Hello guys, I'm Rita Ribeiro, and I'm in the 2nd year of the Art and Multimedia course at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Lisbon, in the area of Interactive Environments.
My group in this project is Diogo Santos, Miguel Neves and João Ferreira, who are students of the Technical Superior Institute (Instituto Superior Técnico) .
Although we are still working on the formation of the project - for now our game is named 42, and will be a platform game in 2D. The main concept of the game will be to give freedom and power of choice to the player, being forced to explore several options, being able to choose and change the history of the game and decide the fate of the main character.
The environments, the characters, as well as the graphic identity of the project are still being discussed and tested, but we want to do something in pixel art, with futuristic scenarios that portray two realities one in which shows one side where the world is in destruction and another that shows a milder environment.
During these last weeks the group has always been in contact and to exchange ideas we've already met, which was good because besides being able to know each other better, we can show each other past works, which also helped in the process of knowledge.
Although I still have nothing concrete to publish, I have already started working on several sketches that I will be able to show you in the next publication.
42
31st March 2017
Hello,
Although in the last post I was not able to show concretely the development of our work, in these last weeks the project has evolved a lot.
After some conversations in group, and several studies and attempts, I decided to create a folder on Pinterest with several images of games, graphics, characters (always within the pixel art style), so that me and my colleagues could take inspiration and ideas throughout the development of the game - which helped me a lot, because I was able to put together several ideas from the members of the group, including myself, and got a better perception of each one's tastes.
With this, I began to build the characters, starting by making the main character and then the secondary ones (which are the workers).
This phase of the work was not very complicated, because when I created the main character I was able to build the others from it, because the objective is that they are all of the same kind - that is, ordinary and simple people. So I created them quite similar and the only feature that differentiates them is the color of the tie and the hair. What makes the main character different from the others is beyond the hair and the color of the tie - it is the eyes that, contrary to the others, seem sadder or transmit a more indifferent look.
Having the characters built, the trickiest part was getting them animated. For animation I focused only on the main character, since the others won't have many movements. For this part I created some Gifs of the character walking, running and jumping.
Until the next post, my group will try to reunite once more, and I will start to create some backgrounds, starting with the beginning of the story, as well as finish building and animating the characters (finishing those already created and starting some new ones).
42
Rita Ribeiro
Hi,
Since the last post, I started to do the first scenarios of the game, including my colleagues from the technical institute, they have started to test the game's programming.
In this stage, the goal is for the player to have the first contact with the story and important characters. This phase is essential for the unfolding of the action, because it is in it that the player will understand (or will have to realize) that he has the "control" of being able to change history.
The first part will be the most important for the game, because it is in it that the player will know that their first choices will determine the rest of the game.
The first scenarios will be spent in an office where the main character works, and the environment will be half melancholic and poorly lit.
From the last post I was able to edit and improve the characters already made, creating another one, the office security guard.
Until the next post, I will start working on the rest of the scenarios, intending to complete at least three more stages of the game.
See you soon.
30th April 2017
Hello guys
In the last publication, I have already presented the construction of some of the scenarios that will belong to the game.
Since then, my team has met again, mainly to show me the first advances of unity (already with my work included). With this we could see what had to be corrected and changed, and it was mainly the sizes and proportions of the scenarios and the characters that had made, that were with a resolution too small for the type of screen that we wanted to use.
After this step and our "meeting", it was rather easier for me to develop the following steps, which basically were to create two more scenarios.
The first scenario that I developed is the first part of the game, or the first scene that the player will have access, which is basically the entry of the main character in his workplace.
In the second scenario, which is still under development (this scenario will consist of 5 or 6 images in which two have already been made), it is passed over some buildings, that is on the roofs, where the character will try to use to escape Authorities.
These two new spaces were made to be continuous, and they always happen in the same environment, in the city.
In these scenes, to highlight the idea that spaces are being watched by "something", I have placed surveillance cameras on some places, as well as other elements such as cats, birds and advertisements that also function as alternative "cameras" ( In elements such as cats and birds, I made the eyes red to show that they are like "robots").
15th May 2017
15th April 2017
Hi guys,
These last few weeks were quite busy, it was the fase that required a total revision of the game, and to see what had to be corrected and changed, things that needed to be gathered and reflected mainly in the concept of the history.
In this final fase of the project, I focused mainly on animating characters, finishing up a few more scenarios, and correcting the mistakes (of the graphics) that my colleagues found in unity when they were making the montages. What was perhaps the most difficult to develop in this part (which had to be fixed a few times), and which was perhaps the most difficult to edit throughout the process of creating the whole game, were the scenarios that represented a destroyed city. They were complicated mainly because I was not able to find any good references that could help me, but in the end everything went well and I think I even managed to get the feeling of destruction.
After everything was corrected on my part, my colleagues began to develop and build the rest of the game in unity,they were always sending me feedback and small samples of how I was getting.
Finally, I made a poster for our game in which after several tests, I ended up opting for something simpler and that worked better. Basically center on the image of the main character of the game, which shows the character in both game modes (the normal side, and the side where the doll has an implant in the head that is connected to the part of the destroyed scenes). I also made the logo for the poster and added a slogan that says: choose your side, (which relates to the fact that there are two different representations of the character present in the poster).
Finally arriving at Mojo Day, which was very promising, my team and I were able to see the reactions of the people present while playing our game. The opinions were very diverse, but in my view they ended up being positive and quite constructive. I think all the members of my team liked the experience, we only regretted not having more time to improve things and adding others, since the game was not totally complete when it was presented in Mojo. It was another experience for having an idea of what we should do to make the game better. We intend to finalize it in the near future.
Having participated in Mojo for me turned out to be a fairly important experience that in addition to being fun, made me even more excited to continue to explore this area.
I hope you enjoy our work, see you soon.
30th May 2017
