The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.
1 Peter 4:7 – The Bible
The Playtest
Apologies for my foul language but holy shit, this is anxiety inducing.
I mean, I feel like I did jackshit and fuckall, but still.
The weight of seeing a stranger interact with something you created is a specific kind of horror that no movie recommendation could have prepared me for.
I never really asked others what they thought about my work except for Yushan, our technical designer. Her opinion is the only one that doesn’t feel like an ambush. Showing work to the public feels like handing someone a knife and asking them not to stab you with it.
I didn’t really take photos of the playtest because I was too fixated on recording reviews and answering my boss’s calls from work.
Here are some photos provided by Ollie and Marie for everyone since I don’t have anything:
Splitting my brain between a retail job and this liminal space of judgment was not ideal.
I’ll have to work on that some other time.
Anyways here are the reviews:
From Uni
Jess W:
Are they glowing? How are they glowing? They look nice though.
Alex M:
Damn.
From friends back during high school
Zuzana P:
lmao my guy change courses atp.
Czewon R:
kys
Weijin J:
I mean its nice and all like the style and shi but like. Why ask me?
Maksim I:
пошёл нахуй
Roman G:
ok but cs when?
Jozef G:
Yeah they look nice. Goofy.
Dmitrii V:
When will you draw r34?
Well, shit.
Not the best reviews/feedbacks. But they are technically reviews/feedbacks nonetheless.
It seems the “enigmas” I sculpted landed about as well as I expected. I cannot even defend the work because, as stated previously, I put barely any effort or thought into understanding the subject.
This is the result.
Also, here are some unused assets. They’re just knockoff grocery stores in the neighbourhood, but at least I had fun making them, so.
Tesco to Midsco
Because I HATE Tesco. Simple as that.
Sainsbury’s to Sansbury’s
Haha. Sans from Undertale.
Pound-Land to Land-land
Why not.
There is a lesson here, probably.
The corporate parody logos were the only thing I drew this entire project that didn’t feel like pulling teeth. Maybe because I understand the grim, fluorescent agony of a grocery store far better than I understand people. Knowing myself, it seems, is limited to knowing the things I hate.
Final thoughts
If “know thyself” means accepting that I am better at drawing sad, fluorescent buildings than living, breathing women, then perhaps Thales and I have finally reached an understanding.
The horror I sought in those movies and games weeks ago didn’t end up in the project.
It just sat quietly next to me during the playtest, nodding along with every critique. And realizing that “there are levels to this shit.” -Meek Mill in the song: Levels (2013)
I will continue overseeing a factory tomorrow and no one will care about character designs.
There is peace in that.
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