Branding and Narrative Marketing for Videogame Development
This Independent study is focused on the branding and marketing a videogame, while utilising Transmedia storytelling.
Peri Feral Indie Pixel art proposal and strategy including long term milestones and expectations.
Narrative Bible purpose, Guidelines and values.
Animal Studies
When visiting Marwell Zoo I focused on gathering animal behavioural and movement references for the creatures within the game. By slowing down and analysing the movements this would bring greater understanding and life into the creatures.
Below are some posts studying the different creatures documented and their movements into key areas.
Another element I found interesting was not only the movements but the lack of movement. For example while the Snow Leopard on the left was easily noticeable as it contrasted against the background, the only difficulty in noticing it was that it was high up, meaning that the foliage, reflections, and structure of the exhibit was in the way making you have to move to a specific angle to notice.
WORLDWIDE
In contrast, the two images on the left depict a royal python and a tiger. I really like this as while this may have annoyed other visitors as they may have missed the creatures, it is really fascinating how majority of the time the creature will probably notice you before you would ever notice them.
WORLDWIDE
Bestiaries:
Folklore, Myths & Creatures
Concepting of idea.
Survival Horror, Mythology and folklore
COSMIC HORROR
History
Concept of horror
'With their innate qualities of hybridity, ambiguity, and the possibility of being real, or unreal, fantastical creatures fit into the postmodern framework of play and intertextuality as easily as they fit into the world of maps as symbols for danger or conquest.' (J. Wood, 2018)
Game Purpose
Animal intelligence and player choice within an exploration setting. Rewarding curiosity and unique playstyles and bring more challenge to a traditional playstyle to allow this curiosity. For example a more aggressive playstyle may result in an increased difficulty in the long term due to more frequent hostile encounters and negative repercussions / consequences.
Brand U.S.P
The Design Muesum visit
On Tuesday 29th March I had the opportunity to visit the Design Museum in London, while visiting I came across the 'Design Maker User' Exhibition on the 3rd Level of the establishment. There was a range of items centered around technology and design through primarily 20th - 21st Century. However, there were still items that were from the late 19th century - beginning of the 20th century that I felt inspired by for a potential style for the game which you can see as a compilation on the right.
I personally really liked the dark brown and black as you can see the slight age on these items by their dark tones even if they are in perfect condition, in particularly you can see this on the telephone. This reminded me of my ambiguous spaces photography short project, which focused on a more similar to liminal spaces.
I don't think bright vibrant will work for the game, as earthy tones help enunciate the environmental and nature portion of the game.
From ambiguous spaces within nature I decided to create within the Game's theme to have a Steampunk flair stylistically. This means that within the story the industrial revolution occurred sooner, and developed a reliance on metal and fossil fuels - creating a dystopian environment where the player explores and survives within a nation that lies mostly in ruins.
Due to this concept handcrafted materials and trading with NPC's for items is vital for the player to not only explore the environment but to strategise.
Hidden story within game with speculation of medical nature within a Steampunk society.
Game Trailer Analysis
Video game market analytics
From the Official Charts Company between 2012 to 2021 there has been a steady increase of online sales, with a short stagnation between 2018 - 2019 with only a difference of £34.7 M. Initishally this may make you consider what occurred in 2019, but when looking at the data. It is apparent that 2018 is the outlier, with too many variables to have a distinct cause. Potentially it could have been games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, God of War, Spider-Man which all released that year and may have been easier to obtain online due to consoles pushing towards purchases within their own platforms, such as the Nintendo E-Shop, Steam, or xBox game pass - that was released the year prior.
(Entertainment Retailers Association, 2022)
The most obvious impact as seen on this graph is the effect of Lockdown in sales, because of the outdoor restrictions people were encouraged to buy online instead of in person, as seen by the increase in online sales and less in physical sales. While 2021 did have a decrease in online sales it is still suffice to say that Covid-19 still has an after effect as physical copy sales had the least profit across the years.
Pastries - $4
Butter Croissant - $2.5
Coffee/Tea - $1
Fresh Juice - $2
(Statista, 2022a)
From the Official Charts Company between 2012 to 2021 there has been a steady increase of online sales, with a short stagnation between 2018 - 2019 with only a difference of £34.7 M. Initishally this may make you consider what occurred in 2019, but when looking at the data. It is apparent that 2018 is the outlier, with too many variables to have a distinct cause. Potentially it could have been games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, God of War, Spider-Man which all released that year and may have been easier to obtain online due to consoles pushing towards purchases within their own platforms, such as the Nintendo E-Shop, Steam, or xBox game pass - that was released the year prior.
Pastries - $4
Butter Croissant - $2.5
Coffee/Tea - $1
Fresh Juice - $2
(Statista, 2022b)
(HypeAuditor, 2022)
For further market value research internationally
Demographic
Concept Website - short term
Keep it simple and clean for new visitors with easy navigation.
Social Media platforms
Home Page
-
About / FaQ
-
Visual
-
emailing list
User visits social media channels they may not have seen yet.
(No Steam Directory)
Dev Blog
Contact + socials
Wilderness / Bestiary
Showcase unique mechanics without spoilers further into the game development side to the project.
Visual inspiration / Mechanic videogame
In the original concept design I liked the rough look of the land, however, I don't like how the land is connected in the top left. The way it is designed makes it appear disjoined and that there is no actual connection between the islands despite its appearance. I decided to experiment by placing seeds onto paper and tracing loosely around them to create the land mass itself and this worked quite well. Below I have made a rough concept of the different terrains and factors. The central location of the land (the two triangles) is where the main city is based, with the closest caves being mines with factories nearby them. Because of the island nature I wanted to make it so that in theory players can travel to some islands through problem solving due to the water and lack of boats, so I have made some areas connected through marshlands and others through old trail routes. This adds a layer of problem solving for the player to be creative on how to access these areas if they choose to.
Canyon
Cave[s]
Marshland
Port
Highest land value
Prior routes that used to be used
Which may have maintennce issues but a set
Woodland
(English Heritage, n.d.)
The city structure will be heavily inspired by Brough Castle, Cumbria. Below you can see a diagram created by English Heritage showcasing the different centuries had on this castle and the rich history of this castle.
English Heritage (2015). Brough Castle.
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AI generated steampunk cities as concept insparation to combine with Brough Castle to create a unique Steampunk aesthetic and worldbuilding as the industrial revolution started earlier within the timeline, when castles were more commonly used and were expanded on within the Steampunk world.
The image above was created using Deep ai while the images on the left and right were generated on Dream by Wombo.
Concept Basic Photobashing
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On the right there is a concept shot for the worldbuilding where a creature observes one of the villages - before it became abandoned - and after a couple of seconds it walking off. While I had an idea on the movement I wanted to achieve, I could not find the correct motion documented by an animal, so as a result I created a base animation and after the design was placed into the composition I made adjustments to smoothen the movement to align with the direction from when it walks away.
Personal photography inspiration
On the base two fungi on the tree I also had a small mouse-like creature briefly run away after the creature begins to move. I really like this as it adds subtle worldbuilding and creature relations without them directly interacting.
The Deep, photography inspiration
Personal Mixed photography that I have of locations and nature for inspiration.
Personal photography of inspiration from when I visited The Deep.
Visual style mood board
When mood boarding to create the atmosphere for the game I was drawn towards the more almost charcoal and pastel effect. These would fit the theme of Peri Feral beautifully, as the charcoal smoky look can be incorporated into the designs of the creatures, to limit the palette and not delve into many colour variations that are common in real creatures, such as birds, and dogs. To focus on the form and environment over detailing, and to showcase details when needed through expression and animation.
This charcoal theme would also work for the Steampunk aspect as coloured charcoal is typically dark blue, dark green, pastel green and pastel yellow, which will be fantastic for more earthy tones as well as bronze metal. I am familiar with this as I had previously done an artpiece using coloured charcoal to create a Steampunk inspired Eagle. While the design of the artwork could be improve it is still illustrated below to showcase the cololoured charcoal I had mentioned previously and the yellow tones that create a metalic shine on the claws.
Visual Design
Concepting Creatures
Naming consideration
The reasoning behind the name is from the word "Peripheral" It's what allows you to see objects all around you without turning your head or moving your eyes.
The change from Ph to an F creates "Feral" meaning wild animal.
as animals in the game can be positive relationship and cohabit with the player but they are still wild, and not tamed pets.
I had considered "periferal" but it seemed easier on the eyes having "Peri Feral".
The Traveller
This design is based upon the exploration survival 3D concept I had created for the greater experience. However, while they do have the items the player would have (knife, back pack & sleeping bag that are attached to a metal back carrier, and side bag. The gameplay feature based on field of sight would not be effective as this was a key design principle of that rendition of the game.
I believe the best course of action is to make a simplified rendition of the gameplay mechanics, focusing on the other mechanics, such as stealth and player actions from another characters perspective within the centre of the Castle as subtle worldbuilding and timeline theories.
With regards to the character design itself, their appearance will not be too visible but for the concepting I wanted to use a more androgenous appearance, with toned down colour palettes so they are able to camouflage were possible. I wanted a more natural tone in regards to the blanket as it would have been undyed and handmade - prioritising heat over colour. The bag itself is attached to a metal frame, using the resources available post steampunk era, with rope and leather used to secure the bags in place. This also serves a purpose as in the game, I plan to make it so that you can drop or leave the bag temporary. An issue that could be caused by this is if it is just a brown leather bag it may become difficult to find in the environment, so in the original detailed version not only had I made it lighter in tone, but added more detailing on the handle that is not possible in the smaller iteration.
While this character is in the early versions of Peri Feral, these design choices are important for modelling the 3D pixel design of the items The Traveller will have for further development on the story expansion.
In the image above we have an earlier concept for this character, as I thought that using Q and E as a mechanic in the 2D version of the game so you can back away while facing the original direction.
Initial Concept
Bag space available.
Items available immediately
(larger storage in bag but this is items that
are outside bag / carried by hand)
Weapon, Body, Head equipped items
Trans-Media narrative
Process gifs and final products. concept art of creatures. focusing on the process of the brand redirect to blog for full breakdowns and analysis
Landscape and evnrinoment storytelling
Short animation and interaction centric, few clips of animation.
proceses and final
trailers and developer stuff
Currently the website is very basic as the intension is central on the social media platforms themselves, as there will be a low amount of traffic in the current timeline. As a result the blog will centralise on expanding on the behind the scenes of current content being created and the 'Dev' behind the platforms - transparency and realistic expectations of the development for the game.
Not only is this to create a platform in advanced if there is a community forming in the long term, but in addition this means that I was able to join current pixel art orientated such as:
Lospec: 5,939 Members
Pixel Art Discord (PAD): 14,283 Members
Aseprite: 9,040 Members
January 2023
This is important as not only will I be able to see what is currently being engaged with people interested in this medium, but I may occassionally interact to showcase work and request critiques to improve the branded material further in this style,
The Lospec Discord community not only features 2D pixel artists but also 3D low poly / pixel art development as well which is important to note due to the intended art style development.
With Reddit, Personable and less buisness, and more community orientated. To be able to
approach forward as an individual to prevent notions of this being a studio work as seen by The main username u/Duskrall for general - with nickname listed as Peri Feral.
This is also important as while there is not a schedule in place, the engagement within game, pixel, Steampunk communities are important to engage others to recieve feedback within development and create the touchpoints needed.
Flooding
Just before I had the chance to clean up the trailer, my house flooded in August, as a result I was in multiple different accommodations such as the TravelLodge, and I did not have access to my computer. While I was able to continue further in my research I had to re-evaluate my project as this effected the workflow of the trailers greatly. However, I decided on focusing on the online Narrative instead of trailers, to create a sustainable strategy for a long time project.
Instead of the content being final cinematic trailers or mock ups of games without actually developing the game. Instead my new strategy is to showcase the development while still having that element of mystery. As this gives the chance for quick turn over content for social media while also practically assisting in the asset creation process and game development that usually is kept hidden.
When I was at The Deep, I had photographed the image above and really liked how the structure looked within the tank and how it could be a cave or cliff like structure, with the coral being more unique plant life or organisms that are feeding from the environment itself. Thus you can see to the right the breakdown of the design process with the final environment concept below, with would have benefitted from clouds that moved as well as the plant creatures.
Motion creation workflow
Inmost trailer
Replaced trailer
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On the left there is a test animation I did using placeholder imagery, such as the running test I had made prior. This was to test the motion and visual effects to see if I could recreate a bit of the styling from the above two scenes.
I do think this is very successful in adding the effects, such as the camera shift and smoke. However, the particles could be improved further as they do look quite blurry in this gif. The running animation as well looks off due to it being on the bottom composition itself and not on the ground a bit above, as seen above.
A comparison between blocking areas for animation and then applying it to a design. This is using Tangc's running animation as a reference point with adjustments, such as leaning more forward due to the weight of the bag, one hand holding the bag strap, and the actual bag itself. Going forward I don't like how the back-leg on the right design is lighter than the front, as it looks jarring - as if it should be in the front of the composition and thus ends up looking more flat than the design on the right. I had attempted on adding more movement to the bag by having it lift off the back slightly as they run but instead it does not appear to be connect well. The central body needed more unique frames as it looks too stilted as well due to trying to focus on consistency and not the flow of the design, but this was a good starting point and knowledge for future workflow in short pixel animations where I decided on blocking out areas first before adding the model in.
Showcasing process timelapse as well as different stages of the animation process, for social media while the different designing timelapse can be displayed, actual animation breakdowns will be only available on the website to showcase that process, if at all displayed.
Using the Aseprite animation and layers and after exporting I then created effects and timing adjustments via After Effects. On the left you can see a quick video made ready for TikTok without the music overlay. In Hindsight, the audio effect could be louder as after the music is used overtop, it quietens the rumbling noise behind significantly.
In addition, there are still some minor quality checks that should be in place, for example the bottom dark patches sometimes flicker in colour as one of the frames is a different colour, the dark flooring around the person makes it appear as if the background has not been fully drawn in, and the top draping material should have a small bit of animation to have emphasis the wind when the audio and smoke effect pick up.
