We’ve talked about the origins of the project, but not really about the character himself and how his design came to be.

Essentially a self-aware focus test group character, Dudebro was designed to mock the concept of “male power fantasy” currently dictating the appearance of many videogame protagonists. He’s the “dude every bro wants to be” taken to the extreme; the very personification of the perception of “badass” in the action/shooting genre, filled with testosterone and covered in body hair.

The significance of Dudebro’s name, by the way, comes from the perceived definition of its two halves.

The “Dude” is the badass half; member of the military, muscular, sports stereotypical “cool” aesthetic enhancements like sunglasses and an eye scar (both exceedingly common for this type of character) and is ready to shoot/slice at any time, exhibiting a substantially sociopathic behavior. He also wears an Ouroboros belt (which is actually a live snake); representing, besides the coolness of the idea of Dudebro taming a snake to keep his pants up, the endless cycle of sequels action games seem to be stuck in.

The “Bro” is the less socially subdued half, always looking to party and score with chicks. This is the part that motivated him to wear a tie and a shirt that is somehow tucked in yet not tucked in at the very same time to make him more attractive to the ladies without giving up his rebellious attitude.

Now for a small history lesson. The design for Dudebro was originally created by Jocchan, who later became the game’s creative director, minutes after [nintex]‘s photoshop graced the infamous Imagine Babiez thread and acted as inspiration for the character’s looks. One curious detail few are aware of is that his appearance was also somewhat of an evolution of another character co-created by Jocchan for an unpublished comic book by the name of Hazard.

This is Ray Master, portrayed in his casual attire. Or should we call him Proto Dudebro? There are some noticeable similarities between the two; the most prominent being the sunglasses. In addition to that, the eye scar and ponytail also played a part in determining Dudebro’s current appearance. The characters themselves, though, couldn’t be more different.

Outside of a few minor differences, Dudebro’s design and personality have remained unchanged since conception.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 6th, 2010 at 7:00 am and is filed under Main News.