Child No More Art Development: Developing Concepts

**Status Updates**

Due to scope, we dropped the rabid dog and hostile civilian characters.

We’ve opted to change our terminology from 2.5D to “3D with the camera locked on the z-axis” to eliminate confusion.

Research

Based on guidance and feedback, this week we pulled research images to aid us in refining our concept designs. We looked into architecture and devastation that would be peculiar to Eastern European countries during conflict in the Eighties. We found images of authentic interiors from the area, as well as appropriate clothes to lend authenticity to our game. Due to the fact that our character influence artist Loish doesn't seem to have specifically drawn a wolf, we looked to the pre-production art of "Twilight Princess" for a kickstart. The concepts for our wolf were then adapted to more of what Loish might draw.

Wolf

Soldiers / Boss

Interiors

Exteriors

The second round of character and environment concepts were done this week. We took the professors' choices and produced 6 more designs based on the chosen ones from last week.

Concepts - Round 2

Arya

For Arya, the F thumbnail was chosen for its design, but the art faculty also liked I for its poofy jacket. The hairband and design of F make her look a little older, but the poofy jacket of I emphasizes her innocence. Based on this feedback, our team produced these designs:

Mother

For the Mother, G was chosen because her open jacket made her look more open and inviting, but still mirrored Arya in her overall look. We also tried to warm her colors a little.

Ferret

The body of E was chosen for the Ferret, but with the added appeal of the face of A.

Fox

F was chosen for Fox, because it most closely matches Loish’s style.

Wolf

For the wolf, K was chosen because it looks the most fatherly and heroic because of his stature. However, we will try to incorporate elements of A such as the scar and the beard to make him seem more combat-oriented as well.

Soldiers

D and E were chosen for the soldiers because the harsher lines reflect the Kopp and Scholes environment lines, which make them look like mobile pieces of a harsh environment.

Boss

None of the boss thumbnails were chosen because he did not look distinctive or menacing enough. We are using the uniform from the chosen soldier designs to inform his own uniform appearance, but we have been experimenting with different body types and facial expressions and features to make him more distinctive and evil-looking.

Exteriors

For the exterior environments, we explored different looks of ruined buildings and the fog of war. We were encouraged to begin incorporating the parallax effect in our concepts.

Interiors

Our interior thumbnails were helpful in imagining how interior environments might look. We were encouraged to adapt future layouts to the war-torn environment, and try to adhere more closely to the styles of Scholes and Kopp.

Beginnings of Branding

We started to explore concepts for logo design and fonts. We have arrived a concept we like, but are waiting for the refined versions of Arya and her companions to polish this rough version.

Technical Concerns

Potential Palette Problem

The color palette for our antagonists and our environments are very similar. This presents a potential problem of those characters blending in with the background and getting lost. We are looking into options of shader parameters to lighten or darken the edge of the figures, possibly using a fresnel node.

The Mood Shift Tool

We also received an update from the programmers about the mood shift mechanic. We now have a functioning tool for shifting from angry to depressed to cowardly, and tracking the attempts to maintain balance in the center. Of course, the triggers are keyboard presses at the moment. But eventually they will be code driven. This tool could trigger texture changes on the character, or filters on the camera, or whatever else we dream up of to convey Arya's emotional state changes.