Category: Design Diary

Looking back at the development of Under the Surface, I feel the project has grown significantly since I started. One of the main things I wanted to improve was showing a clearer design process, rather than only presenting a final idea. Throughout the referral, I gradually used research, experimentation, concept development, prototyping, and feedback to…

When I started this project, I really wanted to make the whole development process much clearer and much more documented, compared to starting with a concrete game idea. Research & Idea Development Starting with primary research helped me to explore my interests without having any preconceptions about what game I might end up making. In…

Having established my visual direction, it seemed like an obvious step to consider how the audio could enhance the overall experience. To ensure that the player’s actions in the restoration part of the game are soothing and fulfilling, I concluded that the sound design should also remain minimalist. Museum Atmosphere Regarding the museum itself, I…

After completing my research, developing the concept, and doing some visual experiments, I would like to bring all of these together to form a visual identity for the game. Art Style I chose to develop this game with a painterly-realistic 2D art style. I want the game environments and objects to be recognisable and believable,…

After developing the gameplay mechanics, I needed to determine what the restoration mechanic would look like. Rather than making final game assets right away, I decided to run a couple of experiments to understand better how damage, restoration, and reveal work visually. First of all, I created my own physical painting. While experimenting with colouring,…

Gameplay Development and Core Loop After working on the concept more thoroughly, I decided to ensure that gameplay would remain easy and enjoyable. I do not want the restoration process to become a technically difficult activity because, in my opinion, the most intriguing aspect of such an experience is seeing damaged art return to its…

Concept Development After considering all three of my initial concepts, I chose the painting restoration one because it seemed to offer the most promising opportunity to integrate my interest in art with enjoyable gameplay. At the same time, I did not want to limit the paintings to just being part of the visual design –…

Having done the research and visual experiments, I decided to explore how some of the main subjects I’ve worked with can be used for interaction. Instead of choosing only one direction, I developed three initial game concepts to analyse the potential of each. During this period, I was mostly interested in the following areas: Art…

Having explored various artists and styles, I decided to continue my research from the perspective of references in film and games. I managed to find references that were interesting for different reasons: from visual design and development, storytelling and player interaction, to environments and a unique art style. Also, I wanted to return to games…

Following the first brainstorming session, I began narrowing down the visuals I was interested in. One of the things I became especially interested in was paintings, artworks, aged materials, and the atmosphere that surrounded physical art. 14I created a mood board to explore the overall feeling, colour scheme, and atmosphere of this direction. Moodboard examining…