"It is a ghost story/exploration game. You play as a young girl, trapped in a dream like world. You discover, along with your best friend a toy rabbit, who you were and what happened to you in order to escape."
In the end i will round off all my points of research, linking it to and expanding my basic idea. The games/films/art that relate to my idea are as follows, with some deep explanation:
The Rule of Rose (2006, survival horror, ps2)
I love the style and use of the stories/illustrations- how they detach the flow of game play by turning into chapters; episodes of game play. I want to use this (style of illustration and use of story chapters) in my game.
There is a use of a companion in the game, the same as in mine. Although the use of the companion is different, the relationship of the protagonist and companion in the Rule of Rose is deep and meaningful; a good subject to study to achieve a deep and meaningful connection between my protagonist and companion.
The overall mood and feel of the game is very dark, lonely, helpless, vulnerable, weak, dirty and disjointed which is all achieved by the visuals, music/sounds, narration, combat and dialogue. This game really focuses on psychological horror and discomfort, really captured by the characters being children working and maintaining an order of social/working hierarchy. Although my game wont be as dark or "evil" as this game, i want to capture the way the Rule of Rose makes you feel uncomfortable, helpless, lost and dependent on your companion - your only real friend.
The Year Walk (2013, adventure, iOS)
I love the visual style of this game too, as well as the interesting innovative use of iOS technology for game play. The game almost looks 2D with a kind of "paper-cut-art" illustrative style. The dark look and feel of the game is what i want to capture in my game; it's spooky and ghost like, but not scary and gory like a horror game. It is also has a simplistic feel with the art style that is also beautiful and captures a cold, lonely and dense forest.
The music and sound effects in the game capture the forest and lonely/supernatural feel of the game. They are simple and delicate, but turn creepy and dark when completing some of the supernatural puzzles.
Never Ending Nightmare (2013, horror, PC)
I really love the style of this game. It has a hand drawn, illustrative cross-hatching style that makes it feel organic as well as cartoony. The black and white pen-like style really captures the feeling the creator wanted to convey, along with contrasting colour intractable items- most of which are red. The lighting/shadow in this game is very well executed. The shadow is created by little cross-hatch-like lines that move slightly side to side, capturing and mimicking what we "see" in the darkness. The shadow also reacts to light, dispersing and creeping away. The light from the windows make the 2D style appear 3D and provide a contrasting effect to the rest of the room, it has a type of filter on it so it doesn't fade out to the rest of the harsh white background.
Playing this game, it feels very uneasy and scary; almost as if you were walking about an old house at night in the dark on your own. The music and sounds are very creepy and atmospheric. There are some scary and creepy moments that i think would be too "evil" feeling for my game; but the organic, simple and creepy style is what i want to capture in my game.
Dear Esther (2012, Art, PC)
Dear Esther is a ghost story rather than a horror story, which is what i am going for. There is a lot of symbolism in the game, many of which is up to interpretation if you don't know the information presented. There is no interaction or interactivity as it is a dream-like world you are exploring, with a number of clues to suggest this e.g. no sound or visual reaction when walking into water. This could be an interesting and potential mechanic in my game idea.
There are times where you think you see a ghost/shadowy figure standing in the distance. As a player this alerts you, asking yourself questions and making you feel uneasy- all adding to the "ghost story" theme/feeling. It is all very atmospheric and creepy with realistic lighting and effects in a realistic looking world. The music is adds to the atmosphere created, with an eerie creepy style along with realistic sound effects of the wind, water and vegetation. The narration is used at specific moments in the game, reacting to areas you come across. Another interesting game-play mechanic.
In the game, the information given to you is impartial; nothing is biased and nothing makes you feel one way or another about anything and isn't influenced by anything i.e. politics, from the real world. For my idea, this is very important to get across (will be explained in future posts).
Winnie the Pooh (1924 [first appearance], book)
I am using both the classical illustrative style and story as inspiration for my idea. The illustration style is simple and organic feeling; its tidy but captures the characters sweetness and innocence by not being too perfect.
I am looking at the relationship between Christopher Robin and Pooh, two best friends - one being an inanimate object; a teddy bear which is what i am using in my idea. The stories are very charming, innocent and whimsical - the sweet highlight of children and childhood. Robin and Pooh seem similar but are rather different with personality. Even though Robin is a child, he seems to be more wise to the world than Pooh, who seems to act like a bewildered sweet old man.
Back Water Gospel (2011, animated horror, short film)
The Backwater Gospel is a short animation film that is dark and sinister feeling. I really like the dark graphic style of the piece; mixing this style with a sweet innocent style like that of the Winnie the Pooh illustrations would make for an interesting style for my work.
The different use of filters makes each scene/section interesting and unique; setting a different tone for each part, the colour tone decreasing for the
impending massacre. I really like some of the scenes that have black silhouettes and white gaps for the eyes and mouths. They are very effective for some of the scenes in the film and could be incorporated for some scenes for my idea.
Studio Ghibli are an animation studio based in Japan, creating children and family films. They have created a number of different kinds and styles of films, even a game called Ni No Kuni. What i love about their films ( and will draw inspiration from) is their ability to tell a story effectively whilst capturing aspects of childhood and child like qualities. Their films are very endearing, colourful, whimsical, adventurous and full of imagination.
Although their style is a bit too "sweet" for what i want to go for, i want my idea to be very child like and this is a great reference for that, as well as effective story telling.
The Path is loosely based off of the tale of Little Red Riding Hood where you play as 1 of 6 girls, each has their own story to tell. I really like the use of colour and lighting in this game; each section of the forest has its own lighting and colour scheme to evoke a certain mood or feeling for the player. I also like how you maneuver through the game and interact with objects - something to contemplate for my own game design. When you travel through areas, you hear and see certain images/illustrations on the screen that also tries to suggest/evoke a certain mood and feeling with the player; what do the certain sounds and images you see relate to? What do they make you feel? I think this is an interesting mechanic that could inspire my work. It is about children venturing into a darker, lonely and creepy world and i really like how its been captured. It is all very mysterious and symbolic too, though (for me personally) it is not as easy to understand or follow as some other symbolic games. But, that could have been the intention for the game designers?
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