Core Game Design Concepts - Game Design Essentials - page 69

The game Street Fighter , from Capcom, provides several different styles of
characters so the player can pick which type they want to use as their avatar.
The lineup in Figure 3.11 shows the range of sizes and types of characters the
game provides.
FiGuRe 3.11 In this character lineup, the designer includes visual clues for each
character's abilities.
In this figure, you can see the characters' body language, poses, clothing, and,
in some cases, weapons. Together these characteristics give a good indication of
what abilities these fighters have. They may be small and fast so they can move
in and out with quick jabs, or big and muscular and designed for punching, and
so on.
Personality can also be conveyed through the way characters dress, what jewelry
or tattoos they have, and the body language they exhibit during different situa-
tions. Some characters move in a comical fashion, denoting the type of gameplay,
whereas others move with purpose or authority—again, all attributes that the
designers can study from the way humans or animals move and behave in different
situations.
Bosses
Bosses are characters and should be treated as such when it comes to designing
them. As with other characters, you need to understand the boss's appearance,
personality, and physical capabilities. You also need to know how, if at all, it will
react with other characters and the environment.
Bosses tend to be larger than the player or avatar, to add to the fear factor and
make the adrenaline rise. Most gamers feel that it's more fun to defeat something
much larger than they are. Figure 3.12 shows a boss known as The Beast from
the game Infamous , about to face off with the lead character in the game.