SkillCheck Crew (OLD)

These guys were originally designed to be replacing the CPU players for games I play that requires 4 players, even if I'm playing solo. Originally getting prompts from an AI for 3 characters of different CPU difficulties, with the help from some people (Lowkey, CellXLee, and my own sister, respectively to the pic above), I have created these characters. And, with their permission, these are officially mine.

Tinker Gear, the green raccoon, is a mechanic, with an optimistic view on life. He is there just to have fun. Libra Faym is the yellow-brown fox, whom is a retired fashion model. She's a chill tomboy, but enjoys challenging herself and others. Winchester Trooper is the red bear, who retired from the military. Very calm and kind, but is also ruthless when he needs to (or wants to, in regards to video games).

Tinker Gear

Tinker is designed to be representative of the Easy CPU players. He has his head in the clouds a lot, which probably gives him his optimistic attitude. He may not be smart, but he is mechanic-savvy. Overall, he just wants to hang out with friends. His design showcases his job as a mechanic, with a rare use of brown as a main aspect of a color scheme. He has orange gloves to fit with his attire, and a bright saturated green bandana to provide a contrast for his outfit, and also tie into his green base color scheme. He's very friend-shaped, with an energetic energy applied to it. His raccoon facemask I am using as replacement eyes, with some white pupils showing where he's looking. His hair is a lime-green color, contrasting with the rest of his green color scheme.

The AI's original idea, Whiskers the Whimsical Raccoon, is probably the least changed, and even then there were quite a few. Whiskers was playful and carefree. He wasn't always serious, in fact he was quite mischievous, but he is certainly lighthearted. His fur color was originally gray and black (you know, like how real life raccoons are), and he wore a vibrant rainbow-colored scarf that hung loosely on his neck. On top of his head he also wore some oversized goggles. My sister chose to make him green, but liked the rest of him. I made him into a mechanic, and changed his name to fit.

Libra Faym

Libra represents the Normal CPU difficulty. She is as chill as an iceberg, and is similarly as deep. She gets along well with lots of people, but she does like to form friendly rivalries with others. She likes to challenge herself and others, to see what they can do. Likes to show off a bit, but doesn't put others down below her. Her design indicates her as a fashion model, albeit she has retired from being one. This outfit is her favorite, mostly due to the bright red jacket that she wears nothing underneath. It has some gold-colored edges and design on it. Her cool shades have a dark color with a red gradient coming in from a top corner. Her jeans are custom-made, and provide a cooler, darker color to her attire. She herself is designed to be skilled. Her shape language combined with her unique coloration (being a melanistic fox with my usual style of unique coloration) show her as being assertive, fitting for someone who defines the word Rival.

The AI originally gave me Blaze the Bold Fox. He is bold and adventurous, with quick wit and smarts. Each challenge he welcomed with open arms, determined to overcome it. When he faces off with others, he is resourceful and took many risks, but he'd never be unsportsmanlike. He wore a sleek red leather jacket with golden trim over his fiery orange fur. His rugged boots and stylish sunglasses only added to his increasingly cool presentation. CellXLee turned this idea into a fashion model who was flamboyant, gave him a melanistic yellow coloration, and gave me the little design on his jacket. I turned Blaze female so that it would be more balanced when Brustle and the others got together, so that there were two men and two women. This also meant that I flipped the flamboyant man into a tomboyish woman. I don't know if her being retired was CellXLee's idea or mine, but I know I chose the best name for her character.

Winchester Trooper

Winchester is the very definition of the Hard difficulty. He has served in the military, where in his free time he played strategy games with his crewmates. He's very nice, friendly, and supportive, but be wary of when you mess with him. He is also a force to be reckoned with when gaming, putting himself in the zone. His clothing is simple yet effective: He wears a vest, a headband, and some green pants to showcase that he's a retired military veteran. The tank top he wears underneath is to show his laid-back attitude. He also has one of the more simpler designs, but by no means is it less effective. He's the biggest of the group, has some broad shoulders, a big neck and head, and thick muzzle does enough to show that he can be a force to be reckoned with. However, his round nose, his stump-like limbs, his round ears, and his pill-shaped eyes indicate a kinder personality.

This was almost a complete overhaul of the AI's idea: Thunder the Tenacious Tiger. I didn't want to try my hand at drawing a tiger yet, so my buddy Lowkey changed it to a bear (he wanted it to be a fox, but that was already taken). Thunder, and I'm not bullshitting you, was supposed to be wearing a suit of gleaming silver armor, with some intricate lightning symbols, which "reflected his powerful electric abilities." He also was supposed to have some cyan stripes. Vibrant cyan stripes. The way the AI played him up was that he's a leader who commanded respect and was extremely competitive. I believe we came up with most of the idea for Winchester while discussing it at work. That's where the military part came from, where his personality came from, and some other stuff. I feel like the name I have for him couldn't be more fitting.

Interviews-

I decided to try my hand at writing some interviews for them. It is Bhuster/Brustle conducting the interview, and I have tried to frame it more as a conversation than a simple "character answers question" type deal, as it's not only what the answer is, but how it's presented, phrased, filtered.
Enjoy my terrible writing...

Tinker Gear's interview

How are you, Tinker?

Good, yes good!

Mind telling us some details about yourself, like your pronouns, nicknames, jobs and so on?

Yes yes, I am Tinker Gear (although some call me Tink, or Bolthead), and I go by He. I work at a wonderful place, yes wonderful, it's a mechanic workshop; my dream! I love seeing all of the parts go together inside the vroomy vehicles to make them vroom! Satisfying, yes quite.

Bolthead? Who calls you that?

Oh, well, my coworkers, sometimes... I have an occasional slip-up and that's what they call me. No rudeness, no, they all call eachother bolthead from time to time. Mistakes are natural, so they have fun with it, if it's not too big. It's always a good day if the mistake is laugh-worthy and not swear-worthy!

How did you get into that job?

I was interviewed, yes interviewed, like this of course!

...how did you get into mechanics in general?

My dad, yes dad, was a racer! He did the races in these shiny containers with wheels and I had to know how they worked! For a while, I thought that everyone used their own strength to move them, although I have since learned otherwise.

What's your family like, speaking of?

Dad is retired happily, occasionally going to derbies and monster truck rallies. Mom has an antique shop, yes shop, where she buys broken thingies and fixes them to sell. My grandparents cook us dinner on the weekends. I enjoy their company!

How would you describe yourself?

I'm like a truck, yes truck, the pickup kind. I can help out in many cases; I'm good at what I do!

How would your family and coworkers describe you?

...Yeeeee, I thinks they see me as overtly adventurous... helpful yet clumsy, and very very friendly.

How would the other two people here describe you?

Oh, well, Libby has called me something, "likeable klutz," I don't understand it. Chester calls me a "friendly lil' guy," and another thing I don't remember.

What got you into video games?

Dad was amused, no, in awe of these consoles rendering cars and such on screen, effectively letting anyone play a less brutal race with no stakes (aside from high scores). He got me some racing games when I was young, yes young, and I was glued to that screen! Sadly not many people I knew liked racing games, but I still found fun in their games.

What brought you here?

You!

...what reasons do you have for being here?

Oh, well, I get to hang out and have fun with people!

Even if that means dealing with me shouting your name in anger if you win?

...yeeeeea?

What's your goal in these upcoming sessions?

Have fun and laughs, yes laughs!

Libra Faym's interview

How are you, Libra?

Meh, I'm doin' alright.

Mind telling us some details about yourself, like your pronouns, nicknames, jobs and so on?

I'm Libra Faym, somtimes shortened to Libby. I go by She/Her. As for my job, I'm a retired model, if ya couldn't tell. After my career, I don't have to worry 'bout tryin' set trends. It was fun, but I'd rather see others express themselves n'stead of followin' the leader.

What got you into modelling?

Well, I had always seen people don some fancy costumes, and I guess I had some help from my ma and pa. They made the best Halloween costumes every year!... wait actually, that one year was a disaster…

What made you retire?

Ya mean 'side the responsabilities?... Well, I'd reckon there's a few more. Some of my peers (whom I'll abstain from naming) are a little bit shallow, I didn't have similar interests with anyone, and it was just tirin' keepin' up appearances, 'specially outside the shoots. I ain't some mannequin, ya know?

What's your family like?

Just lovely! My grannie and grandpa run a farm, so my family's always been a little spoiled with food. Gramps is a self-taught musician. My ma's an exec for a company… I can't ever remember the name of it, but she's held that company up through hell and high waters… Then there's pa. He's a writer, eloquent one at that. I've had others tell me how amazin' his prose is, or what have you. They were all proud to see how far I made it, 'specially my gramps.

How would you describe yourself?

Confident, stylish, stubborn, and calm.

How would your family and former peers describe you?

My family's known to play up my career, bless their hearts. It's embarrasin' at times hearin' them shower praise for my work. As for my peers, I know of a few that've given me a piece of their minds. Some of them were real jealous, some real petty, some were both. However, there were others that saw me as equal, and I feel they've got a high opinion of me.

How would the other two people here describe you?

Tinker would say I'm fashionable, which I mean, yea. Chester, on the other hand, I think he'd say I'm very feisty. He's also called me cool before, which is high praise.

What got you into video games?

Just saw some friends playin' some flashy games when I was young. When I got older, I learned more 'bout games as a whole, then I found fightin' games. Started gettin' into them more after that.

What brought you here?

Well, fun I guess. Plus, considering who else's here, I have many opportunities to get my skills up.

Even if that means dealing with me shouting your name in anger if you win?

Ya have to ask that? I thought that was normal.

What's your goal in these upcoming sessions?

Get my gamin' skills up, and win some games. Oh, and fun. Fun too.

Winchester Trooper's interview

How are you, Winchester?

Pretty good!

Mind telling us some details about yourself, like your pronouns, nicknames, jobs and so on?

I am Winchester Trooper, although some call me Chester. I am a male, and a veteran, but since my departure I have done some part-time jobs.

What was the military like?

Thankfully not as bad as it could be. Sure, the drill instructors were strict and harsh, and sometimes the conditions we found ourselves in were hell, but I have never had to shoot anyone, so I consider that a blessing.

What's your family like?

My mom is a chef, so she is a pretty good cook. She is definitely doing a lot better now that she is not worried about my wellbeing. It has been a long time since I have seen parts of my extended family, we do not live as close to them as we would like to.

How would you describe yourself?

Easygoing yet strong.

How would your family and squad describe you?

My mom would call me a softie. My squad would call me a stick in the mud, but only on bad days. Otherwise, they would call me trustworthy and strong.

How would the other two people here describe you?

The little guy, Tink, would call me friendly. Libbie would call me a worthy opponent.

What got you into video games?

I once walked into some of my squad members playing some chess. That was a good day… We played that game for a bit before we had our next drill. After that, I got into tabletop gaming. I made a bit of a name for myself as I got better at them. Since I have been out of the military, I have learned that video games are just tabletop games, but the game keeps track of the rules. As someone who has dealt with rule lawyers, both competent and incompetent, that hooked me onto video games.

What brought you here?

My skill was needed, plus I want to see what happens. I think it will be fun.

Even if that means dealing with me shouting your name in anger if you win?

Yes. Do not worry, I have dealt with that many times before.

What's your goal in these upcoming sessions?

Test the skills of everyone here, and have fun.