This text is the second part of a series that talks about the process of designing the serious game “Migracciones”. This article will be discussed the process of designing the characters, which is fundamental to the development of the story and the images to be presented.
Taking as a starting point that the concept of the game, in its mechanics, is based on a board game and that it is the story that stands out, it is important to develop a story that is not only visible, but that gives coherence to the character and also provides a context for future developments.
Towards the Development of the Character: From the Story to the Attributes
The narrative, a central part of the game, is composed of the story that the migrants have along their journey through Mexico to reach the USA. Its development has started from the ideation, the creation of a biography, the development of a storyboard, and finally in its implementation in a digital prototype.
The idea was based on Dr. Ibarra’s comments, in addition to the corresponding bibliography, as is the case with the REDODEM 2018 and 2019 reports. With this information and bibliography, information and statistics were obtained for the construction of coherent identities that could be visualized in each of the boxes through which the player would pass.
For the creation of the biography, the data obtained was taken as a basis, and profiles were created for each of the characters of different nationalities. In addition, it is important to emphasize at this point the development of specific attributes that, while not directly shown in the game, will help to give coherence to the profile and will help for future development iterations. As for the background colors and of the characters themselves, chromatic ranges were considered in relation to each of the routes: a central one in blue, yellow, purple, green, and red for each of the interceptions and possible routes to the north. This was in order to differentiate each of the migratory activities and their routes.
Finally, with the information obtained as a basis, and the development of the characters, a storyboard is created that will give us an image already in the game, as well as being able to visualize each of the scenes as a whole. For the creation of this storyboard, is important to make it as simple as possible, focusing more on the handling of perspectives, situations, and the camera.
It is important to mention that the video game is a project in continuous development, its first iteration must be simple but complete, so it is of great help to the development of particularities of each of the characters to later exploit them and create different narratives consistent with a base already sustained.
