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Character Profile: Moblins
By Corvus | March 11, 2008
I thought it might be nice to follow up my character design posts of last week with some concrete examples of good (or bad) character design and/or use of back story. Today’s post focused on the Moblins as they are portrayed in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (WW). It will come as no surprise to many of you that I hold WW in particularly high regard for it’s use of a strong visual aesthetic that really captured the essence of a the Zelda franchise. While the next entry in the series, The Twilight Princess, could be considered a better game, I find it far less satisfying to play because its visual aesthetic is boringly realistic and its character design is all over the map.
In WW you first run into Moblins in the Forsaken Fortress, a dark and foreboding place infested with rats, Bokoblins and, of course, the Moblins themselves. Link is unarmed during this portion of play, trying to make his way to the fortress tower where he his sword has been accidentally flung by the well meaning, but mischievous, pirate leader Tetra. This requires Link to take a more stealthy approach to dealing with Moblins and you’ll find yourself hiding under conveniently placed barrels, only moving when the Moblins backs are turned. If they see you, or see the barrel move, they come running, throw down their lanterns in a rush of flames and haul you to a prison cell at the far end of the fortress. Later in the game, once Link is armed, the Moblins prove to me relatively formidable foes with their spears delivering powerful blows at a decent range.
Fortunately, Moblins aren’t too smart. And they’re slow. And their eyesight appears to be pretty weak. They are easily stunned with a toss of the grappling hook (which will also retrieve their valuable skull necklaces) and once stunned, they are easy to defeat.
Nothing about that description should catch you by surprise, having seen the picture of a Moblin in this post. The large round body and muscular arms speak of power, but not athleticism. That this bulk is perched atop comically small legs speaks to how easily the character can be imbalanced. While the head is large, most of it is mouth and there appears to be very little room for brain. The helmet and bracers indicate some level of organization, but the primal tattoos reveal primitive origins, as do the totemic skull necklaces. These are clearly the game’s brute squad–conscripted into service by someone a few rungs higher on the evolutionary scale.
Everything about the Moblin’s movement also speaks to their abilities… or rather, their lack thereof. When you first encounter them patrolling the corridors of the Forsaken Fortress, they lead with their noses, sniffing the air, peering closely at the dark corners of their patrol. Their top heavy bodies swing massively as they walk, speaking of their power and lack of control. Their lower lips droop and bounce as they move, giving them a slack-jawed-yokel feel and giving them an unrefined and unintelligent apperence. Should they sense/hear the movement of a barrel (which Link is hiding under), they react with a large squeal and peer anxiously around, looking for the source of the disturbance. If you remain still, they quickly lose interest and go about their way. Later, when you find yourself in combat with them, they wind up for their powerful blows, there are no sudden and unexpected strikes, only well projected sweeps of their spears.
Never once do the Moblins speak (although you do get an indication at one point that they can write in human language). As a “generic” baddie of the game, they have no individual backstories. But despite the overall lack of traditional textual expression, they are still critical parts of WW’s storytelling. Both their history and relationship to their environment is quite clearly expressed via the means of the videogame’s visual components.
Tagged:character design, storytelling, videogames, wind waker. |
March 11th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Great character profile. I had never thought about the moblins in Wind Waker too much. I completely agree with you about what a great game WW is. Whenever people talk about the stiffness and creepiness of characters in “realistic” games like Mass Effect, my mind immediately jumps to Wind Waker. In this game, you can tell in an instant what Link or any character is feeling or thinking. Realistic emotional expression is much harder to fake than with the unique visual flair in games like Wind Waker.
March 12th, 2008 at 4:29 am
Yeah, I’m unabashedly in love with the game.
March 15th, 2008 at 9:55 am
The Moblins in Wind Waker were one of my favourite parts. I loved their over the top design and personality. The animation and sound bites are also well done.
The whole WW art direction simply looks timeless.
March 15th, 2008 at 10:28 am
I’m almost doing the game a disservice to have focused on just this one character, though. All the character design is equally well thought out. That includes the environmental character as well, from the ocean to smallest dungeon. Great use of light, etc.
Simply amazing art direction from start to finish. If it weren’t for the Triforce hunt at the end of the game, it’d be nearly the perfect game experience. If only they’d spaced it throughout the entire game, it would have served to get you to all the islands and not feel so tacked on.