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Shift Happens: Evolution of Character – The Journey from 2D Blob to Robots to 3D Blob
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Bismo and Plom, the two protagonists from »Shift Happens«, had to endure a long journey to reach their final shape and personality – but the work paid off.
Want more? Check out the other chapters:
Just Another Indie Platformer?!
Singleplayer VS. Multiplayer (follows on december 16th)
The Quest for Art (follows soon)
Look Development in Unity (follows soon)
Bismo’s and Plom’s journey actually started before the 3D version, with the development of the flash game »Mercury Shift«. At the beginning, the two were simple mercury blobs whose charm captivated players despite their plain design. Our core mechanic, the »shift«, was already an integral part of the two characters even back then. When we sat down together to start the work on »Shift Happens«, again we had this picture of the shift as one of the crucial fundaments in our minds. We first thought that our two friends could be robots whose interchangeable mass could be displayed through a kind of energy core. We tried out a few designs, always looking for this special feeling that the 2D blobs already conveyed then. Finally, we realized that people loved the blobs, so they had to remain blobs. That very evening, the first piece of concept art for our final design was created.
The Design
For good character design, it’s important to be aware of certain basic conditions. The more guidelines you set, the easier it is to create a fitting design. The first and most important guideline for us was the already mentioned presentation of the shift, then the decision in favor of the blobs, and also the style of the game was crucial. We wanted to head into a simple, yet aesthetic-looking direction, so the same went for our characters. And we also thought of applying it to the basic principle of the game, too. Shift Happens is a game that’s mainly about having fun and sharing the same experience, and of course, we wanted this basic idea to be reflected in Bismo’s and Plom’s looks and personalities.
The same and yet completely different – elaborate details help distinguish Plom from Bismo.
We wanted to create fun characters who would be endearing and loveable at the same time, so that everyone would enjoy playing them to explore the world of Shift Happens.
The biggest challenge with regard to design was the fact that we had two different-looking characters whose skills were identical. Unique distinguishing features are the different mass and size, which either one of the characters can obtain. So, we had to make clear that they were two different individuals who kept their personality even when switching shapes. Nonetheless, we also wanted to bring across the characteristics of the different shapes.
In order to meet these requirements, we first based the design of Bismo and Plom on their 2D predecessors. Their ground mass was also to consist of mercury, but a lot more viscous and with clear structures. We worked with round, soft design elements to give them both a friendly appearance. Unlike the original blobs, Bismo and Plom were allowed to have colors. We made sure to work with flat and pure colors, both to correspond to the style and to emphasize their different character. For example, they both have different luminescent symbols on their body to add some variety. They kept the same number of eyes as the original blobs, with the exception that Bismo doesn’t have a single eye in the middle but a cross-shaped symbol instead of a second one.
Since we kept the style rather simple, it was important to have not only a significant number of design elements, but also expressive movements of the characters. A big part of their personality had to be expressed with the help of specific gestures. Therefore, the animations play an important role to differentiate between our two protagonists.
Challenge: the Shift
What turned out to be an even bigger challenge than the character development was the design and implementation of the shift itself. After all, it was the core mechanic of the game, so it had to look good and work well. At the beginning, we almost spent too much time racking our brains about it. We wanted to have a somewhat plausible and comprehendible explanation of how it was possible for our two friends to switch shapes.
We eventually fell back on the same means we already used for the 2D versions. Even though Bismo and Plom are colored red and blue, their ground mass still consists of mercury, and that’s what we still wanted to allow to see despite the new designs, and the perfect foundation for this was the shift. When our characters liquefy to be able to change their shape, they return to their original liquid mercury form. This is illustrated through silvery coloring and splashes being sloshed around or pulled close.
But possibly the biggest hurdle was the implementation. We worked with blend shapes to produce a smooth transition of the two shapes. Additionally, the characters had to be scaled and swapped. The shift had to work at any time, no matter what animation phase Bismo and Plom were in. We had to use a lot of tricks, but in the end managed to implement the shift as planned and were happy with the result.
The Result
We keep getting feedback about how loveable and funny our two protagonists are. We met the goal we had set ourselves with regard to the character design and also learned a lot on the way. While creating Bismo and Plom we realized how much design and animation can depend on each other.
It proved to be quite useful to have an idea of the gestures and technique of the animations we wanted to create from the get-go. We also learned that good design doesn’t necessarily have to be complex and detailed. It’s usually much more important to get the emotions and personality across.
Even if there were quite a few hurdles to take, at the end of the day we managed to create two loveable guys who are all in all very well received by the players.
About the Author
Nora Hannemann
is Character Artist at Klonk Games.
When something moves in »Shift Happens«, it probably has Nora’s handwriting. As Character Artist and Animator, she created the characters Bismo and Plom and was also responsible for their animations. You can find more moving things and updates on her work on Twitter @minnalya
The post Shift Happens: Evolution of Character – The Journey from 2D Blob to Robots to 3D Blob appeared first on Making Games.
Shift Happens: Evolution of Character – The Journey from 2D Blob to Robots to 3D Blob syndicated from yhttps://phonespyingpage.wordpress.com/
Shift Happens: Evolution of Character – The Journey from 2D Blob to Robots to 3D Blob
via WordPress ift.tt/2jWEdKz
Bismo and Plom, the two protagonists from »Shift Happens«, had to endure a long journey to reach their final shape and personality – but the work paid off.
Want more? Check out the other chapters:
Just Another Indie Platformer?!
Singleplayer VS. Multiplayer (follows on december 16th)
The Quest for Art (follows soon)
Look Development in Unity (follows soon)
Bismo’s and Plom’s journey actually started before the 3D version, with the development of the flash game »Mercury Shift«. At the beginning, the two were simple mercury blobs whose charm captivated players despite their plain design. Our core mechanic, the »shift«, was already an integral part of the two characters even back then. When we sat down together to start the work on »Shift Happens«, again we had this picture of the shift as one of the crucial fundaments in our minds. We first thought that our two friends could be robots whose interchangeable mass could be displayed through a kind of energy core. We tried out a few designs, always looking for this special feeling that the 2D blobs already conveyed then. Finally, we realized that people loved the blobs, so they had to remain blobs. That very evening, the first piece of concept art for our final design was created.
The Design
For good character design, it’s important to be aware of certain basic conditions. The more guidelines you set, the easier it is to create a fitting design. The first and most important guideline for us was the already mentioned presentation of the shift, then the decision in favor of the blobs, and also the style of the game was crucial. We wanted to head into a simple, yet aesthetic-looking direction, so the same went for our characters. And we also thought of applying it to the basic principle of the game, too. Shift Happens is a game that’s mainly about having fun and sharing the same experience, and of course, we wanted this basic idea to be reflected in Bismo’s and Plom’s looks and personalities.
The same and yet completely different – elaborate details help distinguish Plom from Bismo.
We wanted to create fun characters who would be endearing and loveable at the same time, so that everyone would enjoy playing them to explore the world of Shift Happens.
The biggest challenge with regard to design was the fact that we had two different-looking characters whose skills were identical. Unique distinguishing features are the different mass and size, which either one of the characters can obtain. So, we had to make clear that they were two different individuals who kept their personality even when switching shapes. Nonetheless, we also wanted to bring across the characteristics of the different shapes.
In order to meet these requirements, we first based the design of Bismo and Plom on their 2D predecessors. Their ground mass was also to consist of mercury, but a lot more viscous and with clear structures. We worked with round, soft design elements to give them both a friendly appearance. Unlike the original blobs, Bismo and Plom were allowed to have colors. We made sure to work with flat and pure colors, both to correspond to the style and to emphasize their different character. For example, they both have different luminescent symbols on their body to add some variety. They kept the same number of eyes as the original blobs, with the exception that Bismo doesn’t have a single eye in the middle but a cross-shaped symbol instead of a second one.
Since we kept the style rather simple, it was important to have not only a significant number of design elements, but also expressive movements of the characters. A big part of their personality had to be expressed with the help of specific gestures. Therefore, the animations play an important role to differentiate between our two protagonists.
Challenge: the Shift
What turned out to be an even bigger challenge than the character development was the design and implementation of the shift itself. After all, it was the core mechanic of the game, so it had to look good and work well. At the beginning, we almost spent too much time racking our brains about it. We wanted to have a somewhat plausible and comprehendible explanation of how it was possible for our two friends to switch shapes.
We eventually fell back on the same means we already used for the 2D versions. Even though Bismo and Plom are colored red and blue, their ground mass still consists of mercury, and that’s what we still wanted to allow to see despite the new designs, and the perfect foundation for this was the shift. When our characters liquefy to be able to change their shape, they return to their original liquid mercury form. This is illustrated through silvery coloring and splashes being sloshed around or pulled close.
But possibly the biggest hurdle was the implementation. We worked with blend shapes to produce a smooth transition of the two shapes. Additionally, the characters had to be scaled and swapped. The shift had to work at any time, no matter what animation phase Bismo and Plom were in. We had to use a lot of tricks, but in the end managed to implement the shift as planned and were happy with the result.
The Result
We keep getting feedback about how loveable and funny our two protagonists are. We met the goal we had set ourselves with regard to the character design and also learned a lot on the way. While creating Bismo and Plom we realized how much design and animation can depend on each other.
It proved to be quite useful to have an idea of the gestures and technique of the animations we wanted to create from the get-go. We also learned that good design doesn’t necessarily have to be complex and detailed. It’s usually much more important to get the emotions and personality across.
Even if there were quite a few hurdles to take, at the end of the day we managed to create two loveable guys who are all in all very well received by the players.
About the Author
Nora Hannemann
is Character Artist at Klonk Games.
When something moves in »Shift Happens«, it probably has Nora’s handwriting. As Character Artist and Animator, she created the characters Bismo and Plom and was also responsible for their animations. You can find more moving things and updates on her work on Twitter @minnalya
The post Shift Happens: Evolution of Character – The Journey from 2D Blob to Robots to 3D Blob appeared first on Making Games.
Shift Happens: Evolution of Character – The Journey from 2D Blob to Robots to 3D Blob syndicated from yhttps://phonespyingpage.wordpress.com/