Character - Background

Our first lecture involved us hearing how we could begin our character by thinking of their background. How were they raised? What do they dress like? What environment are they placed in?

So to begin with, here is the background information for my character with some ideas subject to change:

Character History

Past – SID started out as various pieces of metal being used in different products such as cars, washing machines and electronics but most importantly, a Sat Nav through which he was given a voice and brain. Throughout time, the parts began to become worn and discarded at a scrap heap to which he became disheartened and forgotten for many years.

Present – After the natural apocalypse, a local merchant went to collect scrap to fix his shop. Finding the Sat Nav, he took it back and began rebuilding it as a serving robot. Currently SID is battered and worn but functional and is serving the merchant who saved him by working in the shop.

Future – The character serves the merchant and will do whatever is needed of him therefore he is bound to follow the merchant wherever he goes. To keep the town alive, the shop needs power but fuel reserves run low often and they increasingly have to venture out of town further than before to acquire it.

Environment

Location – The merchants shop is a modest shop in a small town which serves as the ‘go to’ for supplies. The town’s buildings had been built from bricks which suffered in the earthquake bringing several down and damaging the shop. Electricity is scarce and the shop is being powered by a small generator utilising fuel when it can be found. There is debris littering the town and it is filled with muck and dust from the aftermath of the apocalypse.

Personality

SID was, at first, very disheartened about being discarded however after being picked up from the scrap pile and being created into a robot, he has begun to regain hope. He isn’t willing to utilise his voice from the Sat Nav as he is still too wary however he communicates well through gestures. If the merchant ever needed anything, he would help no matter the task and will help the town’s people when they come to the store. When he isn’t helping, he mostly keeps to himself due to remembering what other humans had done to him before. He lives cleanly as he does not own any personal possessions.

Looks

SID is created from all various pieces of scrap metal such as pipes, springs, sheet metal, electronics and circuit boards (of which these allow him to operate), small girders and screws, nuts and bolts. The scrap is rusted and beaten. He was given two legs and can walk just like a normal human would. No clothes are worn however when venturing out with the merchant, he is known to take an oven door and a long pipe with a small 90 degree turn at the front end. SID overall looks fragile due to the rather thin/tall appearance he was given but determined to help the town that both saved and welcomed him.

All in all, this got me thinking about how all the pieces of a puzzle join together. If he's in a certain environment, why does he have a certain look? Why does he choose not to speak? This definitely helped define SID.