Monday, 14 April 2014


I read the book again and noticed that Mali has a lilac for a mouth. I tried this on the same picture, i also made a closeup picture

Malithe water gardener 2

In this picture I took more time to define features I liked in my previous attempt at Mali. But i also changed features that I didn't like. I've kept the purple foliage on the head area, it really gave character to the entity. In a game environment I could assume that the other gardeners had their own style of hair. I've kept the interwoven arm too, I really like the idea that it could untangle itself to form shapes or weapons to fight the Chupwalas. In the book it describes him has being virtually invulnerable to attacks, so i gave him a "tough guy" posture. Gone is the net from the previous Mali picture, iv'e went with the idea that his arm is a like a universal tool, he unwinds it to form certain shapes. Mali now has a lantern, I added it because he guards the streams to the sea of stories 24/7, so naturally he would also be guarding it at night, so he would require a lantern. It takes the shape of an onion, it's just my attempt at making everything natural looking. I restrained from giving him a mouth just to make him more strange and mysterious, i wanted a humanoid body but much of the things that makes someone human, removed. The last thing i removed was the floaty torso, I gave him legs, but they are comprised of twigs, ferns and bushes, he doesn't hover, but he glides across the surfaced of thingd with the bushes simply brushing across the floor. 

Friday, 4 April 2014

Mali, the floating water gardener.


My choice of character was Mali, the water gardener. This is the first idea I had for him.

Mali
A 'Floating Gardener' composed of interwoven flowering vines and water plants that behave as a single organism. He is one of many, whose task is to prevent stories from becoming irretrievably convoluted and to cut away weeds on the Ocean's surface. Floating Gardeners are divided into a hierarchy of classes, of which Mali belongs to the First Class; presumably the highest. Mali, and presumably other Floating Gardeners, is virtually invulnerable, being able to withstand any and all attacks made against him by the Chupwalas. Though normally taciturn by human standards, he is shown singing rhymes when defying the attacks.

Glogloflomp


Glogloflomp, or Glog as he likes to be known, is a hyper athletic android that went wrong in the development process. It resulted in his having a hideously grotesque face.  Right when he was about to be thrown down the hatch of castaway androids, a worker slipped and accidentally sent him into full production with a push of a button. Glog became programmed to protect his city from invaders, but his hideous mutated face and feet scared the civilians of Shouh, the opal city in the clouds.  He was tasked by Clarke Stalton, the chief  to clean the bowels of the city, the sewers and the aqueducts. It was here where Glog first got a taste of Gawalo, the class A drug that plagued the city, Little to anyone’s knowledge was the effectiveness of Gawalo on an android unit, the effects did not just include euphoria, relaxation and instant addiction, but to Glog it gave a massive surge of strength and dexterity. Upon Glogs first taste the addiction kicked in, He quickly stole the rest of the drug, and consumed it. Weeks passed, and Glog had become totally obsessed with the drug, it prevented him from doing is duties as an android. When the android manufactures noticed the lack of activity from model #19333 (Glog’s model number) they sent an armed unit to investigate. They were easily able to located Glog because each android transmits their location due to a chip in their infrastructure. They tried to restrain Glog, but little did they know about his new found addiction. Glog rapidly thrashed knocking back the unit of men, he ravaged their bodies in a drug induced rage, it was at this point when the city got notification, and Shouh went into lock down to contain Glog.

Back at the HAO (headquarters for android organisms), they were trying to remotely shut down model #19333, but the drug must have effected some circuitry and they were unable to do a thing. Back down in the aqueducts, Glog was scurrying about, looking for a path to take to escape the city, he may have been powerful, but he was no match for a full scale
city assault. Loudspeakers filled the city warning civilians of Glog, Glog was scared. He was about to give up and let them take him, It was then when he heard a soft whisper from behind him, he turned noticed an android sitting in a puddle of water against a wall. He was like Glog, hideous and mutated, but he was rusted and old, it was obvious that he had been down here for a long time. He pointed to the water and simply said “swim down”. Glog had no other options. He did as the android said and jumped into the dirty water and swam downwards. Glog had swam for about 5 minutes when he suddenly felt a suction from down below, Glog was dragged down towards the suction, he couldn't control himself, suddenly a flash of daylight and he felt himself falling through the air, he realized that he has escaped through the Shouh’s drainage, after a long fall he landed heavily into a large crevice full of water. Glog didn't know much of what just happened, but he knew one thing, that he was free.


Analyse and compare two video game characters

Characters of Choice:
Gordon Freeman - Half Life 1, 2 and…
Chell – Portal 1 and 2

Gordon freeman is the protagonist in the half-life games. He is a silent yet iconic hero. Maybe because he is quiet, or possible because he’s a badass! Unlike a lot of video game characters Gordon doesn't have a rich back-story that backs up his personality/traits. It the opening scene of the game, Gordon is traveling to his workplace via tram, during the journey text fades onto the screen to establish the time, location and brief back-story to Gordon Freeman. We learn that he is 27 years old and is a Theoretical physicist. This is totally different to most FPS game characters that start the game as a badass (master chief, Duke Nukem), instead Gordon becomes a “badass”, and the player gets to witness the transformation of a scientist into a hero. Almost all game protagonists have a “standout” feature like a weapon or piece of clothing. Gordon is no exception. He wears the iconic HEV suit and wields the famous crowbar. This thing that sets Gordon Freeman aside from most other game characters is the fact that throughout all the games he never says ONE word. He is completely quiet, yet he has such a strong presence. Throughout the game you fame within the crumbling Black Mesa grows, other scientists recognize you, and rejoice at you presence. It’s because of the interactions that you have with scientists and bosses/scenarios that ultimately create the character of Gordon Freeman, after all not everyone is able to take on a 200ft three headed, beaked alien!
Chell is the main character, and the person the player controls in the Portal games. She is a text subject within an empty science complex. Her actions are in response to her enemy GLaDOS, an AI robot. Throughout the game she shows to be a very capable test subject, she completes the whole test chamber and finally goes beyond GLaDOS expectations. Chell uses one of the most iconic weapons in gaming history, the portal gun. Her gun allows her to traverse difficult obstacles by splitting loopholes within the environment.  You don’t really learn much about her back story, but you do know that she is the LAST surviving human in the complex after GLaDOS killed everyone. Although she isn't a speaker, you can tell Chell is determined to leave the facility, the player’s controls push her to extremes to escape, from crossing fire pits and poison holes and avoiding dangerous traps.

Gordon and Chell are very similar characters, neither of them talks, and both of their stories are told through the environment and their own actions. Gordon and Chell are both in similar situations within their games. Their lives are in danger and they fight their way through levels to escape it. In a lot of other games, the hero comes in to “save the day” or rescue others, but these two characters are saving themselves, and in Gordon’s case saving himself and indirectly saving the other scientists. The main difference between the two characters, is that unlike Gordon Chell only ever interacts with the enemy, not often is she accompanied with allies (with the exception of Wheatley in Portal 2). A similarity both characters have is that they have no helpers, or at least anyone that is component enough to last 5 minutes, this causes both characters to act very bravely and to be very dependent, thus making them a stronger willed character. All in all they are both hardened people, shaped by the scenarios they happen to be stuck in.