Hi, I’ve been struggling to create the main scharacter for my game project. I made a few concepts but none of them i find very interesting, and i don’t know if it matches my: Fun, happy, not-serious video game.
Here’s some i made for my platformer game:
Oldest to newest (but the 4th one should actually be on top of the 3rd one):
I watched ton of videos… shape language… story.. environment.. “is the character fantastical or mechanical?” Thing.. and personality.. “what can the character do?” “Why are they able to dash?” “Does it even look like they can do these stuff?” I’m having a hard time creating a character. Is it because of lack of experience?
Now, I’m not an artist, believe me. But I think you need to design your character around the gameplay, not the other way round.
What can the player do in your game? Make your character be able to do that. Make up a reason.
What type of emotion does your game intend to evoke from the player? Make that character be a reflection of that emotion.
What’s your game even about? Make your character about that in some way.
Video game character design has to be taken a lot differently than designing a character for a movie, comic, or any other medium because the player plays the game. So your character should communicate the gameplay.
I think all designs would work for a fun, non-serious video game. I guess it depends on what you want the game to be about specifically? The last image gives a more fantasy vibe than the others.
I’m a programmer by trade. The last formal training I received in the arts was back in elementary school and my skills have noticeably deteriorated since.
I would commit a small atrocity in exchange for being able to make pixel art like that.
I know it’s unhelpful to just say your art is really really good, but, it is.
Really if you’re making it for fun don’t worry about it fitting the tone or the gameplay or ‘what they do’. If you like it, it’s good. I made this in a couple hours and it does what I want it to
Players aren’t going to scrutinise your character for infractions, make what you like
Just keep at it, and use the Godot editor to (relatively, compared to coding it all by hand;)) easily make them come to life in 2, 2.5 or even 3 dimensions.
Most important, have fun while iterating,
It’s so rewarding to make stuff
Cheers !
I would suggest (similar to others) that you focus on mechanics and gameplay first, and use a very quick and dirty stand-in for the character while you build that up. Then if you want you can refine the character later, or completely scrap it and go for something else.
An alternate approach may be to try thinking of a backstory, even writing down a short story to help bring them to life. This could be combined with the above, where after getting a lot of the mechanics / gameplay and world worked out, you can focus a bit more on the character.
I think it’s relatively common for games (I know it’s common for novels, as I learned in my creative writing class) to have a lot of backstory that’s never actually revealed to the user.
And switching between or combining approaches can also help if you’re blocked
Hi! Since you studied in creative writing… could you give me some story writing tips? Of course, you can choose to not answer this question👍 it’s just that i don’t really know much about storywriting…
Honestly? Yes, it probably does come down to practice, rather than just experience. The good news is, practice is something you can build up over time, and it’s what helps everyone improve!
Think about how game studios split up roles like development, production, art, animation, sound, and marketing. It’s because every part of making a game takes practice to get good at, nobody is born an expert. If you’re working solo, like I am, that’s actually part of the adventure! You get to try your hand at lots of different things, even if you feel like a jack of all trades, master of none. Sometimes things seem simple until you actually try them, and that’s when you realize just how much skill goes into each part.
One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was: sometimes “good enough” really is good enough. You don’t have to make everything perfect. We’re often our own toughest critics, so give yourself a break. If you’re feeling stuck, it’s totally fine to work on something else, like the environment or gameplay mechanics, and come back to your character later. Try not to get bogged down in any one detail. Nobody gets it right the first time around, which is why we have draughts.
And remember, a great character is more than just how they look or move. It’s also about how they feel to play, how they interact with the world, their backstory, and the role they play in the game’s story. All these pieces come together to make a character memorable, not just the way their arms or legs are animated.
I think you’re doing great with it! Keep practicing, draughting and reworking and don’t be afraid to experiment and have fun with it. Good luck!
