Donkey Kong, Pickachu, Master Chief or Mario, the list of game characters can top the roof. The characters live an eternity owing to their peculiar game characters design. More like, players live through these characters for decades and more. Breathing, adapting and resonating with the life-like, lively and personified characters. It is something that makes games fruitify the fiction via video game character drawing and Character Design Cost.
So, which game character is your most favorite? Well, mine was Mario. Okay, if I can name a few more I’d say Assassins, Kratos and even Pac Man. Fine, fine! We will stop at this. (For now). Buttttt! There cannot be a game where one does not have that favorite alpha character or in-game antagonist that they root for. And, root for wholeheartedly with all blood and flesh.
Game characters are the primary drivers and hookers in the game. They are the main characters you should be focusing on. It is the characters that you develop, engage, plot up and weave in the player’s zeal in your game. Whether it’s 2D or 3D. In-game these characters set the stage for your games and catapults the target players onto it. And, we know how complex it is to figure out how much game character design costs. So, here we are with a crisp article that will have you figured out with all the ins and outs of it. So, let’s tap in.
Why is Game Character Designing Important?
Anything that feels real propels connection! And, the same is true with the game characters design. Since time immemorial characters in the game have been standing on fixating connection and resemblance with players. So it is unarguably important to create characters that live side by side with your players. Something that stays back with the players.
You might be wondering, what is it all about? Let us spill the tea for you.
- For starters, game characters are your primary link. So, get everything on the character that your players flex about.
- Secondly, it creates that invincible emotional bond with the players. Now, this makes the players want to come back to the game plot. Because it infuses that empathy in the players.
- Thirdly, your characters have the ‘potential-push for progression and processing’. Now what we mean by this is; your game character design will get the player to move up the game plot and progress through the character. It will hand you out that magical push which will drag your players to see the character winning and powering up its position in the game.
- Fourthly, game characters are the drivers and vehicles that bring the narrative of your game to life. They will keep the players up and running through the plot and side by side giving that boost to the engagement.
- Lastly, to have your game on the top list of the gamerheads. Start with on-point video game character drawing. Why we say this- your aesthetics, in game world and even the immersion facets could be top-notch. But, if you keep loose ends on designing the character…you might be in some real problem.
Well, arguably it is obvious that the key to rolling out a successful game is an apt game character design. It’s the safest bet to capitalize on as it hits the mark and dishes out the right returns. (More like a single shot to unlock a suite of returns) Like for example investing in character designing can get you sorted in a myriad of aspects. Right from Emotional Connect and Engagement, empathy building and Immense immersion.
Adding to that: We now know why character designing is crucial and a cornerstone right? But, we also know how complex and confusing it is to get down to what goes into forming the game character design cost. Let’s get to the technical part.
Factors that Influence Game Character Design Cost?
For such a humongous catastrophic and catalyzing facet, the technicalities are true to its nature. And, having said that the technicalities at the core are the factors that majorly influence the game character design cost.
However, the same is subjective (we mean the overall cost). It entirely depends on what all you want to fuse in for designing your game characters.
So, if you want your games to be as stellar as the Mega Man series, Pac Man or maybe God of War. Then that certainly calls for some real focus and finesse in game character design. Because if you ask any gamerhead about these games or any game for that matter. It all comes down to how stellar they found the characters to be in the game. And, in most cases they wouldn’t stop anytime soon in briefing you up with how idolizing the characters were.
The Big Sixes that influence the cost :-
1. Type & Number of Characters
- Choosing between the 2D character and 3D characters is the prime influencing factor. Primarily because this gets you to the start of the remaining development process.
- Rightly so, the 3D characters design demands more time, detail to attention and for obvious reasons it is complex to the 2D ones. But, having said that, it is also that it gives more back to the game in terms of broadening horizons, immense immersion and transformative gaming experiences.
- Then comes the number of characters you go with. Naturally, the more the characters, the more the cost. Cost is directly related to modeling, designing, creating, animation and a whole lot of other things.
2. Art Style
- Video game character drawing has a lot to do with art styles. And, coming to art styles there is a sea of those and cost again is dictated on what art style you choose.
- With the art style there comes complexity and you know how it goes. Complexity = Cost.
- But, again what if you go south on choosing the art style of your game character and it does not serve right. Well, that would be a losing deal.
- The catch here is to choose right from the diverse sea of art styles. Where you have Chibi characters, pixel art, cel-shaded, fantasy infused or realistic, the most classic.
3. Rigging/Skinning
- This can be a cost-centric facet. Also, character skeleton in terms of rigging and skinning is the infusion of animation. A state where your video game character drawing is poured into realism.
- Coming to why it is a cost centric aspect- it is because it is the main part of the entire character designing and development process.
4. Game Engine & Platform
- Engines play an important role in game characters design. Coming to that, Unity can save you a few bucks, Unreal is comparatively expensive but has good features, ultimately both are unique in their own way. Costs again vary with these game engines.
- Platform on the other hand is again that quite a lot influences the cost of game character designing. This is because the performance metrics solely depend on the platforms like PC, Mobile or console. Which affects the cost.
5. Team & Time
- Connecting and sourcing out services from a reputable game development company will affect the cost.
- This is again an interconnected factor, where expertise and time frame goes hand in hand. If you provide a compact bandwidth for the development and choose experts with hands-on experience. That would add up the cost.
- Plus, adding to that factors like going with an in-house team of developers or outsourcing those again would leave you with variations.
6. Personalization
- We are certainly in the times where personalisation is at the peak. And, gaming is not an outset.
- Personalized game characters are the modern age pick. Gamers across the globe root for characters that look, perform and portray abilities that they have. With the characters their hairstyles, looks and everything if customized, requires overhead development costs.
Besides these non-negotiable nuances, factors like voiceovers and animation are also some of the biggest facets that influence the cost.
Whilst, we are done with equipping you with where your bucks go in terms of game character design cost. Allow us to also hand you out how to quickly get a quote.
How to get a Quote for Video Game Character Design?
It is easier said than done! But, we will give you a crisp and quick roadmap to that.
- Get in touch with a prominent and professionally sound game development company. One that is high in experience and has a varied team would be a perfect fit.
- Pitch in your idea with regards to the video game character drawing that you have initially framed. But, don’t forget to leave it to the experts and get in their views and suggestions on the same.
- Thirdly, ask them for some portfolio designs and compare them to your game theme and character plotting. This will leave you with a wider picture.
- Lastly, get on clear terms and discussion with regards to the particulars you want with your game characters.
Voila, as promised here you go with a crisp clear-cut article helping you out in decoding a precise cost.
To Wrap Up
Games live and die through game characters. And, there are two equal footings that successful games run on in this over-flooding sphere of games. Well, it is easy to assume the stellar equal footing is storytelling in games and game characters design. Yes, it all comes down to how sensational you want your character to be, how much you want your characters to get appreciated by the crowd and remember them till the end of times. The main facet is what game development company you choose to hire developers from. That’s where the keystone to bridge that brilliance, attention to details and that dollop of realism to the characters. Furthermore, to fetch out the exact rates follow the above mentioned steps.