Introduction

BREIF/INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT 2 - 3/12/2020

DEADLINE: 22/03/2020

I have to create an audio, visual, interactive introduction of a character based off the theme of alter-ego. This character will be inspired by myself and my own personality but will adapt and change overtime to become its own entity. I could exaggerate my own personality or completely invert it. They will be categorised as either a hero, villain, henchmen or sidekick.

AUDIO (sound of alter-ego):

I will be exploring script writing, voice acting and audio editing throughout this section. An entrance sound, catchphrase, sound effects and the characters voice are all avenues I can research into. The best way to gather evidence are the digital files of the voice clips (MP3), feedback (primary) as well as taking inspiration from existing sounds (movies, audio books, other characters (all secondary)). Adobe audition will be the main software used for this, although other sound recording software's can be used instead.

The criteria is summed up briefly here. I need to analyse the requirements of audio based issues, apply research activities to find a solution to this, show that I can plan, organise and present the solution to this issue and then finally apply a practical skill, method and understanding to solve it. Finally analysis its effectiveness.

VISUAL (movement of alter-ego):

I will need to explore new animation principles and 2D animation techniques (including lip-syncing) to make my character come to life. Background environments can be included. Adobe Animate will be the main software used (adobe character animator and adobe after effects could also be used). However, I can use any software of my choice.

Once again, the success criteria focuses on identifying and solving the problems that arise from these visual based issues. I need to apply research into finding a solution to these issues. Plan, organise and present my solutions. Apply the necessary skills and methods to solve the issue then evaluate its effectiveness.

INTERACTIVE (introduction to alter-ego):

This is a brand new field for me. I have to explore interactive content building using design principles to create an interactive experience for my alter-ego. This included the editing tools used to create this (such as PowerPoint) and publishing tools such as YouTube to bring it to life. The audio and animation (visual) are the pieces to enhance this while the actual interaction is the framework behind the entire project.

These are some rough ideas I want to explore at the start of the project, possible ways to take my task.

INTERACTION

As far as the interactive template goes, I could create a tv and have the buttons change channel for more info. I could have someone look at encrypted files on a computer about my character. I could use a mobile phone, a radio to some extent or a cinema screen. There could be videos (phone footage, online uploads, public new announcements), audio files (password protected or maybe even hacked into), corrupted music or photos, CCTV footage, public announcements, testimonies, prison interviews, doctor interviews, witness reports. These are example of possible formats for my interactive template and all the above are examples of ways I can communicate information to my audience about my character.

AUDIO

Show don't tell is a good rule but I will be limited by my time frame on how much animation can be produced. However, I can be smart in how I give info in dialogue and get creative on perspective and how its received. Witness reports will cast my character in a terrifying light. Public announcements or speeches from my character himself could show him being righteous, justifying his actions and twisting morals to paint himself as the good guy. Official reports (prison, doctors, police...) could present him as a lunatic or just mad nonsense. Depending on who give the info could completely change the emotions conveyed about my character. I can use perspective to my advantage.

VISUAL

This will focus on the animation and character design of the character, backgrounds and visual layout of the interactive templates or any information giving processes. An idea I had was of distorted music (or any sound playing device for that matter). A digital copy of his face or could consume the image of the audio file. His voice could break the audio up and override it.

I could have the camera slowly move towards the character as screams of help, of terror, of pain, of law enforcement, of doctors all play in the background. Hints about the character, all merged into one followed by silence and a single line of dialogue. It could be his beginning. Strapped to a chair (or just handcuffed)and being tortured or questioned.

IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE - 3/12/2020

Primary research Ideas

Visit Places (locations) - DONE

Conduct interviews - feedback on work, discuss ideas, find people with experience in this area - DONE

Review my own experiences - DONE

Conduct Surveys - DONE

Draw or capture images (photos) - DONE

Videos (my own interactions, experiences) -DONE

Explore other products (my own interactions, experiences)

Old artefacts (inspiration, emotion)

Secondary Research Ideas

Read and/or buy books - DONE

Read and/or quote websites - DONE

Watch interviews and/or documentaries -DONE

Read reviews from others

Artworks and/or media products

Photos and/or artworks by other people - DONE

PART 1 - PERSONALITY AND

ALTER EGO

PERSONALITY: 2/12/2020 - 3/12/2020

WHO ARE YOU? - 2/12/2020

This section is a brief summary of who am I and provides a window into my base personality.

Hi, I'm Callum. I am confident, outgoing, smart and incredibly complicated. I have 2 more year of experience in life than most in this class and have many memories as a result. These 2 years made me who I am now. Who I was two years ago feels like 2 completely differently people. If I don't like an aspect about myself, I change it. I improve it to where I want it to be. If I'm not confident in myself to hold a conversation, I will go away and research, adapt, improve and trial until I resolve it. I don't like an aspect about my life (grades, personal or even something as simple as the time I wake up) I change it.

I'm naturally extroverted but have a habit of overthinking. I take a scenario and run with it. I can create a narrative out of basically nothing but "what if?" Due to this, I tend to think far too deeply. It makes me think that some scenarios are actually much worse than their actual reality. A mistake becomes the end of the world. This is also true for the opposite effect. Something that makes me happy creates an entire future about said thing, even for a brief moment.

I tend to think about stuff that many would take for granted. What is considered normal and acceptable (or in some cases not) I would think about and justify why it is like this. I would question if it's good, that things are the way they are (or are not). If someone does something bad, I look for the reason why. Why they did it, what motivated them? Why is this seen as bad? Why is this seen as good? Why is this the way it is? This method of thinking usually has the effect of confusing others, as they don't see the purpose of what I'm saying or don't understand why I'm saying it. What you just read above is the thought process that goes through my head - on my cold logical side.

3/12/2020

My mind can be incredibly logical (almost cold as seen above) or completely spontaneous and much more relaxed, depending on my mood. These 2 sides of me create a dual nature of sorts, complete opposites that run parallel with each other that make me who I am. The smart ruthless side that rules with cold logic and deconstructs everything around it. The one that can forget emotion and can come across as blunt, confusing or insulting if not careful (this was probably my mood when I wrote the above). And my other side, mainly seen in social scenarios (while the logic side appears more in professional settings such as work or important tasks) is much more human.

This is the easy going, spontaneous, funny confident side that I try to show people on a first impression. I enjoy social interaction, although it is common for most to see interaction as bad or scary. I thrive on conversation. Without it things get far too boring. It is the side I have the most fun with. The best memories and experiences come from this mood. They are what make me smile on a daily basis. The out of nowhere humour, the good times, the one most attune with others. When I'm not stressed out with work, this is the more dominant personality of myself.

I know the whole "cold logical" rant above makes me sound like a heartless asshole who sounds to pretentious for his own good. I have many sides but these are the main 2 people see. I want to talk about the good and the bad. My strengths and my flaws. No one is a perfect person.

Also, in my defence, the cold logical side can actually be used to my own benefit. There are flaws to both sides of my personality. The humorous one can come across as too arrogant or never serious. The logical side is incredibly efficient and can get work done to a good standard in good timing. Those are a few examples of how they could be strengths and weaknesses.

What makes a Personality - Personality Theories

4/12/2020

Robert Plomin DNA theory:

According to the Association of psychological science, Plomin said “Genes make us who we are by influencing how we interact with the world around us, driving the way we select, modify, and even create our environment,” Plomin said in a statement for the award announcement. “DNA isn’t all that matters, but it matters more than everything else put together.” He argues that personality is decided by your DNA (essentially your heritage). He does acknowledge that environmental factors play a role but has a much less effect on the result. This comes down to a debate of nature vs nurture, although he acknowledges the nurture of outside influence, he leans much stronger on the biological nature side.

If I was to decide on the characters personality based off this theory alone, then it would be his biology and heritage. If the basis of this character was based off my own personality then it would be my families characteristics that provide the biggest influence.

I would use my parents personalities as my main source for my character. My Dads no nonsense contrasting with my mums more relaxed nature. Both are serious and confident in their selves. Both don't tolerate bad behaviour that is considered unmoral or selfish. So we mash the 2 together to create myself. I can exaggerate traits from my family that are more dormant in myself, or have a key trait present. For example I can use my Dads stubbornness and refusal to change for anything. Or have my Mums relaxed side greatly exaggerated to the point that he feels no stress for any action.

Western Horoscope:

Western horoscopes (western zodiac signs) uses the stars to represent personality. 12 different zodiac sign are related to 12 sets of birthdates. Depending on when your born depends on what star sign your assigned to. These provide 12 base sets of personalities that can be used as the starting block of my character, which allows me to deviate my own personality away from him.

I am a Pisces myself. This is the entry for those who are born between February 19th and March 20th. Emotion is the common ruler for the personality set of a Pisces. They are incredibly sensitive, creative (huge dreamers) and fear failure. The description on the right is the article I got my info from. I could make my character emotionless, with a complete lack of empathy for others. Have no fear of failure, just a overpowering drive to succeed.

Chinese Zodiac:

This system was created by a Chinese emperor, he made a mix of animals race and ordered them depending on their place. It works on a 12 year cycle.

The horse, my own sign is known to be energetic, passionate, upright and aspirant. They are also known to be extremely independent. Weaknesses include being stubborn, vain, extravagant and outspoken.

Although I want to keep my character independent, I can get rid of the extravagant side. I don't need him to be flashy and extra, as it would not improve his odds of getting to his goal. Due to the lack of emotion, he would come across as a more calculated killer rather than one who acts out rashly. Passion would be an complete opposite, if not seen as detrimental to this character. Emotion only gets in the way of the goal.

Freud:

Freud was a psychologist that believed the psyche was responsible for our personality. He believed our personality was split into 3 parts (the Id, Ego and Super-Ego). the ID is the primitive part of our personality. It is a mesh of wants and desires. The ID gets what it wants. It is present at birth and entirely selfish, wanting instant gratification. The Ego balances the Id and super-Ego, it develops at 2 years old. It reduces the conflict between the 2 using defence mechanisms. The final one is the Super-Ego. This forms at 5 and has a very fixed set of right and wrong. It represents the moral standards of the same sex parent and punishes the ego for wrong doings with feelings of guilt.

PISCES HOROSCPOE - COPY AND PASTED

While all water signs harbor some gifts of intuition, Pisces zodiac sign is the most gifted of all the signs of the zodiac. In fact, this is how they make decisions about life, rather than using details and reason. Another trait Piscean share is a love of music from an early age. Even as young children, Pisces sun sign are very sensitive to their surroundings and can be overstimulated easily, but the music tends to be very soothing to them.

Pisces zodiac sign is approachable. It is easy to start a conversation with them or just sit with them and enjoy a moment of peace. They tend not to be judgmental or stubborn. Rather, they just want to help others. Quite often, the people under this sign don’t demand anything in return for their kindness.

Sympathy and empathy is something that comes naturally to a sensitive Pisces star sign. Along with these emotional tendencies comes a wellspring of creativity. It is easy for them to think of different solutions to problems in life, work, and creativity. They dwell in the land of imagination and wonder.

While the Piscean tendency towards selflessness is apt to be a strength, if it goes too far, they can make themselves out to be a “suffering saint,” which we all know is unhealthy. Also, their propensity to escape from reality into their imaginations (or into unhealthy substances) can be quite destructive.

Even the Pisces zodiac idealism can set them up for failure because reality can never live up to the ideal they have in their minds. If they “fail,” it is difficult for them to recover and easy for them to fall into despair and melancholy. Not surprisingly, this very emotional sign is highly sensitive to criticism.

https://www.zodiacsigns-horoscope.com/zodiac-signs/pisces/

Personally, I have been told I act more on my super-ego rather than my Id. Although I was definitely more Id in 6 form. My decision making is methodical and I constantly second guess my actions to make sure I pick the right one.

My character, therefore can play more into the Id (especially if they are a villain). When he wants something, he gets it no matter the cost. I can still make him cold and calculating (like myself) to an extreme level with no remorse over his actions. Decisive decision to always get the wanted goal, regardless of any damage as a result.

Below are my old psychology notes that I used to research into Freud

Freud Notes - Personality Theories - Issues - 8/12/2020

While the notes themselves were used on the 4th, I didn't upload them to my site tell the 8th and I had a few issues. To get these photos off my phone was challenging enough. The PC wouldn't read my phone so transferring photos was an issue. I was able to do this with a combination of new leads and email/Instagram. Once the photos were on the PC, I added them to my site and they all needed rotating.

The method of fixing the rotation was more down to trial and error. I figured out that by going settings, adjust, I was able to transform the photo, including rotation. However it automatically cropped the photo on my site (as seen in the screenshots).

I had to edit the aspect ratio of each photo after rotation in order for it to work. After a new copy was automatically uploaded to my image area - which I used to replace the 90 degree photos.

This was my main research source for Freud, AQA A-level Psychology notes from 2 years ago, my own research from a previous time. Granted they would of been taken from multiple sources so they would be made out of a collaboration of sources.

Part of the success criteria of this project is to show evidence of how I overcome issues and errors throughout my work. This is a key example and the 1st steps into completing this criteria.

Anthony, A., 2018. So is it nature not nurture after all?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/sep/29/so-is-it-nature-not-nurture-after-all-genetics-robert-plomin-polygenic-testing
[Accessed 4 December 2020].

aps - association for pstchological science, 2019. Robert Plomin Receives Grawemeyer Award for Behavioral Genetics Research. [Online]
Available at: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/obsonline/robert-plomin-receives-grawemeyer-award-for-behavioral-genetics-research.html#:~:text=Plomin's%20theory%20on%20the%20%E2%80%9Cnature,raised%20in%20the%20same%20household.&text=%E2%80%9CI
[Accessed 4 December 2020].

Building Beautiful Souls, n.d. The Western Zodiac Signs Personality @ Traits. [Online]
Available at: https://www.buildingbeautifulsouls.com/zodiac-signs/western-zodiac/
[Accessed 4 December 2020].

Chiao, F. H. &. C., 2018. Year of the Horse. [Online]
Available at: https://chinesenewyear.net/zodiac/horse/
[Accessed 4 December 2020].

Crawford, B., n.d. Pisces Zodiac Sign: Traits, Characteristics, Compatibility and Horoscope. [Online]
Available at: https://www.zodiacsigns-horoscope.com/zodiac-signs/pisces/
[Accessed 4 December 2020].

Crawford, B., n.d. Western Astrology – An Introduction to Western Astrology Zodiac Signs. [Online]
Available at: https://www.zodiacsigns-horoscope.com/astrology/western-astrology/
[Accessed 4 December 2020].

Travel China Guide, 2020. Horse - Personality and Characteristics. [Online]
Available at: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/zodiac/horse/
[Accessed 4 December 2020].

ARCHETYPES: 2/12/2020 - 3/12/2020

Archetypes - 2/12/2020

The Hero

The protagonist of the story. Every archetype is in service of the hero. In short, the story revolves around him

The Mentor

The one to teach the hero, to guide him. He makes the goal possible and gives the hero a fighting chance. They are a higher self in comparison to the hero, they had their journey and now help others.

The Ally

The hero's companion who helps them on their quest. They could be the ones to introduce the audience to the world of the story. According to point park "Psychologically, they represent unused or unexpressed parts of one’s personality and may therefore be able to help the Hero discover alternative courses of action." Basically they show hidden sides of the hero and offer alternative methods. Sidekicks, animals, spirits and many more are all different forms of the ally.

The Herald

They show the hero what the end goal looks like, to tempt the permanent change. It is the start of the hero's metamorphosis as they encourage the hero to go on their quest. They could be events, characters and can be positive, negative or plane neutral figures.

The Trickster

Normally self-self-centred, almost always in it for themselves. They manipulate the characters around them. There is no status quo with the trickster, he's sole purpose is the disrupt it. They show the hero's reality as absurd and impossible. Their allegiances are flexible depending on what serves them better.

The Shapeshifter

The shape shifter, like the trickster, shifts allegiances throughout the story. They are "friends you can’t quite believe and enemies you just might trust with your life. These characters change constantly in appearance or attitude and serve to fill a story with doubt and suspense." according to pointpark. This means that that are an unlikely allies that you cannot completely trust. They shows the repressed qualities of the hero and urge the transformation - to give into them. They could be useful or completely destructive depending on the narrative.

The Guardian

A common obstacle (or protecting something important), if you cant get past this you stand no chance against the villain. They are they're to test and refined the hero's abilities. Lesser villains, natural forces or puzzles are some popular forms.

The Shadow

The most dangerous obstacle for the hero. They are the hero's equal (normally the villain). The hero should see part of themselves in the villain. They are a constant reminder of what the hero could become if he goes astray.

Screenwriting, a., 2018. Archetypal Characters in the Hero’s Journey. [Online]
Available at: https://online.pointpark.edu/screenwriting/archetypal-characters-heros-journey/
[Accessed 2 December 2020].

AlterEgo - 7/12/2020

According to Wikipedia, 'An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternative self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different personality. The altered states of the ego may themselves be referred to as alterations.' This definition defines an alter ego as a secondary self to your original (main) personality. In order to do this, you must be aware of your main personality so you can make the proper deviation away from this.

That is why I research multiple methods in defining my own personality. The star signs provide templates that hold aspects of my own, as well as 11 other alternatives. Freuds system breaks down personality into 3 components. I looked at the source of personality, weather it was nature or nurture (a debate that has been raging on for a long time). Personally I feel like I'm very attune with my personality so my character will be a deviation from this.

My personality is explained in great detail above but in summary. I think over most of my moves and I can be really happy/humorous/confident or cold/logical/blunt depending on my mood (so emotion effects me greatly. I can be calm, stressed out, on edge or just grumpy depending on the day. My western horoscope (Pisces) says I have strong emotions and love to daydream. I commit all the way and think long term. I probably act more of my superego (although I would argue much more Id in the past) and I believe that my experiences are what made me "me" while genetics are a lesser factor.

So my character (alter ego) will have to differentiate from the definition above. Instead of thinking about every decision, lets make him decisive and impulsive.

MOODBOARDS - MODERN - 6/12/2020

At this point, if you look at visual, I would of attempted 1 design of my character. It was a basic sketch (took 1.5hrs to complete) with nothing but 2 references images used for research. I was focusing on body shape and position, rather than overall design. Now I have went away and starting researching on possible ideas to try out. I started with this mood board, looking for patterns in the design and costume of the plague doctor. This isn't looking at the traditional plague doctor, but rather the overall appearance of a plague doctor today - what we assume they look like. It not interested in the historical here, I'm interested in but what the audience assumes a plague doctor looks like. Google had these results near the top of the search bar. Hats and bird shape masks are a big one. A mantle and robe makes up the body. Balaclavas and leather gloves hide any exposed areas. No skin shall be left visible. What I wasn't aware of was the massive variety of masks, some of these are not even bird shaped! I plan to use these images to help inspire my next plague doctor design. Looking at each part of its costume and designing my own version of it.

MOODBOARDS - ISSUES - 8/12/2020

This is an issue I had with multiple images when completing all 3 mood boards, but 1 example shall do in showing proof of this. Basically some of the formatting my images were saved in were not compatible with Photoshop, therefore being inaccessible to put on the mood board. In the end, I solved this by taking screenshots of the images themselves and importing them into a software called "Paint 3D". This let me manipulate the images to get the desired sizes and crops, as well as saving them as an PNG (photoshop compatible).

Although Paint 3D is a lot more limited in functions compared to photoshop, it allowed me to save a copy and do basic edits with the images. After they can be imported in photoshop with few issues. Although I do admit, the quality of a screenshot is going to be less than the original saved photos, but that was a necessary sacrifice.

MOODBOARDS - CYBERPUNK - 7/12/2020

After I established the outfit of a plague doctor, I want to take my own design and spin a certain theme on it. The 1st theme I want to experiment with is cyberpunk. Possible sources could be the cyberpunk 2077 game, blade runner and blade runner 2049, SCP plague doctor and league of legends fiddlesticks character. This is so I can establish some common trends with a futuristic plague doctor and compare it to the modern day version. I noticed more of the body is revealed in the cyberpunk edition. The body shape is more defined and less covered up with a cloak. Feathers and occasionally wings can be seen. Eyes are lit up in neon rather than covered behind a mask. Inspiration from mechanical robotics was a huge factor in these creations it seems. Key ascetic areas were swapped out for body armour. It is clear that the design is incredibly different to the common interpretation of a plague doctor (and much more so to the historic ones). The plan is to do an experiment with my own character in this style and era of clothing. The eyes will help me show more personality into my character (as most of the face is covered up). The body shape will give me more to play with in posture. And I can experiment with the mask, make it out of bone, electronic robotics or plane leather.

MOODBOARDS - STYALISED - 7/12/2020

Finally, I done a mood board on art styles. There are many artworks of plague doctors already in many different styles. Above are example of what others have done. Some of these styles are very simplistic, with few colours used and basic features. Many are shown as slender and imposing. There is an air of patients, of subtlety - accurate and sharp rather than a brute force kind of character. Many are a combination of triangles and squares in their build. Triangles are seen as dangerous and imply evil. I have already went into the effects and representation of triangles in my previous project (screenshotted below).

Many use triangles in this character to emphasis its efficient deadliness. I imagine a sharpshooter, a schemer, a swords welder, something with deadly precision and ruthlessness. others use abstract colours to imply emotion and intent. Purple for example is seen as a very unnatural, mysterious colour. You wouldn't know what side they are on when in purple. It could represent a tainted hero or a converting villain. There intentions are unclear. The cold analysis of blue mixed in with the powerful, fiery energy of red. And some have no colour at all, black and white draining into each other. Devoid of emotion, a blank slate or an unfeeling being. Void of emotion, uncaring of the consequences of their actions. i want to experiment with colour and concepts from many of these. I plan to use all these styles present to create a style of my own, something new, something intimidating...

ALTEREGO- EXAMPLES: 7/12/2020 - 8/12/2020

Unlike my last few attempts at research, I decided to plan out my investigation beforehand. These are the links to the sites and images for my alter ego examples. I went to several sites, fandom especially, to find examples of alter egos in pop culture. I want to see the effects of planning out my research before writing it up and applying it. It did give me time to think of research material. Instead of just websites (like the personality research) I was able to use a mix of recourses. Anime, Movies, Games as well as the Internet were all used here. True these are secondary sources but my experience with each one will be classed as primary research.

Bruce Banner / Hulk - AlterEgo through Transformation - Movie - 7/12/2020

The aim of these example was to look at how creators use alter egos in their characters. Some are physical manifestations (physical changes) to the character, some are psychological changes and others have entirely new characters to represent the hidden sides of the original.

Bruce banner and the Hulk is a very traditional case of alter egos. Bruce banner is a scientist (brains over brawn) but an accident involving gamma radiation creates the hulk, a hidden side of Banner. The Hulk in itself is a completely different character, forced to share the body and mind of banner. His personality is an complete opposite to banners. Simple minded and ruled by emotions (especially anger). His biggest strengths are brute force and incredible endurance. Although there are several versions in the comics, I'm focusing more on the MCU version of Banner/Hulk for simplicity's sake. Banner is timid, tries to hide amongst the crowed and lay a low profile. Hulk on the other hand would destroy everything in the same scenario. It the fear of Hulk that made Banner as cautious as he is.

This is a classic example of the Jekyll and Hyde case, although instead of anger, a potion is the trigger. 2 Beings sharing the same body with complete opposites in personality. One being held down while the other roams free.

I could do this method for my character, have myself go through a physical transformation into another person. Put on the plague doctor mask and transform into the Doctor's side. It could allow me for the 2 sides to fight for control, create some self conflict in the character. Have his emotional side constantly fight under the cold suppression of the plague doctor.

Sheik / Zelda - AlterEgo through Identity

- Gaming - 7/12/2020

Sheik is not so much a physical manifestation, more of a second side of Zelda. This is the same idea as Batman's alter ego is Bruce Wane or Clark Kent's alter ego is Superman. Sheik is merely a disguise of Zelda (mostly through Ocarina of time). Instead of being the damsel in distress, she helps and guides the hero along his quest, changing her role to an unlikely ally throughout the story.

This is the one I have the least info to talk about. Alter egos can be hidden personas of a single individual as well as a second character. A secret side to an individual, a side that is not as public as that you advertise. This would be a good trait to explore if I was going down the psychopath/sociopath route. Maybe the plague Doctor is just a secret side of myself that is suppressed. It shows a physical transformation is not needed to become an alter ego.

I have a source from comics and movies, now I have one from gaming (although not as detailed as I hoped). It time to look at another character.

Sonic / Shadow - AlterEgo through Foil - Gaming - 7/12/2020 + Dark Sonic

my original idea was to talk about how shadow was an alter ego of sonic. Turns out that although this was the original idea, shadow developed so much that he is his own completely unique character. His intent was to be sonic alter ego but the idea was changed. Now with multiple games under his belt and a lot of lore, they are treated as 2 separate characters.

This was brought to my attention after receiving backlash in discord by 2 student who were deeply offended by my mistake :)

If we look at character architypes, the type 'shadow' literately means...

Shadows name was not a coincidents. He was deliberately designed to be an equal to sonic. He is described in lore to be the "ultimate lifeform" and are constantly 1 upping each other. Shadow is portrayed as superior, an obstacle for sonic to overcome.

It was originally intended to show sonics more evil side. This is what you could become if not careful. To try to back up my point, there are many similarities between the 2 characters. Both are hedgehogs with very similar move sets such as the spin dash and both have power over the chaos emeralds.

there are clear similarities and a strong connection between the 2 characters. 1 is a foil of the other and represents what he could become if not careful.

I was also made aware of Dark Sonic by the 2 mentioned earlier, from Sonic X. This is a more corrupted version of sonic that completely changes personality to the original. This is more of a literal, physical transformation like the hulk/banner or the Jekyll/Hyde scenario. I was looking at the similarities and creation of the character more than a literal transformation.

Below I also have a copy of Sonic Adventures 2 that I plan to play for some more primary sources. I will one day talk about my own experience with the character and compare it to what I have talked about so far.

Near / Mello - AlterEgo through Character

- Anime - 7/12/2020

Whilst the Internet was my main source of information, I watched an anime to find out this one. The anime Deathnote is where these 2 characters originate from. The story revolves around the conflict between Light and L and ends with Ls death. However, after a timeskip, the anime resumes and introduces 2 new characters, Nier and Mello. These 2 characters represent certain sides of L, as if L had been separated into 2 people. Both have similarities and peculiar traits that L had and I believe can use these to establish an alter ego.

I going to make the argument that Neir and Mellow are alter egos of L, at at least represent the sides of L. Alter Ego 'means an alternative self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality.' The similarities are deliberate with these 2. Both represent side of L and both have traits of their own. It took the combination of both to bring Light down in the climax of the story.

CONCLUSION/SUMMARY OF ALTER-EGOS -WROTE 14/1/2021

My point is, there are several methods an alter ego can be shown - all possible routes for my own. I could have a completely different character with just many similarities to myself. I could physically transform into my alter-ego like the hulk or Jekyll and Hyde. Just through symbolism and representation like Mellow and Nier. Items could be used to spark the transformation like in the case of sonic. Heck it doesn't even have to be a physical change. Sheik is just a hidden identity for Zelda. The Plague Doctor is just a hidden identity for Callum. that is how I'm planning to use this research in my design and narrative.

The 1st research was all on the focus on establishing a personality, mainly to discover my own. I first gave my own personal account of who I am. I need to know so I can deviate from it to create the Alter-ego. The other research was all focused on the source of personality and ways I could use templates to create a new one from my own. It was this research that allowed me to create my first ideas on who the Plague Doctor was to become. An alter-ego needs to be different to the original, yet still have traces of the source - otherwise it would just be a different character. Getting this balance was the trickiest bit and was not achieved tell later drafts of the Backstory and character profile below.

This research into alter-egos, sources of personality, examples of characters was all essential into creating my own. Without it, the personality of my Plague Doctor will be no where near what it is as of writing today.

Etsy, 2020. Hulk and Bruce Banner Print. [Online]
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[Accessed 7 December 2020].

FANDOM, 2020. Sheik (The Legend of Zelda). [Online]
Available at: https://ultimatepopculture.fandom.com/wiki/Sheik_(The_Legend_of_Zelda)
[Accessed 7 December 2020].

FANDOM, n.d. Shadow |The Hedgehog. [Online]
Available at: https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Shadow_the_Hedgehog
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Fandom, n.d. Sonic the Hedgehog. [Online]
Available at: https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog
[Accessed 7 December 2020].

KEMNER, L., 2020. Death Note: Near Vs Mello For Best Kira Investigator. [Online]
Available at: https://editor.wix.com/html/editor/web/renderer/edit/9dc12f41-4e3b-445c-a0a7-aa95a70bf1aa?metaSiteId=b2251390-4ae5-49b0-85c9-a78e0426e87f&editorSessionId=55addff5-bf1f-4af5-b6bd-5dd00d35fc41&referralInfo=dashboard
[Accessed 7 December 2020].

Ultimate Pop Culture Wiki, 2020. Alter ego. [Online]
Available at: https://ultimatepopculture.fandom.com/wiki/Alter_ego
[Accessed 7 December 2020].

Ultimate Pop Culture Wiki, n.d. Mello (Death Note). [Online]
Available at: https://ultimatepopculture.fandom.com/wiki/Mello_(Death_Note)
[Accessed 7 December 2020].

Ultimate Pop Culture Wiki, n.d. Near (Death Note). [Online]
Available at: https://ultimatepopculture.fandom.com/wiki/Near_(Death_Note)
[Accessed 7 December 2020].

Wikipedia, 2020. Bruce Banner (Marvel Cinematic Universe). [Online]
Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Banner_(Marvel_Cinematic_Universe)
[Accessed 7 December 2020].

Wikipedia, 2020. Shadow the Hedgehog. [Online]
Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_the_Hedgehog
[Accessed 7 December 2020].

Wikipedia, 2020. Three-act structure. [Online]
Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-act_structure
[Accessed 10 December 2020].

Zelda Wiki, n.d. Sheik. [Online]
Available at: https://zelda.gamepedia.com/Sheik
[Accessed 7 December 2020].

PART 2 - STORY

How and why we tell stories have greatly changed overtime. Originally, stories were told for survival. Sharman's in tribes would pass these stories down generations through speech alone (oral history). These will transform into symbols overtime. Hieroglyphs from the Egyptian era then eventually letters. Those old stories are now myths and legends. Common architypes and characters would of been formed out of these stories.

Todorov 3 Act Structure - 10/12/2020

Wikipedia, 2020. Three-act structure. [Online]
Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-act_structure
[Accessed 10 December 2020].

My Personal Notes During Group Task

These were my notes during lesson and the group tasks. The majority of this lesson was done in groups. Below are my own notes during this particular part.

'If act 1 is establishing the status quo and introduces the normal. Act 2 would begin with the lynchpin or when the character reaches "the point of no return". Its at this point that normal has been thrown up in the air and the hero has started their journey

Act 2 is after the start of the journey and before the climax. Much of its time is building up to the climax. It normally has an attempt from the protagonist to thawed the evil, normally unsuccessfully. It can resolve in the situation being worse than it started off as. A main reason for the failure at this point is because they do not possess the skills yet to confront the evil. They need to learn this skill as well as develop to be able to deal with their predicament (fundamentally changing who they are). This would be the main character development (character arc).

This was got from Wikipedia and adapted into my own words for research purposes. '

This explains the general idea of act 2 in a nutshell. From the lynchpin (plot point 1) that starts the journey to the very start of the climax (plot point 2). The main character development, the climax build up.

OFFICIAL 3 ACT STRUCTURE

ACT 1

This is the start of the story and introduces the world, themes and characters. Each character is introduced and information is told about their day to day life (setting up the status quo). The normal running of the world is fleshed out and we learn all we need to for the story to take place.

ACT 2

This is where the journey begins for the protagonist/character, starting at equilibrium. This would be where they overcome challenges, face obstacles and create the conflict to be solved for act 3. Conflict is what moves the story forward, destroying that equilibrium and creating a massive shift in the story.

The example below is what another group discussed with us during the group work in class.

https://youtu.be/dgRcMtZ0g2Q

Example Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Opening Scene (2019) | FandangoNOW Extras

Extras, F. (2019, March 29). Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Opening Scene (2019) | FandangoNOW Extras. Retrieved from Youtube: https://youtu.be/dgRcMtZ0g2Q

ACT 3

This would be the conclusion to the conflict built up in act 2. The resolution of the story. Once these events unfold a new equilibrium is reached. Hero stories normally end in a huge final battle, romance stories the couple end up together - happily ever after.

This was done in groups of 3 or less. We had to work together and co-ordinate the information into one place within 10 minutes. After the time is up we talk to other groups and explain our act. It required much communication and team work to get done. Time was the biggest factor, being so little of it.

General tips/Summary

Act 1 is the set up (the beginning) where everything is in equilibrium. We find out Who the characters are and where. We HAVE TO KNOW WHAT THEY WANT. Without an objective, the story will become directionless and dull. The inciting incident occurs at the end of act 1. Weaknesses that need to be resolved by the end of the movie are established here.

Act 2 (the middle) is the escalation of events. The character will have to overcome conflict and obstacles. The conflict could be with themselves, others or the environment (or all 3). Obstacles in particular have to be equal or greater than the hero in order to feel like a challenge. Obstacles make the weaknesses of the character more dynamic.

Finally you have act 3 (the end). The conflict is resolved, the challenges overcome and the starting weakness is now a strength.

Sympathy vs Empathy + Directors control

Sympathy is feeling for their emotions (being aware of their emotions). Empathy is much stronger. This is when you are feeling into their emotions (you feel their emotions). You connect with that character, empathise with them. Understand what they are going through.

Many writers write their protagonists really bland for this reason. It is easier to project yourself on a bland protagonist. Its the characters around him/her that make the story interesting. It all comes down to agency, who is in control. The directors job is to control the emotions of the story. Make the audience feel what he wants depending on the story beat.

COMMEN STORY ARCS

This was also done in the group task. We were sent away to research about 7 story arcs, we then all returned and discussed it as a group. Labelled 1 to 7, we each had 90 seconds to discuss it and communicate what each arc is to our group. This means that a lot of the info would of came from others in this group (who got it from sites I don't know).

These are some of the more common story types within media.

1. Rags to Riches

This is when a character rises from essentially nothing to everything they wanted. They start poor and work hard until they're rich, common example. 'a very common archetype in literature and movies, the struggle of having nothing and working until you have everything. An example would be Jay-Z first billionaires rapper coming from Brooklyn ', this is what another group said during the task exercises.

Another example would be Cinderella. She is essentially a slave, cleaning a house and getting treated badly by her sisters. However when her fairy godmother comes down she is able to go to the ball and dance with a prince.

For this to work, you need to set up ambition, give them a goal to work towards. How are they relatable, what motivates them.

2. Quest

This is the search for an item, or person

This is split into 5 parts.

The Call = Kickstarts the plot. Gives the party the mission to accomplish, the reason to travel.

The Journey = obstacles pop up. Monsters, temptation, rock and a hard place. There are periods of rest among the tests.

Arrival and Frustration = Unexpecting obstacle/conflict. Something that must be resolved before the quest can end.

Final Ordeal (climax) = The final test (mostly in sets of 3). Only they can achieve it. Normally ends in an escape from death

The Goal = quest complete, they got their treasure, person, kingdom, princess...

example, Wizard of Oz

https://thewritepractice.com/the-quest/

3. Over Coming\Monster

Anticipation Stage and Call = Reader learns about the monster from afar (including power, reign of terror)

Dream Stage = Hero prepares to fight the monster. Distance still comfortable but decreasing. Training Montague.

Frustration Stage = Monster arrives, even worse than we thought. Power revealed in terrible glory. Hero is way over their head.

Nightmare Stage = Cut to epic battle, not going well for hero - being pummelled by monster. Tides of battle about to turn.

The Thrilling escape from death @ Death of the Monster = Monster is defeated. Hero emerges Victorious. Gifted prizes by the village he/she saved.

'Overcoming the monster is where the hero has a goal of destroying the evil (the monster). Usually the monster is more skilled or has an advantage against the hero. This would mean that the hero has to overcome a lot to be able to defeat the monster. The 'monster' could be a metaphor for a problem the hero could be facing.

A good example of this would be in the Harry Potter series because his goal is to get rid of Voldemort who would be the monster. '

4. Voyager and returner

The hero ventures beyond their own environment, face challenges and overcome inner turmoil. Although at the end of the journey, they return back to where they started with either the same (or new/better) status quo. Alice in Wonderland is a good example of this.

This was paraphrased from the group work of someone else's response and research.

5. Comedy

6. Tragedy

This is the story where the character fails in the end, normally due to their own flaws. These are usually human traits such as over-ambition, greed or a zealous attitude (eagerness or enthusiastic activity). Their weakness overcomes their strength and ends the story on a negative note. A common way this story is carried out is showing the hero at their prime at the start, then descending as it goes on.

Romeo and Juliet is a very famous example of this type of story. There flaws and emotion lead them to an early grave, ending in tradgey.

7. Redemption

1) The rebirth story arc is basically summed up best as a redemption arc. It is the redemption of a character. They could start good and become corrupted. Their evilness is normally benefitted or helps the character. However something happens that makes the reconsider. What was once favor-some is now a curse, inescapable and inevitable. The darkness they have aligned themselves too (could take the form of the main villain) needs to be seen as unstoppable to make escaping it futile. There will be a final decision for the character. A choice or opportunity to convert or remain evil. This is the final act of redemption.

This is describing in my own words what story empire summed up as:

'What’s important to remember is that early choices by the character take them down a dark road, one that initially helps them then proves to be painful and seemingly inescapable. A decision at the end will have the character choose a difficult but freeing path, switching to the side of good, possibly at great cost.'

Darth Vader is a classic example of the redemption arc. The prequels show his path to the dark side (how he was tempted and corrupted). After he is the 2nd most powerful person to Palatine. He commits many notorious acts. He is the main antagonist to Luke Skywalker for movies 4 and 5. Eventually (in 6) he betrays palp and re-joins the light in a final act of change. He chose his son over the dark side, sacrificing himself in the process.

This one was the story I myself was assigned to research so I copy and pasted my own answer from the group task.

The above is copy and pasted form a website that explains the 8 main story shapes of Kurt Vonnegut's theory. This was his rejected thesis that he showed the University of Chicago. It shows how the good and bad areas of a story can be plotted and mapped out on a graph, as well as examples of stories musing this structure. The y-axis show the good and bad while the left shows the duration of the story from start to end.

Although It can be argued that it is far too simplistic. Life is a lot more complicated and cant easily be summed up in good and bad parts. The same can be said about certain stories. Not every event is good/bad, many have much more neutral (or grey) areas. The very reason his thesis was rejected in the 1st place was because of it's simplicity.

JOHNSON, S., 2019. Kurt Vonnegut on 8 'shapes' of stories. [Online]
Available at: https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/vonnegut-shapes?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1
[Accessed 19 December 2020].

STORY WRITING - RECOMBINATION AND

"AND THEN..." 18/12 - 19/12

Creativity dosent come from nothing. We use our experiences, emotions and memories to create a narrative. However this would lead to just versions of ourselves, so we need to look for other sources of information. 2 methods of this are listed below. While recombination is combining 2 existing stories (or events, news...) to create something new, The "AND Then..." method is much simpler. Its literately saying "And Then..." to other peoples sentences and seeing what narrative comes out of it. I go into more detail below.

Recombination

Essentially, this is when you get 2 stories (or 2 new sources of experience) and combine them to make something new. Many ideas are based off other ideas we have seen or our own personal experience. This forces us to research and find 2 new ideas for inspiration to create a new form. Otherwise we will only be writing about our self.

BATMAN AND MICKYMOUSE FUSION

As a class, we came up with fusion combinations, 2 characters and an item. We was then randomly assigned our peers combination and was given 2 and a half hours to plan, draw and complete the task. I was tasked with fusing micky mouse, batman and a fork into 1 character. I had to also complete a mood board and create the character in a dynamic body position. The moodboard above show pre-existing fusions of the 2 characters as well as the characters separate. Other fusions (such as batman and daredevil or micky mouse and venom) were also present to get possible ideas of how characters are fused together. This research gave me the character designs (or several in batman's case) and possible fusion ideas, the reference images for my creation.

If I was to do this again, I would of created a second one for even more fusions and angles of my characters. Also there was limited research into the body position itself, which could be expanded upon. Overall, doing this mood board first was invaluable to the planning of the design and creation of my fusion.

And Then...

As the title suggests, this is a simple method of just going "and then..." to every sentence. it allows for unrestricted, chaotic, creativity. Scenarios that you would never of thought off will appear out of basically nothing. Young children are known to do this especially. Once again, as a group, me and 6 others carried out this task to see what we could create. There were 2 stories made in 8 "and then...".

STORY 1 - A MAN CALLED JONNY

1. A man called Jonny ate a big pear

2. After eating a pear, he heard a noise from his stomach

3. He felt like he was going to throw up

4. He died, his family peed on his grave, burying his lightning McQueen toy (said Ka chow)

5. Then Jonny arised from the grave, with exploding biceps and right hooks a kid

6. The kid slowly gets up, revealing a pear

7. The kid chews the pear and spits on Jonny

8. An alien busts out the kids stomach, biting Jonnies face off.

STORY 2 - SOLDER BOY AND THE SPANISH INVASION

1. Solder boy picks up an AK47 then flies to space, lands on Mars and shoots Spanish aliens

2. And then the entire country (landmass and its people) of Spain launches up, vengeful for his head

3. And then he realises Nickolas Cage is leading them

4. Solder boy befriends Matt Damon on mars, making Potatoes

5. Then, with Matt Damon by his side, he hooks his gun to a conceal, fills it with potatoes, and start singing Bellachow

6. He sees an entire gang of people who then join in in his Bellachow song

7. All the Simpsons appear, MARGE KILLS EVERYONE with a flex of her fingers.

This is primary research because I'm describing my own personal experience with this method.

In a nutshell, it was madness. I had no idea how it was going to work or what result I would get

from this. It was a lot of fun, Ill admit. I can definitely say I would of never thought of these stories

off the top of my own head. This method I found is a great way to brainstorm and stretch the mind

on a more creative level. These were done in groups, which requires the use of many soft skills.

BLACKOUT

This was the second stage of planning my character fusion. I was told in a previous lesson how characters can be identified purely by their outline. Shape is a key element to establishing the identity of my character. So I blackout micky mouse and batman.

Batman's pose is very heroic looking. A strong build (but not over the top). spikes on the arms, sticking up ears and a clearly built body were his main physical features.

Micky Mouse's main features were the exaggerated hands, feat and the famous round ears. The tail was also another giveaway of the character, something I wouldn't of even through of without doing this task.

This method allowed me to see the fundamental shapes of the characters and what will make them easily identifiable in the fusion. In keeping these key features, the audience will clearly see which characters got fused together.

FANDOM, 2020. Batman. [Online]
Available at: https://batman.fandom.com/wiki/Batman
[Accessed 18 Decmeber 2020].

Pinterest, n.d. horhgame.com. [Online]
Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/366199013426659250/
[Accessed 18 December 2020].

This was the image I used to get my dynamic pose. It shows 6 different dynamic poses to choose from. All very strong, muscle built character models (similar to batman's build). It would be easier to put micky mouse in a batman suit but I wanted to challenge myself.

This resulted in me adding micky mouse elements to Batman instead. The plan was to recreate 1 of the 6 poses, design my own batman using the older iterations and adapt micky mouse into the design.

I should of done more research into the pose but I was under a lot of time pressure. My overall plan took 30mins to set up so I had 2 hours to draw the character from scratch. Definitely do-able but regardless ambitious.

Much of my time was spent trying to get the pose right. If the dynamic pose was off, the foundation of my art work, then the character fusion wont work. I decided to make my own iteration of batman using the designs of the live action versions created over the years. The bulkiness of the character was from Ben Affleck's batman. My character design normally starts with the basic shape of the character, to get a rough idea on proportions, position and overall size. Slight angle changes completely change the information conveyed in my design. An interview in the online teams call saw earlier models as "fat" rather than "built". Angle and direction was the biggest factors here. So I then planned the position using a base skeleton of the model and redrew the main body. The overall position was the most difficult to pull off. Most of my characters face a single direction while this position has the body facing multiple. It was frustration at times but the payoff was worth the trouble.

After the main shape was established, it was time for the design of the character. I used the torso of Nolan's Batman (with the symbol from man older iteration). The cape from the older iterations and the legs from the Arkem game's Batman.

As far as Micky Mouse goes, I incorporated the hands, feet, tail, ears and upper leg design into my batman character. The red and yellow colour scheme was added to the blacks and greys of the design as well.

However, as I spent most of my time on the characters shape and design, I only had 30mins to apply the colour. My art style normally has a 'smoky' base layer followed by firmer line art on top to help define shape. Because of time pressure, the colour was rushed was unfinished.

I compensated with the base colour by using fx to specific layers. A darker outer glow was added to the canvas. Multiple glow effects and duplication of the colour layer meant the base colour was more solid.

This resulted in the character (named Micky-Man) on the left. The fusion of 2 ideas, of 2 pre-existing characters, to create something new.

Without those 2 characters made by others, Micky-Man wouldn't exist.

Overall feedback was positive within the teams online call and I am happy with the final result.

However, much improvements can be made. The line art is still very sketchy, making it look less professional. The overall colour still looks more like a gas than a solid substance, this is more of a texture issue than colour. Areas of colour fall outside the main line art and parts of the character have no colour at all (such as the chest symbol).

Given the time, I plan to come back and revisit these areas, to finally complete my design to a standard I am happy with.

STORY CREATION -

THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE (2003)

Filmi, H. G. B. S., 2019. Les triplettes de Belleville (2003) Belleville Üçüzleri Türkçe Altyazılı and English Subtitles. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYappwQmWq4
[Accessed 19 December 2020].

'The film begins with a flashback showing The Triplets of Belleville: a trio of singers performing on stage in the 1920s (dancing alongside other celebrities including Josephine Baker and Django Reinhardt). The story focuses on Madame Souza, an elderly woman raising her young charge, her grandson, Champion. Souza notices his listlessness that is attributed to hints of his being orphaned. When she notices his (brief) interest in music, she tries to get him to play the piano. When this fails to inspire, she buys him Bruno, a dog. After a time he becomes melancholic once more. She discovers Champion's keen interest in road bicycle racing (a photo on his wall shows his deceased parents with a cycle), she buys him a tricycle. We see them years later, as Champion the cyclist and Souza, his coach.'

This was taken from a YouTube comment. It phrased the introduction to the story very well, from the same source as the video.

As far as the basic plot goes. Champion gets abducted with 2 other cyclists by the French Mathia and taken to BELLVILLA, a representation of New York. The story shows grandma's (Souza's) journey across to Bellville in her attempt to rescue her grandson.

This was a film I watched during class, therefore it counts as primary research as I talking about my own personal experience with it. The film itself is outside the Hollywood mould - which was probably the reason why I found it so strange and off-putting at first. There is little dialogue, with most of the info being visually conveyed. You look away for a few seconds and you could miss very important info. The Grandma is the protagonist (not the boy for a change). The boy is bored and directionless. Its her that gives him purpose. After the bike is given to him, all he does is cycle. Furthermore, it was brought to my attention how animals were used in the character designs. The boy is horse shaped, the mechanic a mouse and the triplets like penguins.

Character design is used to exaggerate personality and stereotypes of each character/culture. The Bellvilla residents are huge (American stereotype), the French Mathia's cars fall apart really easily, the French eat many snails, drink red wine and consist of short men with big noses (French Stereotypes).

It closely follows the 3 act structure. Act 1 is just trying to make the boy happy and setting up the world through imagery. The incident is when he is taken away. The obstacles in act 2 slowly progress more and more. The Ocean, the city, the lack of money... Even the main characters weaknesses get shown off, with one foot being bigger than the other - making it hard to travel.

It sets up act 3, which is the infiltration of the gambling area and the climax of the chase scene. Weakness introduced at the start turns into strengths, items and events foreshadowed all pay off. For example, the dog constantly barking at the train. Gets run over by a toy one as a puppy. Him barking at every passing train throughout the movie, ends up saving them in the climax.

This movie is a clear example of the 3 act structure in effect. The Hero's journey is also present as Grandma's journey. She develops as a character, her weakness turns into her strengths by the end. Motivation is clearly established. Obstacles grow in danger and are constantly overcome and most if not all loose ends are resolved by the end of the movie.

PART 3 - CHARACTER BACKSTORY

Character Diary Entry - ATTEMPT 1

This was my 1st attempt at writing a character backstory. I had several questions on the format to this. I wanted to get my backstory as personal as possible. The 1st half was written in past tense while the 2nd half was taken in the present. You can clearly see the thought process and the gradual change as time goes by. I attempted to imply what was going on, rather than outright telling the audience what happened, using language techniques such as personification, metaphor, triples and onomatope.

What happened was really up for interpretation. Many found it shocking at first (according to feedback). When conducting an interview in discord. People either really liked it or was confused by it. Some people just didn't know what was going on ,resulting in a lack of feeling/attachment for it besides confusion.

FEEDBACK

Feedback was a mixed bag. I posted this on teams and discord, as well as asked feedback from my Teacher Mitch regarding how to improve. Discord gave me the most exposure. 4 people all read it and gave me verbal feedback on what I did. As I said above, many liked it but just as many was confused by what was happening. Google forms was my next source of feedback. Out of the 3 responses, I got a very mixed bag. One was confused, one loved it and the other completely disregarded it. This was the most useless of the 3 methods. The best feedback came from the teacher. He showed me an example of Harry Potter's backstory to give me ideas on how to format it. My style was more in a diary entry rather than a backstory. So I went through multiple rewrites and repurposed the original.

I also didn't have access to the city brief tell after I created this story. I will have to explain how he got to the city, as well as what made his drives the way they are.

Clearly, more research needed to be done regarding my characters personality and backstory. I had an idea to set the backstory in war times, a grounded reason for his trauma. Although the personality was really rough and vague. So the 1st thing I did was go back to my website and highlight all the key times my characters personality was mentioned, this will later be adapted and changed. I don't want to accidently go back on what was already established. The 1st idea was to make him a cold, emotionless, efficiently ruthless killing machine. The backstory will have to explain his motive for his "career" and the reason why his personality was so flat. The best I could think off was emotional trauma, a coping mechanism. Considering at the time I had no idea what era to put him in yet, I had to be careful with what historical stuff was used. I got a flawed human being with a lack of emotion and heightened it through conflict. We get him to open up, to be vulnerable for the 1st time, only to obliterate it. That was my main idea on how to completely shut down his emotion.

However, a traumatic event could be played too ways. He could go into a silence, no longer trusting anyone. Ruthless and cold. Or we can make him snap. Have the complete opposite effect. Make all the emotional baggage flood in and destroy the psyche. A man who feels few emotion overwhelmed with anger, rage and pain. These were the 2 ideas I was considering when creating this story.

This backstory was also the main inspiration for my 'Plague Doctor 2' character design.

Once again, format was an issue. I kept slipping into a story, with events being told from a characters view. I found 'Happy Potter's backstory' to give me an example of how to format it. Turns out its more like a fact file. A study of the character and all the events that played out. A narrator looking back at the scene rather than being in the thick of the scene. Attempt 2 and 3 can be seen above. I broke format so I ended up restarting multiple times.

I used websites to help me understand military procedures, possible conflicts to start my character in, secret services...

Attempt 2 turned into a military file on the Plague Doctor. Attempt 3 was the right format. Although I could see it slipping into a full story again. I like this style myself but knew I could do better. So I started from scratch and created attempt 4 below. The more I experimented, the more backstory seem to fall in place. I didn't want to reveal too much about his life pre-military. I slowly got an idea on his time period, the country he's worked for, the location of the mission that fails, the objective of said mission. Although it was missing a key detail, the reason why he snaps. A random fight, resulting in him exploding seems to vague, too generic - not personal enough for my taste. I wanted to psychologically damage him, not just physically (leave deeper pain). That was how the idea of a betrayer came into play - and with it his motive, ideals and mission. A team mate was already a idea in the original - now its time to make it personal.

This is the 4th attempt at writing up a backstory. I took elements from the Diary entry and the style of the 3rd to create this. I give a brief reason why he's emotion starts out 'stumped' in the 1st place along. I go through a base event of what happened, leading up to the final betrayal. I tried to show how his mindset changed and evolved, the events that affecting him the most and the introduction of some other characters. The military is a grounded reason for his level of skill in combat. The extreme mindset is shown (or at least briefly explained how it dissolved into what it is in the present. The mission is explained in greater detail than previously, setting up an objective, location and overall brief. I even managed to give hints of Adam's world, as I found out that I have to get my character into his city by the end. Info from the diary, database, story 1 and previous research was merged into 1 to create this. I also managed to make the initial diary entry part of the story (although I had to make a few changes in order to fit in the story).

However, the backstory above is incomplete. I still need to explain how he gets to the city, more info on the betrayer, lance and how Dr Doomweaver all fits into this mess. The betrayer needs to be fleshed out. The more his connection with Lance is explained, the worse the death will hit.

Character Backstory, Attempt 2-4

Arkin, W. M., 2020. Exclusive: Secret Military Task Force Prepares to Secure the U.S. Capital. [Online]
Available at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/exclusive-secret-military-task-force-prepares-to-secure-the-us-capital/ar-BB12IZtv
[Accessed 16 December 2020].

CGTN, 2020. U.S. activates secret military task force to secure its capital. [Online]
Available at: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-04-19/U-S-activates-secret-military-task-force-to-secure-its-capital-POmtRLau1a/index.html
[Accessed 16 December 2020].

Harry Potter Wiki, n.d. Harry Potter. [Online]
Available at: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Harry_Potter#:~:text=Harry%20James%20Potter%20was%20born,they%20discovered%20she%20was%20pregnant
[Accessed 16 January 2020].

Jordan, n.d. Character background: 7 tips to write better backstory. [Online]
Available at: https://www.nownovel.com/blog/how-to-write-a-killer-backstory/
[Accessed 16 December 2020].

Wikipedia, 2020. Joint Task Force National Capital Region. [Online]
Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Task_Force_National_Capital_Region
[Accessed 16 December 2020].

Character Profile, DRAFT 1 AND 2 - 16/12/2020

AGE: 35

NAME: (redacted) – code name: PLAGUE DOCTOR

APPEARANCE: Hardened, damaged man. Military esk equipment, armour and body plating (simply styled for practical application). Leather Mask (cybernetic elements) bloodied and worn. Essentially a contracted assassin. Visible burns hidden underneath armour. Half his face is revealed. A emotionless dead eye with a jarring smile.

PERSONALITY: No nonsense yet impulsive, acts on instinct. Doesn’t act upon emotion – heartless. Incredibly driven. Hints of anger and madness below the surface. When he wants it, he gets it no matter the conquence.

LIKES: obedience and those willing to follow orders without question

DISLIKES: those who show far too much emotion. Those unwillinging to follow through on what they say. Those who break promises. Those who torture others for pleasure, that do twisted acts that contribute nothing to the overall goal/mission

AIMS/GOALS: To hunt down the man who set him up and to deal with anyone in his way. Dosent care less for humanity

CATCHPHRASE: Don’t run, you’ll only make my job harder

FEEDBACK:

I apparently don't act on emotion, more on logic (head over heart). Too similar to my character.

Emma's feedback

AGE: 35

NAME: (redacted) – code name: PLAGUE DOCTOR

APPEARANCE: Scared, damaged man. Military esk equipment, armour and body plating (stylized and extra, chaotic yet practical). Leather Mask (cybernetic elements) bloodied and worn. Essentially a contracted assassin. Visible burns hidden underneath armour. Half his face is revealed. An emotionless dead eye with a jarring crazed smile.

PERSONALITY: impulsive, acts on instinct. Emotionally unstable. Incredibly driven. Visible madness, Hints of anger and pain below the surface. When he wants it, he gets it no matter the conquence. Triggered into a blind rage at the mention of Lance or the traitor.

POWERS: Many years of military experience. Proficient in hand to hand combat. Retractable talons/claws to act as knives. Many uses of poison. Can fire poisonous spikes. Comes in the form of liquid of gas. Highly unorthodox and unpredictable style, no sense of moral or respect. No code, anything goes fighting style.

LIKES: the pain of others, to experience what he felt. Very explosive and destructive objects. The feel of battle, an adrenaline junkie…

DISLIKES: traitors and those who go back on their word. Those who break their promises.

AIMS/GOALS: To hunt down the man who set him up and to deal with anyone in his way. Doesn't care less for humanity. To make him feel the same pain he felt, revenge at all costs…

Character Design Continued - UPDATED ROUGH OF CHARACTER

1. Basic Shape: Triangles ,possible squares but mostly triangles.

Many irregular to emphasise madness

2. Basic Colours: (warm/cold, bright/dark) - what colour should they embody? reflect personality...

Primary (what covers the most): Purple

Uncertain loyalty. Unpredictable, unstable. Out for himself, could benefit or hinder either side

Secondary (bit to contrast against): red

emphasises their ruthlessness. Enjoys the pain of others. Motivated by revenge.

REFERENCES:

Art Therapy, 2020. Color Meanings & Symbolism. [Online]
Available at: http://www.arttherapyblog.com/online/color-meanings-symbolism/#.YAB7g-j7QuU
[Accessed 16 December 2020].

colour hex, 2020. Revenge Color Palette. [Online]
Available at: https://www.color-hex.com/color-palette/4591
[Accessed 16 December 2020].

JEM, n.d. Colours : What Do They Represent?. [Online]
Available at: http://www.jempp.com.au/colours-represent
[Accessed 16 December 2020].

Morton, J., 2015. The Color of Insanity. [Online]
Available at: https://www.colormatters.com/color-matters-blog/entry/blogs-a-news/the-color-of-insanity
[Accessed 16 December 2020].

PowerPoint Presentation - PITCHING - 6/1/2021

ROUGH NOTES TAKEN AT THE TIME

QUESTIONS YOU WOULD ASK A PITCH AUDIENCE

Hero or villain?

Role in the story?

What’s your 1st impression? (What feelings do you get)

What themes can you see?

How can I improve my pitch?

What can you tell about the character based on the design?

What does the character portray to you?

Do they have a recognisable Silhouette – (Silhouette test, similar anatomy, compare characters)

What emotions motivate them (fear, anger, ect…)

What are you drawn to, what catches your eye first? What can you tell about the design alone?

Brains or brawn?

Into info to see if its retained

What info will you present, what questions will you respond with. Ask about direct or indirect

Will they subconsciously pick up on these things or what they will retain

TO DESIGN EXCUTATIVES – WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE

Tell them everything, make them know you know what your doing

Pitch audience – conceal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5ogXuudpkk

Objective, obstacle

(goal, motive, plot) – clearly defined destination

Goal, stakes, timer

PowerPoint Rough Notes - FEEDBACK

1st impression

Scary, assassin, terrifying, horror monster

What scared him? – fear of failure

Why the electric chair – overcome pain

Target audience – 15 to 21 (uk age bracket)

Website – what will you change? – review and reflection

POWERPOINT - ALL SLIDES:

These were the overall responses that people asked to the question above. I made notes of the important ones within the rough above. Many of the questions I could ask the audience I would of never through about without the input of others. Depending on weather I'm pitching to a test audience or an excutative board. An audience, you would either tell them the info and test their recall, or hold back info and see if they infer it themselves. While your selling your story to the board, you want to tell them everything.

PowerPoint - Character Feedback

I pitched my character and his backstory to my peers to see what their first reaction and response would be. Their first reaction was "scary" and "terrifying", very "horror esk". Looks like a hit man or an "assassin". In all, this was my desired effect, something that can strike fear, that looks dangerous. And a hitman is basically his profession. So first impression was what I was looking for.

After that I explained the backstory. Due to time restraint, I wasn't able to add the key info from my backstory, so i found picture representing the events and I narrated over the top. Thus explaining how he came to be.

I got asked several questions after my presentation. I was asked what scared him. I explained about his weaknesses, his missing limb, his fear of using guns due to ptsd of his friend dying. His fear of failing, of not achieving his true mission (revenge).;

Why the electric chair, I was asked. My answer was because of the sheer pain it causes before death. A further explanation as to why his mind and emotions are so scrambled, almost a lynchpin that made him feel again. Overcoming the pain barrier to save those whose left. Clear struggle and overcoming obstacles, killing his torturer in the process.

The final question was what my target audience is. The anatomy is complex, meaning it is not designed for young audiences. A lot of blood and edge, so not quite for 12 due to the extreme violence. My target audience will be for 15 and up (specifically for 15-25).

UX ROUGH NOTES - MY GROUP

BASIC DEFINITION

User experience design (UXD, UED, or XD) is the process of supporting user behaviour through usability, usefulness, and desirability provided in the interaction with a product. UX design focuses on the interaction between real human users (like you and me) and everyday products and services, such as websites, apps, and even coffee machines. UX is not new. In fact, the term has been around since the early nineties, coined by Donald Norman when he worked for Apple as a cognitive scientist. Don Norman was interested in all aspects of a user’s experience with a product or service, including industrial design, graphics, the interface, and physical interaction. To encompass all of the different elements that determine how a user feels while interacting with a product, he came up with the term “user experience”.

What does a typical set-up for interaction production consist of?

Chair, desk and computer.

Very basic tools.

A common tool to use are laptops as they are very easy to move around. According to https://www.creativebloq.com/how-to/20-best-ui-design-tools tools like MockFlow are commonly used for UI design as you can build basic layouts quickly but there are many different apps you can use.

What contexts are there?

UX design focuses on the interaction between real human users and everyday products and services, such as websites, apps, and even coffee machines.

UX is not new. In fact, the term has been around since the early 90s, created by Donald Norman when he worked for Apple as a cognitive scientist. Don Norman was interested in all aspects of a user’s experience with a product or service, including industrial design, graphics, the interface, and physical interaction. Using these he created the term “user experience”.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/adobe-flash-dead-2020-killed-iphone-html-5-steve-jobs-what-use-how-fix-not-working-a7860346.html

Apple killed off adobe flash, made a whole range of stuff called apps, everything software based before was on the old flash system, that allowed the early internet to flourish. However it was also slow and had major security risks, allowing hackers passage into others pc's. HTML 5 was the replacement of this officially. Although the creation of "app" (made by apple) was what officially outmoded flash in the 1st place.

Since UI is one of the most common way to appeal to a user (they are more likely to use a product if it's appealing to look at). Because of this, ethics are normally brought into question as a product could be designed to make a user addicted to said product. A style of mobile game called "gacha" is a good example as the games are designed to keep players interested through appealing characters that are normally easier to obtain through in app purchases.

Other western games, such as candy crush (although not as much info on the surface) are also designed to keep players playing. It works on an instant reward gratification system. Being very easy at the start and progressively getting harder until your hooked. Most won't end up spending money on the game, so companies do a process called wailing. This is where they target the 1% that will pay stupid amount of money on their game. It incentivizes addiction and uses people for profit, that is where the ethics are concerned.

Who are the most famous practitioners?

Don Norman

Don is one of the world’s most famous UX designers, he serves on the Interaction Design Foundation’s board and he’s the guy who coined the term “user experience”.

Bill Buxton

Bill is an interaction designer and researcher. He’s a principal researcher at Microsoft Research and was previously head of his own consulting firm, Buxton Design. In 2001 Bill was named as one of the 10 most influential innovators in Hollywood.

Irene Au

Irene is the former head of design at Google, Yahoo and Udacity. she is also serving on the Interaction Design Foundation’s board.

Patrick Neeman

Patrick Neeman created usabilitycounts.com too, which contains tips for UX professionals. He used to work for companies like eBay, Disney and Microsoft.

Scott Jenson

Scott Jenson is the Project Lead for Physical Web for Chrome and has been the UX Director for Google, Symbian, and Apple.

Luke Wroblewski

Luke is one of the most influential people in the UX field. He coined the idea of “Mobile First” (where you create the interface for smaller screens first). He’s worked at Yahoo and eBay, among many other companies, and the company he founded, Polar, was acquired by Google. 

Crystal Ehrlich

Crystal is well known UX figure who runs the LA UX Meetup Group. She’s also worked for AT&T, Honda, Pepsi, etc. as a freelance UX Designer and has won several awards across her career for her amazing work.

Josh Brewer

Josh Brewer is the creator of 52 Weeks of UX, an incredible free resource for UX designers. He’s been a principal designer at Twitter and the Director of UX at Socialcast.

Taylor Ling

Taylor’s based in Malaysia and he’s a writer for androiduiux.com and a Google Developer Expert (GDE) for UX design. He’s an enthusiastic purveyor of UX knowledge.

https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/20-people-in-ux-that-you-have-to-follow-on-twitter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_experience_design

https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ux-design/what-does-a-ux-designer-actually-do/

SUMMARY NOTES

context – ethics (voice acting – appropriation) – different ethnicity and characteristics

folly –ethics (cant break peoples arms – substitute)

visual - studio practices, seaqualism, 2d animation principles ,2d animation studio transition, animation transition practices

2d – tv animation, internet animation

Interaction context – consider design of tool that don’t want you to spend money and those that do.

DO – INSTANT GRATIFICATION, REWARD SYSTEM, SOUND, COLOUR, PROGRESSION, EASY TO EXTREME DIFFICULT TO PAY MONEY

Word- not trying to spending money – not sound, colors, reward system

Candy crush, flash (apple) discontinued. Invention of app technology

How technology and interaction has changed – heating, water, lighting all connected

Ethical – how dependent we get

Method - 7/1/2021

I lead the 'UX' (no 4) group. My job was to find the information and its source and get the rough answers to the given questions. The others would sort through it, take out what we didn't need and reword it in cases. We then al separated and gave a 5 min presentation to the other groups. We had 1 hour to research and complete the questions.

The rough notes above will act as a starting point for these areas of research. Although they would go into their own section (visual, audio and Interaction).

The method to the PowerPoint presentation is above in the PowerPoint section, as well as the pitching questions and awnsers.

For PowerPoint, Pitch and Research - WROTE 10/1/2021

Feelings:

I do feel like I rushed this. These topics are so broad and I was only able to the bare minimum. As of this point, there is already so much that needs to be done. My character profile and backstory needs updating with some major changes. My character design needs much more through and research put into it. A lot of my work needs essentially re-doing, including this.

Evaluation (good/bad):

Positively, we were able to complete the task to a good standard as a group. I worked well with others to get the task of researching UX and Pitch questions. My own presentation skills were tested when I had to pitch my character to a group with little time to prepare. I could of done some more writing on my PowerPoint but the key information was narrated and explained by me. The images were to give them a visual idea on the events I was talking about, to help show my vision to them.

As far as the UX research goes, I relied on the Internet and gathered the raw information to my team. They then sorted through it and got rid of any unnecessary info. Others gathered their own info to the table and I, once again, presented it to a different small group for 5 minutes. My presentation skills were fine, it was the research itself that was lacking. The teacher came in at multiple points to see what we had and gave us ideas in what to research next. However we ended up getting the full story out of him, leading to me just summarising what he said instead. For this to have a bigger, more important, impact on my work; I need to research further. Right now this is satisfactory but is too shallow to prove significant.

What I will do differently @ Future plan (What Im changing):

If I was to do this again. I would of made better use of my time to research further and develop the points above. The summary notes, which were taken from the feedback on the teacher when he looked at all 4 categories, need to be acted upon. That is what I plan to do once I have the time. As far as the PowerPoint pitch, if I had to do it again, I would of typed briefly each scene on the PowerPoint itself, rather than rely on my explaining skills as the only source of information to the audience.

It all comes back to research and development again. I didn't spend enough time in key areas and as a result it lacked in depth and was only satisfactory.

Conclusion/Reflection:

Overall, I'm not happy with the amount of work I put in. It got the job done but that was it. For it to be useful I will need to do my own individual research and apply it to my work. I also need to go back through my own work on design and planning and redo several areas. A lot needs to happen in a very short time frame.

CHARACTER PROFILE - ATTEMPT 3 - WROTE 11/1/2021

NEW CHARACTER PROFILE

Name: The Plague Doctor (Also known as Blood Ghost to many on the battlefield and in legend)

Appearance: Wears custom “Ghost” armour, a light weight bullet proof body armour. Easily concealed, allowing civilian wear and other disguises to cover if needed.

The night is when he’s at his most active. Only human defences so are susceptible to the normal weaknesses of people. Can hide easier and get closer to the enemy under darkness.

Very sleek and streamlined features for better aerodynamics. Mask is designed for this reason. Easy movement at the joints. A belt for knife sheaves. Very dark features, main black clothing with red features. A hidden blade under the palm of his robotic arm (fingers would have to be sliced on his human arm). Axes attached to his back that can be withdrawn. Razor sharp coil of wire that can be used for cutting, suffocation, traps and other deadly methods. Also has an assortment of bombs (smoke, flash, emp…).

Personality: Very tactical, very smart. Yet is too easily influence by emotion. Defiantly slightly mad. If anger takes hold its all-consuming, blotting out any reason. Doesn’t hesitate or consider his actions in the heat of the moment, just focused on his goal. Resourceful and cunning. Playful when dealing with opponents, especially when they have no options left or are unable to fight back anymore, bit of showboating.

Although when serious he’s almost undetectable and ruthlessly efficient.

However, in an enraged state his personality is flipped. What was once efficient and quiet becomes a chaotic mess. In this state it doesn’t matter who gets hurt or what happens to himself. Anyone in his way will get cut down.

One of his biggest flaws would be his imbalance of emotions. Either the feelings go too far and it becomes all too dangerous to everyone. Or he will be cold and disregard everyone around him, all with the aim of the mission.

Power Strengths: Specialist Military training in guerrilla warfare, heavily inspired by the teaching of Sun Tzu. injected with serum after found near dead and trained with deadly efficiency. Reactions were heightened extremely. Speed and strength was also greatly increased. Can knock out a bear in a single strike. Recorded incidents of dodging bullets. Avoid close combat at all costs – guaranteed death.

Fighting style relies on close range combat. Extreme speed and reflexes gives a huge advantage. Mask is equipped with night vision and other lenses allowing him to see in smoke, extreme altitudes, low water depths… Very tactical and versatile on the battlefield. Can change strategy in a blink of an eye. Not afraid to fight dirty, anything that improves his odds at survive will be done without hesitation.

An assortment of knives, grenades and throwing projectiles for longer range opponents. And if a full offensive is necessary, he has a primary sword weapon.

He can also create a life like hologram of himself. When in the hands of his rescuer/capturer, the technology available is borderline futuristic (hence the mask, serum and hologram). Although the time period is still only near future. The hologram can be used in a no of ways; it all depends on the situation. It can’t react with solid objects but can interfere with any electronic equipment whilst being perfectly fine itself. Only 1 can be present at one time, although by reducing the quality it is possible to create 3 human like figures instead.

Stealth: Main stealth weapon is a ‘Cold Steel Tiger Karambit’ – a curved 4.75-inch knife blade (8.75 inch overall) - 5oz. Very light and compact. Based on a tiger’s claw. Like a razor sharp needle. Handle is very light with a heavier blade for impact. Very effective, built for tip clashing, close cutting, draw cutting.

Last Resort: Also has a ‘Final Stand’ mode. Pure adrenaline is injected into the blood flow. Dramatically increases speed, strength and reaction for a short period of time. Body is still human and susceptible to harm although any damage won’t be notice tell after the effects have worn off, a barbarian mode per say. Mode lasts for about 5 minutes on average in normal time. Although due to time dilation, time would slow down for the user (an illusion due to the speeds reached) making him look like super speed for a witness. 5 mins to witness would be about 10 mins to user.

Although once it wears off, the body will be unable to function for a long period of time. Any sustained injury will catch up on the conscious. Extreme lactic acid built up will result in being immobile. Sustained strain on the heart during and after use, could lead to permanent damaged if used to often.

Weaknesses: Although limited ranged attacks have been seen from him. Refusal to use guns leave him vulnerable from mid to long range combat. This is covered with throwing projectiles and the cover of night. Smoak bombs and flash bangs have also been seen.

Mask in partially damaged. Left side of face is exposed, although both lenses work to the same capacity. Refusal to get it repaired, coupled with his robotic left arm, has led to opponents attempting to exploit his weaker side.

Furthermore, the defence is still only human, leaving him exposed to bullets, projectiles, and melee weapons. Light body armour is used to weaken bullet shots; wont penetrates but will hurt like hell. Bladed weapons will still cut through body armour (with the exception of the metal arm).

Add that to his emotional state, not kept under control can lead to a full compromise of the body and mission. The head no longer controls the body. Depending on the emotion the results can range from a powerful primitive rage to total incapacitation.

Likes: Relishes in the chase of hunting his target. Enjoys the feel of battle. Although he won’t attack those innocent “in his eyes”. Just the target. And those protecting the target. And those that try and sabotage him. And those…

Also like knives and anything pointy.

Someone with a good sense of humour. Who can hold their own in battle.

Hates: Loosing. Being beaten in his own areas especially. Those that betray others and those who kill for the sake of killing. Although he enjoys battle, he will never kill without reason. Extreme levels of Pride and Ego, not a pretty sight when they’re damaged.

Guns, with a passion. Will never use a gun – even at the expense of his own life.

Aim/goal: To hunt down the man who betrayed him. This person set them up, murdered his only family/team mate and stole his left arm, as well as the intel from the mission. Although his identity is a mystery, a long gash/scar is formed along the face by a hidden blade, given by The doctor himself. Similar training/fighting style to the Doctor but much more ruthless. Doesn’t care who dies and practically enjoys murder, especially when its personal. Basically the same style but better.

To put simply - REVENGE

Backstory Continued - ATTEMPT 5 - Wrote 12/1/21

CHARACTER BACK STORY – IN UNIVERSE (an account by a fellow solder)

The Plague Doctor (also known as Blood ghost and other variations) is an extremely motivated, ruthless yet very unpredictable character. Early Scans show minor damage in key areas of the brain, that left him unable to feel the majority of emotion. However, it was rumoured that several surgical (very illegal) operations were done on his brain. As of present, no one truly knows the current state of his mind.

Not much was known about his early life. He was a nobody. A boy raised for the sole purpose of war. Anything before that has been erased, destroyed or heavily encrypted. We believe this was intentional on the government side, although all allegations were denied in court. Documents of his 1st years of service are all that remains of his early days.

He joined the military to help serve his country. A starry eyed private in the eyes of many, eager to prove his worth. We were so wrong.

Evidence of restraint was clear at the start. Although some would say he almost enjoyed the bloodshed. The only time we would see true joy was in battle. Outside of it he never smiled, barely spoke and had nothing except the next fight.

The only people he respected were those that could teach him to be stronger, faster, better. His commanding officer, Captain Lance, took an especially strong liking to him. He was caught teaching him techniques that were, unorthodox and off program at best or a complete breach of military code at worst. He was the only one that was close to him, they were like brothers. He taught him to be like a ghost. Like a shadow, always there, never truly seen. Deception, guerrilla tactics, manipulation, stealth and violence. Several concerns were raised and action was taken, yet the results of this training were staggering. Whatever was done to him, it bloody worked. Those that prosper under Lance are honoured with a custom mask, a personal rite of passage given by the captain himself. Of course, special approval must be given for their use on missions.

Most of our battles were on land, front lines, usually offensive and very bloody. Every solder would experience and bear witness to the cruelty of war. The blood, the bombs, the gun fire. Overwhelming conditions that brake down the weak and harden the strong.

And he relished in it. The only time clear, untamed, emotion was witnessed and it was staring straight into the eyes of the enemy. Whilst driving a blood soaked knife into their skulls! We watched him burn nations. Tear down hostile camps in a single night. The perfect solder, a loose cannon if you ask me. The mask only made him seem even less of a human. However, no one’s luck last forever.

During one fateful night the entire squad was captured and taken prisoner.

Watching your comrades get tortured, hearing their screams for mercy, their cries for help. It’s enough to brake anyone. Most lost their lives that night, a handful got the mercy of a bullet, some luckily enough to take the pill. The majority; not so fortunate. The Doctor got ‘sentenced’ to the electric chair. The previous occupants lasted mere seconds before death.

Minutes pasted…

Then hours…

The screams of raw, animalistic pain. They still linger even to this day. It was when they were about to finish lance off that he finally snapped. Broke free of his chains by sheer force of will, for such a feat to even be possible. Clearly, some sort of sabotage had to of happened.

What happened next to his torturer…

The one time he failed a mission. Death showed most of them mercy. Yet life clung onto the broken like a disease. Clearly the worst was yet to come.

A Monster was born

Something snapped that day. A rescue operation escorted the survivors back to safety. Most would retire permanently after such an ordeal, not him. The more years he served, the more ruthless he got. Every action preformed was done so with a blank face. Actions that would make any human being reconsider their life choices, he did without question – without hesitation.

Standard procedure would be to discharge and retire. An exception was made, to the higher up, he was too good at what he did to just walk away. He attacked and shot and murdered without remorse, without a single change of expression on his face. The one thing that brought joy was gone. There was a dangerous lust, no an obsession, to improve. To get stronger, by any means necessary.

The damage was done.

Surprisingly, he stopped using guns on the day of release. The instrument that caused so much violence. For a man that will do anything to become a greater threat, it made no sense. Some say it was a handy cap. Other say it was a punishment. No one could understand why.

Knifes, swords, spears, axes. Anything that could be used as an alternative. Word had it he ‘incapacitated’ a squad of enemy forces with nothing but a coil of barbed wire and a plank of wood ripped out of a floorboard.

Heck officials even encouraged it!

Idiots gambled on it. His men would back away, removing any support and just let the monster do his dirty work. Garrotte wires and smoke grenades, landmines and throwing knifes, even just bare fisted brawling. It almost became a game of what next and how brutal, what worried me was who’s next. It wasn’t the fact that he’s an idiot, he would have died long ago if that was the case. Each time was done with clear intent, almost malice. If there was a room of hostiles, he could kill them all in 30 seconds, or get creative and watch them suffer for 5 minutes. Cold and efficient, or violent and dare I say it, playful?

The joy, the chase of the game was slowing returning. With each fantastical method, with each cheer and laugh. A smile crept up that face of his. The pride he must have felt. The showing off, the cheers. His skills improved in almost every area, especially with knifes and similar sharp tools. Results were guaranteed although with it came an arrogance. Why take seriously what can never harm you again. The man completely lost sight of what he once was.

Lance would have trained him since his enlistment. Treated him like a brother. Taught him almost everything he knows. Scolded him for his sloppiness and unlocked the many horrors buried within. Now what would happen if he relived those memories of the past? If we reminded him of that pain? Of who he once was? It’s not like he can learn anything new here, now this place is only eroding discipline and creating unnecessary issues.

Disaster struck and ruined everything. We shattered the beast AND FINALLY!

The Doctors true colours were revealed.

It was an espionage mission in the Russian tundra. Locate and gather intel on a new experimental weapon codenamed ‘last breath’. Files were located in a server room, heavily guarded with many layers of security, steel, concrete, bombs, bullets and a few unknown surprises. Better yet, a prototype of the weapon was locked away in the very same facility! One of the most well-guarded secrets in the east. Many previous squads have vanished without a trace.

Recently discovered files suggest a traitor is among our ranks and is associated with a secret organisation (codename Doom). Of course no one knew about these minor inconveniences. The target in question is very valuable and must not fall into ‘official’ hands.

Training was over. It was time to weed out the weak. Squad Alpha and Beta failed and were removed from life. Charlie was led by the Plague Doctor. Surprisingly they actually made it out. Half our men were cut. The others injured. Last breath turned out to be a vial. The terminal room was up in flames and we had the only copy of whatever was left.

We were ambushed. Most our men, all specially trained and bred for this mission were slaughtered. We were out numbered 4 to 1. The Plague Doctor fought and used every trick in the book to survive. They ambushed us, we had no stealth nor cover, just the hot stone of the burning base. Even he was defeated. Mind you, took many of them down first but not without cost.

It was a single man. Read him like a book, knew his technique inside out. Countered everything. Toyed with him, laughed at his efforts. Sliced his arm clean off. A Trophy for the 2nd man to ever beat him. Lance was a bloodied mess on the ground. A gun was aimed at point blank range.

And was shot…

The very person who raised him, the only person he cared about. Laid dead in his arms. Threw himself in front of the shot.

The doctor would have died there and then if I didn’t inject him with the vial. It meant that he was too valuable to be left to rot. It forced him to be spared.

They took us. High into the mountains and threw the tunnels. I served my mission. I brought him the chosen. I played my part. The weak were eliminated. The strong remained. Now he shall be ripped apart and put back together, piece by piece. We shall craft him into something new. Re-trained, gifted a new purpose. Embedded with tool of the old, repurposed into something new.

No matter how much of a monster you are, they’ll always be bigger.

Deep in the forest, the doctor limped. Ears ringing, with the taste of blood staining his lips. Fire danced within his fractured skull, a face ingrained into the bone. The army will never know. Who did it. He looked me dead in the eye. Cast a cloud over my broken corpse, stole the plans and uttered a single line.

“You deserved this”

With that the spectre vanished. A ghost wearing an armour of flesh and bone. Tainted with the blood of my best friend. I am coming for you. With the arm you tore clean off! The mind you leisurely ruined. The sanity you destroyed and the friend you stole. I’m coming for him and I’m coming for you!

Adrenaline crashing, hate getting subdued by exhaustion. He finally collapsed, encircled by snow. Icicles barricaded the joints. His tomb ready to be laid to rest. Yet he clung on. The blood lust roared. The snow melted. Revenge reach down, extending its firm hand. A harsh light in the darkness.

“I can help you, make you stronger. Give you purpose. You want to complete your mission? You want to avenge your friend? Satisfy your bloodlust? Find the identity of your traitorous enemy? Join me and I’ll give you this and more.

His body was dragged high up the mountains. There an abandoned train tunnel led them deep underground. There he was brutally rebuilt with technology not of his time. Trained to survive the toughest conditions. Ripped apart over and over again. The memory, a lifeline, an obsession. His arm replaced. His head fix yet his soul removed. His mission, kill sceptre. His Method, any means. His life, doesn’t matter.

For Lance

BOOK REFERENCE - Hero of a Thousand Faces

The hero of a thousand is a deep dive into the tropes of characters, for example the architypes of hero, mentor, trickster...

I have only read the 1st 10 pages myself due to the difficulty of the read, easily one of the hardest things to understand and follow in my experience. Many of the philosophies are of its time. Sigmund Freud's theories and other 'scientists' in the same field are highly referenced due to the era being the1950s. His psychological theories were leading for the age, although not so well regarded now.

From my understanding, it talks about how stories were passed down over time through generations. How myths and legends were formed. How the subconscious works. Its generally interesting.

I was recommended this book in class for further research into story structure and character architypes. My 1st experience is that it is challenging to read but incredibly rewarding. This will hopefully give me a greater, much deeper, understanding of characters and stories as a whole - that I can apply to my own. I can use its knowledge to improve my own story writing and improve my alter-ego as a result. At the very least, it is a completely different perspective on the same topic that would never of happened if not for this book.

I intend to write more when I have the chance to read further. I have only hit the tip of the iceberg and much of its secrets are yet to be told to me. This was about my own personal experience with reading it. A big headache yet grabbed my curiosity.

BOOK REFERENCE - Sun Tzu - Art of War

This book was one of my key sources in the combat inspiration of The Plague Doctor. Sun Tzu: Art of War discusses the rules of combat from the mental game, tactics. The enemy, location and many more. Modern gorilla tactics originate and date back from this book. Many famous people have used it over the years. This was the main inspiration for the fighting style and weapons of choice for my character. Although I don't really have a lot to say on it, my character would be very different without it. Overall, I was curious to see what it said. I have heard many stories regarding it and wanted to use it in some way. Positively, it was intriguing as I had hoped and I learnt a lot of background information regarding military tactics and the aspects covered. However negatively many of their teachings I could not incorporate directly. I was inspired by it but many elements didn't directly transfer into the design or story.

CH

INTRODUCTION