Unit 72: C3 - Game Character & NPC Development

Game Brief #1 -

As I've mentioned in the post entitled 'Initial Game Ideas', my game is going to be set in the artic (Antarctica to be exact) and so I've decided to make my character an Inuit Eskimo whos' ancestors migrated across the sea away from Alaska.

Born and raised in Antartica my character 'Kobu' was trained to hunt by his father 'Alignak' at the tender age of six, so that one day he too would be able to provide for his family and continue the Inuit bloodline through his offspring. Due to the harsh environment, frigid weather and violent creatures that roamed the land, he has been taught everything crucial to his survival there and so he is always equipped with warm clothing and tools used for hunting and climbing, such as: Tomahawks, Spears, Boomerangs, Climbing Hooks, Spiked Boots, etc..

Kobu wielding a Tomahawk.

Besides Kobu the other NPCs in my game will consist of different creatures that inhabit the land. The more notable ones will be the leaders (or more dominant) of each species in my game; The five main being:

I think it is worth mentioning that Kobu, from the player's perspective has no voice and for the majority of conceptual images has his face covered. This is extremely similar to Link in almost if not all the Zelda games, where the only voice acting heard from him is in sound bytes for when he is attacking, jumping or recieving damage. In each cutscene where Link appears to be conversing with another character he still has no dialogue and appears to communicate through subtle sounds (like quiet grunting or sighing) and hand gestures; nowhere in any of the Zelda information books does it confirm that Link has the inability to talk therefore I assume this was purposefully done to allow the player to imagine how he'd sound based on the aforementioned sound bytes: his voice and tone left up to the player to decide. This is a techinique I find very interesting and considering A Frigid Adventure is heavily influenced by Zelda already and the artwork I have done so far gives Kobu a little mystery to him (despite the story told to us) I want the players of A Frigid Adventure to think for themselves how Kobu's voice sounds and although we do on occasion see his face, what expression he generally wears... Is it one of anger and contempt? Passion and emotion? Or resolute and determined? I'd also like to think that the way in which individual players will base this persona of him on the experiences they've through their own playthroughs.

Here's a link ( haha get it?) of a cutscene from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, note Link's performance during it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4zjmacjdCE

Kuma - The tyranical polar bear. After demonstrating his fearsome power, the other species soon bowed their heads in respect or migrated away from "his" territory out of fear that they'd be killed or enslaved. Now the leader of a vicious empire of: Polar bears, Narwhals and Walrus, he stands atop the mountains in hopes of a rebellion to cure his boredom.

Qalugia - "Speared warrior or the red sea." This fearsome foe is a legendary narwhal whale that has been said to only emerge from the sea to slaughter tribes and destroy entire villeges leaving only a red behind.

 Tuugaaq - "The tusked golem." A hefty and well-aged walrus that has experienced many battles with humans as well as other dangerous creatures. He leads his own pod of walrus around the outskirts of the land and has been placed in charge or guarding the "Path of Transcendence", an long and deep strip of ice bridging together the two mainlands.

Piru' - "Wild Flower of the East." Unlike the two mentioned above, Piru's tribe of penguins dislike violence and loathe Kuma's tyranny over the land. Knowing that staying put would result in their demise, the penguins migrated to the east-side of the land (out of Kuma's grasp). Although their tribe consists mostly of emporer penguins, once every 100 years or so a new leader will be born in the form of the rockhopper, this era's rockhopper is Piru' and so he is their current leader. Though only brief, Piru's and Kobu's meeting results in Piru' holding a great deal of respect for the skilled hunter so much that he occasionally aides the protagonist in his journey.

 Amaruq - "Mother Wolf." This beautifully coated wolf leads her pack across the arctic denying Kuma's rule and the evil he poses. This wise and powerful master of the White Forest will test Kobu's spirit as a man, earning her trust and respect is incredibly helpful the opposite however is dangerous as her children who inhabit the forest live and abide by her will.

Here's a Feral Wolf, a renegade child of Amaruq whose coat represents its heart steeped in darkness. These wolves go against Amaruq's  disciplines  and kill without necessary motive.