Character Design

Pac-Man, 1980, Namco - 224 x 288 resolution, 16 colors

A good character performs two major functions in a game:

  • Gives the player an avatar to identify with in the game world
  • Indicates some functionality of the character

Pac-Man

Pac-Man is very simple but he's a brighter color than other characters and is easy to identify with.

Pac-Man has a large mouth so you know that he wants to eat things.

Super Mario Bros., 1985, Nintendo Entertainment System - 256 x 240, 48 color

A unique identifying characteristic is also a good way to start with a character design. Mario has several distinguishing features that make him a unique character, including his hat, overalls and mustache.

These visual traits don't tell us a lot about the functionality but create an sort of absurdity that tells us something about the game world. Basically, it's fun.

Battlezone, 1980, Atari - Atari - Vector monitor (b&w) with color overlay

During the early days of video game development, the graphics systems and their limitations often played the main role in the aesthetics of games, including character design.

Canabalt, 2009, Multi-platform

Of course, today there are virtually no limitations on the graphic quality of games, including the number of colors used, resolution of screens and size of images.

However, many games still use pixel or vector based art to create a retro feel.

Limbo, 2011, Multi-platform

Even games with more data in graphics use simplified character designs or restrict the palette in order to create a certain mood or match a theme. In Limbo, the character is a simple silhouette of a boy with two white eyes to show the face.

The Binding of Isaac, 2011, Multi-platform

Video games also borrow styles from sources like cartoons, comics, anime, film and other visual references.

Isaac is a very simple character with one specific mechanic, his tears. This game mechanic reminds us of the origin story of the game and gives is a unique way to identify the character.

Characters that are rendered with more detail tend to be interpreted more realistically.

On the other hand simpler characters are easier to identify with for the player.

Choosing and aesthetic for your game (or combination of aesthetics) and designing a character can determine the feel of the game and give the user a sense of how the game works.

Beyond the main character or avatar, design of enemies and other NPCs (non-player characters) should follow similar rules.

Their design should fit the aesthetic of the game world and give cues as to how they operate in that world.

The comic book artist Tato redesigned the characters from Overwatch in 2D and wrote about the process. This is a good example of setting some basic rules for character design. Your rules don't have to be the same but it's a good idea to try to come up with some basic rules after experimenting with different designs.

It's important to make design an iterative process. Iterative means repetition with added changes and reflection. It's not enough to do one drawing and call it a day. Designers will go through endless sketches and ideas before narrowing on a final idea.

Making game art

There's a lot of ways to make game art. Today we're going to look at using Illustrator to make a character with vector art and the web application Piskel for pixel art. Any aesthetic is acceptable for this project and other programs can be used as well.

Resources