The Beginning of a Captain:
Nailing down the specifics of what my 'Captain' would be like, look like and his environment were hard, initially. However, as in my previous projects, I quickly decided to start brainstorming ideas by first noting the definition of Captain, a myriad of synonyms, and pre-existing types of Captain. Though seeming a bit literary of a practice, I've found that this works for me and my creative process, since it aids in loosening my assumptions of what the brief - in this case, a Captain - can possibly be, and brings me closer to designing something that I find soulful and personable, as well as unexpected and interesting.
Initial ideas and Choosing the One I Want to Develop:
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| Initial Sketches |
Despite it being my first idea, I feel the most interested in the Firefighter Captain. I've never designed or drawn anything to do with fire before, and this could yield a striking and unusual Captain character. I'm currently thinking that his surrounding environment (and where he's encountered by the player) is a recently put-out forest fire. My initial rough idea for his story is that he was in a forest fire, but was killed inside his suit by something supernatural. I did also consider altering the design of his uniform to make it look as if he were from an older time period like the early 20th century or late 19th, but unless I have a reason to add that, other than just to force the design to be more interesting, I don't feel comfortable doing that. This character's narrative (and soul) definitely needs more life and development.
Visual inspiration and reference:
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| Firefighter Captain Pinterest Board Poly-count and Texture Budget Research: What is Appropriate? I've contacted two professionals in the game industry that my module leader recommended, but in the mean time, I've done some research on what kind of poly-count and texture budget would be practical and appropriate for my character. My constant ideal is to model a character with a budgeted mindset; by that I mean I design my use of poly-count even around people with limited computers or who don't have access to the latest and most sophisticated console technology. I do however want to have this character fit in a game with very realistic graphics, and realism is the most graphically expensive art style. I dug among some models from games I own, Dishonored 2 (2016), Pathologic 2 (2019), and researched some I didn't, such as Read Dead Redemption 2, God of War (2018) and Ghost of Tsushima (2020). Protagonist and supporting characters in Dishonored (2012) ranged from 40,000 to 60,000+ triangles, depending on there surface area/complexity. Pathologic 2, the most realistic Indie game I've played in recent memory, has a protagonist built with over 28,000 triangles, with interactable characters ranging between that and 14,000. Red Dead Redemption 2's main character has been estimated at between 40,000 and 60,000 triangles also. Considering the 3-Dimensional complexity of the average firefighter and uniform, I'd currently estimate an achievable budget limit of 60,000-90,000 triangles at least. As for texture budget, the texel density or maximum image size in the other briefs ranges from 1024, 2048 to 4096 pixels squared. I think that a practical decision would be somewhere in the middle of the road. Since I'm designing a character, I don't think I'll need anything bigger than that, and it might be excessive as far as game engine implementation also. However I also want my character to have sharp textures that would hold their weight in a AAA game with realistic graphics. Current Idea: Firefighter Captain With A Story - The Antagonist Who Protects: This Firefighter Captain lost his wife in a fire a while ago. When tasked with dealing with a forest fire, after being separated from his team, alone he finds the epicentre of the blaze. He encounters a group of figures, made of flames, partially ethereal, and he sees his wife among them. The rough idea is that anyone who dies in a fire lingers/comes back as a partial spirit composed entirely of fire (with a hint of a blackened body underneath), and it's now their nature to travel and migrate to find haven - leading to forest fires like this one. When he recognises is wife, they hold each other (tightly maybe). When the player encounters the Captain, it's a small while after this has all taken place, most of the outer rings of the fire's centre have died and there's ash falling like snow. The firefighter, as far as the player's concerned, is an adversary, but he's actually trying to protect his wife and her group from anyone else's discovery of them, and also protecting others from their inadvertent threat. I've decided that he should still not look quite like a modern firefighter: he should be designed more in accord with older firefighter uniforms and gear, but less for 'interesting's sake' now. I find older stories and experiences of love and connection in history more profound and legendary (not to say that people can't completely and utterly love each other now). Love letters you see in museums and love stories in older books are usually so interesting and endearing, like the way those people thought of and experienced love was somehow different. Attrition was more of a threat, life was more dangerous, people had less time to be together. He's still going to be devastatingly injured and damaged by the heat (the idea being that the epicentre of the fire, where that fiery group are, is incredibly hot). He's still going to be partially burned or melted inside his suit, but the outer/more obvious fire damage is going to be more focused than before: There's going to be a rough but very present outline/silhouette of where his wife hugged him; the shadow of her torso on his, and deep hand-prints on his back. His hands are going to have little skin and some muscle left from where he held her, and his face is also going to mostly be gone. He's still somewhat alive. Nothing of his spirit is lost; he's not zombified, but his wish to protect and be with his wife are the strongest elements of his character and how it's represented. My current idea for how he'd be introduced to the player is as follows: In a horror game that prioritises suspense and atmosphere over gore, action and the dreaded jump-scare, the protagonist would be making their way somewhere and come to the edge of a forest, with their objective being on the other side of this forest. Left with no other way to make their way forward, they approach the forest's edge. When they have but 10 metres until they meet the treeline, a figure emerges from the forest's shadow. This is the first sighting of the Captain. If the player continues forward, the Captain will assume a more apprehensive posture, and shout in a somewhat muffled voice, "stay away!". Should the player attempt to walk around him or give him a wide berth, the Captain will mirror their path, and continue to block their advance into the forest. Finally, if the player decides to chance sprinting into the forest, the Captain will become hostile and give chase. As an enemy to encounter, I want the Firefighter Captain to come across less as an aggressive monster or boss, and more like that of a Big Daddy as seen in 2K Games' Bioshock (2007); an enemy who will not become aggressive until the player provokes him (in the Big Daddies' case, it's someone going too close to the children they're tasked with protecting). I think that this approach to enemy design - as Bioshock taught me - lends to not only creating a character with implied story and intelligence, but also to generating a stronger sense of atmosphere in a horror game. Concept Sketches and Design Iterations; 1, 2, 3 Left to Right:  My aim with the above iterations is to develop and refine my design of the Captain as a vaguely early 20th century (alternate timeline?) firefighter situated in either America or England, perhaps an alternate England that has large forests like the United States - sprawling and dense. (I initially thought that having wildfires in my concept would tie me to America, but after developing the world, I think that the alternate history aspect justifies the change of location to an alternate England.) I want his uniform to reflect its fire-protection purpose, but clearly be an old and outdated design, and convey that 1910s-1920s air. ^ Design No. 1:  I've chosen to develop the first iteration(s) just as silhouettes with linework for detail, because I want to sketch them out efficiently, and also with some focus on how the silhouettes read: is it harmonious with the character idea I have in my mind's eye? While I do think my first iteration is a vague mirror of what I want to see in the design, it needs some refinement. The aspects of this initial design that I may add to the final design however, are the cuffs/lower sleeves, but I don't want to make any more decisions about the final design when I've only sketched one iteration so far. ^ Design No. 2:  I think the two most interesting aspects of my second iteration are the jacket (with the collar) and the trousers. After doing yet more research, on 1910s firefighters from America specifically, I found some paintings and miniatures depicting them with these rolled-up trousers that terminated mid-shin with leather boots underneath. I think that these trousers are part of the more vintage silhouette that I've been looking for. However I don't like that the new hood, as it adds to the silhouette in an unflattering way. It's also just an alteration of the more modern flaps you see on firefighter helmets nowadays. On the other hand, I think that the addition of the jacket being double breasted as seen in much older firefighter uniforms (circa 1800s England) adds what I wanted from the general aesthetic, which is a firefighter uniform that feels as if it has evolved from those of Victorian England, and is being worn by a man from an alternate 1920s. ^ Design No. 3:  I'm not sure I like design 3's boots, as they look too authoritarian, and bring the design too close to the soldier end of the spectrum than I want. I think I'll revert back to the 2nd design's boots for the final concept. On the other hand, the ornate name plate on the helmet pulls the design too far back to the 1800s for me, so I'll likely alter that as well. I do however prefer the cowl hood underneath the helmet over the previous, more modern blinder flaps hanging from the helmet. It's more akin to older methods of protection. I'm confident about the decision to bring back the iconic firefighter coat clasps, as they're closer the style I want to portray and they're more eye-catching. Moving onto the biggest change in this iteration, I stand by my decision to give the Captain a simpler nose/mouth breathing mask, as those absolutely existed for firefighters in the early 20th century, and they were far less likely to have shaped glass visors as they do in the later half of that century. It also makes eventually designing his face easier, as I'd initially planned on having said visor shattered, melted, exposing his face, but also making the visor frame more right-angled and historically accurate, etc. This iteration of the mask will lead to a more visible, and therefore more appealing damaged face with greater clarity, and make the process of designing said damage/trauma more straightforward. Photo-bashing the Final Design - Paving the Road Ahead:  This is my final concept as far as 2D Digital concepting is concerned. Elements of his design may change along the way to his eventual 3D execution. As I planned, I've reverted to the 2nd iteration boots, 1st iteration clasps as well as 1st iteration kneepads. I still don't yet know if I will have the human-shaped burn penetrate down his skin or below, since that may detract from the hands and face being the focal areas of trauma (and simulating how his gear would be damaged by it would perhaps make this 5 week project too complicated). My current strategy is to plan as if I'm staying with the hands and face idea, and later make a decision with time restrictions in mind. Blender Mock-up of the Captain's Burns:  With Burn Mark:  The human burn mark is the primary conveyor of the character's story and soul in this project, and should by the main focus of the design. It's the aspect that makes him more than just a firefighter. Now he's a firefighter with a story. And while it took some time to develop his design on a 2D canvas, I feel that I've gathered momentum to complete the rest of this project with confidence, and I have faith in my idea. In my own work, I find that developing a deeper concept like this informs the final outcome, and when encountered by a player in a horror game experience, I hope that the impression that my character would make stays with them and makes them wonder about the origins of their virtual adversary. |
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