I have just started second year for a BA in Video Game Art with Escape Studios and within the first couple of days we've been thrown in the deep end already!
The Brief
We have 6 weeks to create a 3D side scrolling game environment using the unreal engine which could be used on a mobile or tablet. We are also to blog our progress so we can share our thoughts and ideas along the way!
Initially I was a bit clueless about what to do so I started looking into other games that I have played, enjoyed and ones that just generally have a really good aesthetic. Side scrollers that immediately come to mind are Ori and the Blind Forest, Burly Men at Sea, Night in the Woods and I am currently playing Whispering Willows.
Since our deadline is around Halloween, I think it would be a cool idea to do something that would fit into the Halloween theme. Something along a haunted house idea, or to do with ghosts or zombies. Other games that come to mind are Dead light, Little Nightmares and Limbo. I could also do a more whimsical idea of a game about trick or treating like Costume Quest. After a bit of a sleep I'm now chock full of ideas! But before getting carried away...
Our first task, is to gather photographs of 3 different locations and present them as a mood board. If the locations are close to us that's an added bonus for reference use along the way during the project!
Location 1 - Hampton Court Palace
Happily, I live very close to a very cool location indeed. Hampton Court Palace! In particular this place springs to mind not just because of the over the top and rich architecture but also because the way it is currently laid out for guests is essentially a real life side scrolling game. The long corridor on the second floor links all of the rooms together for guests to walk through. The Palace also has some amazing staircases for both royalty and for the servants which gave me the idea of making a game where the servant has to go about their tasks without being seen by wandering royalty.
The below 2 photos are NOT mine and are from the official Hampton Court Palace website. I will be getting my own during this week.
Location 2 - Rose Hill
The second location I thought of was my Aunt and Uncles old house in Devon. They bought this house in ruin over 20 years ago and spent a long time doing it up. They took a lot of before and after photos as the house was completely unlivable, but this wasn't just any house it was a mansion on top of a hill! I'm currently in possession of their old photo album complete with scaffolding photos and hope to scan in these photos soon. This would be perfect for a haunted ruined old house setting, or a ghost vs builders game.
Location 3 - Highgate Cemetery
Over the summer a few of us went on a photography excursion here in London. The setting is absolutely beautiful and although I realize a lot of foliage would not necessary be brilliant for a mobile game there was also the crypts and mausoleums I could take reference from. If anything the lighting would be something worth trying to capture in a game setting. The below photos are some that I took during our photography trip.
