Event 7: Design a Bright Bats Mascot!

[Dashe]

That was fast. Though a Zakobon doesn't really seem that appealing as a partner. They probably want to go cuter.

[General Specific]

What would be genuinely mysterious is a whole new type of Reaverbot altogether—heck, if we were really subtle and wanted to give some connection to the slowly-awakening Elder System, we could give that a go.

[Dashe]

Of course, Reaverbot's just the first thing that popped into my head when I thought of ruins, there could be a more creative option out there for sure. If we do go that route, original design would probably be the best way to go, I think.

[pureweavel]

This event is surprisingly exciting, although I have little artistic ability myself to contribute other than ideas.

Regardless of what it is, there are many attributes that can make one thing mysterious. The biggest one that pops into my head is something with a shell, that obviously has a darkened inner-some. The reason I'm thinking of a "shell" idea is because if Barrett was to stumble upon this mascot, it either will be by accident or luck. Giving him the impression that he found a valuable treasure, would also give way to a cool introduction when the team discovers that the treasure is alive itself.

If an iScribble session is being held tomorrow, I'll be showing up to help in any way I can. MMLS is overdue for a Devroom Event Victory.

[Sergeant Pepper]

I already got my idea down.
The thing I had in mind was, what if Barrett unknowingly discovered a System related figure?

[General Specific]

We don't really want to involve a predominantly-Teomo-based character with the Elder System or any System so easily—leave that to the whole of Teomo and not just one individual, and to Volnutt at that. If he was a new, different, never-before-seen type of Reaverbot that had been chucked away by the ES, though, that'd make sense—even then, though, that would be placing a lot of foreshadowing and dramatic emphasis on a mascot character. Data has plenty of mystery even without the drama.

[Dashe]

It should be flexible enough to fit in with whatever Capcom's thought up already. And probably somewhat mechanical and relatively friendly-looking and humorous. I couldn't see something totally organic being down in a ruin like that.

[Pitch]

Hmm... ideas...

I'd like to see a penguin. Maybe a reaver-penguin, if that's so necessary. The Bright Bats would find him nearby some water underwater portion of the ruins carrying a refractor in his beak. As soon as the Bright Bats approach, the penguin swims off. (Or runs off.) Then the Bright Bats keep bumping into him throughout the ruins, and he keeps swimming away. (Or running away.) And then toward the end of the ruins, the Bright Bats have to save him from the main Reaverbot. After the Bright Bats save him, he'd let them have the refractor he was carrying around. (Which ends up being the refractor the main reaverbot was supposed to be guarding.) And then when the Bright Bats get out of the ruins, they'd find the penguin had been following them the whole way. And then the Bright Bats would decide to take him with them, and that's how he'd end up becoming their mascot.

Personality-wise I guess he'd be a bit shy, considering he runs away every time you see him at first. And a bit mischievous considering he snatched the refractor. Maybe that could be his thing; like he goes and sneaks stuff from other the gangs. Could be phun. But yeah... I'm not really sure what else to say about his personality. He's a penguin.

I'm mostly just messing around, but there you go. It's an idea.

[General Specific]

The overall scenario is fine, but I can't quite see a penguin with that personality working well as a gang mascot. Something more adventurous and mischievous would be what I'd look for, considering this is a biker gang with a bunch of rough edges.

[Pitch]

I'm OK if you don't like the idea for a penguin, but I don't like your reasons, because my impression of the Bright Bats has been quite the opposite. Considering they're the weakest gang on the island, I don't think a more, shall we say, intimidating creature would really suit them. I rather like the unassuming nature of a penguin. It seems fitting, for an oddball gang. If we were designing a mascot for one of the tougher gangs, I would see your point though. Maybe the other gangs could even make fun of the Bright Bats for having such a silly mascot.

But again, I'm mostly just kidding around. Originally I was going to just jokingly write “I don't have any real ideas, but I'd like to see a penguin. Let's make it happen!” But then the little story there just kind of came to me, and there you have it. Really, the whole basis of it was making something that works for the penguin. Like I said, I'm not really serious about it, though; I just think it sounds quirky and fun. If someone wants to steal this idea and change it around some, go ahead.

[tominator]

Wow, you called it Pitch. An interesting and different contest to be sure. A challenging one as well (make a mascot the likes of Data and the Servbots). It's a bit different from Data and the servbots in that it is supposed to be "mysterious." Which seems to go against the open and childish nature of Data and the servbots that we all love them for.

I think as important as the pictures will be, those 300 words are going to be equally important (that is where the charm of the character is going to really come through).

I think a good point to start thinking when coming up with these ideas is the background of the character. What is their origin (the system, carbon technology, the ruins). And what are they doing in a ruin. This will have a large impact on the character's art design and personality. The desired personality of the character should be considered too (are they comical, serious, friendly). Then again great ideas don't need to come about from linear thinking (especially this early in the game).

As a side point how many submissions do you guys think we are going to get asking for zero (whom you awaken from a capsule) to be the mascot .

[General Specific]

@pitch: True, but they still try to stand up and give a good fight with the other gangs of the Rebel Riders. There's an awkward balance between their naivete and their will to become a better team, and they're mischievous even with their flaws. The best mascot for the job, IMO, is one that can be cute and ugly as well—ugly in that even it has a childish personality, malicious and benign. There are two extremes to balance here, and such balance would make for a dynamic mascot character.

[Benjamin]

Tempting. But I suppose I'm out for this one - I'm sure my little bout of trouble hasn't blown over yet. Kind of sucks, as it's beginning to look like Barrett might a transfer of Barrel to a younger body after a fashion (though more all his skills than all his memories), and designing something around that could be rather fun. Perhaps during a dig attempting to find out more about the Master System, Barrel ran afoul of a form of system unit that reinitialized his personal Carbon data, creating a new person with the same skills and knowledge of digging, but without the memories of being Barrel. And perhaps this little mascot they run across is tied to that somehow.

Something to compete with Data and the Servbots...



It could, if it wasn't already licensed and copyrighted. Just don't give it a voice, make it mute, make it mechanical, and slap the reaverbot eye over the hole (or inset into it). Sort of like something that the Bright Bats can view as a cute little pet, but that is in reality an observational system unit of some kind - perhaps later on, when it's role in Barret's creation and the elimination of Barrel is revealed, it becomes the eyepiece/head for a massive Reaverboss or the island system unit in the climactic battle.

[Nightshade]

Looks like the Station is back into design action. It's a tad late so I don't really have a physical design in mind just yet.

However, I thought maybe two personality traits that one of our submissions could have. First, when Barret encounters the mascot, the mascot does not remember anything. (Barret- So what's your name? Mascot- I don't know. Barret- Why are you in this ruin? Mascot- I don't know.) I guess having the know-nothing mascot would complement to know-it-all Data. Plus, with the mascot not knowing its name (if it has one to begin with), we can say that its name was chosen by the Bright Bats.

Second, although it should have a simpler personality at first, it should develop a strong curiosity. Its curiosity could get it into trouble most of the time which would fit the troublemaker gang to a certain point.

And just as a suggestion, even if the mascot is not a bat, nothing stops us to put a decorative accessory on it to represent a bat. Better: it could wear a pair of Bright Bats' goggles.

Anyhow, it's sleep time for me. Looking forward for more brainstorming with you guys.

[General Specific]

That sounds like a very robust start, Night—along the lines of what I was thinking of, mainly due to the whole "mysterious nature" theme the developers have here. We probably don't need to develop the personality too much either—having the bugger have a curious instinct (relies on senses, not so much on reasoning!) and be a silent character would add some cartoon character qualities, some universal appeal, and a load of versatility.

@ben: Your post also poses another question: when does the Prototype begin in relation to such a reformation happening, going from Barrel to Barrett, if we take into account the Eden satellite shown in the footage? If the Prototype plot begins around the end of Legends 2, for example, how would Barrel suddenly be Barrett, who has a lot of friends and experience as a biker? It reeks of fan-fiction and ill-reasoning, aside from being a silly plot device, lol.