My intentions with this particular project was to teach the values of shielding your mind and escaping from the pain of reality. The world can be filled with cruelty, and every human being must learn to cope and avoid the pain, even if it’s not a permanent solution. In this project, we are given the hand of guidance, a hand with the ability to teach you the values of meditation and how to protect your mind from duress.
For the first scenario, the mind can be plagued by the news, a spew of many stories about the cruelty of real life. The majority of this news will only cause distress, and as such it’s best to turn the tv off and do something else. The second scenario is about escapism in general. While the subject is in quite a bad mood right now, he can be relieved and have his mood altered when exposed to the adventure of something like a book. Finally, there’s a scenario for what to do in the face of bad vibes, or general emotional struggles. The solution there is to embrace the outdoors, absorb the sun, and do whatever’s necessary to enter a personal peace of mind. Though it can’t accomplish everything you’d want, it can do quite a bit to ease stress and fear.
You can hold the guiding hand, and it will lead you towards ways of prospering, calming your mind and protecting yourself from every psychological and environmental negativity you may face on a bad day.
I’ve added a selection of jingles to coincide with this project. The first is a drone, intended to represent the general bad influences of the world. Each jingle is meant to show the reprieve of certain ideas, like escaping into a book, or embracing the outdoors, or turning the news off.
As an artist, I would like to ask if my “guiding hand” properly represents it’s purpose of guiding the player well, or might there be a better alternative?
The animations are very striking. A neutral question: what was the thought process in representing the third animation’s “bad vibes” with an evil-looking eye?
The bad vibes entity, which I based off of Zero from the Kirby series, is meant to be a lingering presence, not an active one. Because bad vibes don’t actively engage you or assault your mind, they just sit there and (metaphorically) stare at you. I especially liked the opportunity of animating a blinking eye.
This one has a heavy, but organic and raw feel to it. The animations are very impressive! What was the meaning of the recurring use of grey in the piece?
The intention with the grey is to show the world in it’s dull, dreary state. The worst of the world makes it seem very subdued and colorless, hence the grey.
I liked the guiding hand concept and the sound plays a great role with showing the contrast. I think the controller does a great job in portraying its purpose.
Very Nice! What was your thought process for your sound design representing both the positives and negatives in your piece?