Artist Wanted II - Character Concept Design Brief #1

Breaker Concept Sketch by Oliver Zavala.

A lot of people viewed the Artist Wanted Ad a few days ago and I got some responses. For those who might be interested but don't want to commit to anything, I created an initial "design brief" so that you can scribble something out at home or on your break at work and if you think its pretty cool you can send it my way via e-mail or a link to wherever you want to put it for viewing. Here's the specs:

Character Concept Design Brief #1

Ideally character concepts will show the character from head to toe. Any details or equipment that might need additional focus might need to be separated out or shown at a different angle. This will allow a sculptor to get a sense of the composition. Examples of this might be unusual/unique weapons, cool details like charms, logos, or something loosely concealed. The characters are described as having a gender identity, but that is a loose guide. In a co-ed indentured servant operated mining colony where everyone is on the same playing field, gender norms and roles would be blurred or thrown out the window. Depictions can be as ambiguous as you want them to be. Additionally, I mention on of the sketches to be a person of color. This is to encourage a diverse future where class is more important than race. There are some links to visual references at the end of the post.

Overview of Breakers vs Security Officers

Breakers
The Breakers are indentured servant miners. They are given the bare minimum to complete the job. Shovels, pick axes, the occasional head lamp and/or breather (mask). Their clothes would be pretty utilitarian, like the "Cool Hand Luke" workers, but occasionally with heavy duty overalls, like in this image - http://www.pinterest.com/pin/466826317596936722/ For the most part they're just disgruntled men and women who turn on their taskmasters. The important thing is for them to be dynamic, varied, and action packed. These are rioters.

Security Officers
They are poorly paid brutal security guards. The "western" looking prison chain gang guards from Cool Hand Luke are a good starting point. Give them a kevlar vest and a taser instead of rifles and it’s the right look. On the Concept References Pinterest there is an image of the riot cop with the riot shield and helmet but no armor to speak of. He's so bare and at risk - that's how I imagine the security officers. Throw a brimmed hat on him or something else to give him a little more western feel and he'd blend right in to the visual. Once again, they're trying to stop the miners from rioting and escaping the mines so they'd be action packed as well.

Where To Begin?

Ideally do a rough sketch of at least one Breaker and one Security Officer and send them to me and we can discuss the look and feel. If you’re really enthused you can do more, but this would be to show off that you have a good idea of the look and feel being discussed. This does not need to be finished work. Just a rough sketch to get a feel for the look.

Starting Character List

Breaker Characters

Gaylen: Gaylen is the daredevil of the group. A young agile female who is used by the IronSky Corp to get into tight areas to plant dynamite and other dangerous duties. She would be lightly equipped to not interfere with her mobility, but she’d have would have a breather with exposed eyes/upper face and some sort of head lamp. She carries concealed dynamite that she stole but could be depicted throwing it. She also carries a shovel.

Bickler: Bickler is the grizzled veteran in the mines. Formerly a soldier, he didn’t have the status, connections, or value to be kept in uniform as he aged. He was discharged and signed a contract as a miner and was dropped here. He should look older and a bit haggard, but solid. He carries a pick axe and a chip on his shoulder. He might have a headlamp, but he should have an exposed face to show his grizzled features.

Trest: Trest is the Genetically Modified Brute. He was engineered strictly for labor purposes and stands taller than a normal man and is more hulking. Trest is pure muscle and brawn. He carries a pneumatic drill (like a horizontally held jackhammer) and wears a gas mask and overalls. He’s unknowingly addicted to corporate supplied narcotics and is prone to violent outbursts.

Security Office Characters
Officer Moerta:  Moerta is a security guard equipped with a Shock Baton and Riot Shield. His head is exposed, but the lower part of his face should be covered with a breather. He is a person of color “just doing his job” and he is exceptional at close combat.

Officer Anlika: Anlika is the diplomatic Officer, more adept at talking through confrontations than violence. Anlika has short cropped hair, an arc pistol (high powered taser) and a standard baton. Visible empathy gives credence to her attempts at diplomacy but will have no qualms about taking down a Breaker if she has to.

Officer Hickley: Equipped with a Kevlar vest, Crowd Control Repeater (a larger sub machine gun with rubber bullets), a baton, and possibly a helmet or maybe just sunglasses. Officer Hickley is a sadistic authoritarian. He will fire indiscriminately into mobs, while shouting uncontrollably and then follow it up with some hearty kicks and cracks with his baton.

Have a go at these concepts or use it to spark your own and we’ll take it from there. There will be plenty more Characters to develop from here and an expanding universe of ideas.

You can find some helpful references here:

Broken Contract - Breaker Concept References 

Broken Contract - General Concept References

Thanks for reading! Send me your concepts. :)

-Nick

Thirdxparty@hotmail.com

Artists Wanted for Broken Contract

I'm looking for up-and-coming and established artists willing to help me get my miniature board game off the ground. I need people willing to work with me to flesh out concept sketches to base miniature sculpts off of and I need finished character art, box art, and a logo to to take my game, Broken Contract, to the next stages of development.

At this point the rules are just about ready to enter Beta Testing by the general public, but if I'm going to be able to attract crowd funding through Kickstarter I'm going to have to have a much more polished presentation. To put it simply, before I can run a Kickstarter I really need some solid art and at least a few miniature sculpts.

Without a stockpile of funds to dole out for commissioned work I'm at a catch 22. I need the Kickstarter to acquire funds, but I need artists and sculptors to run a successful Kickstarter. What I really need are some people who are really interested in getting in on a project like this to build their portfolios and be willing to gamble on a later reward for work completed. Even still, it would need to be "on the cheap" for now (even in this "bill me later" scenario), and depending on how successful the Kickstarter might be would could potentially scale up.

Its a lot to ask, I know. Still, play testing has seemed to demonstrate that the rules are fun, and people seem to find the background engaging and full of opportunity. This project has legs, but I need some help to boost it to the next stage. Get in touch and let's help each other out.

So what's this game all about?

You can find out the basics here: Background Introduction
Here: Breakers
And here: Security Officers

But the condensed version of what you'd be drawing are rioting miners and the security officers that keep them in place in a dystopian sci-fi wild west setting. Imagine Cool Hand Luke meets Firefly as good points of reference. You can get a feel for some of the ideas by looking at my "Concept References" Pinterest.

If you, or someone you know, would be interested in this please get in touch and let's work something out. I'm determined to make this game a reality.

Thanks!
-Nick Baran
thirdxparty@hotmail.com