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Character Design – La’Haiyla
Alex's Blog
A blog documenting my third year project
After designing the city’s exterior I thought about what the buildings inside might look like. For this I decided to design the Senate/Parliament building. Situated in the capitol and inspired by St. Peter’s Cathedral and the Reichstag, this is where the senators convene for meetings and decide policy. It consists of a large central dome room with a stained glass ceiling and a skylight, as well as outer buildings with offices, meeting rooms and archives.
In-Game this location would be playable and fully explorable, but would be destroyed and turned into memorial gardens after the time-skip. After pushback from senators on policy, Lucien and his advisors would orchestrate the burning (undecided) of the Pantheon, during session. This would allow Lucien to place blame his enemies (the Ophirans), eliminate his senators and declare a state of emergency/martial law in the ensuing panic. This event was inspired by and would parallel the burning of the Reichstag and Hitler’s Declaration of martial law in the aftermath.
Initial Dome design: i like the idea of it being two-tiered.
As an experiment I started designing some glass portraits of previous leaders for the ceiling, but these were not included in the final piece.
An early colour concept of the Senate.
The process of creating the dome
And then constructing the surrounding building.
i felt that it didn’t have enough colour so I made the pillars into red marble and then added clouds for contrast.
I then started designing banners and the Sigil of the Royal Family. Since this is the symbol for a fascist and authoritarian empire I took inspiration from real-world fascist imagery, as well as religious imagery and ancient roman sigils. I ended up with an angel with spread wings which matched the silhouette i had already come up with: a cross with a circle in the middle. Variants of this shape appear as symbols throughout the story – the three points of the cross represent the three suns and the central circle represents the planet, while the cross also evokes Roman Catholic imagery.
After making some alterations with feedback from my tutors I ended up with this as my final piece.
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XMAS Break Work – Draft post
did some character sheets to serve as a reference for Rosamine (B-plot protagonist) and Arktias (A-Plot and Main protagonist).
brainstormed crown ideas for arktias. wanted it to emulate a halo while also looking slightly roman/greek/byzantine or middle eastern since those were her cultural inspirations.
recieved a secret santa of my character rosamine in a ball gown and liked it so much i sketched my own version while on call with some friends. i am unlikely to include this in my final work however
sketched Rosamine’s pose for a later portrait. this would be her being sworn into the presidency.
started designing the leader of the Ophiran faction and deuteragonist in the B-Plot
started on a royal family portrait. showed distance between Jhandra and her son Lucien while also ensuring everyone looked appropriately uncomfortable and miserable since the family dynamic is not a happy one. will finish this later.
costume designs for pre-teen/teenaged rosamine (left) and marilysa (right). marilysa doesnt wear the traditional silvermere colours because she is engaged to the royal heir and shes very proud of this (hence the reds and pinks)
was thinking about the relationship between arktias and lucien before the story and how they would play together. i had the thought that lucien would dress up as a knight or king and proclaim that arktias would one day be his “grand wizard” or prophet and together they would pretend to beat dragons etc. maybe mari would play with them and play princess while rosamine was relegated to playing an evil witch (a role she didn’t embrace with much enthusiasm). it was fun to think about these character dynamics and i look forward to finishing this piece
thought about lucien and how it might be cool for him to have scarring that causes him to cover his face, much like the leper king, baldwin IV of Jerusalem
wanted to improve at drawing dark skin so i drew polaris, one of my characters (B-Plot, protégé to Rosamine and youngest brother of the starling family. a talented engineer and wielder of arcane magic). enjoyed it so much i drew arktias (protagonist) and zimul (A-Plot, friend of Arktias from Maudin and wielder of Wild earthen magic that allows him to shapeshift)
designed a propaganda poster for rosamine, will clean up this draft later.
thought in-depth about how the magic system would function and figured out 6 major schools of magic: holy (creation light, prophecy and healing etc), earthen (weather, druidic/shamanic etc), arcane (runic, wizardy, mathematic), hallow (necrotic and dead magic), demonic (not just traditional demonic aesthetic, but rather maths/physics breaking magic considered dangerous and outlawed. 7 hells for 7 styles of demonic magic, one of which is the traditional fire-and-brimstone with little devils hell) and finally void (entropy/universal decay. heat death of the universe/nothingness, fear and nightmares, psychological horror)
expanded on hallow magic. beings are split into 3 main components: body, soul (memory, empathy, love) and spirit (mind, intelligence, consciousness). necrotic hallowed are those who linger while missing one or more of these components.
for example:
then i designed wraith/shades (left), wanderers (middle) and ghosts (right) with face closeups and props.
then started on designing wisps and thought about how they may be stored in a lantern
personal work
did a secret santa project for a friend and drew Arknights character ‘Chongyue’ at her request.
saw Wicked on west end, and then the movie, and did some drawings
watched some old doctor who with a friend and drew some characters for her
After my success in creating thumbnails for Arktias I wanted to create more for other characters and started on Rosamine’s. I first did two quick sketches of how I envisioned her both as a student and as a politician.
Then I tried to plot out the anatomy for her poses.
After figuring out the specifics of the pose I moved into rendering the body.
Once I had completed the body I started on rendering the face, initially starting with a colour block-out.
I rendered different features individually using the same process that I used to create Arktias’ face.
I felt that she didn’t look how I had imagined so I changed her eye shape to make her eyelids much larger, which in turn made her eyes look droopier and her expression more judgemental (fitting for her personality).
I mirrored and altered the eye before moving the pupils to look into that middle distance rather than to the side, then added subtle eyelashes and soft eyebrows. The hair is only a colour block-out right now but my next step will be to try and render it.
Once I was happy with a rendered body and face I started thumbnailing the costumes for student self.
I consulted with my peers to determine the best outfits for her, and decided on my initial two thumbnails as her primary design idea. While I was fond of the far-right designs and my 4th design, I felt that these didn’t fit her character at this point in her story, but will add these as ideas for her Act 3 portrait since they look like clothes a sci-fi Politician might wear. I’m very happy with how her face turned out and I think I managed to avoid falling into the common mistake of ‘same-face syndrome’ between my characters, something I have struggled with before.
I wanted to create a visualisation of Lucien at different stages of his life: childhood (while still nominated as heir), teenage years (sullen and miserable) and eventually adulthood (the antagonist). I wanted to show contrast through his expression while still keeping his appearance consistent, and checked online to find advice on aging characters.
The next steps I will take for this piece will be to:
• Amend Lucien’s hair colour to be more blond, as I originally intended for his hair to be a platinum colour.
• Paint adult Lucien’s armour white with embedded rubies.
• Push the facial expressions further, as I feel they don’t currently tell the viewer enough.
Below you can see the process of my painting. I initially started with the teenaged version of Lucien and then used that as my baseline.
Refrences:
‘markcrilley’ (2016). How to Draw Babies, Teens, & Adults. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM7ofqrkBuk How to Draw Babies, Teens, & Adults
This piece is the most technically challenging I have ever undertaken, as it requires action composition and a good understanding of lighting to draw the viewer’s attention (both of which I am weak on). To prepare for this piece I have been looking at the work of Billy Christian, who has great composition work. I want to create an illustration of a pivotal moment from Arktias’ backstory; the moment her mother was publicly assassinated. I went through many variations of this composition (documented on my blog) and after struggling to find one I was happy with I opened up Blender and made a vague block-out of character placement. From here I was able to start rendering Jhandra, though I am still unhappy with how this looks, yet lack the skills to be able to tell why. I hope to amend this by getting professional feedback which will hopefully elevate this piece into something I can be happy with.
The next steps I will take for this piece will be to:
• Blockout and render Arktias
• Amend lighting to ensure the focus of the piece is on Arktias (green sketch figure)
• Complete the crowd in the background
• Improve composition by asking for professional and peer feedback
Original composition
Blender block-out
Rendering process
Second composition
Alternative composition
Week 5-7: Thumbnailing and Costume Production
Since Arktias is my main protagonist I wanted to have a clear idea of her costumes for the story. I created many thumbnails for different outfits she could wear and consulted my peers to receive votes on the ones they liked and the ones they didn’t. These costumes had a variety of inspirations from Guo Pei, Papal robes, Plantagenet-era amour, byzantine fashion and Tudor-era tunics.
Here I began on a main portrait piece of Arktias after concepting different outfits and poses for her. I sought inspiration from classical royal portraits from the 1500s-1800s era, focusing on portraits of young and ambitious lords or monarchs. I also focused on portraits of men, rather than women, due to the societal roles of men and male heirs better reflecting my characters status in her society. The exception to this rule was a portrait of Queen Elizabeth the 1st, the ‘Armada Portrait’ (1588) by an unknown painter, where she rests a hand atop a globe to represent her international influence and command of the seas. I thought that it would be interesting to mirror this by having Arktias’s hand rest on a spherical representation of a galactic (or intergalactic) map. For her other hand, I considered having her hand rest upon the hilt of a sword, to show her atypically unstable reign, and to represent the conflict that her ascension to the throne wrought. Alternatively to both these ideas, I studied religious, Christian paintings to determine the hand symbols and positions of saints and angels.
After settling on a pose that i liked I began rendering the face. I went through many variations of eye, nose and lips size/shape, keeping these on separate layers until i was happy with the layout. I chose a blank expression initially so that I would have a base, neutral expression to work from in future.
I then started on the armour, going through multiple variations of rendering and ending up unhappy with all of them. While the first two efforts felt cartoony, the third had no shine and the other three had far too much. The wyvern pattern is also temporarily cut from the armour while I determine if this animal is actually representative of her family or not.
At this point I tried to change her expression into a pensive and concerned one, but feel that it still lacks emotion.
I started sketching and then rendering a neutral pose for Arktias to use as a base for outfit renders, as I realised at this stage that I was lost creatively and needed to explore alternative designs more.
Here I adapted the 5 most popular designs from my thumbnails into half-rendered pieces with colour. These were great to do because they have really helped with my visualisation and concepting skills.
I then became slightly side-tracked and tried to de-age Arktias to her Act 2 and Act 1 appearances to get an idea for how she would have looked in those stages. I also made a quick drawing of Act 1 Kyt’s proportions to Act 3 Kyt.
I made a few quick semi-renders for Arktias’ Act 1 costumes, but have realised since that I had made a proportion mistake that I’m quite embarrassed to have initially missed; the arms are far too short for a child’s proportions, so I will alter these as next steps.
This is Arktias’ full portrait so far, with a newly rendered breastplate to be converted to gold. I think that I can quite quickly finish this piece now that I am more confident at rendering quickly from making my costume renders.
I felt that I was having difficulty portraying emotion in my characters, as they all seemed very neutral, even though Arktias in my mind is very expressive. To amend this I created an expression sheet to show how I imagine Arktias showing a range of emotions. As pictured below: neutral, happy, frightened/visions, surprised, smiling, miffed, upset, annoyed, bored and disgusted. I’d like to make a few more including sad, pensive, confused, laughing and sympathetic. I really enjoyed this exercise and feel it was very productive as it helped me grow in my confidence expressing emotions. For my next steps I will add more emotions and then create similar expression sheets for my other main characters.
Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I: See for free at the Queen’s House
I’d like for my project to feel like a children’s story book, with complex characters and a hopeful, happy ending. With this is mind, I think that my target audience would be children from ages 8-15, but enjoyable to ages above that as well.
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Narrative Inspirations:
Adventure in many different settings, meeting loads of strange people and solving problems along the way.
The hero returns after an exile, older and wiser. There are also many parallels to the book of Exodus in my story with the Collapse representing both the Plagues of Egypt and then Judgement Day.
A surreal narrative with deeper metaphorical meanings in which a child travels to far away fantasy lands to learn important lessons (excluding Matilda on that last point).
Conflict stemming from a succession crisis.
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Anti-Fascist Themes:
I want my story to have an optimistic narrative and that despite the terrible actions of the Imperium, justice and empathy will ultimately prevail.
Authoritarian regimes are appealing to many because they offer simple solutions to complex problems with a disregard for nuance and empathy. To many, cruelty is easy and simple; animal even, but empathy is complex and difficult. When people are afraid they will abandon their empathy in favour of security, so it is in the favour of fascist regimes to stir up fear and manipulate the narrative.
In contrast to this, empathy is layered and requires patience, especially when dealing with those who are very different to one’s self. The message I hope to pass on to players or readers is that cruelty may be easy in the short run, but kindness reaps far greater rewards.
Week 4: Character Concepting and Moodboarding
After developing my narrative I set about making moodboards and noting down the personalities and stories of my characters. These characters are the main focus of my artbook as my strength is in character art and costume design.
https://pin.it/1FFMXkIrl – Pinterest Board for this Project
Protagonist/Playable Character: Arktias (Kyt)
‘The Prophet’
Arktias is the heir to the Imperium, and the first born-prophet for thousands of generations. The second-born child of her mother, Imperatrix Jhandra, Arktias’ birth broke royal tradition, as the Royals typically only ever have one child, to ensure no competition over succession. After her elder brother was born unusually sickly and weak, with no psychic abilities (atypical for the royal family) her mother created her as a replacement.
Born with exceptionally powerful psychic abilities and the gift of foresight, Arktias has struggled with frightening visions since infancy, which leaves her often highly anxious and unsettled. These visions specifically include one of “the Collapse”, where Elysium is struck by solar flares, plagues, terrible storms, earthquakes and volcanoes ripping through the ground and finally a black hole consuming the whole planet. Seeing such a terrible thing so often and so young has left her traumatized and easily frightened. Beyond this her baseline personality would be optimistic, adventurous and fun, but she can be accidentally insensitive, stubborn and rude due to her privileged upbringing.
After her mother is assassinated Arktias will flee the planet with her advisors before arriving on an outer territory colony planet, called Earth. Were this to be made into a game Arktias’s life on Elysian would be the story prologue and the game would pick up a while into her time on earth, from the POV of her human traveling companion. After her secret is revealed to him and she is separated from her guardians they flee the planet on her spacecraft and the true adventure begins.
Arktias (now referred to by nickname: Kyt) and her friend will travel from planet to planet, much like in ‘Super Mario Galaxy’ (Nintendo, 2007) or ‘The Little Prince’ (A. Saint-Exupéry, 1943), and will fix their problems one-by-one, meeting a diverse range of quirky and fun characters that are able to teach lessons (either through their failures or successes) to the player and protagonists. Some of these characters will then be recruitable and playable. The game will eventually culminate in ‘Act 3’ where Kyt receives a direct message that from the Divine that she is ready to return home, confront the ‘false king’ and liberate the Imperium (the finale of the game, with a ‘final boss fight’ against her brother).
By Act 3 Arktias has developed a lot as a character, and is much happier and stable. With the support of her friends she has learned to accept her visions a tool and a burden only she can shoulder, instead of as a curse or hindrance. I imagine that the visions could serve not only as a narrative tool, but also as a gameplay tool that could enable the player to see alternate outcomes.
Arktias had very long hair as a child which was tightly bound in intricate, low buns resting on her neck, but as she was fleeing this was cut off as she pretended to be a serf to escape through the undercity, though now she keeps it short to represent that she is different to other nobles.
I compiled a list of characters that I felt had inspired Arktias and was able to break her down into 5 key tropes:
Prophet: foresees the future (or past), often through divine influence. Must pass important messages to a population that may or may not believe them.
• Saint Joan of Arc: a major inspiration for my character, especially in design. Much like Joan, Arktias is a child called on directly by a divine presence to liberate an oppressed people.
• ‘Daenys the Dreamer’ from Fire and Blood: much like how I imagine my character, Daenys foresaw many visions, but most notably the “Doom of Valyria”. Arktias will foresee ‘the Collapse’, an apocalyptic event in the near future, where (due to divine wrath) the black neutron star Mythra collapses into a black hole and consumes Elysium, before growing larger and larger and eventually consuming everything known to the Imperium (much like the Great Biblical Flood, this is seen by the Divine as a ‘great reset’).
• Cassandra: a prophet cursed to never have her prophecies believed, and thought to be half-mad.
Liberator: seeks to free an oppressed population, often through divine assignment.
• Prophet Moses: like the prophet Moses, Arktias was raised in a royal home, before fleeing and living a somewhat peaceful life until she was called back by a divine message and was then forced to confront a family member who had gone down a different path. The prophet Moses and the Book of Exodus is one of my largest inspirations for Arktias and her story.
Stolen Birthright: has a position of power promised to them and then taken away, is forced to flee their home to escape their opposition.
• ‘Daenerys Targaryen’ from a Song of Ice and Fire: Daenerys was just a baby when her birthright was “stolen” from her by a rebellion and she was forced to flee her homeland. Arktias is older, and the seizure of the throne is less justified, however.
• Anastasia Romanov (fictional interpretation): In the fictional accounts of the life of Russian Princess Anastasia Romanov, she was said to have fled her home after a faked death and the public speculated for years that she would return to ‘reclaim her birthright’. This is similar to my story, as I imagine that much of the population would privately speculate and tell exaggerated stories about her return. I also particularly enjoy the version of her from the Broadway show and the song she sings “Stay, I Pray You”, where she laments leaving the only home she has ever known behind, which I think is a sentiment Arktias would share. ‘anastasia fan’ (2022). Anastasia final Stay, I Pray You. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNXrnwwlh78 Anastasia final Stay, I Pray You
Child on a Strange Adventure: a child who is cut off from their home, trying to return but baffled by the new places and people they are meeting. This only really applies to Arktias in Act 2.
• ‘Alice’ from Alice in Wonderland: a child that meets strange people who talk in odd ways and can’t understand the social etiquette of the cultures she is in as they seem outlandish and surreal, much like how Arktias perceives the people she is meeting.
• ‘The Little Prince’: an alien prince who crashes his ship on Earth, and has been to many other planets. He has been away from his home for sometime and misses it, but on his travels he encounters many strange people with surreal ideas that challenge his views. Similarly, I think that Arktias would encounter odd people on her journey in Act 2 (or at least, odd to her) and that this would change her thoughts on the world.
Strange Child: an unusual child who has visions or premonitions. Often considered unsettling or eerie.
• ‘Danny Torrance’ from the Shining: Danny’s visions and premonitions are frightening and sudden, almost forced upon him, much like Artkias’.
• ‘Bran Stark’ from a Song of Ice and Fire: like Arktias, he is a child removed from their political sphere who travels to a distant land, leaving everything they knew behind (presumed dead) and can see that a greater threat than the current political civil war is coming.
• ‘Matilda’: The song ‘Quiet’ from Matilda the Musical (0:00 to 1:20) is how I imagine Arktias’ visions could feel; an overwhelmed and stressed child unable to cope with the pressure of her own mind and frightened by the fact she is different. The lyrics: “I wonder if inside my head, I’m not just a bit different from some of friends; these answers that come into my mind unbidden, these stories delivered to me fully written.” specifically make me think of her. (Official London Theatre (2023) Matilda The Musical performs Quiet | Olivier Awards 2014 [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-Lx7dIj9nQ Matilda The Musical performs Quiet | Olivier Awards 2014 )
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Deuteragonist/Playable Character: Boy
Boy is the brother that Arktias lost; everything that Lucien could have been. He is her best friend and a provides her with a fresh point of view on the Universe. Not very strong, and not as smart as Arktias, but much more empathetic and wiser, he inspires her to be a better person. Slightly shy and quiet, he tended to keep to himself while on Earth, and this caused him to gravitate towards Kyt, another outsider at their briefly shared school.
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Primary Antagonist: Lucien
’The Sickly’
The elder brother to Arktias, cast down by his mother after being promised great power; born to inherit the stars, yet denied them for a weakness he couldn’t control. Lucien was “born wrong”, with a weak heart and no psychic abilities, despite the Clergy promising that the second coming of Rychaed would be born from Jhandra. This caused Jhandra to break ancient tradition and have a second child, which caused political disruption as the succession was called into question.
For the first few years after Arktias was born Lucien remained the named heir, still expecting that which he had been promised. Lucien was beloved by the people, with golden curls and eyes, rosy cheeks and a sweet demeanour, but could be stubborn and spoilt, due to his upbringing. Since he was only a child he didn’t initially think of Arktias as a threat to his inheritance, only as his little sister who he wanted to protect and love, but this changed when Arktias was named as heir over him. With no prior warning, Jhandra publicly humiliated Lucien by naming Arktias as her new heir, blindsiding him; his name wasn’t even mentioned in her speech, and this haunts him even long after her death.
Lucien’s personality took a dramatic shift after his denunciation; he became sullen and miserable, rarely leaving his room or talking to others. Arktias was too young to understand why her beloved brother was suddenly shutting her out, and his jealousy towards her grew, creating a great rift between them. As Arktias grew out of toddlerhood and into childhood, Lucien’s personality changed again, from sullen and sad to vengeful and cruel, acting out in bursts of childish anger and immaturity. By the time his usurpation was put into place Lucien had grown to believe his mother was completely incorrect in her judgement, and that his sister was a traitor to the Imperium.
While Arktias is off-world, Lucien grows into the early years of adulthood and becomes greatly invested expanding the Imperium and securing his legacy, taking a hard-shift into authoritarianism and fascism. Since Lucien was ‘born weak’ he felt that he had to live up to not only his mother’s legacy but King Rychaed’s legacy; he was so determined to prove himself as Rychaed come again despite his weaknesses that he failed to realise the fault of his actions.
Lucien will make an appearance in the prologue (which I refer to in my notes as Act 1) and then in Act 3 for a final confrontation/boss encounter.
Lucien is a tragic character and a victim of circumstance. I feel that if he hadn’t been so poorly misled and manipulated by his corrupt advisors, neglected by his mother and betrayed by those closest to him that he could have been a happy, empathetic and ordinary young man; even a good king.
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Secondary Character/(Late-Game) Playable Character: Rosamine Silvermere
Born in privileged circle of society but overshadowed by her elder siblings, Rosamine aspired to become the Silvermere Senator before becoming involved in the rebellion movement. Initially uptight, self-confident and stubborn with a flawed view of reality, Rosamine has always strived to be the best, which unfortunately makes her seem cold or rude to others. Being from house Silvermere (who run the Imperium’s entire judicial and prison system) Rosamine grew up with a strong respect for authority and the law, often snitching on classmates for misbehaviour, but this passion developed into a strong sense of justice and morality as she grew older. Shortly after Lucien’s usurpation her closest friend, Dyana Emberose, introduced to her a political society at their University (or similar advanced academic institution) that was actually a front for an anti-Imperium group. Rosamine was conflicted on whether she should remain loyal to her friend, or report dissent but ultimately chose to remain quiet (going against everything she had ever preached), which led her down the path of de-radicalisation and her world-view expanded in turn. I like to think that Rosamine had always felt at the back of her head that the Imperium was morally wrong, but had tried to avoid thinking on it too hard as it was the foundation of EVERYTHING she had ever known. Had she chosen to turn Dyana in I think that the story would play out very differently.
By the time of Act 3 Rosamine has spent several years involved in the resistance movement and has risen in the ranks, now serving as a primary advisor to their leader. By the end of the story she will be the most-qualified surviving member of the movement, and as a widely known and respected war-hero, is chosen as the leading electoral candidate in their newly created democracy. Rosamine makes a surprisingly good candidate, as she has grown into a strong and charismatic public speaker, has a strong sense of justice and moral code, and is in politics to ‘fix things’ instead of further her own interests. While initially in disagreement with Arktias over how the Imperium should be run post-war, Arktias will eventually come around to her position and agree that the Imperium is an outdated, feudalistic system that does more harm than benefit.
Rosamine represents the idealised politician that everyone wishes existed: someone honest that genuinely wants to help people and has the plan and drive to do it.
I compiled a small list of characters and historical figures that I felt mirrored her actions or personality. Cicero’s reforms in particular inspired Rosamine’s policies.
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Royal Family:
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Family Emberose:
Emberose are Arktias’ paternal family, so I wanted them to act as contrast to her maternal side. Where the Royal family were cold and oppressive, the Emberoses are open and close. I knew I also wanted house Emberose to play a role in the rebellion I had to figure out why.
Harpocrates the Elder was to be the author of my original FMP idea (an explorative journal) and an early member of the rebellion (maybe a founding member of the modern rebellion movement?), with an open mind due to his youth spent travelling the Imperium. I wanted him to be a slightly mysterious figure, an older character who is often dismissed as politically unimportant, or maybe even as an embarrassment for his lack of care or disinterest in Elysian High Society but he actually plays weak and unassuming to mask his true intentions. Harpocrates would leave his journal to his Grandniece (Arktias) in the hopes that it might expand her mind beyond Imperial brainwashing, and also orchestrates her “abduction” off-world (her fleeing the planet, presented to the public as an abduction to keep the peace – also worth noting that this may be changed to a faked death). Harpocrates has no plan of ever bringing Arktias home, despite what he told her advisors and guards who fled with her, as he believes she should live her life free of the Imperium with which he has grown so disillusioned. This character fulfils the role of wizened advisor to the player character, often revealing important information though he appears infrequently.
Pomponia is the elder sister of Harpocrates the Elder and current Highlady of house Emberose. This character serves a similar purpose to Harpocrates as an older advisor to the player (who is secretly working against the antagonists), but is also his opposite; while he may have lost hope in Elysium due to his time away, Pomponia has seen first-hand the compassion and hope in members of the rebellion and knows that they can be better.
Harpocrates the Younger, named in honour of his Uncle, acts as Arktias’ primary guardian after they flee Elysium, until he is removed from the narrative (either through deliberate or accidental separation, death or betrayal – this is still undecided). He may return later in the narrative, during Act 3.
Dyana is a friend of Rosamine, and responsible for introducing her to the rebellion groups. She mostly plays a supporting role in Rosamine’s story, and as of right now, survives until the end and assists in the “great reformation act” (Rosamine’s political reforms that returned sovereign power to colonised societies).
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Family Silvermere:
The Silvermere family are integral to Rosamine and Lucien’s narrative.
Marilysa was designed as a foil to Rosamine, representative of what she could’ve been had their roles been reversed. Where Rosamine worked hard to make up for what she hadn’t been given, Marilysa barely tried. I’d like to imagine her as an ambitious character with a narcissistic streak and desire for power.
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The Role of Colour in symbolism:
• Red is the colour of the Royal family for its royal associations (Red was used by medieval kings to show their God-given authority). Red symbolizes blood, authority and is associated with fascist or authoritarian governments.
• The Rebellion uses a darker blue colour (associated with the UN, democracy) from the symbolic blue rose and as a contrast to the red. This blue is a darker version of the Silvermere colours (showing their dedication to justice while also being a change) while also being a lighter version of the Starling colours (showing their constant progress and innovation).
• Silvermere use a pale, blue colour to show their cold attitudes and represent their commitment to justice (even if it is flawed). Blue traditionally symbolises trust, calm, rational thinking and logic, and is the colour of police uniform, all reinforcing it as the colour of justice.
• Ivoryton use white, a colour typically associated with purity and honesty, despite their deceptive nature. They seem blank and unassuming while hiding their true intentions.
• Starling use a dark blue with silver, the colour traditionally associated with innovation, as well as the night sky (navy sky, silver stars).
• Emberose use oranges and golds to show their empathy and warmth, as well as to mirror the sky from their land.
• Nox use purple, the colour of mystery, as they are a shadowy organisation.
• Weavers use a pale pink (typically associated with femininity and therefore motherhood) as they oversee the creation of children.
• Boy Explorer is associated with pale pastels and rainbow; pastel to show his childish innocence and rainbow to show that he thinks of himself as a citizen of everywhere instead participating in tribal politics.
Below are some examples of Authoritarian flags, using bold red, black and gold colours. The top right example are the flags of ‘Panem’ (from the Hunger Games) before and after the Rebellion and installation of democracy. I can imagine that Lucien would have a red, white and black colour scheme (royal red, Ivoryton white and authoritarian black).
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Additional Moodboards:
I have made some moodboards for fashion from different regions as well as character aesthetics to serve as a reference for later designs.
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Bibliography:
Plutarch, 46-120? (n.d.). Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans. [online] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/674/674-h/674-h.htm. Available at: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/674/pg674-images.html Plutarch’s Lives, by A. H. Clough | Project Gutenberg
Collins, W.L. (William L. (n.d.). Cicero. [online] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/11448/11448-8.txt. Available at: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/11448/pg11448-images.html The Project Gutenberg eBook of Cicero, by W. Lucas Collins
Bruton Art Society (2015). Colour: Understanding the Deception. Jane de Sausmarez | Bruton Art Society. [online] Brutonartsociety.co.uk. Available at: https://www.brutonartsociety.co.uk/colour-understanding-the-deception-jane-de-sausmarez/ Colour: Understanding the Deception. Jane de Sausmarez | Bruton Art Society
Sawer, M. (2007). Wearing your Politics on your Sleeve: The Role of Political Colours in Social Movements. Social Movement Studies, 6(1), pp.39–56. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/14742830701251294 Wearing your Politics on your Sleeve: The Role of Political Colours in Social Movements | Semantic Scholar
Bass-Krueger, M. (n.d.). The Secret History of the Color Red. [online] Google Arts & Culture. Available at: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-secret-history-of-the-color-red/-wXxao99SLXVKg?hl=en The Secret History of the Color Red — Google Arts & Culture
Colville, J. (2018). What is the Colour of Innovation? – Jennifer Colville – Medium. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@JenColville10/what-is-the-colour-of-innovation-76bc0bf3d957 What is the Colour of Innovation? | by Jennifer Colville | Medium
Quora. (2019). What color represents justice? [online] Available at: https://www.quora.com/What-color-represents-justice What color represents justice? – Quora
Adler, L.K. and Paterson, T.G. (1970). Red Fascism: The Merger of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia in the American Image of Totalitarianism, 1930’s-1950’s. The American Historical Review, 75(4), p.1046. doi:https://doi.org/10.2307/1852269 Red Fascism: The Merger of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia in the American Image of Totalitarianism, 1930’s-1950’s on JSTOR
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Pre-Project Early Concepts:
Some early traditional concepts I sketched for this project while on trains or in bed.
Initial Concept: two child space explorers from different planets, one boy and one girl, though both are ambiguously gendered enough to be relatable to any player regardless of gender.
Doodles of Arktias, trying to establish what she wears in Act 2 and how she styles her hair.
Early designs of Rosamine Silvermere, Arktias, Dyana Emberose, Uriel Ivoryton and Pomponia Emberose.
Costume breakdown for Rosamine.
Alternative design for Rosamine.
Sketches of Lucien in different stages of his life, with inspiration characters listed .
Colour sketches of Polaris Starling and Arktias. This colour scheme has changed as Polaris’s skin is now much darker and Arktias’ skin is much more tan, with freckles added.
Boy explorer’s backstory thumbnail.
Though this design looks like Arktias, I meant for this to be a drawing of Boy Explorer holding a crystal ball with a swirling universe inside it.
Arktias’ Act 3 costume concept. This sketch inspired me to start a dedicated digital piece.
A story illustration concept of Lucien standing beneath a portrait of his evil ancestor, symbolizing him as the perpetrator of his legacy.
Rough sketches for Lucien and Arktias’ different Act poses.
Week 4: Narrative Development
After establishing the environment I took to writing down my thoughts about the society that lives on this planet how they function.
Summary:
“The Elysians believe themselves to be descended from fallen angels that were cast out of paradise onto an empty prison planet as punishment for a terrible, but unknown, sin. Their ultimate goal is to prove themselves worthy of ‘ascension’ and initially disagreed on how to achieve this, with about half the population being cast out of their early settlements for differing ideologies. ‘The Exiles’ as they came to be known, claimed that the path to ascension was the road of kindness and compassion; that only by treating their fellow mortals as equals would they be able to prove themselves worthy once more. ‘The Elysians’ as they later named themselves, disagreed, claiming that they should attempt to reclimb their way to paradise through becoming as close to their angelic ancestors as possible. The Elysians set out to leave their prison planet and prove their superiority to the species of other planets.”
External:
• Elysians have a distinctly non-human biology, from millions of years of genetic editing.
• Several notable features of external Elysian anatomy is the absence of indicators of natural birth or sexual characteristics; Elysians do not have ‘belly buttons’ (the cut-off point of umbilical cords), cannot grow facial or body hair, have androgynous, yet unnatural features, are very slim and typically taller than humans. They tend to have an uncanny, eerie appearance. Elysians could be compared to elves or fallen angels (which they believe themselves to be). They are often beautiful, but in a non-human and unsettling way.
• Most Elysians lack a biological sex, as they are genetically engineered to. They procreate through an asexual process like cloning, known as ‘genetic weaving’. A long time ago they might have been like humans but have become reliant on ‘clean and efficient’ reproduction which has rendered them incapable of natural reproduction. Some exiled Elysians are “naturally born” however, as their ancestors have avoided genetic modification.
• Elysian eyes have 16 photoreceptors instead of the human 3 allowing them to see a much wider spectrum of colour and can see UV, and X-Ray light. Elysians can focus on much smaller details, much further away than humans can and their vision can focus much better in the dark.
• Elysians’ hearing is much more advanced than humans, as they can hear much higher and lower pitches. They also have a natural defence that muffles louder sounds while boosting quieter ones.
• Their skin is resistant to heat and cold, allowing them to survive in harsh conditions for significantly longer than humans.
Internal:
• The Internal biology of Elysians is where the differences become much more apparent. Elysians’ internal anatomy are like machines, designed to be as completely efficient as biologically possible. The size and organisation of several organs are changed, while some are removed or multiplied. Several pseudogenes are also removed.
• Noble Elysians and Worker Elysians have different biological structures, due to excessive gene editing. Noble Elysian cells never stop regenerating, allowing them to maintain a youthful appearance for thousands of years, ensuring that they remain in power. This means they can heal from most injuries and even regenerate limbs in extreme circumstances.
• The muscles have an increased ability to absorb kinetic energy, and the bones are strengthened by a natural, carbon-fibre substance in the marrow that make Elysians far more durable than humans.
• The lungs are larger than humans and possess the ability to recycle air internally, allowing for Elysians to hold their breath for much longer than humans.
• The stomach requires less sustenance and is less sensitive than humans’.
• The kidneys process waste at a significantly faster rate and the energy conserved by food is redirected more efficiently meaning less waste is disposed of, and inedible substances can be processed and filtered more efficiently rendering them immune to many digested poisons.
Mental:
• Most Elysians are slightly psychic, but only to an extent that allows them to receive psychic signals, not broadcast them. In very rare cases some Elysians are born with the ability to read and process the thoughts of others, as well as influence them. The psychic abilities are not engineered but genetic and inherited from their angelic ancestors and Elysians have yet to discover how to engineer these, so they remain completely random.
• These rare few Elysians are known as ‘the Chosen’ and are believed to be gifted by the heavens. Those who possess psychic abilities are seen as partially ascended and are revered and respected as saints or prophets.
• ‘Chosen’ often spend their entire lives training their psychic abilities with other Chosen, and those who born very powerful might be able to take brief glimpses into the futures of others, or receive prophetic visions, though the accuracy of these vary greatly.
• In exceptionally rare cases the gift of prophecy doesn’t need to be trained at all, and children are born with precognition. These children are once in a millennia, and beloved as prodigies, but suffer from unwelcome and sometimes terrifying visions of their future which can lead to delusions and paranoia.
The Caste System:
• Elysium has a strict caste system with very limited social mobility. It can be broken down into 3 castes; “Noble”, “Working” and “Serfs” caste.
• The Nobles Caste is comprised of Royals, Higher Nobles and Lesser Nobles. Higher Nobles are anyone within 2 degrees of separation from the Monarch, 5 degrees of separation from a High Lord or 2 degrees of separation from a Lesser Lord.
• Higher Nobles and Royals enjoy lives of leisure and luxury, with their every need met at the service of employed, wealthy Workers or Lesser Nobles. The Serfs Caste do not serve the Higher Nobles or Houses but do serve the Lesser nobles of Lesser Houses.
• Noble houses are massive, and make up large portions of the population, so Lesser nobles are common, and while they enjoy lives with servants, food and travel freedoms, they are still expected to work to some degree. Many Lesser nobles will seek employment in Star Ports, Colony Planets, Serfs Higher Nobles or their Houses assigned duty.
• All Higher Houses have a duty to oversee and protect their assigned lands and galactic quadrants, but Lesser Houses have more varied duties. For example, House Nox (under the jurisdiction of the Royal House) oversee the Archives, a great digital library that stores all known information about the Universe, while House Silvermere (under the jurisdiction of House Ivoryton) oversee and run the judicial, penal and legal system.
• The Working Caste in contrast have significantly less freedoms; they need state approval to travel between cities and are unable to travel off-world unless for business (rare exceptions for Medium Workers only since Lesser Nobles tend to work off-world). The Workers, however, are literate and well-educated with universal healthcare and an abundance of food. Workers tend to live comfortable lives, as the worst of undesirable work in society is left to the “Serfs Caste”.
• Workers living outside the city in smaller villages tend to have very limited technology, as if they are thousands of years behind in social development. The vast contrast between workers and nobles in biology, technology, architecture and lifestyle should make it seem as if they are almost functioning within a different genre or historical era.
• The Serfs Caste are a largely invisible portion of the population, existing only in the Undercities (a network that exists underneath the cities, where the Serfs can travel between their “homes” and their “workplaces”. Serfs are slaves in all but name comprised of mostly descendants of the prisoners from Ophir but also modern political prisoners and off-world hostages. Serfs are not to be seen or heard, and they are motivated with capital threats. If a server attempts escape into the wilds, the lives of their loved ones are forfeit, so deserters are rare.
The Caste system was inspired by:
• Feudal England: the monarch owns all land (for the Royal family, this means the Imperium) while the lords oversee it in portions and social mobility is non-existent.
• Ancient Rome: society is divided into three distinct classes: Upper, Common and Slave. Common citizens cannot hold political office and wear short tunics instead of long togas. Upper class members make laws and run the military, Commoners are often merchants and Slaves work undesirable labour jobs.
• Ancient Sparta: there are citizens with full rights (the Nobles), citizens with limited rights (the Workers) and a state-owned slave class (the Serfs).
• ‘Panem’ from the Hunger Games: an oligarchy authoritarian society run by a wealthy elite. In this analogy, the regular citizens of the capitol would be the Commoners, the Elite as the Nobles and the Districts as the Serfs. The Commoners work regular jobs that aren’t physically taxing, those in the district work hard, manual labour and the Elites spend their days at their own leisure, enjoying a decadent lifestyle at the expense of others.
• Ancient Egypt: society built on slaves largely comprised of an oppressed ethic group (the Israelites = the Ophirans)
The Senate:
The Senate oversees all policy and legislative decisions. Bills are presented to and written by Senators who then debate and discuss their worth. When the senate has finalized a minor bill it is pitched to the Monarch’s advisors who will either deny or accept a bill. If they accept the bill, the Monarch will sign or deny it.
The Senate is comprised of representatives from Noble Houses and significant industries, with each house selecting a representative internally. The representatives are usually high in the line of succession but not direct to avoid any potential compromising of political duties.
The Senate convenes in a great domed building atop a high tower in the centre of the Capitol known as ‘the Pantheon’. Senators sit in a rounded room with rows and balconies that correspond to the importance of the senator. In the centre of the room is a dais where a senator may speak, and a judge presides on a high balcony above to maintain order. The central room is surrounded by large, beautiful stained-glass windows depicting the history of the Imperium and a great skylight in the ceiling that the twin sunlight can shine through. Pillars of black, white and gold marble hold up the structure while statues of the greatest leaders stand ominously watching around the central space.
The Senate system was inspired by:
• England’s House of Lords: an inherited position that only the elites can hold, debating and discussing bills though the Monarch retains the ability to veto.
• Rome’s Senate: The Nobles are much like Ancient Rome’s patrician class, and the senate was comprised only of members of this class.
• Sparta’s Gerousia: Lawmaker hold their positions for life, but elections are open to manipulation by monarchs.
• Ancient Carthage: A monarch consults with a body of advisors comprised of the wealthiest in society. These advisors sit on a ‘Supreme Council’ and oversee the treasury, foreign policy and all law-making/military decisions.
The High Clergy:
The High Clergy is a religious order that exists outside of the Caste system. Predating even Good King Rychaed and the Imperium, the High Clergy was established in the founding days of Elysium, after the descension. Initially comprising of faithful individuals that sought to return the Elysians to their rightful position, the modern Clergy is now a collection of the ‘Chosen’, people with particularly strong psychic abilities who are given to the faith as infants. If a child is woven from any class below Higher Noble and is flagged for high psychic abilities, they will be handed to the High Clergy instead of their parental parties. Having a child given to the High Clergy is seen as a great honour, as those with strong psychic powers are seen as closer to the Ascendants. Those born as Higher Nobles with psychic powers are raised between monasteries and their family homes but are expected to give up all titles and claims upon reaching adulthood. The only exception to this rule are Royal children, who are expected to have some inherited psychic abilities, and automatically receive psychic training from members of the High Clergy.
The High Clergy’s mission remains to return their people to the Heavens, but they also oversee policy decisions in the senate to ensure the ‘righteous path’ is remained upon. The High Clergy write prophecy and monitor the scared Blue Rose flower, a symbol of their order. The Blue Rose flower is a delicate, crystalline rose that only blossoms exceptionally rarely at the highest mountain peaks, and crumbles to dust in the gentlest breeze. When the flower blooms it is said to be a sign from above that the intended path is being followed, and the Elysians are closer to ascension.
The High Clergy is led by a High Cleric, often an elderly individual from within the order who has trained their psychic abilities for so long that they are able to take brief glances into the future. The High Cleric’s main role is to receive messages from the Heavens, though no prophecy has been given since before the time of Good King Rychaed. The High Cleric will read the future of all young royals brought before them, though the accuracy varies, as the High Cleric can only see a very brief glimpse of a potential future. This glimpse is seen as a divine message.
The Clergy system was inspired by:
• Roman Catholicism: a religious order led by a ‘divinely’ chosen leader (initially) operating autonomously from monarchical authority. the aesthetics of the clergy also closely resemble those of roman Catholicism. Similar to Henry VIII’s religious reformation, Rychaed and his administration (or another undecided ruler descended from him) removed power from the head of the church and began hand-picking the leaders.
• The Oracles of Greece: oracles who live their entire lives in a temple or cloister who are consulted for prophecy
Bibliography:
Vulic, V. (2024). Social Classes in Rome -A Detailed Overview and Significance. [online] The Roman Empire. Available at: https://roman-empire.net/social-classes/ Social Classes in Rome -A Detailed Overview and Significance
Brown, E.A.R. (2019). feudalism | Definition & History. In: Encyclopædia Britannica. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/feudalism Feudalism | Definition, Examples, History, & Facts | Britannica
Wikipedia. (2020). Gerousia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerousia Gerousia – Wikipedia
Wikipedia. (2020). Helots. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helots Helots – Wikipedia
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