They all speak something to the theme Andersen had in his head when he created them, and tell their story before they've spoken a word. The way Otus' friend waves his arms in the air when he finds him after a long absence, the way the smaller bird people lean back and grin with every word, the way the songstress sways as she plays her lute, and the way the sauna man giggles in the hot water all tell the player something about those characters. 'The way they should move and react flows pretty naturally, and setting up an expectation forВ this also allows you to break them, creating twists.'ДЄll of Andersen's characters are given a similar treatment, using their looks and movements to tell the story of who they are. Suddenly those surface level traits adds a lot of spice to how youвЂ™re fleshing them out as a person.' Their thoughts, their relation to the story, their reactions to the plot. 'It may sound very surface level at first, but then you start writing for them. Having a theme and story for a character may not sound like anything special, but for Andersen, it was a vital part of tying them into the world and creating their story within it. He grabs his head when scary things are happening around him or objects are falling nearby.

When he pulls a heavy object out of the ground, he leans back, arms taut with exertion. Players can also see Otus' weakness through his actions.

Before the player even knows Otus' relationship to this other character, they know he is a friend. Moments later, he may run into his friend, and his face will light up with a huge smile. When his trainer is berating him, his brows droop, and he pulls his wings close around himself. Having this background as a theme provided many of the expressions that Otus makes throughout the game. Otus has a hopeful nature, but it's one that he must work hard to maintain as few of the characters around him have a lot of faith in him. Having clear themes and backgrounds for the character in mind ran through every aspect of that character's design.

For example, think about how strange it feels when game characters change clothes and hairstyles for example.' 'It's a distilled display of the entire person, put on their sleeve to where you can immediately know something about them. Themes are fickle, because it's not just about putting some strange clothes on or having a catchphrase.' says Andersen. 'While shape and color language is vital, I feel a clear theme is something that is often overlooked. By focusing on these themes as he works, it helps tie the character together in his mind, and ensures that their every action and visual feature conveys a little bit about themselves. To ensure that all of the actions and expressions tie into the personality Andersen has in mind, he sets up a strong theme for each character as he designs them. Clumsy and weak, the boy has great difficulty finishing his training, but must still rise to his destiny when sky pirates attack his town for unknown reasons.Дespite never speaking, Otus has little trouble communicating his feelings and making his personality known due to the efforts Andersen put into making his character expressive without saying a word. Owlboy stars Otus, a young, mute owl boy in training to become a protector of his village. 'But as games generally gives you little time to dive into characters lives, having a design trait players can recognize from the surface is essential. 'I base everything on shapes and colors so you can easily identify characters,'В says Simon Andersen, art director at D-Pad Studios and creator of Owlboy. Some developers at D-Pad spoke to Gamasutra about their approach and their goals in crafting the visuals of the game.

In doing so, they've created unique people in a world that is specifically tied into their history, personalities, and lives. Since 2007, theВ development team at D-pad Studios have been putting a lot of thought into how the people and places in the game connect thematically. It certainly does have some undeniably beautiful pixel artwork.Д«ut a large part of what makes Owlboy soВ visually pleasing is how well its characters and locations tie in to each other.

Games like owlboy