A very Underwhelming Style Matrix Master Post

Project 1: The Vikings

The Vikings project was something I jumped on with a lot of enthusiasm. Not only was I eager to pursue a more 2D- centric project (one that was specifically requesting a female protagonist), but one following the style of JC Leyendecker. I couldn't resist.

The characters I made were based in a very loose storyline for what I envisioned as a 3D action-adventure game that doubled as a sort of coming of age story but with Vikings. The protagonist was a sprightly young girl, which was something I was more than happy to include (you don't see enough female leads in action games outside of Lara Croft, really) so I decided to build the rest of the cast and the game itself around this girl and this concept; a young Viking who aspires to be a shieldmaiden, but is thrust into the deep end halfway through her training and forced to protect her village from other invading factions, being granted passage through trade routes by corrupt nobles.

The look was fairly easy to pin down, I just had to emulate the style of Leyendecker whilst using reference from history (and the conveniently rich new TV show Vikings) and get it down on paper. I soon found that Leyendecker's style is not only incredibly nuanced, but also nearly impossible to actually replicate without using shallow tricks.

The girl I aimed to be strong, sprightly and confident looking, but also a little gangly and awkward. Her weapon being slightly too big for her was a design element I wanted to push to make her look less experienced and out of her league (I'm a sucker for an underdog) but also to give a sense of disempowerment to the player, to balance out her bouncy nature. I moved through several designs that incorporated hoods and shields that made her look more meek and withdrawn as well as wild hair and too many broken swords to suggest a wilder, more aggressive character. I settled on the more cheery, but practical look. She's out of her league but she's not going to complain about it- it's the kind of character I'd like to play as in more games.

The Father figure received less development, but still underwent numerous design changes, particularly the hair and tunic. I wanted to create a supportive, doting teacher character who reflected the generic idea of a Viking, the one that comes to mind when someone says the word, but still show in his design that he was past his prime and retired. The guy's big, and can still go hard, but he's relaxed a bit. You're more likely to see him cutting firewood than someone's head open. To that end, I scrapped the armour designs and gave him looser tunics and a friendlier exterior.

The corrupt Nobleman was originally meant to be a gruff but well meaning politician, but he evolved with his body language into a slimy, conniving, ugly old man who was using backdoor dealings to allow invaders to attack the protagonist's village to his own gain. He wasn't a direct physical threat, but he was a shadowy puppet master who would get his just desserts by the end of the game. I experimented with a few looks but the one that really stuck was the cape- I loved the idea of this guy running around in lavish clothing claiming to be a man of the people while swooshing his cloak about unnecessarily.

The Hunter character was intended to be a more physical threat in the game. While the Nobleman would send thugs after you and you'd finally get to show him a thing or two and send him running with his tail between hi legs by the end of the game, he serves more as a goal, because he couldn't beat our hero in a sword (or axe) fight. The Hunter, on the other hand, is a constant presence that stalks the hero throughout the game, and every time you have to fight her it turns into more of a stealthy getaway than anything. The Hunter establishes herself as physically dominant very early in the game when she bests the Father figure in combat and promises to hunt the hero down and kill her as a 'trophy'. This would lead to her eventual defeat at the hands of the Hero by the end of the game, giving a huge sense of empowerment and player payoff. The make her the mirror image and perfect foil to the protagonist, I swapped the protagonist's big furry shawl on the Hunter and replaced it with a crowfeather garb, with seemingly torn or even random and cobbled together pieces of fabric hanging from her clothes and wiry frame, contrasting with the Hero's slightly baggy but well fastened clothing, even her pose acting as a foil to the protagonist's.

The Viking Kid characters is where the fun stops I'm afraid as he's woefully undeveloped and not even finished in the technical sense. The idea was for his to be a sweet little advisory character at the beginning areas of the game to teach the player the basics of combat in play swordfights.