The document discusses character designs and their appeal from various video games, notably focusing on 'Dark Souls', 'Metal Gear Solid', and 'Mortal Kombat'. It analyzes audience demographics, research methodology, and preferences for game features such as free roaming, fantasy settings, and nemesis systems. Additionally, it reflects on the strengths and weaknesses of the research methods employed, highlighting the importance of understanding audience feedback for the final product design.

1. Research
Jack Hickman

2. Existing Product
This character is Knight Artorias from the game
series “Dark Souls”.
The image depicts the character standing up after
he has being knocked over by an attack.
The costume is made of silver armour and blue
cloth around the shoulders. The lower cloth starts
at the waist and moves down to the ankles to form
what looks like trousers which is also fitted with
chainmail and plates of silver placed on the upper
leg. The helmet is shaped like a birds head with a
black ponytail extending out from the back. The
foot armour is pointy like a knight you would
expect to see in a cartoon. Only the silver armour
is present on the arms. Artorias is holding his
sword in his right arm and rests it on his right
shoulder; his left arm dangles down in front of him
which suggests it is somewhat damaged. The
image is mostly white so focus is directed to the
character. The blue texture surrounding him is
supposed to represent the abyss aura which
suggests that he has been corrupted by it.

3. Existing Product
This character is Grey Fox from the
game series “metal gear solid”
The image depicts the character in a
low stance.
The costume is futuristic and skintight.
The feet appear to be some type of
high heels; not sure why they are
used. The legs and arms both share a
similar design. The helmet is pretty
basic apart from the red visor etched
into the middle of it. The character is
holding the sword in a impractical way
which suggests the stance is merely for
showcasing rather than for battle. The
colours are quite light and appear
almost as if it was hand drawn which
gives the image a comic type of feel to
it. The background is plain white so
the character has all the focus in the
image. The audience would ant to
looks at it because this character is
quite iconic in the metal gear series
despite the fact that he hasn’t
appeared in a lot of games.

4. Existing Product
This character is the Soul of Cinder from the game series “Dark souls”. The
image depicts the character standing still in an open environment filled with
corpses.
The costume is made up of charred metal and burnt cloth which covers the
shoulders and stems down from the waist towards the upper knee. His helmet
is shaped like a skull however the visor is like that of a normal knights helmet
and the chest piece is shaped like a rib cage which suggests approaching
death. The location appears to be on some type of battle ground but the
battle seems to have ended. The colours are quite dark which suggests a dark
atmosphere and that the character is a part of a dark fantasy. The character is
holding a sword but it can’t really be seen which suggests that the character is
more important than the weapon and that the character is the focus. The shot
is a mid-shot so most of the character can be seen. The background colours
are also dark and gloomy which suggests a type of apocalypse is currently
ongoing which also link in with the dark fantasy feel. There don’t seem to be
many effects on the scene but the corpse at the bottom of the image give off a
strange dust and the character seems to have some flame type effect. This
appeals to the audience because this image tells you that it belongs to the
dark fantasy genre and some people might enjoy this genre a lot. The
character is also a part of a well known game series so quite a lot of people
will be intrigued simply because of the game series it belongs too.

5. Existing Product
This character is scorpion from the classic game series “Mortal
Kombat”. This image depicts the character in his usual stance.
Scorpions costume is similar to that of a stereotypical ninja outfit
but with a yellow tunic, yellow boots and a yellow mask. His arms
are left bare with the exception of the hand guards covering his
hands and lower arms. Other parts of his costume remain black.
The lighting is quite dark which suggests his affiliation with a dark
game series. His own costume remains quite dark because he is
part of a ninja clan. The image is mid-shot so all of the body is
visible which makes discerning his profile much easier. The
location is unrecognisable because the background is just grey so
all of the focus is on the character rather than the background.
This image appeals to the audience because scorpion is a part of
a iconic game series and all gamers will know what your referring
to when you say mortal kombat because of how iconic the game
series is.

6. Research Analysis
• What common features do the researched products have?
– All of the products are iconic characters from their respected games.
– They are all a part of a dark fantasy.
– Some of them are holding a weapon and are weapon users with the exception
of the last one.
• What aspects of the research will you include within your
on work?
– Some of the character designs will be included in my final product.
– Props and stances used by these products may be included in my final design.
– The look and texture of the characters may be included in my final design.

7. Questionnaire Analysis

8. Audience research
• Observation: There are more males then females taking my survey.
• What this says about my audience: This says that my audience
is mostly male.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will appeal
to both males and females.

9. Audience research
• Observation: My audience is made up of people in their late teens.
• What this says about my audience: This says that my audience is made
up of 18-24 year olds.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product appeals to
people of all ages.

10. Audience research
• Observation: The responses suggest that my audience favours role-
playing games over all others.
• What this says about my audience: This suggests that my audience is
made up of people that like role playing games.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will be a
role-playing game so it will definitely appeal to my audience.

11. Audience research
• Observation: The responses suggest that games set in the past are better
than games set in other time periods.
• What this says about my audience: This suggests that my audience prefers
games set in the past compared to other time periods.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product is set in a
medieval fantasy world which does somewhat appeal to my target audience.

12. Audience research
• Observation: The responses suggest games set in a forest are better than
games set in other places.
• What this says about my audience: This suggests that my audience prefers
games set in a forest environment compared to all others.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product has quite an
expansive world so a forest biome will most likely be included which appeals
to my audience and perhaps others as well.

13. Audience research
• Observation: The responses suggest that games with gun fights are better
than games with all other types of combat.
• What this says about my audience: This suggests that my audience prefers
gun games over the other categories.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product is unfortunately
not a gun game but it will appeal to the others who voted for melee based
combat.

14. Audience research
• Observation: The responses suggest that multiplayer games are more popular
than single player games.
• What this says about my audience: This suggests that my audience prefers
multiplayer games over single player games.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product is a single player
based game so my audience will not like my game as much but it will appeal to
the people who voted for single player games.

15. Audience research
• Observation: The responses suggest, that jump packs are split 50-50 on
peoples opinions regarding it.
• What this says about my audience: This suggests that half of them like jump
packs and the other half do not.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product has no jump
packs in it so half of my audience will be disappointed but the other half will
be just fine.

16. Audience research
• Observation: The responses suggest that everybody prefers a game with a
nemesis system rather than a game without one
• What this says about my audience: This suggests that my audience does want
a game with a nemesis system.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will appeal to my
audience because my game will include a nemesis system.

17. Audience research
• Observation: The responses suggest that everybody prefers a game with free
roam being a major part of the game.
• What this says about my audience: This suggests that my audience would
thoroughly enjoy a game with a free roam feature.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will appeal to my
audience because I intend to have a free roam feature in my game which will
in turn, make my audience happy.

18. Interviews

19. Interview 1
• Does the idea of a free roaming mechanic in a game appeal to you?
“Yes it does because it will make the game more interesting and fun too play.”
• Does the idea of an Ai that remembers previous conflicts appeal to you
(nemesis system)?
“Yes because it makes the game more difficult and challenging to play.”
• Do you prefer a fantasy world or a world similar to ours?
“Fantasy world because the scenery and atmosphere make it more intriguing and
fascinating.”
• What time setting do you prefer?
“Past or present so, it doesn’t end up like call of duty.”
• What type of sandbox do you prefer?
“100% forest because you can have all sorts of wildlife to brutally murder”

20. Interview 1
• Observation: The person that I interviewed liked the idea of a free roam. He also
liked the idea of the nemesis system because it made it more challenging and
difficult. His opinion on either having a fantasy world or a world similar to present
day was to have the fantasy world, it made it more of an interesting atmosphere.
He believed that a time setting in the past or the present seemed like a good idea
as he didn’t want it as a game that’s already out there. It seemed he thought that a
100% forest sandbox was a good scenery setting that could include wildlife which
he stated he would like to brutally murder.
• What this says about my audience: This says that my audience would like a
game that includes free roam, a nemesis system, a fantasy setting, past or present
time setting and the sandbox setting to be a forest.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will somewhat
appeal to my audience because I intend to have a free roam mechanic, a fantasy
world, nemesis system and a past time setting. However my game will not include
a 100% forest sandbox because I would like it to be various biomes and my
product will not be set in the present either because I would prefer it to be set in
the past.

21. Interview 2
• Does the idea of a free roaming mechanic in a game appeal to you?
“Yes it does because it allows you to explore and roam around beautiful environments.
The exploration would also mean that the player wont feel trapped in a specific area.”
• Does the idea of an AI that remembers previous conflicts appeal to you
(nemesis system)?
“Yes because it allows realism in a game and allows the AI characters to have character
development within them showing that they aren’t boring enemies.”
• Do you prefer a fantasy world or a world similar to ours?
“I’d rather play a fantasy game as it is something new and not something that we have
seen before making the game unique.”
• What time setting do you prefer?
“I don’t mind future or past however present is something I find boring as its not
something new and exciting.”
• What type of sandbox do you prefer?
“I would rather have a mixture of everything giving it a more open, feeling world.”

22. Interview 2
• Observation: The person that I interviewed found the idea of free roaming to be
good because he states that exploration and beautiful environments can be an
important aspect of the game and does not like the idea of been trapped. He also
liked the nemesis system because of the realism and development that AI’s can get
whilst playing the game. He also states that fantasy gives the game a more unique
and new feel. He also states that present settings are boring an unimaginative
where as futuristic and past settings are more fun and appealing to him. He also
states that a mixture of biomes in a sandbox is much better compared to a singular
biome.
• What this says about my audience: This suggests that my audience would like
a game that includes free roam, a nemesis system, a fantasy genre, a past or
present setting and a mixture of biomes.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will appeal to my
audience because the game includes a free roam setting, a nemesis system, a
fantasy genre, a past setting and a mixture of biomes.

23. Audience Profile
Category Demographic Content to appeal to this audience
Age Range
18-24 • My game will have violence.
• My game will have strong language.
Gender
Both • My game is designed for both genders, not
one specifically.
Psychographic
A mind-set that
will enjoy fantasy
RPG’s that
contains strong
language and
violence
• My game will be set in a fantasy world.
• My game will be an RPG.
• It will contain strong language and violence.
Social Status
Lower-class
Middle-class
Upper-class
• This game will not focus on one specific
class and should appeal to all of them.

24. Research Evaluation

25. Research Evaluation
• Give an overview of how you conducted your research. Discuss the
strengths and weaknesses of each method
– Product Research
• The advantages of product research is that it gives me a good idea of what I want my final
product to look like and gives me inspiration for the final appearance for my design.
• The disadvantages of product research is that if I already had a good idea of what my final
product looked like; it makes the product research pointless and if the designs on the internet
don’t match what your looking for, this can be very annoying and time consuming.
– Questionnaires
• The advantages of questionnaires is that it gives me the opportunity to get other peoples
opinions and give me some more ideas regarding the look of my final product.
• The disadvantages of questionnaires is that I could have been influenced by the opinions of
others if I wasn’t motivated enough or didn’t have an idea of what my final product would l
look like. Another disadvantage would be that the opinions can be biased because they might
come from your friends or some one you know.
– Interviews
• The advantages of interviews is that it allowed me to actually come face to face and exchange ideas
with the interviewee as well as get their own personal insight on the matter.
• The disadvantages of interviews is that you only interview two people which may not gather enough
data for my research. I wont be able to get a lot of different opinions if only two people are
interviewed.

26. Research Evaluation
– What sort of a response did you get?
The responses I got were varied and mature which is good because varied results give
me a more detailed look at peoples opinions and this gives me proper feedback. The
mature aspect is good because it tells me that the data I gathered was real and not
false so I can have factual statistics rather than a false hood which could ruin my end
result. The problems with this were that I only got 4 people to answer my survey and if
I got more I could have even more varied results which would have been better.
– How did you distribute your survey? Give an advantage and a disadvantage
My survey was setup into 10 questions that were relatively easy to answer because of
the lack of answers and how simple the questions were. My friends also answered
them which is good for me because they answer it without hesitation so I can get
results however this can be biased towards me or they might put only the answers I
want to hear rather than their own opinions. The lack of answers and how easy it is to
answer might be bad because they lack detail and I could benefit from having more
complicated questions which could lead to more varied results.