Creating a character seems simple enough. Create a cool look and a catchy name to go with it, and give them a gimmick right? Wrong.
The best characters are great characters in themselves. Regardless of the genre. Something about them breathes a unique personality, attitude, persona. They have their strengths of course, but also have their weaknesses and flaws that ground them—and make them a better character in the process.
The inspiration to create a character or story can come from many places. I’ve talked about how some of our earliest characters have roots as characters we created in Superhero RPGs. But many, if not most, were created organically, out of a need to fill that ‘missing something’ in a story.
In fact, I’d say that some of our best characters are ones that don’t put on a costume. Calling these characters ‘supporting characters’ is a misnomer. Where would Clark Kent be without Lois Lane? These characters are critical to the protagonist and the story.
There was a void to fill for an inner circle of trusted advisors for one of our protagonists, Victor Edge. Enter Steven Wei, a character we created who is prominently featured in our upcoming Saga of Talon.
Steven Wei was born out of our real-life experience with one of our friends and earliest supporters, Steven. Like us, Steven is a life-long fan of comic books. Steven was the inspiration for this pivotal character, both in look and (obviously) in name!
Steven Wei, Talon’s Chief Science Officer is a seemingly fragile character that is smart as a whip. I consider Steven Wei to be one of our greatest characters. I’m super excited for his future role in Saga of Talon!
Comically Yours,
Mark