Character concept for a hot witch
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A few weeks ago, we were given the task to choose from a variety of game concept documents and adapt one concept into a fully-fledged design, to then be developed into a playable digital game during the current semester. All the game concepts were made by us students in teams and presented/pitched to each other earlier as part of the previous semester’s course plan. Our team chose “Burn Witch Burn”, a concept about a witch being hunted that turned out to be quite popular and was picked by a lot of other groups. At first, I was disappointed by the lack of varying concepts that were strong enough to stick out and hook other creative minds to pick and play around with them. The concepts emerged under specific conditions and limitations, but there was room for further interpretation of the imposed themes and the linked mechanics/narrative (which were: 2D top-down shooter with PC controls, the theme being “The hunter becomes the hunted”). So I tried to focus on looking forward examining all the variant incarnations of the same given source material and aspiring to create something that hopefully manages to be distinct. When we started adapting, I knew right away that the jolly and colorful pseudo-Anime look paired with a fast-paced Irish folk/rock soundtrack, in a 1600s-Scotland-inispired setting for a narrative that deals with witch hunts, trials and their gruesome burnings had to be changed. Despite displaying an assortment of interesting elements that initially drew the attention of many teams, this hodgepodge of influences and styles seemed – after a closer look at all conceptual documentation – too muddled and thoughtlessly thrown together, ultimately incoherent and not successfully tailored to any specific audience. After some initial meetings, I was designated as the Lead Art and possibly Lead Sound (because our team lacks a member with any significant experience in the sound department, but I made movies once, so… yeah, good enough.) Visually, I wanted to lean towards fantastic renditions of Victorian era aesthetics, with a horror vibe to it, as you would see in work related to Stoker’s, Shelley’s or Lovecraft’s material, the Castlevania series, Bloodborne, Darkest Dungeon, Magic: The Gathering’s “Innistrad” plane, and the likes. The Lead Designer described his vision of the game world as decaying, with a presence of evil, a presence of the devil, even. My co-artist suggested to look at a picture by Tove Jansson and consider the torch-lit atmosphere of the drawing. I figured, the sketchy  black-and-white look, line-heavy with stark, defined shadows, would be at the same time reasonable enough to pull off for two artists, and effective in its simplicity. Putting colorful lighting effects for shots, hits, specials, etc. into such an environment would make them quite impactful. I also considered pulling inspiration from Kentaro Miura’s work on the “Berserk” manga series, as a dark fantasy manga style would thematically fit better with the game than a jolly pseudo-Anime look. Ultimately, I decided that it would be too busy on screen and too work-intensive – which turned out for the better: My co-artist left the team, the studies and the country and I was left alone with all asset creation. I had to rethink the design principles and rejigger the style guide of the game to fit the newly limited budget in (wo)man-hours. I figured that a mixture between the line-heavier styles and something with more flat, solid black shadows (think Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Darkest Dungeon), could be feasible for one person.
Izalith has been tracked down by an angry mob of bloodthirsty farmers and townsfolk! Time to flee, Firekeeper! Keep the light alive and maybe… if you should get caught… make a pact with “The Lightbringer” to turn the tables…  |
Out came my re-design of the witch, the protagonist of our game. I, personally, called her Izalith – as an homage to Dark Souls’ sub-plot about a circle of fire-witches.
She is the last Firekeeper (another nod) in a Victorian-like fantasy world that is slowly being devoured by Darkness. People, in their desperation, have turned to superstition and made the witches scapegoats for the seemingly inevitable fate of the world. Their pyromantic powers escape the common people’s understanding and they make the “witchcraft” responsible for their doom. They fear it. And so, they hunt down, torture and murder witch after witch, to the very last light of their life…
