University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Game character design and cultural export

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Game character design and cultural export

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GAME CHARACTER DESIGN AND CULTURAL EXPORT

by

Zheli Zong

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSKI SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF FINE ARTS
(DESIGN)

May 2022

Copyright 2022 Zheli Zong

ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………….........iii
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………...iv
Introduction……………………………………………….……………………………………….1
What is Good Character Design?.....................................................................................................3
Cultural Export……………………………………………………………………………….........5
1. Red Dead Redemption II...…………………………………………………….........6
2. Assasin’s Creed Unity………………………………………………………….........8
3. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice…………….………………………………………….10
4. Genshin Impact….………………………………………………………………....14
Application of Cultural Elements in Character Design………………………………………….18
Character Design: DanXi………………………………………………………………………...21
Illustration Design….…………………………………………………………………………….27
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….31
Bibliography…………………………………………….……………………………………….32

iii
List of Figures
1. Red Dead Redemption II……………………………………………………………………...6
2. Notre-Dame de Paris in Assassin's Creed Unity………………………………………………8
3. The Corrupted Monk in Sekiro………………………………………………………………12
4. The Dihua Marsh in Genshin Impact………………………………………………………...16
5. The Wangshu Inn in Genshin Impact………………………………………………………...17
6. "Yang" in Oracle Bone Scrip………………………………………………………….….….23
7. A redesigned Pattern Based On The "Yang" in Oracle Bone Script………………...…….…23
8. Tian- Tsui Craft Jewelry………………………………………………………………...........24
9. Bixi…………………………………………………………………………………………...25
10. Application of Bixi in DanXi’s Character Design……………………...……………………25
11. DanXi’s Character Design…………………………………………………………………...26
12. DanXi’s Storyboard………………………………….………………………………………28
13. The Drawing Process of Illustration……………………….……….……………………….30

iv
Abstract
My design practice centers on the relationship between character design and its cultural
export. Character design, in digital games is influenced by the cultural background that the
games author was raised in, and their personal experiences within that particular culture. This is
seen in the choice to use specific items that represent and define the culture so that the character
can best represent their region and history. My research analyzes the use of these specific cultural
elements in character creation, the history of character design and how choices are made about
the characters backstory, costume, prop design and narrative inspiration. The choices that a
character designer makes combine to promote and export a cultural message. As an example of
my understanding of this design process, I have created an original character that uses cultural
symbols to create a narrative. DanXi, which I created, is a character that combines the divine
bird of ancient Chinese legend with traditional handicraft culture and patterns.

1
Introduction
The game industry worldwide has developed rapidly in recent years, from console games
to computer games and now to mobile games. The user base is growing, and games are gradually
becoming one of the main ways to spend leisure time and provide entertainment. The game
characters are the most important part of online games because the story development and setting
of the game are centered on the characters. Therefore, designing game characters can not only
reflect the artistic cultivation of the designers, but can also reflect the culture of a country or
region. As a carrier of cultural inheritance, the game character’s visual design represents the
culture of a certain place. This is reflected through costumes, props and expressions. Players can
understand and learn the culture in the process of experiencing the game.
When I was a child, the television was a window on the world. At that time, Chinese TV
stations introduced many excellent cartoons from Japan, Europe and America. At that time, my
greatest pleasure was to go home from school and sit in front of the TV to watch cartoons such as
Tom and Jerry, Doraemon, Pokemon, Sailor Moon and so on. When I was young, the beautiful
and lovely appearance of the characters, handsome actions and interesting stories within each
cartoon deeply touched me. Later, when I came into contact with video games, I found that many
Chinese characters in Japanese, European and American cartoons and games had several things
in common, that is, women wore cheongsam, men wore mandarin coats and knew kung fu. As
long as these elements appeared in a character, the audience thought the character was Chinese.
On the other hand, everything about China in animation and games relied on elements that had

2
been used many times. This phenomenon is actually determined by the cultural symbols of the
elements themselves. However, there are also excellent films that successfully convey Chinese
culture, such as "Mulan," produced by Disney in 1998. This is because of the Disney animation
team's superb cultural research of Chinese landscapes, the Great Wall, palaces, along with
people's clothing and armor. These elements are presented to the audience in the form of
animation, so that the world feels the charm of Chinese culture. Although Disney presents a
delicate and beautiful ancient China, the values of the animation itself are western. When
"Mulan" was produced, China was far behind Japan and the United States in terms of cultural
exports in games and animation. However, with the rapid development of the Internet in recent
years, China has successfully exported its culture to the world through games.
China is an ancient civilization with a history of 5,000 years and has accumulated a
complex and multifaceted cultures. As the international community learns more about China,
many stereotypes are being broken. As a Character Designer I have created a brand new
character, that combines the patterns of oracle bone inscriptions, traditional clouds, and Tian-tsui
culture with the legendary divine bird to tell the story of my Chinese heritage without using
stereotyped and overused symbols.

3
What is good character design?
Character design is the styling of characters in animation, fiction, games, movies, and
other media, including details such as appearance, costume, and expressions
1
. In other words, the
design is the whole process of creating a complete character from scratch, inside and out. It is a
type of design where artists take an abstract "concept" of a character and present it in a visual
form through images. It is not just about drawing the character or animal; it is about accurately
conveying a lot of important information that is relevant to them.
Games are a major part of daily life for the younger generation, and whether it's online
games, console games or mobile games, they are the easiest and most convenient tools of
entertainment. Because of the amount of time spent in the game, the art used to define the
identity of the game character is important because it is the first impression the player will see.
Therefore, the first impression that games given to people is visual. In general, the visual
elements we can see in the game belong to the category of game art design. Specifically, in a
game, it mainly includes animation, character, action, scene, special effects, interface, and props,
etc. Whether the visual style of a game is desirable and sufficient to attract players, relies mainly
on the work of game artists. Among them, character design is the soul of game art, which is the
key factor in deciding whether a game product can be successful or not
2
.
Early character designs emerged based on myths and legends. Myths are not only stories
about the origin of time, but also the greatest philosophical stories of mankind. Myths are stories

1
人物設計,” Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation, January 5, 2021),
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E8%A8%AD%E8%A8%88.
2
陈光宇. “谈游戏美术设计的灵魂——角色设计.” Mei shu da guan, no. 11 (2015): 132–132.

4
about a world that transcends human values and judgments, and they have survived as people
have continued to transmit them orally and in writing from ancient times to the present. When
people pass on these myths and legends, they often give figurative descriptions of the gods and
spirits in them
3
. Thus, mythology has become in modern times not only a fascinating world of
gods and interesting stories about the origins of the world, it is also an important part of
historical and cultural identity.
The goddess Athena in Greek mythology was the goddess of wisdom and war and was
one of the twelve main gods of Olympus. According to Ian Jenkins in his book The Parthenon
Sculptures, "Athena is depicted as a warrior resting after a successful battle. A winged figure of
victory falls on the palm of her outstretched right hand, while her left hand supports a circular
shield. A spear rests on her left shoulder. The goddess is draped in a most simple corseted tunic, a
shawl, with armor hanging from her shoulders and chest, and a serpentine fringed fish scale
poncho, a gift from her father Zeus, with protective powers”
4
. We can see that when the ancient
Athenians carved statues of the gods, they often presented them to the world in the form of
sculptures based on the descriptions of the images of Athena in the mythology handed down to
them. In modern times, the image of the goddess Athena has been used in various games and
anime of many kinds. This shows that the world of mythology is a rich field to easily find
inspiration in, so that various games and anime often create numerous characters based on myths

3
Park, Hyemin, and Gapyuel Seo. “A Study on Game Character Design Based on Mythical
Motif - Focused on League of Legends.” 한국디지털콘텐츠학회 논문지 20, no. 12 (2019):
2329–2340.
4
Jenkins, Ian. The Parthenon Sculptures Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2007.
p82.

5
and legends from around the world.

Cultural Export
Cultural export is the dissemination of cultural contents with the characteristics of one's
own country and place to other places in various ways so that more people can learn about them.
If done well, cultural export can attract the attention of more foreigners and let more people take
the initiative to learn about a particular country. In the game and anime industry Japan is a
successful representative of cultural export. Take Naruto as an example, its manga started to be
serialized in Monthly Shonen JUMP in 1999 It came to an end in November 2014. Its anime
started in 2002 and ended in 2017
5
. Its story centers on the theme of "ninjas," which manages to
portray the profession of a ninja who is supposed to hide in the dark, using the world's greatest
perseverance and hardest efforts to do the most secret and cruel things. As a classic bloodthirsty
anime, Naruto can be said to have accompanied the entire youth of our generation, with the
protagonist Naruto's continuous growth and experience to his successful realization of his dream.
Naruto succeeded in creating a worldwide ninja craze. It also reminded viewers worldwide that
the anime terms "Ninja," "Chakra," and "ninjutsu" originated in Japan.
When video games were first created, they were just a means of entertainment, and what
people were seeking at that time was just pure enjoyment. However, over time games began to
have richer forms of expression such as graphics, plot and music. People began to pursue more

5
“Naruto,” Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation, November 11, 2021),
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naruto.

6
in-depth games, they tried to integrate traditional literature into the games, so that the game had a
story. When a game has literary value, we can think whether it has the ability of "cultural export".
Here are a few examples of successful cultural exports that I have researched.
1. Red Dead Redemption II
Red Dead Redemption II (RDR2) is an action-adventure open world game based on the
American Wild West, produced by Rockstar San Diego, and released in October 2018. The game
is set in 1899 in the United States. Federal Marshalls have begun to crack down on the remaining
outlaw gangs. The cowboy West is coming to an end, and those who refuse to surrender or give
in will die. Forced to leave Blackwater to live somewhere else. Civilized society is quietly taking
over, and in that take over, there is friction with the outlaws. Friction inevitably leads to conflict
and struggle between the two parties. This is either a tragic story or a story of redemption.

Figure 1. Red Dead Redemption II
6

6
photograph, February 16, 2019, Most Intriguing Details of Red Dead Redemption 2 Story,

7
There is no doubt that RDR2 succeeds in creating a convincing 19
th
century American
West with its stunning detail. For example, animals are part of the landscape, and you can
occasionally spot wolves hunting rabbits on the road. If the player is about to fall off a cliff while
riding, the horse will struggle against its rider and stop at the edge of the cliff. The NPC will also
make suggestions based on the player's current state, such as coming out of a swamp and being
covered in mud. The NPC will advise you to take a bath when talking to the player.
Characters with rugged voices wearing western style hats, cowboy boots, and jeans,
smoking cigarettes and using revolver style guns, are the norm. RDR2 is a game that lets players
realize Wild West fantasy, in a very American way. Like American culture, it allows the player to
indulge in unbridled freedom. It encourages players to have the right to live their lives as they
wish.
7

The cowboy, free and uninhibited in spirit as he punishes evil and promotes law and order,
like the Chinese knight-errant, Japanese ninja, and European knight, is a historical and cultural
symbol that is featured in countless films and TV shows. He is a man in command of his own
fate. He is the personification of the American dream. Because he was a self-made man, an
opportunist, a hard worker, and a dreamer. He is, at heart, a symbol of fundamental American
values.
8

February 16, 2019,
https://www.eneba.com/blog/most-intriguing-details-of-red-dead-redemption-2-story/.
7
2018 2:29pm By: Peter ClarkPublished Nov 2, “'Red Dead Redemption 2' Reflects the
Absolute Best and Worst of the American Dream // ONE37pm,” 'Red Dead Redemption 2'
Reflects the Absolute Best and Worst of the American Dream // ONE37pm, November 2, 2018,
https://www.one37pm.com/culture/gaming/red-dead-redemption-2-analysis-review-america.
8
Nicco Capozzi, “The Myth of the American Cowboy,” Medium (Medium, February 16, 2018),

8
2. Assassin's Creed Unity
Ubisoft, France's largest gaming company, is best known for its Assassin's Creed series.
The Assassin's Creed series is an action-adventure RPG that weaves its story through history to
keep the player engaged. Assassin's Creed Unity (ACU) is one of Ubisoft's most iconic films,
using the French Revolution as a historical event to tell the story of the main character. In the
course of playing, players can not only simply understand part of the historical background of the
French Revolution, but also immersed themselves in France to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral,
Pantheon, Louvre and other famous sites.

Figure 2. Notre-Dame de Paris in Assassin's Creed Unity
9

As a French game company, Ubisoft took extra care to present 18th century Paris in the

https://medium.com/@StormFoxEsq/the-myth-of-the-american-cowboy-22260d0fecd8.

9
photograph, THE VERGE (Andrew Webster, April 17, 2019),
https://www.theverge.com/2014/10/31/7132587/assassins-creed-unity-paris.

9
game, Caroline Miousse, level artist for ACU, said in an interview that she spent two years
building a virtual Paris that existed centuries ago during the production of ACU, spending more
than 80% of her time building Notre Dame. She studied the photos carefully so that the buildings
in the game could be coordinated with reality. She also worked with texture artists to ensure that
every brick was exactly how it should have been. She even enlisted the help of historians to
figure out the exact paintings hanging on the walls. Although the Notre Dame in the game is not
exactly the same as the real one due to some licensing issues, they did obtain the rights to some
of the artwork and decorations and put them in the game. The final cathedral of Notre Dame in
the game looks very similar overall, but the details are not the same.
10
However, unfortunately,
the 2019 Notre Dame fire, that resulted in serious damage to the building. Ubisoft donated
500,000 euros at the time to help restore and rebuild the cathedral and to give away Assassin's
Creed Unity for free to players worldwide on PC.
11
ACU's excellent in-game artwork presents
players with a view of the streets of Paris at the end of the 18th century, and many players say
that they don't even need a guide when they go to Paris after playing ACU so much. On his first
visit to Notre Dame in Paris, for example, a player can point out to his wife where there are stairs
or sculptures. The reason for this is that he had to walk around the church several times to finish
the quest because he had failed so many times in the game that he naturally remembered the

10
Andrew Webster, “Building a Better Paris in Assassin's Creed Unity,” The Verge (The Verge,
October 31, 2014), https://www.theverge.com/2014/10/31/7132587/assassins-creed-unity-paris.
11
Ubisoft, “Supporting Notre-Dame De Paris,” Ubisoft® - Official Ubisoft News, Previews and
Features, April 17, 2019,
https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/2Hh4JLkJ1GJIMEg0lk3Lfy/supporting-notredame-de-pari
s.

10
scenes.
12
I think this is one of the reasons why this game does so well and excels in cultural
export.
3. Sekiro：Shadows Die Twice
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a third-person action-adventure RPG From From Software.
The game takes place in an empty country called Reiko in Japan during the brutal Warring States
Period in the late 16th century. The player can control a ninja to face off against life-threatening
enemies, and flexibly to use a wide variety of weapons, and the ability to endure many hardships.
The player has to rescue his master, Kuro, who is of Japanese aristocratic descent, and take
revenge on his enemies. The game was released worldwide in March 2019, and by July 2020, it
had sold more than 5 million copies.
13
Sekiro won The Game of The Year Award at The Game
Awards 2019 for its excellent Game quality and difficult gameplay.
14

As an action game, the wild ghosts and beasts are essential. They all have archetypes in
Japanese culture. For example, the Corrupted Monk is a ghost in Sekiro, and he is the gatekeeper
of the Fountainhead Palace map in the game to stop the player from progressing on the bridge.

12
Shule Zhang, “什么叫有文化：《刺客信条》玩的多，去巴黎不用请导游_百科 TA说,” 百
度 TA说, November 28, 2017,
https://baike.baidu.com/tashuo/browse/content?id=2f515281344db3a45e088a82.
13
Sal Romano, “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Sales Top Five Million, 'Additional Features
Update' Launches October 29,” Gematsu, October 24, 2020,
https://www.gematsu.com/2020/07/sekiro-shadows-die-twice-sales-top-five-million-additional-fe
atures-update-launches-october-29.
14
Eddie Makuch, “All Winners from the Game Awards 2019,” GameSpot (Gamespot,
December 13, 2019),
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/all-winners-from-the-game-awards-2019/1100-6472169/.

11
Her image is based on Benkei
15
(武藏坊弁庆), the famous monk soldier of the Genji era.
According to legend, his mother carried him for 18 months before he was born. He was born not
as a baby but as a two- or three-year-old, and his birth name Oniwaka which means “like a
ghost”. This can also be related to when you see the Corrupted Monk as a ghost in the game. Her
clothes are unusual, not the plain and simple "regular clothes" of ordinary monks, that wear
leaflets daily. In the game, the monk is holding a string of Buddhist beads in his left hand, a
yellow-brown cassock, a square cloth pattern and a white monk's turban, which are the
"vestments" worn by Japanese Tendaizashu.
16
Since the buddhist vestments of various
denominations in Japan are completely different, the attire of the Tendai patriarch is unique, so it
can be judged that the identity of a broken monk is at least "presiding" level. The Tendai Temple
is in the Hiei Temple
17
on Mount Hiei. The temple is surrounded by maple trees. In autumn and
winter, maple leaves are scattered all over the mountains around the temple, which corresponds
to the maple leaves in the scene of the monk breaking the precepts in the game.

15
“Benkei,” Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation, November 27, 2021),
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benkei.
16
“天台座主,” Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation, November 22, 2021),
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A9%E5%8F%B0%E5%BA%A7%E4%B8%BB.
17
延暦寺について,” 比叡山延暦寺 [Hieizan Enryakuji], January 1, 9827,
https://www.hieizan.or.jp/about.

12

Figure 3. The Corrupted Monk in Sekiro
18

Access to her memory after defeating her reveals her original name as Yao Bikuni (八百
比丘尼). She is commonly shown with a Hannya
19
(般若) mask, which has two pointed horns,
metallic eyes, and a leering lips. The Hannya mask is used in Japanese theater such as Noh and
Kyōgen, as well as Shinto ritual Kagura dances. It depicts the souls of women who have
transformed into demons as a result of obsession or jealousy. In Japanese folklore there is a
fisherman who once caught a peculiar fish with a human face (Ningyo, a Japanese mermaid-like
creature whose flesh is believed to confer longevity). People avoided the sight of Ningyo, but his
daughter ate it out of curiosity, resulting in a thousand years of life.
20
After witnessing the cycle

18
photograph, n.d., Sekiro Shadows Die Twice, n.d.,
https://www.sekirothegame.com/gallery?filter=screenshot&item=8.
19
Japan - Culture and History., “Hannya – (a Japanese She-Demon),” Japanese History and
Culture, October 8, 2016, https://rekishinihon.com/2016/10/08/hannya-a-japanese-she-demon/.
20
Wiki, “Corrupted Monk,” Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Wiki (Fextralife, November 4, 2021),
https://sekiroshadowsdietwice.wiki.fextralife.com/Corrupted+Monk.

13
of life and death repeatedly, she came to believe that life is malleable. This reflects how the
broken monk became a broken monk and was probably forced to live forever after mistakenly
drinking worm-contaminated water from the Fountainhead Palace, making the boss both
legendary and tragic.
Although the game is extremely difficult to play, there is no denying that it is a powerful
and comprehensive cultural export in the context of the Warring States Period in Japan. Under
this Japanese art style, players around the world can deeply experience the chaos and struggles of
the Warring States period in Japan. It has even taught players around the world how to write the
word "die" because of the hard and frustrating process of constantly improving their abilities
through combat.
It has to be said that Sekiro is a comprehensive work, which contains a very strong
cultural output, whether it is the monster culture led by the Guardian Ape or the Japanese
Buddhism of the monks of Mt. Kongo, all vividly expressed in the game. Japanese clothing
design is also classical and elegant, gorgeous and extraordinary. Men's kimono color is drabber,
the color is darker, and the design is not as complex. Belts are mostly thin belts, and accessories
are simple, easy to wear and easy to fight in. The color of the lady's kimono is very gorgeous, the
belt is very wide, and the style is complex, all are accompanied by a variety of accessories. As
well as the detailed description of the items in the game and the description of the memory
gained after killing the boss, this is a game worthy of the Excellence Award from the Japan

14
Media Arts Festival.
21

4. Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact is an open-world role-playing game produced and published by miHoYo
in Shanghai, China. It was released in September 2020 on Microsoft Windows, Play Station 4,
Android and iOS. With cross-platform functionality between them and support for multiple
languages including Chinese, Japanese, and English, it has attracted many fans of from around
the world. On the mobile platform, Genshin Impact was downloaded 23 million times
22
and
earned about $60 million in revenue within a week of its release.
23
Within two weeks, this figure
rose to more than $100 million, earning back the budget it spent on development and
marketing.
24
With its excellent game quality, it won the App Store 2020 Look Degree Best
Game
25
and the 2021 Apple Visual and Graphic Design Award awarded by Apple.
26

21
Japan Media Arts Festival Archive, “Excellence Award - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice: Award:
Entertainment Division: 2020 [23rd],” Japan Media Arts Festival Archive, accessed December 9,
2021,
http://archive.j-mediaarts.jp/en/festival/2020/entertainment/works/SEKIRO_SHADOWS_DIE_T
WICE/.
22
Khee Hoon Chan, “Mobile Games Have Quietly Exploded,” Polygon (Polygon, March 3,
2021),
https://www.polygon.com/2021/3/3/22311787/core-mobile-games-among-us-genshin-impact-tre
nds.
23
Craig Chapple Mobile Insights Strategist, “Genshin Impact Generates $60 Million in First
Week as It Becomes World's No. 2 Grossing Mobile Game,” Sensor Tower Blog, accessed
December 2, 2021, https://sensortower.com/blog/genshin-impact-first-week-revenue.
24
Jonathan Bolding, “Grossing over $100m, Genshin Impact Recoups Development Costs in
Two Weeks,” pcgamer (PC Gamer, October 11, 2020),
https://www.pcgamer.com/grossing-over-dollar100m-genshin-impact-recoups-development-costs
-in-two-weeks/.
25
Apple Presents App Store Best of 2020 Winners,” Apple Newsroom, December 1, 2021,
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/12/apple-presents-app-store-best-of-2020-winners/.
26
Apple Inc., “Apple Design Awards - Apple Developer,” 2021 Apple Design Award Winners -

15
The game takes place in the fantasy world of Teyvat, where seven elements intersect, and
where seven nations are ruled by different gods. The story is about the protagonist "Traveler"
who, after being forced to separate from his twin, is drawn into the events of each country in the
process of searching for his lost sibling together with his passage partner "Paimon". Among them,
Liyue (璃月) is a country designed based on China. Therefore, players can see the Chinese
fantasy style of the Liyue region and the local conditions and customs of the people here in the
game, the cultural roots in the field puzzles, and the tangible ones include the Chinese buildings
with mortise and tenon structure in the city, the stone forest, the foothills, and the colorful ponds
with "Chinese beauty". Dihua Marsh, the first Liyue area that players come into contact with,
represents the initial impression of the entire region. This area is based on the landscape of
Guilin, Guangxi, China, showing the rolling stone peaks and stone forests, as the saying goes,
"Guilin's landscape is the best in the world", and the staff in charge of scene design tried their
best to show the most beautiful landscape in China. It recreates many of the qualities of Guilin's
watery scenery and rolling hills, and also brings the life of the people of the country to the player
through imagery such as flat boats and fishing families. The iconic building of Dihua Marsh is
Wangshu Inn, the name Wangshu (望舒) is taken from Chinese mythology as the god of moon
driving, which can also be used to refer to the moon
27
. It was inspired by a martial arts movie
"Dragon Inn,"
28
a favorite of the art staff, and is characterized by a seemingly ordinary

Apple Design Awards - Apple Developer, accessed December 2, 2021,
https://developer.apple.com/design/awards/.
27
望舒,” 千篇国学·汉语词典, accessed December 3, 2021,
https://cidian.qianp.com/ci/%E6%9C%9B%E8%88%92.
28
“Dragon Inn,” Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation, August 19, 2021),

16
appearance, but actually is a place where a crouching tiger hides a dragon. In the game Wang
Shu Inn is located in a high place, itself has the role of a sentinel tower, its more immortal in this
hermitage, as the center to clean up the surrounding monsters. Its appearance is a reference to the
ancient style of Diaojiaolou
29
and hanging temples.
30
The final in-game presentation of Dihua
Marsh has a large sea of flowers that accompany the water and a unique terrain. The game begins
with a walk under the boulders and a glimpse of the stars above the stone gate in the darkness.
With such a beautiful state of mind, players here to meet the sunrise in the east of the fish belly
white, and then see the sunlight in the Dihua Marsh revealed beautiful.

Figure 4. The Dihua Marsh in Genshin Impact

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Inn.
29
“Diaojiaolou: China & Asia Cultural Travel,” China & Asia Cultural Travel | TanSuo Cultural
Travel Solution Ltd., February 11, 2019, https://www.asiaculturaltravel.co.uk/diaojiaolou/.
30
“Hanging Temple,” Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation, September 3, 2021),
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanging_Temple.

17

Figure 5. The Wangshu Inn in Genshin Impact
31

In fact, in the open world of the Genshin Impact, the development team carried out a
large amount of video data collection and field collection, the Zhangjiajie, Huanglong, Guilin
and other Chinese scenery was "moved" into the game.
The Luhua Pool landform is derived from the calcium pool formed by the calcium
waterfall of Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area,
32
a famous scenic spot in Sichuan,
China. The Jueyun Karst is the hermitage of Liyue's immortals in the game, so the rocky forest
and sea of clouds here is a reference to the Zhangjiajie landscape
33
in Hunan Province. The
scene has towering sandstone peaks with white clouds between them, similar to the traditional
Chinese landscape painting technique.

31
photograph, n.d., Genshin Impact, n.d., https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/map.
32
Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area,” Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation, August 8,
2021), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huanglong_Scenic_and_Historic_Interest_Area.
33
“Landform of Zhangjiajie - Zhangjiajie Tour Guide, China,” Brand, accessed December 4,
2021, https://www.zhangjiajietourguide.com/article-p263-landform-of-zhangjiajie.html.

18
Genshin Impact even collaborated with these scenic spots, it installed in-game teleports
in real world scenic spots. After its official Twitter and Facebook accounts were posted about the
cooperation with scenic spots, many global players were amazed by the beauty of China. This
model of cooperation between games and scenic spots created a beautiful postcard of Chinese
culture to global players and tourists and contributed to the revival of the tourism industry during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
34

Application Of Cultural Elements In Character Design
The significance of cultural elements in character design mainly lies in enriching the
forms of expression of characters. In a world dominated by paid games, characters are one of the
most common commodities, as they are not only a way to distinguish a game for a player, but
also an important way to establish a game's identity.
As the example of Genshin Impact mentioned previously, the representative role of the
Liyue region in the game was successfully recreated. Both the delicate appearance and pleasant
character reflected in the story proved very popular among players. These characters are a natural
blend of modern world sophistication and fashion, as well as charming classical Oriental
temperament, and anime style. The game not only brings visual enjoyment to players, but also
spreads its own Chinese culture and values to world. I will use "Zhongli" as an example for

34
郑栩彤 , “从游戏出海到文化出海，《原神》做对了什么？,” 从游戏出海到文化出海，《原
神》做对了什么？, July 19, 2021, https://www.time-weekly.com/post/283283.

19
analysis.
Zhongli was released at the end of November 2020. His handsome character design and
his personal charm in the development of the story have not only made him super popular in
China, but also set off a craze among players in other countries and regions. The preview
demonstration video of Zhongli's published on the official YouTube account has been played
more than 24 million times
35
in English and strongly shows his current appeal.
Zhongli is the god of Liyue, also known as the image of an adult male in the human
world created by Morax, the god of stone, in order to hide himself by wandering the earth. He
has slightly wrinkled brow peaks, gold eyes with angular highlights, and short black to Danxia
orange hair with a long tail. The name Danxia orange comes from the widely distributed Danxia
landform
36
in China, which is a reddish landscape characterized by steep cliff slopes, it was
named by Chinese geologist Feng Jinglan in 1928. The outermost layer of his main costume is a
suit that resembles a tuxedo, but at the same time it has the hem of an ancient Chinese robe. In
the middle it has an inner lining between a robe and a gown, and along the bottom was a shirt
and a tie that hung down to the waist. The design echoes each other in three overlapping ways,
subtly revealing his elegant style with Oriental charm. At the same time, his elegant and
intellectual style is highlighted by elements such as suits, cuffs and ties. In addition, the hem of
his coat has a pattern of dragon scales, which corresponds to his other image as a dragon, as well

35
Character Demo - "Zhongli: The Listener" | Genshin Impact, YouTube (YouTube, 2020),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oBpaBEMBIM.
36
“Danxia Landform,” Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation, October 20, 2021),
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danxia_landform.

20
as traditional Chinese patterns such as Fang Sheng and Hui patterns all over his body. These
elements in Chinese traditional culture have noble, auspicious, and other positive meanings.
Therefore, although the shape design of Zhongli reflects the combination of Chinese and Western
elements, its visual impression highlights Chinese style.
In addition, his personality and words and deeds also have a classical Oriental flavor, and
subtly affect the image of Liyue and even China in the eyes of foreign players. His good qualities,
such as kindness, chivalry, modesty and tolerance, are very consistent with the pursuit of the
ideal personality of "Junzi (君子)
37
" in traditional Chinese culture. Although due to the
differences in historical and cultural backgrounds, most overseas players may not be able to have
a complete picture and a deep understanding of the characters in Genshin Impact, this does not
prevent them from receiving the unique Charm and beauty of Chinese style, and thus developing
a good impression and interest in Chinese culture.

37
“Junzi,” Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.), accessed December 25,
2021, https://www.britannica.com/topic/junzi.

21
Character Design: DanXi
In this project, my design will focus on the keyword "sun". Because for human beings,
the sun illuminates the heart of every man. Without the sun there would be no human beings and
no life. The sun and the Earth are inseparable, and no one can leave anyone out. The second
reason that I chose this name for my character is the name has a lot to do with my nickname,
Yangyang（阳阳） , which means the sun in Chinese. According to my mother's description, I was
born at sunrise, and she wanted me to grow up to be a lively and cheerful girl, so she gave me
this nickname.
When I first decided to design an original character I did a lot of research and examined a
lot of material on character creation. According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, there is a
kind of bird called "three-legged crow(三足金乌)", which lives in the sun and is the incarnation
of the sun. I'll use it as a prototype for my character design. The character's name is DanXi (丹
曦). In Chinese, "Dan(丹)" means red, "Xi(曦)" refers to sunlight, and "Danxi" refers to sunlight
at sunrise or sunset. When I choose the color of the character, I combined the meaning of the
name and set the color as yellow and orange.
The backstory tells of a time when humans and immortals coexisted in ancient China.
Therefore, the overall design of DanXi contains many Chinese elements. When deciding the
gender of DanXi, I took inspiration from Yi Jing, the oldest wisdom book in China. The book
mentions the concept of "Qian Kun (乾坤)", with "Qian (乾)" representing the sky and "Kun
(坤)" representing the earth. Later, Qian also had the attributes of male and Yang(阳), while Kun

22
was given the attributes of female and Yin (阴). Similarly, in Greek mythology, Helios, the sun
god, was male and Selene, the moon goddess, was female. So I decided to design DanXi as a
boy.
The overall coloring of DanXi is mainly yellow and orange, with red, cyan and black as
embellishments. When viewed from above, his hair changes from golden to sunrise red from the
top down. The right ear does not look like a human ear because it is not strong enough to
transform itself into a human, instead the right ear looks like a bird's feathers. On the ear are
pendants in the shape of a single bird, which symbolizes the identity of the three-legged crow.
The hair on the left reaches down to the chest with a red gradient at the ends. A sun-shaped wheel
floats overhead. He has golden eyes with orange eyeshadow, and the corners of his mouth curl
with a youthful flair.
In the costume design of DanXi, I applied Nezha's knickerbockers and waistcoat use in
the 2019 Film Nezha into my own design. The waistcoat changes from dark to light from top to
bottom, and the back of the waistcoat has ribbons that extend to the left and right sides, like the
tail feathers of birds. The pattern on the vest is designed by me according to the image of
three-legged crow. The pattern on the chest is a pair of eyes, and the silk belt from behind has the
pattern of feathers. The left and right sleeves of DanXi are not symmetrical, and the left sleeve is
closed with wrist guard for convenient movement. On the right is the large sleeves representing
ancient China. In ancient Chinese clothing, pockets were not on the sides of trousers or in front
of clothes as they are in modern clothing. Pockets were sewn into the wide sleeves of clothes to
hold things, such as coins, letters, folding fans and so on. The opening of the pocket was in the

23
opposite direction to the sleeve, so the contents could not fall out even when t a person dropped
their hands or saluted. Ancient people mostly used this pocket to carry money, so when
describing a person as poor or an official as incorruptible, they would use the metaphor of
"uncorrupted". It means—— to have no money in your pocket. I designed the pattern on the
sleeve according to the character "Yang (阳)" in oracle bone inscriptions. As can be seen in the
figure 6, the three triangles on the left side of the character "Yang (阳)" on the oracle bone
inscriptions are connected to represent mountains, the point in the middle of the right square
represents the sun, and the t-shaped pattern under the direction indicates that the sun's rays can
only reach one side of the mountain. I made the design based for this concept, as the sun shining
on a mountain covered with clouds.

Figure 6. "Yang" in Oracle Bone Script
38

Figure 7. A Redesigned Pattern Based O the "Yang" in Oracle Bone Script

38
photograph, n.d., 书法迷, n.d.,
http://jiaguwen.shufami.com/?char=%E9%98%B3&layout=1&size=128&hspace=0&vspace=0&
forecolor=%23000000&backcolor=%23d7d5d0&order=.

24

Figure 8. Tian- Tsui Craft Jewelry
39

The design of the belt is inspired by a traditional Chinese gold and silver jewelry making
technique called "Tian-tsui (点翠)". It is the combination of metal technology and feather
technology, first with gold or gold-plating to make different patterns for the base, and then
beautiful blue kingfisher feathers inlaid on the base, in this way to make a variety of jewelry and
utensils. Kingfisher feathers are bright and never fade. Ancient imperial clothing and the queen's
phoenix crown often used this technique, it remains bright and shiny, even after a long time. This
craft reached its peak during the Qianlong period.

39
photograph, n.d., 故宫博物院, n.d., https://gugongzhanlan.dpm.org.cn/artListShare/83.

25

Figure 9. Bixi
40

Figure 10. Application of Bixi in DanXi’ s Character Design

Below the belt is a garment called the Bixi (蔽膝), which covers from the thigh to the
knee. The pattern on it is designed according to the pattern of "Xiangyun (祥云)". A Since his
prototype is a bird, birds cannot leave the sky, so I decorated it with a Xiangyun pattern. In
ancient times, it was common for men to wear jade pendants around the waist. When thinking
about accessories, I applied the elements of “three-legged crow” to the design of jade pendants,
and then matched the Chinese knot and tassel with positive meanings.
The final design of Danxi is that of a gentle character overall. I hope he is the kind of
person who warms people like the sun. In my subsequent story illustrations, he experienced
growth and eventually became the unique sun in the sky for the sake of the world.

40
photograph, March 22, 2016, Ziseviolet, March 22, 2016,
https://ziseviolet.wordpress.com/tag/bixi/.

26

Figure 11. DanXi’ s Character Design

27
Illustration Design
The background for the story takes place in ancient China, when heaven and earth were
still in chaos, and it was an era when humans and immortals coexisted. DanXi at the beginning
of the story has not yet become the shining, glowing, hot sun. He was an egg then. By chance,
the goddess got the egg, which was warm and glowing in the palm of her hand. Soon the chick
came out. It was a little three-legged bird.
After reading through ancient books, the goddess realized that the bird was called
“three-legged crow”, which was the incarnation of the sun, so she named it DanXi. The young
bird grew up under the care of the goddess, who taught him all her knowledge and skills. At that
time, monsters from the abyss caused great floods on the land, and the world was gradually
flooded. DanXi could not bear that the people lost their homes in the water, he alone defeated the
monster in the darkness. Then he did his best to light the world with himself and drive out the
darkness. He became the sun, the eternal light of the human world.

28

Figure 12. DanXi’ s storyboard

According to a popular Chinese legend, Hou Yi Shot Down the Sun. There were ten Suns,
and ten Suns burned the earth together. Hou Yi, as a hero, shot down nine Suns with a bow and
arrow, leaving the present sun in the sky. When I was thinking about the story of DanXi, I
wanted to include it as the sun in the story. The sun in Hou Yi's story feels like a villain. However,
I hope DanXi will become a great hero just like the sun does to the earth today.
The illustration is beautiful, flat, and both modern and ancient in style and design. The
overall saturation of the image is low so that the reader can perceive it comfortable. Take the first
cell of this storyboard as an example. This image depicts a goddess getting a golden egg. There
are floating clouds at the feet of the goddess, which gives the character a sense of mystery. For

29
the design of the mountain in the background, I referred to the painting style of Chinese
landscape painting and simplified them in the picture. For the golden egg in the middle of the red
sun, I wanted to imply that this egg had something to do with the sun.

30

Figure 13. The drawing process of illustration

31
Conclusion
This thesis analyzes early character designs and examples of different cultural elements
used in games from many countries and regions. Character design contains cultural elements,
which are an important way to achieve cultural output within a game. My understanding of
character design has evolved over the course of the previous projects. In the past I probably
didn't think deeply about the backstory of the characters when I was creating them. But when
creating DanXi, I will think about what kind of era he lives in, what kind of clothes he will wear,
what kind of growth story he has, and what kind of cultural symbols he will have on his body.
Chinese culture is extensive and profound. If I apply it to my character cesgins, the character will
be more Chinese in style. However, the way it is applied is changeable. Instead of simply
copying, traditional artistic elements are extracted and skillfully used in new ways.
Nowadays, games are accepted by people of many ages as a way of leisure and
entertainment. At present, most cultural export relies on pop culture, such as movies, music,
fashion, food, etc. These talk about their country's culture and values in an appealing and
entertaining way. There is no doubt that games provide a way for cultural exchanges between
countries, these will reduces cultural barriers and brings humanity together through exchange
and understanding.

32
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Abstract (if available)

Abstract My design practice centers on the relationship between character design and its cultural export. Character design, in digital games is influenced by the cultural background that the games author was raised in, and their personal experiences within that particular culture. This is seen in the choice to use specific items that represent and define the culture so that the character can best represent their region and history. My research analyzes the use of these specific cultural elements in character creation, the history of character design and how choices are made about the characters backstory, costume, prop design and narrative inspiration. The choices that a character designer makes combine to promote and export a cultural message. As an example of my understanding of this design process, I have created an original character that uses cultural symbols to create a narrative. DanXi, which I created, is a character that combines the divine bird of ancient Chinese legend with traditional handicraft culture and patterns.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Zong, Zheli (author)

Core Title Game character design and cultural export

School Roski School of Art and Design

Degree Master of Fine Arts

Degree Program Design

Degree Conferral Date 2022-05

Publication Date 04/11/2022

Defense Date 04/09/2022

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag character design,cultural export.,game,OAI-PMH Harvest

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Ellenburg, Jason (committee chair), Trujillo, Osvaldo (committee chair), Wojciak, Ewa (committee member)

Creator Email zonestella@gmail.com,zzong@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC110920056

Unique identifier UC110920056

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Zong, Zheli

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Source 20220411-usctheses-batch-921 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

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