BA7 - Rose

"It is a ghost story/adventure 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.  The story is abstract and is episodic; each chapter of her life being a story book. At the end, you are confronted by the 'Judge' and discover the meaning of this 'dream world'."

Rose is the main character, the character you play in the game.  She is around 6 years old, from a working class family and her best friend is her toy rabbit Dodger.  She lived with her parents, both loved each other and their daughter.  She is a lonely child.  Her family live in a house on the outskirts of town, by the local wood.  In the game, the town is unidentifiable to a country or location, but it is a cold, harsh area resembling Russia, north America and/or Europe- It's up to interpretation (will be discussed further in a future post on the dream world).  Rose is imaginative child that loves nature, adventure, discovery, archaeology and history.  She enjoys exploring and discovering new animals, insects, plats etc.  She loves gardening with her father and longs to have a dog in the family.  She does what she is told and helps her mum with dinner every night.  She tries to learn in school but gets distracted easily and finds language classes hard.  However, she is a bright girl with an active imagination.

When the player sees Rose, i want them to see a sweet child that seems almost out of place in the Dream World.  She stands out as this little beacon of childish innocence in a world that is a bit darker.  I want her to capture and encapsulate what it is to be a child from the way she looks and behaves in the game.  She is an attentive child with an active imagination and how she behaves to certain things will reflect what she observed in the real world.  The player must connect with her, both visually and as they begin to get to know her and understand the situation she is in.  When playing, there needs to be a sense of vulnerability about Rose - to make the player feel uncomfortable and powerless to protect a sweet young child from the true harshness and darker nature of reality and life.  But when Rose must be brave, the player should want to help encourage her on, as well as feel uncomfortable and scared themselves - like Rose.


Here are some images i'm using as inspiration for Rose.  I haven't any concept work here to show you of her but here are some images i'm using as inspiration!

These photos here of this little girl are just so lively, creative and captures whimsical childish joy.  I want to capture this energy for Rose:

BA7 - Alma

This short animation film captures EXACTLY what i want to capture in my game.  It is based around a child whilst having this creepy, uneasy, 'soft horror' theme/feel to it.  It has that horror-esque theme to it, but its not to dark or disturbing as the main character is a child.  It also has some subtle visual referencing and symbolism.  For example the window of the shop looks like a giant angry mouth, like a monster tempting its prey into its jaws.  This is such a great animation, so enjoy! Or try to, because it is creepy!

BA7 - The Judge

"It is a ghost story/adventure 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.  The story is abstract and is episodic; each chapter of her life being a story book. At the end, you are confronted by the 'Judge' and discover the meaning of this 'dream world'."

The Judge is the Guardian of Judgement in the Underworld.  He sets the trials of the souls that enter the Underworld and also weighs the good and bad the soul has done and determines their fate - to send them to the "Eternal Fields" (Heaven) or to the "Grave Plain" (Hell).  He is a neutral character with impartial ideas, views and beliefs.  He treats everyone equally and is not bias to anyone for what ever they've done.  He is rational, emotionless and has a job to do - he makes no exceptions to anyone; his word is final.

When the player sees The Judge, i want them to be un nerved by him.  The Judge looks intimidating and rather scary looking, even though he is a very neutral character - he is deciving.  I want it to play on the players mind that even though The Judge is big, powerful, intimidating, super natural and scary looking, he is not a threat.  The only threat that has presented itself to Rose was a human being - The Man.  There is only one scene of Rose and the Judge meeting, which is at the end to see if Rose has completed her trial and can go on to the afterlife.  Because of this, the player seeing the Judge in this new environment should be a relief, a sign that the end is near.  The player should also be aware that when they first see The Judge, that they are the presence of a God/Deity or some one/thing thats very important and supernatural.

I am basing his look on Anubis, the Egyptian God of the Dead.  I really like the black and gold looks of Anubis and will most likely use that colour scheme in my designs of the Judge.  I have not any concept work on the Judge just yet, but for now this description and some reference images should hopefully give you some idea of what im going for!

BA7 - Murder, the bigger story.

"It is a ghost story/adventure 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.  The story is abstract and is episodic; each chapter of her life being a story book. At the end, you are confronted by the 'Judge' and discover the meaning of this 'dream world'."

In this post, i will be looking into the fate of how the young girl dies.  She is indeed murdered and in the game, she has to find out how she died.  For ideas and inspiration i decided to research real life murder cases (very grim and depressing).  I looked at this blog post here which documents 20 unsolved cases.  There were 3 cases that could be potential a potential story structure for the murder of the main character.  They are  the JonBenet Ramsey case, the Boy in the Box care and  the Amber Hagerman case. You can read the cases in the blog post i linked to, but the one i will briefly describe is the one i found inspirational for the main character.

Amber Hagerman case = A 9 year old girl abducted whilst riding her bike.  Her search was so grand that it brought in the FBI.  Her body was found 4 days later by a man walking his dog.  Her throat had been cut and evidence showed she had been alive 2 days prior to her death.  The high-profile case had called out for tougher laws for sex offenders, including a national offenders registry, lead to the creation of the AMBER alert - a national bulletin distributed by tv and radio when a child goes missing.

So here is my idea for what happened to my main character! I don't want it to reminisce too much onto this case, maybe have some similarities but my idea should be a murder case able to stand on its own with out it being related to something else.  In future posts, i will go into detail about the characters and the location/setting of the game, so what i write will make more sense in time.  But for now, here is my idea for this murder.

A girl goes missing whilst playing outside her home, which is located outside a village in a rural spot near the local wood.  She is abducted by an unknown male.  He carries her off into the woods, muffling her voice and restricting her movement.  As he escapes with her, he trips and falls, releasing the girl.  She screams and tries to escape.  Her screams are heard by her parents, alerting them and running to her aid.  The male catches her and then in fear, slits her throat and runs away.  The parents are unable to locate her so they bring in the police.  After hours of searching they find her in the woods dead.  It is suggested that this was the males first and not last kill/attempted abduction.

Don't think i can add to my description without revealing everything that happens! So for now i will leave it as it is. Next i will try to describe the main characters and the 'dream world' aswel as look into more artists and art styles.

BA7 - Judgement

"It is a ghost story/adventure 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.  The story is abstract and is episodic; each chapter of her life being a story book."

Time to get adding! In this post, i will be discussing the set up of the "dream like world" the game is based in.  As i previously mentioned in my last post, unknown to the girl or player she is in fact dead and has to discover who she is/was, what happened to her and come to terms with her death.  I am basing this structure on Egyptian mythology and their views on the afterlife. I will briefly talk about their ideas on the afterlife and go on to explain the influence it has on my idea.  More information found here and here.

Egyptian Afterlife

The Underworld

'Field of Offerings' / 'the Two Fields'.  Had tests and trials set for everyone to pass, each different for the individual.

The Soul

The Egyptians believed the soul was always at risk.  The burial process were done to protect parts of the soul.  The soul had 3 parts= Ka, Ba and Ahk.  You need all 3 to live in the afterlife.

Hall of Two Truths / Hall of Ma'at

After passing the tests, the soul would enter the hall and reach judgement day.  There were 43 judges to judge the soul with the good and bad deeds they have done in their life.

Scales of Judgement

The worth of a soul would be valued with scales on the persons heart.  The good and bad deeds would be placed on either side of the scale, each deed being judged.  Depending on which side weighed heaviest determined the souls fate.

Ra's Boat / Devourer of the Dead

If you had more good deeds, you would board Ra's boat and travel to the 'Two Fields' - their version of heaven.  If you had more bad deeds, you would be given to the Devourer of the Dead - their version of hell.

Now, for my idea, the young girl was murdered (explanation in next post) and her task/trial to pass in order to move on is to come to terms with her own death.  This will be set up as chapters that i mentioned in the previous post.  Progressing through the chapters, at the end she will arrive at the "Hall of truth" where she will met the "Judge" - a single entity that creates the trials for souls to pass and then goes on to judge them to decide their fate.  The "Judge" then goes onto decide the young girls fate.  Time to add and summarize:

"It is a ghost story/adventure 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.  The story is abstract and is episodic; each chapter of her life being a story book. At the end, you are confronted by the 'Judge' and discover the meaning of this 'dream world'."

BA7 - Episodic

 For my game idea i previously wrote:
  "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."
Hopefully i'll be able to expand this paragraph with each blog post, going into more detail of my story idea, art styles and game mechanics.

In my previous post, i talked briefly about my idea for this years project and what games/books/films/art is inspiring me for this project.  I talked about one game Rule of Rose and described how it was episodic and that i want my game idea to also be episodic. So here, i will discuss that!

In this story, the young girl is dead (unknown to the girl and the player) and in order for her to pass on she must explore who she was, how she died and come to terms with that in order to move on into the after life (in depth description in future posts).  I want the game to be in chapters, for it to be episodic to break up the game - to break up the flow of play and keep it unrealistic. Because the young girl is dead and she has to come to terms with her own death, i thought/decided to have the chapters in the 5 stages of loss and grief (link to full information here).

The 5 Stages of Loss and Grief

(don't need to be in any particular order)

Denial & Isolation

Denying the reality of the situation. It's a defense mechanism to buffer immediate shock.

Anger

Pain and vulnerability redirected as anger.  Feel guilty for being angry, making us more angry.

Bargaining
Need to regain control of the situation.  Start asking/questioning "if only we did this sooner..."  Making deal with God/higher power to postpone the inevitable.

Depression
Associated with mourning. 2 types: 1, sadness and regret, worry of  e.g. costs of funeral, worry over spending less time with those that need them 2, more subtle and private, prepare saying goodbye to our loved one.

Acceptance
Withdrawal and calm.  Not a period of happiness and must be distinguished from depression.  Dignity and grace shown by those dying.

I want to use these 5 stages as a basis for chapters in the girls journey, each stage having a different setting and location; starting with where she grew up leading to her death and then her acceptance of her death, going on into the afterlife.  As of yet, i'm not sure exactly how the stages will be structured and set, but Acceptance will definitely be the last stage (more explanation in future posts).

I really like the style of the illustrations - childish, depressing and crudely drawn.  The white on black is also really effective, like chalk on a calk-board.

The beginning illustration sequence is what i really like and what to incorporate into my work.

At 9:20, the sequence of the book is what in drawing on inspiration for the introduction of the chapters in my idea.


Now, time to add to the paragraph i wrote at the beginning of this post:
"It is a ghost story/adventure 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.  The story is abstract and is episodic; each chapter of her life being a story book."

BA7 - Year 3!

Third and final year now...time has flown by! Well, had best get back into working for this years project! I am going to be doing 2D Concept Artwork for a game idea i have in mind. I have had a bit of a head start as i have already started working on my idea in the holidays- developing and researching my idea.  In future posts, i will go onto document my research and relate it to the story idea. This is the basic idea of my story:

"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

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 (2009, horror, PC)

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?