PROTOYPES

Major Foci

Here are my proposals, for two prototypes, that present the contrasting outcomes for my game. The transformation of the game environment is dependant on the players success. If they manage to complete the objectives while taking the most moral and unproblematic actions, they will be rewarded with the first outcome that shows a world that has managed to recover from the destruction that humanity has caused. In contrast, the game environment will continue to suffer and deteriorate if the player fails to do the right thing. This second image shows the loss outcome and how climate change will transform our world for the worst, if we all fail to take action.

The Process and design choices

The scene of the win outcome

The process of the first scene can be found under GDD Development in the blog post titled "Building 3D environments". It depicts the win outcome for the game; a world that has recovered and has a safer, brighter future to look forward to. If I had more time, I would have liked to expand the scene and include elements of sustainability such as wind turbines in a nearby field and solar panels on the rood of the house. I did have time to add more variation in plant life and added some more details to the house.

I first modelled a single rock, some grass, a leafy plant and a healthy tree. I used alt-modelling methods for the rocks to quickly create a unique shape.

I then applied a particle system to each model so that they would be randomly replicated and distributed around the scene in respect to the weight paint. The result of this was an organic and unique scene that reflected a healthy environment appropriate for the win outcome of the game.

Key details that reflect the good health and recovery of this winning scene include the variations in plant life, a blue sky and soft, bright sunlight.

Here are the modifiers I applied to the rock.

Then I used weight paint on the grass in the scene to rule out an area where I would want this wildlife to grow: more growth around the back of the house and less closer to the road.

The scene of the loss outcome

The development of the loss outcome began with replicating the win outcome and essentially "killing" it. I began by taking out the living elements such as the plant life and de-leafed the trees which immediately cast a deathly and sorrowful feeling over the scene. Furthermore, the grass has been bleached from drought.

An essential difference that had to be made was to the sky and the lighting for the scene. On the right are the contrasting dynamic sky options for the win and loss scenes. The sky was darkened and clouds were turned a murky brown colour to represent smog/air pollution. The sunlight was changed from a yellow healthy glow to a darker, almost red tone. Furthermore, the spotlight I used for the loss scene cast an amber glow over the scene, showing the effects of a heavily polluted atmosphere. The research and mood boards behind these design decisions can be found in my GDD development.

The elements of this scene, compared to the healthy one, had to be suggestive of a world that was dying and falling apart. Therefore, I modelled some fallen branches, ominous bones and a build up of bin bags. If I had more time, I would have liked to include more features such as a build up of litter.

Changing these small elements between the scenes are is essential in creating a contrasting narrative to evoke emotion in the players and shock them with the real, devastating effects of climate change.

Another key change I made to the loss prototype was cracking the road. I did this by applying dynamic cracking to a plane and then raising/lowering different parts of it. As global temperatures rise, concrete structures will experience thermal- expansive stress and fall apart. These structural damages are also suggestive of extreme weather. Both are affects of climate change.

I have suggested in the games design document that the game "Change our Fate" be developed as a 2D side-scrolling game. But these prototypes demonstrate the differences and transformations that the game environments should feature.

2D Environment Creation

Here is a short video showing the process of creating a concept piece for this game. It depicts how the environment will look after the player loses the game. I spent a lot of time working on the composition until I decided that less is more. Keeping the environment simple with a few key and effective details will allow the player to analyse each element and form an understanding to how the environment has changed and what the causes were. Keeping the smog, factories and dying country side separated in layers fading to the back will allow the player to make connections between those elements. A more detailed and cluttered composition would make that more difficult.