Research

Research and Reflection – Analogue Game Design – Project Three (2330)

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Original Story From Project Two

Horror Story  – Final Version

 

Abstract Takeaways

  • divine punishment
  • hunger
    • insatiable
    • insanity-inducing
    • murderous
      • only relieved by consumption of human flesh
  • moral conflict
    • eat oneself?
      • hurts
      • can kill you
      • still hungry
    • eat another?
      • murder is wrong
      • dangerous, damages reputation and psyche
      • full, not hungry anymore
  • coming to terms with terrible outcomes

 

Themes

  • divine intervention, fate, and unfairness
  • moral conflict, murder is wrong, is sacrifice any better?
    • can you call it “murder” if it’s to survive?
  • madness, insanity, slowly succumbing to temptation, the pull of evil becoming stronger every moment

 

Potential Message

  • there is no right answer in desperate times
  • survival is a test of morality, not fitness

 

How Interaction and Play Can Communicate the Message

The themes of succumbing to an ever-present creeping madness definitely can be a conflict within the game design, the goal being to simply make it to the end, whatever that means (time-based? challenge-based? experience-based?). The machinic of the game would likely be something to do with surviving each day to the end, but facing various effects of the hunger each day. Perhaps this is a card game, the goal to last a week long with this ever-growing hunger within you. Maybe each day you draw an additional card that has the chance of serious setbacks upon them each day, drawing one on day one and seven on day seven. I would like this game to be played alone, if possible, a game between yourself and fate and random chance. The concept of keeping up facades, reputation, and not being creepy could play into the game design as well, perhaps including a player card that has a series of stats (health, reputation, suspicious, hunger) that change as you draw cards, and as one gets too low, you must react accordingly and potentially hurt other stats.

Face Off – Research – Project Two (2130)

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History of Masking

  • Origins
    • face masks
      • rituals and spiritual sacrifice
        • representing a deity or a person who is connected to such things
        • unifying sign of worshipers
        • protection of identity
      • hunting, battle, and feasts
        • protection of vitally important face area
        • limited consumption rates
      • simply ornamentation
        • theatre
          • representations of others
          • actors and performance
        • decoration
        • sign of status and wealth
    • body masks
      • clothes
        • protect the body
        • can be stylized and designed
        • societally accepted
      • armor
        • for protection in battle
        • sign of bravery and class differentiation
        • heavy, limits mobility
        • keeps user safe, intended for defense
      • augmentations
        • body enhancements
        • extended arms and legs (stilts)
        • aid for ease of use
          • glasses
          • grip-gloves
          • hearing aids
          • body modifications (piercings, tattoos)
      • replacements
        • amputation
          • prosthetics
            • wooden fingers (ancient Egypt)
            • wooden legs (peg legs – seafarers)
            • iron hinged arms and legs (~1500)

Ideas for Narrative 

  • The Origin Of Cancer (the Zodiac Sign)
    • focus on shape of sign ♋️
      • emotional/sensitive/gentle
      • caring/supportive/nurturing
      • trouble with self-discipline/need to be distinguished
    • crab imagery
      • claws/pincers (hands)
      • exoskeleton (body)
      • legs
      • flat head and long eyes (face)
    • emphasis on water
    • history of development
    • constellation and time of year
    • PERFORMANCE
      • highlighting origin of the constellation and it’s realization into what it is now
      • the development into a crab
      • how the characteristics of a Cancer came to be
      • end in collaboration, making the Cancer zodiac sign with two hands (♋️)
  • Ancient Greek Mythology
    • focus on the hubris of humans versus imperfect gods and goddesses
    • stories of eternal punishment or reward
      • Arachne
      • Sisyphus
      • Tantalus
    • explanation of natural world around us
      • Pan – panic, pan pipes, reeds
      • Dionysus – reason of debauchery/insanity, wobbliness of being drunk
      • Prometheus – fire, clay humans

Ideas for Masking

  • crab head mask
    • textured and modeled like a crab – red and white splotches
    • oblong shape, sharp edges, long eyes
  • crab claw/pincer hand

    • textured and modeled like a crab – red and white splotches
    • curved claw shape
      • smooth outside
      • sharp, jagged inside
      • able to move in accordance to hand
  • exoskeleton/hard outer shell
    • textured and modeled like a crab – red and white splotches
    • emphasis on strength and rigidity of shell
  • removed hand
    • mechanical hand mechanic that is larger (or smaller) than the user’s own hand
  • reversed/confused hand
    • similar to removed hand but the mechanics are purposely messed up
      • one finger moving does not properly correspond to the others moving
      • multiple fingers bound together to move mechanics

Research – Abstracted Metamorphosis – Project Four (2310)

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Finding Objects

The goal of this research was to find at least six objects on OSU’s campus that had some sort of organic shape. It was necessary to take pictures of it from all or most angles or simply take a video of the subject while rotating around it.

 

Chosen Subjects

Walking around campus I spied for various levels of organic and semi-organic shapes. The first examples I had were a red chair shaped to the human body, and next to that was some covered outdoor heat lamps on Curl Market’s patio that also had a vague organic feel. After this on another day, I walked around and found a small structure/sculpture, a mailbox outside the journalism building, and a flower and bench just in front of Hitchcock Hall. My goal was to explore truly organic shapes found in nature (the flower) to objects that are only partially organic (the mailbox).

Research – Spatial Assembly – Project Two (2130)

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Room Dimensions – 200 square feet

I love tight spaces and long corridors. I have styled my own personal room in my home so it follows a more close and narrow appearance. I want the walls to be close and cozy, but distant enough to have two people walk by each other comfortably, including furniture. I like the idea that this studio was just an unused hallway that I repurposed. I plan to have a very high ceiling. I want to create a subtle hierarchy with they length of the room. The beginning being open and inviting, but as you delve deeper into the room, more and more personal items, work spaces, and less areas to sit exist.

  • 10 by 20
    • Definitely enough room in width to pass by anyone, even with furniture in the way.
    • Only doubly wide as long, loses hierarchical importance and narrow pathway feel.
    • More of a rectangular room than a corridor.
  • 8 by 25
    • Potential problem with space and people passing each other, must be careful placing things.
    • Longer room, but still relatively room shaped. Inoffensive.
  • 6 by 33 1/3
    • The most potential problem with space. Heavy attention to location of furniture and ability to move about is necessary.
    • Unique opportunities with the space.
      • Could create faux doors/doorways by placing furniture and pinching circulation to force people through certain areas one at a time or establish an emphasis between spaces.
      • With a high ceiling, claustrophobia is extremely reduced and the awe of the space invites a wandering eye.
      • Office/work space defined by the very end of the room that you must walk all the way down to.
    • More corridor than room, cozy and repurposed feel I’m going for.

A. “A wall or structural detail.”

  • coffers
    • subtractive, adds more space in an already cramped area
    • potential shelves or storage areas
  • columns/pilasters
    • additive, takes away space available
    • creates hierarchy and emphasis
    • ability to subtly separate areas of studio
  • half/quarter walls
    • subtractive, allows for unique areas
      • benches and social sitting areas for quarter walls
      • shelves and high storage for areas with half walls
    • can separate areas of the studio, much like columns or pillars

B. “An area for sitting.”

  • half/quarter walls
    • can be an elongated bench
    • social area
  • specified chairs or sofa
    • lessens space for walkway
    • social space, although cramped

C. “An object for a workspace.”

  • design desk (with lots of ascending shelves)
  • some nice chair lol

D. “A personal item no larger than a person.”

  • music stuffs
    • ukulele
    • guitar
    • trumpet
    • keyboard
    • microphone set-up
  • posters and personal junk
    • posters of shows
    • frames of important photos
    • medals and sashes of fun importance
    • stuff I’ve collected

Research – 2D Principles and Squares – Project Two (2110)

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a. Order

  1. (noun) The arrangement or disposition of people or things in relation to each other according to a particular sequence, pattern, or method.
  2. (noun) An authoritative command, direction, or instruction.
  3. (verb) To give an authoritative direction or instruction to do something.
  4. (verb) A request (something) to be made, supplied, or served.
    • themes of conformity, submission, discipline, and linearity
    • feelings of oppression, boredom, and rebellion

b. Increase

  1. (verb) To become or make greater in size, amount, intensity, or degree.
  2. (noun) An instance of growing or making greater.
    • themes of improvement, acceleration, size, progress, and loss of control
    • feelings of being overbearing or overwhelmed, confidence in improvement, and development

c. Bold

  1. (adjective) (of a person, action, or idea) Showing an ability to take risks; confident and courageous.
  2. (adjective) (of a color or design) Having a strong or vivid appearance.
  3. (noun) A bold typeface or letter.
    • themes of uniqueness, strength, leadership, and importance
    • feelings of fear of being the only one, confidence in being individual, breaking conformity, and demanding attention

d. Playful

  1. (adjective) Fond of games and amusement; lighthearted.
    • themes of childhood, innocence, fun, expression, and euphoria
    • feelings of happiness, giddiness, the longing to do it again, the hypocrisy that “more people should act playful” but being playful is frowned upon professionally
      • be playful, please

e. Congested

  1. (adjective) (of a road or place) So crowded with traffic or people as to hinder freedom of movement.
  2. (adjective) (of a part of the body) Abnormally full of blood.
    • themes of sickness, plague, disease, anxiety, claustrophobia, and discomfort
    • feelings of wanting to escape, wanting to stay uninvolved, fear of being too close, the need to find a place other than this, and pathological fatigue

f. Tension

  1. (noun) The state of being stretched tight.
  2. (noun) Mental or emotional strain.
  3. (verb) Apply a force to (something) which tends to stretch it.
    • themes of strain, distraught, trauma, globophobia, breakage, and release
    • feelings of mental debilitation, the want to change the current state of being, on the edge of snapping or releasing calmly, and the fear of something going wrong