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Reading week goals!
Get peer feedback on my game ideasEliminate ideas down to 3Formative FeedbackGame researchMood boardingPrototyping
Current game ideas:
- One day you pick up a camera, and can finally catch a glimpse of the world.
- A game about being trapped in the light.
- Control the torch with one hand and the shadow with the other.
- Propagandise media based of the authoritarian rules of your society.
- A game where you must categorise items.
I decided to eliminate the following ideas as I didn’t find them interesting enough to make a game from, but instead I could combine the ideas with some of the other ideas to fit two in one. I feel like the shadow and torch game could easily combine with both the ideas below:
- In white you can see more clearly but in black you can see things you wouldn’t usually see.
- A game about a human who becomes a shadow.
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Peer Feedback Survey:
I decided to get some feedback on my ideas to gauge what others would most enjoy playing, to avoid any blind bias in my selection, and to help me notice things I might not have thought of before.
Results:
The favourite idea was number 2, the camera flash game. The next favourite was number 1, the paparazzi game, and the other 3 were joint last, though still received 3 votes each.
I think I will discard idea 5 (the categorising game) because of all the ideas, I find that one the most complicated, and hardest to visualise the goal and gameplay. Whilst number 1 was second in terms of amount of votes, I actually think I also want to discard this idea. I feel least passionate about it and I feel it just isn’t where my initial interest in the subject sparked from. I feel more excited about the other 3 topics, I feel like they are unique concepts and have a lot of potential, as well as being achievable within the projects timeframe and with the resources available. The 3 ideas I will stick with are:
- Snapshot – You live in a world of darkness, it is all you have ever known. One day you find a camera and finally catch a glimpse of the world through its flash. However batteries are limited and you must find more if you want to continue to see. Explore your world through a different lens, and finally see the beauty you were blind to.
View my separate post on this idea here:
- Propaganda – You work as a journalist and have to propagandise news articles based on the increasingly authoritarian rules of your society. You must change certain words and frame stories untruthfully, if you fail to do so you will be punished. Will you choose to obey the system, or speak the truth? A game that explores media manipulation and challenges our views on conflict.
View my separate post on this idea here:
- Torchlight – You don’t remember how it happened, but you’ve become a shadow. You face a new and scary world, where the only thing keeping you alive is a torch’s light. Find the source of the light that’s stopping you from getting lost in the shadows, and maybe you can find peace. The player controls the torch beam with their left hand, and the shadow with the right. Complete parkour and puzzle challenges while keeping your shadow alive.
View my separate post on this idea here:
I would like to do another survey in this project in the future, perhaps about my mechanics or prototypes.
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Formative Feedback:
- Make art to wow you ideas.
- Lecture:
- Wednesday 3 December | 11.30
- Lecture Theatre B, East Building, Winchester School of Art AND Online via Teams
- David Bithell, Professor of Art and Emerging Media and Chair, Creative Arts Department Southern Oregon University (USA)
- Working in the fields of performance, installation, and interactive environments, David Bithell presents an overview of his artistic practice with a particular focus on his ongoing project Matters Dark and Luminous – an evolving platform for hybrid physical/digital puppetry, interactive music and generative visuals.
- Gap analysis
- You are prototyping art styles
In my formative feedback meeting with Adam, we discussed how I don’t necessarily need to prototype the same way as other people, but instead can make artistic prototypes to show off to potential teammates, and to add to my portfolio for after uni.
Once I do a Gap analysis, I will know the skills I’m missing and what to look for in potential teammates. At the moment I know I’d prefer to focus on art work, narrative and games design, but would rather leave the more technical work to my teammates.
Adam also reminded me to apply the learning outcomes to my work, so I know what I’ve done and what I’m missing.
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Game Research:
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Mood Boards:
There are separate sections in this Pinterest board for each game idea. More details on the mood board for each idea can be found in their respective posts.
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Prototype 1:
Torchlight shadow puppet prototype:
I wanted to experiment with shadow puppets, so I decided to design a puppet house to act as a stage. This experimentation would help me gain first hand experience with how shadows work – how they distort and interact with light, which in turn would help me consider mechanics for the torchlight game idea.
Making the puppet house – Black on the inside to accentuate shadows. I cut out a window and doorframe for the light to flow through.
Complete structure. I made a small box for the interior to cast shadows for the puppet to interact with.
Window and puppet silhouettes. These came out really crisp. The light bleeds into the shadows, giving it a glowing effect. The shadow is darker where the floor and walls meet.
Doorframe silhouette.
These videos explore:
- Bold silhouette.
- Shadow character entering the light.
- Testing how shadow distorts at a distance.
- Shadow movement – walking, turning, interaction with other shadows.
- Silhouette distortion – the further from the ground, the more distorted the shadow.
- Shadow monster attack?
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