Wants, Fears, & Needs

What the character Wants... 

What the character Fears... 

What the character Needs... 

Character Arc Starting Point 

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Kawaii Fusiform Orthogonality

SourceS

Japanese Characters: Kawaii
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More Than Just "Cute"

 "My understanding of kawaii characters is that they are expressive, endearing, and easy-to-read. Large heads and eyes, simple, colorful designs, and exaggerated emotional reactions are some recurring stylistic elements of kawaii characters."

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They carry a degree of sonzaikan: "not necessarily that they are just like real people with complex personalities, but more that they feel full of life, and provoke an emotional response from the viewer. In this way, people can feel a personal connection with their favorite characters, almost as if they were real friends."

How do you make such a vivacious cast? 

We avoided average characters, and aimed instead for those who were in some way unbalanced," he explained... The creators also didn't start with the visual image of the character, but instead thought in terms of a character's distinctive flavor (mochiaji) or special skill (tokugi)... "[T]he personality (kyara) precedes the character itself, evoking the feeling of some kind of existence (sonzaikan) or life force (seimeikan)"... When m&k selected characters from among the many they auditioned, they emphasized the extreme: one character is extremely shy, another extremely speedy, another is an elegant older woman who sings traditional sounding songs, another is so big he can't fit through the door.

In other words, each character is defined by a simple concept, which in turn determines both their behavior and appearance. The result is that, though simplistic, each character feels likable and real, as reflected by the show's popularity.

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Better Characters by Design

Primary characters personify the game's goals!

• Aryll = a precious thing to protect.
• Tetra = a strong guide to be like and follow.
• Grandma = traditions of the island (& Zelda franchise!) to care for and uphold.

The Wind Waker Example

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Diversity & Marginalized Molds

Source

Do not define a character by their race/ethnicity's trauma/oppression. Define them as in Holly Lisle's methods, separate from all ^ that. However, DO define what their [parents'] race and ethnicity are!

With defining a character by those things off the table, ask: what do you gain by being ___ gender, race, class, age, or body type?

Don't default towards any of these things unless you can answer this question!

Characters vs. Stereotypes

Unorganized Points To Consider

* L. Ellis: There is no line when it comes to colonial-cultural appropriation

* Making other skin colors pop vs the game's background

* Unlocking other races later... but wouldn't unlocking the white as a rare good thing also be bad? So try to avoid this altogether, maybe...

* Have a mix of all the range of body builds and how covered up they are, because we all land at different points on these ranges

* "Even if you don't see color, other people do"

* Talk giver's rule of thumb: 2+ main characters being non-defaults.

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