Mind Map of things that inspire me in game design

List of potential Research tasks / Experiments

Character Design in video games

Potential Research

-Different Conventions of Character Design

-Colour Theory Research (Looking into how they’re used to convey a character whilst also looking good)

-How voices are chosen for a character to have them fit and suit said character

-Skills and technological needs required to create an effective character

-How to use certain animation software to create animations to a decent standard

-What techniques are used to make animation easier and look better?

-Looking into different conventions of character animation

-Examples of character designs that inspire me

-Examples of animations that inspire me

-Potential ethical issues with character design (Cultural Appropriation, Racism, Etc.)

-Issues with the audience (Censorship, Platforms)

-How emotion and expression is conveyed through character design and animation

-How the media a character is in shapes the design and end product of that character with examples (Potential Essay topic idea)

Potential Experiments

-Create a character using the research into conventions and colour theory of character design

-Create a 15-30-second-long animation using the previously mentioned character in the software that I have learnt and potentially the techniques learnt for animation

-Create a range of characters using the research conducted that would all fit within the same universe (Remaining consistent with style and theming)

-Create / find fitting voices from other media for my own characters, create slideshow/collection of clips to showcase.

-Try Redesigning old characters from either old drawings or past college projects so that they still fit within what they were before but try and improve the design using the research I’ve conducted.

-Create a chart of images of a character showing different emotions / expressions

Essay Question Ideas

-How mascot character designs have changed from the start of games to present day

-How the media a character is in shapes the character design

-Is voice acting necessary to convey a character’s design to its full extent?

-How is the way a character moves important to the design of the character?

-Does a detailed and fleshed out character inherently make them a “good character”?

-At what point does a character design become “overcomplicated”?

Potential Sources of Information

https://pixelsmithstudios.com/game-development-reviews/intricacies-character-design-video-games/

https://starloopstudios.com/character-design-in-video-games-types-classes-and-characteristics/

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomp.2021.531713/full