The Balance of Narrative & Mechanics
Duos often fail because they do not really aid game progression. Their presence should provide a level of physical or narrative contribution. A highly practical way to justify using duos is to base mechanics off the requirement of teamwork to get through the level. In Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Monkey is the fighting force who's athletic manoeuvrability finds and clears the way for Trip, but sometimes he has to rely on her tech skills to see hidden land mines, open locked doors, or provide a holographic distraction so he can reach his goal unhindered. I believe this game has a near perfect balance of narrative and mechanics, which justifies the use of both characters.
Prince of Persia is heavily designed around the gameplay element, and uses teamwork effectively. Some reviews though felt that Elika was a bit tagged on for these elements, as she was a more of a cheat for not dying. Beyond the cutscenes that convey the major plot points, narrative was also lacking. To really get to know each character and the world, the player had to activate conversations with Elika, and depending on where the player was, this sometimes resulted in her not having anything to say, so the Prince made comments to himself. This left me feeling a bit unsatisfied as so much more could have been done. I believe narrative must at least reach a certain acceptance level if such development is attempted, and while gameplay will always be a stronger element here, there needs to be a better ratio.
Balancing Originality & Familiarity
Before
designing a character, there are pivotal elements to consider first.
In a world full of entertainment media, an immense range of
characters already exists. So how is it possible to create an
original character that stands out? Without going into gameplay or
story, it is vital that the visual elements are grounded by
originality balancing with a touch of familiarity. Antony
Christoulakis, lead artist of Neon
Studios, claims a character “should
have something human in its nature - something that people know and
understand from our real world. If you just design the most weird
alien creature you can think of, people will find it hard to create
an emotional connection. But he also has to have something new to
stand out from the crowd.” (Hartas 2005, p.20). There should always
be some aspect people recognise to relate to.
As
an interactive medium, how a character will be used in a game impacts
their design. Likely, if a character is bulky and slow, they will not
be springing over platforms like a squirrel. The character has to
aesthetically fit the role they were designed for. If a character's
design does not match the intention for gameplay, this will disrupt
the player's immersion.
Reoccurring Archetypes
Throughout my research of duos I've come to find there are reoccurring archetypes for the pairing and their relationship. Although some may start of differently, as the characters develop they can come to be known for what they finish as, such as strangers to friends, or friends to romance. There's a mix of a friendship and leader-sidekick type in Ratchet & Clank. There are family-based relationships like siblings in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, and although unrelated, a father-daughter bond forms in The Last of Us. While starting as strangers, friendship and even hints of romance develops in Prince of Persia and Ico, while in Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, they first form more like enemies before developing. From my case studies and previous research I've identified these popular archetypes, and will use them for my own designs.
- Leader-Follower
- Friends
- Enemies
- Romance
- Parent-Child
- Sibling
- Playable Character-Pet
- Frenemies
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