Creating a Game Character Based on Finnish Mythology and the Impact of Costume Design
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Creating a game character based on Finnish mythology and the impact of Costume design Elin Masar Degree Thesis Film and Media 2017, Online Media Förnamn Efternamn20 21 EXAMENSARBETE Arcada Utbildningsprogram: Online Media Identifikationsnummer: 8148 Författare: Elin Masar Arbetets namn: Att skapa en karaktär baserat på finsk mytologi och påverkan av kostymdesign Handledare (Arcada): Mirko Ahonen Uppdragsgivare: - Sammandrag: Kostym design och de kreativa val som designers gör, från deras perspektiv, är något som sällan diskuteras i spelvärlden. Mera specifikt, den emotionella påverkan som kläder och accessoarer har på en karaktär och hur dessa faktorer kan hjälpa att bygga en personlighet åt karaktären i fråga. Detta arbete är baserat på tre karaktärer som gjordes för spelet Destination: Nowhere som är inspirerat på finsk mytologi och folktro. Under själva projektet låg fokus på att lära sig om folktron och undersöka ämnet. I efterhand var det viktigt att lära sig hur andra såg på karaktärerna och hur dom passar in i det som har blivit sagt om karaktärsdesign och den emotionella påverkan som kostym design har genom att använda sig av historia. Konstnärlig undersökning var metoden som användes för att göra noggrann analys av karaktärerna. När det väl kom till att läsa teori om kostym design övergick metoden till textanalys för att utveckla sin kunskap om ämnet. Med hjälp av de två undersökningarna kunde man lägga märke till hur viktigt det egentligen är med kostym design då man skapar karaktärer. Målet med arbetet var att få en bättre uppfattning om ämnet och förstå tyngden av kostym design och hur det påverkar en karaktär, samt hur stor del av historien som egentligen kan berättas genom kläderna. Genom att kombinera analysen av design med den rika historik som finns i finska mytologi, kunde karaktärer som fungerade som berättelsen skapas. Det slutliga resultatet för detta arbete var tydligt. För att skapa karaktärer med känsla behövs det kunskaper och genom att låta det man lärt sig vägleda en, kan man skapa karaktärer som stöder berättelsen istället för andra vägen runt som resulterar i en mycket enklare introduktion till vem personen eller varelsen är och vad dom har för mål. Nyckelord: kostymdesign, finsk mytologi, karaktärdesign Sidantal: 30 Språk: Engelska Datum för godkännande: 25.5.2021 DEGREE THESIS Arcada Degree Programme: Online Media Identification number: 8148 Author: Elin Masar Title: Creating a game character based on Finnish Mythology and the impact of Costume design Supervisor (Arcada): Mirko Ahonen Commissioned by: - Abstract: Costume Design and the decisions made from a designer’s perspective is a subject rarely discussed in the game community. More specifically, what emotional impact does clothes and accessories have on a character and how can it help build up the personality of it. This thesis will be based on three characters created for the game Destination: Nowhere, which is a game based on Finnish mythology and old folklore. During the project, research on creatures from folklore was the main focus and presently the focus is on how these characters fit in with what has been said in the designing community about characterization and the emotional impact of getting to know a character through story. By using the means of artistic research for the actual project when designing the characters based on Finnish mythology and text analysis, as well as literature research for gaining knowledge of the subject costume design, it was concluded how important the latter is when creating characters. The aim of the study was to gain a better understanding on how much impact costume design has on a character, and how much story can be told through the garments and accessories. By combining the research with the rich history of Finnish folklore, characters were created to serve as the story in a game where it was not the focal point. The end result of the thesis was that by first gaining knowledge and having that as one’s guide, the creation of characters supporting the story and not the other way around resulted in a much easier introduction to who the characters are and what their purpose is. Keywords: Costume design, Finnish mythology, Character design, Number of pages: 30 Language: English Date of acceptance: 25.5.2021 CONTENTS 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 7 1.1 Destination: Nowhere ..................................................................................................... 8 1.2 Objective and research question ................................................................................... 9 1.3 Demarcation ................................................................................................................. 10 1.4 Method.......................................................................................................................... 11 1.5 Description of primary and secondary resources ........................................................ 12 1.6 Terms and definition ..................................................................................................... 13 2 Theory ..................................................................................................................... 15 2.1 Costume design ........................................................................................................... 15 2.2 Finnish mythology ........................................................................................................ 18 2.2.1 Hiisi ....................................................................................................................... 18 2.2.2 House Elf .............................................................................................................. 19 2.2.3 Birth of the milky way and stinging arrow............................................................. 20 3 Designing the characters ..................................................................................... 22 3.1 Main Character ............................................................................................................. 23 3.2 Hiisi Character .............................................................................................................. 26 3.3 Bear cult Character ...................................................................................................... 30 4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 34 4.1 Final Thoughts.............................................................................................................. 36 References .................................................................................................................... 38 Appendices ................................................................................................................... 40 5 Sammanfattning på svenska ............................................................................... 40 Figures No table of figures entries found. Figure 1 First look of the character (left), Final colors after testing it in the game environment (right) ......................................................................................................... 24 Figure 2 Concept art of the playable character ............................................................... 25 Figure 3 Closeup of belt and shoes of the character ....................................................... 26 Figure 4 Depiction of Hiisi made by the Finnish artist Tero Porthan (2018) ................. 27 Figure 5 Hiisi character from different angles................................................................ 28 Figure 6 Concept art of Hiisi character .......................................................................... 29 Figure 7 Final design of Bear cult character................................................................... 31 Figure 8 Concept art of Bear cult Character ................................................................... 33 1 INTRODUCTION The world of games and design is an ever-growing landscape and with new technology, we see extraordinary games get created one after another. Many games throughout the years have given the player the opportunity of customization, yet very little is discussed about how these clothes actually affect the character and how they were given these special garments. The fashion aspect when creating a character is given very little attention in discussions of how they were created when in fact, it is a big part of how a character is portrayed. Forums on the internet are filled with threads where players discuss among each other the different characters from their favorite games and opinions about the design choices made. However, when designers introduce their characters, there is very little said of how they have designed the clothes or what inspired them. The aim of this thesis will be to determine the importance of costume design for when creating a character and how it affects the characteristics. Not only will it be focused on the emotional aspect, in addition it will also analyze how entities from old Finnish folklore can be brought to life with the help of old poetry and definitions. My work will focus on costume design, and how clothes and accessories can strengthen one’s character and its characteristics. When discussing character design, story is a very important factor and by putting some extra time to