COP3: Main Inspiration

Before looking any more into my setting and location I wanted to start by looking at two things that have really inspired my project so far. These two pieces of materials are so inspiring and really look beautiful and will end up being really nice when it comes to designing my final piece.

The Long Dark
The first thing that I wanted to look at was The Long Dark which is a game created by Hinterland Studios and it is truly fantastic to play. It is a new twist on the first person survival simulation that will force you into the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. At the moment that game is still in Alpha development so it's not all there like the main campaign story but the ideas that they have behind it is that you take on the role of bush pilot Will Mackenzie as you navigate the Northern Wilderness of Canada in episodic fiction game play. As this is not in the game yet the only mode is the sandbox survival which is so beautiful and fun to play. You are plonked into the wilderness and made to survive the extreme conditions focusing on surviving the harsh weather, lack of food and water and the animals that roam the landscape.

It is a game that relies on simulation techniques where every decision matters as you explore the large open world in search of resources to help you balance hypothermia, starvation, dehydration and ultimately death. The overall feel to the game is brilliant and can offer so many hours of exploration in ever expanding locations that are constantly being added to as the alpha develops over time and it feels wonderful to try and survive by managing the important things and learning about what the environment has to offer.

But what I love most about this game is the art style and how utterly gorgeous it is! It is stunning and as you walk around the time of day changes, making beautiful colours in the sky and when it hits night there's the chance of getting to see the Northern Lights plastered across the sky which is breath taking. The art style that is used is so unique that it really stands out against other games that I've played and even though it takes on this almost comic book style you still feel that you are in this environment playing the role of this character and doing everything that you can to stay alive. This kind of style is one that I will definitely think about when designing my own game and it also a nice way to create snow in an environment.

Frozen
The next piece of inspiration comes from Disney's Frozen. Although this came out last year, this film is still so big and is definitely something that I am gaining influence from for this project and it is partly due to the fact that it is set in Norway. Disney's Frozen follows the story of two sisters Elsa and Anna and the kingdom of Arendale, of which Elsa is the queen. She is hiding the secret though of the fact that she can cast frozen magic that makes snow, ice and frost. She hides this until the day she is made queen but her secret is found out and she is forced out of the kingdom into the mountains where she demonstrates her power and builds herself a palace. The rest of the film is about Anna trying to bring her back and how she is hurt in the process and her sisterly love for Elsa is the thing that can save not only them but the Kingdom as well.

Story aside, the reason that I wanted to look at this film for this module as I love the general setting and the colours that are used in this animation. They are almost very over the top but I really like how they are used to create a really bright and colourful design against what should be white snow. The colours that are used are very cold where you get the whites and the blues mixed with the purples, but then occasionally you get these really nice orange and yellows coming from the sky which create a really nice contrast against the rest of the scene. This film was definitely worth looking at for this project and I can take into consideration the whole environment that is used and then also the different colours and lighting that are incorporated into the scene.