Character Development and its Utilization for Convergent Media Formats

Abstract: The thesis caters to the demands of the creative industries for products and contents which can be utilized for convergent media usage and cross-marketing strategies. In this regard character design serves as an important element of entertainment franchises since it is a means to produce media content with high recognition value. However, numerous character adaptations in different media formats illustrate that characters who are successful in one medium are not necessarily as successful in another media format. The thesis takes a closer look at characters in the context of media convergence and discusses the main principles of character creation and development. By favoring a heuristic approach which analyzes the aesthetic phenomena of arts and entertainment by the means of theoretical research which is supported by practical examples, the thesis concludes that character development is based on three dimensions which have to be combined in order to create characters which can be utilized for different media formats. In this context the work discusses character creation in writing, visuals and interactive media by focusing on ways which secure the successful transfer of characters into different media formats without a loss of character depth and quality.