Update Dump

I'm taking my lab hours to do a massive update on both the references I've gathered and any sketches I've been doing. Most of the sketches I'll be posting will be pencil sketches I drew on some class notes and in my sketchbooks.

Real Life References:

 

Art/Game References:

Undercity Sewers - Blizzard Entertainment

My color palette inspiration.

 Dalaran Sewers - Blizzard Entertainment

 Dalaran Sewers - Blizzard Entertainment

 Biohazard Symbol via CreativeWallpapers.com

 Biohazard Barrels via iStockphoto

Biohazard Barrel via bigstock.com

Beginning Sketches:

Disclaimer: These are basically doodles, super rough!

 Some sort of title art.

 A more abstract depiction of a sewer entrance, I thought it would make sense with the overarching dream setting. This could be fun to run with.

 

Another abstract design.

Possible instances of the levels.

From left to right: A gap in the pathway, a toxic barrel to overcome, and an area where the player could be forced to jump and fall unaware of what's to follow.

Digital Media Project Proposal: Version 2.0!

So, after the discussion about my project during class today I have finally made a decision that I'm really excited about! First of all, I wanted to thank everyone who listened to my ramblings about my project during class today and made suggestions. I wouldn't be nearly as excited about this project without everything you guys said, so thank you!

I want to reiterate my final decision here on the blog just to make sure everyone, including me, will be clear on the concept I am pursuing for my project. I decided to, in a way, combine both of my ideas and put the long term project in a series type of format. Each "episode" will be a stand alone game that will delve into the subconscious of the character through lucid dreams. Something I thought would make the series more interesting as a whole would be to have a predetermined order of the "episodes" but to execute them out of order. For example, I think a terrifying childhood fear such as getting sucked into the sewer might be something that would be experienced deeper in the subconscious. So, rather than being Lucid I: Sewer, it might be better placed as Lucid IV depending on how many "episodes" I wish to create. In order to quantify which fears/thoughts/memories go to which "episode", I've been reading a little bit about suppression and repression. Fears, thoughts, and memories that are more suppressed rather than repressed would be first in the series. And, as the player gets deeper into the subconscious, more repressed fears, thoughts, and memories begin to appear which I would assign to the later "episodes". A possible list I just thought of is as follows:

Lucid I: Current adult fear (getting older, financial trouble, etc.)
Lucid II: Childhood fear (Sewer)
Lucid III: Childhood memory/trauma (being picked on by peers, negative family experience, etc.)

I know this is getting a bit too specific for the parameters of this term, but I would really like to continue this project and really flesh out my ideas to include it in both my BFA review and thesis. I'm using this post as a huge brainstorming session of sorts.

So, after all of that rambling, here is my working timeline for this term:

W 1/12: Gather references for sewer environments and begin sketches in Photoshop.
M 1/17: No class!
W 1/19: Continue sketch work while solidifying visual concepts.
M 1/24: Continue working on environment, starting to gather references and ideas for a character design.
W 1/26: Finish gathering references for a character and begin sketching ideas.
M 1/31: Proposed prelim. Critique showing current 2-D work.
W 2/2: Continue to work on all 2-D pieces including environments, characters, or anything else.
M 2/7: Continue working and posting progress.
W 2/9: Begin working in Maya, creating the level designs in 3-D.
M 2/14: Continue working and posting progress.
W 2/16: Begin working on character design in Maya.
M 2/21: Continue working and posting progress.
W 2/23:Continue working and posting progress.
M 2/28: Final Project Presentation/Evaluation - Possible complications with me, I will discuss this with Professor Arellano on Wednesday 1/12!

Digital Media Project Proposal

Dear Collaborative Team of Artists,

As some of you may remember from Wednesday's class, I have two specific concepts for my project. The project, overall, is going to be as much pre-production work as possible for a video game concept that I come up with. The video game, if it were to be finished, would be in a side-scrolling/platformer format with 3-D aspects. Some points of reference for this are The New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Epic Mickey (specific levels), and Donkey Kong Country Returns. The pre-production work will include both 2-D and 3-D work. The 2-D work will include concept art of environments/levels, character(s), enemies, and possibly user interfaces The 3-D work will include bringing the concept art to life with a few 3-D renderings of characters, enemies, or levels. I will create most of my work using both Photoshop and Maya.

Now onto the more difficult part of this project... selecting a concept. I want this project to be part of the work I show for my BFA mid-program review and my overall thesis for the BFA program so a strong concept is important. Here are the two specific ideas I have for the video game:

1. Sewer
My idea for this concept stemmed from an early childhood fear of being pulled into the drain of a shower or sucked into the whirlpool of a flushing toilet. I think the concept of this game surrounding that basic childhood fear could be relatable to most people, making the connection from the player to the game stronger. Or I could just be alone in having that fear as a child, who knows! The game would encompass one main character, a child, being sucked into the shower drain and spirited away to the sewer underworld and forced to fight her way out. The gameplay would all take place within the sewer, so all the environments/levels would reflect that. I also thought there could be a specific antagonist attempting to prevent her from escaping by constantly changing the sewer environment, this could be an interesting alternative to the classic onslaught of random enemies attacking a character.

2. Lucid
This concept is all based on the ideas behind a lucid dream state that the character would be experiencing. What got me interested in this concept is the lack of control that most people have over their dreams and how someone might wake up and wish they could have changed the outcome of that specific dream. Although some people can achieve entering a lucid dream state, it would be interesting to be able to have that control within the setting of a video game. The game would include a main character, possibly rendered in some sort of neutral fashion so anyone could relate to him/her. The levels could be more creative in this concept, perhaps overcoming huge obstacles that might occur in most dreams rather than combating enemies or a specific antagonist.

I think those descriptions are specific enough, but I can always add more during the class discussion.

Thanks Everyone!

Lindsay