DESIGN:
Moodboards can also be found in: Research>Game Theme
I will be designing concepts for the following:
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Character Concept
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Environment
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UI/HUD
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Logo
CHARACTER CONCEPTS:
Inspiration Moodboard: https://pin.it/3wJeDSk
CHARACTER SILHOUETTES: (CREW)
COLOUR SCHEME
HELMET & GLOVE SILHOUETTES:
CHARACTER CONCEPT
This design represents one of the Crew on board the spacecraft.
This is the crew member (one out of two) that will communicate with the player.
I have designed his jumpsuit using my desired colour scheme and influenced by my inspiration mood-board.
The orange jumpsuit stands out against the interior of the spacecraft and differentiates the Crew from the Pilot Astronaut. (Normally wears white spacesuit)
CHARACTER CONCEPT
The main player will have a view of their space gloves, however during the Spacewalk stage of the experience, players must attach a tether to their spacesuit to ensure their safety. Their spacesuit will be white and of a similar style to this Crew jumpsuit.
ENVIRONMENT DESIGN:
Inspiration Moodboard: https://pin.it/zuBgNGQ
BLENDER PROCESS CAN BE FOUND IN:
OUTER SPACE ENVIRONMENT & ASTEROIDS
COLOUR & COMPOSITION
These are my concept designs for the asteroids and the space environment.
I used Blender to 3D model the asteroids and photoshop to create the starry backdrop.
I experimented with variations of light to establish which one best fit the theme of my game and I felt that the second one did this best. During gameplay this is how the environment will appear to players behind the control panel. The asteroids will be placed in different positionings and will travel towards them at increasing speed.
The use of light is extremely important within my environment. During my research I discovered that asteroids orbit around the sun, meaning there is a lot of light. I attempted to portray this by adjusting the light source in Blender until I was happy.
The asteroids will appear in different shapes and sizes to represent them truly as I would like to include as many realistic elements of Space as possible.
My next stages of development are to animate the asteroids in order to appear like they are travelling towards the player. This will be used as a prototype for my game which I will evaluate, and can also be found in:
FLYING ASTEROIDS
This Blender Animation represents how the asteroids will appear travelling towards the players spacecraft during the experience. I was unable to render the animation in Blender due to issues with the software however I did capture a screen recording to clearly portray my intentions.
(I have uploaded the Blender file to the Upload section in Teams).
PROJECTILES INSPIRATION-MOODBOARD:
This moodboard represents how I would like the projectiles to appear once fired by players.
I documented the sound of a firing/travelling projectile as well as the impact it will make when it comes into contact with an asteroid here:
This can also be found in my Sound and Haptic Feedback section within my GDD.
SPACECRAFT INTERIOR
TEXTURES & COLOUR SCHEMES EXPERIMENTS
Inspiration Moodboard: https://pin.it/1ANaqRC
ART STYLE
I have created a moodboard of my desired art style.
I intend for the environment to be quite dim and it's main light source being the outside view (sun) and luminous lighting around the spacecraft. (Luminous edges, Neon Glow)
I am going for a futuristic sci-fi theme combined with authentic spacecraft functions. In order to do this, I would like the environment to correspond with this colour scheme:
CREATING MY OWN TEXTURES
Using illustrator I created some textures using my basic colour scheme (Shades of black) to achieve a futuristic theme/art style. For example the control panel will consist of luminous edges and buttons. The design will be minimalist but should still appeal to players.
In illustrator I used the Outer Glow effect to stylize the futuristic sci-fi-inspired edges.
INTERIOR ASSETS
INTERIOR DESIGN:
Visually I would like my game to consist of cool tones and illuminous features. As seen above, the interior will be designed according to my desired colour scheme. (Blacks, Greys, Whites and illuminous Blues, Pinks and Purples) - giving the environment a futuristic space vibe. I have also used a "Hard Outer Glow" on my texture designs to achieve this.
The assets such as airlock doors should also correspond with this theme. I have created a simplistic airlock door made up of mostly geometric shapes and grey tones.
The style of my game is inspired by research into current spacecraft interior, and attempting to make it more futuristic, modern and more appealing to the eye! This means players will be in awe of their environment and it fascinate them. (Links to Lens of Beauty which can be found in: Workshops>Refining the Experience)
CONTROL PANEL
CONTROLS
I sketched out the suitable controls for the control panel and used the same colour scheme from my inspiration mood-board.
COCK-PIT CONCEPT
I sketched different cockpit appearances and evaluated the accessibility of controls and ease of interactions.
DESIGN CONCEPT
I created this design concept of a control panel using my desired colour scheme and art style.
FINAL FLIGHT DECK CONCEPT:
UI / HUD
Inspiration Moodboard: https://pin.it/24DgPuU
UI - Damage Bar
How do players know when they've taken damage or when they have taken maximum damage?
Using my moodboard inspiration, I designed a variety of UI options to represent how much damage has been caused to the spacecraft after coming into contact with an asteroid.
When an asteroid hits, this will cause 10% damage to the spacecraft. You will be able to take 10 hits until you have caused 100% damage and therefore will restart the game.
Repairs can fix the damage by 20%.
The style of UI/HUD will correspond with the art style of the environment and spacecraft interior. I chose red to represent Danger, and to stand out against the dark/illuminous interior. Using bars is a much easier way to show the increase in damage rather than using a loading bar.
MENU & LEADERBOARD
I designed the Menu and Leaderboard to fit the theme of the game. I used the same colour schemes for each asset design in order to keep the same art style throughout.
The environment will be fairly minimalist so it does not distract from the intense and complex gameplay. I represented this through a simple Menu and Leaderboard Design.
The Menu consists of a "Launch" button which players will be able to press to begin the game. This hints the kind of gameplay within the experience. (Buttons and controls used)
LEADERBOARD
The leaderboard will consist of three sections:
Place - Place determines how well you have done against other people, this enables Players to challenge and compete with their friends and can see this through the Oculus App.
Time - This is the overall length of your journey. Players aim to last as long as they can.
Rating - This is your experience rating out of three stars. This is essentially the vote given you by the Crew. The rating result is the result of how many times the Green reassurance button was pressed and if players responded to Crew each time they tried to communicate through the Radio.
DEVELOPED DESIGN
I developed the appearance of the design to have a 360 degree Space backdrop with the UI Display overlay.
I combined the art style of my Dialogue UI (Found below) with the Menu/Leaderboard design to keep the art style and theme consistent.
DIALOGUE ENCOUNTER RESPONSES
DESIGN:
I used my inspiration mood-board to create my own dialogue response boxes which players can select on screen. I used my colour and texture scheme to develop a design that stood out against the interior and was easy for players to read.
DIALOGUE ENCOUNTER RESPONSES
These are response examples in which players can choose from to progress with discussion.
FIRST GAME WALKTHROUGH - GUIDANCE
These are shown during the players first walkthrough of the game. They will briefly explain each function of the control panel and other functions around the spacecraft as they interact with them.
I made a prototype using this design which can be found in: Development>Prototyping.
LOGO DESIGN
Logo Workshop can be found here: Workshops>Logos
In order to design my game logo I firstly began my mind-mapping keywords related to my game and those that seemed most prominent.
My favourite keywords from this brainstorm were:
Tense
Focus
Mind
Control
Outer-Space
Exploration
Fast-pace
Movement
These are all different elements of my game and also tie in with the purpose of the experience - to give individuals another focus, a method of distraction and escapism.
I then took these keywords and attempted to create combinations of my favourite words.
I was leaning more towards titles that expressed the purpose of the game rather than what's involved in gameplay.
I chose my three favourite game names and created a survey in order to gather other opinions.
Outer Mind - Represents the environment being in outer space, as well as using Virtual Reality to transport players to a fantasy environment. Taking their mind elsewhere.
Outer-Control - This again represents the space theme/environment. However I like this name as its a play on words. Players will get to a point where they are 'out of control' due to the fast-pace multitasking required. Players are out of control in Outer Space!
Mind-Space - This experience gives players the opportunity to take their minds elsewhere - play on words (mindset, headspace, mindspace). This also relates to the theme of the game and hints at the environment players will be interacting with.
SURVEY RESULTS CAN BE FOUND IN: Research > Surveys
EXISTING GAME LOGO MOODBOARDS
I created a mood-board of game logos with a similar theme to my own. They mostly consist of a combination of pictorial logo types and wordmarks.
The most consistent colours used are Navy blues, blacks, greys and purples. These represent the Space theme well and from the logo you can instantly tell what kind of experience the game is offering.
For my logo I intend to use a similar colour scheme but It should be kept minimalist in order to correspond with the games art style and graphics.
In order to design my logo I will be experimenting with different fonts and sketching a potential game logo.
SURVEY RESULTS: OUTER MIND!
As well as this, the name stuck with me the most because it reminds me of my essential experience and also links with the gameplay through a play on words!
FONT GENERATOR
LOGO IDEAS - BRAINSTORM!
I brainstormed potential logo ideas using my mood-board and existing logos as inspiration.
I used the pictorial image of a Space Helmet to capture the main theme of the game and began to experiment with different fonts.
I felt that this font worked well with the Helmet idea and also represented my game well. I want people to recognise the logo and have a brief understanding of the tone of the game.
This font gives me the impression that gameplay is quite serious due to the rigid font. This font is also quite modern, representing the futuristic theme perfectly.
I then experimented with the composition of my logo.
I wanted 'Outer' to appear as if the letters were floating, ideally representing the effect of microgravity and how players will be able to do this within the experience.
The word 'Mind' was placed within the helmet to symbolise the essence of my essential experience - providing players with a way to escape their reality, focusing their mind on other matters and spending time away from whatever they might be feeling anxious or worried about.
COLOUR & COMPOSITION
I began experimenting with colours and composition in order to achieve an effective logo.
I showed my logo ideas to family and friends and my final logo result had the most attention.
The colours used represent the art style within the game and my chosen composition is a result of my experimentation above.
I like the simplicity of the logo because it doesn't give away the type of interaction in this environment, although the font and pictorial image hints at what kind of experience it is.
THE FINAL LOGO:
