So I just realised that I haven't updated my ideas for the rest of my narrative.
The game starts off with Aimme and her companion creature trying to survive, but once they grow I realised that there needs to be a reason for much more action. And so after contemplating what I already have for the story line, and also what I used to have (there are aspects of this game which come from very old ideas that I never had the chance to use before now), I came up with the following very rough narrative.
Humanity has started to recover from the Fall of the World, and communities and civilisations are starting to form throughout the world again. Religions are also reappearing.
One religious sect uncovers technology from "the Old World" and believe that it will be the salvation of man and restore all that was lost in the Fall. How ever un-be known to them it is nuclear technology, which if activated could unbalance the already fragile world and rip open new gateways.
There are three different locations that this sect has moved in on, and Nurzhan would provide the player with information on where they are, how to get in, and what to do. The main aim would be to travel to each one and close them down before they can set off another disaster and potentially cause the world to fall again.
The final part of the game would be the player having to enter a gateway and manually close it down after failing to stop the final group.
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
More creatures
Just some more rough creature designs.
After thinking about it, I realised that animals coming through the portals wouldn't necessarily fit our world's natural rules, and so wanted to experiment with what creatures might look like from other dimensions that are under different conditions, i.e. gravity, etc.
Hence the hexoped in the image below. After seeing Avatar, and seeing how they had managed to make six-limbed creatures move conviningly, I wanted to give it a go. I've never really been a big fan of animals with 5+ limbs (except for dragons- 4 legs, 2 wings, etc), as I always thought that their movement would be to clumsy. Happily I'm wrong and so gave it a go :D
After thinking about it, I realised that animals coming through the portals wouldn't necessarily fit our world's natural rules, and so wanted to experiment with what creatures might look like from other dimensions that are under different conditions, i.e. gravity, etc.
Hence the hexoped in the image below. After seeing Avatar, and seeing how they had managed to make six-limbed creatures move conviningly, I wanted to give it a go. I've never really been a big fan of animals with 5+ limbs (except for dragons- 4 legs, 2 wings, etc), as I always thought that their movement would be to clumsy. Happily I'm wrong and so gave it a go :D
Dragons?
I had a lot of fun coming up with the designs below through using a new technique. I made random shapes using costume brushes, and then picked out details that I could see within it. I really enjoyed this technique, and realised that the creatures have as much chance of being ugly as being cute, and so gives me a balance between aesthetics.
Here's a few of the ones that I've come with so far. I really want to experiment further with this technique and see how detailed I can get things with it through creating textures, etc.
My favourites are the bottom two, which I plan to develop further.
After drawing these, it got me thinking about dragons. Everyone loves dragons. I love dragons. So I decided that dragons are going to be quite a common sight within my game, although they aren't going to look like the usual scaled monsters.
I want to create creatures like them that haven't been seen in games before and by doing that providing the target audience with some new material.
Here are some rough dragon head designs that I doodled in class the other day:
I don't want them to look like mutants, but I do want them to be gnarled and grizzled with age, after having fought for their lives. They're not likely to look pretty after that, are they?
Here's a few of the ones that I've come with so far. I really want to experiment further with this technique and see how detailed I can get things with it through creating textures, etc.
My favourites are the bottom two, which I plan to develop further.
After drawing these, it got me thinking about dragons. Everyone loves dragons. I love dragons. So I decided that dragons are going to be quite a common sight within my game, although they aren't going to look like the usual scaled monsters.
I want to create creatures like them that haven't been seen in games before and by doing that providing the target audience with some new material.
Here are some rough dragon head designs that I doodled in class the other day:
I don't want them to look like mutants, but I do want them to be gnarled and grizzled with age, after having fought for their lives. They're not likely to look pretty after that, are they?
Mutants, monsters and creatures: Part 2
The Earth is not just inhabited by humans and mutants. All manners of creatures and humanoids would be encountered through out the game. Some would be hostile whilst others could be convinced to provide help, shelter and resources.
I plan to feature several creatures and monsters that are similar to those that feature in our own mythologies and legends. They wont look anything like the pre-conceived ideas that people have created, but the player will be able to recognise them. Amongst some of the creatures featured will be dragons, gryphon's, centaurs and chimeras. They will all be my own interpretations and I hope to make them look more unique and fresh as opposed to the stereotypical images that we have become so used to seeing. Fair warning in advance- they are not likely to be pretty.
The next couple of posts are just going to be some rough sketches of creatures and monsters that I've come up with through doodling.
I plan to feature several creatures and monsters that are similar to those that feature in our own mythologies and legends. They wont look anything like the pre-conceived ideas that people have created, but the player will be able to recognise them. Amongst some of the creatures featured will be dragons, gryphon's, centaurs and chimeras. They will all be my own interpretations and I hope to make them look more unique and fresh as opposed to the stereotypical images that we have become so used to seeing. Fair warning in advance- they are not likely to be pretty.
The next couple of posts are just going to be some rough sketches of creatures and monsters that I've come up with through doodling.
Mutants, monsters and creatures
The Origin of the Mutants
There are three main types of mutants- lessers, giants and Sentients. I'll begin by describing the most commonly encountered mutants; the lessers and the giants.
Figure #1 (on the right) illustrates the basic lesser mutant; much smaller, leaner and better formed. They move in groups and will attack anything, including giants. Lesser mutants don't generally have extra limbs or heads, but it does occasionally happen. They are shorted lived than the giants, but unlike their larger counterparts, lessers can be created by some of the smaller gates.
They posses more intelligence and figure out basic puzzles. They generally stand much higher than about 5"8 and are very swift.
Giants on the other hand (Figure #2, on the left) live up to their names. They stand anywhere from 10 ft to 27 ft high. They also often sport extra limbs and heads. Giants can live for hundreds of years, although there are very few left by the time Aimme sets off on her quest.
Giants mutants will normally attack each other on sight, although some of the smaller individuals will group together.
Due to their frames being so twisted and deformed, they live in constant pain which it turn fuels and drives their rage.
Within the game the player would be much more likely to encounter hordes of the lesser mutants. Although giants would do more damage, they would be easier to hide from and evade.
Mutants tend to congregate near ancient and decrepit cities, although they can occasionally be found roaming out over open country.
Below are more examples of the kind of mutants that the player could encounter.
The third and final group of mutants are called Sentients. Nurzhan (featured two posts back), and others like him are fairly well formed but still have physical problems and conditions. They were formed when humans and animals were in close contact when the gates open, and so melded together. They are usually quite small in stature and in general are a gentle people.
They posses much higher intelligence levels and are capable of living in complex communities. Some Sentients are much less well formed, or have extra limbs and these individuals are often looked after by the more fortunate members of their society.
Although Sentients are not brutal and bloodthirsty savages like the other mutants, they are shunned by the rest of humanity. They do not retain many memories or personalities of their former selves, but those few who do often end up loosing their sanity.
There are three main types of mutants- lessers, giants and Sentients. I'll begin by describing the most commonly encountered mutants; the lessers and the giants.
Figure #1 (on the right) illustrates the basic lesser mutant; much smaller, leaner and better formed. They move in groups and will attack anything, including giants. Lesser mutants don't generally have extra limbs or heads, but it does occasionally happen. They are shorted lived than the giants, but unlike their larger counterparts, lessers can be created by some of the smaller gates.
They posses more intelligence and figure out basic puzzles. They generally stand much higher than about 5"8 and are very swift.
Giants on the other hand (Figure #2, on the left) live up to their names. They stand anywhere from 10 ft to 27 ft high. They also often sport extra limbs and heads. Giants can live for hundreds of years, although there are very few left by the time Aimme sets off on her quest.
Giants mutants will normally attack each other on sight, although some of the smaller individuals will group together.
Due to their frames being so twisted and deformed, they live in constant pain which it turn fuels and drives their rage.
Within the game the player would be much more likely to encounter hordes of the lesser mutants. Although giants would do more damage, they would be easier to hide from and evade.
Mutants tend to congregate near ancient and decrepit cities, although they can occasionally be found roaming out over open country.
Below are more examples of the kind of mutants that the player could encounter.
The third and final group of mutants are called Sentients. Nurzhan (featured two posts back), and others like him are fairly well formed but still have physical problems and conditions. They were formed when humans and animals were in close contact when the gates open, and so melded together. They are usually quite small in stature and in general are a gentle people.
They posses much higher intelligence levels and are capable of living in complex communities. Some Sentients are much less well formed, or have extra limbs and these individuals are often looked after by the more fortunate members of their society.
Although Sentients are not brutal and bloodthirsty savages like the other mutants, they are shunned by the rest of humanity. They do not retain many memories or personalities of their former selves, but those few who do often end up loosing their sanity.
Expressions
Just wanted to post some quick expressions that I have been trying to practice.
I used fantastic stock by humle3000 over on Deviantart for rough reference (Thank you!)
I'm fairly happy with these so far, although I know there is a lot to be improved upon. I'm going to be doing lots of these drawings, as well as fully body poses so that drawing Aimme will become more natural and easier to convey.
I used fantastic stock by humle3000 over on Deviantart for rough reference (Thank you!)
I'm fairly happy with these so far, although I know there is a lot to be improved upon. I'm going to be doing lots of these drawings, as well as fully body poses so that drawing Aimme will become more natural and easier to convey.
Your allies
Within the game you would have one main group of allies- the Sentient mutants (I'll go in to more detail about mutants in the next couple of posts).
Head of this group is Nurzhan, a very ancient creature who was formed when several ravens and humans were melded together when the gates opened. He is blind in all eyes and is crippled with pain from his malformed body. He is incredibly wise and can gain information through "seeing" into the spirit world.
Although he is physically useless to the player, Nurzhan would however provide Aimme with information, missions and quests.
The player would also come across element stones within the game- these would be collected and given to Nurzhan, who in turn would teach your companion creature a new ability.
I will start designing other Sentient mutants from Nurzhans clan shortly.
Head of this group is Nurzhan, a very ancient creature who was formed when several ravens and humans were melded together when the gates opened. He is blind in all eyes and is crippled with pain from his malformed body. He is incredibly wise and can gain information through "seeing" into the spirit world.
Although he is physically useless to the player, Nurzhan would however provide Aimme with information, missions and quests.
The player would also come across element stones within the game- these would be collected and given to Nurzhan, who in turn would teach your companion creature a new ability.
I will start designing other Sentient mutants from Nurzhans clan shortly.
Companion Critter
Another hugely important factor for this project is the companion character.
You start off with a small mammalian creature who would gather things for the player, scout ahead for the player, reach areas that Aimme cannot reach, etc.
As you progress through the game, your critter would gather experience points which would allow it to learn new abilities and to grow. The biggest factor about this companion is that it can evolve and develop. It has 4 evolution paths- air, earth, fire and water which the player can choose from. Each as it's benefits and strengths, as well as weaknesses.
I've designed the four evolution paths, and so far I'm happy with 3 of them. I'll go through and explain their strengths and weaknesses, and how I went about designing them.
Please note that I haven't yet illustrated the texture fully in these images (I wanted to get very rough visuals down quickly to illustrate my idea), and I do plan on creating much more in depth concept pieces for these guys.
I started by designing Earth. I had a basic idea of what I wanted it to look like, which was to be quite a defensive looking creature, and so started off by sketching in sharp shapes and scales on various areas of the body until I was happy. For the final stage of his evolution, I wanted the creature to look as daunting as possible, hence the stone and bark armour on his belly and back. I also wanted him to look heavy, as this evolution is more defensive than the others. Slower moving, he would be best used to defend Aimme from large numbers of enemies.
Second to be designed was fire. After brainstorming for a while, I realised that I can create a really dramatic look creature, hence the lava pouring from the cracks in the final stages legs. This evolution path would be a more offensive creature- he would be used for attacking first and would be fairly swift and agile.
Third, and my least favourite is Air. I struggled with ideas for this one, and I wasn't happy with the final outcome. I have since realised that it's because it's the only design that is too different- it has six limbs instead of being a quadruped. This will be redesigned in a couple of days to match the other 3 designs.
This particular evolution would be specialist, as is the 4th and final design. It would be very low in defence, and average in offence in order to balance out it's ability to fly.
Finally, my favourite and the one that I had the most trouble with is Water. Again, this is another specialist evolution which the player could use for travelling to harder to reach areas, i.e. underwater caverns, far out islands, etc. It would be very low in offence, and average in defence.
You start off with a small mammalian creature who would gather things for the player, scout ahead for the player, reach areas that Aimme cannot reach, etc.
As you progress through the game, your critter would gather experience points which would allow it to learn new abilities and to grow. The biggest factor about this companion is that it can evolve and develop. It has 4 evolution paths- air, earth, fire and water which the player can choose from. Each as it's benefits and strengths, as well as weaknesses.
I've designed the four evolution paths, and so far I'm happy with 3 of them. I'll go through and explain their strengths and weaknesses, and how I went about designing them.
Please note that I haven't yet illustrated the texture fully in these images (I wanted to get very rough visuals down quickly to illustrate my idea), and I do plan on creating much more in depth concept pieces for these guys.
I started by designing Earth. I had a basic idea of what I wanted it to look like, which was to be quite a defensive looking creature, and so started off by sketching in sharp shapes and scales on various areas of the body until I was happy. For the final stage of his evolution, I wanted the creature to look as daunting as possible, hence the stone and bark armour on his belly and back. I also wanted him to look heavy, as this evolution is more defensive than the others. Slower moving, he would be best used to defend Aimme from large numbers of enemies.
Second to be designed was fire. After brainstorming for a while, I realised that I can create a really dramatic look creature, hence the lava pouring from the cracks in the final stages legs. This evolution path would be a more offensive creature- he would be used for attacking first and would be fairly swift and agile.
Third, and my least favourite is Air. I struggled with ideas for this one, and I wasn't happy with the final outcome. I have since realised that it's because it's the only design that is too different- it has six limbs instead of being a quadruped. This will be redesigned in a couple of days to match the other 3 designs.
This particular evolution would be specialist, as is the 4th and final design. It would be very low in defence, and average in offence in order to balance out it's ability to fly.
Finally, my favourite and the one that I had the most trouble with is Water. Again, this is another specialist evolution which the player could use for travelling to harder to reach areas, i.e. underwater caverns, far out islands, etc. It would be very low in offence, and average in defence.
Aimme: Creating a character 2
These are the initial sketches that I did in order to come to my final costume design. Under each image I'll explain what aspects of each design that I liked and disliked, and which elements I decided to use for my final design and why.
For the first image (top right), I drew what ever came to mind when I tried to picture Aimme. I wanted her costume to be pretty, but mismatched at the same time. After drawing it I realised that the sleeves and skirt is impractical and would hinder movement. I then attempted to go for a more "ranger/forester" look, but wasn't happy with the out come, although I did like the high collar and the cloak.
This a more detailed version of the original design, which I eventually decided to scrap for Aimme, but plan to use for a different character further on down the line.
Then came the 3 and 4th designs, which I personally think are the weakest. However there are elements from both that I liked, and which eventually ended up in the final design. From the 3rd design I took the shorts and from the 4th the high knee boots.
This is the point where I combined all the aspects from the last 4 designs that I liked the most. I added some baggier trousers which were inspired after playing Assassins Creed 2. After considering this, I decided to go digital for the final design so that I could change aspects easily if I wasn't happy with them.
The above image is the end result and combination of all the previous designs. I'm happy with the costume, as I feel that it is aesthetically pleasing as well as practical.
For the first image (top right), I drew what ever came to mind when I tried to picture Aimme. I wanted her costume to be pretty, but mismatched at the same time. After drawing it I realised that the sleeves and skirt is impractical and would hinder movement. I then attempted to go for a more "ranger/forester" look, but wasn't happy with the out come, although I did like the high collar and the cloak.
This a more detailed version of the original design, which I eventually decided to scrap for Aimme, but plan to use for a different character further on down the line.
Then came the 3 and 4th designs, which I personally think are the weakest. However there are elements from both that I liked, and which eventually ended up in the final design. From the 3rd design I took the shorts and from the 4th the high knee boots.
This is the point where I combined all the aspects from the last 4 designs that I liked the most. I added some baggier trousers which were inspired after playing Assassins Creed 2. After considering this, I decided to go digital for the final design so that I could change aspects easily if I wasn't happy with them.
The above image is the end result and combination of all the previous designs. I'm happy with the costume, as I feel that it is aesthetically pleasing as well as practical.
Aimme: Creating a character
Meet Aimme, our heroine for this game. In the first image you can see how she develops throughout the first 2 decades and a half of her life. The first image is of her at the age of 6, the next is at 12 years old (game narrative starts at this age), at 17, and then finally at 25.
I really wanted to come up with an idea that would allow me to experiment and change a character as the game goes on, and so I felt that ageing her would be the best way to go about it.
Aimme starts off as a very bubbly and girly child, but as she ages and goes through hardships and learns to survive and live off the land, her costume becomes somewhat darker and much more practical.
The image below is a couple of colour variations that the player could choose for Aimme's final outfit. The player would be able to choose any of the colours below, or create a combination of colours by buying dyes from different towns across the world. The colour of Aimme's clothes would also have an impact on her in an environment. For example, the darker tan or green costume would allow her to blend in with her environment more efficiently, where as a lighter set would make her more noticeable to enemies.
My next post will include the designs from my sketchbook that I came up with in order to arrive at this final design.
Just as a side note, I wanted to quickly say that I really felt that I neglected traditional art and drawing in my last project. I love digital art, and that's where I feel my strengths are, but I don't want to loose the ability to draw traditionally. Hence why I have practically forced myself to keep a sketch book, which I am really starting to enjoy again. So please bare with my traditional drawings- hopefully as I get back into the swing of it again my anatomy will improve, especially once I start going back to life drawing class.
I really wanted to come up with an idea that would allow me to experiment and change a character as the game goes on, and so I felt that ageing her would be the best way to go about it.
Aimme starts off as a very bubbly and girly child, but as she ages and goes through hardships and learns to survive and live off the land, her costume becomes somewhat darker and much more practical.
The image below is a couple of colour variations that the player could choose for Aimme's final outfit. The player would be able to choose any of the colours below, or create a combination of colours by buying dyes from different towns across the world. The colour of Aimme's clothes would also have an impact on her in an environment. For example, the darker tan or green costume would allow her to blend in with her environment more efficiently, where as a lighter set would make her more noticeable to enemies.
My next post will include the designs from my sketchbook that I came up with in order to arrive at this final design.
Just as a side note, I wanted to quickly say that I really felt that I neglected traditional art and drawing in my last project. I love digital art, and that's where I feel my strengths are, but I don't want to loose the ability to draw traditionally. Hence why I have practically forced myself to keep a sketch book, which I am really starting to enjoy again. So please bare with my traditional drawings- hopefully as I get back into the swing of it again my anatomy will improve, especially once I start going back to life drawing class.
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