Unit 69- Task 4

Harry Dawson
Intended Purpose
For this project, I have had to utilize many
different techniques and methods in order to
complete the tasks set. First of all, I had to
choose what film I wanted to adapt into a video
game, this Is where I decided to do the game
Labyrinth. I then had to workout what the style
of the film was, so I could reference visualisation
within the film to make my own designs reflect
the original source. I did this by making a mood
board.
Here is my mood board for the visual style of Labyrinth. Here I have gathered multiple different
images and added them to one document. I did this as the intended purpose of a mood board is
the gather multiple different aspects of something so it makes it easier to establish the common
visual style throughout. This is useful, especially for concept art, as like I have said, I need to
understand the style in order to adapt it into my own design. So as I can see from this mood
board, the style is fantasy oriented, as it contains goblins and creatures, who's clothing and
colours are quite basic. Also, I can see the location types, such as the labyrinth being made out of
brick. All these different aspects to the pictures help me better understand what the films visual
style is.
So now I had understood the visual style of the film, I then needed to
utilize the next method. This is mind mapping. The purpose of mind
mapping is to get various ideas down in forms of single words, this way
I can evolve my ideas quickly and efficiently. It also allows me to get all
my ideas down in a single document, which makes it easier to organize
and review my initial thoughts. Here is the mind map which I have
created:
So from Mind mapping, I have come up with a plot and a concept for
this project. I was planning on remaking it, following a similar story
line, but by also converting the genre from fantasy to sci-fi. I plan to do
this by not only changing the ascetics of the scenery, characters etc.
but also by adapting key elements of the story to fit within this gender.
For example, the scene below depict the begging of the film, where
Sarah (the main character) tries to offer her younger brother Toby to
the Goblin King (David Bowie) via a script she has tried to learn, After
this scene, Toby is taken by the Goblin King and she is sent to the
Labyrinth to save him. I plan on adapting this to a story where Sarah is
a Military Space cadet aboard a Space ship, who has a mysterious alien
gem code named T.O.B.Y in the cargo. While guarding the cargo bay,
she tries to translate aloud an inscription in an ancient research log
about the mysterious gem, and once she reads aloud the correct
translation, a portal opens up in space, warping her and half of her
ship onto an uncharted alien planet called "Labyrinthia", where the
Goblin King steals the Gem from her, and she is forced to navigate
through a huge alien labyrinth to retrieve it back and open up a portal
back into charted space. So through this example, you can see I will go
about changing key details to match the genre, while at the same time
keeping the story and goals similar to that of the film.
With my intended purpose for this project and the film clearly
laid out in front of me in forms of mind maps and plots, it was
time to begin the actual concept art beginnings. So with the
genre of sci-fi in mind, I began constructing a second mind
map. This time doing it on the science fiction genre
specifically. This is so once again, I can understand the typical
conventions seen throughout the different sci-fi pictures, so I
may adapt and include aspects from them in my own work.
With the visual inspiration summed up in these
mood boards, I started to create the designs. To get
an overall understanding of what the game would
contain, I made various concepts within different
aspects, these were weapons, environments, and
characters.
To begin with, I started developing the weapons, I
first began rough sketches of different designs.
Hand Base
Retro Robot look
Futuristic
Robot Skeleton
look
Steampunk Look
Weapons
I'm basing my first weapon idea around a scene in the film, where Sarah throws
some rocks at the enemy to beat them. I want to reinvent this aspect, by introducing a
power glove or gauntlet, used by the character to augment their strengths and allow
the player to launch objects at the enemy. I also want this weapon to be able to be
upgraded throughout the game, to improve power, and ammunition, this means that
this weapon is designed for the main character.
So, what did I do first? Well with my initial ideas in my head, I knew the type of
weapon I wanted to create. This gauntlet would be an essential part of the game and
story, adapting the element of collecting power ups through the game. After drawing
up some sketches as seen in the previous slide, I then refined one of the ideas, by
colouring and neatening up the design.
Interactive wrist
screen
Metal sensor ends
and metal
exoskeleton
to increase strength
Retro leather look
With the main characters weapon designed, fit to match
the visual style of the sci-fi genre, I then needed to
develop weapons for the enemies, to make my idea in my
head a lot more clearer and more rounded for other
people. The more concepts drawn, the better, as it gives
people a better chance to understand the intended
purposes that I wished for the game to contain. So I
began creating a weapon the main enemies would have. I
began with thumbnails.
Original Thumbnails for swords
Staff
thumbnails
So my second weapon design is the swords that enemy
goblins will use against the player. And i chose the
thumbnail seen in the top left. My idea behind this sword
is to create a weapon made out of bones. As it is based on
an alien planet, these bones could take shape of whatever
they want, and do not have to reflect earth species. But
why did i choose a bone sword? Well i wanted the goblins
to reflect a lower more barbarian society, and a common
convention of barbarians is that they used simple crafted
weapon, like bones form an animal they have hunted. The
theme of hunting prey and re using the bones also brings
to mind of animals, and i wanted the goblins to take on
these themes in order to be presented as wild creatures
with lower intellect. This is why i think that weapons
crafted from bones reflect the goblins society well. In
order for the sword to make sense, i added rope and
bandages that would tie together the different bones to
craft the sword shape, and i also gave the sword a
serrated edge for more characteristic. It would also make
the sword more practical, like the the spike on the end of
the handle. This mix and match type of sword would look
well with the goblins, as i imagine them much like the
goblins in the film, unruly, dirty, tricky, etc. So as you can
see, it is important to settle on a specific visual style for
specific characters and aspect to the game, as it makes
the designed more linked, and by designing the visual
representation of weapons, it can reflect the characters
using them, and how they look too.
Different bones
tied together
Combination of
ropes to look more
ragedy
I created a weapon for the main
character, and the main
enemies, but I also wanted to
create an individual style for the
main antagonist for the game.
The intended purpose of
creating all these different
concepts is to get an all round
explanations of what everything
should look like via my
concepts, and to show that not
everything should follow the
same themes. As can be
compared between the science
fiction style main character
weapon, and the fantasy like
weapon for the enemies.
Original adaption rough
My chosen thumbnail
Colour process
And here is my final concept image for The
Goblin King's staff. As I've mentioned before, i
wanted it to relate back to the structures found
in the game, and this is why it has a pattern
resembling the walls, and why the Crystal light is
blue. But there is a reason why i decided to make
it gold instead of Grey, as i want it to look more
fancy, as it reflects The Goblin King's style and
personality as mentioned in his concept section. I
really wanted to emphasis the Crystal as a power
source, so i made the seams on the rod leak blue
lighting, like its traveling within the metal. I'd also
want this staff to glow brighter when the boss
uses it, which would be blue energy firing out of
the top like a magic rod found in other video
games. So overall, i think this design is rather
simplistic, but is also visually pleasing because of
it, and it gets the point across that this is a sci fi
game, but it can also contain concepts within it
that may not be conventional for the genre, such
as laser guns. By making a staff instead, i think it
ties in with the Goblins themes of having lower
tech, despite the locations found in the game.
Main power source
Blue light leaking
from cracks
Characters
I moved onto my character designs next. The purpose of creating the
characters is to convey not only what the characters look like, but also
of what they are like. This is shown through how they dress, what their
body structures are like, and how they pose. So to begin with, I started
doing anatomy and pose practice and face structures. The purpose of
this is to gather experience in the most important aspects to drawing
characters.
Face practice
Pose practice
Anatomy practice
After practicing anatomy, I then began designing the first rough ideas
of clothing for my characters, as well as how their body will be
structured. For development purposes, I designed clothing for both the
male and female characters, as this allowed me to gain experience in
both types of body structure. The intended purpose of having multiple
different perspectives of the clothing was to give abetter insight as to
how they would look in a 3D environment, and to get a broader range
of images to better understand what they look like form all angles.
Military like uniform
Basic colours Skin tight design
With the rough designs done
quickly via edit manipulation
methods on Photoshop, I then
went on to finalizing my ideas by
drawing the more detailed and
finished looks, this included
adding their actual faces instead
of placeholders, as these would
be my actual concepts for the
characters. I began to add a pose
to the characters as well, as the
purpose of this was to convey
their attitude and emphasise their
characteristics via the form of how
they stand. This form of
representation through poses is
very useful, as a characters
characteristics can be seen easily
through first impressions of how
they appear.
Basic anatomy
Basic pose Twisted pose
More depth
Shy pose?
Confident, heroic pose
Poser
Here is my main character. But why have I chosen the main
character to look like this? Well, for starters, I wanted the
main character to be something like a space pilot or soldier,
as described in Task-2, and as such, I wanted her to look the
part. So this is why i based her clothing on a naval theme, as
space ships are after all, called ships. So I began using
different reference images to concoct a naval looking
uniform, and i ended up with a neutral grey material, with a
smart looking shape like a suite. I then wanted it to look
more futuristic, so i added an unconventional top, by adding
the seams in unusually ways, as can be seen on the image,
where the clothes unfasten. I then added gold stripes to the
clothes, in order to show rank and make it look less boring.
To make it more feminine, but not enough to emasculate
the character, I added a skirt to the costume, as well as tight
like leggings. To give the player more character, I made it so
the sleeves would be shorter, or rolled up, and this is also
top add variation from the default clothing. I think that this
adds personality to the character, as it shows she does not
follow orders precisely, and shows she has more
Independence and stubbornness. This is to relate her to the
main character in Labyrinth, Sarah. I ensured not to make
the character sexist, by adding or removing unnecessary
clothing as to create sex appeal, as I believe authenticity to
a realistic uniform that could be used would fit better with
the themes, as well as to not cause any controversy in
gender representations.
I gave her medium length hair to portray her feminism, but i
also made it medium as it would be more practical than long
hair in combat. I gave her brown hair as it looks more like
the original character, as well as green eyes, just to make
the character relate though the original film. Her build is not
muscular, but also not scrawny either. This is to make her
more generic, to make her more relatable to the player, and
add more o a challenge to what she must face, as apposed
to having a very masculine figure who would be able to
overcome challenges easily via brute force. I also think it
makes the character more believable, as well as athletic,
which is why she not scrawny either.
Heroic pose
Confident
independent
Almost the
same as the
original
clothes
design
Practical,
adventure
boots
Practical hair,
Short
Sci-fi design
I have based this character off of a mix and match style, giving him an
assortment of colours, this is to reflect o the characters style, as he does
not take himself as seriously as what the conventional villain would, but he
also poses a great threat despite this. Instead of giving him an actual face, i
gave him a mask, this is to add a mysterious and creepy theme for him, as
the player will never actually see what's behind his mask. As he is the
"Goblin King" I think that by adding a mask, it makes the players wonder
weather he has a normal face, or a more goblin themed look. This sense of
uncertainty all adds to the ambiance I'm trying to create for this character.
If you look carefully, I have tried to base the mask loosely on the face
structure of David Bowie, a nod to the original villain in Labyrinth, and I
think this is a nice link to original film. I gave the face a slight smile hole,
another way I wanted him to be seen as creepy. The different items he
wears I gathered inspiration from the masquerade style of clothing, such
as the white mask, the long coat, and the frilly/puffy sleeves, as well as the
neckerchief, which is also a nod to the original characters clothing. I went
with masquerade as I think not only does it give the goblin king more
character and a sense of being behind in the times, it also makes him seem
more stylish, adding to his personality, and showing off that he would not
like to get his hands dirty. It also refers to a scene in Labyrinth, where the
main characters are in a masquerade party illusion.
Although there are different colours, I have tried to stay down the darker
end of the spectrum mostly, as I want the character to be able to fit in
with the environment well. And I have imagined the environment at which
he lives to be old, ram shackled, and dirty. These are words i would
associate with goblins as well, as they are very rarely presented as clean
and careful. This is why I have given a dark colour scheme to him, as well
as making him appear slightly dirty. This is also why half of his clothes are
damaged, as it shows he has sustained damage, as well as making him
more relatable to the dirty goblins which he rules. It also makes his design
less symmetrical, adding variation and further adding to his uneven and
unstable personality. I have also added an outline of a staff, that he is
leaning on, s a prop to make a more interesting pose. I simply drew a
quick outline instead of including a detailed representation of his weapon/
staff, as the image is focused on the character, not his weapons.
Finally, as you can see, unlike the previous character concept, I have
strayed away from the original concept for this character (As can be seen
in task- 2). This is because of one main thing, I think the original design was
too boring and simple, and I felt the character needed more personality in
his design. But as you may be able to see, I have kept the original design
underneath, with his scrawny body structure and black skin tight clothing, I
simply added to it, making it what it is now.
Cocky pose
Scrawny body
Creepy mask
David Bowie
inspired
Raged side
Normal side
Skin tight like
original
Masquerade
getup
Mute
colou
r
Environments
Finally, environments. The purpose of doing environment
concepts is because they are the main portion of what a
game is made up of, and the themes present within a
game is often seen through the environments art style
and representations. This means that if I were to include
flowery meadows, its more than likely that the game
would be light hearted, and not genres such as horror, or
sci-fi. As such, its important to present the different
aspect to the game in various environments, showing
what architecture style there is, what the main colour
schemes are, and how the mood and atmosphere is
presented within the game.
I first began experimenting on architectural
styles for a main castle location within the game.
As the games genre is sci-fi, mixed with the films
fantasy style, I wanted these present within the
visuals. As you can see, I experimented in
various different styles that the buildings could
have taken, before finalizing the style I wanted.
Spikey design
Threatening spires
Less organic
Robotic
I decided upon a more metal and blocky look, to further emphasise the science fiction behind the game, as well as to
sticking to the fact that this robotic style of visuals are often present in older retro productions, and as the film
Labyrinth is old, I think it fits in well. I began to get my initial concept down so I may develop upon it further later, and
so I used a more crude method of drawing, using mainly gradients to form images for the fore, mid, and background.
So, to make the scene look better, and to make it fit into the science fiction theme, I have added a few things. the first is
the seems on the walls, showing that some parts are brick, and some parts are plates. The second is lights. To make
seem more sci-fi, I have added blue light to the architecture, I think by adding these, it compliments the overall design,
while also making the themes of fantasy castle and futuristic tech blend a lot better. And finally, I have added life. By
this i mean of course the plant life growing around the structure. I felt that by adding this over growth aspect really ties
it together, as well as presenting the structure in a more neglected fashion, as this is after all the place of the villain,
it would not be well kept, and it gives the atmosphere a more unnerving feel to it. So all in all, you can see this new
scene, while also you can see a slight resemblance to the original castle in placement and structure. This was a
very simplistic design, and if i were to do this again, I believe that the best method to use would be that of the weapon,
as that, in my opinion, yielded the best results.
Metal
Sci-fi
Plant overgrowth
Neglect
Blue lights
Sci-fi theme
Dark clouds
atmospheric
With the architectural style established and quickly drawn out, I then began to elaborate on some of the aspects, and began testing
what they would look like on other forms of structures. Its important to consider if a design can be carried out throughout the game,
and so the idea must be able to be consistent throughout, but with different things. This is why I drew the next structure. I based
this concept on the entrance to the Labyrinth, as it will be the first impression on what architecture is expected within. So like
I mentioned before, this concept is a lot more simplistic, as that is the kind of effect i wanted. The idea behind this sci-fi version of
the labyrinth is for it to have been built with alien metals on an alien planet, and so it is not constructed by humans. I want the
constructs to be blocky and robotic, this is in order to present it in a science fiction theme easier. I've added a simplistic design to the
metal just to give it some variation, and i believe that by adding these unusual seams in the metal, it makes the construct look less
boring, as well as making it look less human. By this , I mean that by adding this pattern, it looks less like human architecture, and
more futuristic and alien, as it is unusual and its blocky appearance and lack of curvature makes it look retro and sci-fi, like it was
designed by people from the [past trying to predict what we will have in the future. I think this ties in with the age of
the original film, which is fairly old. Once again, i have added blue lights, as blue is the conventional colour for science fiction genres,
and it fits with all the previous designs of metal work i have included in my environment concepts. I think that by using a more
simplistic appearance for the large doors makes it look more imposing to the player, adding an atmosphere of uncertainty and
danger to what's on the other side. I have also tried to relate the pattern to plants growing on a wall, but crossed it with the metal
robotic theme. This hybrid of organic and non organic contributes to the idea that the walls can change themselves, making the
labyrinth vary to create a more immerse game play and navigation.
Alien Pattern
Metal
Sci-fi
style
blue
lights
Classic style door
re imagined into
a sci-fi style
Imposing archway entrance
Dramatic
For my second environment, I wanted to focus on the concept of alien
planets, as it will after all be located on an alien planet. So for this, I
focused less on the architecture, and more on the nature and plant life
that could be seen within the game. This gives my concepts a more
rounded explanation on what I want the planet to be like as a whole,
and not just what the buildings look like. As such, I decided to the
swamp, which is a location the player could play through.
Colour coded depth
Alien plant life
Very organic
Same architecture style bridge
I have decided to do scene loosely based on the "swamp of eternal stench", a location within the film Labyrinth. I think
that there is a large amount of freedom to convert this into a sci-fi setting, as there is a vast amount of things I could
include in a swamp to make it look more science fiction. My main thought is add an alien atmosphere to it, as it is
based on a different planet in my game. So to do this, I am thinking of including unique and unusual plant life, adding
strange shapes as well as bright florescent colours to contrast with the murky setting. I think that these aspects are
commonly seen as alien, and so I tried to include these ideas in my concept. So I have already talked about how i
wanted to add interesting shapes and structures for the plants, as well having them glow to create an alien world
presence. But i have also tried to include the swamp like atmosphere by making the surroundings close up, cramped,
and gloomy in the background. I adapted the broken bridge into a deactivated light bridge, to help aid the science
fiction side of the game, and my recycling the architectural design from task-2, I have made the bridge to look like it
fits with he metal and robotic theme of the rest of the locations. This meant including blue lights as well, to further
relate the environment to my original concept. By having only a small portion of the metal bridge present, with the
plants growing around and over it, it emphasizes the point I am trying to make that the swamp is living, and is control.
This is a place the player will have to use caution with to navigate around.
Dark atmosphere
Bright colours and glows
Oil like substance
Earth like plants too
Visual Communication of ideas
By creating all of these concepts and roughs, it
makes it a lot easier to create a visual
communication of ideas to other people, and by
covering a broad range of various different aspects
in the topics, such as varied character designs,
multiple weapons, and different aspect to the
environment, it makes it a whole lot more simple
for other people to understand the tones and
themes I wish to be present within the game, and
how to adapt the original ideas into this new genre.
Constraints
It important to consider the constraints that i
need to consider for this project. There
multiple considerations I need to refer to when
doing this, of which I will go over now.

Client Brief
The first is the client brief. The client brief is what i need to
constantly refer too, as it provides all the information i need
to know what I'm doing, as the main purpose for the brief is to
tell me what I need to do. And in order to please the client,
everything on the brief needs to be done as it is state. This is
why it is classed as a constraint, as it limits the things I need to
do, and specifies what needs doing, and if I didn't refer to the
client brief throughout the project, then what I end up with
will not please the client, and an unsatisfied client means I will
have failed what I set out to accomplish. This is why I need to
remain true to the brief, and to not go out of
the constraints set in place to keep me on track.

Target Audience
The second constraint i must consider the target audience. This project is to create
concepts for a new video game adaption of a film, and as such, there is already a
target audience set, fans of the original film, and it is up to me weather I want to
please this current audience, or whether i want to adapt the film into bringing in a
new target audience. The constraints however, is trying to keep the interest of
the chosen audience, and this is done through the reflection of the concepts. To
please a target audience, I first need to analyse who the target audience is, for
example in this case I would be looking at both labyrinth fans and sci-fi fans, because
of this, these audiences will be looking for specific things. These would be the
conventions they come to expect in this kind of production, so the constraints I will
face in this project is the convention constraints, ensuring I create concepts that would
please the audience by using and adapting ideas commonly seen in these kinds of
games that entertain the audience. In addition to this, I would need to consider the
ages o the target audience, as if I am aiming to please the younger end of the age
scale, then I would be restricted to how graphic the designs would be, ensuring I do
not stir controversies by, for example, including a design drenched in blood, as this
may upset younger players. This kind of constraint is important to consider throughout
the production, as it can heavily impact the work as a whole.

Ethical
The next constraint I must look at when doing this project is that of ethical issues. This
includes how I choose to present race, gender religion, and sexuality throughout my
work, as to ensure I don't cause any offence or controversies within how the designs
represent these topics. This means that in order to not offend people, I will need to
keep my concepts as far away from hurtful stereotypes of cultures, beliefs and people.
For example, one constraint could be that in a character design, I must
not exaggerate aspects such as the choice of clothing a specific gender would wear,
such as in some games, the male characters have respective clothing, whereas the
female characters have very revealing and extreme clothing. This in the past has
caused controversies with gender, decency and sexuality representation, and
can restrict the audience and popularity of the game. Another way the appearance of
things within games have created controversial issues is through the inclusion of gang
signs, cults or religious images. This means that I would
be constrained to not being able to include religious symbols on weapons, or
environments containing gang signs in them, as this can cause ethical issues as
to why they were included. Finally, my designs must not discriminate race, this means
my concepts should not include hurtful stereotypes related to the characters skin for
example, or through the form of titles given to the items or places. This is
a more obvious constraint, that is easy to avoid.

Legal Issues
Finally, the last constraint to consider it legal issues.
As this project heavily relies on an
already existing and copy written project, in this
case the film Labyrinth, it is important to ensure i
have received proper permission to use the
franchise if I were to create and make money off
of a game based on it. As without permission, legal
issues such as court cases could occur, ending up
in a lawsuit against my project for the improper use
of their characters, film and concepts.