Idea 1 – This was the first character face that came to me as I began my work. I wanted an expressive robot that used hinges and joints to move parts of the face around. I dont consider this the final look if I worked with this idea. I dont have an interaction in mind for it yet. Perhaps the interaction could be either assembly or disassembly of the robot to help it find the perfect expression. Advice on how to make it more expressive or more hinge and joint reliant would be useful.
Outcomes: The robot has found the perfect expression with your help OR You leave the robot’s face horribly scarred and disfigured.
Idea 2 – The second idea I had was interacting with a brain hooked up to a simple emotion display unit, which is just a smily face on a screen. For this interaction I wanted to explore a character that in normal circumstances would be very intimidating but now reduced to just its thoughts and a dumbed down face, how does this change the players interaction with the character. One idea I had was this brain once was a criminal master mind and is now being preserved and interrogated in order to fix the criminals last scheme. Any other suggestions on an intimidating character mind would be helpful.
Outcomes: Solve the crime by successfully interrogating the brain OR The brain perishes because it took to long to get it to talk.
Idea 3 – A guardian bodhisattva has returned to the world to help you find the path to enlightenment. The problem, it is rather judgmental of your choices in life. Through a series of questions and interactions with the bodhisattva enlightenment can be revealed to you. How many lives will you have to live in order to reach the ultimate state of nonexistence. Or will you frustrate your guide to the point of abandonment. This character would use color and sound to respond to the players choices revealing either progress or frustration. The eyes in the image above are a cultural symbol of Buddha’s enlightened mind.
Outcomes: Enlightenment is attained without having to live an excessive amount on lives OR The bodhisattva abandons you because you cannot see past your closed mined ways.
Idea 2 is interesting. I think you could run with the idea of it being a brain of a criminal mastermind and you have to interrogate while the brain is still ‘alive’, using the expressions on the machine to try and interpret whether it is lying or not.
I love the art for idea 3, but if the bodhisattva is responding with color and sound, this seems a bit confusing for the player to interpret. I’m not sure if that kind of character interaction would be very gratifying/interesting for the player.
I think all three ideas are interesting even considering the first one doesn’t have a real story yet but if you were to add sound to the moving robot parts, it would make it that much cooler.
I don’t think the first idea will work because neither the design nor the gameplay seem like they will draw a player’s attention.
The second idea is much more interesting. Two issues i see you running into are making the mastermind sound intelligent when it only has scripted dialog and incorporating the visual display with the concept. It seems a bit tacked on right now.
The third idea would be fun, what with writing dialog from the point of view of an all knowing being basically giving you a quiz-show style chance to win paradise. I find it hard to take seriously if that is your intention, but if I were playing this I would have a lot of fun trying to piss off the bodhisattva
I’m mostly interested in your third idea. Will the bodhisattva ask you questions about central ideas of Buddhism or moral questions or about choices you have already made? This game seems like an excellent opportunity to explore the character of the demigod while simultaneously constructing the character being interrogated.
Third idea is definitely my favorite because of the visuals and the use of sound and color to respond to the user. Not sure about the interaction you are planing on, I’d like more to see a story as a third person rather than me being the protagonist.
I personally like the third idea the best because the visuals are very strong and I like the clear goal, makes me want to play. The other two are nice as well but just seem slightly less interesting