Characters: Blaze the Cat

Man, all this E3 hype has kept me hopping over at The Game Critic, but I've still got time to get work in on The Underwater Hedgehog and one of my other design projects (which is coming along well and getting a lot of cool work done on it lately). I must admit, I was rather surprised that no one had anything to say about my outlines for the games music design, I was sure that would stir up some comments. Ah well, I guess that means no news is good news! Anyway, on to the character design for today!

Blaze the Cat: Sorceress of Flame

Personality and History: Blaze is not a native Atlantian, but rather an immigrant from a far off southern country. While little is known publicly about her past, it is known that Blaze had led a normal (if somewhat checkered life) until she joined the military. In fact Blaze was a military criminal (excessive use of unlawful force) scheduled for execution when the Chancellor, stopping by on a routine diplomatic mission, interceded on her behalf and rescued her from a death sentence. Smuggling her into his envoy, he was impressed with her power but unimpressed with her talent, as she managed to melt her restraints but was quickly beaten by the Chancellors superior magical knowledge. Seeing use for Blaze however, the Chancellor made her an offer she didn't refuse: become his apprentice in the laws of magic and he'd grant her a position along his side.

From that point on and for the next six years, Blaze served as the Chancellors silent apprentice and accomplice in his plans to take over the kingdom, although Blaze herself did not know the full extent of the Chancellors plans. When the Chancellor ousted Silver with charges of murder, he was able to use his growing power and influence to elect Blaze as the leader of the Atlantian Magic Corp.

Being in control of the Magic Corp has left Blaze with much power under her command, with legions of magi-golems, Acolytes and lesser mages all serving her beck and call. With her affinity for fire and raw power, Blaze is a very dangerous and cruel opponent to face.

Personality wise, Blaze is hot tempered, aggressive and conceited. Although calculating, Blaze often lives up to her namesake, controlling her emotion much like a wildfire barely kept in check. Once she feels she can let go though, Blaze opens up. Nothing excites her more then letting loose with all her powers in combat.

Game Plot: Since Blaze is a villain character, her "story" is less of a story mode and more of a series of missions similar to Tails. Each of these missions serves to explain her motives and objectives during portions of the game.

Play Style and Movement: Blaze should control in and aggressive manner, with a quick early acceleration but a slower top speed acceleration. Her jump should be the same level as Sonic's and cover the same distance, but be capable of less left-right movement in the air. It will also be a vertical jump. Her top speed should be slower, more on par with Knuckles then Sonic. However, Blaze is ALWAYS immune to fire damage as if she has a fire shield, but as a result her abilities are weakened in water, she cannot use a bubble shield (will SatLoA have them, as yet undetermined) and water attacks will reduce her speed for a time. Blaze is also capable of executing a "non-combat" dash in air which will send her twisting forward and slightly up. She can also burn down some barriers.

Combat-wise, Blaze bounces between very weak and incredibly powerful. All of her moves are dependent on her use of magic, which fluctuates unpredictably. As a result, whenever a player initiates any attack of any kind, there is a moment where the player "charges" the attack. When the attack is ready, the magic around Blaze will flare. If the player releases the attack at that moment, the attack will do the most damage and be the most effective. If released early, the attack will do less damage (least if performed really quickly) based on how charged it was. If overcharged past the momentary flare, the attack does slightly less then max damage and also removes some of Blaze's rings. The catch is that the flare is random between a certain time period, so no player can ever rely on timing for perfect damage. Blaze is equally ground and air proficient.
Note: When facing Blaze as a boss, the AI's timing will be scaled for difficulty.

Physical Description: Blaze wears a reddish purple vest and flared pants combination as well as darkly colored boots. The clothes should be flared and have a mystical look to them, perhaps by making them look slightly Oriental. During many scenes in the game, she should wear a hooded red cloak. Blaze also will have her hair (fur?) on her head pulled back (hmmm...maybe not...) with some sort of strangely cut bracelet.

Comments? I hadn't thought too much on her physical description, but I liked the rest of it.