Friday, 24 February 2012

Game On! Character Profiles and Name Research

Before any real drawing and concept work can be done, the profiles of the game's characters have to established thoroughly. I've created character backgrounds and established a rough timeframe for the game's story, although the information is akin to what the player would be given at the start of the game. The information the player is given is going to change because of the nature of the game's storyline. I also did some research and brought in some bits from my influences to create homage to other related works and real-life events:


Steven Bauchwitz
                Age: 41                 Sex: Male            Occupation: Hotelier       DOB:20.10.1969

Born in the sleepy town of Ignis Lake, Steven was born into his father’s successful coaching inn business. His mother (Molly Williams) left when Steven was only three years old, leaving him to be raised single-handedly by his father (Lee Bauchwitz). Graduating from high school in 1987, Steven went straight into working for his father until 1989, when Steven’s father died of heart problems. In 1990, Steven met Dana Gillespie, a slightly younger woman who worked as a proficient housekeeper for Mayor Freeman. The two struck up a passionate relationship, resulting in the birth of their son Tristan that same year. Marriage blossomed in 1991, and the family gained an addition in the form of Sunny, born many years afterwards in 2001.

In the year of 2008, the family’s finances were in a shambles due to the hotel failing to make profits. Unfortunately, the business was forced to fold and the family were left with little support. This event caused massive distress in Steven’s personal life, mainly putting a strain on his marriage, which led to his wife eventually leaving him along with their two children. Further disaster struck when his wife and children were killed in a house fire.

After being forced to leave the family home when it is repossessed, Steven underwent a massive mental breakdown and began attending psychiatric counselling to deal with his trauma. The year is 2010. Now residing in an apartment in the quiet lakeside town, Steven attempts to rebuild the shattered fragments of his once superlative life, but his world is torn asunder yet again with a single ominous phone call…

Dana Bauchwitz
Age: 38 (at death)            Sex: Female       Occupation: Housekeeper           DOB: 5.7.1970

Born in the nearby town of Briar Falls, Dana Gillespie graduated in the year of 1988 and moved to Ignis Lake in order to pursue a domestic cleaning job. Ambitiously applying for the housekeeper vacancy in Mayor Freeman’s residence, Dana is surprised when she gets the job.
A few years later, in the summer of 1990, she meets the charming Steven Bauchwitz and falls quickly in love. A child and a marriage followed in 1990 and 1991 respectively, solidifying a stable family with Dana’s job and Steven’s coaching inn. 

Dana gave birth to a daughter in 2001, and took a temporary break from her work, which eventually led to her giving the job up to focus on her family. In 2008, tensions rose between Dana and Steven when the hotel fails to return a profit and the family are placed in financial bind. The events of 2008 quickly escalated into a blur of wretchedness, resulting in the fall of the family business, and Dana subsequently perishing in a house fire that also kills her son and daughter.

Tristan Bauchwitz
                Age: 18 (at death)          Sex: Male            Occupation: Student/Barista      DOB: 13.3.1990

Born in 1990, Tristan is the first child of Steven and Dana Bauchwitz. At the age of 18, Tristan graduates with a sports scholarship in basketball but delays applying to college because of the family’s money problems. He gets work in a coffee shop to help support the family. Unfortunately a series of events occur shortly after that culminates in Tristan’s death along with his mother and young sister in a horrific house fire.

Sunny Bauchwitz
                Age: 7 (at death)           Sex: Female       Occupation: Student                DOB: 30.10.2001

Born much later after the Bauchwitz’s marriage, Sunny is born in the year of 2001, forcing Dana to leave her housekeeping job when it is found that Sunny is physically handicapped. Despite her extensive physical disability, Sunny grows up and attends Ignis Lake Elementary School and achieves exceptional grades. Sunny bears witness to the breakdown of the family in 2008, but is obviously too young to understand properly. Sunny is tragically killed in a mysterious fire.

Dr. David Cardone
                Age: 56                 Sex: Male          Occupation: Psychiatric Counsellor         DOB: 1.9.1954

Born in Kansas, Dr. Cardone practiced medicine for a long time before moving to Briar Falls as the residential psychiatrist of Briar Hospital. Having seen more than his share of tortured souls, Dr Cardone is not fazed when Steven Bauchwitz is referred to him as a patient. Meeting almost every week for sessions, the doctor is determined to help Steven confront his inner demons that have surfaced since his family’s tragic end.

Naming Origins
Bauchwitz                        (inspired by the Jewish-German surname “Berkowitz” after serial arsonist)
Molly Williams                (reference to the real “Molly Williams”, the world’s first female firefighter)
Steven and Dana              (reference to “Steven and Diana Freeling”, characters in Tobe Hooper’s                                                               “Poltergeist”)
Gillespie                              (reference to the Gillespie family from Konami’s “Silent Hill” series)
Tristan                                  (Name meaning ‘sad’)
Sunny                                (Reference to “Sunny Baudelaire”, a character in Lemony Snicket’s “A Series                                     of Unfortunate Events”)
Mayor Freeman                 (Reference to Gordon Freeman, protagonist of the “Half-Life” series)
David Cardone                  (Reference to “David Lynch” and “J.S. Cardone”, two horror film directors)

Concept Art and rough outline of the game's plot soon to follow.

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