Category: Research

Colour Psychology – Spiderverse

For research & analysis, I looked into the games ‘The Stillness of the Wind’, ‘Gris’ & ‘Journey’. I personally only played Gris & Journey, opting to watch letsplays & reviews of the other.

Some points here are paraphrased from reviews which I agree with.

/// The Stillness of the Wind ///

This top-down farming simulation game is about the daily life of an elderly woman in the countryside, who’s prime both familially and physically are in her past. Her once large family have all left for various reasons, leaving her alone.

Points paraphrased from Rambling Reviews Chill Indie Game Review & BBC The Social Gaming

• Lighting alternates between warm & cold colours (colour psychology), expressing the duality of protagonist’s situation
• Gameplay and story invokes thoughts about life, and subsequently self-reflection (A core part of my game’s narritive)
• Gameplay mechanics cause feelings of powerlessness as the protagonist ‘ages’ and days get shorter gameplay wise.
• Peaceful atmosphere thru ambience

/// Journey ///

This 3D adventure art game is about the journey of a pilgrim travelling to the peak of a mountain and the struggles they face along the way.

Some points paraphrased from Table 53 & Jacobs, B

• Immerses the player thru minimal & dynamic musical scores which complement gameplay
• Intuitively convinces the player where to go (level design)
• Scale causes player to feel small yet still connected to world thru interactivity
• Gameplay mechanics designed by subtraction: extraneous elements trimmed or automated
• Gameplay elements gradually granted to keep gameplay fresh
• Engages player thru visual & auditory methods excluding exposition (show don’t tell)
• Contrasts lively, warm environments with cold, desaturated ones (colour psychology + gameplay mechanics’ influence)
• Game metaphorically and literally puts player thru ups and downs: game transitions from flat to verticle environments when tragedy strikes
• Allegory for the stages of life, reflecting each stages’ emotions attributed

Personally, I couldn’t get through this game. Its gameplay lacks complexity to keep me engaged, I feel the ‘trimmed and automated’ nature of the movement, like for ex. the lack of ability to jump actually hinders it a bit. The visuals are nice but they’re nowhere near as engaging as Gris’ visuals or even musical score.

/// Gris ///

This 2D platform adventure game is about someone empty (of colour) discovering emotions (colours), these colours change visuals design and gameplay.

Some points paraphrased from Video Game Animation Study & Gris Psychological Analysis

• Animation is at a lower 12-24 frame rate compared to camera whichis at 60 frames
• The dress the player character wears is an extremely fluid silhouette which doubles as a visual indicator for player abilities.
• Even on the player character, the animation looping varies due to two parts having seperate looping speeds, making it feel more natural
• ‘Further/closer by perspective objects’ blur when you move
• Steady introduction of new mechanics keeps game fresh
• The ‘accumulation of colours/emotions’ is an amazing indicator of progression & character growth
• Each colour collected represents a stage of grief: Denial – Anger – Bargaining – Depression – Acceptance
• White/Denial may be processing the world after shock, taking the 1st painful steps forward despite feeling loss & disconnected – Colour Psychology?
• Red/Anger may be
• Emotional regression may be represented by winding back progress (colour) – Grief may not be a linear progress – Remaining elements (colours) from previous segments can represent healing being gradual and multifaceted
• Aid from companions may represent external support, Gris can only finish the game by accepting the help of others, symbolising how you can only heal and recover with the help of others
• Gris can only sing once she has reached acceptance, she fails to sing before
• Metaphors of comtemplation & self-reflection present thruout the game
• Blue/Depression is overcome with help from Pink Turtle allowing Gris to dive deeper (into herself), Pink can represent love in Colour Psychology
• Appectance represented with harmony of colours, with additions of pink & yellow being present
• Upside-down world may represent disorientation & uncertainty of embracing a life after tragedy
• Gris continuiously confronts the monster, may represent that grief isnt a linear progress and that it evolves despite progression
• Setbacks are a natural part of the process of grief

I love the design of the ink monster antagonist! It being a pitch black entity contrasts with everything in the game. For a game where you goal is to restore as many colours as possible, the monster is a great foil to the player who restores lively colours to a once desaturated world! Its pitch black forms and ghostly white eyes are a perfect visual counter to literally everything else as it’s complete and utterly desaturated.

The soundtrack and especially the vocals are so powerful! It’s simutaniously both touching and bone chilling

Conceptual Inspiration

My own personal life experience about confrontation and rejection by loved ones motivated me to delve into this subject.

Games and other media which explore emotions in a visual and metaphoric way heavily inspires me as they manage to visualise something which is not physical in any way.

ex. Spiderverse gwen hoby, star wars mustafar

Facial expressions & body language are realistic forms of visual, emotional communication, however they are limited and often subtle. The intensity which media can dial this communication up is what I’m interested in. Media such as video games offers the opportunity to intensify such emotional expression thru a variety of methods, one of which I’ve learnt this semester being colour theory.

Mindmap

Character Inspiration

A common habit of mine when I’m in my darkest moments in life is to watch media for younger audiences. The simple and unilaterally positive tone they possess are able to lift me out of dispair and cheer me up. This is why I’ve elected to go for a cute-ish art style for my characters.