This week I wanted to consider how the characters are designed and animated. What specific possibilities can animation bring to an interactive experience? Action and movement of a playable character or entity is an important thing to consider in interactive experiences, since this will be what the user manipulates and controls. A player is engaged through this embodiment of the playable character.
Returning to the Sims example, Jenkins (2012) points out that characters in the game have different needs that have to be met and how we choose to meet the needs of the characters will affect them. Negative emotional states or tiredness in the Sims will change the way the character is animated, like a stink cloud or drooping figure.
I started work by drawing thumbnails of three different states the character might be in as the narrative progresses, as a “beginning, middle and end” visualisation. The character might be relaxed or bored at the start, distressed and anxious when being dominated by the mum/owner, and experiencing some kind of vengeful delight at the end in flipping the power relationship around.
I then did some dog face studies to look at different expressions of dogs, to help me consider options for character expressions in different states of development.
I also did some thumbnails of dog faces to think about options for shape language and how it might communicate different personalities.
By Louis Fourie
Email Louis Fourie
Published On: 31/03/2022
