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GCG: Students, New Developers Dream Up Game Hero
by Jill Duffy
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August 21, 2008
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Game dev students and newcomers to the industry have voiced their thoughts about what kind of character should be the next big video game hero.
In a weekly game design contest run by GameCareerGuide.com, readers of the site were asked to develop a completely original character; the three best game heroes (plus two honorable mentions) have been posted on the site, alongside some amazing artwork by these up-and-coming designers.
The three heroes given attention in the article are:
"1. Akiuta, a Japanese mother who’s trying to save not only her son, but all the children of her village who have been captured; concept by James Crow, Arkansas State University.
2. Jurai, a Moses-like survivor raised in a foreign land by a stranger, destined to kill two evil forces that haunt him; concept by Ben Retan, associate game designer at Midway Studios Austin.
3. Jaclyn “Jackie” Aylward, a rebellious teenage lesbian, trying to solve the disappearance of her lover; concept by Colin Schofield."
Several talented artists submitted some stunning visual works as entries, the best of which is displayed in the article.
To read the complete character sketches, see the "Results from the Game Design Challenge: Hero" article on GameCareerGuide.com.
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The honourable mention on page 6 was more interesting than any of the 3 winners. The idea of playing as a concept, or meme, attempting to replicate oneself throughout a population by manipulating those 'infected' could be re-used in many different settings. The closest I can recall (in terms of gameplay mechanics) is Nomad Soul though some of the possibilities of this type of 'character' might lend itself to a Republic style game. Your final score based on how closely the end result matches the message you tried to spread. In a linear story, or sandbox, setting the score could be based upon how closely mimicked the message you were supposedly spreading.
out every second. Give me some hero arch like Joseph Campbell's template....
dam jr designers are ruining the industry.
Is that the best the competitors could come up with, or are really the judges to blame?
Man, the future looks bleak...