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I introduced the concept of what I want to do in my research proposal, but I would like to take a bit of time to define exactly what it is I want to create. This important, since there are a lot of different aspects to this project.
Foremostly, there are two primary genres I would like to focus my attention on in my research and intentions; those are sci-fi and cosmic horror. I don't know whether this game will be open-world, level-based, or some form of platformer, but I'm leaning towards open-world since that would be more fun. Firstly, the video game I will be creating concepts for will be set on an alien planet, and the character you play is a human attempting to leave — while this does make it conceptually a sci-fi game, I will also be looking a lot into fantasy for my research, as I would like this world to have fantastical elements to it that you find in a lot of fantasy worlds. This world will be inhabited by alien animals, plants, and perhaps even a culture of sentient peoples (or a long-dead civilization hiding beneath the surface?)
This alien world allows me to unleash the full extent of my imagination and creativity, and to create my own beautiful environments and ecosystems, with thought-out biology, interesting designs, and awesome scenes.
Example sci-fi concept art created by Adobe Firefly
Example cosmic horror/sci-fi concept art created by Adobe Firefly
The other genre I will be focussing on is cosmic horror — this might seem like something out of place when compared to the other genre of sci-fi/fantasy, but it's a genre I personally am very interested in, and so I thought it would be cool to mix the two in unexpected ways.
The genre of cosmic horror is often combined with sci-fi settings, as the two sort of go hand-in-hand. There is a lot of temptation, when faced with a fantasy-esc alien world, to make it all whimsy and cuddly animals, however I don't want to do this for this project concept. I think it could be quite fun to make it seem like a fun, light-hearted game at the beginning, and then as you get further in you discover more and more of the horrors. I would love to play around with the idea of "things man can never comprehend", and how that feeds into the terror of finding something you were never meant to see. Enemies can attack in completely unpredictable ways not seen in any earthly animals, and any civilizations that have come before have unusual rites and religions, and interesting ways of communicating with their world.
By combining these two genres, I hope to create a sort of “uncanny valley” effect where everything seems normal and friendly but hides the truly horrific nature of their world, which the player will get to discover as they progress.
Examples of concept art and sketches created by Adobe Firefly
This project will be one of the most ambitious I have ever taken on — this is most just due to its sheer amount of different aspects. The combination of several genres (as I discuss in my research proposal) will pose a challenge and provide me with many different areas to research. I will go into detail about each of the areas of this project individually, and discuss how I plan to go about them.
Research
Research
There are several things that I want to research to inform my final product. I will go into detail where I need to, and while I'll try my best not to ramble, I may end up going off on tangents if something piques my interest. I intend to use a multitude of different resources, including books, articles, official websites, and YouTube videos. Although many of the sources I use in my research may seem unacademic (for example, opinion pieces and fan wikis), I believe that the views and ideas of people without doctorates are just as valid and important as the views and ideas from people's with them, especially when it comes to media. If I have included a link, it is because I think it is influential for my research. With that out of the way, the subpages are as follows:
Worldbuilding in Media — This is a broader page which contains its own subpages, which are listed below:
Subnautica — A deep look into the biomes and creatures of Subnautica, which is a video game I will continuously take inspiration from.
Cameron's Avatae — James Cameron's Avatar (not to be confused with Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I will go into in a different subpage) is also going to be a huge inspiration for the worldbuilding of my game and art.
The Last Airbender — A brief look into how this animated show creates distinct creatures and a rich culture and background by borrowing ideas from the real world.
Tolkien — A brief look into Middle Earth, and how Tolkien built culture and creatures using real-world influences.
Cosmic Horror — Another broader page which goes into two main topics:
Subnautica — Another look into how Subnautica utilises fear of the unknown in its game design
H.P Lovecraft — A deep look into the king of eldritch horror himself, and into all of his various works that I think will apply to my project.
Concept Art — A deep look into concept artists (with an emphasis on the interview I did with Cory Strader), concept art techniques, and maybe a bit of primary research to apply the learned techniques.
Market Research — A brief look into the target audience of this game; a survey of some kind will be sent out to my peers, to gather information on the target demographic.
After this, I will evaluate all my research, and discuss how I plan to utilise what I learned for my production.
Example sketch of architecture created by Adobe Firefly
Example final concept of creature created by Adobe Firefly
Example sketch of creature created by Adobe Firefly
Example final concept of environment created by Adobe Firefly
Production
Production
At the end of the day, my research will be what informs how my production pans out, so it's impossible to be sure at this stage exactly what my final product will look like. At this point, I believe that I will come out with a series of concepts in varying levels of detail and development, down from rough sketches and blocked-out environments, up to fully constructed concept art and prints.
Here are my current planned pages for my production, which will each include their own development process and reasoning:
Plot/Characters
Worldbuilding
Environments
Creatures
Concept Art and Prints
The plot/characters and worldbuilding pages might not be as heavy regarding concept art but will explain the lore of the world and the plot of the game, which will help aid and inform the other subpages. Environments and creatures will both include mostly art and moodboards, and Concept Art and Prints will include a selection of art that is not necessarily narrowed down into either of the other two categories (and may include a mixture of both creatures and environments). This will also be the page where I include a lot of the most developed artwork. I may or may not create a page after these with a selection of the best work, as a thought experiment for what I might show to a game company if I were pitching the idea, and what work I would show them.
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