attempting to understand character design through identity v part III

opening

today's post will hopefully be a little longer, we'll see how many i feel like doing. my partner is coming over in a few minutes though, so maybe i won't actually get many characters done.

Lawyer -  Freddy Riley

something i talked about in emma's analysis is that a lot of idv designs focus on their jobs, which i generally agree is a good thing in designing characters, as realistically they would wear that, even if it can sometimes leave something to be desired regarding their personality outside of their job. freddy is an exception to this, he doesn't look like a lawyer, especially a british lawyer in the victorian era. he almost looks modern (although they definitely had all the pieces of his outfit at this time). i guess the tie and button up are meant to be somewhat professional, but in my opinion it doesn't really work. this could be entirely based on my own lack of knowledge about historical fashion or historical lawyers, but i really don't get "lawyer" vibes from him. i would give this design credit for looking so dirty and disheveled as a result of freddy's life falling apart, but that only applies to this sprite. his actual character model looks a lot more put together.

his hair is styled very strangely also, maybe this was a historically accurate hair style? i doubt it, but that's the only reason i can find for doing it like this. unless it's just meant to contribute to his "nerd" look, which is the main reason i can find for most elements of this design. why the buck teeth? some people do have buck teeth, so it's theoretically good to include them in your design, but for freddy it really seems like they only gave them to him because they're associated with a "nerd" stereotype. which is also why he has glasses, and why they're round.

this man is meant to be charistmatic enough to not only be a lawyer in the first place, but to also convince leo to buy a failing factory and seduce a married woman. while i'd like to say that "glasses/buckteeth/weird hair don't make you ugly, you can still do whatever you want in life," i don't think that sentiment applies to a character in the victorian era. maybe martha specifically just didn't value looks, i guess you could say that. but when multiple things in his backstory point to him being charismatic, it's a weird choice to give him so many traits that are societally considered ugly.

friend commentary:

heres my opinion on freddy riley the lawyer identity V design

Lawyer's design is pretty bad. His unkept appearance can be justified due to being in the Manor Games, but gives little to show that he is a lawyer. He has a tie and semi-formal shirt, making him look more like a highschool nerd than a grown man. Along with his rodent-like face and fearful expression, unless Idv intended for Freddy to make a mockery of lawyers he does not look the part.

overall, lawyer gets a C

(now is probably a good time to mention that i'm using the idv letter system of ranking, not like letter grades in school. S is the best a design can be and C is the worst. C doesn't always mean it's as bad as freddy's though)

Thief - Kreacher Pierson

"thief" isn't a specific job with associated clothes, which means he has a lot more room to express some of his personality. still, i wish this outfit communicated the idea of "thief" better than it does. he should have a lot of pockets where he can quickly stash things, but there aren't any visible pockets on his pants OR jacket. (maybe they're on the inside of the jacket? or maybe he puts things under his hat.) this design also doesn't look like an orphanage owner, if that's what they were going for. his design is also unkempt, but it works better for him. he is and always has been poor, so he wouldn't wear expensive clothes. and, knowing his personality, he probably wouldn't put much time into his appearance either. (which might be why he's one of the few characters who has a beard)

i really can't get much from this design, he has heterochromia i guess? that doesn't really contribute anything (though it's one of those details that rarely does, and is mainly used to make a character stand out, or sometimes to show that they have powers. that doesn't apply here, so it's just a trait he has.)

Thief as a design is perfectly fine. He gives off a sense of a poor, downtrodden man. His hat and dirty clothes gives the impression of a poor man, while the tie indicates his wish for more. My only real complaint is the lack of indication that he is a con man. It could be argued that the attempt at nicer clothing underneath the dirty set is enough. I feel that overall, Thief's design only shows that he is a thief, nothing more.

overall, thief gets a B

Gamekeeper - Bane Perez

i really like bane's design. his backstory actually affects the way he looks, and in more than a "he's bandaged because he was in a fire :(" way like leo. black nose's death is the most important element of his backstory, and you can immediately see her presence in his design. literally, it's not even elements of an elk to show he likes them or had a pet elk, but she is literally physically there. on his head. which is also such good body horror that we rarely get from modern hunter designs. bane's backstory is really dark and gross, which is expressed in the design! (all of that goes for the bear trap around his neck too, and it emphasizes how terrifying and dangerous of a situation the poachers put him in. and, him still having that bear trap sort of symbolizes how he's still in that moment mentally, and probably always will be.)

i should probably talk about something other than his head, i just don't have a lot to say about the outfit. i can't really say what it is? it looks sort of wooden, which would be good if he was meant to be undead as it shows his connection to the forest, but he seemingly isn't, according to some of the birthday letters for william's game he is still there and working for the manor. unless that was before his backstory happened? which wouldn't really make sense with the timeline, as the manor owner he worked for was seemingly alice's parents. all of that isn't the design's fault though, it's just because idv lore has gotten very complicated and they've retconned too many things since creating bane. such is the curse of old characters.

he's also wearing furs, which makes sense for his occupation but seems to go against his personality as someone who cares about and wants to protect animals.

his hook works as a weapon for him, but i don't know why it needs to be bright purple. it's a similar problem to the hell ember weapon, but it's not as bad. at least i know what it is and can understand how it could hurt someone.

Gamekeeper's design is interesting yet not an entirely adventurous concept. The idea of a Gamekeeper is someone who cares for animals to be hunted, and I feel Bane only provides the first part with his animalistic design. The trap around his neck and his belt with fangs attached are the only parts to show this. Otherwise, his deer head and coat provide more connection to the animals. His weapon being a hook isn't practical for hunting, pushing him away from that motif as well. Overall, Gamekeeper is a fine design but doesn't particularly befit his title.

if he didn't have a lot of the downsides of being very old, he would probably get an S, but unfortunately i can only give him an A