Teams vs Pairs

Now is the time to focus my ideas for this project. From my self-evaluation of my skills and processes, and the discussion with a lecturer, I know I want to concentrate on character design revolving around the various connections between the playable character and major NPCs. I believe this route will allow me to focus on the design and storytelling aspects, but also take influence from the interactive elements of games. Such a project will aid me to fill some of the technical gaps in my skills, such as the more digital based pipeline of the industry like silhouette thumbnails, and using my tablet rather than sketching traditionally and scanning. This will hopefully speed up my production overall, as well as improve my painting skills.

Off the top of my head, thinking about the games that use companions, there's a distinct path they tend to follow - teams or pairings. The games I'm looking at are the type where companions are of the more significant format, where the characters are usually constant once they join, and personal relationship and story can be developed more efficiently. There are other games which have main NPC characters who work with the playable character, but to me don't bond together enough to be considered a unit, like in Fable 3 where your allies come and go depending on their role for that part of the story. Here is a list I've compiled of suitable games.

Teams	Pairs
Dragon Age series Mass Effect series Final Fantasy series Gears of War series Lost Odyssey Infinite Undiscovery The Last Remnant Enchanted Arms Halo: Reach Sonic Heroes Sonic Riders Pokemon series Harry Potter series Binary Domain Thomas Was Alone	Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Prince of Persia The Legend of Spyro series Ratchet & Clank series Jak & Daxter series Army of Two series Hunted: The Demon's Forge The Last of Us Ico Shadow of the Colossus Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Fable series The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Fallout series Pokemon Yellow The Legend of Zelda series Banjo-Kazooie Papo & Yo Whiplash Folklore

Within the team and paired types, there are more defined structures, formations, and patterns that reoccur. This could dictate the relationship between the characters, the storyline, the gameplay, or the player's experience as part of that set. The following are examples of those that I've noticed.

1.1. Team: Strangers - Here, the player gathers a range of characters to aid them in the story, often many in number, where you pick two or three for individual missions. Some characters may be optional in the sense that unless they are needed for the main storyline progression, you could skip having them join your team. Usually, the playable character is a leader, and other members are new to each other. This gives you the opportunity to learn about them in a more natural way, talking and interacting with them, and overall the group develops together.

In the Mass Effect series, the protagonist Sheppard can be created from a small number of pre-designed backgrounds, and morality driven communication establishes strong personality and behavioural traits, but in Dragon Age the protagonist is essentially a blank slate for the player to imprint on, and options that dictate their responses are on spur of the moment decisions that have no lasting or build up effect on how the character acts. The only other characterisation shown is in which origin story you pick, which is more of a storytelling element than a way to show the character's personality.

1.2. Team: Established - Another variation of team based characters is where they are already formed, and have a background and history together set in place. In Halo: Reach, you're the new member joining an already formed team, which stays the same throughout the game. Your character is a blank slate, and the player is the one trying to fit into the group. Instead of leading it, you follow orders, and the story tends to be more linear in that your decisions don't have as much impact on events. In the opening scene of Halo: Reach, the playable character doesn't show his face or have a name, just a codename, whereas the others in the established group have names and show their faces, and have much more distinct personalities. As the newbie, you start as feeling a little unwanted, but despite the other members being distant at first, they come to trust each other. The relationship development is different from everyone being strangers to each other, and is more about trying to find your place.

Halo: Reach Opening Scenes

In comparison, in Gears of War, your character is more developed and pre-designed in personality. The opening scene shows the player announcing they know the NPC that frees you, and comments throughout continue to show they have history. Here, there are already established relationships and quirks between the members, and the format this is shown in is to teach the audience of what's been pre-determined rather than a blank slate to make the impression of a fresh start.

Gears of War Opening Scenes

2.1. Pair: Strangers - Often in this situation the opening scenes have two characters meet by chance, and the player takes control of one of them to continue the story. In Enslaved: Odyssey to the West the playable character is forced to protect the second as they travel, but their relationship develops until they are friends and willingly work together. This type is clear for allowing the player to learn of the characters as they interact. The opening scenes put the characters in a situation that showcases their personality; Monkey is a hot headed capable fighter, brash, and a little violent, shown by his reaction to being enslaved; and Trip reveals her tech savvy abilities by hacking the ship they crashed on and the slave headband, and admits she doesn't have the skills to survive by herself. As you play you learn to adapt to use both characters full potential.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Opening Scenes

Similarly in Prince of Persia, the two characters meet and decide to work together to solve a common problem, and the player learns of each character gradually. This way, the player has to figure out for themselves how best to use each character's abilities in every situation. There's less of having a teammate because of wanting their skill set and more of taking what your given. In the first 10-20 minutes or so of the opening scenes, you can instantly tell the Prince is athletic by how he controls his fall down the cliff, and that he's flirty in the way he responds to first meeting Elika. He's charming and heroic as he steps in to presumably save the damsel in distress. Elika is also athletic in the way you see her run and jump about. She's polite but strict because she's so focused on her goals, and independent in that she doesn't rely on the Prince if she doesn't have to. She's determined to do her duty and heal her land despite the danger.

Prince of Persia Opening Scenes

2.2. Pair: Established - In this format, again personalities tend to be pre-designed, but with the relationship between the two characters formed as well, and the player is told their story instead of learning it as they do. It feels to me the player is more obviously a third person, and can empathise with situations rather than experience them as if they were one of the characters. At the start of Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy you see Jak is the leading character who likes to explore and seek adventure, while Daxter is the follower who is afraid of danger but brags of his exploits. I found it unique that Jak doesn't talk, and personality has to be shown through his actions and expressions while Daxter picks up the slack.

Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy Opening Scenes

With Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, there is already a strong connection between the characters in being family. They have formed ways of teamwork to move about in the environment, and the player has to figure out who does what best. By their actions and how both deal with the same situation, you can see the younger brother is more playful and energetic, and the older is calmer and more responsible.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Opening Scenes

It seems in pairings, it's more common to have pre-designed personalities and stories than the blank slate or multi-choice option in teams. With having less NPCs to learn about, is it more important to have their characteristics strongly established? This may also have to do with the games genre, which might dictate expected ways of playing the game; the previous team based games are of the role playing genre, and the pairing are more of an adventure-platform type, both which have typical storytelling styles. In pairings, usually the player controls one character who leads, where in teams you can often give orders and swap who you're playing. The player's interactivity is different when either type is formed by strangers or is already established, as you either learn as the characters do, or are shown rather than taught.

I think in the end, I would prefer at least a smaller number of NPC companions, with the hope that their personalities and story would be developed to a higher quality. You'd come to care about them more because of your longer exposure to them, as well as being able to focus on them as characters rather than missions. There are a number of games that have NPC main characters but aren't duos that have proved to me that a concentration on those few people can still create strong emotional investment. Halo 2 is one such game, where the Master Chief and the Arbiter are well defined characters, each with their own goals and desires. They start off as enemies, then are forced to work together and eventually become allies through to the next instalment.

As such, I've decided that my companions are going to be a pair. I feel that despite the popularity of using teams, they're becoming too common, and a duo would be a little more fresh. With teams, there's the risk that they may be a little underdeveloped individually and are easier to fit into stereotypes. I've always been a little annoyed in the larger team based games that in one playthrough I might not get to know all of them to their full potential. What's the point in having so many characters if you can't use them all? I know forming your own mini team is strategic in most cases, but I've always had a stronger interest in story, and going on repetitive missions to earn each and every one's favour gets boring and disconnects me from the immersion. With a pair, to me the potential is greater.