01.08.2008

Looking for Inspiration
I’m looking around the room. It happens quite often. Sitting at my desk in the Fluid Friction office, I’m temporarily a million miles away from my work. Light years. A momentary lapse in concentration. Physically, I’m right here, fingers poised in suspended animation - but my mind is wandering. Not wandering. Frolicking, at 160mph. Bouncing between anticipation for the latest slew of games unveiled at this years E3 show and pre-Dark Knight expectation. Couple this with flashbacks to the Metal Gear, mech-boss fight I blitzed at 2am a night or two ago and I’m a vessel of excitement. My eye catches an image of Viilal, a character from DevaShard staring [albeit with a rag covering his eyes] ominously at me. I scoff slightly as I admire the contours of his weathered face. I feel a slight twinge of pride. Just as every parent shares their pride with a spouse, I share mine with a team of artists. Staring at his battered, lifeless exterior a sudden rush of ‘possibilities’ swamp my thoughts. I know this character inside out, because I wrote this character inside and out. As I continue to stare at his face I start to think about the duty I have to maintain his integrity. That sounds a little overzealous… If I’m still frolicking through thoughts, I’m frolicking dangerously close to an area called ‘Pretentiousness’.

Character Integrity? I’m thinking about the point where we pick his story up again in the series. I know I want to explore his clan, their origin, their motives, their homes… their lives. Looking at him a flurry of possible homes hit me. Bleached white sand mountains with tatooine inspired dwellings? No. Marriage? No. Suddenly I’m staring at a character that has standards. Things have certainly changed over the last two years. Viilal [the Assassin] is a character that will always be dear to my heart because right from the off his concept was clear to me. He embodies so many characters that I’ve literally played around as over the years. Rather, that my Grandfather played around as… he embodies the villains of my Grandfather. As a child I whiled away my post-school afternoons in the garden with him… with them. Getting home from school was a pleasant, if somewhat repetitive process. Shoes off [laces untouched] tie off [still knotted] freshen up, trainers on, head into the Garden… Save the world. Yes. Save the world. My grandfather would already be lying in wait. His supervillain of choice would vary, often he was simply a ‘monster made entirely from shadows’. I would vanquish him day-in, day-out for the good of mankind. Our fights would see us traversing perilous ravines, impossibly jagged cliff faces and such. His attacks would often disarm me, occasionally leaving me severely wounded. But either by healing factor or sheer strength of will I’d find my way to delivery of that final blow.

Viilal’s unrelenting commitment to assassinate his target was born out of the onslaught of attacks that my grandfather would present to me, each afternoon. I know Viilal’s character on the battlefield because I’ve fought him a thousand times in my past.

Back in my office, fingers coaxed into action and I’m filled with a newfound urgency to address the back-story of our characters. To continue building on it, perhaps I should ask my Grandfather what he think Viilal’s home life is like… or perhaps I should concentrate on finishing Metal Gear before my girlfriend gets too immersed and starts beating me on it.