A17 Artistic Game Development I

Hello, welcome to my mini portfolio.

• High poly 3D sculpt

• Low poly 3D model

• Photoshop collage or other multi-layer composition

• Digital painting
• Drawing

• Animation

• Games

http://users.wpi.edu/~fmo/finalpuzzlecover.html

 

Since the story of “The Royal Mice” focuses on a large population of mice living an extensive castle, my goal for a game to capture this story will be one akin to the Pikmin series. The gameplay will thus focus on resource management and strategy, but will still have lots of action elements. The player would control a large group of mice to accomplish certain tasks specific to the level.

The levels would consist of different areas of the castle, such as the kitchen, bedroom, tower and so on. Each level wouldn’t be relegated to a single room, but would contain the rooms surrounding that central key room. Each level’s objective would be related to the area. For example, if it is the kitchen level the goal would be to gather enough food for the mice to live off of in hiding, and the tower level would be about navigating to the top to retrieve the sword and horn.

Gameplay-wise, the player would be in control of a single mouse, who in turn would be guiding the whole group. The lead mouse would be Cadbury (since he is the one who uses the sword and horn). Most of the mice Cadbury is leading would be generic, but there will be special “units” that can make up the group. Little mice like Francis are more nimble than the regular mice, and are used to retrieve resources quickly. Elders like Gilbert are excellent at rousing speeches and will give the whole group a defensive or offensive buff. Additionally, once the sword and horn have been retrieved, spirit-mice can also be added to the group who have much greater attack power.

The group can be split up and assigned to different tasks in the level, much like in Pikmin. There will be food lying around the level which can picked up by the mice and used to heal injured ones. Key level items can also be picked up, such as a doorknob which can be used to open a door. The mice can be used to attack objects to break them; glass jars can be broken to retrieve the food inside. The mice can also be grouped to attack enemies, which can range from weak cockroaches to full on cats. These enemies have the ability to take out mice in the group, so the health of the mice must be taken into account. If the player needs more mice, there will be mouse-holes throughout the levels where more mice will spawn. These mouse-holes are a limited resource though, so they must be used wisely.

The game will be targeted to younger audiences (probably 9 to 13-year-olds). To make the game appealing, it will have a colorful art style that emulates vector art (flatter colors). Thus, the art will be more cartoony. To minimize the violence, enemies and mice will die in little puffs of smoke.

Created by: Casper Cox

High Concept:

How Max Became Magnificent is a quest-based exploration game in which the player controls Max, an average young housecat, as he goes on a journey to save his hometown from being ravaged by mice. Along the way, he has many opportunities to change his reputation in the eyes of his townsfolk, fellow cats, mice, and his owner; the more things he does well, the more magnificent he becomes.

 

Story:

Everyone knows the tale of Max the Magnificent, a cat who, at an unfortunate fault, was bested by the royal mice of the Queen of All You Can See’s castle. But what no one knows is how that cat, formerly just known as Max, became so magnificent in the first place.

Several years before the occurrences at the Queen’s castle, when Max was just a kitten, there was a mouse infestation in a forest-trapped village. The Queen thought she had it bad with the royal mice, but her problems were nothing compared to this. The mice had overrun everything. Houses were filled with them, food storages were picked clean because of them, and illness was rapidly spreading from their presence. For a while, no one stepped forward to solve the problem, and because the village was surrounded by dangerous forest, word for help could not spread past the trees.

Within this unfortunate village lived Max and his owner, Franny. The two were very happy together until the mouse incident, but even through the start of the infestation they were doing fine. However, by autumn Franny fell ill. She could no longer move about their cottage, and could not take care of herself or Max. Because the mice had gotten to nearly all of the food, Franny and Max were beginning to starve as well. When Max saw the condition that his dear owner was in, he knew that he had to do something. Max remembered seeing something about a magical horn in Franny’s books; a horn tucked deep inside the heart of the darkest part of the northern forest. Although the woods around the village were filled with peril, he, with Franny’s encouragement, ventured out to find the horn, hoping that in doing so he could save his village, and, more importantly to him, save Franny and make her proud of what he had done.

Max traveled deep into the woods to find the horn. He met a handful of other creatures along the way, including a master mouse-catcher named Stella, a guilty rodent named Robin, and a far-too-dancey frog named Ripple. He won each of them over with promises and his kitten charms, and managed to bring the magical horn back to his village. When he reached the village, it was nearly too late. Everything was in shambles, and the townsfolk were on the brink of moving out – a dangerous feat because of the perilous forest. Max blew into the horn with a great breath, and produced a wind strong enough to blow all of the mice away. Max rushed to his owner Franny, only to find that there was no helping her at this point. She was still alive, and very proud of her Max, but they both knew she would be passing soon.

After Franny’s passing, Max, now known by all in the village as Max the Magnificent, left his hometown to find a new purpose in life with the hope that he could be seen as truly magnificent in someone else’s eyes, just as he was seen through Franny’s.

 

Player Objectives:

The main objectives of the game are to go on quests, both fetch quests and battle quests, in order to increase Max’s reputation, get him a step closer to saving his home and Franny, and to become Max the Magnificent.

 

Characters:

Playable Characters:

The only playable character is Max. He’s a fluffy kitten with a patchwork of spots on his fur. His claws are dull and need to be trimmed, and his tail droops downwards with very little motion to it. He has lived most of his young life up to this point in fear of the mice which terrorize the townsfolk of his home and steal all of the food. Once his owner becomes deathly ill, Max realizes that something needs to be done and travels through the dangerous forests surrounding his home in order to find a magical item. More than anything, he wants to save his owner and make her proud.

NPCS:

Franny is Max’s owner. She is old and frail, and, after the mice stole most of their food, deathly ill. She’s also a retired herbalist, and has tons of books on magic, plants, and enchanted items scattered around her house. She motivates Max to gather courage and save the town, promising him that she’ll be proud no matter what he does. In Franny’s eyes, Max has always been magnificent, he just needs to see it himself. Franny survives until shortly after the mice have been chased out of the town, which is when Max packs up his life and finds another person to make as proud as he made her.

Stella is a tortoiseshell cat which Max meets in the forest. She is tough, courageous, and well-versed in chasing mice out of towns. However, she is old, and cannot go with Max to help him; she is able to teach him some of her tricks, though.

Robin is a mouse which Max meets near the item he seeks. Robin does not approve of what his rodent-kin have been doing in Max’s hometown, and agrees to help Max reach the item so long as Max will try to do as little harm to the mice as possible.

Ripple is a large frog which guards the wind horn. He is joyful and loves dancing. Much to Max’s dismay, in order to earn the trust of Ripple, he must set up a stage and perform a dance for the frog.

 

Key Objects:

The main object in the game is a magical horn which, when blown, produces a great wind. The horn is crafted from silver, and has intricate carvings of puffs of wind around its end. Max hopes to use this horn to blow the mice out of his home.

Other key objects are bundles of food which the mice have stashed away in the forest. The more food that Max gathers, the better off his town will be once the mice are gone, and the better Max’s reputation will become.

 

Game Mechanics:

The game will have a few different mechanics, namely fighting, quests, and exploration.

For fighting, some sections of the forest which Max must travel through are crawling with enemies – both mice and other small creatures. Max must get past them, either by defeating them or sneaking past, in order to progress.

Quests will be the most significant method of story and world discovery. There are fetch quests and fighting quests that Max must undertake while on his journey. The main quest of the game is to find the magical wind horn to save Max’s town. Other quests include finding food, finding objects to gain NPCs’ trust, and fighting enemies to protect NPCs.

Exploration will take place when traveling from quest to quest. As the player explores more of the forest with Max, they’ll discover hidden paths which loop back to other areas, and might also uncover hidden stashes of food to take back to the village.

 

Special Gameplay Features:

The main gameplay feature is that the things Max does while on his journey to save his town will affect his reputation. If Max goes against his word and harms a lot of the mice after receiving the wind horn, he’ll have a bad reputation with Robin, and with some of the townsfolk, but a better reputation with characters like Stella. If he puts more effort into merely blowing creatures away, he’ll have a better reputation with smaller animals like the mice and frogs. Different combinations of actions will result in a higher reputation, but, no matter what he does, he’ll have a good reputation with Franny, and will forever be seen as Max the Magnificent in her eyes.

 

Art Style:

The art style for this game is going to be a mix of the original art style of the book and a more cartoonish style in order to keep the game fit for its target audience. The colors will closely reflect the book’s style with some of its more vibrant tones in certain areas, but will have natural enough shades to accurately represent the main forest setting of the game.

Genre:RPG

 

Target Audience:

The intended audience for How Max Became Magnificent is ages 10 and up. It will have a few darker nuances, especially with the story, but kids around this age should be able to catch on relatively quickly. The game will appeal to this audience through its range of gameplay types, storybook characters, overall story, and light bits of humor. Violence will be minimized by any defeated creatures turning into small clouds of dust. Think Cartoon Network’s Over the Garden Wall for the sort of feeling this game will produce; this game will have lots of similar traits, but in interactive game form rather than as a show.

 

The game of the Royal Mice and the Cat’s Gambit will begin with a short narrative told by the mice Cadbury and Guinevere describing their relatively peaceful life in the castle until the queen of All You Can See became frustrated with the mice and she got a cat, Max the Magnificent. The scene ends with Max entering the castle and greeting the queen. Then, the players choose to play as little Francis or little Francine before they begin the game in their small mouse home inside of the castle. The player will complete a quick tutorial before meeting Cadbury and Guinevere. Cadbury and Guinevere will explain how Max has been hunting the mice and that they have been hiding, but it hasn’t been enough. They need to find a way to get rid of the cat.

The player will then be given various quests to find objects around the castle. The quests will be given by Cadbury, Guinevere, and Gilbert the Elder after the player meets him shortly into the game. Gilbert will tell the player about the secret chamber with a horn and a sword, but his memory is somewhat hazy so he will give quests to find items that tell the ancient story of the warrior mice and the importance of the horn and the sword. Guinevere will ask for items to help the mice and some chores before focusing on finding items that are keys in the quest as well as items that come together to form maps. Cadbury, on the other hand, helps train the player in different skills such as climbing and different tricks to avoid the cat in addition to giving quests to find objects necessary for completing the search for the horn and the sword such as rope and other tools. The player can also complete side quests given by the main three mice along with other mice and even a few friendly humans like the princess.

The game is built on the player finding various objects around the castle while avoiding the cat and humans. If the cat sees the player, they will need to run, hide, or trick the cat to escape. If the player gets caught, it’s game over and they will have to start at their last save. Throughout the game, the player will explore the welcoming and light castle through the library, kitchen, bedrooms, and towers finding important objects. When the player has completed all of the main quests, they will have found the horn and the sword and they will call the spirt warrior mice to help them defeat the cat. The game will end with Max’s defeat and the mice will live peacefully in the castle again.

The bright and friendly aspects of the game are meant to appeal to children as well as the teenagers and adults that enjoy fun quest filled games like the Legend of Zelda. The castle is well lit with many interesting places to explore like secret passageways through the walls. The color scheme is pleasant with pinks, whites, yellows, and blues and the animals are anthropomorphized and wearing cute clothes. There is also an interaction with human children such as the princess who becomes their friend, which becomes relatable for young gamers. The Royal Mice and the Cat’s Gambit is a lighthearted game based on a children’s book with simple objectives and enjoyable gameplay.

Player Objectives: Find various objects and complete quests while avoiding the cat and humans.

Main Characters: Cadbury and Guinevere are the leaders of the mice. Gilbert the Elder is a wise old mouse that helps the player. Max the Magnificent is the cat that hunts and kills the mice. The queen and the princess are unfriendly and friendly humans respectively.

Key Objects: The ancient horn and sword that calls the spirit warrior mice for help.

Game World: The light, welcoming castle with many rooms including a kitchen, throne room, bedrooms, a library, towers and paths through the walls that the mice use. The castle is noble and sometimes messy with whites, pinks, blues, and yellows.

Genre: Role Playing Game (RPG)

Audience: Ages 10 and up due to the lighthearted nature of the game with many enjoyable quests and interesting characters.

Concept Art:

Welcome to my mini portfolio

Some drafts and sketches in here, Main area of focus is on drawing, sketching, and painting

Digital Paintings:

High Poly 3D-models:

Animation (draft 2D):

Drawings (Graphite) :

(drawing with ink, usually just sketches)

 

 

 

High poly 3D sculpt:

Above are a bunch of different angles of the first project I ever did in ZBrush.

Above is a 3D model I made of yours truly for my 3D Modeling I final project.

Drawing:

I like to use charcoal.

Some pen and ink stuff.

Some colored pencil stuff, which is probably my favorite medium besides paint.

Some regular pencil stuff.

Animation:

Here’s the 30 second monologue I animated for my Animation II final.

Here’s the 2D animation I did for my midterm.

Other:

Some watercolor stuff.

I paint with acrylics, too.

One time I carved a wood block and made a print with it and didn’t lose any fingers in the process, so I count that as a success. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I also like taking pictures. This is a picture of a wild kangaroo I befriended in Australia during IQP.

 

Hello, this is my mini portfolio.

High poly 3D sculpt (Zbrush)

Low poly 3D model (Maya etc.)

 

 

Photoshop collage or other multi-layer composition

 

Digital painting

 

Drawing

Some figure drawings

Animation (embed links (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. to youtube etc.)

 

Games (screenshots and/or gameplay videos)
Created the background art for a 2D platformer. In this level, I did the trees and mountains. 

 

Other: photography, sculpture, crafts, music, performing arts, interactive multimedia, videos, whatever else represents your best creative work.

Short Video that I made in India for our IQP. It’s supposed to be a little vlog to show our peers and advisers what we did. 

Dragon Sculpture 

Pencil

Photoshop

 

Hi Everyone! I’m just starting my sophomore year so I don’t have an abundance of high quality works but hopefully that should change soon.

High-Poly Model:

Low-Poly Model:

Multi-layer compositions:

Drawing:

Game Levels and environments:

 

High Poly 3D sculpt:

Low Poly 3D Model:

Multi-Layered Photoshop Composition:

Games:

http://users.wpi.edu/~svwoolf/Assignments/DrawPuzzle4.0_Without_DB/cover.html