Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 6.4
Several cartoon
characters from
video games and
other media
COOL WITHOUT ATTITUDE
Kids hate goody-two-shoes characters just as much as parents dislike characters with
foul attitudes
—
but just because a character doesn't cop an attitude with authority fig-
ures doesn't make him a goody-two-shoes. The
Scooby Doo
kids provide a pretty good
example of characters who retain their appeal with kids despite not being rebellious.
Kids like to identify with the characters' intelligence, bravery, and resourcefulness.
Scooby is funny, too, because despite his large size, he is a coward. But because he's a
dog and not a child, Scooby doesn't get picked on or treated with contempt for being
scared. This is a very clever piece of character design: Children know that no matter how
scary the situation is, Scooby is even more scared than they are, so they can feel virtuous
for being braver than he is.
Conker's Bad Fur Day
presented an interesting twist on this rule. Rare, the game's
developer, transplanted their cute children's characters into a game for adults (or
rather, adolescent boys), full of bad language and vulgar jokes. But it's a one-way
transformation; you wouldn't want to insert the jokes into a game genuinely
intended for children.
HYPERSEXUALIZED CHARACTERS
Hypersexualization refers to the practice of exaggerating the sexual attributes of
men and women in order to make them more sexually appealing, at least to
