Creating a Legendary Character: Part 1
Defining the Theme and Characters
The beings that battle for their lives in the world of Korelis take many forms: some beautiful, some strange, but all equally powerful and dynamic. What is it that inspires the creation of these weekly heroes and villains? A collaborative spirit and a love of games, fantasy, and character design.
The team meets twice a week to discuss the design & planning of characters months before their release. Everyone at N3twork is free to join and share their unique outlook — these many voices are channeled through the lead artists who then drill down into what makes each character “Legendary” and finalize their design.
The first step in this process is to decide on the theme of an event.
Themes
Themes are rotated through the year in an effort to appeal to the myriad of players who enjoy Legendary week by week. While the game is predominantly focused around the genre of fantasy, the openness of the worlds of Korelis and Meido allow for a variety of heroes to be represented. Some of the themes we return to most often include sci-fi, horror, mythology and world fables. Every event should still retain an element of the fantastical regardless of the theming surrounding it.
Of course, the theme we most often turn to is that of fantasy; whether it is the elegance of high fantasy or the salt of the earth appeal of low fantasy, the genre forms the building blocks of Korelis and Legendary.
Genre fans, you will always have more eye candy to look forward to in Legendary!
Character Selection
Once the theme has been decided for an event, the characters themselves must be considered. The team again turns to genre fiction for inspiration; RPG classes and types are often cited during this process. When building out a team of explorers to raid a dungeon, for example, you would have the leader — perhaps a melee fighter. What sort of heroes would he or she recruit? What type of person or creature would fill a gap in this team?
In the case of The Trouble with Treasure, we first decided on the theme of traditional fantasy. The enemy came to us first; the false treasure chest which so often is the end of an adventurer’s quest. What sort of heroes would seek this treasure — and who would have a fighting chance against such a monstrosity?
A slightly arrogant ranger who is also a skilled bowman may believe he has the power to find the glory so many others had died in pursuit of. To aid him he would need a melee fighter by his side — a brutal barbarian would do nicely, and come at a low price as she seeks her own fame. Of course these two would need support, someone waiting in the wings with their own secret weapon. A magic user would suit the needs of the team and give them the key to victory against the Mymik, provided she was able to accrue the magical materials scattered about the cavern.
For The Endless Epilogue event, the team took a slightly different approach. In this event, the heroes were not able to draft one another into a ‘team’ fictionally, as they were more thrown together due to the circumstances of their graduation battle. The tropes of fantasy were also less of a factor than the tropes of our own school days; and so the students in this event took on the roles of valedictorian, bad boy, and shy girl.
To decide on the summons that each one would control, we focused in on the personalities of the heroes; the valedictorian is a leader, one for which honor means everything. She was represented by a capable and proud goddess. The bad boy is unpredictable, powerful and fiercely loyal. He was best suited for a dragon, a beast that refuses to abide by any rules but it’s own. The shy girl has a willful heart and bravely stands up for herself when necessary; the lion represents her inner self and all that she can become.
In a more general sense the team strives to have a mix of body types, personalities, styles and classes in each event so that players can choose which hero best represents their interests or themselves.
Character Specifics
This part of the planning is where things get really interesting! Using inspiration from outside sources and the recesses of their own creativity, the team puts the finishing touches on the theming of a hero or villain.
Poses and facial expressions are used sometimes to highlight a character’s traits, or accessories are given to express exactly how a hero would carry themselves in battle. Additional features are discussed for the heroes and enemies alike that will inspire the imagination of players and further cultivate the theme of that specific event.
Next week, we’ll be taking a look at the creative process in designing, illustrating and bringing a character to life.
