1/4/2022 - 30/4/2022 / Week 1 - Week 5
Trinity Wong Ka Yi / 0348778
Illustration and Visual Narrative / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Task 1 - Exercise 1 - Vormator Challenge
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LECTURES
WEEK 1 - NO LECTURE (BRIEFING)
WEEK 2 - LECTURE 2 - CHARACTER DESIGN BASICS
A great character is Iconic, Simple and Unique.
Principles of character design:
- Shape
- Colour
- Emphasis
- Contrast
- Harmony
- Expressions/Poses
CHARACTER ANALYSIS - Perry the Platypus
Figure 1.1 Perry the Platypus.
Shape
Perry has a very iconic silhouette and colour scheme that is very well-known to many of us who grew up with Phineas and Ferb. First of all, how many platypus do you even come across in cartoons? Not very often right? With a rectangle body and rectangle tail, it is a very familiar silhouette to us without even needing to look at the colours.
Figure 1.2 Jerry the Platypus made by Dr Doof's Platyproliferatorinator. Taken from Phineas and Ferb Wiki.
Colour
Talking about colours, Perry has a complementary colour palette which is very contrasting. A turquoise body with an orange bill, tail and feet, no one else has this combination which makes him very Perry unique. Also not forgetting his secret agent hat which helps many people, especially Dr Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporatedddddd. Even in the episode when he had lots of funny wacky clones, we all can still recognise Perry based on the colour palette alone.
Figure 1.3 Perry the Platypus. Taken from VS Battles Wiki.
Expressions/Poses
As a secret agent, obviously he has a lot of ninja kung fu moves to use against Dr Doof. From landing during his entrance, to kicking Dr Doof in the face, Perry has a variety of poses in every single episode. To be fair, having to deal with someone like Dr Doof everyday does take a toll on your brain cells. Hence, we do get lots of different expressions of Perry's face everyday.
WEEK 3 - LECTURE 3 - CHIAROSCURO
Chiaroscuro is the Italian term that means 'light-dark', which is a technique of using light and dark to create a 3D effect on a flat surface. This happens by applying clear tonal contrast to increase the scene's dramatic tension.
It is used in visual narrative as it's a great lighting choice that differentiates positive and negative space. Hence, it increases dramatic tension, creates sensational effect, attracts attention, and makes tasteful composition.
CHIAROSCURO ANALYSIS - OneShot
Figure 1.4 OneShot logo with Niko.
Plot
OneShot is a puzzle and adventure story-based game following a cat-like child named Niko, who was plucked out of their home to revive a dark dying world that they have never seen nor heard of.
The game starts off with Niko in a dim house accessing a computer. But what is interesting is that the messages in the computer are directed to you, the player, and not Niko. It warns you that you only have one shot to save the world. In the house, Niko finds the ‘sun’, which is a light bulb to be placed on top of the Tower. Along the way, you find out their world is dying as they have lost their previous sun, currently relying on Phospor which stored the light from the previous sun. The world is scattered with many robots, including ProphetBot, who tells Niko she is the savior of the world, and informs them of their ability to communicate with us, the god in their world.
Our mission is to save their world by placing the new sun on top of the tower located in the center of their lands. It is hinted along the way that robots play a big role as Asimov’s three laws of robotics are mentioned in-game. However, there are robots who are ‘tamed’, who can go against their code. These robots appear to act like humans, able to make their own decisions as they help Niko along the way. However, deadly small boxes which appear to be glitches begin to appear all over the lands, corrupting any robot that touches them. These pose a problem to your journey as many routes are blocked by these.
Figure 1.5 Niko looking over the Glen before entering.
Environment
The initial atmosphere of the game is very depressing. Since bioluminescence is the only source of light, the whole world is in a dark colour scheme, contrasting with the sun and Niko's eyes. The Barrens are scattered with unpowered robots until you finally find batteries to power them up, and the world seems to come alive more, bit by bit. However, you meet characters but it seems like they think their world is not worth saving anymore and tells Niko to go home. Suicide notes left by bots can also be found scattered in The Barrens. Eventually, as you progress into the Glen, more sources of light are introduced.
Figure 1.6 Niko with Alula and Calamus.
Concept
Many of its puzzles break the fourth wall and require you to retrieve the game files in your computer in order to solve it. For instance, one of the puzzles required you to use a clover picture and align it with the clover in-game to know which is the right route to follow. Its puzzles are not too mind boggling to solve but it’s interesting interaction between Niko and the player.
When you come across a bed, you are given an option to let Niko take a nap, which closes the game. But when you open the game after, you’ll see a scene of Niko in their dreams, which suggests that Niko’s world is similar to ours. Apparently, when the game closes, Niko is left in the dark, which leads them to call out for you every time you open the game.
Figure 1.7 Niko places the sun in the Solstice ending.
Ending Scene
Towards the end of the game, the player is presented with two choices that will both destroy you emotionally: Return the sun or break the sun so Niko can go home. Many people spent a lot of time deciding what to do, some even closing the game. But closing the game leads to another ending which kills Niko. Horrifying, you do not wanna do that. Hence, this moral dilemma serves as the climax of the game. By returning the sun, an ending scene plays showing all the characters that Niko has interacted with enjoying the new sun, but it shows us the empty house at the start of the game with Niko nowhere to be seen. However, breaking the sun plays an ending scene showing the whole world going dark and turning into the abyss, but Niko gets to return home to their mama and their pancakes. Both are very bittersweet endings that lead players to spend days thinking about their decision.
Fear not, there is an ending you can get by doing the Solstice run where you delete the last save file and reboot the game, which allows you to restart with more paths opened and a scene where you get to talk to The World Machine also known as TWM. This leads to TWM trying to find its lost code for the good ending, in which Niko returns the sun and goes back home.
Figure 1.8 The sun lights up in the Solstice ending.
Use of Chiaroscuro
Although it is a pixel game, the game artists still manage to immerse the player in the endings using lighting. As light and dark plays a huge role in the game’s story, so does it play a bigger role in the game’s art. In the original run, when presented with the two choices, you can see the emotion on Niko’s face as they solemnly observe which decision you choose. A look of uncertainty can be seen as Niko leaves the decision to you. In this specific scene of Niko placing the sun, everything else in the background is dark as it shows the contrast between the bright sun compared to everything else. It helps the player immerse in the story and shows the sun is the only source of light in the scene which lights up Niko’s face. The emptiness in the background further emphasizes how Niko is doing it alone they are the only one capable of doing it. As the bulb lights up, you also see Niko’s face light up in awe and adoration too, knowing what they’re doing will save the world whilst being able to go home.
WEEK 4 - LECTURE 4 - SHOTS
This week, we learned about 6 types of shots and were tasked to recreate our own using our mobile phones.
Close shot:
Figure 1.9 Alyssa staring at the iMac screen. Taken by me.
Medium shot:
Figure 1.10 Kwai Pin and Qiao Yin at an LRT Station. Taken by me.
Long shot:
Figure 1.11 People walking at Lalaport. Taken by me.
Worm's eye view:
Figure 1.12 Alyssa being a meanie. Taken by me.
Bird's eye view:
Figure 1.13 Alyssa once again staring at the iMac screen. Taken by me.
Frame in frame:
Figure 1.14 Kwai Pin and Qiao Yin at BookXcess. Taken by me.
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INSTRUCTIONS
Task 1: Exercise 1 - Vormator Challenge
Week 1
For the first week, I tried out to make basic characters using the shapes to experiment.
Here are the two characters I made:
Figure 2.1 Made a cute sloth. (1/4/2022)
Figure 2.2 A fire hydrant, but a roomba. Water roomba! (3/4/2022)
Week 2
This week, I got scammed by a vending machine in campus and had to pay RM4.50 just to get a bottle of water. Hence, I made a vending machine monster inspired by the event. Meet Vendy:
Figure 2.3 Vendy the Scammer. They will take all your money >:D. (8/4/2022)
Figure 2.4 Random plant monster. (8/4/2022)
Week 3
As our group was scheduled for online class this week, I made a burger to experiment with the pathfinder tools.
Figure 2.5 Burgerboi! (15/4/2022)
Week 4
After writing about the Chiaroscuro analysis on OneShot, I just had to make my own cat children and behold, Michael Kittens and Purlin the Wizard! Michael Kittens was meant to be a jock cat but I thought that might be too basic so I went with Purlin instead because more lore.
Figure 2.6 The gangsta cat - Michael Kittens, gets made fun of his name. (22/4/2022)
Figure 2.7 Purlin the Wizard! He may be smol but he's lethal. Be afraid. (22/4/2022)
Now that it's week 4, it was time for battle of the children! But there can only be one winner. Hence, a hero was born! Purlin the Wizard was the chosen one! Here's the process of making Purlin:
Figure 2.8 The shape structure of Purlin. (22/4/2022)
Figure 2.9 The formation of the hat and vest. (22/4/2022)
Figure 2.10 The formation of the cape. (22/4/2022)Week 5
Since it's the final week, I started looking up game card designs for Purlin. Growing up, I played a ton of card games, mainly Cardfight Vanguard. However, when I thought of the concept, I decided to go for a Magic the Gathering kind of gameplay but the art style of the card will be more cartoony to match the art style of Purlin. I also kind of liked the look of tarot cards so I tried to keep the borders white/off-white. Here are some references I found when looking for inspiration.
Figure 2.11 A Cardfight Vanguard card, the iconic Blaster Blade.
Figure 2.12 A Magic the Gathering card.
Figure 2.13 Game card design from Roadkill Rivals.
Figure 2.14 Game card design by Henry Lim on 99designs.
After looking at a lot of card designs, I settled on a more minimalistic and clean look. The main elements included: attack points, health points, character description, character name, and character summoning costs (the stars). Below are some options I made:
Figure 2.15 Tab design inspired by Fig 2.13.
Figure 2.16 Arch design idea sparked by the Zerk shape from Vormator challenge.
In the end, I went with the arch design as it did don't look as awkward as the tab design and finalized the card game elements:
Figure 2.17 My final chosen card design. (26/4/2022)
The top left is the attack points; top right is health points. The three stars represent the power needed to summon Purlin from the hand. I added a short description for Purlin in a scroll-looking banner to add on to the fantasy theme. I went with the arch frame background as I was deciding between using corner and side tabs for the info but I found them to look odd jutting out from both sides unevenly or one side. Then I remembered I had the shape to make the arch and went with it. In the end, I really like it as the rounded look makes it seem like he's coming out of a portal.
Overall, my card design seems to be more on the minimalistic side as that's my style. Fun fact, the whole card is made from Vormator shapes too! Excluding the text, of course.
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FEEDBACK
Week 2: Exercise 1 - Vormator Challenge
Vendy: Round the edges of the body to give a cleaner look.
Week 5: Exercise 1 - Vormator Challenge
Purlin character design: All good! Oyen haha.
Purlin Arch card: Nice! Good to go.
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REFLECTION
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this assignment as it challenged our creative limits and allowed us to explore lots of different designs for characters. I will cherish all my now fictional character children. For the card design, I actually had more fun doing the card than the character because I prefer doing the layout and thinking of game concepts and mechanics. It also somewhat took me down memory lane looking back at all my childhood games. P.S. I still have my Cardfight Vanguard deck that was worth RM600. We were quite invested literally.
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