D&AD New Blood Awards

For the second Live brief we had to choose, I decided to pick the brief by Rare and Xbox in which we had to create a game that’s a force for good, that not only makes players feel good but also does good and makes an impact on the world.

'Many popular games focus on violence and destruction; where failing or losing can lead to frustration and anger, with yourself and others. With so many of these games out there, it’s time to break the mould. Rare want you to create a game that encourages and champions the positive side of humanity and works to do good in the world, whilst still being enjoyable and exciting to play. '

1. Rare _ Xbox Game Studios Brief - New

Download RARE _ XBOX GAME STUDIOS BRIEF - NEW • 369KB

For the duration fo this project I worked with two other girls from my university course:

Lucie Lock : https://lucielock.wordpress.com/

Giulia Palladino: https://caseartandmore.wordpress.com/

Enquiry : Rare Games

To begin I decided to look into Rare games as a company. I wanted to see what kind of games they already had and if they have any pre-existing aesthetics/genres they tend to lean towards.

The only similarity I really noticed was that they had much more 3D games in comparison to 2D. I think with this project we will be developing ideas for a 2D game because of the strict time limit on the brief. However, I think we should design something that can be easily developed into something 3D. This way in the presentation of our project (if we decide to submit) we can mention how it could be changed in this way.

Enquiry : My Own Coping Methods

During quarantine and lockdown I have been doing daily walks to keep active. They have been so great for my mental health too, having a small bit of fresh air and exercise makes me feel so great and helps to stay focus. Now whenever I don't do my daily walks I feel really groggy and restless. It would be interesting to see if incorporating the experience of going on a walk or similar into a video game... something where you explore, something that's atmospheric.

Enquiry : Mindmapping

After discussing with my group how we wanted to use our game to look at something related to emotions/feelings/mental illness, I created this mind map that organises games and genres that could be interesting to explore. I also kept in mind things that have helped me deal with my own struggles now and in the past, I think using personal experience to drive this project will be something very important... working in a group makes this even more interesting, combing out different experiences into one game could be something so powerful...

Going forward now I want to do some more research into games that have inspired me in the past and re-play them to help generate ideas for this project.

Primary Research : Playing Journey

As soon as I read the brief I thought of the game Journey. It is one of my favourite games of all time as is truly a work of art. The music, the play style, the environment and the character designs all come together to create not just a game but an emotional experience. I want to take inspiration from this game in the way that it is not about the ending but what you have to go through to get there. Another aspect of the game I love is the soundtrack, without it I don't think the game would be nearly as impactful, it is a masterpiece.

https://open.spotify.com/album/5fEkyTeRzYV32RcT8c5tTn?si=qvYoM4hgTjOuZh5Dqc9Lxg

(a link the the game soundtrack on spotify)

While playing this game I felt I was not only trying to complete an end goal, but with the small puzzles and tasks I had to complete along with my partner I felt like I was achieving a lot more than that. Helping each other overcome obstacles without even saying a word for the whole 2 hour play time was such an interesting experience, over time we were able to understand exactly what we were trying to communicate to each other just using gentle bell noises. I feel the co-operation aspect of Journey is something that makes it even more special, a game being able to create an unspoken bond between two strangers who will probably never meet each other ever again so, so powerful. having something like this in our game could be really interesting, however, I'm worried having this could cause tension if people are unable to figure out puzzles or work together... which is the opposite of what we want.

Primary Research : Playing SPORE

The third game I will be referencing is one I have enjoyed since I was very little - SPORE. It's a game based around the idea of evolution. You create your own little species and evolve it from the cell stage all the way to civilisation. What I want to take inspiration from in this game is the character design of the cell stage of the game. I want the game we are creating to be something universal, something everyone can all relate to. I think a good way to do this is by having a non-corporeal or non-human character. This way no one is excluded by the way the character is presented, be it through race, gender or otherwise. I also really like the idea of the character evolving as the story progresses. I think it is a lovely way to show growth and development.

I have played SPORE for a really long time, since I was 8 years old on the DS until during highschool on my laptop after homework, it is a game that means a lot to me so revisiting it was something that felt so nostalgic. Something I always loved about the SPORE games is how bonded you grow to the create you have created, you raise them all the way from the cell stage to a civilisation and during that time you get very attached (or at least I did). I find games that make you feel such strong emotions towards digital things so interesting, and it can be quite a difficult thing to do. I am wondering if we can take inspiration from SPORE's gameplay to create a similar sensation in our own narrative.

Research : ABZU

The third game I want to look at is ABZU, unfortunately I do not own it so instead watched a play through. The environment design and use of colour is so beautiful and really special. The music of ABZU is wonderful as well but I personally prefer Journey's soundtrack as I love the way it adapts to the mood of the situation and the plot, ABZU is more atmospheric. I want to take inspiration from the colours of ABZU, I love how they make you feel and I want the game we are designing to have a similar power over the person experiencing it.

Research : Petri Dishes

Inspired by the cell stage of the spore game I decided to look into Petri-dishes as a starting point for the character design of our game. I love the shapes and colours that the bacteria create and I think this could be the beginning of something really interesting and different to what I usually do.

Artist Research : Elin Thomas

After looking at the petri-dishes I wanted to do some research into to other artists who have used them inspiration in their work. Elin Thomas uses embroidery and felting to create beautiful little pieces with different textures, colours and materials. I really like how he simplifies the shapes the bacteria create to create something a little more graphic and illustrative.

Process : Petri Dish Studies (character)

Using the work of Elin Thomas to guide me I created these studies of some forms in petri-dishes. I wanted to use bright colours and graphic shapes, this was so different from the very intricate work I usually do but I actually really enjoyed it. It was quite therapeutic and relaxing, working using circles and round shapes becomes rhythmic after a while and listening to the Journey sound track while I made them resulted in an almost meditative experience that I really enjoyed.

For now I will keep these as a starting point for the character design and develop them more after I have more details on the narrative I will be working with. I want the character to grow and evolve in harmony with the story it is situated it is very important I know the context first.

Process : Petri Dish Studies (environment)

As well as looking as the small formations inside the petri dish I also looked at the colours and composition of the petri-dish as a whole. I really love how these look, I think it could be interesting to use these for the environment the character is situated in.

Process : Game Narrative Ideas

This is a really quick drawing I did to try and show my initial ideas for what the narrative of the game would 'look like' if that makes sense... I envision something that has many different paths and options, the paths interlink and swap between each other but in the end there is one end point. I thought this would be an interesting way to show mental illness or emotions as in the end the goal (and I think I can speak for most people here) is happiness, however we all take our own journey to get there.

Process : Game Narrative Development

This is a more precise map of what a specific path could look like, for this I focused on the idea of anxiety and how it makes me feel. It's confusing and can throw everything upside down, it sets you back, makes you over complicate things and muddles up your thoughts. I tried to capture these ideas with how the line progresses and moves. To further develop this idea I numbered separate 'events' along the line, at each of these points there will be a small mini-game the player has to complete that is designed to represent an obstacle that anxiety can cause.

Process : Storyboarding Event 1

For the first obstacle/mini-game I wanted to show how anxiety can stop you from doing things you enjoy or from trying now things, the block represents this.

I wanted to show how support from friends and family can alleviate that stress and make the task feel more manageable... that's what the smaller blobs with little shapes inside represent. When you open up to people you trust and allow them to help and support you this gives you the opportunity to grow and develop, which is why the character changes form after the player is able to complete the puzzle.

Process : Storyboarding Event 2

Event 2 was inspired by the way anxiety can turn a simple task like ordering a coffee or sending an email feel really difficult.

To represent this. I decided that I would introduce a game mechanic that flips the controls, for instance: the button you would press to go up now makes you go down, the button that makes you go left would make you go right, etc. To add to these sense of struggle, the harmless environmental shapes in the background of the game (specifically the larger, flower shaped ones) become obstacles you have to manoeuvre around to reach the goal that is a glowing light you must chase.

Process : Storyboarding Event 3

For the final 'event' I wanted to design something that represents a massive part of what anxiety is for me, the fear of failure and making mistakes. To represent this and the journey I am currently on to try and overcome it, I wanted to. experiment with the idea of a mechanic that rewards you for failing... or well, failing is part of the process to overcome the obstacle. I think it is so important for people to embrace failure, especially when you learn something from it. The final 'form' of the character is designed to show how failure helps you to grow and protects you from making the same mistakes again, hence the shield like outer layer of the design.

Process : Narrative Development

Giulia created this really beautiful path exploring her experiences with insomnia, I loved how complex it was and how the little paths would interlink and weave amongst each other. I realised that it looked resembles the shape of neurons, which fits the idea of exploring emotions due to their link to the brain. It also looks like a nicer and more detailed version of the initial narrative layout I did when brainstorming ideas. We discussed how it would be interesting to edit this in a way that incorporates the path that each of us had been working on currently.

Giulia then complied this image using the paths each of us had designed so far. Lucie's is in blue and explores a journey of self love, mine is in pink and represents work-based anxiety and the third in red is a edited version of Giulia's that as previously mentioned looks at Insomnia.

Process : Animation Experimentation

I made these animation experiments with the idea that my outcome would be a short animated clip showing how one of the storyboards above could look in action, however, while making these I realised how little practise I have in animation and how long this outcome out take me to create. As this is a very short 2 week project spending a whole extra week working on an animated outcome instead of progressing onto my self-directed project (of which makes up a bigger portion of marks for this unit) isn't viable right now.

Instead I think I am going to focus more on my roots and what I want to do in the future, what this unit is based around really, and look at creating a concept art based outcome. I think if I have the time I could include some very simple moving components but we shall see...

Realisation : Compositional Ideas

I want to look into developing fake screenshots inspired by the storyboards I have produced as well as the more textural Petri Dish studies I produced earlier on in the project. I think this style more accurately represents me and my visual identity, making sure I stay true to myself in my work is very important to me so I want to make sure this outcome shows that.

For the compositions I wanted to look at the storyboards I have created already and select my favourite frames. To decide which ones I wanted to develop into fake screenshots I thought about which frames would produce the atmospheric work and when combine would capture the different moods of the game the best.

I think the ones I have chosen above do this well, they are at different stages at each path, the first being as a mini game begins, the second in the middle of a mini game and the third after a mini game has finished. They also all use different colour schemes and show the character at a different point in their 'evolution'. I feel that developing these as fake screenshot for my outcome will help to show the range of different moods and atmospheres our game is exploring and how we imagine doing so.

Realisation: Final Outcomes

Outcome 1 :

Outcome 2:

Outcome 3:

Evaluation:

Above are the three outcomes I created for this project, each one focusing on texture, shape and colour to convey varying emotions and atmosphere. At the beginning of this brief I was excited to see what I would create, as the video game industry is one that I have been wanting to work in in the future for a long time now. I found it a little difficult to create these at first as it is so different to what I usually make but once I got into the flow of things I found the process quite therapeutic. My personal favourite of the three is the pink and blue composition, this was the one I enjoyed working on the most as they are colours I have more practise with so it felt natural to me. However, I think the dark red composition was the most successful in portraying the atmosphere and emotion I was aiming for. I love what I have created for this project along with my two wonderfully talented friends Lucie and Giulia, I think we have answered the brief in a unique and interesting way that, if it did end up getting developed into a real game, would be able to connect to lots of different people. I feel we have created the concept for something that has the potential to help people further understand struggles they might be going through or have faced, the anonymity of our character and it’s situation is is what makes it relatable and I find that so interesting… I am also proud of what I have achieved personally during this project, continuing on a similar path from what I created during the penguin project, I have been able to create three works of art that are very different from what I usually make but still carry my personal style and visual identity. Seeing this again makes me feel really proud and confident in my ability to market myself as a brand and develop a strong portfolio for industry.