Tuesday, 11 February 2025

Major Project 1

Week 01-Week07/04.02.2025-23.03.2025 

0363730/Yap Guang You

Bachelor of Design(Hons)in Creative Media


Content


Progression

Week 01/Group Forming

This week, we were briefed on the module flow and our tasks. Basically, we need to form a group of four based on our specializations, choose an area of interest, and create something. I missed the first class due to illness, but I reached out to students who attended and formed a group with them.

Group Member List

  • Yong Zhen Xing 0359473
  • Yamaya Kaho 0364278
  • Tong Min Xuan 0362744
  • Yap Guang You 0363730
  • Week 02/Group discussion and consulting

    This week, we began our consultation with our supervisor, Mr. Kannan. Before meeting with him, we had a group discussion to go over our ideas, as we were worried that our main concept might not get approved.Our main idea is to create an animation with a horror theme. We also shared our experiences with horror games and movies, discussing what skills we need to learn and apply to this project. It was a casual discussion, but we still covered our preferences and recommended artists.

    Based on our consultation, we need to clarify our idea first. Animation is just the medium—it’s how we present our concept, but the core is the idea itself. We have a basic horror story, but it still needs to be solidified. Next, we’ll focus on identifying the art style we want, the type of horror we’re aiming for, and what other visual approaches we can explore beyond anime. We plan to have a meeting later this week to discuss this in depth, focusing on defining our style and core concept. 

    We refined our story to make it more coherent, scarier, and longer. Then, we divided our tasks—focusing on preparing sketches, gathering references, and finalizing our art style. Our style will be a blend inspired by the short animations Best Friend and Tellevor. My responsibilities include developing the rough concept for the mother character and writing the script for the animation.

    References animation link

  • BEST FRIEND
  • TELLEVOR
  • CAPSTONE
  • First Version of Story Refinement
    Mother Character Sketch 1
    Mother Character Sketch 2

    Week 03/Second Consultation and Proposal Submission

    After the second consultation, we realized we had significant changes to make. The feedback pointed out that our characters didn’t fully meet the "hidden requirements" for the final submission, so we need to adjust—or even rewrite—the story to incorporate more characters and designs. Additionally, our story was deemed too emotional, and we were advised to include more action elements, like fight scenes, while keeping the storyline simple.

    To address this, each of us will first write our own version of the story and explore potential character designs, even sketching them out. Afterward, we’ll decide on the final story, either in the next consultation or through our own discussion. At the same time, we need to prepare the proposal slide submission to ensure our concept is solid. For now, we are submitting the first version of the story, but we are certain it will change in the upcoming stages—though the core concept will remain the same.

     
    Story Compilation Board

    Week 04/Proposal Presentation

    This week, we had our proposal presentation, so we spent a lot of time working on the slides to ensure our story and artwork were solid. After the presentation, we realized we hadn’t done enough research on the technical aspects, like the type of animation we’d use. We also got feedback that our story was too plain at its core, while the plot structure was too complex for a short animation. So, we received some advice on refining the story.

    Later in the week, we had a discussion and decided to keep our story but adapt it to a different medium, such as a game. We researched various game genres, including visual novels, pixel games, and 2D horror escape games. Eventually, we settled on a 2D side-scrolling battle game with influences from Chinese culture.

    Game idea references_Detention

    Week 05/Starting up game idea

    his week, we chose our game’s art style, referencing Limbus Company for its horror theme and mini character design, along with Hollow Knight and Ori and the Blind Forest. For the story, the player is from a ghost-hunting family in an Eastern-inspired city during the ‘80s–‘90s. We’re keeping it flexible, developing it alongside character and monster designs. I’m handling the rough UI layout and the daughter character, aiming for an edgy, cool vibe inspired by Ryougi Shiki (Type-Moon). For monsters, I’m blending mahjong elements with office items to reflect Eastern work culture.

    Character Inspiration
    Monster Inspiration
    UI_References
    UI_References
    UI_References
    Character idea
    Weapons & Character ideas
    UI Idea_Monster Gallery
    UI Idea_Skill Tree
    UI Idea_Weapons Page
    UI Idea_Inventory
    Monster Idea_Majong Ghui

    Week 06/Refinement

    This week, we refined our artwork, did color studies, and prepared for the final presentation. I focused on UI design and helped with the presentation slides, including the timeline, case study, risk management, and workflow pages.

    UI Idea_Inventory 1
    UI Idea_Inventory 2
    UI  Idea_Monster Gallery
    UI Idea_Weapons

    I also works on the in game hubs and the home page on the game

    In game Hub Idea 1
    In game Hub Idea 2
    In game Hub Idea_Hp icon 1
    In game Hub Idea_Hp icon 2
    In game Hub Idea_Attack icon
    In game Hub Idea_Dash icon 1
    In game Hub Idea_Dash icon 2
    In game Hub Idea_Magic bar 1
    In game Hub Idea_Magic bar 2
    Tittle page sketch

    For the HP system, we chose a Mario-style damage system without an HP bar—just icons representing the remaining hits the player can take. For the overall HUD, we aimed for a simple, easy-to-understand design. The UI pages will have a bloody vibe blended with Chinese runes.

    Week 07/Final Presentation

    In the final week, we focused on the presentation slides, mainly compiling our artwork and adding detailed explanations. To save time, we removed the UI section since it wasn’t required in the guidelines. I worked on the workflow and case study sections. Gris was recommended by my group, so I looked into it.


    Submission

    Proposal slide 

     Final Presentatio link(The files was too big to put in the blog)


    Feedback

    Week 02

    We are too worried about the final output. Instead, we should focus on developing a strong concept and finding the best medium to bring it to life—whether it’s an IP that can be adapted into different formats like an anime, a game, or physical collectibles.

    Week 03

    Our characters aren’t enough, and the story is too emotional—people might not find it appealing. Action animation was suggested instead. We also need to push our ideas further by creating more sketches and exploring multiple designs for the same character.

    Week 04

    Our idea isn’t clear yet—we need to establish a solid core first and then expand around it. The story also lacks key elements, such as a strong character core (what drives them in the animation). Additionally, studying animation progression is recommended.

    Week 05

    Continue refining our designs and explore more monster concepts and character outfits.

    Week 06

    The UI direction isn’t clear. We need to design the UI itself, not just the layout, and ensure it aligns with the game’s context to avoid misleading the audience.

    Week 07

    Our work needs to be more solid, as the audience struggles to understand our design. The style isn’t distinct enough and doesn’t reflect our references. Also, the case study is too different from our game—we should look for more similar ones, like Ori and the Blind Forest and Hollow Knight.


    Reflection

    I learned the importance of noting down every idea—abandoned ideas from past projects can be reused, and without notes, it’s easy to forget things during production. I also realized that game art and gameplay must work together rather than focusing only on the visuals. This major project taught me a lot, including building a clearer workflow habit and gaining detailed industry knowledge from others. Time management was decent, but we didn’t prioritize our goals well or have a clear vision from the start. Fortunately, we figured it out in time. Moving forward, I think having the courage to voice my ideas in meetings will be key.

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