Game Art - Exercise

25/9/2024 - 24/11/2024 : (Week 1- Week 9)

Tong Min Xuan / 0362744

Game Art/Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media

Fundamentals - Exercise 

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INSTRUCTIONS

   

Exercise - World Creation (Fantasy )

You are to choose a game that you intend to alter the art direction/aesthetics. (*note that you are not creating a game design, only art) Based on your choice you are to then create a world with initial concept arts and collections of reference and extracting information/components that is shown in your mood board which explains the following:

1. Time
2. Era
3. Ambience and mood
4. Back story
5. Crisis
6. Culture – design component representing their race, worship, colors, materials used, etc
7. Ecosystem – who lives there, what do they do, animals, creatures, flora etc
8. Geolocation – plain, mountain pass, dungeons, temples ruins, highlands, sea, river, forest etc.
9. Architectural design – structure, monuments, relics etc
10. Resource – nuclear, oil, crystal etc
11. Genre – Horror, Comedy, Drama etc
12. Target audience – range max to 8 years
13. Theme - (Fantasy – South East Asian) + Sci-fi, Post War, Post Apocalypse, Medieval, etc.
14. Classes/hierarchy
15. Transport – man made, animal, hybrids, portals etc.

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IDEATION

"Identity V" is a 3D game. It features a stylized, gothic visual aesthetic and allows players to navigate a three- dimensional environment, enhancing the horror and suspense elements of the gameplay.

Players take on the roles of either survivors or a hunter. Survivors work together to decode cipher machines and escape the map, while the hunter aims to capture them. The game features unique characters with distinct abilities, creating a strategic gameplay experience. Are you looking for specific aspects, like character details or gameplay mechanics?

Since the game I'm choosing is in the horror genre, I'll be doing a darker European architectural style with darker tones overall perspective unique
draw with a propal line structure

Landscapes: Dark, foreboding forests, twisted trees, and foggy, overgrown grounds help to heighten the sense of unease.

Color Palette: The game predominantly uses a muted and desaturated color palette, with deep purples, blacks, and grays, punctuated by accents of blood-red, golden, or icy blue hues. This contributes to a melancholic, eerie atmosphere.

Dim Lighting: Most maps have dim, atmospheric lighting, with certain areas being particularly shadowy or fog-covered. This helps to obscure vision, creating a sense of mystery and danger.

Light vs. Dark Contrast: Strong contrasts between dark and light areas are a constant theme, often used to guide players’ attention or create tension, especially during chase scenes with the hunter.

The Moonlit River Park: A map set in a dilapidated, fog-covered amusement park. The aesthetic features broken carnival rides, glowing lights, and large, eerie trees that create a surreal horror experience

The Sacred Heart Hospital: A creepy, clinical environment with dark hallways, flickering lights, and a sense of abandonment that evokes feelings of unease and tension.

I wanted to design a Victorian costume type character and the overall feel was brooding with dark tones, so I took some references from old European times and costume materials

 

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REFLECTION

Designing a character for Identity V has been a fascinating journey of merging narrative and visual elements. Starting with a rough concept, I focused on creating a character that would feel both unsettling and captivating, staying true to the game’s eerie, Victorian Gothic aesthetic.

The rough sketch stage allowed me to focus on the character’s posture and overall silhouette, capturing a sense of eerie grace. As I refined the design, I emphasized muted tones and slight imperfections, staying true to the game’s aesthetic of faded beauty and surreal horror. One challenge was maintaining the balance between the character's beauty and the unsettling, which is a hallmark of Identity V. Ultimately, the process deepened my appreciation for how art, story, and atmosphere intertwine in game design, especially in a game that thrives on psychological tension and emotional depth.