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Game Creative Exchange is an event that is all about the future of game creation. Its second component brought together Shigeto Koyama, a renown designer involved with Rebuild of Evangelion as well as Gundam Reconguista in G, and Good Smile Company CEO Takanori Aki. The pair enter a discussion about the secrets behind characters with lasting popularity.
Creators, producers, and other professionals who are relevant to the future of games gather at the Game Creative Exchange event. Renown designer Shigeto Koyama—who has worked on Rebuild of Evangelion, Gundam Reconguista in G, Big Hero 6 as well as other animations—is one of the professionals who were part of the second component of the event held on Sept. 24 in the National Art Center of Tokyo. Joining Koyama was Good Smile Company CEO Takanori Aki, who operates the company famous for their involvement in the planning, production, and distribution of figma and Nendoroid figures.
The second of the three-part event brought the two together, and had Koyama revealing his secrets about the creation of long-lasting characters that many fans continue to love. Koyama used his own character designs as examples.
◆ Keeping the Character’s Message Consistent
Before the discussion, TOM had a chance to speak to Shigeto Koyama about the differences between game characters and anime characters. “Because the fundamental systems and the media are different, it is important to always think about how the characters will appear on screen when designing them.” Koyama stated that “different methods of character design should exist for each media form.” However, “when creating characters who branch out into the field of figures, manga, or light novels, one must take all possible situations into consideration to create a character who can withstand the challenges of each media.”
During the discussion, he also commented on the effect of improved graphic resolutions on games and even smartphone screens. Koyama explained that when he started work during the end of the ‘90s, graphic resolutions were already relatively high. Having said that, “a higher resolution did not mean that designers were able to do more. It is quite possible that resolution actually caused problems for various anime and games that were produced, as the amount of information that can be processed by humans beings did not change. Even with higher resolution and different forms of media to work with, designers still cannot add much to the message they want to send through their creations.”
For the renown designer, consistency is essential for character designs and messages. More specifically, the nature of the character and the goals set for them should not be changed. For example, “if the character was designed to use their sex appeal as a hook, they should continue down that path until the end. Likewise, a heroine who is created to be cute should always be cute throughout her series. It may seem obvious, but it’s incredibly important.” Koyama spoke about how maintaining the foundations of each character is an important task for designers and also directors, which is something that he pays close attention to.
On the other hand, Takanori Aki described how he sees “no major differences in the production of figures of anime and game characters. But because there is always a storyline to anime, it is important to ensure that the character stays within their designated role. For game characters, it is best to make the most out of their original design, since that is what game creators base their characters on.”
◆ Characters with Recognizable Designs Enjoy Longer-Lasting Popularity
The pair move onto the example of Evangelion’s Rei Ayanami. In the words of Koyama, “the first impression made on the audience before they see each character in motion, or the entrance to each character design that the audience has access to, is absolutely crucial. Although characters in anime series are designed to have personalities and behaviors that follow their role in the story, the audience does not learn about any of it until they actually watch the anime. For example, the image of Rei Ayanami’s hairstyle does wonders for her character design even without animated movement. Her shaggy three-point bangs on the left, right, and center have been loved since the early ‘90s, and are also incredibly easy to draw. These traits make her image and her design much more transmissible and spreadable throughout the public.”
Sword Art Online’s Asuna was also mentioned as a topic of discussion. She is designed to appeal to both men and women from around the world, and one of her biggest weapons is her color scheme. “Asuna’s hair isn’t just brown. There are hints of magenta blended in to create an exquisite milk tea-like color. You could even say that her clothes serve as a piece of cake. It is exactly this incorporation of things that everyone likes into her design that makes her coloration so powerful.”
Another reason why certain characters continue to be loved by their audience is their ability to be imitated or copied by others. Koyama tells us that “it is very important for characters to be reproducible. Having others know exactly who the character is when someone draws them, and being able to really become the character when cosplaying are both significant elements to character designs.” From the discussion, we learned about how simplicity and a low probability of misunderstandings and error are imperative to good character designs.
This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.
