Oddworld and Lorne Lanning

From the beginning of this project i have used Oddworld as an inspiration, i have always been a huge fan of Oddworld not just because the game play is great but because the story's are original and weird and all the characters and species are original and interesting. Even though Oddworlds original game, Abe's Oddysee is nearly twelve years old it has not aged at all and it is as good today as it was back then. One of the main reasons why Oddworld has such a high following of both men and women, is because of the characters. Abe for instance is a character that has emotion, and is likable for both men and women. He may not be a physically strong character like nearly all video game character but he has a lot of heart which is why he is so appealing.

During my early research period of researching Oddworld i came across a lecture by Lorne Lanning the Director/Writer and creator of Oddworld. The lecture was given at a game convention entitled 'Maintaining Vision through the Hell of production.' The lecture lasted for over an hour and really changed my thoughts regarding my character design and game idea.

Here are some examples of the points that Lanning spoke about on character design.

'The character needs to inspire empathy'

'What would a real life form do'

'The player should be able to tell what the character is feeling'

'Evolve the game character through communication'

'It takes hundred of alterations to create a great character'

'If you embody endearing dysfunctional characters people will connect'

These are just some of hundreds of points that were made about characters and storytelling. This changed my attitude towards my designs, in my original design my character looked quite tough and cool looking, and this lecture made me think how i could redesign my character with Lorne Lannings points in mind. I wanted to design a characters that inspires more empathy and is likable to both men and women. From then on i worked on getting a good design for my main character.