tiafernandes

In this post I will discuss a series of video game characters and their significance during their introduction and at present.

1980s: Pac-Man (Pac-Man)
Having first been featured in the 1980 arcade game released in Japan, Pac-Man is potentially the first named video game character in history. The impact of Pac-Man was so huge that Pac-Man himself is still a highly recognised character 35 years later, and has also made a debut in the exceedingly popular Smash 4 as a third-party character. Although Pac-Man has no clear personality, unlike later characters, it can’t be denied that he is a highly significant character whose relevance is still obvious today.

1990s: Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)
First introduced in 1996, Lara Croft still holds an impressive legacy as the most recognisable female video game character. In a time where female protagonists were largely nonexistent (bar a few, such as the revelation of Samus Aran's gender in 1986), Lara Croft's creation and rise in popularity during the late 90s provoked a more realistic approach to female characters. Although some of Lara's depictions throughout the years have featured some questionable sexualisation, it's almost undoubtedly Lara who kicked off the rise of the female video game characters, and continues to be used as the prime example of famous female protagonists in video games today.

2000s: GLaDOS (Portal)
Puzzle-platformer Portal gave us GLaDOS, a feminine AI and antagonist of the game. Valve successfully avoids all of the pitfalls associated with feminine robots, giving GLaDOS a non-sexualised (and non-humanoid) design, and gifting her with an iconic robotic sarcasm, wit, and a certain extent of brutality in place of the seductive nature that is often given to female antagonists. As the series continued, she becomes more relatable, and has come into her own as a well-rounded character despite not actually being human. GLaDOS has continued to inspire many robotic characters since her conception in 2007.

2010s: Undyne (Undertale)
Although at the time I am writing this, the viral sensation that is Undertale is just a little over a month old, I feel that Undyne has recieved such positive feedback so far that it is important to mention her . A strong female warrior with the features of a fish, and one of the game's major characters, Undyne shows that female video game characters can be just as strong as males and don’t need to be limited to a supporting role. In fact, in the No Mercy route of the game, Undyne is described as the ‘heroine’ as the player character (a nonbinary human child) is playing the role of the antagonist. Futhermore, her in-game homoromantic relationship with amphibian scientist Alphys means that she is valid and important representation for the LGBT+ community. Both Undyne's and Undertale's skyrocket to popularity suggests that other game developers will take note of her importance in the future.


References

Pacman.com, (2015). Pac-Man History | PAC-MAN Official English Site. [online] Available at: http://pacman.com/en/pac-man-history [Accessed 15 Nov. 2015].

Tombraiders.net, (2015). Tomb Raider Timeline | Stella's Site. [online] Available at: http://tombraiders.net/stella/timeline.html [Accessed 15 Nov. 2015]. 

I feel that this unit (BA1A) has given me many new challenges and lots to think about. Following this is a self-assessment of my performance throughout the unit, mentioning what I feel worked well and what requires improvement.

During the first few weeks of BA1A, while completing the "Insect" project, I felt I needed to organise my time better; I spent far too long on the silhouette stages, which led to me having less time to complete the final piece as a consequence. However, this was resolved in the "Timepiece" project, where I weighted my time sufficiently for each aspect of the project, allowing me to finish in good time. I also felt that my drawings were too static in the "Insect" project, but had to wait until "Character" to work on this issue. However, I felt that my character sheet was a vast improvement on my first one, and the small drawings showing movement were much more dynamic and interesting.

Another more consistent issue I had was getting the correct amount of exploration done during the iteration phase. I felt that I had decided too quickly on my first two projects, but endeavoured to explore in more depth during the "Character" project, creating a large quantity of design and colour iterations to pick from.

However, I do feel that I have learned a lot from this unit. Before the project, I used Clip Studio Paint over Photoshop for digital art, but during my time working on my BA1A projects I learned many new Photoshop techniques and how to make the most of default and custom brushes through the settings. Although I am still getting used to drawing in Photoshop, I feel that the repeated practice will benefit me in the long run as Photoshop is far more widely used than Clip. I also learned how to use Alchemy in my "Timepiece" project, and found it a valuable tool for creating interesting silhouettes.

Furthermore, I have begun to utilise information I recieved in the lectures about colour, composition and the design process, which I know will be relevant to every piece of work I do in the future. Although I don't think I am using these concepts to their full extent at this early stage, I do feel like my knowledge of these subjects has improved vastly and it has had a visible effect on my artwork.

Similarly, my life drawing classes have introduced me to new ways of working and I feel much more confident in my figure drawing skills already, although I feel that I would benefit from further practice.

Life Drawing: 1

Life Drawing: 2

Part 3: Character Sheet

Part 4: Model Sheet

Part 5: Final Piece

Part 1: Silhouettes

Part 2: Iteration

Part 3: Model Sheet

Part 3: Final Piece

In The Seven Basic Plots, Christopher Booker theorises that plots can be sorted into one of seven categories. In this entry I will analyse the plots of games which fit into each category and explain why.

Mild spoilers to follow!

Overcoming Evil/The Monster:The protagonist sets out to defeat evil which threatens them, their friends, and/or their homeland.
Developed and published by Capcom. Image shows the official game boxart

Although 'overcoming evil' lends itself well to JRPGs and MMOs that typically have a literal monster as the final boss, other games can also fit under this kind of story, despite not featuring the protagonist slaying the evil monster with swords or weapons.

I have picked the example of adventure visual novel Gyakuten Kenji 2 (逆転検事２)/Ace Attorney Investigations 2, a spinoff entry to the Ace Attorney series which was never localised by Capcom. Like most Ace Attorney games, the story involves finding the truth behind various crimes and murders, and therefore each chapter or episode has its own 'evil' to overcome in the form of the true criminal, but Gyakuten Kenji 2's final confrontation with the 'man who masterminds the game' reveals that almost all of the incidents the player had previously been investigating had been orchestrated by just one character, who plays the role of the 'evil' the protagonist, Miles Edgeworth, and his allies, are made to overcome. The game hints at the existence of this 'mastermind' throughout many separate episodes, which reinforces the idea that the  ultimate 'evil' within the story is a constant threat to the protagonist and his friends. Despite this game not being a typical example of overcoming evil, I believe that the story does follow this kind of plot.

Rags to Riches: The protagonist gains wealth, friends, and/or power.


Developed and published by Nintendo. Image shows the official game boxart for New Leaf

One example of a game following the basic 'rags to riches' plotline is social simulation series Animal Crossing, where the protagonist typically plays a new villager moving to a town of anthropomorphic animals. The player character starts off poor, with a small house to live in, but as they make more friends, run errands, do jobs and invest their in-game currency correctly, the amount of Bells they acquire increases, and they are able to afford fancier outfits, better furniture, and a bigger house. There is no strict plotline to the game, but the general aim for most players is to create a town, house, and character appearance that they are satisfied with, which typically requires up to millions of bells. With this goal, the players typically partake in a typical 'rags to riches' plotline.

The Quest: The protagonist and potentially some comrades set out to acquire a certain item or reach a certain location.

By Toby Fox. Image shows a screenshot from the game.

The 'friendly RPG where nobody has to die', Undertale, fits with this type of story. The plot follows the protagonist, Frisk, as they make their way through the Underground in order to pass the barrier and find their way home. Although they become slightly distracted by other chaotic (and humorous) happenings going on with the monsters in the Underground, their quest remains the same throughout the game, and two out of three routes end with Frisk passing through the barrier and returning to the human world. If the player decides to kill all monsters in the game world and play a complete No Mercy or Kill-All run, the quest is not Frisk's quest to escape the underworld, but another character's quest for power and destruction. Although this is a different type of quest, it still fits with the general idea of the plot, so all routes of the game can be considered to have a 'quest'-type plot.

Voyage & Return: The protagonist sets out travelling and eventually returns with experience.


Screenshot from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo

Almost all entries to the Pokémon series involve this kind of plot. The protagonist sets out on an adventure after acquiring their first Pokémon, travelling around the region (and occasionally to other regions, such as in Gold and Silver or Heartgold and Soulsilver). Typically, after defeating the Champion and entering the Hall of Fame, the protagonist returns home to their mother and wakes up in their own room, equipped with all the experience their travels have given them. During some of the ending credits of the games (most notably Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl, Platinum and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire) show the player character riding their bicycle back to the town where it all started, showing the 'return' necessary for the 'voyage and return' style plot.

Comedy: Light and humorous.

Developed and published by Bossa Studios. Image shows the official game logo

Surgeon Simulator is overwhelmingly difficult but admittedly hilarious, well deserving of a mention as a comedic game. In fact, it is the difficult controls that makes the game as humorous as it is, with the player laughing at their own inability to actually perform any surgery, and the level ending as soon as you drop the correct organ into the chest cavity (even if you've ripped every other organ out of there and thrown them all on the floor).

Tragedy: Sad and tragic.
Developed by Brownie Brown/HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo. Image shows a screenshot from the English fan translation of the game.

The infamous game Mother 3 fits the idea of a tragic game, with the main protagonist, Lucas, being put through various tragic experiences such as the death of family members and the state of his world under a dictatorship.  The game makes you feel sad for other characters and their lives, too, and even the final battle has a way to make players cry. Mother 3 ditched the more lighthearted plotlines of the previous games in the Mother/Earthbound series in favour of a darker, more emotional story, which has been noted as one of the saddest games many fans have ever played.

Rebirth: An important event changes the protagonist.
Developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. Image is a screenshot of the game, taken from omegaevolution's playthrough on Youtube

Strategy RPG Fire Emblem: Awakening has an ending which fits the 'rebirth' style of plot. In it, the protagonist must choose between sharing the blame with the antagonist and giving their life to save the world or letting someone else kill the antagonist and risk them coming back at a later date. However, if the player chooses to give their life in the final battle, it is hinted that they return in the final cutscene in a type of 'rebirth'.