As we work on the next major update for our game Spark Rising, which is now live on Steam Early Access, we're dedicating a chunk of time redesigning the main character, the Spark Bot.
So the latest set of iterations captures our attempt to infuse some personality into what is in essence a very simple design, mainly inspired by voxel cubes. Yeah, sounds challenging. Lucky, Oleg the artist is quite talented at such endeavors! He draws inspiration from Wall E and Johnny 5 (anyone remember the old 80's movies starting Johnny 5?) where robot characters are able to emote.
So we put the Spark Bot into various poses and expressive states to see if we can pull it off. There is a tricky balancing act regarding how we show the character having a distinct work bee purpose in life, yet also showing signs of being self aware enough to realize that he has a greater purpose, one that could lead to a path of galactic destruction. Sure, he's just a builder bot, building fantastical structures, massive fortresses and such. But he's also a guardian of sorts, protecting rare crystals from invading forces. And since he recognizes that and knows he has to kill in order to fulfill his role, he is torn between being a creator and a destroyer.
We ultimately settled on a design that mirrors what we originally started out with. Instead of being strictly defined by cubes, we expanded our design to incorporate simple geometry while still maintaining a clear stylistic fit with our game engine. To continue to give him a child like innocence, we opted to keep his body proportions smaller in comparison to his head. This will also allow for more dramatic size difference once he jumps into an exo-suit for battle.
So the next part is his eyes. With a monitor head, we felt like his eyes could ultimately take shape in many ways, even showing images of things to convey how he feels.
As always, your feedback is welcome. And if you buy Spark RIsing today on Steam Early Access you can help take part in our creative process!
