practice-2

[practice-2]

Pre-Production part 7

I was also focused on the mechanics of the game. I had already done some research on what game engine to use for the previous idea and had decided that I would use either unity, Game maker Studio 2, or Ren Py. At this point however, since I decided I should make a simpler and more visual novel and puzzle oriented game Game maker studio doesn't really seem like a great option anymore, since it is difficult to do UI with it.

I also looked at the different games that had inspired me so far and took notes on how I could emulate some of their gameplay and mechanics.

Finally, I brainstormed some ideas for the games UI and gameplay

Bibliography:

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (no date) Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Available at: https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-DS/Professor-Layton-and-the-Curious-Village-272563.html (Accessed: May 1, 2023).

Ramée, J. (2022) Beacon Pines, gamespot. Available at: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/27-games-coming-in-2022-that-you-shouldnt-overlook/1100-6499427/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Sancho, M. (2021) Tiny Room Stories Walkthrough & Guide, Mejoress.com - Web de videojuegos, trucos y guías. Available at: https://www.mejoress.com/en/tiny-room-stories-walkthrough-guide/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Screenshots (2019) COSMOCOVER. Available at: https://www.cosmocover.com/newsroom/tangle-tower-unravel-the-strangest-murder-mystery-today-on-steam-nintendo-switch/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Tangle Tower (2019) Steam. Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/359510/Tangle_Tower/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

[practice-2]

Pre-Production Part 6

Since I was a lot more sure that I wanted the game to be a murder mystery, I started watching a lot of videos giving advice on how to write who/how/why dunnits. A channel that I found particularly good for this was Jane Kalmes

(15) Jane Kalmes - YouTube

I also looked for inspiration in some relatively recent mystery shows and movies, like Knives out and Poker face, which I really enjoyed.

I also tried to determine what concepts and assets I would need for the major project and put together a list

Then, I started thinking more about what the detective would be like and put together a slide with my inspirations. I mainly looked at real life images of newts as well as character designs from pinterest and a scrapped Pixar movie.

I also made some observational ketches in order to get used to drawing newts.

Then, I looked at old and more modern classic detectives like Sherlock Holmes and Poirot for inspiration

Then, I sketched out a bunch of ideas for the detective, and created some preliminary concepts.

When it comes to the Clam, I looked for different images of giant Clams as well as character designs based on Clams

As well as visuals associated with fortune tellers, and fortune-tellers from mythology, like the oracle of Delphi

Bibliography

Anubish (2012) Clam, DeviantArt. Available at: https://www.deviantart.com/anubish/art/Clam-287050360 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

 Bletsis , G. (no date) Crystal butt. Personal project, George Bletsis Illustration. Available at: https://www.monstertree.co.uk/work/character-design (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Braun, A. (no date) RPG Reptiles, Behance. Available at: https://www.behance.net/gallery/42036089/RPG-Reptiles (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

 Brann, M. (2022) Giant clams with a blue colour are 'on trend' in the global aquarium trade, ABC News. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-10-26/baby-giant-clams-get-their-colour-nt/101575528 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Coin, P. (2007) original submission, Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_talk:Notophthalmus_viridescens_edit.jpg#/media/File:Notophthalmus_viridescensPCCA20040816-3983A.jpg (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Collier, J. (2012) "Priestess of Delphi" by John Collier, 1891., WORLD HYSTORY ENCYCLOPEDIA. Available at: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/186/pythia-of-the-oracle-of-delphi/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Death on the Nile (1978) Trailer (2016) YouTube. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGbdvoYa7iE (Accessed: May 2, 2023).

 Delso, D. (no date) Maxima clam (Tridacna maxima), Temple, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxima_clam#/media/File:Almeja_gigante_(Tridacna_maxima),_Temple,_Sharm_el-Sheij,_Egipto,_2022-03-26,_DD_33.jpg (Accessed: March 26, 2022).

Glass Sphere with Stand (no date) Earthbound Trading Company Logo. Available at: https://www.earthboundtrading.com/glass-sphere-with-stand (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

 Harris, R. (no date) The giant pearl found at Gosman’s Fish Market. , danspapers. Available at: https://www.danspapers.com/2020/12/giant-pearl-found-in-gosmans-clam/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

 Have your fortune told (no date) Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/613052568048680802/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Isais, J. (no date) From the canceled Pixar movie "Newt", Pinterest. Available at: https://ro.pinterest.com/pin/556476097677157602/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Knives Out (2019 Movie) Official Trailer — Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis (2019) YouTube. Lionsgate Movies. Available at: https://youtu.be/qGqiHJTsRkQ (Accessed: May 2, 2023).

Lojaya, D.A. (no date) #mermay late post of my Mermay lol, TumblrGallery. Available at: https://tumblrgallery.xyz/tumblrblog/gallery/670578/2.html (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Lyus, J. (2010) Newt Concept Art 23, HeyUGuys. Available at: https://www.heyuguys.com/beautiful-concept-art-for-pixars-newt-appears/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

NICHOLSON, M.A.X. (2014) NEWT CONCEPT ART, IGN. Available at: https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/03/21/pixars-newt-canellation-explained (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Niemann, D. (2017) A smooth newt, a more widespread species than the palmate newt. Photograph: Blickwinkel/Alamy, The Guardian Labs. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/11/newt-sandwich-for-a-baby-bird (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Northcut, T. (no date) Pearl Inside Oyster Shell Art Print, Photos.com - Buy Art Online. Available at: https://photos.com/featured/pearl-inside-oyster-shell-thomas-northcut.html?product=art-print.

Poker face (2023) IMDb. IMDb.com. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14269590/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

PowellL, G. (no date) An Eastern red-spotted newt. , LiveScience. Available at: https://www.livescience.com/58396-newt-facts.html (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Sherlock Holmes (2009) Official Trailer #1 - Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law Movie HD (2013) YouTube. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7nJksXDBWc (Accessed: May 2, 2023).

Sherlock Season 1 Trailer (2018) YouTube. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrBKwzL3K7s (Accessed: May 2, 2023).

 Stiefel, K. (2017) Nato and the Clam, flickr. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pacificklaus/36439207364 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britanica (2023) Delphic oracle, Britanica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Delphic-oracle (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

u/LordAdornable (no date) [OC] Little Lizardfolk Thief [Open for commission], Reddit. Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/characterdrawing/comments/hxp0w6/oc_little_lizardfolk_thief_open_for_commission/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

What is the E in E Learning? (no date) E Learning. Available at: http://users.clas.ufl.edu/glue/academy/e.html (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

When The Murderer Gets Murdered on a Train, Who Will Solve The Crime ?! (2022) YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/IQM8Megi7Gw (Accessed: May 2, 2023).

WHYDUNIT: How To Write Great MYSTERIES (2020) YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/v3anHHBhZB4 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

 Zoltor The Fortune Teller (no date) papasgong. Available at: http://www.papasgong.com/zoltor/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

#Youtube

[practice-2]

Pre-Production Part 5

As part of my research I watched the following video about writing Visual Novels. One of the pieces of advice in the video was to not overcomplicate things and to make sure that the idea you are fleshing out and making into the game is one that you think would be worth all of the effort. This made me reflect on my idea for the Black rabbit Island game, as at this point it was definitely getting too convoluted and complicated, and while I don't necessarily think it's a bad idea it's definitely not ideal for a first game. I was also having a hard time wrapping my head around the concept and was spending a lot more time and energy trying to develop the story rather than the visuals of the game.

So, I decided to rethink my idea for the major project and come out with something a bit simpler and more straightforward.

I still wanted to maintain some of the elements from the original concept, like the seafaring folklore inspirations and the mystery elements. I also decided that the idea of having the player walk on an isometric environment would be too complicated, and that I should focus on making it more like a visual novel/ point and click game instead.

I listened to the episode 'Untangled' on the podcast 'Memory Card' where the team behind Tangle Tower talked about how they developed their games. They also spoke about how they developed the story and ideas behind the game, and from their description it seemed like a more loose process, where they thought of cool ideas and came up with looser concepts that they developed over time.

Listening to this made me kind of get over the complex I had when trying to develop Black Rabbit Island, where I was hyper focused on developing the mystery of the game and the story in a very rigid way.

For my new concept I came up with some looser ideas that I can develop more over time and play around with.

The main idea was that there is a clam that can see into the future and people from around the world go to it's lair (a rock in the ocean kind of like skull rock in peter pan) in order to get their futures told. The clam mysteriously dies and a detective gets sent to investigate the case. I thought it would be cool for the lair to be accessible from above the sea by boat and from underwater. The setting is still inspired by seafaring folklore, so the characters that would visit the clam oracle would be a variety of humans and sea creatures/species, so it would make sense for it to be accessible in a variety of ways. Since there would be two sections to the lair, a land one and an underwater one, I wanted the detective to be some kind of amphibian so that he can access both. I was considering having him be a frog, however a game like that already exists, so I decided to make him be a newt.

Here are some brainstorms and sketches about the oracle clam idea

Bibliography

How to Write Visual Novels (2022) YouTube. Visual Novel Design. Available at: https://youtu.be/9iLjsSzyOc4 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

#Youtube

[practice-2]

Pre-Production Part 4

Another game that I found really cool and interesting while looking for inspiration for the project was Detective Grimoire Tangle Tower.

It was a very interesting game with a fun and unique setting and cast of characters.

At this point I was really thinking about the mechanics and gameplay of my project, so I payed attention the the game's point and click mechanics, as well as the deduction and interrogation mechanics

I also looked at the Professor Layton games for inspiration in terms of the UI and deduction mechanics.

My main inspiration however was beacon pines. As I really liked how it combined the visuals of visual novels while also allowing the player character to move in isometric environments and interact with objects

I also did some sketches where I was thinking about the games UI and mechanics.

Another thing I looked into was what type of game engine could be used for making the game.

I watched the following two videos talking about different game engines options for indie games (the second one being more focused on visual novel games)

From watching the videos, I determined that my possible options would be Unity, Game maker Studio 2 and Ren Py (only if i significantly simplified the mechanics and focused more on the visual novel aspect)

So, I created a few slides where I considered the pros and cons of using each engine

While I might not get to the stage where I make a demo of the game, I still think knowing what engine I would use and how the game will work will be helpful when doing concept art and assets for it

Bibliography

Beacon Pines (no date) Xbox store. Fellow Traveller. Available at: https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/beacon-pines/9p4r2m0nrwnk (Accessed: May 2, 2023).

Beacon Pines - Kickstarter.com (no date) Kickstarter. Available at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2103234672/beacon-pines?lang=de (Accessed: May 2, 2023).

Choosing A Game Engine: Visual Novel & Adventure Games [2022] (2022) YouTube. Gamefromscratch. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubK7fnYf_Mg (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (no date) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_Layton_and_the_Curious_Village (Accessed: May 2, 2023).

Tangle Tower (2019) Steam. Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/359510/Tangle_Tower/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

The Best Game Engines of 2021 (2021) YouTube. Ask Gamedev. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPlRsmRxRdA (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

#Youtube

[practice-2]

Pre- Production Part 3

An important part of the setting are the rabbits, as they are kind of like a staple of the island. In the slide bellow from the pre-production document I describe how the rabbits are scattered around the island and are even used as a means of transportation. (I also list princess Mononoke and breath of the wild as inspirations, since I wanted the rabbits to appear unique and have a magical element to them).

I also describe how most of the animals around the island have been affected by the anomaly and are mutated in some way. One of my inspirations for that was the game 'Tangle Tower' and another inspiration was gravity falls, as they both feature weird/ anomalous animals and creatures, gravity falls especially.

After deciding on the setting, I started considering the story of the game and wrote a brief description

A big inspiration for it was Beacon Pines, but I also looked at another game, Jenny Le-Clue Detectivu, where the protagonist discovers deep-seated secrets of a small town

One thing that I was kind of struggling with was deciding how the wizard was going about trying to achieve immortality. I looked at a lot of different sources for inspiration. One source was the research that is happening right now on achieving immortality (whether it's realistic or not it could be useful). A lot of it seemed to revolve around a species of jellyfish which would match the seafaring theme of the project. My other main source of inspiration was the podcast Chasing Immortality, where the host discusses people throughout history that have tried to achieve immortality. There were definitely some interesting episodes that gave me some inspiration, like the episode discussing Nicolas Flamel. I ended up having kind of a nebulous idea of the wizard using a combination of the islands magic and alchemy.

I also wanted to flesh out my idea for the setting, so I brainstormed some ideas for key locations for the island and gathered some reference of Irish and Greek coastal towns. I was looking at Greek coastal towns because I'm already familiar with them having come from Greece, and the Irish coastal towns made sense, since the island of Hy-Brasil was meant to be close to Ireland,

I was also thinking about the island's map and how it could be cool to combine the aesthetics of old maps and sea charts with nore modern maps geared for tourists. I was mainly inspired by this by Mario Odyssey, where the map is reminiscent of a map you'd get in a national park or a setting geared for tourism. I also really liked the map in Oxen free, and how throughout the game the characters made scribbled of their goals on it, I like the idea of doing something similar for the project.

For the characters, the main two that I was thinking about where the sleuth and their sidekick. For sleuth I was mainly inspired by tin tin as well as Enola Holmes which I had recently watched and Nancy Drew. I wanted the character to be young curious and intelligent. For the sidekick I was imagining them to be an octopus. I really liked the idea of having a character who used to be an accomplished adventurer, and has developed kind of an arrogant demeanour as a result, but has been cursed and turned into an octopus. I looked at real life octopuses for inspiration, as well as other people's character designs.

Bibliography:

+Greekacom (no date) Skiathos Greece: Travel guide 2023: Greeka, Greekacom. +greekacom. Available at: https://www.greeka.com/sporades/skiathos/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

@BobFekete10/31/17, B.F. and Nieva, J. (2017) Super mario odyssey wooded kingdom power moon locations, PlayerOne. Available at: https://www.player.one/super-mario-odyssey-wooded-kingdom-power-moons-121318 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Anukilimanoor (no date) Dunluce Castle is a now-ruined medieval castle in Northern Ireland...., iStock. Available at: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/dunluce-castle-gm501175797-43166724 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Artstation - Fernanda Suarez (no date). Available at: https://www.artstation.com/fernandasuarez (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Best castles in Greece (no date) Europe's Best Destinations. Available at: https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/destinations/greece/best-castles-in-greece/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Carta Marina (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carta_marina (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Jenny Leclue - Detectivu on steam (2019) Jenny LeClue - Detectivu on Steam. Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/319870/Jenny_LeClue__Detectivu/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Keith (2023) Shedd - giant Pacific Octopus, Flickr. Yahoo! Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nosamk/4758305907 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Lila (2017) Τεν τεν. Ο ατίθασος ρεπόρτερ με το όρθιο τσουλούφι, είχε αντίπαλο έναν ελληνοαμερικανό μεγιστάνα. Κατακρίθηκε, λογοκρίθηκε, αλλά κυρίως ενέπνευσε, πουλώντας πάνω από 200 εκατ. αντίτυπα, ΜΗΧΑΝΗ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΥ. Available at: https://www.mixanitouxronou.gr/ten-ten-o-atithasos-reporter-me-to-orthio-tsouloufi-eixe-antipalo-enan-ellinoamerikano-megistana-katakrithike-logokrithike-alla-kyrios-enepnefse-poulontas-pano-apo-200-ekat-antitypa/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Matsuura, S. (no date) Artstation - Satoshi Matsuura, Artstation. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/hiziripro (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Oxenfree - Edward's Island Overview World Map Featuring Landmarks & Locations Information Xbox One (2016) YouTube. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIHRZfKKrRQ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

O’Sullivan, V. (2022) 20 of the most beautiful villages and small towns in Ireland, CN Traveller. Condé Nast Traveller. Available at: https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/beautiful-villages-ireland (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Owning a second home is antisocial behaviour | letters (2022) The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jun/29/owning-a-second-home-is-antisocial-behaviour (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Pallett, R. (no date) Artstation - explore, Artstation Ryan Pallett. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Paravantes, M. (2023) Access to zakynthos shipwreck beach banned this summer, GTP Headlines. Available at: https://news.gtp.gr/2023/04/11/access-to-zakynthos-shipwreck-beach-banned-this-summer/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Premkumar, A.D. (2022) 10 best coastal towns in Ireland you need to see, ViaTravelers. Available at: https://viatravelers.com/irelands-best-coastal-towns/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Thomson, C. (2020) The most beautiful Greek Islands for your bucket list, Suitcases and Sandcastles. Available at: https://suitcasesandsandcastles.com/beautiful-greek-islands-for-your-bucket-list/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Unger, C. (no date) Illustration, Catherine Unger. Available at: http://www.catherineunger.com/work (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Upcoming events at Lembeh Resort - North Sulawesi events (2023) Lembeh Resort Dive Resort & Spa in Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Available at: https://www.lembehresort.com/category/upcoming-events/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023). Webster, A. (2021) Enola Holmes is getting a sequel on Netflix, The Verge. The Verge. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/13/22434366/enola-holmes-2-sequel-netflix-millie-bobby-brown-henry-cavill (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Best castles in Greece (no date) Europe's Best Destinations. Available at: https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/destinations/greece/best-castles-in-greece/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Webster, A. (2021) Enola Holmes is getting a sequel on Netflix, The Verge. The Verge. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/13/22434366/enola-holmes-2-sequel-netflix-millie-bobby-brown-henry-cavill (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

[practice-2]

Pre Production Part 2

So, having established that I wanted to do something inspired by seafaring folklore, I started doing some research. part of that involved reading the two books bellow.

Phantom Atlas documented geographical locations that were though to exist at some point but whose existence has now been debunked, and Seafaring Lore and legend described various sea creatures, voyages, legends etc.

I also looked for inspiration in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, as it features lots of marine legends and folklore, like Davy Jones and his locker and plays with them in fun and interesting ways.

After some research I found out about the phantom island of Hy-Brasil, and decided that it was an interesting setting for my game concept. So I started coming up with a story for it based on the lore of the island

Images of original pre-production document explaining the setting

Bibliography:

HÉIREANN, S.T.A.I.R.N.A. (no date) Hy Brasil Map colour, Stair nahÉireann | History of Ireland. Available at: https://stairnaheireann.net/2016/04/19/hy-brasil-the-lost-legendary-island-of-ireland/ (Accessed: May 2, 2023).

The Phantom Island of Hy-Brasil in Irish Myth & Fable (no date) Mythical Ireland. Available at: https://mythicalireland.com/blogs/myths-legends/the-phantom-island-of-hy-brasil-in-irish-myth-fable (Accessed: May 2, 2023).

Peter , J. (2007) Seafaring Lore and Legend: A Miscellany of Maritime Myth, Superstition, Fable, and Fact (INTERNATIONAL MARINE-RMP), Amazon. Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seafaring-Lore-Legend-Peter-Jeans/dp/0071486569 (Accessed: May 2, 2023).

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0325980/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Hitching, E.B. (2016) The phantom atlas: The greatest myths, lies and blunders on maps: Amazon.co.uk: Brooke-Hitching, Edward: 9781471159459: Books, The Phantom Atlas: The Greatest Myths, Lies and Blunders on Maps: Amazon.co.uk: Brooke-Hitching, Edward: 9781471159459: Books. Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Phantom-Atlas-Greatest-Myths-Blunders/dp/1471159450 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

[practice-2]

Pre Production part 1

At the time the brief was announced I was mainly playing 'The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass, and was really enjoying it. I liked the sense of adventure and whimsy that it created, and I really liked the seafaring theme and how elements of it where inspired by myths and legends like ghost ships.

So, for my project, I wanted to do something inspired by seafaring folklore and adventures as well.

When we were discussing what we were thinking of doing in class, Leo suggested that I could do something like a visual novel or something comic related. In the beginning of the year, I wanted to do something related to comics, but at this point in time I was really drawn to the idea of interactivity, so I preferred the idea of going for a visual novel or a story driven game

So, I looked at adventure and mystery visual novel games (which is what I tend to enjoy) for inspirations.

-Oxen free (even though it's not exactly a visual novel) was a big inspiration for me. I really liked the atmosphere, setting and the storytelling, as well as the visuals.

-Scarlet Hollow was another game that I found interesting. This one was more of a classic visual novel with a lot of different narrative branches. While there wasn't any gameplay other than dialogue choices or action choices (at least as far as I played) the game was very choice driven, with player decisions impacting character dynamics and the narrative in significant ways.

I don't really have any experience with writing, so since this is a relatively new experience I think that I should steer away from something that complex, but it was definitely useful seeing how the game was still very engaging without classic gameplay elements.

Finally, I was really inspired by Beacon Pines. I really liked the art style, and the mystery and setting of a small remote village. I also liked how the character could move around in an isometric environment and interact with characters and objects, while also having visual novel elements.

So, after looking at the games, I thought that for my major project it would be cool to combine the seafaring folklore and sense of whimsy and adventure from phantom hourglass, with the element of solving a mystery in a small town like in Beacon Pines and Scarlet Hollow.

Bibliography:

Beacon Pines Review (switch) (2022) Hey Poor Player. Available at: https://www.heypoorplayer.com/2022/09/23/beacon-pines-review-switch/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Howard, A. (no date) Scarlet hollow - kickstarter.com, Kickstarter. Available at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1203079854/scarlet-hollow?bid=2e63ba254b9bcc7b66c8eb5a8e770906 (Accessed: May 2, 2023).

The legend of zelda: Phantom Hourglass (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Phantom_Hourglass (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Oxenfree: PC mac linux steam game (no date) Fanatical. Available at: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/oxenfree (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Tras-o-gamer and Carvalho, B.de (2022) Beacon Pines – Análise, Starbit. Available at: https://www.starbit.pt/2022/12/30/beacon-pines-analise/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

[practice-2]

Final Touches and putting the document together

I wasn't satisfied with the previous concepts for the pit chase scene, since for the hand it didn't allow the player to see Krampus, and in the other ones I was having trouble figuring out hoe Krampus could fit through the narrower part of the pit and keep chasing the character after a certain point.

So, I created a new concept with annotations of how the mechanics would work. The idea was that it's not possible to have Krampus chase the character all the way to the top, since there wouldn't be a way to explain how the character can escape, so Krampus has to be trapped somehow. My solution to that is that Krampus chases the character directly up to a certain point but gets stuck and keeps chasing the character using his chains, while his movements are also causing debris to fall, which the character has to avoid

When I presented it to the class, someone commented that it would be a good idea to have a light source indicating that the top is the way out, so I added that too.

I also made some clarifications to the map. I highlighted the whole area the third act takes place in and clarified where the scene starts and ends

For the storyboard I changed some of the initial panels in the firs slide, since they were a bit boring and added an extra slide of the main character jumping off of Krampus to a platform, in order to explain where the character starts off after the cut scene.

I also made a slide explaining where each scene takes place in the map

[practice-2]

Environment Design Part 2

In order to organize my thoughts and provide a clearer idea of where things are taking place I created a map of Krampus's Lair. I marked the part of the map that the first third act chase would take part in, and placed a drawing of Krampus on the pit to clarify where it is.

I also created a map of the chase area with a more three-dimensional presentation for more clarity.

And then I created a concept for a scene in the game. The area that the chase took part in within the lair was meant to be the area where Christmas letters get processed, since it's closer to the surface. In more recent incarnations Krampus is said to work along side Santa Claus so I thought it would be fun if they shared a lair, and if that could be visible in the environment.

For the design of the background I took inspiration from Santa's warehouse in The Rise of the Guardians, and Rustam Isaev's concepts of a Santa's toy factory.

In my concept, I tried giving it a sense of depth by having a curved path. I also added a big hub where the letters fall in through different tubes and snowman workers working on the processing of letters .

I'm happy with it, but I think I could have pushed it more.

Bibliography

[practice-2]

Character Design Part 2

After some thinking and discussing it with Leo, I decided that it would be a better to think of the game in a different way. The initial idea was for the kid to fight Krampus in an arena and then for the ground of the arena to collapse making Krampus fall into a pit, but going in a direction more similar to little nightmares, where the player character has to run and stealth from enemies was something much more in line with the horror theme.

Because of the change in gameplay it seemed like a better idea to discard the weapons, since the player character would feel a lot more vulnerable without them.

So, for the final design, I took out the weapons coloured the character. I coloured him with warmer tones, because the backgrounds will have cooler colours so I wanted him to stand out.

I also added some dirt texture on the characters Jacket and shoes to make it feel like he has already gone through a lot trying to break out of the lair.

For Krampus, I decided that because of the change in gameplay it would be better to take the basket out of the design, since it would appear inconvenient for running, and to take out the Britch tail, since it wouldn't be needed for the attack mechanic anymore

Explain: Change in Gameplay no swiping mechanic so tail is useless + basket impractical for running

Added size comparison

Similar to the player character I used warmer colours to contrast with the background. I also added a size comparison of the player character to show his scale

Bibliography:

Little Nightmares: Glutton Chase (2017) YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/Z0ZmaDGn1l0 (Accessed: May 6, 2023).

[practice-2]

Animatic/Storyboard

For the cut scene between the two encounters, I wanted to give it kind of a comic book format.

I sketched everything out quite roughly, and then I compiled it into an animated gif, in order to give an impression of what a cutscene with a comic book format could look like

[practice-2]

Environment Design experimentation

I started by creating some rough sketches and thumbnails for the environment, in order to put my thoughts into paper.

My idea was that the character at first fights the Krampus (phase 1) in an arena, but the ground is unstable, so eventually Krampus falls through, into a pit bellow the arena. The player character thinks that this is it, so he starts walking towards the exit and then a cut scene starts. In it the character is walking through the exit, but one of Krampuses chains grabs his legs and drags him into the pit. There, after his fall, Krampus has transformed into his second phase, and the player must climb back up to escape from Krampus. So there would be two phases to the third act, one where you fight Krampus, phase 1 in the arena, and one where you are trying to run away from him.

I crated a sketch based on the previous thumbnails, where I was trying to figure out how the pit environment would work with an isometric view

I wasn't 100 percent happy with it, as I was struggling to figure out how the environment and Krampus' scale would interact. Krampus needed to be big enough to be menacing and scary and also to ba able to reach higher and chase the character for longer, but not so big that only his head could fit through the opening of the pit.

I also experimented with the idea of having this section of the game be from a side view, but eventually decided against it

I also created a version that was a bit more detailed and existed with the arena environment.

I also experimented with the idea of having only the hand of Krampus chase the character, but also decided against it, as I wanted the scene to feature Krampuses phase 2 design more.

Then, I created a sketch of the upper battle area, where the first fight takes place.

and then I created a sketch of it on procreate, where I payed more attention to getting the isometric perspective right. I wanted the exit to be visible too, in order to signal to the player that this is the last obstacle, before the character can escape.

The playable area is the one that is coloured in red and the rest is meant to be stalactites and stalagmites so that the player knows not to step there

[practice-2]

Environment Design Research

I really wanted to draw the environment in isometric perspective, so I looked at other 2D games with isometric perspective as reference. I mainly looked at environments from hades and Death's door as inspiration:

I mainly looked at how the playable areas were framed, and the shapes used for the arenas.

I also looked at images of caves in order to get ideas for how I could incorporate the shapes of the stalactites and stalagmites in my environment designs

I also took inspiration for the map from the map from hollow knight, as I really like the simple style of it and how clear it is even though it's quite big and complex.

Bibliography:

Hollis, D. (2021) Death's door is one of Phil Spencer's standout games of 2021, Pure Xbox. Pure Xbox. Available at: https://www.purexbox.com/news/2021/10/deaths-door-is-one-of-phil-spencers-standout-games-of-2021 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Isma's Grove & the Watcher's Spire - Hollow Knight Wiki Guide (2019) IGN. Available at: https://www.ign.com/wikis/hollow-knight/Isma%27s_Grove_&_The_Watcher%27s_Spire (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Pacheco, V., Gomes, L. and Ariedo, E. (2022) Review: Hades for PS4 remains a masterpiece, Showmetech. Available at: https://en.showmetech.com.br/hades-for-ps4-remains-a-masterpiece/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Photographer, U.F. (2023) Florida caverns state park, 3345 Caverns Road, Marianna, Florida, U.S.A., Flickr. Yahoo! Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/miamiboy/16141617750 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Tapsell, C. (2021) Death's door review - wonderfully honed zelda-like with a soulful edge, Eurogamer.net. Eurogamer.net. Available at: https://www.eurogamer.net/deaths-door-review-wonderfully-honed-zelda-like-with-a-soulful-edge (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Zrfphoto (no date) Luray Caverns Stock Image. image of stalactites, speleothems - 61141575, Dreamstime. Available at: https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-luray-caverns-blue-coins-water-image61141575 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

[practice-2]

Character Designs (Part 1)

I started by creating a quick sketch of the player character, in order to get my thoughts on paper.

Then, I used a rough sketch that I had made of someone holding a sword as a base, and created various silhouette ideas for the character based on the sketch above

After getting feedback from Leo and the Concept art students, option 5 was the most liked, so I decided to go with that one. I also created some Christmas themed weapon props; a candy cane sword, a Christmas light grappling hook gauntlet and exploding Christmas ornaments,

Then, I sketched some ideas for Krampus' design. I played around with some of the shapes for the body and the horns.

After getting feedback from Leo and the rest of the class, I decided to that concept number 2 was the best one, and I should expand on that one.

I created a silhouette of the second concept, and following Scott Flanders's shape carving technique, I created some more designs by modifying the silhouette. The process was helpful for expanding on the design, but also for creating readable designs

After discussing it with the class, I decided to merge together elements of designs 6 and 7, since I preferred the overall silhouette and design of 7 but liked the idea of incorporating a britch (which is a visual that is associated with Krampus) to Krampus's tail.

As I was watching a video of Jen Zee (art director at Supergiant Games) describe how she went about designing the characters for the game , she mentioned how an important part of the process was checking if the characters would be readable in isometric view.

So, I added some sketched of Krampus from an isometric point of view in order to check if he worked on that perspective

I also created some sketches for Krampus after his transformation, but he looked too much like a beholder, so I decided I should take it in a different direction.

Another concept for Krampus phase 2. here I decided that he should increase in scale and gain more horns, compared to phase 1.

Bibliography

How Supergiant Games Create Music & Art - Developing Hell #03 (2019) YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/oQPk9J7spw0 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Bibliography for Krampus research post:

Boes Maschere Tipiche del Carnevale di Ottana alla cavalcata di sassari!!!: Fantasy character design, character design inspiration, character design (2013) Pinterest. Available at: https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/309411436869542700/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Changeling (no date) Changeling posted by Brittany Joseph. Available at: https://cutewallpaper.org/21/changeling/view-page-21.html (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Derow, D. (no date) Artstation - Dominik Derow. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/pencilhands (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Figandthewasp (2018) The fig & the wasp, Tumblr. Available at: https://figandthewasp.tumblr.com/post/180982353468/helenmask-here-is-what-it-looks-like-with-my-two (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

It's Beginning to Look A lot Like Halloween... (no date) Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/613052568043943713/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

IrenHorrors (2016) Merry krampus by Irenhorrors on DeviantArt, by IrenHorrors on DeviantArt. Available at: https://www.deviantart.com/irenhorrors/art/Merry-Krampus-653255916 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Krampus Night is Dec 5th (no date) Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/AbllGPPRSP3_-_PjbJfusZDjwJezjbeqWdTmftumg_PfbFWVCj_NIXA/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Krampuslosangeles (2013) Gruß vom Krampus Los Angeles, Tumblr. Available at: https://krampuslosangeles.tumblr.com/post/40759028410 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Krampus the Christmas Demon | Dark Mythologies (2022) YouTube. Lady of the Library. Available at: https://youtu.be/5VjPG3YEE54 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

"krampusnacht" (no date) Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ). Available at: https://metalshockfinland.com/tag/krampusnacht/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Mizejewski, D. (2014) Krampus was the best thing about Christmas 2014, Boing Boing. Available at: https://boingboing.net/2014/12/30/krampus-was-the-best-thing-abo.html (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Monstieur Krampus by JRCOFFRONIII on DeviantArt (no date) by JRCoffronIII on DeviantArt. Available at: https://www.deviantart.com/jrcoffroniii/art/Monstieur-Krampus-825530682 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Muncy, J. (no date) Jefferson Muncy. Available at: https://www.jeffersonmuncy.com/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Nataliehall (2016) Bonjour., Tumblr. Available at: https://nataliehall.tumblr.com/post/154415353910/krampus-bleh (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

#Youtube

[practice-2]

Design Research

I also wanted to do some research on how to approach the design of the characters. I looked at the book "MYTHICAL BEASTS AN ARTIST'S FIELD GUIDE TO DESIGNING FANTASY CREATURES", where several artists documented their process when designing a creature.

There was even one section where they design Krampus. The way all of the artists approached the brief in the beginning was, to research a couple of animals relevant to the creature's design and doing some observational/ research drawings of them. For Krampus, the most relevant animal is the goat, so I did some observational drawings of goats:

I focused on different horn shapes that I could experiment with, and got more familiar with the shape of goat heads.

I also attended some life drawing sessions in preparation for drawing the player character, in order to practice anatomy and posing

And I also did some sketches of poses with swords, as i intended the player character to have a weapon.

Finally, I looked at a series of videos by Scott Flanders on the Proko channel, where he discussed his process when generating ideas and designs for creatures, as well as his shape carving technique, which is really helpful for getting a clear and readable silhouette.

Bibliography:

Mythical beasts: An artist's field guide to designing fantasy creatures (2017). Worcester, U.K.: 3dtotal Publishing.

Tips for Designing Unique Characters (2021) YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/Xgh1anSSZL0 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

#Youtube

[practice-2]

Krampus Research

I watched the following videos, explaining the folklore surrounding Krampus, as well as other European Christmas related folklore characters.

I took note of some of the things that I found interesting as well as mentions of physical characteristics that could influence the design of Krampus as well as potentially his mechanics in the game.

Some of the most notable characteristics were, that he would carry a basket full of kids, he wore a lot of chains and bells, and his appearance has characteristics similar to goats (although in later incarnations he is portrayed looking more like the devil, probably because of the influence of Christianity)

One thing that I found quite interesting was how Krampus was a pagan god that was co-opted by Christianity, and was even said to work alongside Santa Claws. It made me think of Krampus in two ways, one was the way he is mostly portrayed by Christian tradition, and the other was like a more old and incomprehensible / powerful entity. So I decided that it would be a good idea to have two versions of Krampus.

Having two versions of Krampus, and a transformation in between them could work well as part of the third act as well, as it would increase the tension and stakes very dramatically.

Then, I looked at how other artists had interpreted the character of Krampus and took notes of characteristics that I liked or thought would be interesting to experiment with

I also looked at people's costumes of Krampus for inspiration. Some Alpine regions celebrate a Krampus parade on December 5th, where people goo around the streets dressed up as him. The costumes tend to be handcrafted and very unique and creative, so I had plenty of good reference.

Bibliography:

Snow Daemon - Krampus Story by Fesbra (no date) Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/613052568043943630/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

The Messed Up Origins of Krampus | Fables Explained - Jon Solo (2019) YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/WGQhFhrJdtQ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Thewindowofthesummerhouse (2019) Thewindowofthesummerhouse, Tumblr. Available at: https://thewindowofthesummerhouse.tumblr.com/post/189502148601/jelarson (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Vesse (no date) Artstation - challenges - the legend of king arthur, Artstation Vesse. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/contests/the-legend-of-king-arthur (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

Yule goat costume finished! :D (so many photos!): Nymla on patreon (2017) Patreon. Available at: https://www.patreon.com/posts/15859289?epik=dj0yJnU9VERUT25zYjFLcThwaTJXSzlpWTBfNzRERHoydzJzdnImcD0wJm49TmZlTHJUM0NFWUx4WHo4dzYxcG1zUSZ0PUFBQUFBR1JScjc0 (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

🌿 Egg 🌿 Open to work! (@biirdarts) / Twitter ; Άνοιγμα σε νέα καρτέλα (no date) Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/613052568046665176/ (Accessed: May 3, 2023).

#Youtube

[practice-2]

Initial concept:

I had been wanting to do something related to Krampus (an alpine folklore character related to Christmas) for a while, so when the brief was announced, I decided to take the opportunity and create concept art for a game based around Krampus. So the game would fall under the categories of Monster Horror and Folk Horror according to David Choi's chart

By the end of the brief, my plan was to have :

Character design -> a concept for a playable character and a concept for Krampus

Props -> some of the weapons (Christmas themed) (ornament bombs, candy cane sword, Christmas light grappling hook)

Environment -> Map of Krampus's lair and one more developed location

The main things I needed to do research on were:

-Krampus

-Creature Design

-Alpine region + Austria

-Cave environments