To fully understand this project and my role within it I looked at the GDD we would be working from and identified the key parts – especially for my role.
These are the game intentions and game pillars, this helps me to understand the atmosphere and mood of the game.
Essential Experience
I want players to feel connected with nature and animals by restoring the order of life in the forest. I would like them to think of the choices they make and how it can affect the world around them.
I wish for the role of the forest keeper to bring sense of responsibility and awareness when players are walking through the beautiful landscapes and meeting animals who they’re bound to protect and take care of.
Design Intention
Compassion and resonation with wildlife is essential to establishing connection with animals that you might find. The player will be able to experience it during interaction with animals and through the process of building trust between them. If I was to describe how it would look, I would say it’s something that has etherial, spiritual motifs. An animal offering a part of their soul to you, a bubble of light that has its assigned colour; you keep it close to your own, absorbing the light in your chest.
Game Design Pillars
| Connect with animals and gain their trust through your surroundings | Continue your adventure into the depths of unfamiliar woods | Stop and think |
| The world around you is constantly giving you clues and guidance on how to assist the creatures in need. Collecting objects and learning animal behaviour will help you to understand what you’re truly trying to achieve | Discover scenic landscapes and their inhabitants, learn more about the species and fill your notebook with interesting facts about flora and fauna of your home. Let your imagination wander and give animals names you think suit them best. | Making decisions shouldn’t be hard, but their weight shouldn’t be underestimated either. How far are you willing to go to help, and if there is a limit, are you willing to take losses? Stay true to yourself, accept the fate of those who can’t be helped and take care of the things that matter the most. |
Art Direction
Impressionism and its use of colours are important to the game, I will need to research into it and attempt my own artworks.
These are colour palette mock-ups for the character, each one is attached to a specific area of the game.
This is the characters reference board this will help me when I develop my design for her.
This is the reference board for the deer that is found in the lake. I will need to use the impressionist attiutude with colours to incorporate the accent hues of pink.
The opening of the game is a short animation sequence where the character materialises from the earth – this is going to be an interesting part to adapt as I have not attempted animation before. However I am excited to take on a challenge.
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