The thesis is done! Now: Final Presentation time!

Hi there! As the title of this post already suggests, I'm finished writing my thesis! Now, it's time to prepare for the final presentation, which will be next week!

Some interesting on topic talks and articles!

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escapist-podcast/6114-Is-Photorealism-Needed-for-Gaming-to-Advance

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/118839-2K-New-Genres-Impossible-Without-Photorealism

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/118871-Notch-Calls-Out-2K-Boss-Over-Photorealism-Comments

Here are some amazingly interesting articles, and they all relate so closely to the topics I'm writing about for my thesis. Holy cow!

A quick sign of life!

Hi there! As you may have noticed, things have gotten a bit quiet over here. I'm currently complete focused on writing my thesis, which is quite hard and takes up all of my time. The next update will probably be about my final presentation. So, see you then and wish me luck! 

Animation Brenna expression sheet

Here are the six universal expressions for the expression sheet of animation Brenna! Anger, fear, disgust, surprise, happiness and sadness.

Modelsheet Brenna first game character design

A wee bit over due this modelsheet, but still I'm glad it's finished. This is the first realistic game character design, meant for the third person action adventure game. This marks a milestone in my project.
The only thing left right now is an expression sheet for the animation design to explore her emotional range. After this, I can finally focus on my supportive narrative as everything now falls into place.

The third intermediate Brenna game character design!

*Second drum roll* And here is the third design of Brenna! This is the intermediate design, which takes visual cues from the animation design. Quite obviously, this design is more stylized than the first design, but less than the animation design. I took the simpler shape language and ran with it. This is mainly evident in the elongated anatomy, the clothing (skirt, the leather jerkin etc.) and the bigger facial features. I think that this design, in my opinion, is a better readable and more memorable one than the first one. 

Animation Brenna!

*Drum roll* I present, Brenna the Raven Maiden the animated series! As you can see, this design differs greatly from the first one. With this design I wanted to emphasize her youthful innocence at the beginning of the story and her journey. To accomplish this, I used bigger and rounder shapes to emphasize her youthfulness and good spirit. I also made the colors more saturated and lighter to the same effect.

I made this design together with my panel animators, who said that this kind of stylization is enough to greatly enhance the possibility to animate this design. 

Third character design WIP

Today a quick update concerning the third character design of Brenna. Currently awaiting the feedback of my animators, I started working it.

Basically, this third design is a kind of bridge between the first animation and game character design. I'll take the best elements of the animation design and apply them to this third design intended for a third person action adventure game.

As you can see in the image above, I lifted a bigger head, enlarged facial features, the long thin legs, small feet and in general less detail overall of the animation design. This third design moves quite quickly, and hopefully I can finish this one this week. 

Animation char sheet WIP

Animation sketch full body part I+II

Hairstyles test

First emotive sketches

Facial exploration sketches part III

Facial exploration sketches part II

Facial exploration sketches

Animator meeting #2

Today I went to my panel of animators and showed them the sketches I made. As you can see, I tried to incorporate more movement, more focus on the face and more focus on the development of the character (different ages).

Today was a short session, because the animators are in the midst of finishing their bachelor project. In short and without further ado, here are some points of feedback of the animators.

- Small details on the cloth aren't necessary. As it is twodimensional, fabric defnition is not that hugely important (on the contrary with 3D graphics of course)

- Focus on more of a variety of expressions 

- Also, make these expressions more extreme (if this fits your story)

- Know your character through and through. Well, seeing the documentation I have on her, this area is already covered

So, back to the drawing board! With this feedback I can proceed. At the end of next week I this design must be 90% finished.

P.S= I also got some original character model sheets which I'm allowed to use as reference for my project. Of course, I will not show them here because it is not my work. These will really help as a benchmark to help me develop my final design.

Animation sketches part IV

Side characters biographies

Brenna’s Father
Name: Urard MacChisholm
Age: 30 (when they first met) / 45 (during the devastating raid)
Sex: Male
Occupation: Farmer
Physical Appearance: Tall, broad shouldered, fair-haired, light skinned, big hands, blue eyes
Keywords personality: Caring, strong, simple-minded, a bit conservative, honest, hard worker, protective

Short bio:
The father of Brenna and husband of Morna. A simple farmer, he doesn't ask much from life other than protecting and providing for his family. He has been living in Bres all his life, just as his ancestors before him. He met Brenna's mother Morna when he was one day walking along the coastline with his horses. During this walk, he stumbles across a stranded fishers boat, visibly ravaged from a long and arduous journey. Being curious, he peeks inside. To his surprise, he finds a woman and an old man, both in bad condition but still breathing. Urard falls in love with this mysterious woman the moment he lays his eyes on her dark exotic beauty.

Wasting no time, he puts them on the back of his horses and takes them into his household, nursing them both back to health. After they come by, they give him their names. After this introduction, Urard is curious on how they ended up on that beach. Both seem reluctant to tell him anything specific and after some tries, he puts it aside, still entranced by this mysterious woman.

Brenna's Mother

Name: Morna Chisholm Shaheen
Age: 26 (when she first meets Urard) / 41 (during the devastating raid)
Sex: Female
Occupation: Former Princess of Tiboc/ Currently housewife
Physical Appearance: Black curly, full hair,  olive skinned, curvy, big brown eyes
Keywords personality: Caring, (over-)protective, strong temper, loving, a (mysterious) royal air, gentle, wise 

Short bio:
The mother of Brenna and wife of Urard. As only child, she was born and raised as a princess in the royal house of Tiboc. Her life can be summarized as a bit of a golden cage, filled with luxury but no real freedom. She was not going anywhere without her father’s permission.

Together with her parents she fled her desert kingdom of Tiboc during the siege of Kurmak. They used the secret entrance at the back of the castle to run to the shore. There, they escaped just barely by using a simple fishers boat. What follows is a long journey to the north, unknown territory for the three of them. During the journey her mother falls ill and dies. This has a big impact on her, resulting in unbearable grief and some resentment towards her father. After they get stranded, they both collapse, exhausted from the long journey. 

When she awakes, she finds herself in a modest farmstead, being watched by a tall and handsome man. During the time she is nursed back to health by this man called Urard she falls for him. She thinks of him as a strong and honest man with a kind heart. When she fully recovers, she decides to stay with him, to great anger of Brion. After some heated debate, he gives in.

Initially, the transition from her warm southern country to this strange cold country isn't without any trouble. She misses the luxury of her prior life, but thinking about the siege and the casualties quickly stirs her back to reality. Also, the people in the village of Bres and especially the women look at her with strange eyes, filled with fear and mostly contempt. She can't help it. Her dark and exotic looks make her stand out between the fair-haired and light skinned people of the Northen Island Kingdom of Eovia. After a year of staying with Urard, Brenna is born. Both Morna and Urard are filled with joy and Morna finally settles into a harsh, simple but safe life in Eovia.

The Mentor / Brenna's grandfather

Name: Brion Shaheen
Age: 61 (54 during the initial raid)
Sex: Male
Occupation: Former High King of Tiboc / Currently fisherman and self-appointed hermit
Physical Appearance: Barrel chested, tough, worn, weathered, white beard
Keywords personality: Grumpy, witty, wise, a royal air, observant, stern, remorseful

Short bio: 

The father of Morna and the grandfather of Brenna. He was the former High King of the Southern Kingdom of Tiboc and ruled for 20 years before Kurmak and his army laid siege to his castle. The people of Tiboc saw him as a fair and just King. The people of Tiboc loved and adored him, since he brought an era of peace, balance and abundance.

After losing the siege with Kurmak, he decides to flee together with his daughter Morna and the queen, her mother and his wife Husnah. They use a simple boat and take off to the north, into unknown territory. What follows is a long journey where he loses his wife to illness. This is a great moment of personal grief for Brion, as he sees this is as all his fault. Finally they strand on a strange beach and they both collapse of exhaustion.

After he is picked up and fully cured by Urard, he chooses to live in solitude in the wilderness, afraid of drawing more unwanted attention of possible raiding parties to his only daughter. He urges Morna not to visit him, unless it is an emergency. He keeps an eye out on her, setting up secret meetings outside the village of Bres.

One of the major burdens he carries is the thought that he let his people down as their High King and left them to their fate. He admits to himself it was a selfish act, but in the end he wanted to save his only daughter and make sure she would survive. Because of this, he chooses the way of the hermit. He doesn’t want his selfish act to be for naught. 

The Antagonist
Name: Kurmak Ghazi

Age: 23 (when he conquered Tiboc) /  45 (at the beginning of the first game)
Sex: Male
Occupation: Current High King of Tiboc
Physical Appearance: Broad-shouldered, tanned skin, black hair, pointy beard, powerful, dark, black venomous eyes
Keywords personality: Arrogant, cunning, vile, strong willed, power hungry, vain   

Short bio: 

Before he became the new High King of Tiboc, Kurmak was the young powerful and promising leader of the nomadic desert tribe who live at the edges of the kingdom of Tiboc. One day, when he was visiting Brion’s castle to talk about a possible peace treaty, he saw princess Morna. He fell in love with her immediately. During the peace treaty talk Kurmak suggests that Morna be wedded to him, ensuring peace and stability across the land. Brion forcefully rejects this suggestion, sensing the dark brooding power behind this young man. Kurmak leaves Brion’s castle infuriated.

When he returns to his formidable tribe of warriors that night he decides to forget about the peace treaty and to take what he desires the most by force. After a couple of monts of preparation, he assembles a massive army consisting of the many Mecca desert tribes and defeats Brion’s forces after a long lasting and demanding siege. After he enters the castle and overtakes its guards, Kurmak finds no traces of the royal family. He orders all his soldiers to look around and bring them to him, but alas. 

But then, one of his soldiers on top of one of the highest towers spots a small boat quickly departing from the shoreline. They try to apprehend it, but it’s too late. Kurmak sees them disappear from eyesight. He suspects they will never make it across, as they are not experienced sailors. He turns back to his soldiers, giving them orders to secure the castle and installs himself as the new High King of Tiboc.  

Fifteen years later, the people in Tiboc are still secretly speaking of a possible return of the just High King. Kurmak catches wind of these rumors and decides to crush this hope once and for all. He decides to take a party of soldiers up north and see if he can find some traces of these royal bastards and hunt them down. 

Brenna Chisholm's full discription

It's way overdue I guess, but here is the backstory on Brenna. I used different models and questionnaires to deepen her character and thus define my character design constraints.

Main character / Protagonist

Name: Brenna Chisholm  ( Meaning first name: raven maid, dark-haired)
Age: 19 (At the beginning of the first game) / 12 (when the devastating raid occurs). Sex: Female
Occupation: Lone archer on an epic quest 
Physical Appearance: slender, lean, agile, quick, slight olive skinned, dark brown/black hair
Weapon(s): bow and arrow, dagger
Keywords personality: Quick wit, observant, determined, impressionable, passionate / strong willed, still unexperienced, charming, still innocent at heart    


Short bio:

Brenna is the firstborn daughter of Urard MacChisholm and Morna Chisholm. Before the devastating raid on her village of Bres, she lived happily and undisturbed with her parents and three little brothers. In her pastime she loves to climb trees, chase rabbits and to play hide and seek with her three little brothers. She dreams of one day going outside the village and explore the world. This prospect dismays her father, protective as he is. He warns her about the harsh and unwelcoming outside world. This doesn’t stop her from fantasizing about the world beyond Bres. Unfortunately for her, she’ll soon have to get acquinted with this outside world in a rather unexpected and cruel way…

Character Bio Questionnaire
Source: Thinking Animation: Bridging the Gap between 2D and CG by Angie Jones and Jamie Oliff

Age: 19  (when the game begins)

Ethnicity: Can be described as mixed; partly Eovian (Northern kingdom) and Tibocian (Southern kingdom). Comparable to an Irish/Spanish mix.

Height: 170 cm / 5’ 7”

Weight: 58 kgs / 127 pounds.

Sex: She hasn’t had any intercouse yet at the beginning of the game. This will probably change this during the game, but she is cautious for anything that stands in achieving her main goal and because she is unexperienced in that area.

Gender: Female.

Health: Perfectly fine, fit and lean due to Medieval circumstances and training by Brion

Intelligence: She is bright, observant and has quick wit. But, she still has to learn a lot since she hasn’t left her village ever.

Education: Initially she doesn’t receive any special education, but after the raid when she is taken in by Brion, she does. She receives special combat training and learns how to survive in the outside world. Also, because of her royal lineage, she learns some things about strategy, compassion and how to be a just ruler.

Lifespan: The games will span across a couple of decades of Brenna’s life. In the epilogue, she will die of old age, at the age of 78.

Culture: She comes from a simple village and farming community.

Food/Eating habits: Initially, she lives on a farmstead. She eats a variety of grain, bread, porridge, vegetables and crops, animal meat like pigs, sheep and against her will the occasional rabbit (She adores rabbits).

Nocturnal: She is not a nightdweller, although she is intrigued by the world at night. She is especially intrigued by the moon and the stars, as she cannot grasp them.

Family: She cares a great deal about her family. Being the oldest of four children, she always felt like she had to watch over her three younger brothers. She also loves her father and mother, although they can be a bit overprotective at times.

Money: She doesn’t care about money. On the farm and in the village most of the commerce is done by trading foods and other supplies. As soon as she set foot outside of Bres, she start to realise the importance of having some medieval cash to accommodate for basic needs like food and shelter.

Profession: She doesn’t have a specific profession. When the raid occurs, she is 12 and hasn’t learn enough about how to run a farmstead. After the training with Brion she embarks on her quest as an lone archer so she mainly moves around in search of means to continue her journey to her native country of Tiboc.

Body structure: She is a young girl/woman and has a lean, slender stature. People perceive her as quite fragile, but her life on the farmstead and the training by Brion made her physically durable. Due to her appearance she can move stealthily and run fast. What she doesn’t have in brute strenght she compensates in her agility and quick manouverability.

Flaws: In the beginning of the game, she is too trusting and quite impressionable. She hasn’t ventured outside her village of Bres, and people can take advantage of her this way. And that is not wise in the medieval world of Lir. She is physically not the strongest, so in hand to hand combat she mostly has to rely on her smarts and her agility and speed. That is why she relies first and utmost in her arching skills, and then in desperate times falls back on her dagger.

Idiosyncracies: First of all, Brenna has a very distinct appearance. She has the lean build of her Eovian father Urard, and on the other hand the dark hair, olive skin and dark eyes of her Tibocian mother Morna. She is also a young woman in a man’s world, trying to survive between thugs, mercenaries and so forth. She relies on her wits and speed, instead of brute strength.

Goals: Before the raid, it was mainly to grow up and one day leave Bres. After the raid this quickly changes. She wants to retrieve her family and avenge her father’s death. Also, when she learns of her royal lineage, at first she doesn’t want any of it. Then, when she sees how Kurmak is holding down the people in Tiboc, she changes her mind and decides next to killing Kurmak, she will take over as a just ruler.

Dreams: As a young girl, she always dreamed about foreign countries and crossing vast seas. She also has a special connection with birds, as these creatures are free to go whenever they please and travel across different lands and seas. Therefore she is also intrigued by nature, animals and the sky at night, with its beautiful moon and stars.

Trauma: Up until age 12, Brenna is brought up as a normal young farmer girl. She is kinda bored by this prospect, dreaming of venturing into the outside world, to dismay of her protective father. When the raid happens, her simple and safe life falls apart. Her father gets killed and her mother and three little brothers are abducted by an army of thugs. With the dying words of her father on her mind, she flees the village and runs as fast as she can to the east coast. She passes out and gets picked up by Brion, unknowingly her grandfather. Brion explains her lineage and who is probably behind this attack on Bres. After she hears of this, she develops a strong hatred for Kurmak and his army and the inhabitants of Tiboc. 

Stereotype vs. archetype: She is the typical heroin archetype, pure, innocent and wronged by the main antagonist Kurmak. She has traits of the fierce Amazonian archetype, although she doesn’t start that way. She develops her lethal skills throughout the game, but starts off as a impressionable young woman.

Talent: She is quick on her feet, agile, can move stealthily around and has a considerable arching skill which she develops throughout the game. She also possesses a quick wit, is observant and bright.

Addictions: She hasn’t any physical addictions. No booze, no drugs, nothing of the sort. But as a young kid, she always has adored chasing rabbits.


Character Development Worksheet
Source: N/A

1Q. Are the game’s character(s) primarily art-based or story-based?

1A. The game character Brenna is primarily story-based; the way she looks flows from that.

2Q. What style is your art-based character drawn in: cartoon, comic-book superhero, realistic, gothic, and so on? Will your character be exaggerated in some way: cute, super-sensual, or otherwise?

2A. The character will have two forms;

- Game character - The game character will have a more realistic approach, with realistic proportions and anatomy. This character design is aimed at a 3D action adventure game for the XBOX360 and Playstation3.

- Animation character – The animation character (the same character) will have a more stylized look, appropriate for a 2D animation.  

3Q. Do your art-based characters depend upon visual stereotypes for instant identification, or are they more subtle than that? If they are more subtle, how does their appearance support their role in the game?

3A. For the game character I will use a visual stereotype which can be described as a “light class”, or in different terms a scout/ranger. For the animation character, things are going to be more subtle, focusing on her personality instead of her visual and functional traits.  

4Q. Can the player tell by looking at a character how that character is likely to act? Are there reasons in the story or gameplay for wanting a character's behavior to be predictable from his/her appearance, or is there a reason to make the character ambiguous?

4A. When the player will see her in the game, it should be obvious that she is quick on her feet because of her “light”, slender appearance and light class association. Also, she should look determined in fulfilling her journey.

5Q. If the game has an avatar, does the avatar have a sidekick? What does the sidekick offer the player—information, advice, physical assistance? How will the sidekick complement the avatar? How will the player be able to visually distinguish between the two of them at a glance?

5A. In the beginning of the game, you’ll start off alone. During the game you will meet new people who can take with you. These will have different abilities, varying between burly warriors and knowledgeable clerics. They will always bring something different and new to your party, so don’t expect any other “ranger/scout” types. For the animation part, I’m going to focus solely on her, so no sidekicks present there.

6Q. With a story-based character, how will you convey the character's personality and attitudes to the player? Through narration, dialog, gameplay, backstory, or other means?

6A. Brenna’s personality will be conveyed through all the mentioned examples, namely, dialogue options in the game, the narration of the story and the gameplay as a scout/ranger, exploring these vast landscapes. This is all in-game. As a transmedia franchise, the backstory will be told through a separate short 2D animated film, explaining why she went on this journey in the first place, giving more context to the game’s story.

7Q. How does the character's grammar, vocabulary, tone of voice, and speech patterns contribute to the player's understanding of him/her?

7A. Brenna’s tone is primarily determined throughout the game. But, still being a young woman, I don’t want her to sound too “butch”. Before her journey, she never had set a foot outside the Northern Island Kingdom of Eovia. As a child, she never wandered too far off her village Bres as well. So I still want a sense of wonder about her, as she discovers new places and meets new people. But, her main quest is still getting her family back and avenge her father’s death, so that is the main motivator.

8Q. Specifically in the case of avatar characters, what about the avatar will intrigue and interest the player?

8A. She isn’t particularly physically strong, but she is strong in her conviction, and she is very determined to complete her quest. During the game, when she matures thanks to the journey she must take, she will grow from a young, impressionable girl to a confident and strong woman who can hold her own in a world fraught with danger.

9Q. What about the avatar will encourage the player to like him/her?

9A. Of course next to the obvious visual appeal (she is not going to be too ugly, right?), it’s her strong will and determination. Even though the hardship that she has endured during the loss of her parents, I want her to be open-minded and still impressionable. As I stated before, she hasn’t ventured into the outside world yet, and all these new discoveries leave a big impact on her. 

10Q. How will the avatar change and grow throughout the game?



10A. As I mentioned before, she starts off her journey when she is 19. Still a young girl/woman and she hasn’t seen much of the world. Also, at the beginning of the game she is told that she stems from a unique royal lineage. This comes as a big shock at first, especially considering her humble beginnings in Bres. This fact takes some time to sink in her mind, but comes back at her with full force when she first ventures back to her native country, the desert kingdom of Tiboc.

11Q. Does the character (any character, not just the avatar) correspond to one of Campbell's mythic archetypes: the hero, mentor, ally, threshold guardian, and so on? Or does he/she have a less archetypal, more complex role to play, and if so, what is it?

11A. At first sight, Brenna is of course the hero(in) archetype, but because she is a female character she has a different sub archetype; the Amazonian warrior. This due to her weapon of choice; bow and arrow and because she grows during the game into a strong, mature woman. In the animation, she will also be the heroin character, but it will be more subtle, in contrast to the game character where the emphasis lies on character class. In the animation the emphasis will lie on her youthful innocence, before the devastating attack on her village.