Faculty of Science and Technology

BSc (Hons) Games Design

May 2024

Divine Dichotomy – Character Design and Narrative

by

Holly Wisdom
DISSERTATION DECLARATION

This Dissertation/Project Report is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements

for an honours degree at Bournemouth University. I declare that this Dissertation/
Project Report is my own work and that it does not contravene any academic offence
as specified in the University’s regulations.

Retention
I agree that, should the University wish to retain it for reference purposes, a copy of
my Dissertation/Project Report may be held by Bournemouth University normally for a
period of 3 academic years. I understand that my Dissertation/Project Report may be
destroyed once the retention period has expired. I am also aware that the University
does not guarantee to retain this Dissertation/Project Report for any length of time (if
at all) and that I have been advised to retain a copy for my future reference.

Confidentiality
I confirm that this Dissertation/Project Report does not contain information of a
commercial or confidential nature or include personal information other than that which
would normally be in the public domain unless the relevant permissions have been
obtained. In particular, any information which identifies a particular individual’s
religious or political beliefs, information relating to their health, ethnicity, criminal
history, or personal life has been anonymised unless permission for its publication has
been granted from the person to whom it relates.

Copyright
The copyright for this dissertation remains with me.

Requests for Information

I agree that this Dissertation/Project Report may be made available as the result of a
request for information under the Freedom of Information Act.

Signed:

Name: Holly Wisdom

Date: 21/05/2024

Programme: BSc GD
Permission for use of produced work

We ask you to sign this form because Bournemouth University Higher Education
Corporation (BU) may wish to use your Individual Project material (in its original or
an amended form) for marketing purposes in one or more of the following ways:

• prospectuses and other BU promotional materials, including promotional videos

• as part of an advert or advertisement feature (which includes possible use on
outdoor media such as buses and billboards)
• on the BU websites or intranet
• at open days
• in social media

If we used it, you would receive exposure for your work. You do not have to agree,
and not doing so will have no effect on marking your Individual Project material. For
ease this is simply called Material below.

If you are kind enough to agree to BU having rights of use and editing, this will not
affect your ownership rights in the Material or your right to use it for your own
professional or personal reasons. Unless it is impractical to do so – for example a
montage on social media where space limits may apply, BU will ensure that it credits
you for BU’s use of the Material.

By signing this form:

• I grant a non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free licence to BU to use and sub-

licence the Material, for marketing purposes; and I waive any non-property rights
(including moral rights) now or in the future existing. This licence includes the
right to edit and create derivative works from the Material, for example, a multi-
student showreel.

• I agree this licence shall subsist permanently unless I seek to end it in line with
the procedure below; but that where BU has already used, or is committed to
using, the Material for a particular marketing campaign - for example, in a
prospectus already printed, any ending of the licence shall relate only to new
uses of the Material.

• I understand BU will not ask me for any further approval or permission for
specific uses of the Material for marketing purposes; but that I can
withdraw my permission at any time, with the consequences for continued
use set out above.

If you wish to withdraw your permission for use of your information, please contact
the Programme Support Officer by e-mail scitechcreativepso@bournemouth.ac.uk.
Otherwise, we will keep your Material and associated personal information for as
long as we have any plan to, or actively, use the Material for marketing purposes.

The legal basis for BU processing your personal information is consent, that is by
signing this form you are giving permission to use your personal information provided
in, and in relation to, the Material for the purposes set out above.

In processing your personal data, BU complies with the Data Protection Act 2018
and General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679). You can find
further information about BU’s data protection and privacy approach here:
https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/about/governance/access-information/data-
protection-privacy.

Further information about your rights under the data protection legislation can be
found from our Data Protection Officer on dpo@bournemouth.ac.uk.

I give permission for BU to use my Material on the basis set out above:

Signed:

Name: Holly Wisdom

Date: 21/05/2024
Acknowledgements
Thank you to my supervisors, Huiwen Zhao and Jose Fonseca for your support, advice, and
encouragement throughout this project.

Special thanks to other lecturers who had given me advice and support when I needed it
most throughout the project.

Thank you as well to my friends who had supported me throughout this project and
encouraged me to keep working hard when things got tough. Your consistent presence in
my life helped me keep myself stable.

And thank you to my parents, who have encouraged and supported me throughout my
university career and during this project.

I dedicate this game and my dissertation to my grandma, Phyllis Darvel. While she may
never understand the process of making the game or see its completion, I know she would
have encouraged and supported my work regardless.

Abstract
The aim of this project is to explore character design in relation to narrative design.

The first act of the story was developed for this project. It revolves around two characters –
Larimar and Ethjorn. The pair are opposites of each other, Larimar is cold, distant, and
somewhat jaded; he does not trust easily and comes from a life of hardship. Ethjorn on the
other hand comes from a life of luxury. He is sociable, arrogant, and naïve.

The user study focuses on how players might interpret the characters based on their visuals
and narrative.

In the future, the narrative would be developed into three acts and feature expanded
mechanics.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 6
2. Background and Research ................................................................................................ 7
2.1. Character Design in Games........................................................................................ 7
2.2. Visual and Narrative Design for Game Characters ..................................................... 8
2.3. Empathy and Emotion in Character Design ................................................................ 9
3. Design and Implementation............................................................................................ 11
3.1 Game Overview ......................................................................................................... 11
3.2 Narrative .................................................................................................................... 11
3.2.1 Setting................................................................................................................. 15
3.2.2 Species ............................................................................................................... 15
3.3 Characters ................................................................................................................. 16
3.3.1 Larimar................................................................................................................ 16
3.3.2 Ethjorn ................................................................................................................ 26
3.3.3 Ayer .................................................................................................................... 34
3.3.4 Other NPCs......................................................................................................... 37
3.4 Art.............................................................................................................................. 42
3.4.1 Splash Art ........................................................................................................... 42
3.4.2 Backgrounds ....................................................................................................... 44
3.4.3 UI ........................................................................................................................ 45
3.5 Mechanics ................................................................................................................. 53
3.6 Audio ......................................................................................................................... 55
3.7 Implementation .......................................................................................................... 55
4. User Study ...................................................................................................................... 65
4.1 Methodology .............................................................................................................. 65
4.2 Results ...................................................................................................................... 65
4.3 Outcome Summary.................................................................................................... 66
5. Conclusion & Future Work .............................................................................................. 67
References ......................................................................................................................... 68
Academic References ..................................................................................................... 68
Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 68
Ludography and Digital References................................................................................. 68
Software:...................................................................................................................... 68
Fonts:........................................................................................................................... 69
Audio: .......................................................................................................................... 69
Appendix ............................................................................................................................. 71
1. Introduction
The aim of this project is to explore character design in relation to narrative design. It will
explore primarily character design and delve into the visual and narrative design for game
characters using the format of a visual novel.

The narrative focuses on two main characters who are each other’s opposites. The narrative
will follow these characters and how they interact with each other.

The project will be developed in Ren’Py (Anon. 2004), an engine specialized for visual novels.
Assets will be created for the project using PaintTool SAI (Koji 2006). Only audio and font
assets will be sourced from third-party sites.

The key objectives will be to create art assets for the project, implementation of the assets
and mechanics, and a user study that focuses on how players interpret the characters, if their
visual design relays their personalities accurately and if the narrative changes the players view
of the characters drastically.

Research was conducted to better understand Characters within Games and the design
techniques and tropes employed.

Objectives:
- Explore character design with narrative and visual designs.
- Produce a narrative with two conflicting characters.
- Perform a user study to investigate how these characters are interpreted by players,
and how the visuals or narrative surrounding them influences this.
2. Background and Research
2.1. Character Design in Games
The goal of a Game Character is to give the player an ‘avatar’ to control and experience
the game world through. Schell (Schell 2008) discusses how players project
themselves onto the avatar to such an extent that it can evoke empathy when they see
the avatar get hurt or escape harm. However, Schell also discusses how the
experience of projection can be more powerful if the player is able to relate to the
character in some way. Lankoski (Lankoski 2002) suggests that “goals are [...] a
functional way to sketch a character to a player within a game.” and expresses the
importance of emotional process in relation to how a player may experience a game
and the character.

Figure 1: Cloud Strife, Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix 1997)

Additionally, Schell (Schell 2008) makes note of how Games Characters are
experienced differently to Movie or Novel Characters - namely that unlike a Movie
character, who is experienced visually only, or a Novel character, who is experienced
mentally, a Game character is experienced physically, and the player is in control of
the characters thoughts (and subsequently actions) much more.

Lankoski (Lankoski and Björk 2007) discusses how character design for the player
character can be seen as “designing action possibilities for the character.” which
includes making some actions impossible, which Lankoski states is an important part
of design. He also discusses “how the character executes the choices made [...] is
important in gameplay.”

Later in the same paper, Lankoski states that “part of a character design is defining its
social relations.” And discusses how this can be used to show alignment of the
character. Additionally, Lankoski discusses allegiance and how it is about how players
evaluate a character and how players would typically need “positive traits or qualities,”
 and lists beauty, skills, or similar moral or ethical values as examples of these traits.
The notable techniques he lists as examples include physical beauty (most notable of
which is symmetry and the “V-shaped body of male, hourglass body of female”),
expressions, moral evaluation (“in relation to standards set in the game world”), or
other traits shown through gameplay.

2.2. Visual and Narrative Design for Game Characters

Sloan (Sloan 2015) discusses how appearance is influenced by several things,
including game genre, target audience preferences, cultural differences, and even
things such as the gaming platform and brand of the development studio. He
acknowledges how style also has an influence, and that a lot of studios aim for
photorealism. However, this is why he also puts emphasis on how stylistic design
choices matter more when the game has a distinct style that is not photorealism.

He also discusses how people perceive others based on certain traits. For instance,
he explains how certain traits (large eyes, forehead, and small noses) can be perceived
as “cute” and are often seen in babies and women. He also makes note how because
of this and other factors (such as female body types) play a significant role in why
feminine features are often more appealing than strictly masculine.

Additionally, Stevens (Stevens 2023) discusses colour theory and describes colour as
one of the most powerful tools for a designer. Stevens explains that colour theory is a
set of guidelines that aid designers and artists. She also makes note of how colour
psychology can impact mood and behaviours. She makes mention of some common
colour associations, including red being associated with passion and danger, and
orange being associated with energy, warmth, and kindness.

Figure 2: Colour Wheel (Nerolac 2023)

Sheldon (Sheldon 2022) discusses many techniques to “respect the story” of the game.
This includes developing it alongside the gameplay, giving the story a compelling
reason to exist using themes, balancing the story with gameplay, ensuring that the
story fits the medium and that the story is worthy of its characters.

Additionally, Sheldon discusses the “trap” of cutscenes. He acknowledges that

cutscenes are more familiar storytelling grounds as they follow many rules of film
storytelling. He does, however, warn against overusing cutscenes as he suggests that
it can hurt storytelling as a cutscene can serve to separate storytelling and gameplay.
He discusses how it requires a player to “shift gears” to enjoy both, taking from the
 active interaction of gameplay and becoming passive within its storytelling, and that
they do look and feel different regardless of how they are integrated within the game.
Additionally, Sheldon makes note of how it can discourage other ways to tell the story,
and that it can foster the belief that story and gameplay do not need to be developed
alongside each other, which can make balancing them difficult.

Sheldon continues with the idea of too much of a certain way of storytelling being
harmful as he discusses the idea of “too much backstory.” Sheldon states that amateur
writers may be tempted to not want to let go of the character profiles made and will try
to force all the information into the game when it has no place within the game or the
story, ultimately harming it.

Campbell (Campbell 2004) poses a narrative structure referred to as the “hero's

journey” and the phases that the story goes through to explore this journey. These
include the call to adventure, refusal of the call and refusal to return. He also discusses
multiple versions of “the hero” which include the hero as a saint - a strict do-gooder,
the hero as a warrior, the hero as a lover, and the hero as a world redeemer.
Campbell’s discussion of the idea of “the hero” and “the hero's journey” has inspired
many works of fiction and narratives.

2.3. Empathy and Emotion in Character Design

Ustyan (Ustyan 2021) discusses how the overarching goal is to “create an emotional
connection between the player and character through narrative.” and how “the player
should be interested in the story and has to care for his character”. She makes note of
how Sheldon’s approach to character roles in a game can demonstrate the empathy
between player and character building an emotional bond.
She states “To create a powerful narrative effect, the players might establish empathy
with companions in both games. The game characters should have an interesting and
deep background full of uniqueness, emotions, and originality.”

Lankoski (Lankoski and Björk 2007) makes mention that regarding sympathy the
player does not need to perceive the character as positive in every aspect. He makes
emphasis on how important allegiance is for a player towards a character to make
them feel as though what they are doing is “right” and requires the player to evaluate
the character having “positive or desirable qualities in relation to standards set by other
character[s].”

Sheldon (Sheldon 2022) discusses player emotion being invoked from character
emotion and revelation. Sheldon gives two examples of when he had games evoke
emotions from him - a quest where an NPC bid him to destroy a cargo ship full of
weapons, only to find that the ship was full of children and the NPC considered them
to be “weapons”, and an NPC from Trinity, where in the early game an elderly woman
who was “crippled and deformed” handed the player character an umbrella. Hours
later, Sheldon’s character travelled back in time to just before the atomic bomb was
dropped on Hiroshima and met the old woman as a little girl.

Sheldon also states that emotion is “at the heart of entertainment,” and discusses two
techniques to evoke emotion, both of which hinge on empathy on the part of the player.
These would be giving a player a character to play as, as well as an NPC to take care
of or making the player responsible for the wellbeing of on-screen characters. He
suggests that the “player's investment of time and energy creates an emotional bond
between the player and those in-game characters in the same way that caring for a
child or a pet or even a plant creates a bond.” He goes on to state that “once the bond
is strong enough, in-game events and threats that impact the health or welfare of the
in-game characters can produce a wide range of emotional responses in the player.”

Figure 3: Choosing Karlach’s fate, Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios 2023)

3. Design and Implementation
3.1 Game Overview
The game is a visual novel, with its primary gameplay being dialogue and dialogue
choices as its primary gameplay. However, this game also features a journal system
that allows the player to view information about characters, locations, and character
inventories as well as a combat system, shop, and jigsaw puzzle.

The game is played using left click as its primary control. It is used to advance the
dialogue, navigate the game menus, and journal system as well as choosing dialogue
options when prompted. However, the player can access the game menu using right
click. The game also supports gamepad and keyboard controls. See the mechanics
section for more details.

While Ren’Py already had some features programmed into a fresh game project, some
features such as the journal system, combat system, inventory system, and shop
system had to be created from scratch.

3.2 Narrative
For this project, only act one of the story was developed. The first act of the story
revolves around two characters – Larimar and Ethjorn. The pair are opposites of
each other, Larimar is cold, distant, and somewhat jaded; he does not trust easily
and comes from a life of hardship. Ethjorn on the other hand comes from a life of
luxury. He is sociable, arrogant, and naïve.

The pair meet when Larimar enters the city of Goldcrest, injured and at death’s door.
Ethjorn is encouraged by his mentor Ayer to try to befriend Larimar and help him
settle in, as Larimar might find it difficult to settle in due to being a Bane.

However, Ethjorn becomes overbearing to Larimar as he does not understand that

he should give him space. Larimar eventually snaps at him and upsets him. Ayer
encourages them to spar and fight out their differences and reach an understanding.

Ethjorn eventually shows Larimar around the city, trying to repair the relationship he
had been trying to build. Eventually a messenger alerts the pair to Ayer being
wounded. They rush to his side, and he tells them that he had tried to kill a fiend that
was hunting Larimar, but it wounded him too severely for him to finish it off. He
instead wants them to work together to kill it.

The narrative is linear but has several dialogue trees – some larger than others. This
gives the game replayability and allows the player to progress through the game and
feel involved in the narrative.

The structure of the narrative is illustrated in Figure 4. Green nodes represent the
areas of the story that feature choices, the red nodes represent minigames within the
game, and the orange nodes represent the linear narrative.
Figure 4: Graphs showing the basic story structure.
 The player has agency over the dialogue choices within the game. This influences
how Larimar reacts to Ethjorn and how quickly he warms up to him throughout the
game. His dialogue is influenced by the choices they make. The player is also
presented with a basic combat system, an inventory and shop, as well as a jigsaw.
Additionally, the player can unlock information about the characters within the game
by meeting them, but they may not meet every character the story features in a
single playthrough. This information is presented within the journal system.

3.2.1 Setting

The narrative is set within a medieval high-fantasy world, focusing on the large city of
Goldcrest. Goldcrest is home to the biggest temple in the country The grand temple.
In addition to the grand temple, bustling markets and taverns attract many travellers
to the city and Goldcrest happily welcomes all. However, some residents of goldcrest
have reservations about certain kinds of people. Although Goldcrest is a safe place,
fiends and celestial creatures are often plague the wildlands outside of Goldcrest.
This often means that the heirs of noble families are overly sheltered for fear of
bloodlines being lost.

3.2.2 Species

The most notable species featured within the narrative are Bane, Boon, Half-
Dragons, Elves, and Humans.

Boon are people blessed in the womb by celestial or other divine entities. They are
considered to bring good luck and be good omens to those around them. Due to this
belief, they are often elevated to high positions and often claim to have holy callings.
They also possess magic, though it varies from person to person. Bane are people
cursed in the womb by a fey or fiend, which alters their appearance and grants them
magic. However, there is a stigma that surrounds them. This stigma revolves around
the idea that Bane bring all things bad, from natural disasters to bad luck. This
means most Bane children do not see adulthood.
3.3 Characters
Characters are designed visually with their place in the narrative in mind. There is often
a strong idea of what the character is supposed to look like before explorations or
sketches are created. Once made, these sketches are refined.

Multiple designs may be drawn out and eliminated to better visualize the character
being created or compare colours on the same design. Colour theory plays an
important role in this process, as the associations with colours are very important to
helping to communicate the characters personality from a visual perspective.

3.3.1 Larimar

Figure 5: Larimar’s neutral expression sprites.

3.3.1.1 Narrative Design
Larimar is designed to be Ethjorn’s opposite. His personality is cold, distant, and often
quite snappy. He is uptight and very wary of Ethjorn’s intentions. This is because he
had extremely poor experiences with nobles prior to his introduction in the game’s
story.

Larimar was raised by an Elven woman and a human man. His father was unhappy
with the fact that he had sired a Bane and encouraged Larimar’s Mother to dispose of
him. She refused and was able to find an old friend willing to train him. Larimar learnt
the sword and shield from him. When Larimar was old enough, he began travelling. He
did not want to put his mother at risk any longer. He was targeted by fiends during his
travels many times but learnt that a nobleman could be just as bad after one tried to
remove his horns for a snake oil remedy. Another nobleman tried to have him killed
simply for entering his town, and another still treated him like scum when he had been
hired to clear out a monster infestation from the man’s cellars. Due to this, he now
views all noblemen as deceitful and greedy snakes in the grass who are only nice to
those below them because they want something from them.

Larimar is Oathsworn to follow the tenets of protection, which dictate that he must aid
and defend the weak, vulnerable, and defenceless. These tenets also share some
overlap with the tenets of vengeance, as they also encourage the protector to eliminate
 the threat through means they deem necessary. It is his tenets and the fact that he is
a Bane that the fiend who injures Ayer is hunting that motivates him to work with Ethjorn
to eliminate it at the end of act one, as well as his own bond with Ayer. He believes
that he has a debt to him that he must repay.

Larimar’s purpose in the narrative is to challenge Ethjorn’s views and outlook on the
world. He sees things in a much more cynical way – most people cannot be trusted in
his eyes, and he sees the world in a much harsher light. His attitudes arise from his
harsh experiences, as Bane are often viewed with distain and distrust, and Larimar
has grown used to this mistreatment. Consequently, Larimar prefers to keep his head
down and not draw too much attention to himself so he can avoid unnecessary
conflicts.

During the story, Larimar is a spiky and wary person who is fiercely independent and
does not appreciate Ethjorn hounding him. He does not respect Ethjorn for much of
the narrative and is often annoyed by him. Depending on the players actions as the
story progresses, Larimar may treat Ethjorn with disrespect, or he may start warming
up to Ethjorn and begrudgingly work with him when Ayer becomes injured. He does
not respect Ethjorn for much of the narrative and is often annoyed by him. Some of his
background is mentioned within his dialogue, but only when he believes that it is
relevant to the situation at hand. Otherwise, he does not talk about himself or his
experiences unless he trusts the person to whom he is talking.

Depending on how the player interacts with him, he treats Ethjorn with less distain as
the story progresses and slowly warms up to him. However, if the player chooses to
be disrespectful toward him, Larimar will use disrespectful and snappy responses.

3.3.1.2 Visual Design

Larimar’s visual design reflects his personality – his colour palette is cold monochrome
blue to help show his cold personality, and his face is sharp with spines across the jaw
and antlers coming from his forehead. His eyes are featureless and sharp, and he
typically looks like he is scowling or glaring at someone. He holds himself upright with
his arms and tail held close to his body to signify his guarded nature. Blue was chosen
to be the main colour of his palette due to the association of blue with the idea of cold,
calmness, solitude, and peace.

Larimar was designed to look graceful and noble. He holds himself with militaristic
discipline and does not emote often with his face. When he does, his expression does
not change dramatically unless he is angry or surprised. His posture also changes
slightly – his tail and ears will move when he is annoyed or surprised, but he still holds
his hands close to himself, showing his self-discipline. However, he snarls and hisses
like an animal, with his tail raised in a wide arc within his sprites. He also does not
smile often, but when he does it looks a little odd. As if he is not sure how to smile and
is merely imitating the gesture. This further separates him from the other characters
as it makes him appear less human.

His outfit design also kept in mind his upbringing. He dresses modestly and practically,
with little to no accessories. The armour he wears when he is first introduced is simple
and worn. This is to communicate that he does not come from a rich or noble
background to contrast with his posture and features.
3.3.1.3 Concept Work

Larimar’s design largely was already decided, but explorations were done to settle on
the specifics. These were followed up by colour studies, which is where the colour blue
was settled on for Larimar. See section 3.3.1.2 for details.

Colour theory was kept in mind as his outfits were designed. An exploration of outfits
was produced and only a few were chosen to be expanded on into full designs with
colour studies. Many of the designs were not used in the final game. However, some
of these designs were adapted into other characters, such as Pyriht being derived from
design B in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Explorations of Larimar’s Design. The focus was on his horns, tail, and thin face.
The circled designs are the final choices.
Figure 7: Sketches to better visualize Larimar’s expressions and shapes.

Figure 8: Colour studies for Larimar’s skin tone.

 Figure 9: Initial outfit explorations for Larimar.

Figure 10: Initial armour design.

This armour design was not chosen due to it not fitting with Larimar’s place in the
narrative when he is introduced. Figure 11’s design was chosen because it reflected
how tough life had been for Larimar until his introduction significantly better than the
initial design.
 Figure 11: Second armour design.

Figure 12: Initial civilian outfit.

The first civilian outfit for Larimar did not read well for Larimar’s character, so it was revised
into a longer sleeved variant.
 Figure 13: Longer sleeved civilian outfit – second pass

This variation was designed with the idea that Larimar came from a mountain
settlement, but it did not seem appropriate for this character.
Figure 14: Longer sleeved civilian outfit. The capeless design was chosen due to fitting
Larimar better and being more practical.

Figure 15: Larimar’s final reference lineup.

Figure 16: The sprite sheet for Larimar’s armoured sprites
Figure 17: The sprite sheet for Larimar's civilian sprites
3.3.2 Ethjorn

Figure 18: Ethjorn’s neutral expression sprites. From left to right, armour, speech outfit,
casual outfit.

3.3.2.1 Narrative Design

Ethjorn is designed to be Larimar’s opposite. He is a lot more friendly, open, and warm
toward people and a little naïve. He does not have much of a perspective on the real
world, having been sheltered within the temple his entire life.

Born as a Boon, Ethjorn was raised by Sigbrand and Ivy, the Grandmasters and ruling
power of Goldcrest. Ethjorn was seen as a good omen and a blessing to the city and
its rulers. Because of his status he was protected and sheltered significantly more than
other noble-born children. He was trained by Ayer, a Bane, and so did not fear Bane
as others around him did. Ayer was a second father to him and was his most reliable
confidant as he grew up.

During his childhood, the other advisors assigned to Ethjorn deeply believed that he
was a destined hero, fated to save Goldcrest from an unforeseen disaster. As such,
his ego has been significantly inflated, leaving him with a hero complex that lasts into
adulthood. Ethjorn has also never really been challenged – the people he interacts with
either adore him or pretend that they do due to fear of upsetting his parents if they do
not. As a result, he has extremely limited social experience and often does not know
how to manage conflict.

Ethjorn is Oathsworn to follow the tenets of vengeance, which dictate that he must
avenge those who cannot avenge themselves and punish the evils within the world.
This is his driving motivation to work with Larimar at the end of act one, alongside his
bond with Ayer.

Within the narrative, Ethjorn is a very talkative and social person who likes being
around other people and making friends. He lacks some self-awareness due to his
upbringing and misses social cues regularly. He does not see anything wrong with
hounding Larimar – that is how other people had befriended him for most of his life, he
assumes that is just how it is done. He is eager to please and often looks to others for
 validation. He becomes frustrated when things do not work out the way he expects and
will lash out. He can be brash and reckless, as well as a little abrasive due to how he
believes social interactions to be.

Most of the choices the player can make while controlling Ethjorn involve him
attempting to befriend Larimar. He often wishes to back down if Larimar snaps at him,
but the player is presented with the option to aggress and argue with Larimar a handful
of times within the story. There are typically three choices to choose from, and each
have their own responses from Larimar tied to them.

Act 1 of the story starts with the player controlling Ethjorn, so they get a bit more insight
on his attitude and upbringing. NPCs interact with Ethjorn differently to Larimar, as
they will either ignore Larimar or try to avoid him, with few exceptions. However, NPCs
will interact with Ethjorn more readily and with some familiarity.

3.3.2.2 Visual Design

Ethjorn’s visual design reflects his laid-back attitude and approachable demeanour. In
his casual clothes, a wrap around his waist and scriptures pinned to it. Due to his lavish
upbringing, Ethjorn has access to more luxurious fabrics and so takes advantage of
this by wearing an excess of clothing and accessories. His noble status particularly
shows through when he is wearing his ceremonial outfit, as he wears fur and light
armour as well as golden accessories. Compared to Larimar his armour is of
significantly higher quality. He has a full metal breastplate, bracers and hip plates. He
also wears a heavy gambeson, his scriptures, and a leather belt around his waist. His
armour has more layering than Larimar’s does and is clearly better taken care of.
However, this also shows that it has not been used.

Ethjorn’s posture is much more open than Larimar’s- He never has his arms crossed
and leaves his torso exposed. He has more clear expressions than Larimar as well, as
he emotes more often and more frequently changes expression. This helps to show
the player that Ethjorn is quite open and easy to read.

His shapes are also blockier than Larimar’s. His face is less sharp and squarer, and
his eyes are softer. Additionally, his colours are much warmer and more welcoming,
with forest greens, golds, and warm browns to contrast Larimar’s cold blues. These
colours are also the colours of Goldcrest itself, which links him back to his noble
heritage and the NPCs of Goldcrest.

3.3.2.3 Concept Work

Ethjorn’s development started with an exploration of ideas, with some exploration into
his outfits. He had more of a focus on the design of his head and outfits than Larimar
did, due to Larimar’s horns and tail being a focus of his design.

He started looking noticeably young, so he was developed until a design was settled
on. This design was then expanded upon into a serious of outfits. The armour was
created first as he was originally intended to be introduced in his armour, like
Larimar. However, this changed as the story developed, and ceremonial robes had to
be designed.
Figure 19: Ethjorn’s initial design explorations. The green circle represents the designs
chosen.

Figure 20: Sketches to better visualize Ethjorn’s expressions and shapes.

Figure 21: Ethjorn’s armour design explorations

Figure 22: Ethjorn’s armour colours.

Figure 23: Ethjorn’s casual wear.
Figure 24: Ethjorn's robe design explorations
Figure 25: Alternative robe design explorations.

Figure 26: Ethjorn’s final references.

Figure 27: Ethjorn's sprites.
3.3.3 Ayer

Figure 28: Ayer’s neutral expression sprite

Ayer is a wizened older Bane man who primarily acts as Ethjorn and Larimar’s
mediator when they have a disagreement. However, Ayer is a major figure within
Goldcrest, holding the title of General. Unlike Larimar, most people welcome his
presence due to how long he has been present in Goldcrest. As far as anyone is aware
or he is willing to say, Ayer has always been within Goldcrest as part of its defensive
forces.

Ayer is mature, calm, collected and often has good advice. He sees things
pragmatically, and tries to resolve conflicts in roundabout ways, such as asking Ethjorn
and Larimar to hunt the fiend that injures him. He understands better than anyone that
a bond forged through fighting alongside another person can be strong, so he hopes
that through Ethjorn’s oath and Larimar’s sense of duty that he may encourage them
to get along after his initial plan failed.

Ayer is the most significant non playable character (NPC), as he appears multiple times
during the narrative. He is the catalyst for major plot points such as encouraging
Ethjorn to try and befriend Larimar and instructing their sparring session. He believes
that because Ethjorn is of high standing and does not care about someone being a
Bane, he would offer Larimar some form of protection and benefit to allow him to settle
into the temple and Goldcrest easier.

Ayer’s appearance was designed with the idea of an old god in mind, or ancient
guardian entity. Ayer’s age and wisdom are shown through his antlers, white hair, and
pale skin. This is because white hair is typically associated with elderly people.
However, the elements of red in his design were chosen to hint at danger beneath his
calm exterior. The browns offer a contrast to the white and red and help to mellow out
his design and hint at his age.

Ayer’s shapes are very blocky to show his reliable personality and emphasis his sheer
size. Ayer stands taller than any other character and is the only character whose sprite
clips out of the screen. This also helps to communicate his height and presence as his
sprites take up a sizeable portion of the screen. This demonstrates that he is hard to
ignore and imposing, especially when compared to Larimar and Ethjorn. His size and
stature also helps to set him apart from the other NPCs as he appears more important.
Additionally, his colour palette is distinct enough to set him apart in this way as well,
but he also still carries Goldcrest’s colours of green, brown, and gold.

Figure 29: Ayer’s design explorations

When Ayer was being designed, the general shape of his form was already largely
decided. Ayer was designed to be large and imposing with large horns and an older
face from the beginning of his design, drawing inspiration from Hellboy (Mignola 1993),
Geralt of Rivia (Sapkowski 1986), Kilgharrah (The Great Dragon (BBC 2008)) and
Barrett Wallace (Square Enix 1997).

After some review, the design in the top right corner was chosen to be his base design,
before going on to his clothes. Two outfits were designed for him, armour, which
became his default design, and a temple robe. The reason the robe was scrapped is
because armour better communicated his status as Goldcrest’s general. The armour
design for Ayer is an adapted version of Larimar’s scrapped armour design. The temple
robe design is an adapted version of Ethjorn’s scrapped robes design.
 Figure 30: Ayer’s armour colour exploration.

Figure 31: Ayer’s robes. Derived from Ethjorn’s robes in figure 24.

Figure 32: Ayer’s sprite sheet.

3.3.4 Other NPCs

Figure 33: Top row from left to right: Ivy, Sigbrand, Guardsman, Nurse, Blacksmith.
Bottom row from left to right: Pyriht, Librarian, Man, Waitress, Mariah.

The other NPCs within the story typically do not have much influence over the plot.
Each serves the purpose of furthering the story or acting as a merchant for the player.

Sigbrand and Ivy both have the purpose of helping to introduce Ethjorn, his upbringing
and his position to the player. They do not play a significant role within the plot.
Like Ayer, they are older, wizened people. They are proud of Ethjorn and have a good
relationship with him.

The Nurse, the shop keeper, the blacksmith, the librarian, and the guardsmen are
primarily set dressing. They function to make the world feel more present and alive, as
well as give the player a character to interact with as the story progresses at
appropriate moments. They all recognise Ethjorn but do not have a relationship with
him outside of knowing him due to his status.

The man, waitress and guardsmen are more pivotal to the game’s narrative as they
allow the player to have Ethjorn and Larimar interact and further display their different
viewpoints.
The guardsmen all have friendly, but courteous relationships with Ethjorn as they work
together and see each other regularly, but they still address him formally.
The guardsmen were designed with the gryphon and colours of the crest of Goldcrest
in mind.

Pyriht serves to help to characterise and humanise Ethjorn. If Larimar is not found
within the Mess Hall, the player will eventually interact with Pyriht. He is a friendly and
energetic person, and he engages with Ethjorn readily with a great familiarity.

Mariah serves as the game’s merchant. She sells health potions, mana potions,
explosive potions, water skins, rations, and assorted tea as items. She is familiar with
Ethjorn as he frequents her shop regularly on his patrols. She is dressed like a plague
doctor, as this reads more clearly as a doctor or herbalist.

Unlike Ethjorn, Larimar and Ayer, most NPCs only have one sprite. Pyriht, the waitress,
Sigbrand and Ivy had two sprites each. This is because these particular NPCs have
more dialogue that is better emphasised with different sprites.

Due to time constraints the NPCs were developed by producing multiple designs,
picking out, and refining the designs that fit the purpose the best, other than Pyriht,
Sigbrand, Ivy and the guardsmen, as they would be slightly more important.

For this purpose, six male designs six female designs were created with the thought
of the roles within the game kept in mind. Of these twelve designs, only six were
chosen and used. These were designs 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 (see figure 34).

For Sigbrand and Ivy, they were sketched alongside each other, so they better
matched each other and the most appropriate for their roles was chosen. In Pyriht’s
case, the sketches were not as in depth as others due to time constraints and an
existing, clear idea of how he would look thanks to a rejected sketch from Larimar’s
exploration (see figure 6, design B). The guardsmen were also produced based off of
a rejected sketch (design 11) from the NPC sketches (see figure 34).
Figure 34: NPC idea sketches
Figure 35: Ivy and Sigbrand Sketches

Figure 36: Pyriht Sketches

 Figure 37: Guard designs

Figure 38: NPC Sprite Sheet

3.4 Art
3.4.1 Splash Art
Splash art was developed to help introduce the main characters to the player before they are
shown their sprites.

Figure 39: Ethjorn’s introductory splash art.

Ethjorn’s splash art introduces him in a casual setting. The size of the bed and the way he is
dressed shows the player that he is very relaxed, in a position of privilege and in no rush. He
is half dressed as he is introduced to the player after he was told to get ready to present a
speech to his people. This helps the player to understand that Ethjorn is a nobleman or a
prince. Warm colours are used to help the scene appear more comforting and welcoming,
and further push the idea of privilege and comfort.
 Figure 40: Larimar’s introductory splash art.

Larimar’s splash art introduces him in a wounded and exhausted state. He is drawn to
appear dangerous, off-putting, and frightening. The colours are colder and more washed out
than Ethjorn’s splash art to help to show the contrast between him and Ethjorn. Additionally,
Larimar is presented as more dangerous-looking and less privileged. His armour is worn,
and he is covered in bloody bandages and wounds.
3.4.2 Backgrounds
The backgrounds were created using The Sims 4 (Electronic Arts 2016) as a reference and
painted in Paint Tool SAI. Each background was designed to better show the player the
setting of Goldcrest.

See Appendix 1 for further backgrounds.

Figure 41: Ethjorn’s room.

Figure 42: The main hallway.

3.4.3 UI
3.4.3.1 Lo-Fi
The Lo-Fi sketches helped to plan out the UI’s layout in areas that did not already have a
layout in Ren’Py. Due to the similar layout, the main menu and quick menu would be the
same background. This also helps with consistency.

Figure 43: An example of the default Ren’Py UI.

Figure 44: Main Menu Lo-Fi.

Figure 45: The journal UI LoFi for character and location information.

Figure 46: The journal UI LoFi for character and location selection.
 Figure 47: Shop LoFi sketch.

Figure 48: Combat LoFi sketch.

 Figure 49: Jigsaw LoFi

Figure 50: Goldcrest’s crest and games program icon LoFi

Figure 51: Journal icon LoFi

3.4.3.2 Hi-Fi

Figure 52: The Main Menu UI.

Figure 53: An example of the quick menu UI.

 Figure 54: An example of the character sheets.

Figure 55: An example of the character sheet selection. This layout is also used for the
locations menu.
Figure 56: Potion shop HiFi

Figure 57: Combat UI HiFi

 Figure 58: Puzzle HiFi.

Figure 59: Journal HUD buttons. Left: Idle; Right: Hover.

Figure 60: Goldcrest’s Crest and the program icon for the game.
3.5 Mechanics
The game features several mechanics designed to enhance the player’s experience
and agency. Some features were already preprogrammed into Ren’Py, namely the
game’s settings, saving and loading system, controls, and basic UI layout.

The game’s settings allow the player to customize text speed, the skip speed, what to
skip, which display mode the game is in, and the volume. The settings can be found
under the “Preferences” menu.

Additionally, Ren’Py features a saving and loading system (see figure 61), which allows
the player to save their game’s current state so that they can return to it later. This can
be found in the “Save” menu in the quick menu, and the “Load” menu in the main menu
and quick menu.

Figure 61: The Loading screen

The controls that are built into Ren’Py are quite simple. It supports Keyboard, Mouse,
and Gamepad, though the Gamepad must be connected to the device to see its
associated controls. Left Click, Enter, Space and A (on Gamepad) advance the
dialogue. Escape, Right Click and on gamepad – Start and B are all used to bring up
the quick menu. Left Control skips dialogue. The controls are viewable under the “Help”
menu (see figure 62).
 Figure 62: The Help menu and keyboard controls.

There is also an “About” menu (see figure 63), which features the software
licensing, Ren’Py version and credits for assets used within the game,
accessible through a button in the bottom right-hand corner.

Figure 63: The about menu.

The first mechanic the player has access to is the Journal. It is accessible from the
moment the player starts the game. The Journal at first only contains information about
Ethjorn and his inventory, as well as general information about the location the player
starts in.
 As the player progresses through the story, they unlock more information about the
characters and locations within the game as they appear. For instance, the player has
access to Larimar’s character sheet and inventory only once they have met him.

Within the inventories, the player can see the number of items in a stack. Each item
has a description underneath it. While currently there is no use for these items, in the
future they will be included within the combat system and be relevant within dialogue.
The player can purchase more items in the shop. However, the player has limited gold.
Once their gold runs out, they can no longer purchase items. However, the shop allows
the player to switch between buying for Larimar or Ethjorn, as their inventories and
gold values are separate.

Through the story, the player will be presented with combat. It is a basic system that
only allows the player to do a basic attack or a strong attack. In the future this would
be expanded to include abilities, item use and spellcasting.

Additionally, the player will encounter a puzzle while in the tavern. This is to help break
up the monotony of the dialogue of that section and help to lead to the end of that area.
It is a simple drag and drop system that allows the player to put together an image.

The most important mechanic is choice menus. Choice menus allow the player to
choose the next piece of dialogue from a selection of up to three options. These options
will influence how Larimar reacts to Ethjorn and can prompt different reactions from
other characters as well. However, Larimar has an “Approval” rating. While this is not
visible to the player currently, it is often clear through dialogue what Larimar currently
thinks of Ethjorn, as there is different dialogue depending on how much approval
Larimar has with Ethjorn. He will be rude and indifferent if approval is low, and he will
be more open and willing to interact with Ethjorn if it is high.

In the future, the choice system will work with the approval system to offer different
endings and more varied outcomes through player choices.

3.6 Audio
The audio used within the game was chosen to help to communicate the tone of the
moment in the story as well as the medieval high fantasy setting.
This helps immersion as it allows the player to believe that they are witnessing a story
within the correct genre and setting. It also aids tone in the story. As there is no voice
acting, all tone must be conveyed through the dialogue and audio, meaning that the
choice of music in the background during pivotal moments is crucial.

The clicking while dialogue is being written and when the player selects a menu or
choice option was to provide positive auditory feedback for an interaction to help to
confirm the action.

3.7 Implementation
The mechanics were implemented into Ren’Py using Ren’Py’s own programming
language. It is a simplified version of the Python language specialized for visual novels.
The game settings, saving and loading system and controls were already programmed
into Ren’Py. Refer to section 3.5 for more information.

Most of the code surrounded implementing dialogue. Ren’Py’s language is very

simple. Variables are assigned to a character name, which is used to associate the
character within the dialogue. When a character is defined, they can have a name and
colour assigned to them. The narrator variable is taken as the dialogue used as
 narration within the game and does not need to be declared.
Additionally, other effects can be created to be used as the character speaks. For
example, a function creates the sound of typing as text for the dialogue appears on
screen. This was code created by Aquapaulo (Aquapaulo n.d) and used to save time.

Sprites are declared by using the show function and naming the image name related
to the sprite being called. They are hidden using the hide function. Sprites can be
placed within the screen using “at left” or “at right.” The default placement is the centre
of the screen. Similarly, backgrounds and splash screens are shown and hidden in the
same way as sprites.

Figure 64: An example of code used for dialogue and sprites.

Figure 65: A screenshot within the game showing dialogue from Ivy and sprites of Ivy and
Ethjorn.

The choice menus were implemented throughout the code using the automation
Ren’Py provides. The code is quite simple. A menu is declared, and options are
 defined. Once the outcome concludes, it automatically continues to the next line of
code or menu.

Figure 66: An example of a choice menu in code.

Figure 67: An example of a choice menu in-game.

The journal was created using screens. The HUD screen contains the button for the journal –
the book in the top left corner. The button activates the journal screen when pressed.
 Figure 68: An example of the code to bring up the journal menu.

The journalNav screen handles the buttons that allow the player to navigate the
Journal. Once the player has met Larimar, his inventory and character sheet become
visible to the player (See figure 70).

Figure 69: An example of the code that handles the navigation buttons.
Figure 70: An example of the journal in-game before and after the player meets Larimar (top:
before; bottom: after).

The inventory system is also handled within the journal. The inventory items have been
defined within variables elsewhere in the code that allow for better organization. This
was done by declaring a class called “InventoryItem” and then creating inventory items
using this class. Additional variables were created to track the number of each item.
 Figure 71: An example of the code used for Ethjorn’s inventory.

Figure 72: Examples of the code used to declare inventory items, item amounts and gold
values.
The combat system is quite simple. It cycles through each turn of combat with a while
loop that checks to see if the HP values on either side have fallen below or equal to
zero. The player has two attacks from which they can choose. Both the player and the
enemy have a chance to miss their attack and can choose between a basic attack or
a strong attack. Attack damage and misses or hits are determined by dice rolls,
handled by variables.
The combat system was created following a tutorial by Visual Novel Design on
YouTube.
Figure 73: An example of the code used for the combat system (top: turn handling; bottom:
player attacks).

Figure 74: An example of the combat options in-game.

The shop was implemented similarly to the journal. It uses screens to show the shop
itself and allows the player to purchase items. The player cannot purchase items if they
do not have enough gold. The player can switch between Ethjorn’s POV and Larimar’s
POV, as their inventories are separate.
Figure 75: An example of the code used within the shop to check if the player has enough
gold and to add the item to the inventory.

Figure 76: An example of the shop in-game.

 Figure 77: The Jigsaw Puzzle

The jigsaw puzzle was created by following and modifying a tutorial (Using Drag & Drop to
Reassemble Pieces Of A Page - Ren’Py Mini-game Tutorial 2023) and using the drag and
drop function within Ren’Py.
4. User Study
The focus of the user study was to identify how players interpreted the characters
before they knew their personality and how that may change once they had
experienced the story and find out if the characters visual design communicated their
personality effectively.

4.1 Methodology
The user study was conducted over the course of a few weeks, with seven participants
within the 18-24 age bracket. They were a variety of genders and not all of them had
played a Visual Novel before.

The participants were invited to participate in a Zoom call or Microsoft Teams meeting
for preliminary questions that identified what they thought of the characters based on
their visual appearance alone and were then asked to play the game.

As they played, the participants were encouraged to remark on what they thought of
the characters as the story progressed. Once they were finished playing, they were
asked what stood out to them and if their initial interpretation of the characters had
changed at all.

4.2 Results
Based off of appearance alone, 90% of participants stated that they believed Larimar
to be a cold and solitary person. Conversely, all participants stated that they believed
Ethjorn to be confident, cheerful, or open.

When shown their armoured designs, five participants observed that Larimar seemed
to be a warrior that used what he could and could not care for his equipment. However,
most participants inferred that Ethjorn is a Paladin and cite the scriptures on his
armoured sprite and casual sprite.

“I interpret them as a holy warrior from the scriptures upon their belt.” – Participant 1

“Religious script on his belt would also indicate him being part some sort of religion.”
– Participant 3

When asked how they viewed the characters during the story, four of the participants
had stated that Ethjorn seemed coddled, single-minded, or inept at reading people.
Conversely, three participants had noted that Larimar seemed very closed off, cold or
reserved, reenforcing their initial views of the character.

“Doesn’t seem self-aware. Ethjorn doesn’t seem to get the memo that larimar wants
to be left alone, which seems kind of disrespectful and annoying.” – Participant 2

“Larimar seems to be rather reserved as proven when he chooses to read a book

over talking with Ethjorn.” – Participant 6

After they had completed the game, four participants had explained how they would
like to see more of Larimar. One participant in particular mentioned how they did not
find him likeable initially, that there was depth to explore and that they wanted to see
his relationship to the townsfolk explored more. Another participant found Larimar’s
behaviour to be relatable.
“I like Larimar the most since I can relate to having a cold distrusting outlook to
anyone who is genuinely trying to help you, I was like that in the past too.” –
 Participant 3

“Though initially not likeable, there is depth to be explored.” – Participant 4

Only one participant explained that they liked Ethjorn’s personality the most. They
explained that they’d like to see how Ethjorn came to be the Heir of Goldcrest due to
his parents both being Elves while he is a Boon.

“He seems very friendly if a bit brash and somewhat arrogant. Despite this he seems
to be a good person who’s willing to help anyone in need. I’d like to see how Ethjorn
came to be the heir of Goldcrest as he’s a Boon and his parents are both elves.”-
Participant 6

Interestingly, three participants had made special mention to Ayer. They explained that
they enjoyed how he stood out in comparison to the other characters. Two participants
specifically mentioned that they liked large characters.

“I really liked Ayer, because I usually like the Big-Bodies in media I consume; they are
something I identify with.” – Participant 7

“I really like Ayer - Love a big, looming, friendly, wise and humble guy.” – Participant 2

4.3 Outcome Summary

Most participants had an accurate view of what Larimar and Ethjorn were like based
off of their visual appearance alone. However, six of the participants did explain how
their interpretation was expanded by the narrative.

“Ethjorn seems to have some inner conflict about who he is, he claims to be a hero but
also realises he hasn’t done anything to earn that title.” – Participant 6

“While nothing was taken away from my initial interpretation, the playthrough certainly
added a lot of insights. Larimar is a lot more paranoid than I initially thought, but I did
interpret that he is a shut-in correctly.“ – Participant 7

It was interesting to find that there were three participants who found Ayer’s design
appealing, despite not being asked about his design initially.

Overall, these results indicate that the designs were successful in communicating the
characters personalities to the player. This is backed up by how a majority of
participants cited their knowledge of fantasy tropes while describing their reasoning.
5. Conclusion & Future Work
In conclusion, this project was successful in completing its objectives. The project
explores character design through narrative and visuals with two conflicting characters,
Ethjorn and Larimar. These characters were designed successfully so that players
could form accurate interpretations of who the characters are at a first glance and
through the narrative they are part of. This was shown through the user study (section
4).

The skills learned during the project involved Ren’Py programming, UI and
environment design and a further understanding of narrative design.

In the future, the game produced would be expanded to include acts two and three, as
well as expanding on the combat system, introducing functionality to items and expand
on the existing narrative and character relationships.

Additionally, renders like the two below would be produced for the character’s
information sheets instead of using sprites.

Figure 78: Rendered icons for Ethjorn and Larimar.

References
Academic References
Lankoski, P. and Björk, S., 2007 Character-Driven Game Design: Characters, Conflict, and
Gameplay. [online]. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Petri-
Lankoski/publication/236680480_Character-
Driven_Game_Design_Characters_Conflicts_and_Gameplay/links/00b7d518f43faa9f930000
00/Character-Driven-Game-Design-Characters-Conflicts-and-Gameplay.pdf.

Lankoski, P., 2002 Character Design Fundamentals for Role-Playing Games.

Bibliography
Campbell, J., 2004. The Hero With A Thousand Faces, Commemorative Edition (2004)
[online]. Princeton University Press Digital. Available from:
http://www.rosenfels.org/Joseph%20Campbell%20-
%20The%20Hero%20With%20A%20Thousand%20Faces,%20Commemorative%20Edition
%20%282004%29.pdf.

Sloan, R. J. S., 2015. Virtual Character Design for Games and Interactive Media. CRC Press.

Ustyan, L., 2021. Goals of Character Design. [online]. Available from:

https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/gamedesigndevelopmenttextbook/chapter/goals-of-
character-design/.

Schell, J., 2008. The art of game design: a book of lenses. Amsterdam ; Boston:
Elsevier/Morgan Kaufmann.

Stevens, E., 2023. What’s colour theory? A complete introduction guide. [online]. Available
from: https://www.uxdesigninstitute.com/blog/guide-to-colour-theory/

Ludography and Digital References

Software:

Art:
Koji, K., 2006. PaintTool SAI. [online]. Windows. Available from:
https://www.systemax.jp/en/sai/ .

Development:
Anon., 2004. Ren’Py. [online]. Windows. Available from: https://www.renpy.org/.

Aquapaulo, n.d. Typewriter Sound Effects For Ren’Py. [online]. Available from:
https://github.com/aquapaulo/Ren’Py-typewriter-sounds/tree/main.

Ren’py RPG Combat Engine! , 2022. Available from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vjd7XhZNtU.

Using Drag & Drop To Reassemble Pieces Of A Page - Ren’Py Mini-game Tutorial, 2023.
Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKLBSJMv50Q
References:
Electronic Arts, 2016. The Sims 4. [online]. Available from: https://www.ea.com/games/the-
sims/the-sims-4.

Terawell, 2011. DesignDoll | Next Generation Sketch Doll [online]. Available from:
https://terawell.net/en/ .

Nerolac, 2023. Colour Wheel Theory [online]. Available from:

https://www.nerolac.com/sites/default/files/uploads/blog/colour-wheel-theory-by-nerolac-
2022.webp.

Nerolac, 2023. Colour Wheel – Colour Theory Basics – How to Use Colour Wheel? - Nerolac
[online]. Available from: https://www.nerolac.com/blog/colour-wheel-colour-theory.

Character Inspirations:

Sapkowski, A., 1986. Geralt of Rivia [online]. Witcher Wiki. Available from:
https://witcher.fandom.com/wiki/Geralt_of_Rivia .

Mignola, M., 1993. Hellboy (character) [online]. Hellboy Wiki. Available from:
https://hellboy.fandom.com/wiki/Hellboy_(character) .

BBC, 2008. Kilgharrah [online]. Merlin Wiki. Available from:

https://merlin.fandom.com/wiki/Kilgharrah .

Square Enix, 1997. Barret Wallace [online]. Final Fantasy Wiki. Available from:
https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Barret_Wallace.

Games:

Square Enix, 1997. Final Fantasy VII. PlayStation.

Larian Studios, 2023. Baldur’s Gate 3. Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox series X and S.

Fonts:
Anon., 2024a. Dumbledor Font [online]. Available from:
https://www.fonts4free.net/dumbledor-font.html.

Anon., 2024b. Knights Quest Font [online]. Available from:

https://www.fonts4free.net/knights-quest-font.html .

Audio:
Aquapaulo, n.d. Typewriter Sound Effects For Ren’Py (Audio) [online]. Available from:
https://github.com/aquapaulo/Ren’Py-typewriter-sounds/tree/main.

Curtis, D., n.d. Fireside Tales [online]. Available from: https://www.chosic.com/download-

audio/28506/.

Curtis, D., n.d. My Dark Passenger [online]. Available from:

https://www.chosic.com/download-audio/45381/.
Ghostrifter Official, n.d. Demised To Shield [online]. Available from:
https://www.chosic.com/download-audio/29424/.

Nakarada, A., n.d. Prepare For War [online]. Available from:

https://www.chosic.com/download-audio/29659/.

Nakarada, A., n.d. We Three Celtic Kings [online]. MP3. Available from:
https://www.chosic.com/download-audio/29636/.

qubodup, 2009. Click [online]. OpenGameArt.org. Available from:

https://opengameart.org/content/click .

RandomMind, n.d. Medieval: Exploration [online]. MP3. Available from:

https://www.chosic.com/download-audio/28501/ .

RandomMind, n.d. Medieval: King’s Feast [online]. Available from:

https://www.chosic.com/download-audio/28498/.

RandomMind, n.d. Medieval: The Old Tower Inn [online]. Available from:
https://www.chosic.com/download-audio/28499/.
Appendix
Appendix 1. Backgrounds.
All of the following have been used within the game.

Figure 79: The Blacksmith.

Figure 80: The Potion Shop

Figure 81: The Temple Balcony, where Ethjorn has his speech.

Figure 82: The gate Ethjorn and Larimar leave through.

Figure 83: Larimar’s Room.

Figure 84: The Library.

 Figure 85: The Mess Hall.

Figure 86: Larimar’s POV before entering Goldcrest.

 Figure 87: The Sparring Field.

Figure 88: The Streets of Goldcrest (Day)

Figure 89: The Streets of Goldcrest (Dusk)

Figure 90: The Tavern.

Appendix 2: User Study Results

Codes Quotes Frequency

Initial Impressions - “Likely being closed off and cold to strangers.” – 6

Cold Participant 1

“Regarding personality, he seems cold and distant.” –

Participant 2

“The blue makes him seem cold, distant and calm.” –

Participant 4

“His sharp face makes him seem quite cold to me.” –

Participant 5

“The colour scheme and muted, neutral expression

paint the picture of a stoic, introverted and cold
personality.” – Participant 6

“He seems quite cold because of his expression.” –

Participant 7.
Initial impressions - “Seems like the solitary type.” – Participant 1 6
Solitary
“Like a loner type and doesn’t like to socialise.” –
Participant 2

“He seems to be a loner to me.” – Participant 3

“Based on their expression, they look like they’d be a

loner.” – Participant 5

“I think he’s very solitary.” – Participant 6

“Definitely the type to keep to himself. Larimar prefers

his solitude because he is used to it.” – Participant 7
Initial Impressions – “Likely being closed off and cold to strangers.” – 4
Distant Participant 1

“Regarding personality, he seems cold and distant.

Like a loner type and doesn’t like to socialise.” –
Participant 2

“The blue makes him seem cold, distant and calm.” –

Participant 4

“The colour scheme and muted, neutral expression

paint the picture of a stoic, introverted and cold
personality.” – Participant 6

Initial Impressions – “In the image he seems to have a defensive stance with his 3
Defensive tucked tail and generally shallow posture, his scars would
 indicate some sort of trauma which might be the reason
he's defensive.” – Participant 3

“He seems distrustful or withheld.” – Participant 5

“Looks very wary.” – Participant 6

Initial Impressions - “A warrior who scrapes by with whatever work they 5
Fighter can get. Their equipment is worn and dirty likely out of
not having the liberty to give it proper
maintenance/upkeep.” – Participant 1

“He seems like a fighter, maybe squire.” – Participant 3

“He looks like a fighter but not regularly (no metal

armour), looks more like he’s in poverty/ fights more in
the streets, his pose makes him seem cunning,
intelligent.” – Participant 4

“Someone who’s seen battle before judging by the

scars on their face and their tail.” – Participant 6

“They look like a crestfallen knight” – Participant 7

Initial Impressions - “In the image he seems to have a defensive stance with his 4
Pose tucked tail and generally shallow posture, his scars would
indicate some sort of trauma which might be the reason
he's defensive.” – Participant 3

“His pose makes him seem cunning, intelligent.” –

Participant 4

“Uncomfortable in his current situation, due to holding

one hand with the other., or maybe mentally and/or
physically wounded rather than just uncomfortable.” –
Participant 5

“Maybe from a noble family because of how they hold

themselves or from a religious sect. They seem strong
and composed.” – Participant 6

Story impressions – “Very closed off and cold.” – Participant 1 3

Not Social
“Seems he’s had a cold past, thus a cold outlook.” –
Participant 3

“Larimar seems to be rather reserved as proven when

he chooses to read a book over talking with Ethjorn. –
Participant 6

Story Impressions – “Larimar seems cold like I assumed previously, has a 1

Wary hard time opening up towards others.” – Participant 3
Story impressions – “Realistic and defensive. Larimar is jaded and 2
Personality experienced.” – Participant 1

“Larimar seems more open and talkative than I was

 expecting, and I didn’t think he’d would be a prideful
type.” – Participant 2
Favoured Character “Larimar- although he seems a little closed minded 4
regarding people having good intentions, he knows
what he wants and seems kind of humble- and is a
good sport (referring to the spar scene).” – Participant
2

“I like Larimar the most since I can relate to having a

cold distrusting outlook to anyone who is genuinely
trying to help you, I was like that in the past too.” –
Participant 3

“Larimar, I think the blue and browns work really well

and give him a unique look. I love his tail and horns.
The whole colour palette works so well. The additional
highly rendered image of him was really appealing. –
Participant 4

“Larimar. Though initially he’s not likeable, there is

depth to be explored. I would like to see him interact
with the townsfolk more.” – Participant 5

Impressions “Positive change- he seemed more open toward the 5

Changed end of the narrative, though still generally cold and
distant.” – participant 2

“He does seem at least somewhat willing to open up.”

– Participant 3

“More rude personality than initially thought, but the

reason for it is understandable.” – Participant 5

“Larimar seems to be very knowledgeable about a lot

of things but holds everyone at arm’s length, he seems
to hold some respect for Ethjorn later in the act for his
maturity, but overall, my view of this character has not
changed.” – Participant 6

“The playthrough certainly added a lot of insights.

Larimar is a lot more paranoid than I initially thought,
but I did interpret that he is a shut-in correctly. He is
someone who needs a lot of time to adjust something,
but once he is adjusted to something, it’s VERY hard
for him to accept changes, or that’s at least the
impression I got from the dialogues. When angry he is
a lot like an animal, hissing, snarling, and gritting his
teeth.
“ – Participant 7

Table 1: Larimar’s Results.

Codes Quotes Frequency
Initial Impressions - “Their scars and posture give an air of confidence 5
Confidence while showing they are likely a proud warrior.
 Someone who would flaunt their glory to others.” –
Participant 1

“He seems more confident and open and with an

inviting smile, almost casual pose.” – Participant 3

“Outgoing, big personality, talkative and confident

type.” – Participant 4

“Open, friendly, relaxed. An air of quiet, confident

strength. Mature.” – Participant 5

“The first thing that comes to mind when looking at this

character is that they are boisterous and standoffish,
perhaps a bit of a blowhard, but in a charismatic and
charming way.” – Participant 7
Initial Impressions - “Seems outgoing, open, and cheerful. A leader type. 5
Open Life of the party kind of guy.” – Participant 2

“He seems more confident and open and with an

inviting smile, almost casual pose.” – Participant 3

“Outgoing, big personality, talkative and confident

type.” – Participant 4

“Open, friendly, relaxed. An air of quiet, confident

strength. Mature.” – Participant 5

“A happy, open, and friendly guy, someone who would

show you around the neighbourhood. Introduce you to
his friends and new activities.” – Participant 6

Initial Impressions - “I interpret them as a holy warrior from the scriptures 3

Religion upon their belt.” – Participant 1

“Religious script on his belt would also indicate him

being part some sort of religion.” – Participant 3

“The badge on their hips seems to be a sort of holy

scripture, with the wing and eyes reminding me of a
biblically accurate Seraphim, which paints the
character in a religious light for me.” – Participant 7

Initial Impressions - “I assume this character is a holy knight or paladin of 3

Paladin an order, not someone who is in a position of power
like a captain or officer but more so a standard and
proud knight or paladin.” – Participant 1

“With my knowledge of fantasy, and the scripts on the belt,

 I would assume he is a paladin.” – Participant 2

“They look a lot more approachable and extroverted

than Larimar. Their gambeson underneath the
breastplate is a neat historic detail that I personally
appreciate. They now takes the appearance of a
Viking warrior. They look regal and somewhat
intimidating, but not malicious. He appears to me like a
Paladin.” – Participant 7
Equipment “Has well maintained equipment, with how well 3
maintained and clean it looks it shows their diligence to
what they know. The armour also gives the theme of
being in a cold region due to the furs and clothing.” –
Participant 1

“Ethjorns armour is cool- I like the scalloped detail on

the neck and sleeves.” – Participant 2

“His armour is too clean, like he fights for show but

hasn’t really been in a battle or pub fight.” – Participant
4

Story Impressions- “Noble birth so he is likely unaware of some parts of 1

Noble the world” – Participant 1

Story Impressions – “Most seem to want to be his ‘friend’ because he will 4

Social experience be the future lord and also because he is a boon,
leading him to be single minded in some ways. He
means well but doesn’t know the correct ways to go
about things.” – Participant 1

“Doesn’t seem self-aware. Ethjorn doesn’t seem to get

the memo that larimar wants to be left alone, which
seems kind of disrespectful and annoying.” –
Participant 2

“Ethjorn seems to be coddled, despite being trained in

combat, he’s made up to be a hero, and having a
grandiose view of himself despite his friendly outlook
to others.” – Participant 3

“Ethjorn is quite meek and inept at reading people. It’s

shown in their interactions with each other and other
characters. He tries too hard, like in the tavern.” –
Participant 5

Favoured Character “Ethjorn’s personality seems to appeal to me the most. 1

He seems very friendly if a bit brash and somewhat
arrogant. Despite this he seems to be a good person
 who’s willing to help anyone in need. I’d like to see
how Ethjorn came to be the heir of Goldcrest as he’s a
Boon and his parents are both elves.” – Participant 6

Impressions “He went from a view of an experienced knight to an 5

Changed heir of a noble house; I did not expect him to be so
coddled or emotionally unaware. But I felt like I read
his design as a holy warrior correctly.” – Participant 1

“Very mixed. Although I still think he’s still not self-

aware and immature, he did show a more caring side
toward the end (interacting with larimar in a less
forceful way and also told shopkeeper to keep the
change).” – Participant 2

“He’s younger, less mature than I first thought. Also

less confident and more meek than my initial
impression.” – Participant 5

“Ethjorn seems to have some inner conflict about who

he is, he claims to be a hero but also realises he hasn’t
done anything to earn that title. He seems to be a bit
brash and arrogant about things as he doesn’t seem to
give Larimar any space. He also seems to have a lot of
weight on his shoulders as the future Grandmaster of
Goldcrest, he seems eager to prove himself but
doesn’t realise that he needs to build relationships with
other people in order to succeed and he cannot rely
solely on himself.
” – Participant 6

“Once again, nothing was necessarily taken away from

my original insight, but some things have been added.
For one, I didn’t anticipate Ethjorn to be so sheltered
and naïve. He is very much a princeling, but definitely
not a bad person internally; he means well, even if he
lacks finesse in his execution. He also seems very
childish with the way he approaches situations, usually
already seeing an outcome before even starting the
task, and then being completely disappointed when its
different in reality. He is a lot more reckless than
expected.” – Participant 7

Table 2: Ethjorn’s Results

Codes Quotes Frequency

Favoured Character “One of my favourites is Ayer. He stands out like a 3
sore thumb but in a good way. He takes the scenes he
 is in with his presence and his horns are generally cool
to look at with the whole albino look.” – Participant 1

“I’d really like to see more of Ayer. I love his design.” –

Participant 2.

““I really liked Ayer, because I usually like the Big-

Bodies in media I consume; they are something I
identify with.” – Participant 7
Design Appeal “Ayer, his pose, and dialogue show him to be wise and 4
aged. His physique also gives him an intimidation
factor. The stone scales(?) like protrusions on his arms
and shoulders also add to his aura of intimidation.” –
Participant 1

“Ayer looks great. Love a big looming friendly wise

humble guy. Plus his spiky armour is unique.” –
Participant 2

“I like Ayer’s design as he seems to be rather tall than

most of the other characters and his horns seem to
have something red breaking out of them. He doesn’t
have any pupils or irises which is a nice design choice,
and his fur seems to hide his ears. His armour makes
me think of a tree because of the shoulder pauldrons
and the green cloth.” – Participant 6

“I really liked Ayer, because I usually like the Big-

Bodies in media I consume; they are something I
identify with. Hes a gentle giant, wise and seasoned
with experience. He takes the role of a second father
figure to Ethjorn, and it almost felt like Ayer had more
of a Father/Son relationship than Ethjorn with his
biological parent. I was genuinely worried that he might
be in a dying state when the guard delivered the
message to Ethjorn.
Besides internal characteristics I really liked Ayer’s
colour scheme. I enjoy combinations of white, black,
red, grey, etc. so he really stood out to me, especially
compared to the more sandy-coloured backgrounds
and more gold-coded (?) characters. He stood out to
me more than Larimar because his red eyes just
demand your attention in sight. What helps with that is
that there isnt a character like him in the game.” –
Participant 7

Table 3: Ayer’s results