Designing The Brothers

 After starting this project, I spoke to Josh (course leader) and we agreed that each Friday we would discuss briefs to guide my practical work on this project for the upcoming week. The initial brief was to establish designs for the two brothers that the story of this world revolves around. The central concept for their background is that as part of a small caravan community travelling through the desert landscape, they go out on expeditions each day as a two-man party, searching for supplies to bring back to camp. They fulfil this role because they are young and able, unlike some of the more elderly members of their group. On their expeditions, they search for the sunken remains of ancient civilisations lost to the sands, as these ruins provide the best chance of useful finds. Aside from aesthetic values, it was hence important that their clothing would reflect their practical needs. I started the design process by gathering references of ancient near eastern dress and styles.

Near Eastern dress examples

artistic motifs in the Near East and the representation of beasts

As you can see from the collection of dress examples, long flowing robes are a core aspect of clothing aesthetics. I tried to incorporate this idea when creating a spread of initial clothing idea sketches:

Clothing Sketches

 At this first phase I had quite a range of attempts, and in the end I decided that the traditional long robes just didn't align with the brothers' practical needs, so I decided to pursue other design ideas, going with loose fitting trousers in the end. This also fits within the Near Eastern theme anyway, with the Persians famously mocked by the Greeks for wearing trousers, which they deemed to be an effeminate style. Trousers also provide better protection against the elements out in the desert, as well as range of movement when clambering in and out of awkward spaces, so from a practical standpoint they are better aligned with the brothers' needs.

Scarf Concept Sheet

Next I decided to develop a concept for the scarves that the brothers wear. To be honest, the idea of the brothers having these long flowing scarves actually just came from scribbling one onto the character in the foreground of my initial project concept piece (previous blog post) to compliment the composition of the scene. However, I started to think about the idea more seriously and ended up coming up with a range of uses/mechanics that could turn the scarf into a core element of both the characters and the game itself (see top right section of the above spread). On the aesthetic side of things, I tried a few shapes, colours and patterns, and am ultimately very happy with the final concept I landed on as one of the key visual hooks for the game. The exploration of patterns here was really useful, as many of these pattern ideas were then used in aspects other than the scarf itself, as you'll see below. Artistic representation of animals and fantastical beasts is one of the most fundamental pillars of ancient Near Eastern cultural expression, particularly with examples like the ties between lions and kingship, so I was keen to implement this within the brothers' designs somehow, foreshadowing their eventual position. I decided not to use this for the scarves though, as it doesn't really compliment the long flowing form, and more intricate designs like animals would be difficult to see clearly on a scarf as it flaps around constantly in the wind. I decided to save the creatures for the rest of their clothing.

Brother Character concept sheet

After the scarf sheet, I brought forward a handful of the more successful clothing sketches and created a more fleshed out concept for the look of the brothers. The poncho-looking top half is fashioned from a luxurious fabric found by the brothers in an old ruin, and serves to provide protection against the buffeting of wind and sand. Its design incorporates motifs of NE kingship, with the lions hopefully standing out. The middle layer of patterns, while very simple, could be taken as a broad representation of architectural structures or a city, while the top layer's trees are a nod to a king's gardener role, and generally represent prosperity and fertility within the context of such an arid landscape.

Vital Markings

Vital markings (bottom left) are a core concept of the game world I am creating. All living beings have them, and they look like black tattoos that cover the body in varying densities depending on the person. The markings are a representation of a person's vitality, and function as a more contextual alternative to more traditional health bars in-game. A sickly, elderly person's markings would be faint, and few and far between, while a strong warrior's would be dense and bold. Hence, the look of someone's vital marking also serves as a visual indication of power level, just as a straightforward level counter does in many games. The markings also retract and spread in conjunction with injury and healing. When a player or npc takes damage, a portion of their markings would retract, and healing up would restore them to their previous extent. 

Killing another being absorbs a portion of their vital markings, which increases the density of the killers', making them stronger, much like gaining experience points in RPGs. Because a killer gains the vitality of its victim, the strongest can actually prolong their life by taking it from others, which is the central reason why this world is so harsh when not in an age of prosperity. The world is populated with raiders that hunt others down for their vitality, meaning that weaker groups and communities are pushed to the harsher extremities of the land to avoid pursuers. The vital marking concept is hence a literal representation of the Thucydidean idea that that 'the strong do what they have the power to do, and the weak endure what they must', a theme that I studied quite a bit in my third year, and which became one of the foundational ideas for this game world when I first began to develop it in my head.

In terms of the visual design for the markings, I tried a few things, and think that any of the designs above would be possible to see within the world depending on the individual. For the brothers though, I decided to give them markings that are based on cuneiform, the most commonly used scripts of ancient Near Eastern civilisations. I did this to add a hidden layer of symbolism within their design. To do this, I found examples of frequently used characters, and based the marking design on them.

Cuneiform Examples

In the end I went for a marking design that involves the cuneiform characters for 'power' and 'gardener' to reflect and foreshadow the power they are destined for. Cuneiform is not used by people within the game-world so the markings don't have these meanings in-universe, but I thought this would be a cool way to tie in some real world history/ideas as an additional layer of interest.

Final concept for the two brothers (pre power)

Finally, I I needed to create finished concepts for both brothers. I brought forward the character concept from the previous sheet and made some adjustments to it, following a discussion on the concept with Josh in the studio. The first thing was to dirty him up a bit, adding some rips to the poncho, and a more muddied look to it in general. I also added some more definition to the lower portion of the design, as most of the detail was previously focused on the top half, and so in the first concept his footwear for instance was very ambiguous. With those adjustments out of the way I then moved on to the second brother, whose aesthetic needed to be obviously similar to the first, with differences that reflect the scavenged nature of their get-ups, and symbolise the pair's duality. Both brothers' arms are wrapped with strips of fabric to provide additional protection, and a similar solution is used for their feet, which are wrapped with cloth and tied tight with some sort of string/fibre. The second brother also has a poncho-ish top layer and baggy trousers, though the patterns and colours are different, while sticking to the same motifs. They also have the same scarves, as they are two halves of the same piece of fabric. The net held by the second brother is an improvised solution made from old fishing lines/nets and other assorted finds. The first brother also carries one of a similar nature, and it can here be seen wrapped around his waste, where it goes when it is not needed. The nets are used to bring finds back to the caravan. The two brothers, who are possibly twins (I haven't decided yet, or if it even matters/if they know), have almost identical vital markings, the main difference being the central mark between their eyes, which is flipped. Details such as this and the scarves being torn from the same piece are meant to reinforce the idea that these brothers are two sides of the same coin, both the same and different/contrasting. Once they clash and separate down the line, forming two kingdoms, the contrast between the two of them will become dramatic, with everything from their dress, to their key principles and the layout/style of their cities becoming opposed. 

Thanks for reading!