These images use light to accompany the quality and detail of the image, and here is why.
Castle Brenenburg from Amnesia. The lighting works so well in this image because of the dominance the interior lights of the castle has over the moonlit trees on the outside. Even though the trees make up most of this image the castle is still the most noticeable piece due to the use of lighting.
The use of light in this image is effective as the rest of the room is extremely dimly lit. This allows the significant parts of the imagine I.e the pillars in the background and the stairs in the middle to stand out above the rest of the image.
This image also appears the be using the Pentagram composition.
Although there is a lot of light in this image, there are still areas that stand out because of it. The silhouettes of the dinosaurs are brought out a lot more due to them being in front of the white light as opposed to the yellow light to the left. this also allows for the vertigo of the image to shine somewhat.
This imagine is also using the L shape composition, judging by the shape and angle on the central platform.
This Blog Will focus on My section of what i present in terms of Creating a Coherent world. As the game i'm designing is a Survival Horror i will be exploring all the different uses and techniques of making a game world complete, and how that translates into the horror genre.
Narrative:
Needless to say every game needs to have some sort of a narrative to keep the story or plot going. There always has to be some sort of objective set or goal to be achieved and the best way to get that message across to a player is via narrative. However all Genres achieve this in different ways to keep the game consistent. For example in a shooting game for the most part an objective will be set via a radio etc. From my own personal experience the horror genre uses narrative in many different ways. Especially as some games have you with someone throughout, some games have you completely on your own, Some games have you on your own with the assistance of another character in cutscenes etc. So each individual game has to use narrative in a different way to keep the game consistent.
A game like resident evil for example uses the player as the main body of the narrative. Although this sounds strange at first the player is constantly involved with the environment they're in. As resident evil focuses so much on examining items or rooms to find clues or keys nearly everything is read in the players head. Especially as many objects in the game are selectable to read about. It is arguable for this reason that because the player reads so many of these journals or diaries in their own mind that they themselves are the driving narrative. the story unfolds based on their own decisions based on the information they've been given.
However games like deadspace are more simplistic with narrative. Whenever something important happens the player is essentially instructed to go there by one of the characters in the story. As you're part of a team this makes sense, matching keeping the game consistent as stated before.
A game like resident evil does a superb job of making the player have the chance to make their own decisions yet at the same time making them follow the flow the developers intended. By this i mean that the mansion seems vast but due to the large amount of locked doors within the mansion the player still has to follow the games set of rules. Journals and notes can be read to help the player figure out where to go but none of them are as simple as "the key is here, go there" they merely hint where to go and the player decides to go from there. Following the flow of the game as intended yet at the same time the player feels like they found this area themselves.
Making a believable world
The most important thing in a horror game is to immerse the player, Once they feel involved in their environment they can then proceed to feel the fear or whatever other feeling you desire. the best way to achieve this is to make sure that the player believes that the world they are taking part in is genuine.
For example a game such as grand theft auto can snare the player in easily due to how complete the environment is. The entire game has it's own system, people go about their daily business. You have homeless people, people selling hotdogs on the side of the road, people directing traffic. Everything works so realistically the player feels like this world is genuine. For this reason the game itself can be made a lot more enjoyable. However the repercussions of this can cause a lot of controversy with other forms of media. Due to the sheer realism games like grand theft auto try to replicate mean that people can single them out and slam them as being bad for you morally. That doing these events in game can cause you to do these actions in the real world. They argue that these games are so real that if there were to be a case when a child or teenager went on a crime spree and it turned out they were a fan of the franchise that the game would instantly be to blame.
In terms of the Horror genre making a believable world is extremely important. Moving back to resident evil, this is a game that manages to really capture what a horror environment needs to have. I personally feel like the world is so believable because you are fully aware of the mansions history, before the viral outbreak that took place, normal scientists lived there. The player finds diaries and other forms of notes that simply state what workers had done with their day. The player eventually finds a set of journals that begin as the doings of a regular man and his friends until a few pages later he becomes infected more and more as the pages go on. Eventually the spelling is slurred, the punctuation is unclear and the entire thing ends abruptly. Little details like this really help to make the player feel immersed.
The game has it's own set of rules to disposing with the zombies. To either set them on fire or to destroy the head. At first the player doesn't feel that's the case because if you damage them enough they fall down. However if you fail to follow the advice the game gives you the enemies proceed to stand up again later, being more powerful than they originally were. This is quite reminiscent of many zombie films i feel. which is another reason the player may feel more involved with the environment, because scenarios like that had been seen before the player can instantly identify with it.
Character
This is a subject i am torn between in games. I would say this is dependent on genre however i don't think this is the case. Characters are absolutely vital to creating a game world. Without characters the world is stale and not believable at all. The characters must also be believable in terms of design, who they are, what their history is, even down to the voice acting. If a character has a really bad voice actor (such as the infamous voice acting in the original resident evil) the game becomes hard to relate with. I personally found this as a child, because the voices the characters had were so bad i found it hard to like these characters, in turn i also found it hard to get into the mindset of the character i was playing as.
On the flip side, Not every game needs to have a preset character to play as to make a world work. Certain games like The elder scrolls Skyrim that allow you to completely create your own character and then the story is based around what you choose to do makes for an equally immersive experience. Being given the opportunity to make your ideal character based on what your mindset for what you want to do in a game like skyrim is what makes it so popular. In many ways the game unfolds the way you want it to. You never need to do a single task you don't want to do. Being given the freedom to do completely what you want also helps to make a game immersive.
Vladimir Propp (1895-1970)
His work is very influential to the world of narrative. Publishing a book named "Morphology of the folktale" which was first published in 1928 but was made famous and even more influential in 1958 when it was translated into English.
He makes a very interesting point that simply changing the slightest of details can change or alter an individuals view on a story, whether this is theme or context. The statement goes as follows.
1. A tsar gives an eagle to a hero. The eagle carries the hero away to another
kingdom.
2. An old man gives Sucenko a horse. The horse carries Sucenko away to
another kingdom.
3. A sorcerer gives Ivan a little boat. The boat takes Ivan to another kingdom.
4. A princess gives Ivan a ring. Young men appearing from out of the ring
carry
Ivan away into another kingdom
The action nor the function change, Ivan is still being given an object, and he is still being taken to another kingdom. However by slightly changing the names and the objects the reader or viewer is more likely to relate to something in particular.
Conclusion
To conclude on the matter. I feel that making a world that is believable is the most important thing to have with your game or film. So long as the viewer/player can believe or relate to the world they are engaged in they can then move on to feel what you want them to feel.
Making a successful Horror game is very similar. Although in my opinion depending on what style of horror the game is the narrative or the world itself may need to be altered slightly in terms of details. Environments or characters have to be tweaked to keep the game scary but don't change so much it feels like a different style of game altogether.
Original story for Mystery House: The game starts near an abandoned Victorian mansion. The player is soon locked inside the house with no other option other than to explore. The mansion contains many interesting rooms and seven other people: Tom, a plumber; Sam, a mechanic; Sally, a seamstress; Dr Green, a surgeon; Joe, a gravedigger; Bill, a butcher; and Daisy, a cook.
Initially, the player has to search the house in order to find a hidden cache of jewels. However, terrible events start happening and dead bodies (of the other people begin appearing. It becomes obvious that there is a murderer on the loose in the house, and the player must discover who it is or become the next victim
My thoughts on Mystery House:
After playing Mystery House i can understand why it was such a huge hit, Although the graphics were the definition of primitive i did feel like i was in this world that Agatha Christie had created. I'm aware the system was very limited but i did find the use of word commands to be irritating sometimes, a task as simple as running a tap and fill a pitcher with water was pointlessly difficult as you had to input the precise word combination such as "run water" and "get water" saying things like "run tap" didn't work which took the believability out somewhat.
When finding out about what mystery house was i knew from the start i wanted to take the scenario of 7 people (not necessarily people) in a building and take it from there, here are the genres i could get from this setup.
Horror
Mystery
adventure
sidescroller
point and click
3rd person shooter
1st person puzzle
text driven
Brainstorming:
A 2d arcade style sidescroller taking place in a blank mansion, Instead of there being 7 people in the mansion the building holds 7 ghosts all with a different backstory/personality, there would be 7 worlds/stages and each time you progress onto another ghost the mansions layout, style and shape changes depending on the personality of the ghost you're up against for example. A ghost could be psychotic therefore the mansion is more of a crazy looking tim burton style mansion with a lot of crazy enemies or obstacles in your way etc, The game would play like a standard sidescroller at heart, avoiding obstacles and killing enemies by jumping over them or with a weapon your character has equipped. You could perhaps have a different weapon depending on what stage of the mansion you're in or what ghost is after you.
A 1st or 3rd person horror taking place in an old manor, could be set in the regal days or could be set in a more modern setting but have the same regal feel to it due to the layout of the manor. The game could follow a treasure you're after within the manor and you're chased by 7 different monsters throughout the game, the monsters would be 7 guests who previously searched for said treasure for their own selfish reasons. The treasure (or manor, or force within the manor) had changed them into hideous versions of themselves, their appearance being a metaphor for the reason they wanted the treasure in the first place. The monsters would be chasing and hunting you because you too are after this treasure and the monsters have this false hope that if they eliminated you and found the treasure themselves they'd be changed back. You would have to navigate this manor solving puzzles and unlocking certain areas as you went along, each new area would unlock a new monster for you to evade.
A difficulty i think i'll find in this project is that i don't know what sort of 3d stuff i can do here, I could make some furniture to go with my second idea but part of me wants to stay away from horror as it's the obvious choice. That said i feel the second idea really has potential to be developed.
I also wasn't sure if i wanted to go with a run of the mill house/mansion for the game to be set in, again it seems too easy, too predictable so i thought i should research some other buildings too that could perhaps work the same way.
Games/Films that have inspired my design and choice:
Potential Buildings for Mystery House:
Mansion
Games like Resident Evil and Alone in the dark have proved that mansions and video games can be scary and successful, however the main reason i want to steer clear of these is because they've already been done before and there isn't much i can do in terms of creativity that'll really take anyone by surprise. That said i have some ideas but at the moment they're not particularly strong enough to justify going with the generic option.
Castle
A castle could be a good setting to hold a game like this in, The areas are many, you can go from small areas to large open spaces very quickly and you have a lot of old architectural objects to work with. However with the recent mass success of indie horror game "Amnesia, The Dark Descent" i believe it may be too soon to go for a layout like this, unless i either change the time period or i change the country the castle is located to make sure the layout and environments are completely different. The problem with that is i may need to come up with some area specific Ghosts/Monsters depending on what country you're in, On the other hand i could have the enemies having traveled in from all over the world which could be interesting. I will need to make my mind up before i consider using a castle.
A Hotel
A hotel would be a good way of explaining why all the monsters are there in the first place, however i don't think i like the idea of using a hotel too much mainly due to it's construction. In comparison to other buildings i could use a hotel feels less interesting. I could always have the game also taking place outside the hotel but i don't think i'd want to give the player much room to breathe in my game, The outside of a hotel could be a bit too open for what i'm looking for. Unless i hold the hotel in the middle of the woods or something.
Church
At first i wanted to set the game in some sort of church/religious building because of the way it looks, the statues and stained glass would work really well, However i don't think i would want religion/cult ideas to have much to do with my game so although it's tempting to use a church to hold the game in i think i'll stay clear, i think the furthest i'd go is to have a religious monster.
Theater
Setting the entire game around a performing arts theater would be interesting, I could go with some interesting characters who want to get somewhere in their acting career however i think i want to have a more vast variety of monsters after you, I could always have some of them as guests but a certain object or a treasure may be hard to fill into a theater. Unless i research old style theaters and look at how they're built.
Cruise ship
I really like the idea of using a cruise ship as the setting of my game, It would make sense as to why so many different characters are there, it makes sense that theres something within the ship everyone is there for and it would be set in the middle of the ocean so if i wanted to i could take it anywhere. My only problem is that a cruise ship may be hard to give variety to, a really important thing with horror i find is to keep it fresh throughout the game. As the player will be look at similar environments trying to fix puzzles the player wil need to have fresh new areas to look at. It would be difficult to keep things looking new in a cruiseship for the most part.
Cathedral
I like the idea of a cathedral being a form of community area, If i ever went with a cathedral it has this really old style architecture yet at the same time it's not just one building. It's a collection of buildings all of which could be designed differently depending on what monster is chasing you. But the same problem i have with churches remains here, I wouldn't want my game to be too religion based and if i went with a cathedral it's somewhat inevitable.
I was browsing the internet for research and i came across this, i think this style of dilapidated outhouses would be quite effective in my game for other areas to explore.
Not necessarily the same buildings but if there are other buildings within the game like a greenhouse or outhouse this style would be the most effective.
Potential castle designs:
http://www.guide-to-castles-of-europe.com/english-castles.html Useful site with lists of castles throughout Europe, i'm going to pick out a select few from each country and decide which layout i like the most or feel would be the most effective for the game i want.
English castles
Warwick Castle
Anglo Saxon. "can boast a truly gruesome past. It has witnessed murder and violence, suffered attack, experienced wars, and been involved in royal and political treachery." A castle that was once dilapidated but was then revived into a luxurious palace, This could work well in my game if i were to set it in a castle that was half way through being renovated but was ceased for whatever reason, I could have some areas as being beautiful to look at and other areas being worn and dark.
Bodiam Castle
"Bodiam Castle was constructed in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge (a veteran of the wars with France) after receiving permission from the king. As well as constructing the castle, Sir Edward also built an oversized moat, a mill and millpond that were located next to the river, near the harbour." I picked this castle due to it being located near a harbour, due to this i love how the entire castle is surrounded by water, If i were to use an idea like this it could help the player feel isolated knowing that escape would be next to impossible.
Italian Castles:
Lari Castle
"The castle became the property of the Archbishops of Pisa during the 12th century and by 1230 the Upezzinghi family who originated from Pisa used Lari as their home." Personally i think this type of castle wouldn't work for horror, i like how it's situated right in the middle of a city but that may make the layout difficult to create, feeling isolated would also be hard as there isn't much of a barrier between the castle and the main city.
German castles:
Neuschwanstein Castle
Not much behind this castle from what i've read, It was mainly a king who wanted to create an extravagant castle For himself. "Christian Jank, the scenery designer at the Court Theatre, painted the designs for the castle, and these initial designs were then translated into architectural plans by Eduard Riedel." I used this in my research as it looks like such an interesting building. The height of it, the fact that it's surrounded in forest and water which again could be turned into horror. I may use some of the architecture here in my own design.
Plot:
After researching mythical items throughout history i found one in particular which would tie in nicely with the plot of my game and would somewhat stay true to the original story of jewels.
Andvarinaut or "Andvaris Gift" was a ring created By Andavri is a magical ring capable of producing gold, A god named Loki tricked Andavri into giving the ring to him and in revenge it was cursed to bring destruction to whoever possessed it.
This ring was known within the Norse Mythology and ties in with German myths. This is Why i think it will go with my games story well for the following reasons.
The country and object within the myth are the same
Norse Mythology could lead for some interesting enemy designs or decorations
The ring produces gold which would tie in with an old time period as gold is considered the worlds most valuable resource
The monsters were once greedy humans, which would make the idea of them going after a ring that produces gold work nicely together with their personalities.
In the original Mystery House not only are you trying to find the killer but you are also searching for jewels, as everyone else in the house is as well, a ring would make sense in the re imagined version.
While listening to music to inspire me or perhaps help me to come up with ideas i stumbled upon the resident evil OST from the gamecube. This style of ambient music creating a claustrophobic atmosphere is something i would want to create in mystery house.
What my game is about:
Genre
Survival horror/3rd person
Location
A half regal, half dilapidated castle within the woods of Germany, surrounded by a large moat. The castle was half way being renovated but the owner and the workers mysteriously died.
Plot
In Norse Mythology there was a ring named Andvarinaut, It was said to produce gold but was cursed to "destroy whoever possessed it" The ring has been rumored to be situated in an abandoned castle within a dark forest in Germany.
The player explores this castle in search for Advarinaut, you must survive being hunted by 7 different monsters, all with a different personality and means of hunting you. Puzzle solving and following diary entrants, journals and notes to navigate the depths of the castle but be careful where you tread, You may fall victim to a trap if you trust false information. The outcome of the game will change depending on the personality of the player and the choices you make, If you act selfishly you may pay for these actions later.
the game will take you all over the castle grounds, The challenge is not to find the ring, but to leave with Advarinaut alive.
Monsters
the creatures hunting you were once human, However these people were wicked and wanted the ring for their own selfish reasons. Once they fell victim they were turned inside out . Matching their dark desires and ugliness of their needs with their physical appearance.
These creatures now hunt new explorers with the vein hope of being revitalized if they prove successful.
I decided the put regular enemies in the game to make sure the player would still have fun throughout the game. It's true that being scared is part of the fun and that hasn't been lost. However to keep the player on their feet with more enemies the player would feel more insecure.
They would attack you like zombies, not knowing fully what they're doing and attacking you in a slow mindless manor. Here is a photoshopped sketch of what the regular enemies look like.
In terms of story the regular enemies could be normal people. Travelers or explorers searching for Andvarinaut but fell victim to the dangers within the castle. Now they wander the castle walls without objective. Their only instinct to destroy unsuspecting wanderers.
The protagonist i decided should be a male during the war. He would have abandoned his unit in Germany to go off on his own to search for this castle for a reason of his own. As the game would progress and the player made certain decisions this reason would change.
In terms of architecture i did a number of castle designs using autodesk sketchbook pro.
I wanted to stick to the theme of the castles having long pointy towers as most castles in Germany seem to have them. Although some of them didn't look european enough and some of them looked too round to be considered threatening i narrowed my designs down to the sketches that had long straight lines.
After taking the castle i liked the look of i did some closer touchups in sketchbook pro and then brought it into photoshop for colouring.
In terms of interior i decided the castle should have a large amount of viking style ornaments. Such as armour, weaponry, tables etc as the original owner was a collector of sorts. This could make for some interesting design choices in terms of furniture etc. From there i decided to sketch some gargoyle designs.
From there i repeated the castle process of touching up in sketchbook and adding texture/coloring in photoshop.
For the purpose of the design document i did an environment sketch for the room which holds Andvarinaut. A number of potential statues/holders for this ring were sketched in sketchbook pro and the final one of choice was taken into photoshop. Using Maya for shape reference i then sketched this environment up.
Further environment art was then sketched up and then touched up in photoshop.
I want this game to be heavily focused on close in, one to one horror. Images like this represent how i want the player to feel this impending danger that is always close to them. This a reason i included a Threat indicator in the game mechanics. Although it's helpful to hear how close an enemy is to you this also increases the tension and adds to the horror.
The threat indicator is a tool within the game that allows the player to know how close an enemy is to them. This is represented as a heartbeat sound that increases in speed the closer you are to danger. This is a useful tool, However some enemies within the game don't have a heart rate to track. Again adding to the horror yet being useful at the same time.
the significant enemies stated earlier have their own personalities and are a solid set of characters within the game. They control the story elements and direct where the player is to go next. This could mean the player is chased into certain areas, hinted in the forms of journals where to go or simply by being lead there via item pickups. I want the characters to be really in your face in forms of personality. For example the Gemini Killer in The exorcist III, A strong villain, a loud booming poetic voice yet at the same time being absolutely terrifying
I took the design of the finished castle and decided to make it in 3d. Unfortunately due to time reasons i didn't have time to texture it or add any form or sculpting elements to it. In futire projects i would certainly like to give myself more time to do these things.
Instead for the purpose of presentation i gave the castle an ambient occlusion map instead.
This is not what the final castle would look like in 3d, of course it would have much more of a dark brick set look to it. This is to show roughly what the shape would be like.
In terms of reflective Journal i would have liked to have set myself more time to do all of my work, I feel like if i'd have managed my time more productively i would have a more complete document or just work in general. For this reason i seriously plan to spend more lab time on the next unit. As a 3d based person i hope to do more 3d in terms of final work next time also. Although i'm happy with the 2d work i produced i feel like i should have more 3d stuff to show for submission, I would like to try and use programs like zbrush to add normal maps and texture to my future models and make them game engine ready.
