DesignIndie DevHow-To

Making a Relatable Antihero: Practical Tips from Baby Steps’ Team

ggamesonline

2026-02-04 12:00:00

11 min read

Practical tips from Baby Steps devs on crafting flawed, comedic antiheroes indie players actually love.

Hook: Stop making perfect heroes—players want messy, funny people they can root for

Indie teams struggle with one of the oldest developer pains: how do you make a protagonist who’s compelling without being a boring paragon or a one-note joke? If your characters read like instruction manuals — skilled, stoic, and untouchable — players will admire them but rarely care. In 2026 the most successful indie narratives trade polish for personality: flawed, comedic antiheroes who spark empathy through vulnerability, timing, and human contradiction. Short formats matter: short‑form streaming clips and social platforms reward memorable character moments.

The bottom line — what you’ll learn

This guide distills practical, production-friendly advice for crafting a relatable antihero in an indie game, with concrete techniques inspired by interviews with the Baby Steps team (Gabe Cuzzillo, Bennett Foddy, and Maxi Boch) and updated for 2026 trends. Expect tactical writing beats, animation choices that sell pathos and comedy, playtesting rigs, and lightweight tech workflows that fit a small studio.

Why the antihero counts in 2026: trends shaping player taste

Late 2025 and early 2026 solidified a few trends: AI-assisted content lets indies iterate character behavior faster; short-form streaming clips and social platforms reward memorable character moments; and AI-assisted content lets indies iterate character behavior faster. Together, those trends mean the best protagonists are the kind you can make a highlight reel about — flawed, expressive, and emotionally readable in 3–10 second clips.

Baby Steps hit that sweet spot. Its reluctant, whiny protagonist Nate — a manbaby in a onesie with ridiculous proportions — became a viral subject because his antics are both comedic and painfully human. As Baby Steps devs told us, they leaned into those flaws rather than hiding them.

Key 2026 takeaways for indie devs

Short moments scale: Design characters whose emotions read instantly in short clips.
Iterate with AI—but keep the human core: Use generative tools for animation drafts but retain human curation for timing and nuance.
Fail-forward design: Fail states should deepen sympathy, not punish love.

Case study — Baby Steps: designing lovable patheticity

Baby Steps’ Nate is a masterclass in balancing comedy and empathy. From our interviews, the team described three intentional moves that made Nate work:

Honest authorship: The character pokes fun at real human weakness. Gabe Cuzzillo called it “a loving mockery,” and Bennett Foddy admitted an affection for the absurd design choices ("I thought it would be cute… big butts"). That honesty makes players forgive — and laugh with — Nate.
Design by contradiction: Nate’s exaggerated body, awkward gait, and infantile vocalizations clash with the serious task of mountain climbing. That mismatch creates constant comedic friction and stakes.
Mechanics mirror character: Controls that feel clumsy or require micro-gestures reinforce the theme of incompetence while empowering the player to improve. The result: player skill growth maps to emotional growth of the protagonist.

"It’s a loving mockery, because it’s also who I am," Gabe Cuzzillo told us about Nate. That line is instructive: let your team’s personal voice breathe through flubs.

Practical design blueprint: 10 steps to a flawed, funny protagonist

Below is a step-by-step blueprint you can apply in a tight indie production. Each step is actionable and includes low-budget production tips.

1) Anchor the flaw in a relatable truth

Pick one compact, universal flaw — e.g., overconfidence, chronic procrastination, insecurity — and make every scene either reveal or challenge it. Baby Steps centers Nate’s incompetence and embarrassment; that single thread keeps the design focused. For developers: write a one-sentence emotional premise ("This game is about a man who must confront his fear of looking ridiculous").

2) Exaggerate visually—but keep emotional read

Exaggeration sells comedy: oversized limbs, weird proportions, or an awkward costume are instantly readable. But ensure facial silhouettes and posture convey vulnerability. Baby Steps uses a hushed, grumbling voice and soft body language; each visual gag is grounded in a readable emotional pose. Tip: create a library of 8–12 signature poses that telegraph shame, hope, panic, and joy at a glance.

3) Let mechanics echo personality

Mechanics should underscore the character trait. If your protagonist is clumsy, design input that feels intentionally fiddly but satisfying to master. That creates a player-character bond: mastery equals character growth. Keep controls shallow enough for streaming highlights but deep enough for player expression.

4) Use comedic timing as a design axis

Comedic beats in games are not just jokes—they are rhythms of player input, animation, and sound. Bake timing into state machines and transitions. For example, add a 150–300ms hesitation before a recovery animation to sell embarrassment, or a 60–120ms anticipatory snap to sell a triumphant pose. In Baby Steps, the awkward delays and awkward poses are as much the joke as the dialogue.

5) Write for empathy, not pity

Avoid making your protagonist a punching bag. The aim is to make players feel protective or proud. Show effort, small wins, and private moments where the character is earnest. Replace mean-spirited jabs with observational humor that the player can relate to. In practice: sprinkle short, sincere beats between gags (a sigh, a private smile, a memory flash) to balance the tone.

6) Dialogue: short, specific, and self-aware

Players skim in-play dialogue. Keep lines concise and specific. Use self-awareness to preempt viewer scorn—let the character complain about themselves in a way players find charming, not tedious. Bennett Foddy’s influence shows up here: meta-jokes about bodily absurdity land because the character knows he’s ridiculous.

7) Animation choices that build sympathy

Animation is the primary empathy channel. Prioritize:

Readable silhouettes — the pose should clearly communicate intent even in a small thumbnail.
Micro-gestures — eye flicks, breathing, micro-pauses sell life.
Anticipation and follow-through — small delays and overshoots sell physicality and humility.

Production tip: build a motion library and re-use 3–5 signature micro-gestures across contexts to reinforce character identity without heavy animation cost.

8) Sound and voice as emotional multipliers

Sound design is cheap empathy. A small gasp, an embarrassed chuckle, or a squeaky grunt communicates more than extra lines of text. If you can afford VO, cast someone who can sell awkwardness with subtlety. Use layered foley for comedic flops (clothing ruffle + soft grunt + ambient sigh) to make failure feel human.

9) Tune failure to reward connection

Failure should be meaningful but humane. Avoid mechanics that punish by erasing progress; instead, frame setbacks as narrative setbacks that deepen the player's desire to help the protagonist improve. Baby Steps uses “comedic setback” as a recurring motif—players laugh, reset, and try again, and that loop fosters attachment.

10) Playtest for sympathy, not just difficulty

Add metrics to your playtest rigs that measure emotional reaction: ask testers to rate how much they like the protagonist after 10, 30, and 60 minutes. Track which animations or lines correlate with spikes in sympathy. In 2026 you can use lightweight sentiment analysis on playtest chat logs and short-form clips to spot viral-worthy moments.

Animation & technical workflows for small teams (2026-ready)

Indie budgets demand smart pipelines. Here are practical workflows the Baby Steps team implicitly followed, updated for tools available in 2026.

Rapid prototyping with block animation

Start with silhouette-only block-outs to find physical comedy beats fast. Use pose-to-pose testing in-engine (Unity/Unreal) so designers can iterate without waiting on polished rigs.

AI-assisted drafts + human polish

By 2026, generative motion models are mature enough to produce draft animations that capture exaggerated motion and micro-gestures. Use AI-assisted drafts to produce multiple timing variants, then have animators cherry-pick and polish. Always prioritize human oversight for comedic timing — AI can propose options, but a human will know which millisecond sells the joke.

Blend spaces for comedic interruption

Create blend spaces that allow comedic interruptions (trips, pauses, unexpected reactions) without jarring transitions. This helps create those stuttering, embarrassed beats that players find hilarious and human.

Lightweight mocap for nuance

Rent a day of mocap for nuanced micro-gestures. You don’t need full mocap for everything; a few targeted takes — a shoulder slump, a sheepish look, an awkward stretch — add realism at low cost.

Writing beats and scene planning

Think in beats, not pages. For each scene, design three micro-goals:

Primary objective (what the player must do).
Character moment (how the protagonist reveals a flaw or a seed of growth).
Comedic beat (the gag or embarrassment that yields a shareable moment).

Example micro-scene (in Baby Steps spirit): Objective — cross a narrow ledge. Character moment — protagonist is terrified but tries to act brave. Comedic beat — a wardrobe malfunction or exaggerated wobble that barely clears the ledge but leaves the player laughing and relieved.

Testing for empathy: metrics and methods

Traditional QA measures crashes and frame-time; empathy testing measures feelings. Use these low-cost methods:

Short forced-choice surveys at milestones: "Do you want this character to succeed?" (pair with simple analytics).
Clip analysis: collect 5–10s clips from playtests and run them through a simple A/B test on social platforms to see which moments get reaction. This also primes your marketing with likely highlight reels.
Live co-op sessions: watch players narrate the protagonist’s inner life; capture spontaneous empathy moments and iterate.

Common traps and how to avoid them

One-note flailing: If the character only ever fails, they become unsympathetic. Fix: add micro-wins and private moments.
Mean humor: Jokes at the character’s cost are okay—bullying the character is not. Fix: keep humor observational, not humiliating.
Mechanics mismatch: Don’t have slick, muscle-bound systems for a clumsy protagonist. Fix: align input complexity with the intended character competency.
Over-reliance on text: Players consume clips visually; if your jokes need long subtitles, they won’t land in a short clip. Fix: design visual gags first, reinforcement via short lines second.

Monetization & ethics: keep the empathy

Players will resent exploitative monetization that undercuts the protagonist’s dignity (e.g., pay-to-rescue mechanics that feel like buying the protagonist’s respect). In 2026, players expect fair monetization. Tie paid content to expression and accessibility (alternate outfits, vanity emotes, accessibility toggles) rather than making empathy a microtransaction.

Templates & micro-recipes you can drop into a project

Micro-recipe: "Embarrassed Recovery" (animation + sound + timing)

Trigger: failed ledge attempt
Animation layer: 0–120ms delay (hang), 120–450ms sudden slump, 450–700ms sheepish look up
Sound: soft grunt + clothing rustle at 120ms, nervous exhale at 450ms
Gameplay tie: 10% temporary movement penalty (visualized by heavier footsteps) that wears off as the player performs a small success action

Writing template: 3-line emotional arc per scene

Line A (2–6 words): immediate set-up (fear, boast, plan)
Line B (6–12 words): complication or self-reveal
Line C (2–8 words): small earn or rueful punchline

Examples from Baby Steps worth dissecting

From our interviews, the team repeatedly highlighted design moments where aesthetics, performance, and narrative aligned:

Nate’s onesie and exaggerated behind made him instantly meme-able, but the team always tempered that with small, honest reactions.
Designers used intentional control awkwardness to let the player experience embarrassment and mastery simultaneously.
Moments of private vulnerability (a defeated sigh, a small smile after success) turned ridicule into protection.

Final checklist before release

Does the protagonist have one clear, relatable flaw?
Do visuals read in short clips (thumbnail-sized)?
Do mechanics reinforce character rather than contradict it?
Are failure states framed to build sympathy, not frustration?
Have you playtested for emotional response at multiple time points?
Is your monetization respectful of the character and players?

Parting lessons from Baby Steps’ team

Gabe’s phrase — "a loving mockery" — is a developer mantra worth stealing. Bennett’s joke about liking "big butts" is a reminder that design choices can come from playfulness as much as planning. Taken together they show an important lesson: authenticity and willingness to be slightly ridiculous are not liabilities — they’re opportunities.

"Working on character design and animation brings you over to liking big butts. I could give you an enormous amount of evidence for this." — Bennett Foddy

Actionable takeaways (TL;DR)

Pick one flaw and make it the spine of your design.
Design visual exaggeration to read in 5–10s clips.
Let mechanics reflect the character so player skill maps to growth.
Use micro-gestures and sound to sell empathy fast.
Iterate with AI tools for drafts but polish timing by human animators.

Call to action

Ready to build a protagonist players can’t stop clipping? Start by drafting a one-sentence emotional premise for your lead and sketch three signature poses. Share your concept in our indie dev Discord or tag us on social — we’ll spotlight the best three antiheroes and give feedback on tightening comedic timing for streaming clips. Make something messy. Make it human. Make it unforgettable.

gamesonline

Contributor

Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.

Up Next

Can Rust Save New World? What Facepunch’s Offer Means for MMO Preservation

New World•10 min read

Why New World Died: A Postmortem on Amazon’s MMO Shutdown

Guides•10 min read

How to Make the Most of New World’s Last Year: Events, Farming, and Farewell Tips

2026-01-24T04:03:34.746Z