Category: Brief 3

Below are photographs taken by myself and images I found through Google Image Search which I am going to use as reference for the characters in Bloodletting.

Protagonist

Inspired by my best friend Issie Leigh. Below are photographs I took of her depicting poses of the protagonist. I also included photoraphs of her when she had long hair which she allowed me to use as reference images.

The Three Barbers

Below are photographs of my free friends; Jasmine (Barber 1), Frankie (Barber 2) and Brandon (Barber 3). They all agreed for me to use these photographs as my reference images for character designs. I also included three images I found through Google Image Search of tattoo artists from various TV shows. I want the barbers to adapt the poses these tattoo artist make.

Exorcists

Below are images I found through Google Image Search. I want the exorcists to have a more professional style to the barbers hence the suits and uniforms with nods to Catholic Priest’s outfits. I also included images from the film Priest in order to have an example of what the exorcists might wear to battle.

Clothes & Accessories

http://www.attitudeclothing.co.uk/

Other Inspirations

Blow are some different styles such as Future Noir and Cybercore.

http://www.cyberdog.net/

http://www.grindstore.com/

I decided to conduct research into exorcism and demonic possession because it is one of the underlying themes of my game. I mainly wanted to get some reference images of possessed victims because I want my poster to include said victim strapped to a chair and undergoing bloodletting. My researched focused on depictions of exorcism and demonic possession in popular culture.

Film

There are slight variations in depictions of possessed victims in film. The most popular one is the one where the victim’s body deteriorates in order to externally show how the body dies without the soul. This is thanks to the popularity of films such as The Exorcist. Films such as Il Demonio, The Rite and The Devil Inside‘s representations of possessed victims are more subtle. The victims are visibly tired, pale and wounded but without the body rotting away in any major way. In the case of Il Demonio this is most likely due to the lack of good special effects and FX make up to apply to the actress. I prefer this  representation of demonic possession. This is because I believe that subtlety makes a phenomena such as this one appear more realistic and probable. A common trait in all representations of demonic possession is the fact that all of the victims scream a lot and violently as well as fear of religious imagery. Eyes are also unnaturally wide opened and the pose the body makes is also unnatural to humans or at least very uncomfortable. The movements are also reminiscent of animals. This is supposed to dehumanize the victim. Another common trait is self mutilation.

Gaming

There aren’t as many depictions of demonic possession in video games. Below are a few examples of demons that I managed to find. Video game demons are often exaggerated as seen in the examples below. I feel that in most cases this makes them appear more comical than frightening. Darkness is a good example of this exaggeration working quite well however.

Bibliography:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070047/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167886/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1560985/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1161864/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092991/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1288558/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2473682/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2377322/

Because of my lack of experience in designing artwork for a video game I decided to look into more pixelated and cartoon-like art styles rather than the really realistic/cinematic art styles.

 Void & Meddler

Void & Meddler is the game that is heavily influencing the designs for Bloodletting. I particularly like it’s pixelated style even though indie games overuse this nostalgic style. I think this game’s atmosphere goes really well with the retro game style and make itself stand out from other pixelated games. I like the block colors and simple angled shapes. Shading is achieved through layering block colors on top of each other without blending. This is effective and I could recreate a similar technique for my designs. I’m looking for a style that looks professional but is achievable for me to create to a high standard. This seems like it. I also really like the static of the TVs and the relationship between contrasting colored lights.

Borderlands

This game has a cartoon style of artwork but it’s a bit more realistic than The Wolf Among Us. It has thinner lines as well making it look as sketches drawn in pen and then colored in. The shading is quite realistic however. This combination makes the art style of this game unique and interesting. It’s not as reminiscent of a graphic novel as The Wolf Among Us and it doesn’t have block colors. I might try to experiment with different mediums to create my promo art. Beforehand I was only going to use my drawing tablet but this has inspired me to try out line drawing with pens.

The Wolf Among Us

Same as Borderlands The Wolf Among Us uses a cartoon art style. Perhaps it’s a bit more reminiscent of a graphic novel however. The images have black thick outlines and are filled out with color and shading which makes it 3D. This is something that I could probably manage to draw although I’m worried about the shading. This art style includes a bit more block colors than Borderlands artwork which gives me hope that perhaps my designs will end up looking half as decent. I like the harsh shadows and lights as well. This art style seems a bit more cut out than the Borderlands one. I might try to make my promo art from cut out paper or even make the shapes seems more block like in Photoshop.

The Longest Journey

I like the 90s feel to this game. I will most likely not be able to create a 3D detailed artwork for my game but I decided to include it because it’s a cyberpunk game. I like the layout of it and how the background is simply drawn and doesn’t move. Only the characters move. In comparison to some of the contemporary video games with very cinematic designs this is not nearly as detailed. I really like it’s nostalgic feel.

Bibliography

The images were taken from Google Image Search

http://store.steampowered.com/app/377970/

http://store.steampowered.com/app/8980/

http://store.steampowered.com/app/250320/

http://store.steampowered.com/app/6310/

The big part of this brief is the website we have to design this is why I decided to look into a few game websites to draw inspiration from. I was looking for websites which didn’t follow a template and were rather unique. I was also trying to look for websites with a punk/cyberpunk feel to them and in the end Persona 5 and Void & Meddler websites fulfilled those criteria. The other website designs are also interesting and I will definitely use them as points of reference for my own website design. Images below are screenshots of these websites. Some of these are cropped differently because I had to zoom out to show more of the website designs.

Persona 5 Website

http://atlus.com/persona5/home.html

Persona 5‘s website stood out a lot from the other websites I research because of it’s unique layout and design style. Rather than having a menu it’s a scroll through website which is another thing I like about it. It’s reminiscent of a graphic novel therefore the navigation of the website reflects the anime art style of the game. The website follows an arrow which bends along the way down. Along the arrow different elements of the game are revealed which again is a very different approach to website navigation. Even though the website has a very punk/ visual kei feel to it and is cluttered thanks to the arrow the information is still easily readable. I also like the typography style of the headings. They’re reminiscent of letters being cut out from newspapers again bring the element of punk to it’s design. Finally I also like the 2D background design of the website which is very striking and loud. The layout and shapes used to frame the images and text reinforces it. It reflects the atmosphere of the game.

Void & Meddler Website

Home page 2

Void & Meddler‘s opening screen is my favorite from all the websites I’ve visited because of it’s graphic novel like artwork and bright colors. It gives a very cyberpunk feel to it off the bat. I like how the arrow moves up and down switching colors with a pink arrow. The way it moves is also reminiscent of the old school gaming style of the game. This website uses a grid system same as the other websites I have researched. It’s a good way to present information clearly on a chaotic/ cluttered background I like how dark it is which is representing night and the bright colors representing the lights of the streets and clubs. It’s very atmospheric which makes this website more interesting to some of the others I have looked at. It’s a scroll through website but it also has a menu which makes it even easier to navigate the page. I really like that style of website navigation because it gives it a Graphic Novel feel but one can get to information quickly. I like how the trailer was simply presented on it’s own. I’ve noticed bigger game franchises have a lot of videos at once with small thumbnails. I’m making designs for only one game so it makes more sense to adapt Void & Meddler‘s way of presenting a trailer.

Fallout 4 Website

https://www.fallout4.com/

The thing that I love about this website is it’s use of vintage american advertising design and it’s integration with contemporary website design. This website uses a lot of images from the game to break the website into sections without making it boring. Simple lines and small heading also serves this purpose which makes for a clear design. I like that new images have been created just for the website and are made in the same style as items in the game which brings an element of transmedia into the franchise. I included the franchise’s shop to have a point of reference when designing my little merchandise page. Stand alone games didn’t have a shop section so I used this one. It has a standard grid design which I will probably end up using myself. I like the idea of an opening screen to be a moving image from the game or at least a picture with a large logo same as with the Void & Meddler opening screen. The menu sometimes disappears when you scroll through the website but because it’s on a black strip it matches with the rest of the framing of the website. I will most likely include a menu on my website unlike Persona 5. This seems like a readable and visually pleasing way of designing a menu. I also like how the game’s logo is present in the corner of the menu at all times and so it the buy now hyperlink. The body text is the same throughout making the website look uniformed even though the headings do change their typography style.

The Wolf Among Us Website

https://www.telltalegames.com/thewolfamongus

I find the opening of this website quite boring and amateur looking. Mainly because of the typeface on the menu being on a block colored square which before one clicks on the hyperlinks looks out of place. Also the muted image from the game makes the website look like it’s missing something. However the website improves massively once a hyperlink is clicked on. I like the comic book style of the layout which reflects the style of the game itself. The choice of the typeface makes more sense once the comic book window is open. I like the changing background which shows off more of the stills from the game. The shop page also uses a grid system which is the clearest to read and gives off an impression of being legitimate and trust worthy which is important when you’re trying to make people pay online. I will most likely end up using a grid system as well. I don’t think I can use logos of these websites however so I will most likely do a similar page as the one here ‘buy it from telltale’. Finally I included the bottom of the website as a point of reference to where everything usually is placed when it comes to the legal bits. I might not include that in my website design seeing as it is a made up game.

Borderlands Website

http://borderlandsthegame.com/index.php/news-main

This website also uses a large image from the game with it’s logo as an opening screen. This one scrolls though a couple of different game release from the franchise. It has a similar menu to Fallout’s website which I do like a lot. I personally don’t like the yellow but it does go with the franchise’s design. The main thing I don’t like about this website or most websites I’ve researched is the scrolling bar on the side. It’s usually grey and it stands out too much whereas the Void & Meddler‘s website has it integrated into it’s design. I will aim to produce something similar. I like how this website uses stills from the game as background and every page has a different image. This website also uses a grid system which I don’t normally like but here it is useful to make the information more readable since the website is quite cluttered with colorful imagery. The typeface also reflects the style of the artwork for the game. I like how the headings are at an angle giving the website even more of a dynamic feel. Finally I really like how the website design changes for different game releases to represents it’s unique feel although it’s layout stays the same in order to keep the website uniformed. This is something that I might adopt when designing pages to represent the conflict between the church and the barbers.

Another practical application for my project is a game cover. I decided to research a few of these. All the images are taken from Google Image search. To begin with I thought about only doing the front cover design but after conducting this research I might do the whole cover. Below are a few game covers which I found particularly effective and/or applicable to the theme/genre of my game. I like how The Wolf Among Us’ back cover is reminiscent of a comic book. Its provides a clear layout for a fairly cluttered design. The Witcher’ back cover shows a different style of a layout with a larger image at the top which also works very well. I included the Jazz Punk‘s cover because of it’s simplicity. I don’t know if I will be able to produce images of such high standard as The Wolf Among Us therefore it’s good to have a simpler point of reference. I could easily make a similar cover to this one because the style of it is mostly line work and block colors. Finally I decided to include Saints Row‘s cover because it depicts demons/hell which is in tone with the themes of my game and again is a good point of reference. It’s very cluttered put the eye is easily guided to the focal point which is the main character flying out of hell since he is at the center of the cover and most of the ‘chaos’ happens around him.

Anime Covers

I also decided to roughly look into anime DVD covers in order to broaden my search and ideas. These are a lot simpler than the game covers. I particularly like the first Ergo Proxy‘s cover because of how dark it is and because of the faded out image on the back cover.