To begin I started a research method mind map to remember to explore different variants. The research method I’m starting with is my desk-based research. I am going to begin looking into some books and articles about my chosen topic.

Research methods such as user and market research may come in later once the rest is complete.

Current Ideas:

For my game concept I began by creating a mind map of my interests, hobbies, fears and some mental health problems. I circled a few ideas I would like to focus on. I particularly want to base my game idea around anxiety as I received an anxiety diagnosis recently and I feel like this is something I can connect and communicate with the most. I also circled my fears being alone and public speaking as this can be linked.

Anxiety Research

-Anxiety is a natural response everyone has in reaction to stress or uncertainty from feelings of fear or worry.

-Although feeling anxious is normal, having it persistently may mean you have some form of anxiety disorder.

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Games based on anxiety:

Celeste – This platformer follows a young woman climbing a mountain, reflecting themes of personal struggle, mental health, and anxiety. The gameplay itself can be challenging, symbolizing overcoming obstacles.

Hell blade: Senua’s Sacrifice – This action-adventure game delves deep into mental health issues, particularly psychosis and anxiety, presenting a poignant narrative and immersive experience.

Night in the Woods – This story-driven adventure focuses on mental health, depression, and anxiety, featuring relatable characters and situations that explore these themes in a thoughtful way.

Inside – While more abstract, this atmospheric puzzle platformer can evoke feelings of anxiety through its oppressive environment and tense gameplay.

The Cat Lady – A psychological horror game that explores themes of depression, anxiety, and loneliness, offering a deeply narrative experience.

Fran Bow – This point-and-click adventure game tells the story of a young girl dealing with trauma and anxiety, with a surreal and sometimes disturbing narrative.

Fran Bow:

Psychological themes- explores deep emotional issues, including fear, anxiety, and the impact of trauma on mental health
Atmospheric game play- includes surreal, dark visuals that creates an immersive experience
Coping Mechanisms- ran encounters various challenges and must use her wits to navigate her environment, akin to developing coping strategies in stressful situations
Narrative choices- Players make choices that can influence the story, similar to how different responses can affect public speaking outcomes

The Cat Lady:

Mental Health focus- The game centers on the protagonist, Susan, who deals with severe depression, anxiety, and feelings of isolation. It explores her psychological journey in an impactful way
Atmospheric story-telling- The dark, unsettling visuals and narrative create an immersive environment that reflects the protagonist’s mental state, evoking feelings of anxiety and discomfort
Coping mechanisms- Throughout the game, Susan navigates various challenges and confronts her fears, much like developing strategies to cope with anxiety
Symbolism- Each game uses symbolism to reflect the protagonists’ emotional states, such as the anxiety mechanics in “Voices in the Crowd” and the cats in “The Cat Lady” representing companionship and comfort

Night in the woods:

Mental health themes- Both games address psychological issues—”Night in the Woods” delves into depression, anxiety, and existential crises, while “Voices in the Crowd” focuses on the anxiety of public speaking
Character-driven narrative- Both games feature rich character development and storytelling, emphasizing the protagonists’ relationships and emotional growth
Exploration of community- Each game highlights the importance of community and social interactions, showcasing how these can impact mental well-being

Hell Blade:

Mental health exploration- Both games delve into the complexities of mental health—Hellblade focuses on psychosis and trauma, while Voices in the Crowd addresses anxiety related to public speaking
Emotional Journal- Both games offer a deep emotional experience, inviting players to understand and empathize with the protagonist’s struggles
Symbolism and imagery- Each game uses symbolic elements to represent the protagonist’s internal conflicts. In Hellblade, the voices and visions represent Senua’s mental state, similar to how anxiety is depicted in Voices in the Crowd

Celeste:

Mental health themes- Both games explore anxiety and emotional struggles. Celeste specifically addresses issues like anxiety and self-doubt through its narrative and gameplay, while “Voices in the Crowd” focuses on the anxiety of public speaking
Character growth- Both feature protagonists on a journey of self-discovery and personal growth, tackling their fears and insecurities along the way
Symbolism- The mountain in Celeste serves as a metaphor for overcoming challenges, similar to how public speaking in “Voices in the Crowd” represents a personal hurdle

After researching game mechanics of games with a similar theme I began to create a mind map of ideas for my own game concept.

I wanted to involve swimming as that’s a hobby of mine and this would make it a more personal game idea to me as well as having the main anxiety theme.

In week 2’s workshop we experimented with creating a narrative through metaphors so I listed some metaphors I already knew in relation to anxiety and swimming.

The metaphors I listed were:

“I feel like I’m drowning”
“Sinking under pressure”
“Treading water”
“Caught in the undertow”
“Choking on anxiety”
“Submerged in worry”
“Drowning in responsibilities”

From this list the main metaphor that stuck out to me was “I feel like I’m drowning”. This is because in my experience this is what anxiety feels like the most to me.

Using the metaphor “I feel like I’m drowning” combined with my game research I began writing some game mechanic ideas down.

One game mechanic I had the idea of including was an anxiety meter. I got this idea from Fran Bow. Fran Bow has an anxiety bar where if situations are too stressful the bar increased, causing more difficult gameplay.

For the actual environment I’d want it to be themed underwater to exaggerate the metaphor.

Art Style Ideas

Out of all the games I’ve researched my favourite art style is the art in Fran Bow. This game art has an influence of both surrealism and dark fantasy.

Surrealism

Surrealism is an art movement that developed in Europe after the first World War. The art style itself aims to challenge reality by depicting a warped, irrational universe filled with bizarre features.

Surrealism Artists

Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí was a Spanish Surrealist painter and print-maker known for exploring subconscious imagery.

The first painting The persistence of memory is very famous. It challenges us to rethink our relationship with time. The melting, drooping watches suggest that time is not a fixed or objective concept, but rather a subjective experience that is affected by individual perception.

The second painting Spider of the evening is similar to the first painting however it brings a different message and way of thinking. For example The skull face of the horse, melting woman, and crying angel all give negative emotions, while the spider on a glowing vibrant surface signifies that ambition and dream.

René Magritte

René Magritte was a Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature and boundaries of reality and representation.

The Son of Man explores reality and illusion. Magritte’s painting delves into reality versus illusion. The bowler-hatted man symbolizes anonymity and conformity. The hidden face challenges traditional portraits, inviting interpretation of representation and perception.

The False Mirror has been interpreted in many ways. Some see it as a critique of the limited, subjective nature of human perception. Others see it as a statement about the infinite, boundless nature of the human mind. Still others see it as a commentary on the illusory nature of reality itself.

Summary

Book research

Since I aim to create an underwater environment I went to the library to see if I could find inspiration. I found this book called Underwater Eden 365 Days. This book contained a variety of underwater scenes which can help me with my artwork.

Colour palettes

My Photo’s

When I went to Egypt I went snorkelling in the Red Sea a few times and took some photo’s underwater of coral reef’s and the sea life.

I thought some of these pictures could be helpful for me with what colour palettes to use as well as certain textures and sea life.

Photo colour palettes

Art Station Inspiration for Environment

On https://www.artstation.com/?sort_by=community&dimension=all I began looking at underwater art to help inspire me.

The one environment which stands out to me is the one designed like a room with a door and mirrors. This is environment concept art created by Marcin Rubinkowski. This reminds me of the Fran Bow gameplay where you go from room to room.

My original idea before looking at this was to have a goal being the player to reach the surface of water manually however I really like the idea of having rooms instead.

The rooms could start off darker surrounded by sea life that only live at that depth to give a subtle hint of how deep in the water you are.

Link to Marcin Rubinkowski’s portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/marcinrubinkowski

Alice In Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland is a tale that follows a young girl named Alice down a rabbit hole that leads her to a warped world called Wonderland. The plot follows themes of identity and curiosity

Game world ideas

Since looking into Alice in Wonderland and concept art on ArtStation I now want to create underwater rooms for my game environment. Each room will be different. At the start of the game they will start off with a very dark colour palette and sea life that lives at this depth will also be in these rooms. Some of the sea life you may be able to communicate with.

Like Fran Bow you have to complete puzzles in each room to then move to the next.