Sophia George

Today’s lecture was from special guest speaker Sophia George, who was both wonderfully interesting and charmingly cheerful.
I’ve posted my notes here from the talk, was very interesting to see a game that was not about killing something for change. An incredibly artistic game that is kind of in the same band as flower and journey. Something I’d like to try myself, after talking to Sophia about her next game, and the symbolism that can convey meaning and feelings of the subject the game is about.
Also my bus journey to my parents inspired me too, listening to “time for change” and seeing the leaves turning brown, with birds flocking in the skies. I realised my fallen civilisations game could be both a warning and a sign for hope.
Fighting destruction, with creation. A bit like dark chronical. But maybe crossed with fire emblem. I’ll explain in my next mood boards.

Below: Notes

http://nealscsjournal.wordpress.com/2014/10/18/sophia-george/

Internet problems

Sorry for the lack of updates, my internet seems to be having an off week. So I shall post some notes and concept ing if I can, but It may mess up.

Mood Boards

Right so After some thought and deliberation, I have decided that some mood boards where in order to help convey a feel of what I am aiming at with Game number 1.

First off I wanted the environment to be less of the Utopian style that is present in games and films such as Mass Effect and Star Trek but at the same time I didn’t want it overly disstopian like Blade Runner and Deus Ex. The feel and Mood I was looking for was more of a used and slightly worn feel, a lot like the ships and bases in the original star wars trilogy.

I want the place to look Like it has been there a long time, but is still able to work if given the time and care, like an old car.

The Character was originally going to be a human, but thinking on it human’s don’t really live that long in the great scheme of things, and I wanted this game to have a kind of Bicentenial man sense and feel to it. Like you are living through age after age, making friends and loosing them. I wanted this to put the perspective of loss and gain all into one long lifetime. A lot like a person who’s life is enriched by the people they meet, and the pets they own, even if they don’t live as long as you.

So I thought a Robot would be a great choice, it’s proven that humans have been putting friendly faces to robots in the past century as much as we have put menace to them. In some cases making the Robots have more Humanity than the humans, and this is what I want to bring to this story.

The way the robots cared for the Garden in Silent running, the way WallE cared for the last plant, the way Johnny 5 was far too trusting of humanity, and the way R2 and the lost in space Robot protected the humans at all costs. This proves to me that in some ways, we build our machines to be better than we could ever hope to be. Hopefully this will be conveyed in my Game Idea.

I shall work into this some more, but for now my head needs a rest, fresher’s flu is kicking me down.

Bad News

Well it turns out, My Idea like many others has already been done, and done very well by the looks of it.

http://lastpickproductions.com/homelessgame/

Albeit a little more cheerful than the Idea I had, but the premise and the Idea to raise awareness is there too so I’m now gonna start brain storming again.

The idea…

Name: Horizon (Empire of the Homeless).

Genre: Survival (third person)

Synopsis: You play as an ex millitary dog handler who has fallen on hard times, and dissapeared through the cracks of modern society.
You and your faithful dog Are fighting the hardest battle you’ve ever been in, the battle to live another day.

Mechanics: Survival – finding clothes and tools, seeking out heat-sources and cool spots (displayed on map as red and blue zones), scavenging food, finding loose change.
• hunger bar
• heat bar
• Health bar
• Pet bar
• Upgrades

I will add more to this as the ideas keep flowing, but as I saw an ex homeless person on the news today it only re-enforces my ideas. He stated that the world becomes so much bigger and more terrifying the moment you become homeless. I need to make some mood boards to reflect this. :-0

Change of Idea

It’s been a heavy end to the week, catching fresher’s flu and getting caught in the rain. But that lead me to think of another game that has both potential game wise and could raise awareness for something glaringly apparent in our society today and from any period in time.

Homelessness.

Wandering to the bus station in the rain the other day, I noticed a pile of what looked like clothes in a shop doorway, but it wasn’t until I got nearer that I noticed it was a homeless guy and his little dog.
And in the rain and the cold it struck me that both of them would be out there in the elements that night, with only each other and maybe some heat emu sting from the building to keep them warm. They have to search for food and salvage clothing, precure bedding and find shelter every day they wake up. And through it all they stick together, more so than people that buy their pets for Christmas and then get bored with them. It makes me sad, but at the same time I admire their immense fortitude and loyalty. They have fallen through the cracks and are kind of playing the most desperate of survival games, one that could one day end them.
It’s something I think everyone glazes over, we see these people every day, but more needs to be done to help them.
Maybe if researched correctly and made with care and consideration, I could follow the path that Brenda braithwaite set, and make games that could truly change the world, by changing the way we see and interact with it.
It’s one of the reasons I quit working in a game store and embarked on this journey into games design in the first place, because I believe that games have a great power to open our eyes to any number of things in the world.

Quick Blocking

Just a Quick Block out to see how a free roaming area within the game would look, not very good at the moment will draw over and see what it looks like.

MAPS!!!

After today’s Lecture for CS I decided on which game I wished to go for.

I had previously been having trouble deciding between the two Ideas, a Futuristic Archaeologist game that examines the the downfall of different civilisations, Whilst playing as an adventure and collecting game. And the Cryo-stasis game that forces players into making difficult decisions based on emotional and statistical analysis.

Both were great, well I thought so anyhow, but it wasn’t until the CS brief was given that I realised that the final piece actually fell into place.

MAPS!!!

It wasn’t until I realised the Significance of the map to a potential archaeologist that I started to brainstorm on the significance of the maps in that type of game. Not only would maps be handy for navigating the play field, but you could actually find maps on your adventures, excavating clues that could help you draw maps that lead you to hidden locations, or even unlock the next possible areas.

Some games have used this kind of Idea already, Etrian Odyssey and the first Everquest spring to mind, I shall be referencing these in my CS reflective Journal, and shall link on here where appropriate.

I shall also post my notes up on this asap, although I need to log off for tonight for now, as my head is a little fuzzy with cold.

Notes

My notes as promised for two ideas I’ve had bouncing around for a while.