Development: Characters and Moodboards

Week 4: Character Concepting and Moodboarding

After developing my narrative I set about making moodboards and noting down the personalities and stories of my characters. These characters are the main focus of my artbook as my strength is in character art and costume design.

https://pin.it/1FFMXkIrl – Pinterest Board for this Project

Protagonist/Playable Character: Arktias (Kyt)

‘The Prophet’

Arktias is the heir to the Imperium, and the first born-prophet for thousands of generations. The second-born child of her mother, Imperatrix Jhandra, Arktias’ birth broke royal tradition, as the Royals typically only ever have one child, to ensure no competition over succession. After her elder brother was born unusually sickly and weak, with no psychic abilities (atypical for the royal family) her mother created her as a replacement.

Born with exceptionally powerful psychic abilities and the gift of foresight, Arktias has struggled with frightening visions since infancy, which leaves her often highly anxious and unsettled. These visions specifically include one of “the Collapse”, where Elysium is struck by solar flares, plagues, terrible storms, earthquakes and volcanoes ripping through the ground and finally a black hole consuming the whole planet. Seeing such a terrible thing so often and so young has left her traumatized and easily frightened. Beyond this her baseline personality would be optimistic, adventurous and fun, but she can be accidentally insensitive, stubborn and rude due to her privileged upbringing.

After her mother is assassinated Arktias will flee the planet with her advisors before arriving on an outer territory colony planet, called Earth. Were this to be made into a game Arktias’s life on Elysian would be the story prologue and the game would pick up a while into her time on earth, from the POV of her human traveling companion. After her secret is revealed to him and she is separated from her guardians they flee the planet on her spacecraft and the true adventure begins.

Arktias (now referred to by nickname: Kyt) and her friend will travel from planet to planet, much like in ‘Super Mario Galaxy’ (Nintendo, 2007) or ‘The Little Prince’ (A. Saint-Exupéry, 1943), and will fix their problems one-by-one, meeting a diverse range of quirky and fun characters that are able to teach lessons (either through their failures or successes) to the player and protagonists. Some of these characters will then be recruitable and playable. The game will eventually culminate in ‘Act 3’ where Kyt receives a direct message that from the Divine that she is ready to return home, confront the ‘false king’ and liberate the Imperium (the finale of the game, with a ‘final boss fight’ against her brother).

By Act 3 Arktias has developed a lot as a character, and is much happier and stable. With the support of her friends she has learned to accept her visions a tool and a burden only she can shoulder, instead of as a curse or hindrance. I imagine that the visions could serve not only as a narrative tool, but also as a gameplay tool that could enable the player to see alternate outcomes.

Arktias had very long hair as a child which was tightly bound in intricate, low buns resting on her neck, but as she was fleeing this was cut off as she pretended to be a serf to escape through the undercity, though now she keeps it short to represent that she is different to other nobles.

Arktias Pinterest Board

I compiled a list of characters that I felt had inspired Arktias and was able to break her down into 5 key tropes:

Prophet: foresees the future (or past), often through divine influence. Must pass important messages to a population that may or may not believe them.

• Saint Joan of Arc: a major inspiration for my character, especially in design. Much like Joan, Arktias is a child called on directly by a divine presence to liberate an oppressed people.

• ‘Daenys the Dreamer’ from Fire and Blood: much like how I imagine my character, Daenys foresaw many visions, but most notably the “Doom of Valyria”. Arktias will foresee ‘the Collapse’, an apocalyptic event in the near future, where (due to divine wrath) the black neutron star Mythra collapses into a black hole and consumes Elysium, before growing larger and larger and eventually consuming everything known to the Imperium (much like the Great Biblical Flood, this is seen by the Divine as a ‘great reset’).

• Cassandra: a prophet cursed to never have her prophecies believed, and thought to be half-mad.

Liberator: seeks to free an oppressed population, often through divine assignment.

• Prophet Moses: like the prophet Moses, Arktias was raised in a royal home, before fleeing and living a somewhat peaceful life until she was called back by a divine message and was then forced to confront a family member who had gone down a different path. The prophet Moses and the Book of Exodus is one of my largest inspirations for Arktias and her story.

Stolen Birthright: has a position of power promised to them and then taken away, is forced to flee their home to escape their opposition.

• ‘Daenerys Targaryen’ from a Song of Ice and Fire: Daenerys was just a baby when her birthright was “stolen” from her by a rebellion and she was forced to flee her homeland. Arktias is older, and the seizure of the throne is less justified, however.

• Anastasia Romanov (fictional interpretation): In the fictional accounts of the life of Russian Princess Anastasia Romanov, she was said to have fled her home after a faked death and the public speculated for years that she would return to ‘reclaim her birthright’. This is similar to my story, as I imagine that much of the population would privately speculate and tell exaggerated stories about her return. I also particularly enjoy the version of her from the Broadway show and the song she sings “Stay, I Pray You”, where she laments leaving the only home she has ever known behind, which I think is a sentiment Arktias would share. ‘anastasia fan’ (2022). Anastasia final Stay, I Pray You. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNXrnwwlh78 Anastasia final Stay, I Pray You

Child on a Strange Adventure: a child who is cut off from their home, trying to return but baffled by the new places and people they are meeting. This only really applies to Arktias in Act 2.

• ‘Alice’ from Alice in Wonderland: a child that meets strange people who talk in odd ways and can’t understand the social etiquette of the cultures she is in as they seem outlandish and surreal, much like how Arktias perceives the people she is meeting.

• ‘The Little Prince’: an alien prince who crashes his ship on Earth, and has been to many other planets. He has been away from his home for sometime and misses it, but on his travels he encounters many strange people with surreal ideas that challenge his views. Similarly, I think that Arktias would encounter odd people on her journey in Act 2 (or at least, odd to her) and that this would change her thoughts on the world.

Strange Child: an unusual child who has visions or premonitions. Often considered unsettling or eerie.

• ‘Danny Torrance’ from the Shining: Danny’s visions and premonitions are frightening and sudden, almost forced upon him, much like Artkias’.

• ‘Bran Stark’ from a Song of Ice and Fire: like Arktias, he is a child removed from their political sphere who travels to a distant land, leaving everything they knew behind (presumed dead) and can see that a greater threat than the current political civil war is coming.

• ‘Matilda’: The song ‘Quiet’ from Matilda the Musical (0:00 to 1:20) is how I imagine Arktias’ visions could feel; an overwhelmed and stressed child unable to cope with the pressure of her own mind and frightened by the fact she is different. The lyrics: “I wonder if inside my head, I’m not just a bit different from some of friends; these answers that come into my mind unbidden, these stories delivered to me fully written.” specifically make me think of her. (Official London Theatre (2023) Matilda The Musical performs Quiet | Olivier Awards 2014 [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-Lx7dIj9nQ Matilda The Musical performs Quiet | Olivier Awards 2014 )

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Deuteragonist/Playable Character: Boy

Boy is the brother that Arktias lost; everything that Lucien could have been. He is her best friend and a provides her with a fresh point of view on the Universe. Not very strong, and not as smart as Arktias, but much more empathetic and wiser, he inspires her to be a better person. Slightly shy and quiet, he tended to keep to himself while on Earth, and this caused him to gravitate towards Kyt, another outsider at their briefly shared school.

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Primary Antagonist: Lucien

’The Sickly’

The elder brother to Arktias, cast down by his mother after being promised great power; born to inherit the stars, yet denied them for a weakness he couldn’t control. Lucien was “born wrong”, with a weak heart and no psychic abilities, despite the Clergy promising that the second coming of Rychaed would be born from Jhandra. This caused Jhandra to break ancient tradition and have a second child, which caused political disruption as the succession was called into question.

For the first few years after Arktias was born Lucien remained the named heir, still expecting that which he had been promised. Lucien was beloved by the people, with golden curls and eyes, rosy cheeks and a sweet demeanour, but could be stubborn and spoilt, due to his upbringing. Since he was only a child he didn’t initially think of Arktias as a threat to his inheritance, only as his little sister who he wanted to protect and love, but this changed when Arktias was named as heir over him. With no prior warning, Jhandra publicly humiliated Lucien by naming Arktias as her new heir, blindsiding him; his name wasn’t even mentioned in her speech, and this haunts him even long after her death.

Lucien’s personality took a dramatic shift after his denunciation; he became sullen and miserable, rarely leaving his room or talking to others. Arktias was too young to understand why her beloved brother was suddenly shutting her out, and his jealousy towards her grew, creating a great rift between them. As Arktias grew out of toddlerhood and into childhood, Lucien’s personality changed again, from sullen and sad to vengeful and cruel, acting out in bursts of childish anger and immaturity. By the time his usurpation was put into place Lucien had grown to believe his mother was completely incorrect in her judgement, and that his sister was a traitor to the Imperium.

While Arktias is off-world, Lucien grows into the early years of adulthood and becomes greatly invested expanding the Imperium and securing his legacy, taking a hard-shift into authoritarianism and fascism. Since Lucien was ‘born weak’ he felt that he had to live up to not only his mother’s legacy but King Rychaed’s legacy; he was so determined to prove himself as Rychaed come again despite his weaknesses that he failed to realise the fault of his actions.

Lucien will make an appearance in the prologue (which I refer to in my notes as Act 1) and then in Act 3 for a final confrontation/boss encounter.

Lucien is a tragic character and a victim of circumstance. I feel that if he hadn’t been so poorly misled and manipulated by his corrupt advisors, neglected by his mother and betrayed by those closest to him that he could have been a happy, empathetic and ordinary young man; even a good king.

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Secondary Character/(Late-Game) Playable Character: Rosamine Silvermere

Born in privileged circle of society but overshadowed by her elder siblings, Rosamine aspired to become the Silvermere Senator before becoming involved in the rebellion movement. Initially uptight, self-confident and stubborn with a flawed view of reality, Rosamine has always strived to be the best, which unfortunately makes her seem cold or rude to others. Being from house Silvermere (who run the Imperium’s entire judicial and prison system) Rosamine grew up with a strong respect for authority and the law, often snitching on classmates for misbehaviour, but this passion developed into a strong sense of justice and morality as she grew older. Shortly after Lucien’s usurpation her closest friend, Dyana Emberose, introduced to her a political society at their University (or similar advanced academic institution) that was actually a front for an anti-Imperium group. Rosamine was conflicted on whether she should remain loyal to her friend, or report dissent but ultimately chose to remain quiet (going against everything she had ever preached), which led her down the path of de-radicalisation and her world-view expanded in turn. I like to think that Rosamine had always felt at the back of her head that the Imperium was morally wrong, but had tried to avoid thinking on it too hard as it was the foundation of EVERYTHING she had ever known. Had she chosen to turn Dyana in I think that the story would play out very differently.

By the time of Act 3 Rosamine has spent several years involved in the resistance movement and has risen in the ranks, now serving as a primary advisor to their leader. By the end of the story she will be the most-qualified surviving member of the movement, and as a widely known and respected war-hero, is chosen as the leading electoral candidate in their newly created democracy. Rosamine makes a surprisingly good candidate, as she has grown into a strong and charismatic public speaker, has a strong sense of justice and moral code, and is in politics to ‘fix things’ instead of further her own interests. While initially in disagreement with Arktias over how the Imperium should be run post-war, Arktias will eventually come around to her position and agree that the Imperium is an outdated, feudalistic system that does more harm than benefit.

Rosamine represents the idealised politician that everyone wishes existed: someone honest that genuinely wants to help people and has the plan and drive to do it.

I compiled a small list of characters and historical figures that I felt mirrored her actions or personality. Cicero’s reforms in particular inspired Rosamine’s policies.

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Royal Family:

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Family Emberose:

Emberose are Arktias’ paternal family, so I wanted them to act as contrast to her maternal side. Where the Royal family were cold and oppressive, the Emberoses are open and close. I knew I also wanted house Emberose to play a role in the rebellion I had to figure out why.

Harpocrates the Elder was to be the author of my original FMP idea (an explorative journal) and an early member of the rebellion (maybe a founding member of the modern rebellion movement?), with an open mind due to his youth spent travelling the Imperium. I wanted him to be a slightly mysterious figure, an older character who is often dismissed as politically unimportant, or maybe even as an embarrassment for his lack of care or disinterest in Elysian High Society but he actually plays weak and unassuming to mask his true intentions. Harpocrates would leave his journal to his Grandniece (Arktias) in the hopes that it might expand her mind beyond Imperial brainwashing, and also orchestrates her “abduction” off-world (her fleeing the planet, presented to the public as an abduction to keep the peace – also worth noting that this may be changed to a faked death). Harpocrates has no plan of ever bringing Arktias home, despite what he told her advisors and guards who fled with her, as he believes she should live her life free of the Imperium with which he has grown so disillusioned. This character fulfils the role of wizened advisor to the player character, often revealing important information though he appears infrequently.

Pomponia is the elder sister of Harpocrates the Elder and current Highlady of house Emberose. This character serves a similar purpose to Harpocrates as an older advisor to the player (who is secretly working against the antagonists), but is also his opposite; while he may have lost hope in Elysium due to his time away, Pomponia has seen first-hand the compassion and hope in members of the rebellion and knows that they can be better.

Harpocrates the Younger, named in honour of his Uncle, acts as Arktias’ primary guardian after they flee Elysium, until he is removed from the narrative (either through deliberate or accidental separation, death or betrayal – this is still undecided). He may return later in the narrative, during Act 3.

Dyana is a friend of Rosamine, and responsible for introducing her to the rebellion groups. She mostly plays a supporting role in Rosamine’s story, and as of right now, survives until the end and assists in the “great reformation act” (Rosamine’s political reforms that returned sovereign power to colonised societies).

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Family Silvermere:

The Silvermere family are integral to Rosamine and Lucien’s narrative.

Marilysa was designed as a foil to Rosamine, representative of what she could’ve been had their roles been reversed. Where Rosamine worked hard to make up for what she hadn’t been given, Marilysa barely tried. I’d like to imagine her as an ambitious character with a narcissistic streak and desire for power.

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The Role of Colour in symbolism:

• Red is the colour of the Royal family for its royal associations (Red was used by medieval kings to show their God-given authority). Red symbolizes blood, authority and is associated with fascist or authoritarian governments.

• The Rebellion uses a darker blue colour (associated with the UN, democracy) from the symbolic blue rose and as a contrast to the red. This blue is a darker version of the Silvermere colours (showing their dedication to justice while also being a change) while also being a lighter version of the Starling colours (showing their constant progress and innovation).

• Silvermere use a pale, blue colour to show their cold attitudes and represent their commitment to justice (even if it is flawed). Blue traditionally symbolises trust, calm, rational thinking and logic, and is the colour of police uniform, all reinforcing it as the colour of justice.

• Ivoryton use white, a colour typically associated with purity and honesty, despite their deceptive nature. They seem blank and unassuming while hiding their true intentions.

• Starling use a dark blue with silver, the colour traditionally associated with innovation, as well as the night sky (navy sky, silver stars).

• Emberose use oranges and golds to show their empathy and warmth, as well as to mirror the sky from their land.

• Nox use purple, the colour of mystery, as they are a shadowy organisation.

• Weavers use a pale pink (typically associated with femininity and therefore motherhood) as they oversee the creation of children.

• Boy Explorer is associated with pale pastels and rainbow; pastel to show his childish innocence and rainbow to show that he thinks of himself as a citizen of everywhere instead participating in tribal politics.

Below are some examples of Authoritarian flags, using bold red, black and gold colours. The top right example are the flags of ‘Panem’ (from the Hunger Games) before and after the Rebellion and installation of democracy. I can imagine that Lucien would have a red, white and black colour scheme (royal red, Ivoryton white and authoritarian black).

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Additional Moodboards:

I have made some moodboards for fashion from different regions as well as character aesthetics to serve as a reference for later designs.

Lumicity Moodboard

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Bibliography:

Plutarch, 46-120? (n.d.). Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans. [online] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/674/674-h/674-h.htm. Available at: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/674/pg674-images.html Plutarch’s Lives, by A. H. Clough | Project Gutenberg

Collins, W.L. (William L. (n.d.). Cicero. [online] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/11448/11448-8.txt. Available at: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/11448/pg11448-images.html The Project Gutenberg eBook of Cicero, by W. Lucas Collins

Bruton Art Society (2015). Colour: Understanding the Deception. Jane de Sausmarez | Bruton Art Society. [online] Brutonartsociety.co.uk. Available at: https://www.brutonartsociety.co.uk/colour-understanding-the-deception-jane-de-sausmarez/ Colour: Understanding the Deception. Jane de Sausmarez | Bruton Art Society

Sawer, M. (2007). Wearing your Politics on your Sleeve: The Role of Political Colours in Social Movements. Social Movement Studies, 6(1), pp.39–56. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/14742830701251294 Wearing your Politics on your Sleeve: The Role of Political Colours in Social Movements | Semantic Scholar

Bass-Krueger, M. (n.d.). The Secret History of the Color Red. [online] Google Arts & Culture. Available at: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-secret-history-of-the-color-red/-wXxao99SLXVKg?hl=en The Secret History of the Color Red — Google Arts & Culture

Colville, J. (2018). What is the Colour of Innovation? – Jennifer Colville – Medium. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@JenColville10/what-is-the-colour-of-innovation-76bc0bf3d957 What is the Colour of Innovation? | by Jennifer Colville | Medium

Quora. (2019). What color represents justice? [online] Available at: https://www.quora.com/What-color-represents-justice What color represents justice? – Quora

Adler, L.K. and Paterson, T.G. (1970). Red Fascism: The Merger of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia in the American Image of Totalitarianism, 1930’s-1950’s. The American Historical Review, 75(4), p.1046. doi:https://doi.org/10.2307/1852269 Red Fascism: The Merger of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia in the American Image of Totalitarianism, 1930’s-1950’s on JSTOR

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Pre-Project Early Concepts:

Some early traditional concepts I sketched for this project while on trains or in bed.

Initial Concept: two child space explorers from different planets, one boy and one girl, though both are ambiguously gendered enough to be relatable to any player regardless of gender.

Doodles of Arktias, trying to establish what she wears in Act 2 and how she styles her hair.

Early designs of Rosamine Silvermere, Arktias, Dyana Emberose, Uriel Ivoryton and Pomponia Emberose.

Costume breakdown for Rosamine.

Alternative design for Rosamine.

Sketches of Lucien in different stages of his life, with inspiration characters listed .

Colour sketches of Polaris Starling and Arktias. This colour scheme has changed as Polaris’s skin is now much darker and Arktias’ skin is much more tan, with freckles added.