Character has been the most important element of this initiative from the get go. No matter how impressive and complicated the technology becomes, if an engaging personality has not been created then you don't have an audience. With this in mind, we wish to keep our creation in character by hiding all the technology involved. Allow us to introduce you to the imminent Austrian inventor, "Doc" Beardsley:
Horatio "Doc" Beardsley (190? - any minute now) was born on a small mountaintop in Austria and raised by a loving family of goat herders. As a child, his favorite memories were of his days at winter camp and playing with his hamster Slippy. He never had a mother, they were too poor, but he does claim to have a sister named Ethel.
It didn't take long for Doc to begin his long and illustrious career of inventing. His love for inventions began when he was making the move from diapers to slacks, but you should probably ask him about that yourself. Some of his more popular inventions include "endless bread", the "milkbed", the "antisnooze", and the wall, of course. But his all-time favorite and best invention would have to be the foon!
Despite the enormous creativity behind these inventions, they are not all that successful. Many critics claim that Doc's inventions are simply misused or not applied for the proper purposes. Others have said Doc and his infatuation with goats is cause for alarm and warrants serious federal investigation. He responds to such critics with a wry smile and a gentle wink, and then promptly falls asleep.
Considering how Doc is ninety...something, he doesn't exactly have the best memory and has been known to demonstrate signs of senility. Having to endure decades of hard times and misunderstood inventions does take its toll. Yet despite it all, he is an extremely fun-loving and whimsical inventor. Always engaging and seldom serious, Doc has a true heart of gold deep down (or atleast the inventive power to make his own).
The choice to make Doc an old and "not-quite-all-there" inventor was by no means accidental. This persona not only allows for a plethora or random comedic bit's, but also comes in handy for when he doesn't understand a question. Doc has numerous vague, generic, and random replies to use when he doesn't have a good answer. These responses help keep the flow of the interaction intact while still remaining within his character.
First a series of sketches were made to determine the general look of the Doc Beardsley skin.
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The next step was to visual Doc in the 3D so small maquettes were created.
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This process is somewhat of a black art requiring much trial and error. But after several tests and refinements of the molding process a foam laytex skin is produced to conceal the animatronics that help to bring Horatio "Doc" Beardsley to life.
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