In this section I will be researching the theme Nautical to get ideas for my project.
I started my research by brainstorming the theme Nautical and things that link to it:
This mind map will be helpful for me to use when I create my level. It will give me a lot of ideas to choose from when creating my assets. A lot of themes to choose from like vikings, pirates and sunken cities.
Vikings – In this mood board I found some good examples of characters and two good examples of 2d games where vikings are used. I particularly like the bottom right picture as it looks a lot like the game “Don’t Starve” with its collage kind of look, where it looks like has been made with pieces of paper, this art-style is interesting and I would like to give it a try at some point.
Pirates – In this mood board I found some examples of some pirate characters, both pixel art and hand-drawn. I can use this board for inspiration if I choose to make a pirate game. I particularly like the bottom right character. As he is really detailed, I don’t think I would make a character like this though, because it looks like it would take a lot of time.
Lost Cities – In this mood board I found some concept art of lost cities. These would be good to use for inspiration for menu backgrounds. I like the bottom left picture as it looks more animated whereas the rest of the photos are more realistic to life.
Underwater/Marine Life – For this mood board I mixed pictures of underwater and marine life. I like the bottom left picture, which is from the game rayman legends. I really like the art style in this picture with the rocks on either side to give it a more 3d look. I am thinking about using this kind of art style in my game.
Sea Mythology – For this mood board I found a series of mythical creatures related to the sea. Like the kraken, Poseidon, mermaids and sea dragons. I think some of these will be interesting to explore in more detail if I decide to use them in my game.
Video Game Genre Mood Boards
Horror – I like this genre as there are a lot of things that you can do with it. You can have jump-scares or you could have psychological horror like sounds that the player cant hear. A good example of psychological horror is a game called “Visage”:
A section in this gameplay (3:20) is a good example of psychological horror. The mirror keeps moving when the player turns away and they keep hearing sounds but they can’t see what they are coming from. Also the way the player can’t run makes it more tense and stressful. I like the idea of implementing this kind of horror into my game. But as I am taking the art pathway.
Adventure – This genre also has a lot of possibilities as there are many settings that can be in an adventure game. Like lost cities, tombs, wild west, fictional worlds, and apocalyptic worlds. This genre would be interesting to explore further but I think that horror is more interesting.
Out of the 2 genres, I have picked Horror.
Horror Focused Research
UI in Horror games – For this mood board I gathered pictures of the menus and HUD in a series of horror games. In the top left is a picture from the game Limbo. I picked this picture as it has no UI at all, this is good for games that aim to look cinematic for the player to feel more immersed. The top right picture is an example of a 2D game menu, the use of abbreviations like SFX and GFX aren’t very clear and I think that it would be clearer if it had pictures like a speaker for sound or even just the word sound and graphics. The bottom right picture is a screenshot of the inventory menu in resident evil 7: Biohazard. I picked this picture as it is an example of a game that doesn’t freeze time when you are in the inventory menu.
Level Design in horror games – The level design in horror games is usually very linear in terms of how much the player can explore levels. Games like Little Nightmares, Limbo and Inside all follow a specific route through their levels and sometimes forces the player to go into a room that a powerful enemy is in that they have to avoid. An example of this is the top right picture. Which is a screenshot of the game The Evil Within, the picture shows the player hiding behind a wall and waiting for an enemy to pass before they enter a room. This kind of design is effective to build suspense.
Level 3 Games Development 1st Year 