It’s the O-Boys! Oh no!

So as we start to think about story-lines and character development, it becomes obvious that we need to start exploring the antagonist.  The Yang to Footloosemoose’s Ying.  The Gargamel to Footloosemoose’s Smurf.

I have actually been pondering this for quite some time.  What I decided quite early in the process is that the baddies were going to be square/rectangular in appearance to visually differentiate them from the spherical good guys.  I also decided that whilst they are the opposing force in the story, they’re not going to be evil.  This is for kids, after all, and I’d prefer it if this didn’t end in nightmares!

Then there’s the question:  Are we talking about one character or multiple?  Someone solo like Lex Luthor or are we coming up with a group of baddies like the Decepticons.  My opinion is that multiple is really the only option, as even Dr Claw has M.A.D. Cat to share dialog with.  We need to create a dynamic amongst characters where you can illustrate the personalities in numerous interesting ways.  Having multiple characters allows for less repetition.

That said, the bad guys still need a leader.  We still require someone to call the shots and a figurehead that is the ultimate nemesis, however quirky and kid-friendly that may be.

Introducing the O-Boys!

So we’ve got three characters and together they make up the O-Boys.

Allow me to introduce you:

Meet Bango.  He’s stronger and slower.  Perhaps a little dopey and likes a good chuckle.

Next is Boingo.  He’s zippy, impulsive and a little unpredictable.  A fast talker and a little more devious. He likes to pretend he is the boss.

Finally, here’s the brains of the outfit: Bingo.  He orders the others around.  He usually comes up with a pretty good plan, unfortunately, the others in his posse are a little unreliable.  He’s got one eye and two eyebrows so he’s clearly the boss :)

The colours are deliberately desaturated and of blue-ish tones to keep them quite different to the natural vibrant colours found in the “good” animal characters.

Each of these baddies have their own ‘thing’ (or is that, ‘thing-o’?).  Bango is into mechanical objects and construction.  Boingo is into sport and exercise.  Bingo is into puzzles and brain games.

I’m planning on creating a separate image for each of these where they can show off their skills a little better.  Until then, you’ll have to have a better squiz-o in the gallery-o.  O-Boy, indeed!

I’ve also been playing around with a logo for these guys.  Maybe to appear on their hideout or on the tools they use.  Here’s the work in progress…

EDIT: I’ve actually now updated this logo – check out the new version.

The other consideration when coming up with these characters is how they’ll behave in a game.  The square bodies are great for fast collision detection computations and you can even imagine Footloosemoose jumping/walking on their flat heads.  Sounds like fun, huh!?

I’m pretty keen to add a fourth character to this bunch though I’m still trying to figure out how exactly that should happen.  I’d like to add a female lead who these three report to.  She probably provides the funds for the operations and drives the plot at a macro level.

In a future post, I’ll explain how I see the general plot unfolding.  These characters, including the female lead, fit quite nicely into the story framework that I’ve got in my head – looking forward to sharing it with you.

Let me know what you think.

Until next time…  Moose to you, too.