Who is my character?
The protagonist of Change our Fate is a gender ambiguous teenager named Morgan. Morgan doesn't believe they deserve the life they have been given. They live in a very poor part of a broken city with their family who are taking care of Morgans sick sister. Struggling for money in a climate that is falling apart they are reliant on Morgan to head out and gather essentials. Morgan was doing well in school and keeping their head down before society began crumbling. Now looking after the family is a priority for Morgan and they refuse to let them down.
What is their personality?
- Witty
- Cynical but also hopeful
- Tired yet determined
- Intelligent
- Used to love the outdoors
- Worried for what the future might bring
Appearance
Morgan is a scruffy kid. Especially since their family struggle keeping the power on and the water running. Their clothes are too small and they look generally disheveled.
Items
Morgan carries a backpack to carry the objective items and a pocket knife that was given to them by their father. They were also given a mask to protect against the smoggy atmosphere.
Mood board
The character should be small and compact to reflect that they are a young person and somewhat vulnerable person. Their clothing should be reflective of their age so they should be wearing jeans and sneakers to show that they are a teenager. The clothing should also reflect their standard of life so Morgans clothing should be scruffy and tattered.
As Morgan is cynical and tired, their posture should poor and this will also present their vulnerability and fear of the world around them.
Designing Morgan...
I gathered some more references of well-known youthful characters to assist my character creation. Boo from Monster Inc. and Playdead's Inside protagonist were both useful in helping to draw the right proportions for my character. They also helped me to see how youth can be presented by using rounder shapes and curves. I experimented with a few drawings before finding the best basic design for how I want my character to look.
Above are the finished basic concept pieces for the design of my protagonist, Morgan. The design shows the equipment they will be carrying in game and I included some alternative options for face masks.