George- A major Character, Georges level design

 I have now finished the concept art for my character "George". As you see in the first two images I tried a slightly different style for the character and had my group choose between them. We opted for the simplified almost comic style but with more detail on the gun and face. I wanted this to be a quicker concept piece, used to get the mood of the game across, hence the background in particular is much less refined then the tank concept I did before.
     I gave the image an old photograph style effect to reflect the nature of the game and added some shadow to establish his position on the ground.

     Part of my responsibility was to write Georges character bio and level design for our Game Design Document. This may need tweaking or adjusting to fit with the other characters before we submit therefore I opted to do this after finishing my concept, so as to give me and my group plenty of opportunity to review it if necessary. They read as such:
George signed up for the army at the beginning of the war, determined to do his part. His outstanding performance in training led to him being enrolled in the Royal Marines. This was however shortlived. George was one of several established military men encouraged to return to the UK, in order to provide balance in leadership and capability amongst the many inexperienced men, being recruited for the British Resistance Organisation in the threat of a mass invasion. With his wife Nancy’s increased involvement in the war he felt duty bound to return home. His efficient training with the Royal Marines was more than beneficial when it came to making do with the comparatively poor supply of weaponry provided by the resistance however despite his physical aptitude as a soldier, George is struggling with the level of leadership he is having to take on, and the frequent losses of those he regards as comrades- combined with the decisions he is forced to make, and the constant worry of Nancy’s dangerous level of engagement with the resistance is starting to have a profound effect upon him.

Appearance- Mirroring his mental state Georges appearance becomes increasing weathered and dishevelled as the invasion progresses. Whilst favouring an army side cap, George’s position as a survivor of a shattered unit of the BRO leaves him opting for whatever attire best suits his current objective- generally dull civilian gear that is unlikely to draw too much attention. Whilst his unit was not the best stocked, his survivalist, waste not want not attitude provides him with, at least, a reasonably respectable arsenal of weapons and gear.

Personality- Whilst previously mild mannered and somewhat meek in character, the impact of the war and the role he has been given is proving to be his undoing, and has begun to manifest itself in his increasingly sadistic attitude to dealing with the enemy, as well as his secretly despairing mental state. That said, his ability to achieve in that which he focuses on balances this somewhat and in itself is making him a key figure in Britain’s retaliation.

  

George Mission 1

George has been relocated to Britain as a member of the BRO. Part of his duties involves reconnaissance work of buildings such as country houses in the area. On one such assignment his eye is drawn to the arrival of a French officer, a fellow resistance member entering the building. Upon further investigation he discovers that BRO HQ locations are being leaked, and that his own unit is threatened by imminent attack. He makes it to the base and as he is warning his crew explosions occur round the entrances of the base, caught off-guard many of the BRO are killed by an attack team. George opts to set off minor detonations to torch the rest of the base in order to let the remaining men escape, whilst preventing them from rescuing any wounded. As an officer he is aware of a secret exit and they make their escape, emerging with only a fraction of their original unit.

George Mission 2

Planned attacks upon Resistance HQs have been interpreted as  a warning that a German invasion may be about to occur. Remaining BRO members as well as Home Guard members and as many willing civilians as possible are assembled upon the coastline of Kent in preparation. German ship can be seen emerging, but also strange shapes floating on the surface closer to the beach. These are revealed to be breathing apparatus for a mass army of amphibious German Tauchpanzers which storm the beach. The poor organisation and communication between the BRO and Home Guard results in them having to retreat from this unexpected opponent.  Several of the more experienced members including George and his remaining officers us as many explosives as they can to take out the tanks, but with so little help they quickly become the main target and must fall back also. As they retreat small attack teams like those that assaulted the BRO in mission 1 emerge and engage in gunfire with BRO and civilians alike. Sickened by the sight of locals being gunned down George’s team strike back, with George becoming increasingly violent towards the German soldiers. More and more civilians join their small party seeing it as their best chance of survival. They fight their way to a army truck and leave Kent, Rescuing civilians on the way, but also having to consciously leave many to the mercy of the invading forces.

George Mission 3

With Kent and Sussex now occupied a major concern is losing London.  As many men, and even some female civilians, as possible are assembled and split into two units. With an “attack is the best form of defence” attitude, the two groups go to take back ground. This time the unit is much better organised, they attack ground and air units simultaneously and launch ambushes at the same time. The mission looks set to be a success until a radio broadcast warns that the Sussex attack was unsuccessful, and troops are now emerging from that direction. This turns the tide of the battle and the resistance take heavy losses, success seems unlikely and they prepare for what they believe to be their last battle; however they last out long enough for allies to emerge. With the increased threat of a Germany occupied Britain, the Republic of Ireland has relinquished its neutrality and assembled small but effective teams combined with air units which are now aiding the resistance effort. Together they take back a large section of occupied Kent, and prevent any advancement from the Sussex direction.

      I found the following web addresses to be useful to help me plan some of my characters bio and missions  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Resistance_Organisation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Marines

     This picture of a secret exit from the BRO base is what inspired the final part of mission 1 for me.

     As we need a pretty sizable amount of artwork in our document I will now be cracking on with a new piece. In our most recent crit session one of our tutors advised us that we should be creating art to suit the game document, and not the other way round. With this in mind one of our group compiled a list of the various sections of our design document, and which of these would benefit with some additional artwork. Accordingly I have decided to do something for the gameplay section, a first person perspective stealth kill. More work to follow shortly.