Mar 2 - Mar 8: Defining main Characters and locations

Defining themes and ideas - Rewriting the research Proposal

By Christopher Sutton

Mar 2 to Mar 6

Overview

Overall this week is mostly focused on keeping on top of the academic side of the work load. We are required to re-write our research proposals, keeping in mind our research questions which need improvement too.

Story themes

  • Environmentalism, Facing changes in the world, Dealing with disasters, Cultural distance, Being ruled by fear/living in fear, Explored through the characters relationship with their world and the giant monsters that inhabit it.

  • Isolationism - Living in a "Bubble", dangers of ignoring the outside world, 

  • Social inequality - Rich vs Poor: Have vs Have not, Ingrained inequality and oppression, Explored through differences in the characters found in the human settlements in the story 

  • Knowledge vs. safety - Is it better to know or be ignorant and safe? Safety at the expense of freedom,

The main selling point of the story are the giant creatures that roam the world, changing the landscape and ecosystem around them. In many ways they are a metaphor for our changing world, with huge unstoppable disasters becoming more frequent, some of which are causing to isolate ourselves from each other.

Things to investigate

Monsters as Allegories 
Climate change and it protaryal in media
Histrocial references for: Plagues & Famines & Disaters, Mythological creatures, National and individual isolation and its consqueues, Humanity's relationship with nature

Basics of character design

When dealing with character design, there a lot of basic concepts to keep in mind when starting out. Probably the most important but abstract is the character theme. What the character represents should usually be the driving factor in design decisions. For example, a character that is all about physical strength and violence will probably be quite bulky. For the time being I am focusing on the academic side of the project, but I'm still thinking about how I can make all these characters stand out from one another on a fundamental level.

The explorer's league - Stereotypes

  • The Gunslinger/ The Hunter - A marksmen who is looking for adventure, danger and game trophies. Large build: Big Torso, Heavy Shoulders, Meaty Hands, Smaller legs and feet, thick jaw and skull
  • The Adventurer/ The Archeologist  -
  • The Scientist/ The Inventor 
  • The Historian/ The Diplomat
  • The Pilot/ The Daredevil
  • The Noble/ The Money
  • The Guide/ The Survivor

Secondary character ideas

    General

  • Common working men
  • Police force
  • Nobles
  • Mechanics
  • Sailors/Pilots

    Inspired by the people of Wellington

  • The crazed old seaman
  • Strange haircut girl
  • Purple overcoat hobbit

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