Project 2: Apple Interactive Concept

Crit With Nigel
Today I had a crit with Nigel and it was really helpful. He seemed to like my idea with and suggested a few ideas that might improve it, some of which I really like and will probably implement into my game design. The main thing I took from the crit was that I am focusing far too much on the concept art. He reminded me that the brief is asking for a design document, not hundreds of pages of concepts. Also, as my character will be seen from behind whilst riding an animal I should focus on concepts for just that; not drawings from the front which is what I have been doing. Still, I am happy because I finally have my young boy character finished. The downside to this is that I am no contemplating changing the game mechanics and having a customize section where the player can change the appearance of the young boy. This means I will have to add extra clothes etc to my design. I think for my document, if I do go ahead with this idea, I will show the items of clothing but not on the actual boy.
 
Nigel also suggested that I do some silhouette concepts of the boy because the player needs to be able to recognise and distinguish their character from the levels. This will also aid in the concepts for the boy riding the animals. Nigel also said it would be a good idea to have a few animals drawn out in case I wanted them as DLC for the game, I could show different types of animals available to the player. So far I have a turtle for a water level and a dinosaur for a grass level. I think a bird would be good for flight levels in the sky. Still, this is another thing I need to think about. 

Another thing we were talking about was the design document and how it should look. I want mine to be as visual as possible. I plan to use my own photographs as examples of environments for levels and I also want to make "pretty" borders/backgrounds for the entire document. I want it to look amazing! 

Young Boy Concept Design  

Here is my digital painting of the young boy character. If the game goes down the customisation route then this would be his default look. The player could then choose to change him and will be able to unlock items of clothing in game. The player might also be able to unlock special animals and customise the animals too. 

"Young Boy"