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10 Characters Based On Real People

10 Characters Based On Real People

Character creation in a video game can make or break it. Having a great game with lame characters is every bit as bad as having a lame game with great characters. In fact, character creation is so important that entire groups of people are assigned to create a single character in a game. But not all the characters we’ve come to know and love (or hate) have been completely fabricated from the imagination of the creation team behind them. Often they draw from real-life inspirations – so are some of our favorite characters based on real-life people.

Kratos

Kratos

Apparently, when creating concepts for this game’s protagonist, designers were encouraged to inspect and scrutinize every detail of Edward Norton’s character Derek from American History X. The production lead wanted everyone to pay attention to his mannerisms and his overt aggression towards others in the film, even down to his body movements and the way he would posture when he spoke. They were then instructed to bring that aggression and hostility into the Greek mythos and create a character from it. Enter Kratos. So there you have it. PlayStation’s biggest Greek murder machine was actually based on a raving neo-nazi from a movie. Way to go, Santa Monica Studios, we see what you did there.

Dr. Robotnik

Dr. Robotnik

When Sega went to the drawing board to create an antagonist for Sonic the Hedgehog , they turned to the history books to find a persona that would fit someone who was a certifiable genius but had unconventional ideas about how to get things done. They found their man in President Theodore Roosevelt. The idea was to create a character that was not only easy to draw, but one that would physically embody all of the traits they needed for their character. And so, Dr. Robotnik was born. The glasses, mustache and even some of his personal mannerisms were based on those of Teddy Roosevelt. But Robotnik wasn’t the only president that was represented in Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog

That’s right. Sonic. Mr. Blue Streak himself was, in fact, based on not one but two real life people. The creator of Sonic was asked about the design concepts for the characters of the game and this is what he had to say.

“Sonic was based on two people, actually. His attitude and mannerisms were based on American President Bill Clinton. His signature thumbs-up was taken directly from the president. The second was Michael Jackson in the ‘Bad’ music video. The majority of Sonic’s movements were  directly derived from that.”

Who knew? Certainly not me. But that begs the question, since he was based on two people who were later involved in sex scandals, did Sonic maybe have something going on the side with his co-stars?

Liu Kang

Liu Kang

I am going to bet you saw this one coming a mile away. Though not as obviously as Fei Long from the Street Fighter series or Marshal Law from Tekken , Liu Kang was based wholly on the stylistic nuances of martial artist Bruce Lee. This makes total sense to me. I mean seriously. Bruce Lee was the super badass, king of all fighters back in the day and some say he may be the best that there ever was when it comes to martial arts or at least Kung Fu. It would be hard to create a fighting game of any kind without paying homage to one of the greatest screen fighters of all time.

Balrog

Balrog

In case you were living under a rock around the time that this character hit the scene, or if you weren’t even born yet – Balrog was modeled completely after one-time heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. At one point this character was even named M. Bison (Mike Bison – see what they did there?), but was switched to Balrog in fear that it could be construed as an infringement on the champ – who, as we all know, has a burning desire to bite body parts off of people that piss him off. So in retrospect, the name change was probably a good idea. As was the eventual re-design that would make him look a lot less like Mike Tyson.

Samus Aran

Samus Aran

If you guessed this one, you either are a freakin’ genius or you had inside help. We all know who Samus is. Power-suit wearing, uber-hottie that uses various and sundry weapons and gadgets on her bug hunts. But what you may not have known is who the inspiration for the character actually was. The tall, blonde bombshell inside that yellow suit was based on none other than Kim Basinger. I can see it. Kim Basinger: Tall, blonde, super-sexy – and Samus: tall, blonde, super-sexy (especially in the zero suit). I can get with that. But the crazy inspiration for this character doesn’t stop there. The name Aran was taken from the birth name of Brazilian soccer star Pele – which I will not attempt to spell out. OK, yes I will. It’s Edison Arantes do Nascimento. See the Aran in there? Yep… these character designers were horny super-nerds.

Boo

Boo

This character was inspired by none other than the lead designer Takashi Tezuka’s wife. He said that she was normally a timid and kind woman but that one day, completely out of the blue, she went nuclear on him over how much time he was spending on creating Super Mario Bros. 3 and how little time he was spending at home. Now, I don’t really feel that it’s odd that this character was inspired by someone’s spouse’s ability to rage when out of sight and then be calm and collected when being watched. What makes it funny to me is the fact that he made her a ghost in the game, rather than some, more corporeal character. Was he making a statement about his wife’s porcelain skin? Or was he simply saying that the anger bomb that went off in the Tezuka household haunted him every time he went to work? Well, no matter what it is, we’re glad he created Boo.

Lara Croft

Lara Croft

First introduced back in 1996, Lara has been through some re-imaginings since her coming onto the scene in the first Tomb Raider. But the initial inspiration for the character was not, contrary to popular belief, Angelina Jolie. Her inception was actually derived from two real-life people. The first was Nineties pop star Neneh Cherry. Who is that, you ask? Don’t worry, we had to look her up too. But apparently she was lauded for her intensely stylish ways back in the day… and maybe not so much for her musical talent. Oh, well. At least the second one is pretty cool. The other inspiration for Lady Croft was Dark Horse Comics’ Tank Girl. That character was selected specifically for her “take no prisoners” attitude and her uncanny ability to get out of nearly any dire situation nearly unscathed.

Johnny Cage

Johnny Cage

I would be willing to bet that a lot of you got this reference. But I would be willing to bet that even more of you figure he was based on a real person… just not this one. Johnny Cage was modeled after none other than the “Muscles from Brussels” himself, Mr. Jean-Claude Van Damme. Now that you know, it’s not hard to believe that he is an arrogant martial arts actor that you can’t take seriously who was modeled after an arrogant martial arts movie star in real life that you can’t take seriously. So yeah. The next time you do the splits punch, just remember that Van Damme did it in Bloodsport first.

Mario

Mario

One of the most immediately recognizable faces in video game history was actually based on a real person. During the creation of the character back in 1980 and 1981, the design team had a solid look for the character but he lacked a strong name. They wondered what they were going to call him until one day the owner of the warehouse that Nintendo of America had been renting confronted them about paying back rent. His name? Mario Segalli. The funniest part about all this is that after agreeing to be the visage inspiration for the character, Segalli never thought that it would go anywhere and signed no agreement assigning him royalties for his face’s use. So Mario’s real-life inspiration ended up being the greatest case of revenge against an irate landlord who just wanted his money.

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