Character Biography

          Below is a short biography of what I intend of portraying throughout my game character. Obviously each section is subject to change through the concept development process but this will hopefully give a detailed outline on how I feel my character should look. The information I have written below will be the starting point for my concept art and therefore any areas which I feel don’t look right or appropriate for the character will change through development.

Basic Details

Name – Jiro Nomura

DOB – 23/09/1951

Occupation – Oyabun (Yakuza family boss)

Physical Description

Eye Colour: Brown

Hair Colour: Black and grey

Hair Length: Very short and spiky

Height: 5’8”

Weight: 102kg

Distinguishing Features: Full body tattoos that relate to the Japanese orientation. They will cover the majority of his body but not areas that would be seen when wearing a suit i.e. above the neck and on the hands.

Seeing as Jiro has been born in the year of the tiger the main area of his back, which is tattooed is that of a tigers face surrounded by other animals through the Japanese calendar.

Very small bullet wound scar on the back of his left hip, which came from a police encounter when Jiro was a young boy and his father’s house came under fire from attacking gangs.

Marital Status

• ·         Arranged Married from the age of 22 much to Jiro’s disapproval. In order to honor his father and keep within a chance of one day becoming boss of the Yakuza’s , Jiro never spoke of his disapproval to anyone.
• ·         3 Children (2 Boys and 1 Girl), which are now between the ages of 36 and 24
• ·         Eldest son is a Shateigashira (second lieutenant) in line to move up as the family boss after his father’s death.
• ·         To Jiro’s knowledge his daughter is in America studying western law but as the story unravels you find out that she has actually become intimate with a member of another family , which is a major insult within Yakuza law

Family Background

• ·         Parents were both killed in a car bomb when Jiro was in his late twenties.
• ·         His dad was the former boss of the Yamaguchi-gumi family, which meant that Jiro was next in line to take over the “throne”
• ·         Jiro’s dad taught him from a young age how to hold a sword and how to become one with his blade.

Goals

• ·         Wants to be able to live to a reasonable age even if that means fighting to keep his honor and to keep the respect of both of his families.
• ·         Wants to make sure that his family name stays within the highest ranks of the Yakuza so they are looked after, following his death. One of Jiros biggest fears and paranoia’s is knowing that if he is attacked by other gangs or police forces, that his family may come under fire.
• ·         Needs his Yakuza family to be feared through the Japan and the rest of the world to keep their structure solid and to keep the rest of his family safe

Emotional Status

• ·         Jiro is respected throughout Japan and has earnt that respect. 
• ·         With his position in the family there is a high level of stress that Jiro has had to put up with for many years and therefore has found a way of masking his true feelings.
• ·         Very strong hearted and willing to die for his cause , family and respect

Extra Details

• ·         Jiro keeps his father’s dragon sword close to him at all times for sentimental value as well as he feels it gives him an edge if he is ever to come under attack.
• ·         Even though Jiro is old his years of training give him a level of knowledge in sword play and martial arts that would stand against anyone of a younger age. He has learnt through his many years that to be a samurai isn’t about fancy martial arts but more about respecting your enemy and knowing their every move.

Character Idea

         The idea I have chosen for my character model is that of a Yakuza gang member. Instead of going for the typical mid twenties looking gang member I have gone for a more respected elderly member of the Yakuza family. I feel that if I pick a character that is in his late 50's I can add more personality and design into how he would appear on screen. Alongside this I will be able to create a more in-depth backstory which again will help to give my Yakuza the small but important design aspects, which I feel, are left out of a lot of games. A lot of what my character will be saying to the player will be shown through his tattoos which will be one of his most striking features and therefore my main focus through my concept designs and development will be to create Japanese style tattoos that look appealing in both an east and westernised market. I’ve tried to gather as much reference imagery as possible, a few of which are shown below, to help me with any variants or idea creation in the designing process.

Low Poly Modelling

            We started off by attempting to create different models of furniture with as low poly count possible but still trying to make them look viable for a game environment. This task was a simple reintroduction back into the modelling world which is seen with the simplicity of the objects but they are still models which are seen countless in the gaming world. With the more rigid objects I managed to get a much more realistic look but the sofa came across as quite a problem for me especially when knowing what would be a reasonable amount of polygons to use. This is an area I am obviously going to have to work upon as soon as possible and especially before I go into any detailed modelling with my character concept.