Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Another visualization tool that you should consider using is the
model sheet
, a traditional
animator's device. A model sheet shows a number of different poses for a single charac-
ter all on one page, representing different emotions and attitudes through his or her
facial expression and body language. This lets you compare one with another and gives
you more of an overall feel for the character than a single image can do.
Figure 6.6
is a
model sheet from
The Act
, a coin-op game by Cecropia Inc. that uses hand-drawn
animation.
FIGURE 6.6
A model sheet of the Edgar character from
The Act.
Copyright © 2005 by Cecropia Inc. All rights reserved.
A character's choice of weapons tells a lot about him, too. On the one hand, a meat
cleaver or an axe is a tool repurposed for use as a weapon, so it suggests crude and
bloody, violence. On the other hand, a rapier's thin elegance suggests a dueling aris-
tocrat. Indiana Jones can use his bullwhip to get himself out of all kinds of scrapes;
it's a symbol of his resourcefulness. That he generally prefers the nonlethal bull-
whip and carries a pistol only as a backup (in the movies, anyway) sends the
message that he'd rather not kill if he doesn't have to.
Hairstyles and jewelry tend to remain the same in games even when clothing
changes. Both function as good identifiers if you make them visible and distinctive
enough. Jewelry, in particular, has a long history of magic, meaning, or mysticism:
consider the significance of wedding rings, military medals, the crucifixes of
