As the saying goes, a man sits in the saddle by his clothes and horses. While playability is often a priority criterion for introductory judging the success of a game, satisfactory character design in a game is also one of the core goals that a game should pursue.
When it comes to the character design of turn-based games, from Western style to fairy style to Japanese style and so on, it can be described as a variety of genres and a hundred schools of thought. In order to further discuss the different styles of these character designs, Xiaobian will next comprehensively and summarize the game character design under different art styles and the characteristics or advantages under this design, hoping that you will criticize and correct.
One. European and American style
If there are any Turn-Based Games in Europe and America that can still maintain a certain degree of popularity and popularity today, then "Original Sin 2" may be one of the most dazzling representatives. Not only that, but he is also a rare European and American turn-based RPG on the market. "Divine Original Sin 2" faithfully shows the realistic character design of European and American games, while ensuring that the characters of the game itself tend to a certain degree of beautification. Its advantage is that it does not make a fuss and ensures that the player is focused on the game itself.
Two. Japanese style
As the two poles of world games, Japanese games correspond to European and American games, and also form a self-contained character design style in the development of turn-based games, the most typical representative of which is the Japanese national IP "Dragon Quest". The character design of Dragon Quest is summed up in one idiom that is "angular". You can clearly feel the difference in their abilities through the design of the characters, and this difference in abilities can be intuitively reflected in the turn-based gameplay. In this way, players can experience the entire gameplay more quickly and easily through character design. The advantages of character design under the Japanese style are reflected.
Three. Japanese-Western fantasy style
Of course, don't forget that one of the characteristics of Japanese games is that they are good at learning. They are good at integrating the game styles of other countries into the understanding of their own cultures, so the Japanese and Western fantasy style character design came into being under this characteristic. As the name suggests, on the one hand, the main characteristics of the Japanese Western fantasy style are Westernization, high nose bridge, and large eyes, on the other hand, it excludes the rigid and realist aesthetic style of Westerners, and turns to a more beautiful and romantic characteristic. Typical of these is the turn-based RPG ace IP "Final Fantasy" series that is not SE. It can be said that as a single-player big IP that has been operating for so many years, SE has faithfully executed this set of aesthetic logic and created classic characters such as Thunder and Tifa that are popular in the game circle.
Four. Fairy Wind
Although the above article basically revolves around European, American and Japanese games, domestic turn-based games have also formed some representative character styles under the development of so many years, and xianxia style is the most typical representative of them. The characteristics of the xianxia style are the emphasis on the artistic conception of "immortal" and the rhythm of "chivalry". The character modeling is based on martial arts novels, and at the same time, it is aesthetically in line with the modern people's perception.
Further exploring the essence of the Xian xia style, we can find that the character design style of the xian xia style does not come out of thin air. Its design concept has undergone more than two decades of precipitation. From the "Legend of the Paladin Sword" in the 2000s, to the "Journey to the West" mobile game in the 2010s, and then to the "Dream World 3" mobile game in the 2020s, whether it is a terminal game or a mobile game, the character design of the Xian xia style is constantly updating and evolving, improving itself. As far as the "Dream World 3" mobile game with the latest product time and the highest freshness is concerned, it not only has an ancient martial arts atmosphere, but also relies on more powerful engines and more brilliant special effects in character design, making it more in line with modern aesthetics, and has achieved a balance between martial arts characters and aesthetic concepts. The combination of modern and martial arts design makes the aesthetic of xianxia style maintain vitality and heat.
So what do you think about the style of character design? Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments section of the article.