Due to the target audience of my game, and their prevalence in many of the titles I have played. I have opted to introduce a companion for the player that will offer assistance via hints and tips on various aspects of the game. Immediately when companions are mentioned I obviously can only think where they have worked well; Aku Aku from the Crash Bandicoot series would further the story arc and offer assistance to the player, acting as a sort of father figure this aided to build rapport with the character. Another few examples include Sparx the Dragonfly from the Spyro series and additionally Garrus Vakarian from the Mass Effect trilogy.
Companions come in many different types; Garrus for example acts as a member of a squad which provides combat support in battle scenarios, however Sparx and Aku Aku have very little gameplay impact and act more as a guide for the player. You can also consider companions such as the Companion Cube from the Portal series and the Dog from Fable as different variants as they actually act more as a game component than offer information to the player. I consider one of the most important aspects to consider when designing a companion is that you are able to build an emotional connection with them, this can be introduced through backstory or dialogue. I cannot think of a scenario when I haven’t empathised with Elizabeth from Bioshock, the Dog from Fable or any of Shephard’s squad during the final moments of Mass Effect 2. True companions have something to add to the gameplay experience, are versatile and interesting.

Companions should serve a purpose in the game and should not under any circumstances hinder the player or gameplay experience, for this reason my companion shall not interfere in Gameplay but act in the background as a sort of information reservoir for the player. This is because in games such as Mass Effect where the companion works with the player to provide firepower and combat support, the AI needs to be well designed. Examples of terrible AI would be Tails from Sonic 2, where Tails proceeds to explode bombs in close proximity, collapse platforms before you can reach them, and run into spikes without any care in the world. A special mention needs to be made to the AI players in Left 4 Dead who decide that when you need to hide from the Zombie horde that the best course of action is to run around shooting at anything that moves.

My companion for Fracture is the Elder, He will fill a father like role to the player and offer them on the fly assistance if the player doesn’t understand how to complete a puzzle. He can also inform the player on items that they’re currently holding or identify animals. I would’ve liked to explored different companions for the player because young children tend to relate best to animals however as the Elder is already part of the narrative and subsequently the game I may be able to build an emotional connection more easily.