Case Study #5 - Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Released (EU): 2013
Platform: Xbox 360/ Xbox One/ Wii U/ Ps3/ Ps4/ PC
Genre: Action-Adventure
Publisher: Ubisoft

Assassin's Creed is a second game that I discussed during my contextual essay. This was a good example of a game in terms of fiction based on a real culture, as I've previously mentioned in the review. Okay, so again it's pirates, like Skies of Arcadia, however the extreme difference between them is that Skies of Arcadia is fantasized. Wherein Skies of Arcadia there is a bigger artistic license and the inspiration isn't quite so direct, Assassin's Creed: Black Flag is a historical fiction game.

There's a danger in games like these. It restricts the design freedom of a character that is largely based on a historical figure, and restricts the characteristics too. However Assassin's Creed is successful in that it stays pretty historically accurate for the most part, yet offers a compelling fiction. 

I found that the main character Edward Kenway was actually surprisingly relatable, but maybe that had something to due with his backstory i.e. he hails from Cardiff, which is about twenty minutes away from the town I come from. Okay, so I can't relate to the fact that he's a privateer-turned-pirate, but it's still closer to home than any other fictional character.

Most of the game is set in the Caribbean, across three main cities, one of which is pirate-influenced, one controlled by the Spanish and one by Britain. Edward Kenway is pretty suited to at least two of these, being a British Pirate - albeit specifically Welsh. 

What is significant about Kenway regarding his design, is the mix of culture within his clothing. Obviously, he retains the iconic assassin design that has spread through the series, however it has essentially been hybridized in such a way that you can blatantly tell that he is a pirate. I personally really like Kenway's design, a rough around the edges rogue. Because his clothes have elements of both assassin and pirate, he is neither too bland nor too detached from the piratical environment in which he adventures. 

Again different elements of the character can plausibly draw the player inwards and into the game world. Although the story and certain aspects are completely fictional, it is set in a real historical period of time with real figureheads. Edward Kenway works a good bridge between the player and this half-real world, coming across as a person who could have existed in this time along with those real figureheads, despite the fact that he is fictional.

I think this is another game that demonstrates the relationships between characters, players, game worlds and cultures, especially when you consider how the hybridization of the multiplayer characters works so well. Characters from different cultures were adapted to the pirate culture, using the matter of stereotyping in a positive manner. The designers discussed that this was a bit of fun for the players, however as a case study this displays the importance of how characters should appear like they belong in their world. If a highway-woman had been put into the game, she would look so detached from it, but the fact that she was adapted to suit the piracy environments means that she works convincingly, as do the others. 

The only issue I really have, is the intertwined story-lines between the 'real' and fictional worlds within the game itself. Meta-stories - they really do grate on me sometimes, although there is some cleverness in what they've done. The 'real' character is unnamed, and is basically you anyway. When you go into the historical world you are then Edward Kenway, however it is not only the player who takes the role of this character - it is also the unnamed character whose role you play. It's actually so meta it hurts my brain, regarding character-player identification. I suppose through becoming the unnamed character it makes it that little bit easier to become and/or relate to Edward Kenway.

HOWEVER, as much as you become immersed as Kenway in the historical world, it really annoys me when you get pulled out of it. I just wanted to stay in that other world into which I had been drawn through the main character and my relation with him and his place in his world.

But that nit-pick aside, looking solely at culture and game spaces, Edward Kenway is a cleverly designed character and has pretty real characteristics that allow for a good engagement between all of these aspects.

 

Case Study #4 - Skies of Arcadia

Woops. Busy busy + no internet means I'm feeling a bit backlogged with my journal-ly blog business. Need to get up to speed on what I've done XD.

Skies of Arcadia: Legends

Released (EU): 2002
Platform: Nintendo Gamecube
Genre: RPG
Publisher: SEGA

Skies of Arcadia's premise seems ridiculous. Steam-punk sky pirates, flying ships through the air on a quest for magic stones to foil the plans of a pretty sinister empire? Pretty high-fantasy really. The only thing there that's remotely real is the pirates part. However, this game is one of my favourites, and was rather highly praised all around. One of the main reasons in my opinion is because of its believability.

Vast, open world inspired by the life of piracy

Regardless of how far-fetched it might have seemed, the whole world fits together and that made it believable. To make something believable it doesn't necessarily have to look or be realistic. It more or less comes down to the consistency of the world. One thing I found with Skies of Arcadia was how consistent it actually was. 

The main characters are pirates, but the interesting thing about them is that they're not all BAD pirates. They are divided into factions and you play as the good kind, although they pillage and steal - that's what makes them pirates - they do it in good cause. They're known as the Blue Rogues and the main protagonist that the game centres around is Vyse. He looks pretty steam-punk, and he looks like a pirate albeit with a bit of a fantasy twist on it, yet in the character's appearance itself you can see the lack of malice. He wears an lens which, although is actual a practical item that allows him to see far off objects, is clearly meant to resemble the typical pirate eye-patch.

The main point I want to make about this, and it goes for the majority of the other characters in his crew, is that he looks like he belongs in the world in which he lives.

Fina, Vyse and Aika

One note to make is that Fina, on the left in the above image, does not resemble a pirate. That's because she's not, although she does join Vyse on his quest. She also comes from a vastly different place to Arcadia, meaning she struggles to understand Arcadian customs. While not much is known about her culture, it can easily be established that she is much more peaceful than the Arcadian lifestyle offers.

Although some of the characters might not look real, their personalities as a whole are believable and they are engaging and ultimately that draws the player into identifying with these characters despite the extravagant world in which they exist. It is partly to do with the kind of situations they are thrown into as well that adds to the connectivity between player, characters and world. Vyse pretty much wants to protect his friends and family, help other people and stop a corrupt empire from destroying their lives. 

This game is an excellent example of a game that takes direct inspiration from a culture, in this case being piracy, but turns it into something new and exciting, an ultimately fictional culture because, obviously, sky-pirates don't exist and people don't live on skyward islands. BUT it is all inspired from the pirate lifestyle. Younger players could relate to the mischievous nature of the teenage Vyse and his friends even though they aren't pirates themselves. Perhaps from Skies of Arcadia it can be assumed that culture may or may not influence player identification with characters so long as these characters suit the world in which they live. 

 

Case Study #3 - The Balance of Fire Emblem

Woops. So I've been a bit behind on updating my blog.
I've basically finished the first project I was working on and I've had two good suggestions as next-step exercises from Jim and Josh. However I don't want to put my design work up just yet until I've caught up with the case studies that led to it. i.e. I want to keep it in context.

Let's see if I can get caught up in one fell swoop. 

Rightyho.
This was my next case study:

Fire Emblem: Awakening

Released (EU): 2012
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Genre: Tactical role-playing
Publisher: Nintendo

Fire Emblem, is one of the most character enriched game series I've ever personally come across. This is why I chose this as a case study. It is renown for its generous and deep cast of characters. There is always a character to both like and hate for various reasons, whether it is based on their skills or their personality. 

Fire Emblem: Awakening is perhaps the best example for character depth and engagement. There is an incredible amount of character with whom you can build a relationship through your avatar, or build supports and relationships among themselves. Every character has their own unique quirk, something that individualizes the character and yet is identifiable to a wide variety of players for the most part. 

Obviously, some people aren't so concerned with that - however in this installment of the series in particular building support and relationships is integral to optimal game-play. The point here is that the player is encouraged to be able to relate to at least some of these characters for a reason. Every character has their strengths and weakness for each environment in which you inevitably battle. So not only is it implicit for game-play, characters have an affect and are affected by the game/play-space. 

Take Kellam for an example. He's a great character in my opinion, mainly for the ridiculous irony in that he is almost always overlooked by people, often doing chores and tasks that the others assume is the work of a poltergeist! He's a big guy, in a big suit of armour, yet has an assuming personality that leads to him seeming invisible to others. 

He's a knight, a pretty heavy-set class, great defense, good attack and appalling movement range. Imagine Kellam on this map: 

His already poor movement is restricted even more by the sand! This mechanic enhances how believable the world is through the interaction of the characters. The relevance of what I said about liking this character/ relating to this character so much is that I'd feel inclined to use him as a unit, even on a battlefield as hindering as this. As such, I have to suffer the penalties of the terrain on which he struggles. In my opinion, this is an excellent example of characters and play spaces working like a well-oiled machine. 

Where does culture come into this?

Well, two places, both in the realm of that rich cast of characters:

i) Most of the characters seem to have a westernized appearance and attitude, one of the reasons that the series as a whole is said to have been easily translated across regions. The fact that it is mostly text-based makes localizing character dialogues a lot easier at any rate. While the art style in inherently manga/anime, the environments and customs of a lot of the characters are in fact fairly Western, allowing for a balance. 

ii) This balance is actually maintained in my opinion by the presence of characters from strikingly different cultures. The best examples are Lon'qu, Say'ri and Yen'fay. All three of them come from Chon'sin, which has multiple references to feudal Japan - this being present in the designs of the three characters in fact. As testament to the ingenuity of the game's support system, it is mostly through Lon'qu's support conversations that his story and details and Chon'sin are revealed. 

Lon'qu and Say'ri

The interaction between characters and play space in Fire Emblem: Awakening is quite important to consider in terms of strategy and play that optimally suits the player's style, whilst the potential for deep connections to different characters of different cultures quite cleverly manipulates this and how the player decides to interact with the world. 

Case Study #2 - Okami

Okami

Released: 2006
Platform: Xbox 360/Wii
Genre: Action-Adventure
Publisher: Capcom


In terms of style, Okami is an excellent example of a consistent game world. 

The entire game space revolves around Japanese culture, but in less than a stereotypical way. The most obvious note to make is the art style. This is based on traditional Japanese ink art. As for why this is necessary to point out, it comes back to the connection between game space and characters. 

 

While the main character is a wolf which, on the surface, may not appear to have any particular involvement with Japanese culture, but is based off a wolf of the same name actually a part of Japanese folklore - in which the wolf will both help travelers and kill those it deems to have evil within them. 

 

The entire game is based on Japanese folklore in fact, with the wolf being Amaterasu - the sun goddess - who is called upon for help. In other words, the character and the game space, all inspired by Japanese culture, very much fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. In fact the very particular art style that surrounds the environment AND the character - along with other characters from lore - helps to further interconnect the two aspects. 

Not only that but the character can interact with the game space in a particularly interesting manner, regarding the Celestial Brush mechanic which, again, is another integral part of the Japanese ink art culture. Everything meshes together seamlessly to create an experience for many players, even if it is less obvious who exactly the main character is. Due to the distinct and recognisable style of the game environment and consequently the characters within it, players are not detached in any way from the culture or the game itself, understanding that it is inherently Japanese. 

In fact Okami has piqued interest in a number of people to explore the particular culture more.

Okami incorporates each of the points I covered in my Literature Review: story, characters and game spaces, into one cultural experience that is neither stereotypical nor too far removed. Given that Amaterasu is in the form a wolf, she is easily relatable to a lot of people who have a fondness of this animal, and beyond the surface of that is a deeper character from another culture to which players can channel some sort of relation.

In other words, Okami demonstrates well how characters and game spaces can work perfectly together, even through a culture less known to others.

Case Study #1 - Skyward Sword

So what I've decided to do is explore existing game spaces and how their characters fit in with them. Through this I am currently designing an original character of my own, whose entire design I will adapt to suit different game worlds. This way I will be able to establish just which attributes make that character work within that game space, and give me more of an insight into the culture within it.


Obviously, this required me to look at some cases wherein it has worked effectively or not.

SO, my first case study was, unsurprisingly, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. I discussed this game in my contextual essay, in regards to how characters and spaces fit each other well.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Released: 2011
Platform: Wii
Genre: Action-Adventure
Publisher: Nintendo

Let's look at it simply:

• Link lives in Skyloft.
• Skyloft is an island in the sky.
• The characters' main mode of transportation is riding birds. 
• Link is a student training to be a Knight of Skyloft - the beginning with the Wing Ceremony. 
• The surface world below is alien to them all, separated by a 'barrier' of clouds. 
• Every character is inspired by birds. 

Groose's hair is inspired by a Rooster,

• Even the sword is called the 'Skyward Sword'

Long story short, the entire game space, including the characters within it, are interconnected thematically and culturally. In this case the culture is birds. This is also apparent in the art style of the game.

What do you see when you look at the sky? On a cloudless day at least, it is bright, illuminated by the fiery sphere that we call the sun. It appears brilliant blue, a vivid colour, and that's what we see in Skyward Sword. Whereas another game in the series Twilight Princess accommodates its dark mood with an unsaturated colour palette. It looks pretty bleak, and it's meant to. This goes for Skyward Sword and it's bright colours. 

The characters with their lively personalities and their aesthetically pleasing choice of clothing in terms of colour, very much look as though they belong in that world. Looking at it all, you don't feel disconnected from the world because Link is not disconnected from the world. In fact, Skyward Sword makes that famous tunic of his make so much more sense. 

As it turns out, the tunic is the uniform Link must wear in the Academy for his Knight Training. It just so happens that his is green, while other years where a different colour uniform. You see red, blue, golden yellow, and of course green, all of which are quite saturated and eye-popping in colour. While the infamous tunic is green in all games, it is notably brighter in Skyward Sword, not taking away from the game space. 

N.B- In the concept art, and official illustrations there is a large use of blues as shadow, as if the sky is reflecting right off them. 

Link also shares a special bond with his bird, and a passion for flying. The player even experiences this when it becomes apparent that the only way down to the surface is to sky-dive. You and Link get to plummet through the air! Though, going back to the birds - known as Loftwings - their designs are actually inspired by real birds known as Shoebills, making them more believable. So Link's relationship with his Crimson Loftwing is more believable, as is Link and his entire home.

Basically everything right down to Link revolve around that fictional culture which worships the sky and its Goddess, and their venture into an alien world that is all too common to us. Regardless, we are never removed from that game space, able to believe that it could be so. If Link, or ANY of the other characters were any different, maybe not inspired by animals of the sky, could the experience have been less effective?

I would think so. 

Link belongs in the world of Skyloft, and this draws in the player. Their culture may be entirely fictional, but it does draw inspiration and it is believable. 

Let's get this show on the road!

Yep! Reviews done. Over. Sorted. Hurrah! 

As much as they greatly helped steer me in a direction for my design practice module, they were a royal pain in the backside in terms of taking up the time I wanted to use to get the design work under way. I've done a bit, but not to the point I hoped to be it because I couldn't concentrate fully on it. 

Now I can! Booyah! 

What I'd mentioned in an earlier post, my plan of action has changed somewhat. Doesn't mean I'm going to scrap what I'd already done though - which I keep forgetting to reflect upon in this blog (woops!) I guess it was all part of finding the right avenue. Testing the waters, so to speak, as to what would work from a practical point of view. 

I wanted to get such a good grounding, that maybe I spent a little too much of my time with my nose stuck in books brushing up on the theory. Now it's a case of putting into action and there's nothing else - bar my job taking up time - to steal my concentration. 

So pedal to the metal! 

Essay week

I've been unusually quiet in terms of reflective posting this week. I like to try and sit down every few days and spent an hour or so writing up on my progress and reflections, alas this week has been just a bit of a power-through in terms of getting my contextual review sorted. 

Finished both reviews now though, formatted them, awaited an email back about feedback on my lit review - which I sent Friday! - which I didn't get, so I'll be hounding for feedback in the next couple days, I reckon. 

Despite the fact I've dedicated a very large amount of time to these reviews, they have both pretty much steered my research for my design practice, and as my research for these was settling, as was what I'm hoping to achieve by January.

After last Wednesday, discussing my position with Jim and Josh, it was apparent that the scope of my project is still potentially too big. In that regard, we talked about a couple of avenues, and the interesting part when the subject moved from simply redesigning characters to the consideration of space, and talking about characters as part of the entire game design.

Essentially I needed to find some case studies through which I could explain and back up my argument, as if, as Jim phrased it, I was lecturing to a group of second years or something. It was also suggested I consider exploring characters as if I was designing from a particular cultural point of view.

This is what I've been working towards for the coming week, and I'll review it properly tomorrow. For now I'm just glad to have my reviews completed. 

Areas of Practical Exploration

Having finished a draft for my literature review, I feel pretty informed about areas I can explore in terms of practical research.

My area of research has been pretty broad for a while, and I've been whittling it down, breaking in into different parts, obviously, as I've reflected upon regarding different aspects of culture affecting games and character design.

So, at last, having spent many hours of effort gaining a solid base of knowledge about culture within games, I have come up with several avenues of exploration:

• Stereotypes - of course, I've mentioned this one before. I think it will be interesting as a mini-project to see how stereotypes are received against non-stereotypical characters. 

• Redesigning existing characters - A while ago I touched upon this, pondering how the likes of Mario would look if they had come from a different culture. I want to explore this more to see the response/impact. 

• Non-human characters - It was mentioned in more than one book that it is possible non-human characters are received better across more cultures. I want to investigate this. 

• Fantasy characters -A lot of fantasy games/characters feature fictional cultures. I will concept some fantasy characters whose backstory/culture is fictional but inspired by real culture. 

• Style - this one is a given, regarding my fascination with the likes of Okami. I sort of touched on this last year in my games proposal, applying an Art Nouveau - big movement in Slavic countries inspired style to a game based around Slavic culture.

• Adapting to audiences - I will design a character who I will then adapt into different cultures based on my interpretations having researched these cultures. 

All of these mini-projects that I intend to explore will involve getting feedback from various others in order to determine how they might or might not relate or engage well with the outcomes I produce through them.

I will not spend long on each of them, perhaps a week at most, using them as quick experiments to gain an insight through practical research. This should help me to determine a solid project at the end of it. I aim to have tried and tested each avenue by mid-January. As for whether I'll stick to that time-frame or whether I will change direction heavily, only time and research will tell!

Of course I will look at some case studies, one being Okami. Another good case, in terms of a game that transferred well across cultures, is Fire Emblem.

And that's that. Job jobbed. Plan planned. Woo.

Ergodic Videogames

So this was something that made me have to think. 

Trying to define what ergodic videogames are, as termed by James Newman in an article for Games Studies (the online journal), was pretty difficult. But ultimately it comes down to conceptualization, I interpreted.

I found this journal when writing my plan for my literature review and it was pretty interesting once I got my head around it, supporting one of my thoughts about player-relation to the main characters that some players don't empathize or engage with a player-character, particularly in first-person shooter games as they are just an embodiment, as Newman describes it, which acts as a vehicle for the player to explore the world. 

He argues against most theorists that the player character's appearance is irrelevant to the player, and that it is the 'off-line players' - those who play the game with another but don't PHYSICALLY play - gain more of a relationship with the player-character as they are not directly assuming the role of that character. According to Newman there is more conceptualization on the off-line player's part, as the the primary player thinks less of the character who they play as and yet cannot see (with regards to first-person shooters). Newman sought to 'challenge the notion of identification and empathy in the primary-player-character relationship'. 

This argument is interesting in regards to how I might then approach culture in character design and how necessary it is to particular game cultures, i.e. is it necessary in certain types of games like first-person shooters which are far less narrative driven than RPG's? 

He concludes that the relationship 'between player and gameworld suggests that this linkage is best considered as an experiential whole that synthesizes action, location, scenario and not merely as a bond between subject and object within a world. While this could be true, I see this as a contradiction where I see that the 'experiential whole' is fleshed out by the presence of story and by extension a character. Even if the player does not empathize with the character whose shoes they have filled, they are likely to engage with non-player characters elsewhere in the game, which I feel Newman has overlooked in a sense.

At any rate, it might just make the cut of my lit review, depending on which angle I now decide to approach. I need to stop looking at things. Need to stop changing my plan O_o  There's too much I'd like to analyse and too little words! 

Culture at the Epicentre

So I've actually learned a considerable amount since my last post, and I'm beginning to think that my research could potentially take a slightly different turn. It's far too late tonight to go into too much about the handful of books that I've got all this from, so I'm basically summarizing what I've interpreted from it thus far.

When I've been looking into the relation between character and player, there always seem to be a connection with spatial awareness. So from what I've gathered, there seems to be a relation between all three. Not only that, but I've also come across the inclusion of story. Story has been discussed as a fuel for creating a good character, both visually and as a personality - in driving the player to want to know more about a character. This refers to who the character is, where they come from, their values etc. etc. Ultimately, this is their culture.

However the character's culture is often - in terms of the fictional word - determined by the environment and situation in which they live. A character who lives in an urban environment is likely to have a different culture to one from, let's say, the mountains. I've noticed that several theorists have claimed that characters from a more fantastical world and a fantasy culture are more relatable to players as the lack of realism means they have less expectation about what the character should be, and by extension the world in which the character lives. 

It is through a playable character that the player interacts with the environment within the game, and so the character is fundamental to the spatial awareness. Without the character as a vehicle, the player cannot explore this space, thus heightening the importance of the character to player relation. Of course, as I've established before, the character's culture affects how or why the player may or may not associate with them. 

Although some people have said in my survey that there is no particular impact on them because of a character's culture, it is inadvertently connected to creating both an engaging, individuated character whose role you would want to assume because something about them enticing you to do so, and a rich world to which that character should suitably fit. If not, then there is the risk of the player feeling detached because the character is designed impractically. Practicality is another aspect that has come up in my research, albeit briefly. 

In other words, within the fictional world, story, space, character and player are all interconnected in some way. To me culture is central to these, present in each aspect, because ultimately it affects the design beyond the fictional world (i.e. characters created by designers of different cultures and how they are perceived/accepted across different cultures) and the whole experience. 

To summarize, culture - both real and fictional -forges a character with whom a player can relate. Through this, a player can engage fully with the world they are put in through the eyes of their character and uncover the story through interacting with the environment in which the character lives.

Analysis of Research

So having got a number of people to do my surveys, I've got the majority back and, as I said before, I found it kind of intriguing what people said. I've compiled it into quantitative research, gathering statistical data reflecting whether they felt involved with the culture of their characters. 

Aside from only half of the favourite characters being the main character, only 45% of them were game characters. So oddly enough, people seem to prefer passive characters, even when it came to the game characters. Again, this makes me think about what I was talking about with the other half the other day. Maybe for some people that involvement in assuming the role of a character makes it easier to relate to other characters in the game, rather than the playable character who is just a digital avatar of themselves. Of course, this is an assumption I am making based upon what I have read and gathered from my survey thus far. It is still something to take into consideration. 

Interestingly enough, I was surprised by the majority answers given when it came to the impact of culture on their characters and them as players. 

 

These four charts show the ratios for whether culture is important in games, the impact of it, the depth it gives characters and whether people picked up on any sort of culture.

Almost everyone stated that yes, culture is important in games, however less than half agreed that it had a significant impact on them as a player. It seemed to be an even split for those who felt they could partly relate because of their characters culture, versus thought who didn't. From a quantitative point of view the large majority see the value in culture, and are able to recognize a prominent culture however the impact on the players appears to be minimal. Over half of the answers given were no that there was no significant impact.

While results show that culture helps to give depth to characters, it didn't particularly add to the character-player relation, more that it helped with character and story development.

Although, to look at it from a qualitative point of view, there were various reasons as to why people said yes or no to these questions. One person stated that actually yes, a character with culture enough to give it depth makes them more relatable because of their values and simply because of the depth of the character - portraying enough attributes on a general basis that the player could relate to.

On the contrary, another said that culture has very little to do with the relation between player and character because it is far more to do with the characters experiences and stress, situations with which players can familiarize. However these situations and moments of stress often happen due to the characters values and actions, which often stem from the character's cultural background, real or fiction.

If I was to draw a conclusion from my current data, from this first survey at any rate, I would say that it is the sub-culture that people seem to be drawn too more than anything like a character's nationality (only a few people really mentioned anything like nation or race) and that where culture appears to affect people most is through the character's actions, personalities, values, mindset and even skill-set - inner attributes as opposed to any physical aspects.

This is intriguing to me given that it doesn't correlate with what I've researched from books regarding storytelling through the character's physical design.

Although, I've yet to analyse the second survey that touched more on marketability. 

Thoughts for the Day

I was talking to my other half and my research, and he said something that suddenly made me stop and think. A few people who have helped me with my surveys have said that their favourite characters are NPC's, to whom they appear to relate better. Either that, or people have chosen films characters, both of which are passive - comparably to a character whose role you assume and acts as a 'surrogate while we play' (Dille and Platten, 2007). 

However may it is exactly that, as it was pointed out by Scott, and I quote that he said  'maybe its because they can sit back and reflect rather than to be actively using the character, similar to in a film why people get so attached is because they aren't so physically involved and can be driven down a path through story.'

Perhaps, since you are assuming the role of a character, some people don't relate to them because you aren't seeing them as another persona with whom to relate...because you ARE them. They are your avatar for the adventure you are playing. Instead it may be possible that players are relating to NPC's through the eyes of the character whose role they have indeed assumed. 

Of course this isn't always the case, as great numbers of people obviously relate to and connect strongly with their player character for various reasons, whether that's strictly the character's culture or not. I dunno: too philosophical, maybe? But that's my interesting thought for the day. I wonder if I could find anything that would back this up, or even rebuff it. Whatever the case, it would help me unravel a little bit more.

It actually relates to something I read in the book Quests by Jeff Howard, and in the book The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Writing and Design, which I am reading at the moment, which I'll reflect upon when I'm confident with my findings.  

It's not just about Appearances!

Or, according to the different regional box-arts of our favourite little pink blob, Kirby. 

So I found out that Kirby has always looked different on the box art for Japanese and North American versions, (again, the most common comparison!). For North America, Kirby always looks pretty angry, compared to the care-free, happy-go-lucky looking Kirby on the Japanese versions below. This has been commonplace for most of the games in the series (with a couple of exceptions).

Gamespot did an interview with Shinya Kumazaki, the director of the Kirby games, who explains why they have changed Kirby's facial expression for America. It is only his expression that changes, and nothing about his physical appearance. 

American versus Japanese box art.

In the interview, Kumazaki explains that the reason Kirby is 'cute' for the most part is because it is the strongest portrayal of Kirby. Apparently it 'appeals to the widest audience' and is particular effective in drawing in the Japanese audience, which is why he is always cute for Japanese box art (minus one game which I'll mention). It seems the Japanese market like 'cute'. 

On the other hand, North America are said to prefer the more hardcore side of Kirby. Kumazaki says that they are aware of Kirby having  ' a serious side as well'. Through feedback to HAL from Nintendo of America, it seems that the angry Kirby appeals well to the U.S market and that's what they would rather have. 

This is another example, and a different one at that, of how character's are localized. They don't necessarily have to be changed physically. In this case, Kirby's forefront attitude was changed. In a way, I think this is perhaps a cleverer way of localizing a character. Ultimately, the character has not had to physically change whatsoever. Kirby just looks more serious, more focused. He still looks cute though, so that image isn't lost. It's just that it's been adapted to suit a different market. 

Characters are more often than note featured on box art, and box art helps to sell a game. Reflecting on this, care needs to be taken in how a character is portrayed when it comes to marketing and being able to appeal to the target audience. 

To me, Kirby's change was a subtle change, because he's practically identical bar his expression and I think the message gets across quite easily. It's not dissimilar from how they changed Ratchet from Ratchet and Clank, as Hasegawa and Tsurumi explain in an interview (taken from the book Better Game Characters by Design). To make him more expressive for the Japanese market, his eyebrows were thickened and stripes were added to his body to reflect his wild nature. This was about expression, as was Kirby's alteration.

As long as it doesn't take away from the character, or present the wrong message about the character, I think it works well. In fact, perhaps this subtle localisation works better than changing a character too much visually. Especially if a character has a particular culture that is expressed through how they look (building upon what Sean Andrew Murray wrote about clothes telling a story), then it might just be the attitude of the character or its values that be necessary to change to appeal to an audience.

After all, it is often a character's values and behaviourism that attracts a player to it, as seems to show in my survey results thus far.

Another reason for localising a character might be because of cultural beliefs. I've been looking up why Karthus from League of Legends was changed for China. Something or rather to do with bones, but it's difficult to find a good point of reference. All I know so far is that his design was altered, and that forums speculate why.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-04-29-why-so-serious-nintendo-explains-angry-western-kirby
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-is-kirby-always-angry-in-the-us-nintendo-explains/1100-6419263/

Is subculture more prominent?

So I've had a handful of surveys back so far, and the results are actually quite interesting. Some of them are not what I was expecting, and it seems that people so far seem to pick up on the characters' sub-cultures and values more than culture. Of course, culture is connected to their values, or at least some of the answers indicate that the character's culture is related to their values, however again they are more focused on the sub-culture.

Interestingly enough, most of the favourite characters are actually quite general, in that they don't belong to specific culture, excluding the characters which belong to a fictional culture. Obviously, I need to wait for more people to reply with their answers for me to establish a conclusion, but I've just found it rather intriguing, some of the answers that have come back so far!

Thus far, my findings are leading to me to believe that perhaps I should be considering how to design a character from a particular culture both subtly and effectively, with a balance for marketability. 

So far, to answer my question, the impact of culture in character design appears to be minimal for those that I have asked so far, although there is value in it. 

Next steps

Having set my surveys underway, I'm establishing my next moves.

Obviously, research remains undergoing, of which I'm drowning in books and articles... feels like I'm wading. First I'm reading, then I'mm taking notes, then I'm reflecting, then I'm going off on tangents... then I'm building a confident starting point for actually beginning designing and sketching and experimenting visually.... SO MUCH WRITE UP! O_o


-ahem- Anyhow, yeah. This entry is less about what I've learned and more about what I'm now intending to do. Setting a structure for myself.

• Finish writing up/ reflecting upon current findings from further research.

• Explore why certain cultural games are successful and why some aren't across cultural borders.

• Begin visual exploration through the topic of 'stereotypes'. 

1. Designing characters based on my current knowledge of a select number of cultures
2. Redesigning them based on my NEW, researched knowledge of those cultures. 
3. Then beginning to flesh them out beyond just appearances. This would affect how I would develop them. 

So literally, Erdin just posted this in our MA group on Facebook!

I actually touched on something like this back when I was talking about Mario and his famous moustache. It was about iconic characters if they had come from other cultures. Perhaps I could consider exploring redesigning existing characters into different cultures!  

Oop. See. Tangent, AWAY! 

Surveys!

So I've sent out a couple of Surveys to gather a bit of information about whether culture really does have a significant presence among Western audiences, well, at least in the UK... because my contacts don't go that far!
Although that being said, I could create a survey on Survey Monkey.com to try and reach complete strangers far and wide. If i do that, it might be more reliable. We'll see.

Anyways, I've asked a number of people interested in games, but also some who are game designers and animators and other design students too. This will get me some info from other points of views.

By investigating what people say as a good character, both in design and inspiration, this will help me to determine how to approach character design so that my final outcome is marketable AND relatable. 

From these results, it could swing one way or another that culture should have a more subtle presence. Well it might not even be essential at all. Some people might not care. But, after all, this is why I'm conducting these surveys.

Now I just have to wait for them XD

Believable Characters

So in researching what makes a good character, other than what I've already established, I found these two articles on CreativeBloq. Both of these articles include advice from professional illustrators: Tony Foti and Sean Andrew Murray, respectively;

(1) http://www.creativebloq.com/character-design/4-top-character-design-secrets-101413322

(2) http://www.creativebloq.com/character-design/how-draw-believable-clothing-your-character-101413217

The opening sentence for article one (1) reads :'Original concepts for game characters start with an imaginative back story, says Illustrator Tony Foti'.

This is what grabbed my attention about this article most of all. Personally, I find that works which talk about character design are often solely focused on the physical design, the visuals of the character, however when considering the factor of cultures that are involved in the video game industry, the background and the story of the character becomes a very important factor. So this article was good for me in that it iterates the importance of story as a key aspect in character design.

A character with more depth often gives for a more easily relatable one, however it also means that if this character takes inspiration from a real-life culture, then it is important that it is accurate and not too specific for a wide audience to grow close to, as I already pointed out in my last blog entry. A character that is too niche is hard to digest for some people.

The more you learn about your own character and where its influences lay, then the easier it will be to establish a personality that many people would be able to relate to. Culturally speaking, this could mean taking a more subtle approach to integrating it into the design, or simply a more cleverly devised design - leading me onto why I found article two (2) relevant.

Again, this article also makes reference to having a good story. In other words a character should be fleshed out in character and personality, which in turn should show through their physical appearance and more specifically, as Murray speaks about, clothing. He uses this an example of a good medium through which to tell the character's story. Bringing it back to my particular topic of research, clothing can also be a very good indicator of a character's culture. This is all part of creating a layered character with whom the audience can engage with, because it HAS that depth.

I like Murray's example of the shaman-esque character.



A subtle touch, but as he rightly states it is the bones that draw the attention. It immediately made me think of a witch doctor. It is open to interpretation because it subtle, meaning more people can potentially engage with it, however there is a reference of culture there. Witch doctors are another name for African Shamans and Bone throwing was a technique used by these people.

These two articles touched upon the balance of character back-story and physical appearance with a little more depth than I had read until now. These clever design tips are perhaps key in creating a believable character whether it be highly fantasized, just as the shaman-like character above is. He has small but clear touches of culture (i,e, African Shaman) without being overbearing. Perhaps it is that because the fantasy in his design helps to mute the niche culture with which few people might actually wholly relate.

He is believable. Regardless of where a character's influences stem, they should be believable otherwise players will only feel detached from them.

Getting Clear on Culture

A while ago I mentioned a book that would be ideal for me to look at regarding my area of research. Better Game Character By Design dedicates a chapter to discussing culture and its involvement in games and character design. 

So I read up on this a week or so ago, and only just got round to writing up my notes into the blog! Woops! I found quite a lot and it led me onto another book as well, so this might be a long entry as I write up the many notes I took. :P 

Anyway, it mentioned a number of interesting points that I wasn't aware of, and it's tugged in a slightly unexpected direction in its mentioning of localization of characters according to the culture of the region in which a game is intended to be released.

The entire chapter was enlightening though, backing up what I initially thought about this subject not being explored enough. As I've already reflected upon before, it's dangerous territory when directly taking inspiration from culture by culture or for culture, because there's always the risk of running stereotypes. That being said, I've started exploration on how this might be combated and how audiences might prefer to see characters in terms of cultural influences i.e. more subtle references, maybe even fantasized versions of existing cultures. (How many times can I type that word in one paragraph?!) 

Not entirely sure what I've written about my findings from this so far, so I'll recap: culture is defined most commonly as national identities, however ethnicity is not so black and white. There are subcultures within those cultures and old and new traditions and customs that may or may not have intertwined in recent years. Once distinguishable cultures are becoming a blend of many. So this is one of the reasons that cultures in games and surrounding games is becoming a little more complex. Isbister covers this as an intro.

Three points are made, regarding stereotyping and why to go about avoiding stereotypes - for one thing, nowadays people might get easily offended! 

Nothing stays the same, and that makes 'culture' very hard to define, be it a fictional culture based upon a real one or a character inspired directly by an existing (or once existing) culture. This again runs the risk of stereotype. 

However I read upon a useful statement, that: 

'Designs that address basic human issues and qualities can be appealing when [...] appearance and behaviour come from an unfamiliar subculture' (Isbister, 2006). 

This, in my opinion, suggests that character relation to players goes deeper than just how they look. For example, as is pointed out in the interview with Hasegawa and Tsurumi, Japanese audiences hate Master Chief not only for his physical design, but for his apparent independence, as they are far more accustomed to 'collectivist cultures [...] value the harmony of the group and protecting each person...' (Isbister, 2006). 

Tidus and Yuna from Final Fantasy X is the example used here. 

They maintain Japanese behaviourisms, including looking out for and supporting each other as well as how they address each other with bows. The entire game involves Tidus supporting Yuna and others throughout the game.

One game that comes to mind for me is the Legend of Zelda series. Link always has a supporting character, whether it is Navi the Fairy from Ocarina of Time, or perhaps more notably Midna from Twilight Princess - in the end she in particular supports Link to the end despite ulterior motives in the beginning. The point is, Link can't complete his quest without her aid.

I learned that physical identity is important in 'social perception and interaction', Isbister says that ethnic similarities between player and character are 'perceived as more socially attractive'. This is particularly true for player-characters as they are a social substitute, effectively an avatar for the player in the game. (Isbister, 2006). So perhaps this is why it is difficult for characters and games to transfer regions without making changes, although apparently Japanese games transfer more easily to Western cultures.
 

This might explain why non-human characters seem to succeed globally. Just look at the phenomenon that was and still is Pokemon. It transcends cultural borders because it is so wildly adrift from reality that the cultural presence is almost unnoticed, despite it being typically Japanese. 

'Social roles are important to character design because they shape a player's expectations about how characters should interact more with one another in the game. If a character has a particular social role, the player with unconsciously apply his or her own cultural expectations for fulfilling that role and may be confused [...] if the character diverges from these expectations without explanation. This may be especially true if the character looks as if she or he belongs to the player's own cultural group'. (Isbister, 2006).

This passage particularly intrigued me because it seems to claim that a character is more relatable to a player, so long as BOTH the character's physical identity AND interactions/behaviours coincide with the player's own. But is this always true? For a character with a strict cultural identity that is closely related to the players, then most likely, however you cannot identify how far this truth stretches, in my opinion.  although I will agree with the statement that 'cultural and subcultural backgrounds have a profound effect on how [the player] perceives the game because of these existing expectations'. This is something that I could explore!  In fact, I am already looking into differentiating between what is good character design for people from different backgrounds. 

 Again, another questionable statement is made, regarding whether characters behaving a certain way can appeal and engage people whose customs include the same values. I could flip that, and ask what about those who don't have the same values. Are they automatically rejected or disregarded as being able to relate to those characters? Other reasons could constitute a relation between player and character, although I will agree with the statement that 'cultural and subcultural backgrounds have a profound effect on how [the player] perceives the game because of these existing expectations'.

I have already established that there's no easy way to design a good character, as it is very subjective to different groups and even individuals within those groups, but the end of the chapter provides some design pointers, a couple of which I would be very wise to heed: 

• 'Consider avoiding real races and cultural movements'
• 'Use simple human universals in character relationships'
• 'Be true to localization of your characters in their own world'

(Pages 60-61)

This has been pretty lengthy, analyzing what I researched back then. I will discuss what I learned from the following interview with Hasegawa and Tsurumi from Sony Entertainment Japan in a separate entry. And then obviously what this has led me onto, further regarding the necessity, hindrance and impact of culture. I have been currently reading up on a similar topic in the book 'The Business and Culture of Digital Games'. This too emphasizes how it is an important presence and the effect it has, however it has a wider scope, focusing on the entirety of games. It is good for me to get a view of the whole thing. 

Perhaps I will gain a bigger insight into other cultures beyond the obvious, and the biggest affect it might have on marketability. 

Fundamentals of Character Design

So while I've been researching, it's also occurred to me that it is a good idea to revise the foundation of what makes a good character. These fundamentals, the very aspects that together create a memorable character, are the basis upon which I will be building up further. In regards to that, I rewound a year or two, back to the lectures in 2nd Year on Character Design.

Those lectures kind of stuck with me and it was what prompted me into specializing in character design, essentially.

My point is, I want to review that which I've already learned, so to use it as a springboard to help me.
I remember taking away several points about what makes a character stand out, including: 

• Silhouette
• Colour palette 
• Visual grouping
• A distinctive feature

 

These are points also considered in text books that I have read. In Better Game Characters by Design, there is an interview with Ryoichi Hasegawa and Roppyaku Tsurumi from Sony Computer Entertainment Japan. In this interview both make references to the use of silhouette, with Hasegawa stating that 'the character's silhouette is more important than character details' (Isbister, 2006). I can agree with that when it comes to static images, because you can take far less about a character from a still image than you can when the character is in play. So the silhouette helps to recognize it.

I remember some of the examples used in the presentation Josh gave were some of the most iconic characters, and they are so iconic because almost everyone recognizes them even without having played their respective games.

Globally recognised silhouette of Sonic!

Josh referred to Cloud's 'Big Sword' during those talks. That's another point that Hasegawa also makes in the interview, referring to a character's 'special qualities'. What is it that the character has that is particularly recognisable, enough to make them stand out - much like Cloud's big sword? Interestingly enough, Hagesawa also claims that 'overseas' game designers' lack good special qualities in their characters, making them weak in comparison to Japanese character designs, (Isbister, 2006).
That's just something for me to think on.

Another point, which would be good to consider for culturally-inspired characters, is visual grouping. When you have a group of characters that belong to the same world, something has to connect them visually. Now, when talking about characters that may come from different fictional cultures within that world, that might not be as easy as it seems. So the aspects of it are important to remember, such as similar clothing, the art style, body language and not forgetting colours. With this in mind, I might consider that subtle visual influences of culture could be more effective in terms of a visual collective.

These fundamentals are a useful springboard, however it is important to remember that each video game culture has a different methodology of designing characters too. Obviously, I am bearing in mind how certain cultures, for example Japan, seldom accept a character designed from another culture because it simply does not fit their customs. A good character designer might follow these tips, however the depth of the character - their personality and behavioural patterns - might conflict with different audiences.