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The History of Design

Timeline process of characters Luigi, Mario, and Mega-Man. In the early years, the characters started off as pixelated characters and then eventually evolved into 3D renditions.
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From 2D to 3D

The transition from 2D to 3D media occurred around the mid-1990s, bringing a significant shift for video games that allowed companies to explore more variety and creativity.

The first-ever video game character design was created by Toru Iwatani, who introduced the popular character “Pac-Man” in 1980. Below you can see the various renditions of “Pac-Man” over the years through the website, The History of Pac-Man

Development of New Mediums

Back then, creators used traditional media such as graph paper for developing early stages of pixel-inspired characters. As newer technology emerged, artists began incorporating software, specifically Blender, Maya, and more, into their practices. Pictured on the right are some of Iwatani’s first-ever Pac-Man concept sketches from 1980. Pac-Man’s design has evolved significantly and is no longer a pixelated character as a result of the evolution in digital technology.

Sources: 

Luigi/Mario’s Creator: Shigeru Miyamoto (1981-1983),  Nintendo. 

Mega Man’s Creator: Akira Kitamura, Mega Man 1987, Nintendo.  

Original concept drawings of Pac-Man by Toru Iwatani. On the right are the 2D pixel sketches of Pac-Man, while on the left are concept sketches of the map of the game.
Toru Iwatani Pac-Man’s Original Concept Drawings, 1980. Sourced from Imgur.com
Different renditions of Pac-Man expressions from Pac-Man World (2002). These were originally created by Bandai Games Inc.
Pac-Man’s concept art was created for the game “Pac-Man World 2 (2002),” and was created by Namco Bandai Games inc.