a slightly darker element to the game as, while this particular character isn't a victim, many Roma were persecuted and killed during the war. I'm glad to hear any thoughts and opinions on this character.


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