Week 2 – Reconsidering the Project Pt1:

Based on the comments received during my first presentation, it was evident that the project needed serious redevelopment, and was likely not even achievable for a single person to complete alone. I therefore focused my attentions for the weeks remainder (Wednesday till Saturday) on looking back on the project and deciding ways I could take it in a new direction, whilst at the same time making the project more feasible for one person to complete. At the same time I am continuing to enquire with other groups as to whether they require new members, though it appears that few if any, have such a need.

I have made the decision to follow my tutor’s advice and abandon the “Raijin” storyline that I originally planned to use. With hindsight, I realise that I have been trying to force the game concept to fit around my original storyline idea, instead of the other way round. This was a mistake, and was dragging my project away from its original concept of focusing on the political message, as Dave was explaining. Therefore, I have focused most of this week on developing an alternative concept for the game, specifically one that focuses less on a deep story, abandons the anime art style, and focuses more on the actual anti-extremism message I wish to portray with the game.

* * *

The alternative idea I decided to explore is that of a town ravaged in a recent conflict. The political extremists, in this case would have left the area prior to the game’s beginning, leaving only remnants of their presence within the ruins, and the town was now being liberated by another, non-extreme military force, whom the player was a soldier in. Whereas the Raijin concept was a highly interactive stealth game, I am considering for this concept a more observational mechanic, revolving more around the player witnessing events than on deeply interacting with the world. Items scattered around the ruined city ‘hub’ environment would trigger small segments of game play, laid out as if they were the player character’s memories or imagination deciphering earlier events (the rise of the nationalists, their taking of the town, the horrors by them) making this more of a 3D explorative environment than a fully-fledged game, which I feel would better suit the objective of broadcasting the socio-political message.

When developing this concept, I also considered using background music, feeling that music is a vital component in establishing atmosphere in an environment. Searching for a sombre piece, I was reminded of the popular song, Agnus Dei by Samuel Barber, which was notably used in the Computer game “Homeworld”. I feel the music achieves the feeling I want well, and so may make use of it in this project as my BGM.

Artistically I will keep to the concept of simple models, but instead of a stark, stylised approach as found in anime, I would look to a more realistic texture treatment, using features such as bump mapping to enhance the look of objects. My main inspirations for the environment and atmosphere in this case are war movies such as Band of Brothers or Enemy at the Gates, notably those scenes set within city environments.

Concept sketch of the layout for the level, focused around a devastated street intersection and two parked military vehicles. As with the earlier Raijin project, I wished to try and contain the level as best as possible; focusing on a smaller, carefully designed and filled space as opposed to a large open level, hence the street setting, with the routes out blocked by rubble, vehicles, or soldiers warning of dangers in that direction. This will be highly beneficial for me if i decide to carry on working on the project alone.

The overall level would use muted, low-key colours, with one colour in particular dominating (a mustard yellow is the current one I have in mind). This is to contrast with several items that would be placed around the environment (as shown in the picture). The street would therefore become a hub-world, with each of these items triggering a small piece of game play or cut scene in another environment. Each event follows a different aspect of the extremist activity about the town, with the item serving as trigger chosen to symbolise that particular aspect.

Start: The player begins inside a friendly APC, the interior of which is pitch black. The rear ramp then slowly lowers and allows them exit. I felt this would be a powerful image to begin the game with; the music triggering in the pitch black, then the ramp opening to show the devastated world outside the vehicle.

Money Bag: found on the second floor of a building, clasped by a dead arm reaching out of a pile of rubble; a person who had been desperate to keep the money. It represents the desire for wealth or power, or fear of loosing them; issues that are commonly a base motivation behind supporting a politically extreme group, who usually draw their support from poorer parts of the population. Approaching the bag would trigger a scene where the player is in an estate, observing the impoverished citizens of the pre-ruined town.

Poster: Found on a wall, this is a propaganda poster left behind from when the extremist party ruled over the town. It will trigger a scene where the player is amongst citizens at an extremist rally, listening to a speech by a man on a pedestal. Over time, more and more of the group begins to cheer and punch the sky, with the player perhaps being given the option to do the same.

Derelict Tank: The burnt hulk of an enemy tank. It triggers a scene of the extremists building up arms, and/or of a battlefield in which they are invading another nation, showing the horror of their lust for conquest.

Teddy Bear: A Child’s teddy bear discarded on the floor. It will trigger a scene of the town being attacked, but set within the same space, with civilians fleeing for cover, abandoned by the extreme government they thought would protect them. In the scene she drops the bear in a crush of people, and flees into a large building in the corner of the environment.

Injured Child: This would be the child the player had watched drop the bear in the previous sequence, having survived the fighting by hiding in a basement of the building. It is set in the actual city environment instead of shifting to a different period of time. She is badly injured, so the player carries her out of the building, which serves as the last sequence of the game. I feel this a good symbol of a new hope for the town now it had been liberated, with this new faction (the soldier’s) here to now help the town rebuild.

With the soldier helping the child, I also like presenting a scenario in which a soldier is providing aid and showing sympathy; I sometimes feel that games centred on soldiery focus too heavily on mindless combat and savagery, showing no other aspects of a soldier’s life, which during deployments commonly involves humanitarian work. By having the player soldier not fight at any point in the level, the warrior image is lessened and his human side is brought more to the fore, reinforcing the idea of the liberating soldiers being not invaders, but a ray of hope for the town.