Core Family and Extended Family Pt. 2

In my last post, I discussed the differences between the core and extended members of a mascot character's family. I felt that, before going on to any designing, I should determine which of these types I feel are good for a franchise and which are a detriment to the memorability, or whether there is actually a particular set that works especially well. 


When it comes to mascot platformers, they tend to have a limited cast of characters in the very beginning, limited to just the core family types - protagonist, antagonist, fodder and boss enemies as well as a damsel in distress. When the initial entry of a to-be mascot franchise becomes popular, more characters are added over time to give each game and the series as a whole more lasting appeal.

However, when too many characters are added to a series, it gets complicated. Characters become forgettable, the designs might not mesh as well with the originals, some might even be clones or rehashes of other characters. For this reason, I feel that striking a good balance of characters is very important for my project.

As a basic rule, I don't feel like any particular types of characters are detrimental to a franchise, the trick is to use them sparingly. The fewer different entities there are, the easier it will be to tie them together thematically. The core 4 should definitely always have a role in a game but whether extended family is used, or to what extent, is subjective. Personally, I think no more than 2 extended family types should be in play to keep a mascot platformer memorable.

Below are a list of the character types - the ones I'd like to work with are written in bold. This is subject to change but I feel that having a vague idea will help when it comes to writing my concept document and thinking of character designs that compliment or contrast each other, depending what I'm going for.

- Core: Protagonist
- Core: Antagonist
- Core: Fodder / Boss
- Core: Damsel in Distress
- Extended: Love Interest
- Extended: Secondary Protagonist
- Extended: Side Character
- Extended: Guide Character
- Extended: Temporary Companion
- Extended: Evil Sidekick
- Extended: Friendly Rival
- Extended: Custom Character

I personally feel that adding one or two members of extended family will keep my pitch interesting, without overwhelming a consumer with too many things to remember.