Myles Lasham - Shiitake Showdown Funguy Player Model

Player Model - The Funguy

When beginning development of the Funguy, I looked at a variety of Myconid references, drawing inspiration from both cute chibi designs and the more detailed humanoid designs. As the character was for a first person shooter, it was important that the anatomy of the character could accommodate for the accuracy of individual weapons in the event we decided to add specific hitboxes for mechanics such as headshots. 

Initially the game was planned to be a magic based shooter, where players could pick up various wands, staffs, tombs and scrolls alongside rune stones that allowed the weapons to be infused with specific elements in order to apply unique effects to the spells cast. At this point in time the focus was more on fancy effects and spells rather than standard gunplay so we were drawn to the idea of cute chibi style characters in order to create a family friendly arena shooter about mushroom sorcerers battling it out. 

After we finalised the idea for gameplay to be more accuracy oriented, I made a series of new concepts with more of a focus on strong silhouettes and humanoid anatomy.

I then began exploring customisation ideas with the idea that the player character could have the mushroom cap as an interchangeable hat that corresponded with different fungi species, as well as various outfit options oriented around magic users and fungal growths.

I also created concepts for outfits that were themed around specific species of fungi or combinations of fungi, however due to time constraints and the scope of the project, the idea remained purely conceptual.

When working on the textures for the Funguy, I split the character into three materials so that the main body, the cap and the growths could be colour customised to the players preference, similar to how the original Halo trilogy had primary and secondary colour options for the Spartans and Elites.