INDIE
GAME
DEV
concept
OVERVIEW
GENRE
A real-time strategy time-management 2D/3D game
STORY
From a screenplay "Devoid of Being"
THEME
Fight through inner obstacles that sets us back
CONCEPT ARTIST & GAME DESIGNER
Liza Burgoyne
ART DESIGNER
Jimmy McCullough
It was another Friday night binge-watching YouTube game reviews, play-throughs, GDC development videos, and co-op madness. As Tim Schaefer of Double Fine Productions described his writing process in their documentary on the making of Broken Age, I suddenly had the itch to dig up my screenplays that never saw the light of day. I came across the production design document for a short film I dreamt of making but the funds and time it needs hindered the thought. In that moment of reminiscing, it dawned on me that I can turn my film concept into a video game. It has a unique point of view, the visceral delight, and potentially fun mechanics.
For the game, the story lends itself to a surreal environment where four characters will be forever changed by one catastrophic event.
PRO
JECT
Soft Watch
The most crucial element I had to consider was the playability of the overall concept. As a film, the story moves back and forth between the four antagonists in a nonlinear timeline. As a game, I want a seamless transition between the environments, rather than being separate levels the player would encounter the characters in. Hence the tiered idea. A bit of the work on characters and environments was flushed out in the film production document. For the game, however, the environments needed an update to better serve gameplay so the look of the characters and their purpose also changed.
style
The photo-realistic 2D tiers floating in a 3D hand-painted space lends the game the surreal feel. Cinematic and animated characters will also be hand-painted. To achieve that, I needed to find an artist that loves what I love in art which makes the communication about design easier. This is when Jimmy and I started talking about collaboration.
Jimmy McCullough is a San Francisco artist that started his career in 1992. As to date, he has created thousands of artworks. The style ranges from realism to surrealism to abstraction. Like many bay area artists, he is under the radar. His paintings, assemblages, mail art, and sculptures are dominated by bold choices, bright colors, strong lines, organic harmony and pure fun. He is acutely intuitive and has a defined sense of style.
