Character Design.

This is the detailed version of the head of my main character the fox. You will play as this character and play through the levels to gain the highest score by collecting the tokens and simple by gaining distance.

I chose a fox to be the playable character because i think that it has all the nesseccary chracteritics for my game. for example it is a good symbol of British wildlife and very recognisable. Also fox's are know to be cuung, sly and fast. This can enhance the gameplay experience by playing as a fast moving animal rather than a badger for example. There are many different movements that i will encorporate into the gameplay. The first will be a running motion that will simulate the fox running. Another will need to be a jump to avoid obstacles and a duck or sliding move to move under things that obstruct the path. All these elements will make for a challenging and addictive gaming experience.

This is a simple drawing of the fox (my main character) doing an action. I wanted to give another perspective on how he would move. This could be used as a jumping motion. Something that i may have to include in this motion is the reaction of things such as fur and environment. Maybe by creating a few frames of the fox kicking up dirt from the ground to put across visually that the jump is complete.

Dartmoor Pictures

Here are the photos i took when we took our trip to Dartmoor.

I thought this might be a good shot because of the different parts of the photo which are focused. Also because i thought it may be a good title screen.

I took this because i wanted a promary refernece of a ladybug that i could possible use in the game.

This is another shot that could be used as title or instruction screen.

I took this becasue i am pretty sure that the game will be having a rolling background and was thinking maybe this could be a level in the game.

This was to get some close up textures of the environment in the game.

Using splash photography i shot this. I could use it in the game in different ways such as an explosion scene.

I took this shot becasue i wanted to get a different kind of view to a scrolling background. In the game this could be used as a pathway that you run down. For example things would be flying at you and you would have to dodge them.

This is another reference for the alliterative scrolling background.

Another shot if some splash photography. This could be used as a reference or manipulated using Photoshop.

This was another photo that i shot thinking about using it as a scrolluing background.

This shot is a slightly more open one than the others and could be used as a cut scene screen.

This could be another level as a scrolling background.

I wanted to get different outcomes so i took the following 3 pictures as references.

Refernce

Reference

This was an angled shot downwards. This gave me a new perspective on the scrolling background idea.

This is another shot that i could use as a different level in the alternative scrolling background game.

This is a darker shot which could be used to indicate certain enemies or events.

This is a shot that i took to be used as a cut scene or transition screen

This was a shot that i took of some torn up roots from a tree. But i thought it might be a good idea to place the player in an underground scene using this image. 

Understand visual recording in others’ work

This is the famous piece, Vulcan by Eduardo Paolozzi. Having researched the piece it seems that it was based on the god of fire and the blacksmith that forged weapons for the gods. It seems as though by using theses pieces of material, Eduardo is trying to bring in the concept of an industrialising world. He is half man half  machine, a take on the modern world.

Andy Warhol is a famous artist. This is one of his pieces "Campbells soup". Warhol, when asked why he painted the soup cans, said this "Because I used to drink it. I used to have the same lunch every day, for twenty years, I guess, the same thing over and over again. Someone said my life has dominated me; I liked that idea" Critics gave the painting mixed reviews and some said that it was a take on  modernization. I think that he painted it for other reasons. He said he used to have this every day for lunch, so maybe he decided to paint it because only he could see the beauty of it. Of how something every day is so special.

Using the can of soup as an influence. I have tried to mimic the style of Warhols peice. By using a simple filter on Photoshop I have given this coca cola bottle a simple and effective style the same as the painting.

Be Able To Record Visually

 

These are the three photos i took of the figure at different angles. This is so i could draw three different line drawings that would have different lighting and shading.

This is also known as a profile and is a good way to start desinging concept characters.

Using the images above I drew a line drawing of the figure. By making the lines bolder the closer to the foreground of the image, it makes the line drawing more legitimate and gives a sense of depth. I positioned the figure at three different angles and then drew these line drawings on a graphics tab in Photoshop.

This is the side view which I have shaded and coloured. By using the brush tool and by change the opacity i was able to shade it. Then bu creating a new layer and setting the blending mode to overlay. Then by slecting a colour, on the new layer i simple painted over the figure to create the colour and shading effect.

This is a grey scale version of my drawing. This is just to show the shading in more quality.

This is the photo manipulated image that i took at Dartmoor. By splitting the image i wanted to make it into a rolling background for the game. By generating some simple image adjustments like colour balance and and exposure it gives a mystical effect that i could use for the game.

This is the source image for the image above.

Source image for below.

I have added a texture blur on this image to give it a more vector based feel. This is just an alternative look and i may or may not use it.

Source image for below.

By adding a lens flare this gives a really nice introduction feel. I like this image and may use it as an alternative title screen.

Source image for below.

I used a few different adjustment layers on this image i wanted to give it a mystical feel.

This is a lady bug that i drew. 

This is using different filters and adjustment layers.

This is another angle of a Ladybug.

This is a vector style lady bug becasue i was wondering if it would look right in my game. I was trying to decide wether to do a vector based graphic game or bitmap based graphics. I thought that the best way to go after drawing this was go with the bitmap drawings.

This is a foz i drew jumping after a mouse.

This is a more detatiled fox i drew focusing just on the head.

I then drew a basic body and a background scene so that you can visualise it in a different scene.

This is a close up of a flower.

This is the same flower but a different part using a different drawing style. I thought that the thick brush stokes of the flowers petals give it a cool effect. I then also put more effort and detail into the centre of the flower because that is what your eyes are drawn to.

Reference images:

Game Screens

This is an idea that I had to use as my title screen. This is more of a vector look and i kept in mind the mobile version of the game while designing this screen. The reason that i have gone for a more vector look is to make it look more like a game and make it less serious. Also you have to consider file size when working with mobile devices.

This is an alternative screen for the title. I used an image i took of Dartmoor mainly becasue it is where the game is set. It is also quite a nice image with the background out of focus and the stone is in the foreground in focus.

I went for simplicity when creating the introduction screen. Rather than transitioning to another screen o thought the instruction text could just appear. What i failed to put in though was a back button that when clicked will return you to the main menu. 

Here i haev created some in game screen shots of teh game so you can see what it looks like when running. I have used one of the backgrounds that i created 

Tokens

Here are two examples of tokens that i will in the game. The top one is a "+1 Coin". This entitles the player to an extra point. However there are other areas that i could look into on how to use this token. One other idea that i had is that the player starts with 3 lives, and every time you hit an obstacle you lose a life. This token, if collected, can redeem a life. The token below is an exact opposite of the positive one. The reason behind this is to have a counter balance of tokens. Making the game slightly more challenging. 

Whilst doing research into road signs and symbols i found out tat one of the key elements in creating them is making them visually recognisable. For example, if some one is in their car doing 70 mph, they do not have the same amount of time to read road signs or signals. So the traffic signs are designed so that you can identify shapes and colours. I have used the same principle when creating my tokens. So my token that only takes things away from the player is red and a triangle. In road signs triangles are warnings and usually in red. 

The reason i am doing this is so that when the game speeds up and the game play becomes faster, the player will still be able to tell the good tokens from the bad ones.