Concept Game Proposals

Proposal for my game

High Concept – A male born into a controlled and imprisoned world, joins a rebellion to destroy the sovereignty enslaving his planet.

Concept – The game is a FPS, RPG with sandbox elements. The environment is a steam punk, derelict wasteland. You play as the protagonist Nicholas Taylor, and join the rebellion to destroy the sovereignty, freeing occupied sectors in which they enslave. You utilise a mix of old fashioned and alien weapons, taking control of a wide array of vehicles in the process. The protagonist is infected with radiation, which he harnesses for super human abilities, if the player uses them correctly.

Proposal – To propose this game, I would make a prototype or demo for the game. With this, I would also show a range of merchandise including posters, canvases and figures. The demo would be a short mission: You start after waking up from unconsciousness, and everywhere is being ravaged by enemies. You find a weapon, play through some basic game mechanics and engage enemies in a fire fight and hand to hand fighting before discover the power of the radiation vambrace you have. This allows you to move large objects, throw people or shoot bursts of radiation at enemies. The technicalities of the radiation vambrace will be vague, and only basic functions of the power will accessible, hopefully to be an inspiration of which prospective buyers may be intrigued by. During the beta demo, hints towards the involving storyline will be released.

Concept art article (no pictures)

Many questions can be raised about this picture, as well as different messages. This creature is menacing, with the pointe fangs and metal exoskeleton. Though, on its body are many scrapes, and bad wounds. This could be and aftermath of a fight, after chasing prey but getting hurt in the process. This makes me think, who is it hunting? Where have they gone? Alternatively, I thought, what if this creature is prey? A mix of fear and aggression can be gained from its stance. The forest surrounding the creature also gives a dark and dangerous atmosphere to this picture. The artist has a rustic, jagged style to his art. The jagged edges and contrasting colours make this image more intimidating to perceive.

This picture shows, what appears to be an ant, operating a wooden machine gun. The machine gun has similarities to that off an old fashioned field gun or a modern ‘mini’ gun, but as it is wooden it is hard to tell. The ant looks aggressive, with red eyes and spiky limbs. Its intimidating posture gives it an ‘evil’ (rather than ‘good’) image. This image implies it could be a soldier, which is backed up by the weapon it is wielding. Moreover, the dark colours of this creature back up the evil image that it has.

Concept art in the industry

Concept artwork also has its place, even after being used for the design of a game. Avid fans of games franchises such as Halo and Mario have the option to buy concept art posters, booklets and models, of which can sold with the game in a special edition or online. People tend to buy the art out of appreciation, as it gives a personal level of insight of how the game had been created. From concept art you can appreciate the thought process the artist had used in creating the art, with the comparison to the end product – the actual game. This picture to the left shows a page from the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword concept booklet. It shows Different facial expressions, poses and costumes the artist perceived Link could have used, all of which the designers and animators have utilised in the game.

Artwork has its uses within the games it has been designed for originally as well. This can be seen in games such as Halo, where concept art can be unlocked as an achievement through the game. These achievements are great incentives for players to keep playing games, as it can put the user in the addictive “just one more kill” frame of mind. Moreover, these pieces of art can be showed off to friends, and used as trophies for their achievements and skill.

This art also plays an important role for franchises and sequels. One major aspect is if a company gets bought out by another, for example, with Dice and EA (or that of all EA’s teams). As EA has taken over Dice, many of Dice’s members (including concept artists) may have been laid off in the takeover. As the concept artists would have an intimate knowledge of how the company works, DICE and EA would have a great benefit in keeping the concept art pieces to give to their new artists. This means that sequels such as Battlefield 3 remain similar to the previous versions.

So, in the universe of the games industry, concept art is a fundamental foundation, which determines how game will be produced. The ideas that can be communicated through a piece of art are monumental in comparison to a written piece of text – as I previously mentioned, a picture can tell a story a thousand words cannot. Each artist’s style contributes massively to how the image is drawn, and therefore in the chain of game design, how the final product will turn out. But it’s uses also carry on throughout the development of the game, with its uses spreading into the gaming world and onto other projects. It is my opinion that the development of games would hinder without the skill and perception of the great artists there are today.

 

 

Bibliography

http://conceptartworld.com/?p=17328 (11/01/13)

http://conceptartworld.com/?p=16354 (11/01/03)

http://conceptartworld.com/?p=18004 (14/01/13)

http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/121/1214953/the-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword-20111215043610301-000.jpg (21/01/13)

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-08-16-eas-share-price-leaps-at-rumours-of-a-buyout (24/01/13)

Concept art has many uses within the games industry. As a person who would like to get into illustration, I believe strongly that art work is one of the driving influences behind how the game’s image will be published, as well as how all the aspects of the game will turn out. There is the old saying – a picture can tell a story a thousand words cannot.

The strongest focus of a piece of art work is to display and idea. This applies more directly towards the gaming industry, as a whole sense of atmosphere can be gained from a single picture alone. The concept artists would develop ideas for weapons, scenery, MPC’s, and even basic items around the room which all would fit into the level. By drawing up these ideas and showing them to 3D designer, the designer can also benefit from the atmosphere and ideas drawn from the picture. This would then pass down the line towards the level designer and even the programmer, to help tailor the game to the way the artists envisioned.

Of course, the artist would not develop the ideas on their own. A whole team of designers would help direct which way the game wants to go, but the foundation artwork will always be referenced as an example of how they want the game to eventually end up. Artwork which has not been used can also be saved, and recycled in later projects.

The artist would be briefed (most likely), along with all the other members on the design team about how the project leader wants the game to work. The artist would then develop many concept drawings, on paper as well as software’s such as Photoshop. Of course, using Photoshop has the advancements over paper drawings, such as being more mobile, transferable to other software such as Maya, and the ability to (with greater ease) to create photorealistic and interesting pieces of artwork. This art would then be sent to a 3D modeller, whom using the artwork, design models, characters and scenery suitable for the game. These then will get sculpted, textured and entered into a levelling software such as UDK, ready for testing to become a game. All of these steps stemmed from a few slides and pieces of artwork.

Concept Art Analysis

This piece of art shows a recent battle, with the successor preparing to acquire a glowing artefact on the stand. The battle behind is bloody and gruesome, yet no others wear the same colours or look the same as the male at the front. This suggests that he may have worked alone in defeating these people. As they were all armed, it also suggests that they may have been guarding this artefact. The amount of death could symbolise the importance of this artefact, and could imply that it belongs to him. The style of art has slight photo-realism, but the mystical atmosphere to this piece can override that. If this image was used to help design the game, it is clear what sort of atmosphere the artist is trying to achieve. This ‘feel’ of the image is then transferred down the line and eventually put into the game.

 

 

 

This picture shows a little girl, being tempted by some beings. These beings could be daemons, spirits or even a figment of the girls’ imagination. Their heads are split at the back, and a brain like essence seems to be leaking and rising upwards, also adding to the suspicion that they are not part of this world. The main being in the middle is holding a fishing line, with a smelly sock on the end of the hook. They are trying to tempt the girl to take it. This could imply that by taking it, she will be trapped and will possible turn into a being like them. This could communicate the temptation for children to do bad actions, and the struggle some may face trying to be ‘good’. These elements are all vital in the image, as without them the game will not be similar to how the image is trying to perceive them.  The artist has a clear style, with the dark shadows and ‘egg’ shaped heads, making the picture unique in comparison to the others I have discussed.

This picture two fairy like females chasing an evil monkey like demon or person in a forest. The evil person is clutching some form of fruit, of which is glowing brightly. All around the forest on the trees are other fruits, barely glowing or are a lot duller than the one the person is clutching. They all have bite marks in, suggesting that their ‘purity’ may have been lost by being eaten.  The person has a dark haze around it, and with the painted face also suggests it being evil. This is opposed to the two females, who are glowing and look graceful in their attempts to stop this person. This could communicate the idea of thief’s in the world, and the struggling attempt of good people trying to stop it. The style of the artists is clear, as everything in the picture seems to flow gracefully.  This sets the image apart as the art style is unique to this picture.

This artwork shows a man clutching a side of his face, whilst a miniature version of himself clambers on his head, apparently listening by pressing his ear onto the head. From the hand prints and pain on the larger persons head, it suggests the smaller person (or in my opinion, conscience of the bigger person), has crawled out of the eye of the bigger person. This could be seen as the persons mind or conscience escaping, and listening from the outside. The hand and footprints of the smaller person are mud like and dark, instead of blood which I was expecting. This suggests that the persons mind is dark and dirty, full of secrets of which the conscience is trying to escape. The style of the artist is very unique. This can be seen with the level of detail of muscles and body mass on the hands and face. This attention to detail with shading makes the mage very twisted and photorealistic, making it interesting to behold

Maya Sniper Rifle

I decided to work on a sniper rifle in my spare time at home, and this is what I came up with:

This is a draft drawing of what I wanted to work on. I am no gun fan, so I have no idea what it is. I remember playing an old call of duty game, using a sniper with an insanely long scope and though 'oh this shit is cool' so I'm recreating it from my childish memory.  It could be Lee Enfield or a KAR98, I have no idea.

























So from that I modeled this, just the basic shape. I always make the basic shape first before putting detail in, probably what everyone does but hey. Got stuck wondering how  to make a barrel at the end.













From that I added the barrel. NOTE I cannot use this in any piece of worked, I messed up the polys and so long story short couldn't bridge as stuff went wrong. So the barrel has just been placed infront of the gun. I can't use this as it wouldn't work to put simply, though I felt to far in to start again as this is only a rough practice piece.












Here is the very rough finished draft thing. Yeah needs a lot of work, but I worked out the basics of how it needs to be put together

Pistol 3D MAYA, work in progress...

Just a work in progress, using the image on the left of the model as a template. Still needs rounding and touching up, with lots more parts putting in. Texturing is gonna be a nightmare..

SCRIPT; college work, story development.

A script I have developed for an assignment at college:

Expatriate, Outcasts and Lions

{GAMEPLAY: Start of mission, player is informed that the Custodian underground base is under attack, the player will have to fight off a few Sovereignty Guards and repel the attack. Enter underground of the main allied base to find many dead, with one un-armed, and un-armoured Sovereign}

*Start of cut scene*

Dark, dreary room. Smoke lingering in the air, as the lights sway and flitter. The grey walls were littered with bullet holes and shrapnel marks. Sounds only white noise and crackling, odd sparks burst from broken equipment. Tables, shelves and paper are strewn across the room, littering small space. Fera lays injured corner, as Nicholas enter. Camera follows Nicholas into the room, then changes to behind Fera

Nicholas: [Walks slowly towards Fera, arcing with pride around the room, magnum in hand. Expressions of anger yet restraint, talks quietly with dominance]  Tell me one good reason why I should keep you alive.

Camera changes to Fera’s face

Fera: [breathless, laying in the corner, scared]         W-wait! I-I uh, I’m not who you think-

Camera changes back to a room shot

Nicholas: [cuts over Fera, raising voice]        What? Spit it out!

Fera:    I’m not part of the Sovereignty! I-I was taken – kidnapped!

Nicholas: [anger escalating]   You expect me to believe that? HOW DARE YOU. You murder my friends then expect me to take this crap?

Fera: [shaking, looking around the room and backing more into the corner]          Please! You have to believe me! I’m not from around here! I’m a conscript; I do not want to fight!

Nicholas:         Then why are you in my here? Why have you been shot? If you do not want to fight, why are you in this basement?

Fera: [fearful, shaking]           My people… they are powerful. I had no choice!

Nicholas: [confused, anger now fading, pacing around]        You could be lying to me. But I’ve never seen a Sovereign so un-noble. How do you mean, kidnapped? What are you, a conscript? Why do you bear the markings of Livius?

Fera: [looks down at brandings and tattoo’s] They pinned me down, I had no choice!

There is a short pause after a creek in the floorboards behind; The only other sound is Fera heavily panting, before coughing up blood. He whimpers in the corner, a few tears roll down his face. Nicholas turns as Elise walks in, heavily armed with one of the impressive Sovereign rifles. Camera follows her closely from behind, then moves to get all three into the shot, a dark shadow is cast over Elise’s face

Elise: [face of disgust, aggressive posture, shoots dirty look at Fera]                       Why is this scum still alive?   

Another short pause, with Nicholas looking confused. Elise shrugs, walks quickly towards Fera and points the rifle at his head. He cowers and makes whimpering noises. Camera gets all the characters facial expressions then moves to behind Nicholas

Nicholas: [jumps forwards, speaks suddenly and quickly]     Don’t!

Elise: [looks seductively towards Nicholas]    Hmm? Oh is he yours? Sorry.

Nicholas: [Dominanlty]           We’re not killing him.

Elise approaches Nicholas, holding out the rifle. Nicholas pushes it down and leans forwards to whisper to her. Camera zooms in on Elise and Nicholas’ faces, but with Fera autofocused in the background

Nicholas: [whispering, less angry and more co-operative now]        Let’s hear him out, he might not be who we think Elise.

Elise: [turns attention to Nicholas, whispering also]  What!? You yourself said no Sovereign will live after what happened to your parents!    

Nicholas:         Have you ever seen a Soveriegn look so…pathetic?

Elise: [glances at Fera, still whispering]         No, because I’ve never seen one this close who is shooting the life out of me! We’ve never seen one this vulnerable before.

Nicholas: [temper slowly escalating, talking quietly but still whispering]     Then what do you suppose we do?

Elise: [matching temper and tone, a mischievous smirk across face]           Kill the scum! After we torture him for information, he is a gold mine to our tactical team.

After another short pause, Fera scuffles around. Eyes beaming with fear, he shakes with a cold sweat on his brow. He is sitting in a small pool of blood, looking terrified in the corner of the dreary room. The smoke and dust starts to settle, as three more Custodian rebels enter the room. They walk in armed, confused, then shoot dirty looks at Fera in the corner. Camera follows the three rebels as they enter, but then switches between them and Fera

Fera: [voice quivering, escalating fear, breaks the silence]  PLEASE! I’ll tell you everything I know!

Rebel 1: [laughs loudly with the other rebels]           Keeping this one are we?

Elise:    No.

Camera switches to Nicholas’ face to show his anger

Nicholas: [glares at Elise]       Delkanto left me in charge, his fate is mine to choose. Guys, clear this place up. Salvage the Fission Reactors before they degrade.

Rebel 1: [sensing the atmosphere, the three guards stand at attention]      Sir!

Rebel 2: [follows in suit]         Right away!

Two of the guards set to work on the ticking machines scattered around the room, whilst the other starts clearing up the paper, pinning what could be salvaged onto a wall. Camera in corner, as the rebels set to work, then change back to a shot of the main three charecters

Elise: [now not whispering]    I can’t believe this.

Nicholas: [Raising voice, displaying outright authority]         Enough! Elise, I know what I am doing. Go and find any medic that can be spared, and bring down some charts.

Elise:    Bu-

Nicholas:         NOW!

Elise tuts, flicks her hair and starts to walk towards the stairwell with anger. She barges past one of the Rebels clearing up, making him drop all of the papers in his hand. He back with annoyance, before bending over to pick up the papers.

Rebel 3: [smirking]     She’s awfully feisty today.

Nicholas: [matching the now humorous atmosphere, but still on edge]       You know what she’s like. Ever since Master Delkanto was murdered she has never been the same. She said last week, “none will live whilst I’m still breathing”. Probably why she is so annoyed now. [Turns attention towards Fera, who is only half conscious] Hey! Stay awake, we’re getting help.

Fera: [breathless, barely moving, raises arm to thank]         Th-Than-

Fera passes out before finishing. The medic walks down the stairs alone with the empty charts, as Nicholas points out Fera. The medic hesitates, but then hands the charts towards Nicholas and starts treating Fera. Camera follows the medic through the room, before fading out as the scene ends

*End of cut scene*

{GAMEPLAY: Player walks around village, which is damaged from the recent attack. Allows player to explore, but displays main quest marker as the Medical Centre. Side quests include helping people around the camp, such as picking up heavy items for elderly, and checking at Elise’s house whom doesn’t answer. Both of these give you more credibility points. You go to the Medical Centre, to see the doctor outside waiting for you}

*Start of cut scene*

Camera follows Nicholas as he shakes Dr Briggsley’s hand

Nicholas: [Smiling, shakes doctors hand]       Doctor Briggsley! Long-time no see. Where have you been?

Briggsley: [returns smile, seems very happy]                        Nicko! Oh I know, I got deployed with the front line infiltrating the base. You’re female friend has quite the attitude, doesn’t she!

Nicholas: [Laughing]       She means no harm! How is our infamous patient?

Briggsley: [attitude drops, looks more unhappy]       Drawing some attention to put it lightly. Let’s go inside, I’ll explain on the way.

They walk through the doors, entering down a long corridor. Briggsley picks up some charts off a wall, before turning down another corridor. The Medical Centre was very clean and tidy, but yet still had an out of date feel to it. They get to a lift, and press the button to wait. Camera constantly following the two from infront

Briggsley: [now talking formally]       Yes, our patient has taken massive shock to his neural pathways, and his 13^th and 14^th vertebrae have been fused. His abdomen has been patched up, and a few of his vital organs still have shrapnel in. If I may say, he is lucky to be alive. He has a strong determination to stay alive.

Nicholas: [smirking]    What’s all that damage in English Doc? Will he be alright?

Briggsley: [sighs, takes off glasses]    He got shot. His intestines are full of metal, and his spine is damaged, he many never walk. I’ve stitched him up for now, and he will be alright if he stays determined to live.

Nicholas: [Chuckles, patting Briggsley on the back] Well wasn’t that easier?

Briggsley: [Looks up towards Nicholas]          Well for a cretin like you maybe.

The two share a laugh. They walk into the lift, which closes and creaks as it slowly rises. Steam pistons flare as the lift moves.

Nicholas: [now more serious]             So how was it on the front line?

Briggsley: [short pause, keeps positive manner]       Well, unpleasant to put nicely. I know being a doctor means seeing death, but the weapons the Sovereign and Livian Guards use are disgusting. Energy cannons they call them. I was sent to study them, my team and I figured they are biologically tailored. Each one as the pulse hits instantly registers itself to our own DNA, then demolecularises our cells causing a denaturalizing chain reaction. [Notices Nicholas getting lost in context] Or in English, it blows up your cells.

Nicholas: [Looking unpleasant]           Yes, I have seen the damage they can do.

Briggsley:        Hmm, it’s not very nice is it?

They exit the lift and walk in silence towards Fera’s door. The experience of the battles they have fought has changed their attitude. They enter the room to see Fera sitting up in his bed. With a nod from Nicholas, Briggsley leaves the room. Nicholas approaches the side of the bed. The room is small; with the window open letting light in. A machine is the corner is beeping quietly, but everything else is silent. Camera follows up Fera showing his damaged body, before turning  to see Nicholas walk into the door. It then focusses on the two from the end of the bed

Nicholas: [Talking with a calm tone, but dominance]            So, tell me your story. I want to know everything.

Fera: [Nods, and talks quietly with a sense of exhaustion]    I come from the world, Syndraahhae. It is under control by the people you call the Sovereign. They dictate life in every quadran-

Nicholas: [Confused]   Wait, you mean you’re not from here?

Fera: [Looks up with half a surprised face, but talks quietly]                        No. It is in quadrant 17, in the Vectorus Cluster. We were too, invaded by the Livians almost three hundred years ago. Our planet has been used as a military base. Anyone lucky enough not to be chosen to fight works in the mines. I got taken eight weeks ago from my home, branded with these marks, and shoved on a ship. Next thing I know, everything is shaking and we are entering this, this rift. As soon as we entered, we were here. The guards pushed me out of the ship with the rest, outside this town’s front gate, and told me to kill everyone. I followed along, but never shot one round. One of your snipers hit me in the stomach, so I hid in the basement. And here we are now.

There is a pause, as Nicholas tries to comprehend what he has just been told.

Nicholas: [Even more confused]         Wait, I’m still confused. Another world? What there is more than just this one?

Fera: [laughs, but then curls in pain clutching his stomach]              Are you serious? This is Quadrant 412, and last time I checked there were over 480. [Still noticing the confusion] A quadrant is a sector of the universe in which the Livians have found a form of life.

Nicholas:         We were never taught anything about other planets.

Fera: [displaying a sense of hatred]   Of course not! You only know what they want  you to know.

Nicholas: [feeling slightly fearful]      OK. And what is this rift? Do you mean the black storm?

Fera: [looking around the room]        Call it what you like, no-one knows what it is or how it works. Basically, it opens at two points of the Universe, and then a ship warps through one side and gets to the other. Get it?

Nicholas: [seeming more reassured]             I guess. But my people still won’t take a simple explanation as your alibi. The Livian and Sovereigns have been murdering us for years, hatred is in their blood - and you [points to the marks] wear there marks, intentionally or not.

Fera: [looking shocked once more]    I’ll prove myself, anyway I can.

*End of cut scene*