Final Evaluation, Illustrative Synopsis

This post is an overall sum up of the creative diary/blog I have been keeping and it is time to say farewell folks. This will be a shot summary of the project I have created and hopefully it will be short, sharp and punchy for you all to remember me by, who knows I may start up another blog....maybe. Right onto business, enjoy!

Main Character

The main character I have created is a female protagonist called Imelda and in the game Imelda will be in two different states one being young and the other being an older version of herself. The younger version of Imelda is the main version of her but the older version is her different reality state, this being her powered version. I believe when players play as her younger version they will connect with her due to her emotional state being fragile but players will enjoy feeling powered whilst playing in her adult form. Below is my concept art pieces for her younger and older versions, as well as the reference images I have used.

(Sketches of Young Imelda) 

                                           (Reference material to how I want young Imelda to look like)

                                                                                   (Sketches of adult Imelda)

        

                                                         (Reference material to how I want adult Imelda to look like)

The Primary Antagonist

As I have mentioned in previous posts before this one, Faded will include a wide cast of antagonists but will feature a main villain being Imelda's father. This development comes about once Imelda travels through the dark portals which is an alternative reality to real life and is very dark compared to our reality. In this reality her father has been transformed into a villain who is obsessed with his daughter baring marks on his body because of the days he has went without seeing her. Throughout the game he is only known as "father" giving him a sense of mystery about him but he wishes to be with his daughter forever.....in death. Below is a screenshot of the main antagonist in the game, Imelda's father.        

Stealth Gameplay

Although I have touched on the gameplay elements in posts before, I will focus more on the stealth aspect of the gameplay as my client needs to see this area. The stealth element takes place in both realities (real world, young and fantasy, adult) more so in the young reality however, because Imelda throughout this reality is young and powerless to the monsters around her so she has to be vigilant in what she does. Should players be spotted the game won't be as harsh to shut down, but rather will make these areas difficult to explore so it is best sticking to the stealth element when possible. 

Reward for the Player

Once players have completed the game they will have the option to go back and do things differently than what they did in their first playthrough. This is included in the game because there are multiple endings these being a good, bad and neutral ending based on the players choices throughout the story mode. There are also additional rewards for the player to discover. For example the player will be able to collect hidden collectibles in the game, these being proper facts on some of the fairy tale inspirations which can be found in the game. Doing this will hopefully make players explore and go back to keep playing the game.

Hack and Slash Style

Another core element and requirement of the game Faded will be is that it is to have a hack and slash style element. This is mainly seen throughout the fantasy worlds of the game and will be used when Imelda has her weapons as well as mystic powers at her disposal. Imelda will carry various weapons enabling her to defeat the masses of enemies which plague these said fantasy world Imelda will travel to. There will be many enemies on screen therefore the fast paced style of the hack and slash element is core to these parts of the game.

Tag Line

The tag line or description of the game is as follows: Embark on a dark grueling quest to save realty from becoming the work of fiction, help Imelda discover what is real and what isn't. Featuring gameplay elements of stealth, horror, action and hack and slash this is one game not to be missed. Instant Buy! This game will hopefully be released on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 platforms respectively. 

I Survived My Pitch!

Welcome back folks and I'm pleased to announce my gaming idea and particular character idea of Imelda has been somewhat of a success. Now I'm not getting big headed or anything and usually I hate public speaking and all the rest of it but I believe my pitch was strong despite a few, maybe, confidence hiccups. These hiccups just being make eye contact constantly, be dynamic in posture and other things but nothing real big. Upon my own reflection I would have liked to be more enthusiastic or excited but maybe the nerves got me there, but yours truly will work on this.....I'm only human of course :) Anyways, my client believe I was strong overall but did point out just to work on my confidence a bit more but other than that they were pleased with what I had.

So there you have it folks my pitch is complete with the next post being final evaluation of the full project itself. First time blogging is what this got me into, truth be told.....I'm going to miss it. Thanks guys see you next time in the final post. Tissues at the ready then, plus I hope you all have enjoyed my quirky sense of humour and not made you cringe at anything, I do try and make it all fun. Thanks again and see you in the next post.  

Additional Information on Faded - Inspirations, Sounds, Antagonists and Settings.

This post will provide additional information to you on where I got my inspirations from coming up with such a character (Imelda) and game play elements for Faded (the game itself). I will also detail some sound assets I would like to hear in the game, antagonists the player will face and settings the player may explore. He we go then:

Sound

The game will have many sounds within it, this mainly being the use of dialogue as well as atmospheric background music to suit the tone of the level that is being played out. There will also be numerous sound effects to ranging from weapon noises to spell casting effects.

Settings

I have envisioned for there to be many settings in the game based upon fairy tales but with a dark twist adding a horror element to the game. There will be sections in some of these settings where there will be many enemies to overcome hence the hack and slash theme, but I will also include sneaky or quiet sections from where the player must be silent exploring some of these settings, giving the game a stealth element of gameplay too. Below are three images showing some reference material I would like for some of the settings to be represented by.

Gameplay 

As mentioned previously in posts before this one, Faded will have a mixture of gaming genre elements found within it but the two defining elements will be of a hack and slash style element as well as stealth/horror gameplay aspects. This will be achieved in the game because players will have to slay many enemies making it a core hack and slash game, but there will also be parts where the player will need to think and out maneuver enemies in a stealth manner. Failure to comply with these gameplay elements may result in difficult situations for the player to face or they may possibly die in the game.

Antagonists

Although I was asked to just create one character a game needs a cast of characters and usually in the form of antagonists. Antagonists are the big bad bosses you face but are usually following orders from a primary antagonist. The main antagonist Imelda must face is her own father but in a twisted alternative form of his once loving self. All of the other supporting antagonists I had a visualisation of them being taken form a fairy tale but with a dark twist added to them. Below is a collection of images I had gathered wanting to portray the enemies and twisted characters Imelda must face on her dark quest. There are 4 antagonists being supporting boss characters, with the primary antagonist being the final boss, Imelda's father from whom can be seen in the middle of the images I have gathered.     

Inspirations

I got much inspiration from my fascination on all things horror and I have always looked upon works for younger audiences but thinking how I could apply my own take on them, usually being a horror element being applied. This was the ground work form which I have built this whole project upon with other inspirations being documenting in this blog too. 

Phew! If your still awake this concludes this post as I now will pitch my idea to the client and the next post will be my self assessment/evaluation on how it went. Nervous much? See you all later. 

The Unique Selling Point (USP) of the Project. (Game & Character)

This post will give an insight into what I think players will be sold upon when buying this game and the appeal of Imelda to them. Enjoy!

Unique Selling Points

¨The main selling point of the game and character (Imelda) is choices made in the fictional world will have an impact in the real world. This gives a sense of responsibility to the player in which the choices they make will effect the character and surrounding worlds around them.

¨The game will have multiple endings based on players decisions making the game have replay value.    

Faded - Story Synopsis

Hello, hello and welcome back to another post of mine describing the story of the game from which my gaming character will star in. The game I have titled Faded and also I will touched a bit more on the character of Imelda too when explaining the story of Faded. I do mention Imelda is very much still the focus of this whole project but did need to come up with a game name to put my character into. Enjoy!

Story Synopsis (Faded) 

Imelda (protagonist) has a short backstory in which her mother died during child birth, resulting in her going to live in an orphanage because her father was unable to look after her alone. Imelda took refuge in fictional fairy tales/stories seeing these characters as family. The game’s story is rather dark in the sense portals start appearing over the orphanage, with Imelda being transferred to fictional fairy tale lands but with a dark re-imagining. In these lands Imelda’s orphanage figure heads have been transformed into villainous fictional characters. It is up to Imelda to stop them coming into the real world, with anytime Imelda goes into these lands she ages 15 years older as well as becoming a witch excelling in mystic arts. The main antagonist is a dark version of her father taking the persona of the big bad wolf from the red riding hood fairy tale. 

This concludes this post on the game which is now named Faded, the next post will explain what I believe is the unique selling point of Faded and my character Imelda. Catch you lot there then, thanks for reading!

                  

Imelda Visualisations

So we now know I'm creating a female character, Imelda, for Shiny Money Entertainment and hopefully she will be the next big gaming icon. In the post before this I gave you a bio on my character and this post will look at my concept drawings I have done myself for this character. Please do note, there are two version of this character one being a young state and the other an older state, because the game sees you advance through time with Imelda transforming respectively. I have also used existing reference images in her bio post as to what I would really like her to appear like, because these concept pieces I drew.......well, I'm no artist folks but I gave it my best shot. Enjoy my sketches and try not to hide behind whatever is close by.

Imelda (Young Version, Sketches) 

Above I have drew three sketches of a young visulaisation I have of Imelda as to what I would like her to appear like in the the game she will star in. I much like my far left sketch of her being in the elegant dress seeing it kind of takes inspiration from the appearance of Alice from the Wonderland fictional universe from which Lewis Carroll created. My second favorite sketch would be the far right image giving Imelda a school girl like appearance, this would give the impression to players she is somewhat still very young and would be scared of the dark themes scene at this age until she transforms into her adult state.   

Imelda (Adult Version, Sketches) 

From the image above these are my concept pieces for Imelda's adult state in the game whenever she transforms into her witch persona. I like my far left drawing as it has a mystic edge feel to it but did not like my far right image sketch because the appearance of her came across to me as being too "normal" for her persona in this state. 

I hope you have enjoyed these sketches and that your eyes have not popped out of your head, my next post will be describing the back story of the game and more on Imelda. Join me then, thanks.  

Meet Imelda

Well folks, I am delighted to announce I have came up with my gaming character idea and I have created her visually too in the form of reference and concept materials. The character I have made is called Imelda and she will star in a videogame with hack and slash, horror, stealth and adventure elements this fulfilling my client's Shiny Money Entertainment's needs. I took inspiration from various games during my researching stages (posts prior to this one) and jotting down ideas in my spare time too. So without further ado I give you Imelda's Bio. I would also like to mention the story involves Imelda travelling through time/portals hence why there is two profiles for her, one being a young child profile and the next being her adult witch state, you can see some of my reference material as to how I would like Imelda to appear as in her young and adult states. These images are from existing games with the source being provided at the end of this post. I will put up my own concepts in another post. Enjoy!

Imelda (Real World, Young Version) (Bio)

¨Age: 15 yrs old

¨Interested in: Fictional Fairy Tales, Rhymes and other fantasy materials.

¨Studies at the Orphanage from which she entered at a young age, after the passing of her mother.

¨Appearance: In the real world she is often seen as wearing a small elegant dress.

¨Motivation: To stop other world (Fantasy Creations) beings from crossing over into the real world.

¨In the real world Imelda is defenseless and has no real weapons at her disposal.

¨Traits: Shy, good at problem solving, easily scared, forgiving towards others. 

Imelda (Fantasy World, Adult Version) (Bio)

¨Age: 30 years old.

¨Excels in mystic arts, magic and witchcraft.

¨Apart from her mystic skills Imelda’s weapon of choice is a sword in which she uses to hack multiple enemies at once.

¨Motivation: To seal of the portals/gateways  from the fictional lands to the real world. Another motivation of Imelda’s in this world is to free the innocent souls from which they have been transformed into dark fictional characters .

¨Traits: Expert in witchcraft, confident, takes no prisoners attitude, will do whatever possible to see her meet her goals.  

This concludes Imelda's Bio and please do note there are two versions of my character because the plot involves this character traveling through mystic and dark fairy tale fantasy like worlds in conjunction with the games story and gameplay elements. These transitions take place once the player goes through a portal in the game from young Imelda to adult Imelda, advancing her age 15 years older to her younger self. 

Ref Image Source of Young Imelda Image: http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/08/Bioshock-Infinite-Elizabeth.jpg
Ref Image Source of Adult Imelda Image: http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-13/art/bayo-bayonetta-bust.jpg

Nice Research...Where Is My Evidence?

This is a short and sweet post just showing you, my followers, as to what materials aided/helped me in looking at character research. These are books I own in my own possession and are very good reads if I do say so myself but let us not get sidetracked. The Sonic the Hedgehog book provided me an insight into how this iconic character was created, and I have certainly looked at the process SEGA took to undertake my task of creating the next big videogame icon for Shiny Money Entertainment.

Next I looked at book entitled 1001 Videogames You Must Play Before You Die helping me expand my knowledge of more gaming characters and the games themselves. What was also very good when reading this book is I have played most of the games mentioned, lets just hope I get to play more games before I.....sorry for getting sidetracked there, good book and read with it brimming with knowledge too.

Then to aid me a little step further, I looked at both gaming Guinness World Records books doing so, helped me understand the successful videogame characters currently as well as the ground breaking games which have been made, these starring more characters in these games mentioned in the book too.

Finally, I looked at a completely different book altogether this being a Marvel Comics Character Guide but believe it or not this also helped me out greatly. My motive for such madness was to also research character creation in general, not only limiting myself to games but broaden how other characters were created and what makes them unique. I have gathered all of my research together now and will apply this to creating my own videogame character and videogame too. Because you can't just have a character with no game to put them in now can we, nope. I'll catch you all in the next post and thanks ever so much as always for taking the time to read this. :)          

Videogame Characters - Money Talks (Research)

This next post will explain briefly on another key and core element in which videogame creators know their character has been successful or not. It is all fine and well if you come up with the greatest videogame character of all time having all the unique features a character should have, BUT should the game from which this character is found in does not sell well, then ultimately the character is a failure along with the game. There have been many instances were characters have been created but amounted to nothing due to the sales of the game from which they are found in, resulting in these characters never to get a second chance, because a games developer would not take the risk of producing a sequel if the first game did not sell well leaving the character to become under developed and forgotten about.

Looking at successful videogame characters today such as Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Solid Snake, Lara Croft and others, all of the games from which these characters can be found in have constantly had sales of over a million units for most of their games. This shows us with a game which sells over a million units once or perhaps constantly if it is a franchise, the developers see two things mainly being the game is a success and there is interest in the character they have created among players. Once the developers see such good results, the natural course of action they take is to produce a second and third game expanding on the character as well as features of the original game, this could then result in a franchise being created.

It is also important to mention should developers hit the jackpot so to speak with a character they have created, then it is possible this successful gaming character may crop up into other forms of media and may even have their own merchandise based upon the character themselves. Such merchandise may include: schoolbags, pencil cases, cups, teddy bears, clothing, etc. The character may also explore forms of other media other than gaming, perhaps getting their own TV show or a movie based upon the game they are seen in with the characters of the game starring in this medium too. Below are some images showing existing merchandise for existing gaming characters these being a Mario themed schoolbag, Sonic the Hedgehog clothing and a Link collectible figurine from which this character stars in The Legend of Zelda series.

Enjoy the pictures folks and I be seeing you in the next post. Remember the importance of this post is once developers know they are onto a winner with a character they will exploit their creation to make as much money as possible. Money Talks! ;-)

            

Ref Image Source (1) Wario with money (top image): http://hyperallergic.com/24122/nea-video-games-art/

Ref Image Source (2) Sonic T-shirt: http://www.choozen.co.uk/ts-hedgehog~children-s-clothes,6030000.html

Ref Image Source (3) Super Mario Bag: http://www.zimbio.com/Super+Mario+Brothers/articles/0iCefrIjbAV/Small+Backpack+Nintendo+Super+Mario+School 

Ref Image Source (4) Link Figure: http://www.videogamesgoodies.com/zelda-phantom-hourglass-figurine-link-p-649.html

Videogame Characters - Getting The ICONIC Ingredient. (Research)

This next post will be looking at already existing videogame characters which have made their mark in the games industry with me hoping to gain inspiration from them as well as looking at their "uniqueness" of how they have stood the test of time. From looking at various sources of what a videogame character should be like or consist of, the following important elements kept coming up during my research which were they should have: a unique appearance, emotional connection with the player and a good back story or storyline to their game if possible.

Some videogame characters which have stood the test of time are Lara Croft (Tomb Raider Franchise), Mario (Super Mario Franchise), Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid Franchise), Sam Fisher (Splinter Cell Franchise), Crash Bandicoot (Crash Bandicoot Franchise), Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedehog Franchise) and many others. Some may be recognised solely because of their appearance, others because of their story lines or emotional connection to the player. For example, if someone were to say to you describe the character Super Mario or Mario (whatever name you prefer) it is more than likely you would respond by mentioning red cap, plumber and or moustache to describe this character. This is because these are Mario's defining characteristics and have made him identifiable over the years, all iconic characters would have their own defining characteristics or appearance elements.

Depending on the nature of the videogame or audience the character is directed towards most of them will have a strong back story as to who they are. This can be seen as the creators developing the emotional connection between this fictional/virtual character to the real life player. The back stories of characters nowadays usually include some form of hurt feeling, because this makes the player instantly feel sorry for the character depending on the circumstances being portrayed of that character. 

Image Ref:https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/295379_373226746031576_1041627769_n.jpg