Hi guys,
So it’s been a busy time for our project. A lot of progress has been made and the game has turned out quite well so far. Last time after showcasing our main player and environment, we started with the design of enemies (NPC) in the game.
Each enemy went through the “form follows function” methodology. This is something we learnt from the expertise at Ubisoft. Therefore we decided what behaviours are expected from the enemies in the game before designing their form.
An overall design language that would be carried through is that, they should all use exaggerated shapes and sharp silhouettes. All the enemies are inspired by Egyptian creatures and mythologies.
So starting with the scarab, it is very closely designed around the insect scarab found in Egypt. To adapt him into the game world he was given glowing hieroglyphs that are embedded into his back. The scarab runs towards the player in hoards and attacks him just as they reach him till he gets away.
The next up is the skeleton. His design uses a larger head and hands to bring a chibi art style to his form. He is smarter than he looks. While chasing the player he is on the lookout for cover spots. Just as he finds one he run and hides behind it. Then at regular intervals he peeks around the pillar throwing a bone at the player, then resumes his hiding position.
The next enemy is the mummy. He doesn’t seem to be in a good mood. With flames glowing through his bandages he staggers his way towards the player. When his mood is off he flings a flame bomb at the player creating a circle of fire. Upon reaching the player he breaths fire in the direction of the player.
Hathor is unlike the other enemies. She is inspired by the Egyptian goddess Hathor. She lingers around the player healing enemies occasionally by deploying a healing ward. Her silhouette is softer than the other enemies as she is not “dangerous”. A murky green colour was used to give as send of evil and magic together.
In my opinion the project is looking very impressive so far, although one piece of constructive criticism would be to perhaps add a little bit more detail to the models, but apart from that you have some very stable designs.
Thanks for the feedback! We did try to make them look unique and give them all a personality.
The art style that we have chosen for the game is along the lines of chibi and low-poly. The reason for this is that the in game camera will be at an inclined bird's eye view so not all the detail will read on screen. In addition to that we have a large number of enemies on screen at the same time, therefore to save on the costs of skinned mesh rendering this seemed a good balance in terms of details.
That's what game development is about right? You want something you give something else. So we gave up detailed models for more enemies on screen. ;)