The outcome for this project was the realization of artworks and animations for a 2D game in collaboration with the Game design students.
I’ve been assigned to Team 2, we had two game designers (Louis-Sacha and Charlie) and 2 game artists (me and Eden).
We’ve been communicating through Discord and Microsoft Teams, organizing video meeting independently from class.
My goal was to make the environment and the props for the scene such as hazards.
Since our first meeting we agreed on the style of our game. We wanted to set it in a futuristic environment, with electronic and cyber elements, and a dark atmosphere. We got inspired by Cyberpunk 2077 and Alita battle angel for the colours and atmosphere as it reflected our descriptions during brainstorming.
I created a Padlet where we posted pictures and videos for inspiration, creating an interesting moodboard: https://it.padlet.com/stefaniafiorucci1995/1treztnbdeoilpgo
PRIMARY RESEARCH
Sketches
I started to sketch out some elements based on our collection of references and made some greyscale thumbnails to start with, including some hazards and elements to interact with, and shared it on our discord group.
We still needed to get into details to plan how the game would work.
Character Research
I’ve started to study different examples of sprites and PNG art. I’ve been looking for platforms and tiles for 2D games to get inspiration.
I collected different images showing assets of all kind. It just gave me a general idea of how the elements could be made.
Then I thought about studying a bit more the cyberpunk style but tried to detach a bit from stereotypes, so I’ve been looking at Pc motherboards and screws as I like how intricated the chip designs are, I built my own pc before starting this project and that’s how I got this idea of merging my design with pc parts later on for the tiles. We decided the game would be set up in a city environment.
Secondary research:
Close-up mechanism. 3d fatasy background. close up view of gears from old mechanism mechanical gears join together, abstract join gears Examples of Tiles (Rainforest)
The palette we chose was purple and blue with a tiny bit of red, as it reminded us sci-fi movies/games and lasers such as “Ready player one”, ” Mass effect” and “Cyberpunk 2077” which have a great combination of dramatic colours:
Mass Effect™: Andromeda_20170313104053
Mechanics
The character will be able to jump, run, grab and swing between platforms. There will be an enemy which will be killed with a “dash” movement of the character. There will be spiky hazards and a final portal where the character can enter at the end of the level (level completed).
Tiles
After discussing the different mechanics and style, I started making the definitive tiles for the environment. I did a few variations as well making sure they’re cut into single squares.
I created these blocks and covered with led lights because they make a nice bright contrast. I ‘m planning to animate a couple of elements in the environment.
Narrative
I’ve been thinking about the narrative of the game – It takes place in a far future where machines and society have been evolving.
The character is the result of an experiment which involved the creation of a human with robot parts.
These robot parts has been taken away from a complex machine – which has a conscience and now is looking to get its parts back. That’s why it is persecuting our half human character, fighting to stay alive and defeat the original owner which has no feeling and just needs its parts back as an instinct.
This machine is evil because he planned to rule over humans and he could achieve its plan only getting his parts back. until then it is only a ghost, able to travel through internet and electric cables – and persuading other machines with “viruses” to get the work done (kill the hero).
The parts have been disconnected by this machine because of the potential danger it could expose to the city – which in this era it’s all been replaced with chips, metal and cables running through walls and pavements.
Only our hero can end it all.
Background
After confirming the Art style with my team receiving positive feedback on the tiles I designed, I moved on defining the city background.
I kept it relatively simple, filling out rectangles with colours and just adding windows detail and few neon lights.
I played around a bit, filling the sky with different gradients and changing hue, trying to get an anxious, dark vibe.
After trying different variations, everything seemed to mix a bit too vibrant in colours. In the end I opted out for a black and white background, leaving only the front layer coloured to keep an interesting atmosphere.
At this point, the character was still in development. I had one concept available made by Eden and I blended it into the scene with interesting results.
I made four separate PNG layers to make a parallax background so that my Team mates can work on it.
City references First concept Variation1 Variation2 Variations of tiles Compositing the scene
Final Environment design
Tiles + Background
Animations
These are the animations I made for the project (enemy, hazard and checkpoint door).
I’ve been inspired by screws, electric and organic material for most of my designs, especially for the tiles. I collected a series of motherboards pic and started to mess around with the parts on photoshop. We kept a palette of purple, blue and pink colours for the scene.
I’m really happy with the results obtained with my method of work.
All the artworks are ready, character included. In the next weeks our game will come to life and I can’t wait to see the results.
See my GIFS here: https://it.padlet.com/stefaniafiorucci1995/5o0foyuiqxyrwulc
Checkpoint door Enemy defeat Laser killer
Light
Hazard
Critical appraisal
This project was quite challenging for me as I had many ideas and doubts at the same time but I had to make decisions fast so that the rest of the team could work with my art.
While working for this project I felt like there wasn’t going to be enough time to make many animations but I managed to draw them keeping it simple. Creating the sprites was the longest process as I didn’t feel very confident with it.
I believe that I should have challenged myself a bit more on that and maybe dedicate some time focusing exclusively on it as it takes a lot of time to make an animation that looks good.
I also wish I experimented a bit more with Unity in this context but I constantly felt there was not enough time so I tried to manage my expectations.
Overall I appreciate the work I’ve done although I am not 100% happy with it. I definitely learnt how to compromise choices within a team, which is very hard for me as I tend to be a strong decision maker.
I feel generally good with what I’ve done, but not with the quantity.
I know did my best to compromise time, quality and quantity as I was working on 2 more projects at the same time, so I believe I managed my expectations, which sometimes can be stressful to handle.
Bibliography
-Araki, T., (2014), Attack on Titan Part I- III.
– CD Project Red, (2020) Cyberpunk 2077, PC, Warsaw, Poland : CD Projekt S.A.
-Araki, H., (1986), Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Part I-VI.
– Rodriguez, R. (2019). Alita: Battle Angel. Odeon Leicester Square,UK: Twentieth Century Fox