IP (Guilty Gear (Guilty Gear Strive))
Guilty Gear is a popular fighting game franchise, both created and designed by Daisuke Ishiwatari and produced by Arc System Works. It is known mainly for its in-depth and technical combat, soundtrack and characters.
The series is set in a world where all technology (phones, computers, etc) has become obsolete due to a world ending phenomenon, and is replaced by magic. In humanity’s new magical advance, one man creates a race of powerful, superior genetically modified beings called ‘Gears’, and creates one particularly powerful gear called Justice who is able to command all the gears. Justice goes against her master’s wishes and rallies the gears against humanity, leading mankind into a 100 year war called ‘The crusades’. From there, several titles and different characters have been introduced, pushing the franchise ahead with new stories, scenarios and possibilities.
I’ll be focusing on the franchise’s most recent title, Guilty Gear Strive.
Character Designs & Animations
Guilty Gear Strive (which from this point on I’ll refer to as GGST) has a particularly large roster of characters, most from previous titles and some new to to the group. Sol Badguy and Ky Kiske, for instance, have been major characters since the first Guilty Gear game as rivals. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, Daisuke intends to make it so these two contrast each other to reflect on their differing ideologies and personalities.
Sol Badguy is the protagonist of Guilty Gear. He is an abrasive, headstrong man who prefers to work alone. He is crude even to the people he considers his friends or allies. As a bounty hunter, he doesn’t tolerate nonsense, and hates working any harder than he has to.
All these traits are displayed in the way he presents himself; his hair is spiky and unruly to represent his dangerous wild side and is further emphasized by his outfit which is similar to a biker’s clothing. Red is Sol’s defining color. In color psychology, red is typically symbolic of danger, passion, anger, and ferocity. There are other accents, such as white, yellow and brown, but red fits his character as a whole. These other accents help to either make it stand out (white on the pants, sword and cuffs) or for visual interest (yellow on the belts and the sword strap).
Ky Kiske is the complete opposite of Sol Badguy, in both his design and his personality. Ky has a strong sense of justice and piety. He is charismatic, chivalrous and polite towards his peers. He holds his own personal code of honor when it comes to swordsmanship, and tends to be on the idealistic side (leading him to make rash decisions when angry or be woefully naive).
Design-wise you can see that his main color is blue, a direct contrast to Sol’s red. Going back to color psychology, blue symbolizes serenity, trustworthiness, authority, and freedom. It matches up with Ky’s outlook, as well as being distinct from Sol. However, unlike Sol blue is more of an accent color appearing on his gloves, eyes, collar etc. White is representative of that pure of heart and holiness aspect of Ky, and against the blues helps to give him a trustworthy appearance.
Sol has white pants; Ky has a white jacket. Ky has lighter blonde hair while Sol has darker brown hair. Sol’s shape language is both sharp and rigid, and Ky’s focuses more on a mixture of flowing shapes. Each of these juxtaposing elements help to not only tell a story visually, but create a connection between the two that players can pick up on.
In GGST, a character’s idle (or any of their animations) can say a lot about their personality without saying anything at all. Sol and Ky carry themselves differently from each other. As shown above, Ky has a sort of grace when wielding his blade, and his stance is steady.
On the other hand, Sol carries his sword on his shoulder in a carefree manner, with a resounding confident attitude to match. You could also say Ky is confident by looking at how he swings his sword like a conductor, but his composure feels more routine, more choreographed.
Below, are the idles/animations of Bridget, Jack-O, Millia and Giovanna (in that order).
The idles (Bridget and Jack-O) both carry a certain energy- Bridget is bouncy and upbeat, Jack-O is sinister and foreboding. Their stances indicate what kind of fighters they are (Bridget is air-headed, Jack-O is more serious, although mysterious as we can’t see her face in this particular idle) The added details of her fingers and hair flickering and Bridget’s arms and hips swaying in a rhythm are neat little speckles of character trickled in through minute details. Giovanna and Millia’s animations showcase an aspect of that character in motion.
Millia primarily uses her hair as a weapon, but she can morph it into any shape she wishes, as shown in this animation where she uses it as a chair. It gives off an air of pompous nonchalance, as if she is hardly bothered by the opponent before her. Meanwhile, Giovanna and her wolf familiar, Rei both mirror each other actions, making a pacifying gesture. It’s intended to be a moment of comedic cuteness, while also showcasing the bond between the two.
The neat thing about the fighters in GGST is that while the game features as a 2D fighter, the characters are actually 3D models. It uses a hybrid of 2D and 3D, with a cell-shaded appearance to give it that warm anime feel. The frame rates in each of these animations resemble that of the classics, when sprites were pixelated and clunky.
Exploring Non-Humanoid Characters
My main goal is to create a character that fits within this verse, and as a possible DLC character for the roster. I’ve noticed that one thing that sets GGST’s roster apart from most fighting game rosters is the small number of non-humanoid fighters.
Franchises such as Blazblue and Under-Night In Birth have at least one or two characters that are humanoid, but lack human features. Some examples can be seen in Susano’o from Blazblue (left) and Merkava from Under-Night In Birth (right); these two have always intrigued me the most as they standout amongst a human cast. I’ve always had a soft spot for non-humanoid fighting characters purely from a design standpoint (and because I think they are just neat..) since they create a more diverse cast and open up an avenue for an additional player demographic.
In addition to them, there’s also Riptor (above) from Killer Instinct, Kuma from Street Fighter and Roo (below) from Streets of Rage. These 3 characters aren’t as humanoid, but are anthropomorphized in their build (Riptor) or given human accessories such as the bandana around Kuma’s neck and the fighting attire Roo is wearing.
Guilty Gear DOES have characters who are non-humanoids, most of which are in the form of gears. However, they are either few or not easily playable. The only playable non-human gear was Justice (left below), and she was playable after besting her in the final battle in the first Guilty Gear game. Future titles had her as a hidden character- in Guilty Gear X2 and Guilty Gear X you could unlock her through specific means.
There is Bedman(right of Justice). He isn’t a gear, instead he is a former human turned robotic bed alongside his sister, Delilah. He is similar to Justice in the sense that he is non-humanoid, and to me stands out amongst the rest of the cast. Lastly, there’s Leopaldon (right of Bedman), a gear fused to a dog and its sorcerer, who isn’t playable and only features as a boss in Guilty Gear Isuka’s arcade mode.
When it comes to gears specifically, I think there’s much potential to be had in a playable fighter like Justice or a boss like Leopaldon, but there’s a clear deficit when you take a look at the roster from each title across the franchise. For example, take gears. Gears come in all shapes and sizes, and play a very important role in the world’s story, from being involved in a war with humanity for a century to also being the very protagonist of the series. Sol Badguy is actually a gear, as well as other characters such as Testament, Sin, and Dizzy.
A ‘gear’ is simply a catch all term for a genetically modified being- they are made by implanting a living creature with gear cells (etc, if you took a dog and implanted it with gear cells, then it would become a gear and take on a monstrous, lupine form). Despite there being possibilities for gears in all shapes and sizes, the gears that are playable (asides from Justice) are humanoid. Dizzy below has some non-humanoid features such as having a tail and living wings, but compared to the likes of the aforementioned Merkava or Kuma, it’s hardly similar.
Sol below has an ultimate ability called Dragon Install, which essentially is his true form if he were to remove his headband (which acts as a limiter) and is more akin to Susano’o’s beastly appearance. However it is only a temporary visage due to its purpose. Sin is a half-gear, the son of Dizzy and Ky, and resembles his father more than he does his mother.
Most of non-humanoid characters we do see in the franchise that do happen to be monstrous are unimportant fodder for the heroes to beat. There is Dr.Paradigm, a draconian, avian looking gear who is a reoccurring character. While not playable, he was received positively by the game’s prominent community, hence his latter appearances in future titles.
Mind-mapping
To start, I struggled to come up with concepts for characters as I would have to think about their place in GGST’s world. Gears at this point in the story are not as widely feared by most humans anymore, but are either dormant (they can only move with commands from a high ranking command gear like Justice or Dizzy) or barely given screen-time unless they are humanoid, so it’s difficult to envision where they could show up.
I chose 4 random classes of character: demon, mage, brawler and swordsman. Then, I assigned an occupation to them. Since there are so many, I narrowed it down to 13 of the concepts I liked the most and made mood-boards to better develop them.
Mood-boards
Starting from the top left, I’ve created 13 mood-boards each for a possible character concept using the four classes. These classes are typically seen in fighting games, and would best befit my character. Using both lore from the series and real-life references, I’ve gone with with the following concepts:
Anthropologist Demon, Architect Brawler, and Shark Brawler
For the anthropologist demon, my main idea centers around an alternate dimension in Guilty Gear called ‘The Backyard’. The Backyard is basically akin to a giant computer database- it contains all of the information that creates the real world, like a codex. It is also said to contain the limitless source of magic. There are different layers/places in The Backyard where beings such as yokai, demons, monsters, and magical foci can exist. This character would be one of them. I imagine them to be an eccentric being who has a deep love for humanity’s different cultures, its history and its artifact. However, it doesn’t care much for humanity’s suffering and sees the shifts in time periods as an eventuality.
I’ve put images of objects like earrings, rings, bangles as this demon would relish in human fashion. As for animal references, there’s a mixture of live animals like buffalo, warthogs and orangutans, and skeletons from wolves and whales. This notion of the undead is a popular trope in demonic characters, so I figured it would be a good fit. There are some images of phones as well- old technology is banned in the world of Guilty Gear, but I think it would be interesting for the demon to have old tech like phones or portable mp3 players (although not working) to show their affinity for holding onto pieces of the old world.
For the architect brawler, the idea is simple- an architect character who also fights on the side. I’ve placed a plethora of images: bricks, architects, cranes (both the bird and the vehicle) shovels, bamboo, etc. The bricks and cranes could allude to a heavy, huge avian character who is difficult to move past. They could be a gear or half-gear who uses their strength for good, building houses for the less fortunate & to make them less afraid of gears. The bamboo I took from bamboo scaffolding, which is a practice in construction in countries like China and India.
The Shark Brawler centers around a gear who has a shark-like appearance. The shark species I went with is the Tiger shark, as they are typically an aggressive shark species which I would like to possibly juxtapose with this gear’s polite nature. There’s also some photos of Samoan Tattoos, which I would like to mesh with the tiger shark’s striking patterns. I’ve based it on heavy-weight fighters based in sumo wrestling and boxing- I imagine this character’s fighting style to be a mixture of the two. Fish such as the remora and oar-fish are also here. Remora are sucker fish which attach themselves to the undersides of bigger fish like sharks and whales. For this character, it could be a part of the move-set where they send them out as a form of projectile. On the other hand, the oarfish adds a bit of flare.
Scarf Swordsman, Homeopath Swordsman, and Clocksmith Mage
The Scarf Swordsman mood-board is based on a character similar to Millia in the sense that they can utilize their scarf as a sword. I also liked the idea of the sword scarf being flexible, so I put images of whip-like swords and ponchos as the main outfit. Images of skinks are paired with blue footed boobies and high-rise boots because I can see this character having accents of bright colors (like the skink’s blue tail and the booby’s blue feet) which would make them stand out amongst the cast. As a non-humanoid, I can see this character being a gear who covers their face to conceal their identity.
The Homeopath Swordsman is slightly different. A homeopath is someone who deals in unconventional medicine and alternative ways of healing. I can see this character being endowed with aspects of nature, such as mushrooms, trees, herbs, etc. Acupuncture came to mind almost instantly, as it could be a projectile attack used to stun and pin enemies. Porcupines also play into that concept and the non-humanoid venture I am going towards. I put various different types of swords from different regions, such as the butterfly knife originating from the Philippines- since the character uses alternative medicine, they could also being using different swords from different cultures to represent them branching out.
Lastly, the Clocksmith Mage is a character I could see using magic to manipulate time. Clocks were the first thing that came to mind, considering they obviously tell the time. A very old-fashioned way of telling the time can be seen in sundials, which use the sun to tell the time of day. This character could be very punctual, and wear numerous watches on their person. If they were a gear, I could see them being robotic or box shaped like a grandfather clock, perhaps wearing it as a shell like a tortoise. If they were leaning more humanoid, they could have features representative of old people. Owls also have a very similar face shape to clocks, so I included them as well.
Lawyer Swordsman, Aromatherapist Mage, and Locksmith Mage
For the Lawyer Swordsman, I liked the idea of a character who delivers blind justice onto wrongdoers, similar to the blind lady of justice who is a symbol in judicial systems (she even holds a sword in some depictions). Their walking stick/cane could transform into a giant gavel in combat, or a sword-like weapon akin to a hammer. Since gears are typically strong in Guilty Gear, it makes sense for this character to be one as they’d have no issues carrying it around. I also liked the idea of animals such as the Philippines eagle, harpy eagle and condor being references as they feel akin to the attire of a judge or attorney in court.
Aromatherapist Mage centers around a character who does aromatherapy as a job but also combines it with magic for combat. Related images such as bath salts/bombs, candles, cakes, lotion, etc are compiled together since they are typically associated with sweet, pleasant scents. I also think that this character could potentially be a witch, and their witch hat would be highly decorative/emit nice smells which could make an opponent feel at ease. Animals like the victoria crowned pigeon, lemurs, sugar gliders and swallows are on here as they have very striking patterns/shape language which could stick out when I start to concept silhouettes.
The Locksmith Mage is pretty similar to the Clocksmith Mage, just that this mage uses a kind of lock magic which locks enemies in place for a short time or can even restrict certain abilities/movements. This mood-board has more mecha designs; I think a sentient mage robot with a windup mechanic on its back could be an interesting idea that either ties into gears or anti-gear technology. There’s lots of different key shapes (perhaps for different spells) and I’ve also put tomes as well, which could be where this character keeps their spell notes. Vaults also came to mind. If this character is a robot, then they could keep those important tomes (or weapons) in a safe on their body.
Butler Brawler, Miner Brawler, Sea Demon, and Clergyman Demon
The Butler Brawler focuses on a Butler character who uses a mix of fighting techniques and weapons. The gist of this character is that they are a gear who conceals their identity, and starts a fresh life after the 100-year Crusades by becoming a butler/bodyguard for hire. Black panthers, moths and penguins were my main animal of choice, to go for a serious but slightly cute appearance (perhaps under the mask?). As for the techniques, I really liked the idea of this character being a fighter who has an arsenal of weapons on a serving trolley, hidden in silver dishes. Their weapons vary from daggers which look like utensils/cutlery, to swinging bludgeons or bucklers.
Miner Brawler is a character concept that focuses around a character whose whole livelihood is just mining. They could be a bounty hunter who specifically searches for rare minerals, or someone similar to the Architect Brawler in the sense that they dig land sites for construction to take place in. I could see them being a tall, bulky gear with the appearance of a bear or gorilla, perhaps with weapons like fisticuffs or pickaxes. Gears are typically unorthodox when it comes to looks, so it could be that this character is so infatuated with ores/gemstones that their body is infused with it.
The Sea Demon could be a character who is a magical foci/yokai but they do not originate from the Backyard. I can see them being a really easygoing being who spends most of their time around the ocean, perhaps partaking in hobbies like surfing or fishing. In addition to fish, I’ve put images of moray eels, giant squids, killer whales, etc and deep sea fish like angler fish and goblin sharks. I like characters who look like they’d be scary but are actually pure of heart personality-wise. The idea of coral armor is a possibility, or whirlpools being used as a long-range attack (perhaps magic based?)
The last mood-board features a Clergyman Demon character, which I intended on making as a juxtaposition (the church rebukes demons while demons try to tempt worshipers). I really like the aesthetic of vampire parrots, a species of bird who looks vampiric when their main diet consists of fruits and nectar. Some images of two-headed animals are here as they do happen in nature- and when they do, some cultures tend to see it as a demonic. They’re also there to support the idea of a two-face entity, both in the literal sense and the figurative sense. This demon could literally have two faces, and be two-faced, ie. one head worships a god, the other rebukes them.
Conceptualization: Silhouettes
Roster test sketches
Conceptualization: Character Fine Tuning