Approaches to Character Task

For this task I chose Tracer, also known as Lena Oxton, from Overwatch by Blizzard.

The game needs this character to be mobile and fast. It is a team based first person shooter and her character can quickly get in, do a whole lot of damage, and get out.

Her character design doesn’t show any obvious intertextual influences. Apart from her guns that were based of a gun model in Call of Duty, only the machine she wears on her chest has a reference to a subject touched in many other fictional works – time travelling.

Her aesthetic qualities successfully fulfil the game’s needs and provide a meaningful gaming experience. Her slender design with long legs fit the type of quick and agile character the game needs her to be, while the machine on her chest refer to her ‘time travelling adventurer’s characteristic and explain her in game abilities – the blinks (when her own time goes forward) and the recall (when her own time goes backwards).

Overall, her aesthetics are a good balance between her background and in game practicality.

Light & Color Task

For this task we had to pick 2 pictures and analyse them in regards to light and color.

river_eucalyptus_tree_by_artsaus-d56yfbw

My first pick for this task is River Eucalyptus Tree by Graham Gerken. In it we can see all the plants reflected on the river, so we have reflection there. We also have bounced light as there are some areas not directly illuminated and we have some blues on the tree that are light bounced from the river. There is also sub-surface scattering and the leaves and the grass seem to have a glow but is just the light partially passing through.

In regards to color, we don’t have a big variety in hue or complementary colors but we do have different values that give the painting some depth.

alone_among_the_lights__tutorial_video_linked__by_yuumei-d9c5ruy

My second choice is Alone Among the Lights by Wenqing Yan, also known as Yuumei.

In this one we have a lot of complementary colors. Oranges against blues and greens against purples. We also have bounced light and sub-surface scattering.

Concept Art Journal 2

Task No. 1 – Container (cont.)

I really needed to get out of this frustrating loop hole. I was stuck on the process of visualizing things in my head – existing or not – and then trying to put on paper the same picture I have in my head. This is such a wrong, frustrating and draining process and I was finding it so hard to get out of it.

Thankfully my lecturers are so helpful that I finally understood that the techniques I was taught during the workshop  are nothing more than different tools to help me create something random on paper and from that image, which is not a visualization in my head but something real instead, I transform it into whatever I want it to be.

Now, the non-destructive way wasn’t working form me at all. So I tried creating random bits with the lasso tool – or loop tool as some would prefer – and putting them together like puzzle pieces. That allowed me so much more freedom that it did indeed release me from the narrow loop hole I was in.

Silhouette 1

Unfortunately I had to have things done by the end of this week so I didn’t have much time to keep playing around with this. However, this is definitely my favorite bit of the whole silhouette process and if I could hide everything previous to this and never look at it again – me or anyone else – I would.

Of course I had to chose the most complicated one to iterate because I wasn’t running out of time or anything (being ironic here) and I love a good challenge!

Iteration

So here’s my iteration process for the container. I wanted to use the spiky bits it already had. It made it look somewhat dangerous and at the same time I wanted some round and soft edges. I didn’t worry too much about the fact that I had to do a model sheet and think about this porcupine in a 3D perspective after having funny iterating.

I copied, pasted and flipped things on top of each other, eliminated bits, did a “collage” of parts from previous iterations to create a new one. A very fun and interesting process. It is almost like trying all the possible combinations on your luggage lock because you forgot the code.

Concept Art Journal 1

Task No. 1 – Container

The whole point of concept art is the generation of ideas but I should have something in mind already, right? To be fair, I am very confused – just barely started anyway – and am not sure of what to do. I feel too stuck on the idea of a simple box that allows me to put something in it. And when I try to think of something else, I view things in my head that already exist. Then I try to put it on paper saying “I will change it a little” but it still looks too similar if not the same and I hate it.

In a somewhat desperate attempt of running from that, I jumped on Pinterest to search for ideas but I ended up with more silhouettes of existing stuff. It just expanded my copy portfolio really. I used the different techniques that were given to me at the workshop to do this though. Which is great! I did learn them and can use them to copy stuff in a non-destructive way.

I also tried to sketch it out and then block it to look like a silhouette but it didn’t work either. My brain was still coming up with a bunch of stuff I have already seen.

The silhouette of the Overwatch loot-box is a great example of how much I was struggling with existing ideas.

Introduction to Research

Callois Grid

The games I picked to fill this grid are: Overwatch, Assassin’s Creed Rogue, Detroit Become Human, Persona 5 and Fallout 4.

After putting the games under the different categories and analyzing it, the grid tells me that most of the games I love fit into the Mimicry category as they have narrative and make the player play a certain role and immerse himself in a different environment. However, there are some aspects of each game that can fit into other categories as well, like the panic or adrenaline induced by some scenes of Detroit Become Human that can make it fit into the Ilinx category as well. Or the scavenging system on Fallout 4 that could fit it into the Alea category because it is randomly generated so our supplies are at the hands of lady luck, for example.

The only one that doesn’t fit into that category is Overwatch because it is a highly competitive game. There is some story behind each character but that is not the main focus of the game and for that reason I didn’t put it under the Mimicry category. Players are constantly trying to prove their skills by fighting each other in a team-based game and that is why I put it under the Agon category. This can lead to some panic or even fear if the enemy manages to take the player by surprise, so it could also fit in to the Ilinx category.

What all these games have in common is that every single one of them could belong into more than one category.

And placing them on the scale of Paedia – Ludus, I think that Detroit Become Human, Assassin’s Creed and Persona 5 are closer to the Ludus end of the scale as they have a lot of rules and are to some extent limitative. While Overwatch and Fallout are a little closer to the Paedia end. They also have their rules, but the player has more freedom to choose their strategy and decide how to overcome a certain obstacle.