Info Tech
About the 2026 Character Design Program at Info Tech
Creative Art Works’ Character Design Program is a paid internship offered at four NYC Career and Technical Education High Schools. Interns are challenged to create their own fully-realized characters with backstories, personality traits, and strengths and weaknesses.
This year, the curriculum suggested three themes, derived from the Games for Change design competition, to help interns shape their creative vision: Own the Road, All in for Nature: Reefs & Rainforests, and Outgrow Hunger. As the program progressed, some students naturally evolved their characters beyond these original themes, reshaping stories, motivations, and designs in ways that reflected their growing skills and imagination.
Own the Road
Click on an image to read the full character treatment.
Bally
By Nathaniel Yohanes
In a judgmental world of sharp-edged triangles, squares, and hexagons, where people are all geometric shapes without any unique styles, no one expected Bally, a circle who is constantly shamed just for being round. But when Bally notices that car wheels are made of triangles, causing constant accidents, he gets to work. Using his own identity as inspiration, Bally invents the circular wheel, saves the roads, and finally wins the world’s praise.
All in for Nature
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The New King
by Rafiu Moynul
An ancient cube exploded in the rainforest, releasing six talking weapons. Six different people found them — some wanted to destroy the forest, others wanted to save it. This character found the strongest weapon: the King's Greatsword, a magical talking sword. Even with only one arm, he used his high speed and huge sword to defeat those trying to destroy nature. He forced everyone to stop fighting, took control of the other weapon users, and became the new king to keep the rainforest safe.
Tempest
by Jayden Lin
Kyle Smith was an ordinary guy volunteering for a city air-purification project when a sudden atmospheric shift changed everything. An ancient wind spirit chose Kyle as its vessel, transforming him into "Tempest,” a living force of the wind. Now bound to Earth’s ecosystem, Kyle uses his new powers to generate wind to protect air quality, taking on greedy corporate polluters and hazardous airborne threats like a giant, pink fire bunny.
Gary the Cube
by Henry Saeteros
Gary the Cube holds a hidden power within him. When a meteor crashes into Gary, the impact causes him to shatter into countless pieces. As he breaks apart, weapons emerge from inside him and scatter across the rainforest. These weapons do not go to everyone — instead they choose a small number of people to find and use them. This turns Gary's destruction into something bigger, as his power passes to others in a mysterious way.
Vespera
by Leona Quiah
Once the guardian of a hidden volcanic kingdom, Vespera was cursed during a ritual to seal away the Hollow Beast. Now, part of that monster is fused inside her, manifesting as oversized shadow claws and a burning cape. Feared by wasteland survivors who blame her for her kingdom's destruction, Vespera struggles to control her explosive anger. Cold but protective, she fights for redemption, terrified of becoming the monster she once tried to destroy.
Lilarik the Living Storm
by Arif Uddin
When Gary the Cube shattered, fragments scattered across the Amazon rainforest. Each piece transformed into a powerful weapon that bonds only with those the weapon deems worthy. One fragment found a lone hunter deep in the jungle named Lilarik. The weapon merged with him, reshaping itself into a pair of strange, living firearms. Unlike ordinary guns, they respond to his thoughts and spirit, unleashing torrents of energy with overwhelming speed and precision.
Lori Green
by Sadiyah Doria
Lori Green is a driven 17-year-old girl from Seattle who has a deep love for nature. On a summer break trip to Costa Rica, she dives under the ocean and notes how dead the coral reef looks, and later sees an empty piece of land in the forest. Lori snaps pictures with her camera and starts a social media page to get more awareness. She gets help from others, starts a campaign, and protests until Congress signs a law to protect the ocean and forests.
Outgrow Hunger
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Raze
by Rishabh Rohira
In 3000 AD, a mutation forces starving Alkiens into a one-week supernatural hunt for food before they die, creating a cruel hierarchy where the healthy rule. Raze is a doctor who, despite being one of the elite, hates this discrimination. When her husband, Varn, and son, Nol, start hoarding the world's remaining resources, Raze opposes them. She fights to find a cure, smash the hierarchy, and eventually convince her husband to turn against their corrupt son.
Scruffs
by Eric Torres
Born in the mountains, the nonchalant yet courageous Scuffs was blessed with the power of the Goat which allows him to high jump and levitate. His fedora acts as a deadly throwing disc. Snatched from his life as a wandering traveler, he is now trapped in a cyber-futuristic, China-inspired colosseum tournament. Determined to win, Scuffs fights to bring to justice those who destroyed his village and save his people from starving in the mountains.
Varn
by Alexander Arellano
Varn is a high-status Alkien living in 3000 AD, where a deadly mutation grants the starving a single week to hunt for food before perishing. Alongside his greedy son, Nol, Varn uses the crisis to hoard vital resources. However, Varn is a slippery con artist who doesn't stay loyal for long. Shifting with the wind, he ultimately betrays his son to join forces with his wife, Raze, in her mission to end the unfair hierarchy.
Boost
by Dylan Diep
Formerly known as Conner Trast, Boost is a super intellectual superhero and heir to the Trast Corporation. After an accident in a fight with a super villain, his memories were transferred to a robot body. Later, when a virus wipes out all the world’s agricultural products, both animals and vegitables People and heroes resort to eating each other to survive. No longer being flesh and blood, Boost’s mind isn’t controlled by hunger. He must find a vegetation-based hero sustained by her powers, and spread that power to the world to end the situation.
Nol
by Kundan Simkhada
Born to wealthy Alkien parents in 3000 AD, Nol weaponizes a deadly mutation crisis that leaves millions starving and desperate. Driven by pure greed, his only goal is to hoard all the available resources for himself. He successfully recruits his father, Varn, to his villainous cause, completely defying his mother, Raze. Nol stops at nothing to secure his power, unaware that his own father's treacherous nature will eventually ruin his plans.
Amarkes Cheret
by Brandon Tome Diaz
Once hailed as humanity's ultimate defender, Amarkes Cheret volunteered for an experimental super-soldier program, granting him unparalleled strength and kinetic energy armor. However, when a virus killed all crops and animals, humans resorted to eating each other. The virus then evolved through the leftovers to infect humans, turning them into zombies constantly fighting for control. As society collapsed, Amarkes became convinced that humanity's only hope for survival was absolute, uncompromising subjugation under his iron rule. Now he uses his tactical genius to rule over the starving world.
Super Heroes
Apex
by Seeham Abbas
Apex is a powerful superhero who protects the futuristic city of Nova Harbor from dangerous villains and disasters. Known for his super strength, flight, and electric energy powers, Apex is fearless in battle and always puts innocent people first. His greatest enemy is Inferno Rex, a fire-powered villain who can create massive flames and destruction. Despite overwhelming danger, Apex uses both his powers and intelligence to defeat enemies and save the city. People see him as a symbol of hope, courage, and justice.
Kai
by Armando Torres
Born with water powers, Kai always wanted to become a man that people could look up to. To achieve his dream, he built a specialized suit that works directly with his control over water. However, Kai is locked in an eternal rivalry with his enemy, Jay. Because Jay has fire powers, their lives are bound together across different times. To save the people, Kai must defeat Jay in battles that rage across the city and the sky.
