mi6014bethmackay

[mi6014bethmackay]

Showreel

[mi6014bethmackay]

Illuminate game advert

Music: Ambient Piano & Strings Daddy_s_Music

[mi6014bethmackay]

A 500 word reflective essay discussing your work on the module in relation to professional practice and your current employment aspirations.

In this module, I have attempted to create a project that was built upon my aspirations for possible career paths in animation, with a focus on character design. I tried to do this through the character design in both the playable character and also in the side character as I felt this could be a rather important foundation for the rest of the project. Despite the project being different from ones in the past due to it being a brief set by a company, the character design was not heavily impacted by this difference as it was based more so on the overall story idea of the project which was not something that was highlighted in the brief but rather decided by myself.

The base of the character design is very important, in my opinion, as it is something that is seen throughout the entirety of the project. It creates a precedent for every scene the character is used in so a good character design will instantly bring up the standard of any scene, drawing in the viewer's attention. For the finalised character designs that were used in my project, I wanted the designs to be visually interesting and appealing while also making sense and fitting in with the story. I particularly focused on this mindset when designing the side characters for this project as it involved creating an entirely new species which came with a lot of creative freedom as I was not just creating the individual but the complete foundation of the design. This character design reflects the research that I did into the overall themes of my project as well as the paths said themes took me down, such as different cultures folk stories of the moon leading to that base rabbit design as well as basic symbols associated with becoming the overall shape of the character. Being a fictional species also allowed me to consider the physical benefits of certain choices as though the creature was a real animal that had evolved to hold specific traits that would aid it in its survival.

For the main goal of the brief, I feel I was successful in creating an idea for a game that would be well received by stressed new mums looking for a relaxing pastime that is enjoyable to play and also functional around the needs of a newborn. Overall, I feel the project meets the specifications that were set out for it in the design brief.

In conclusion, I feel that this module allowed me to develop my skills as well as give me ample practice for following brief specifications in any future work I may do. While I am overall happy with my project if I were to retry the brief, I would make the animation entirely 3D rather than a mix of 3D and 2D animation.

[mi6014bethmackay]

Title Screen

[mi6014bethmackay]

Moon Mites

[mi6014bethmackay]

Moon Inhabitants

While trying to come up with ideas for the species local to the moon, I did research into what shapes, symbols and animals are often associated with the moon. I found that many different cultures often associate rabbits with the moon whether through the rabbit shadow on the moon or the moon goddess Chang'e having a rabbit companion. This led to me wanting to have the base of the creatures to have elements of both the moon and a rabbit mixed together.

I figured that the ears become the most obvious aspect of the rabbit but wasn't sure how to mix that with certain moon symbolism. I decided to do some research into another alien like creature that bares a striking resemblance to rabbits despite being completely different animals.

Sea bunnies are a type of marine slug that gained its name due to its round, soft-looking shape and antennae-like rhinophores resembling the ears and cuddly appearance of a bunny. This gave me the idea to use the ear-like antennae to give the design its bunny inspiration and made brainstorming easier as I mixed this with different lunar shapes and symbols

In the end, I felt that the triple crescent shape along with a circle allowed for an interesting-looking design that I could also explore giving biological reasoning for, trying to make it seem like a real species that evolved to fit its dark home.

[mi6014bethmackay]

Illumination

The game mechanic for accessing new areas to explore will come with lighting up new parts of the otherwise totally dark moon. This is done by completing quests and interacting with the moon's inhabitants. As the player progresses through these tasks, the inhabitants will light up the next area using glowing stars on the surface, fitting in with the space theme.

[mi6014bethmackay]

Possible base model

i decided to make the background 3D while keeping the character 2D as i felt this made an interesting comparison between the harsher elements of the moon and the softer elements of a sweet character

[mi6014bethmackay]

Habitat Building

For the types of structures, you can build on the moon I took some inspiration from the types of habitats that can be built in the video game 'Subnautica' as that story also follows the player crash landing onto another planet although one mostly just water.

I mostly took inspiration from the geometric shapes that had been softly rounded at their edges for my structures as I felt this made the building appear less harsh while keeping its overall sci-fi type design.

[mi6014bethmackay]

Playable Character

[mi6014bethmackay]

Designing Playable character

I began by sketching out some different ideas on how this player would look. I was mostly focusing on whether or not the character would be customisable or if it would just be a spacesuit with no discernable features that could easily be anyone. In the end i decided that since most time would be spent outside and require the suit, it would make more sense to just have that as the default look.

I wanted the suit to be quickly recognized as a spacesuit and made that more of a focus rather than designing a totally accurate version, focusing on prominent features like the helmet, boots, etc.

In the end, I took these predominant features and cut down on some smaller details to make an overall more cartoon-type style, similar to some other relaxing simulator games such as animal crossing or Stardew Valley.

[mi6014bethmackay]

Final story idea

In the end, I've decided to go with the space story as I feel it better fits the aim of making a character that happens to be a mother rather than making characters that are just mothers like the other idea.

I've spent more time trying to flesh out an overarching plot to fit in with the easy-going style of the game. I've done this by adding aims for the player to achieve as they play the game at their own pace, with an overarching goal to strive for.

The game follows an astronaut who crashes onto the dark side of the moon. Gathering debris from the ship and resources from the moon's surface, she manages to build herself a self-sustaining habitat, giving her shelter as she explores her surroundings in an attempt to find a way to get home to her family.

As it's the dark side of the moon she only has one area illuminated by her crashed ship and habitat but as she progresses in the game more areas are illuminated to give access to new areas to explore.

The main aspects of the game involve building, crafting and completing quests to progress, all at the pace of the player.

[mi6014bethmackay]

Coming up with a story

For my story ideas i currently have two concepts

One is a game where you have set types of mums as your character that you use to travel through the game levels. (e.g. yoga mum, WFH mum, tired mum, etc)

Another idea is to have a calming simulator game where a mum is stranded on the moon and must explore to find a way to get back home. This would both give the player a goal to get to but would also mimic a calm place to go for peaceful solitude since how much more alone can you get than the moon

[mi6014bethmackay]

Representations of mothers in the media

Often in the media today mothers tend to be used as plot devices rather than fully fleshes characters. Rather than being seen as complex humans, the mothers in stories are often killed off or already dead, to give the protagonist some kind of tragic back story, or are simply the most basic 2D descriptors that make up a pop culture mother with absolutely zero depth.

Rather than build characters who have many traits, one of which is being a mother, the media tends to build, not just the foundation, but the entire structure of their character on that trait alone. It is no longer a trait but the characters entire personality, being and existence.

TO avoid this I feel that the game's character should have being a mother be one of many traits of the protagonist rather than her whole being. This shows the character are being a human with aspirations, and thoughts and fears rather than just someone with the title of mother.

[mi6014bethmackay]

Research conclusions

Researching the type of games that new parents both want to and can play led me to mostly relaxing open world type games that could be played on a handheld console (switch or phone).

The game would need to be something that's easy to pick up and put down to suit the whims of the baby. To solve this, the game would benefit from both a pause button and the ability to save at any time. The game also could most likely not be multiplayer and those kinds of games often have to be planned out for meeting times to play with others. A single player allows the new parent to play at their own pace and on their own schedule

It would most likely be best to have a game that can be played muted (to avoid waking baby) but there could be an expectation of quiet ambient music that plays in the background to create a relaxing atmosphere.

[mi6014bethmackay]

Accounts of mums gaming

These articles have good information on what type of games new parents enjoy playing while having a baby around but also the functions that the game uses to make overall game play easier.