Postmodernism Essay Topic

The topic I'm going to cover in the upcoming Po-Mo essay is one that relates to games, as there close to my heart so I put some real gusto into it. The topic in question is:

'The way Postmodernism has effected the gaming landscape: Self-referencing in Games'

People aren't idiots. They know there playing a game so how do people feel when a game breaks that fourth wall placed you and it, and says something in the real world then in game like 'Switch the controller to the other port!'

The main offender that put this in my mind was 'Metal Gear Solid', where the quote came from. For a game praised for its immersive storyline and realistic characters, how does the player feel when they are literally reminded 'Oh hey, We are playing this on the PS3!'.

How would you like it if during 'The Elephant Man' if he turns to the screen halfway through and says 'The next bit is the best bit' then carries on as usual.

So, I will be exploring the art of Self-referencing in gaming.

This boss reads the contents of your Memory Card... for no reason.

Character Design - Shape Outlines and Basic Details

I've been working on the shapes for the characters and then adding some basic detail to get the feel for there clothes and some basic character.

Hero Shape:

Hero Detail:

The Hero is a sort of traveler, as he searches England for the Kidnapped Maiden. Due to this I have tried to create a look that is heroic as well as worn. This is shown in the shoulder cape, the gauntlets and armour flaps around the waist. I have also tried to keep in the theme of Arthurian and Fantasy. As he is a young man, I did not want the 'super' squareness of the some typical heroes, so instead I based it around squares but curved them off to give him a younger, more friendlier feel.

Sidekick Shape:

Sidekick Detail:

My Sidekick Character is an out of work male Pixie. As the more comical part of the show, I created him as a 'portly' character made of circles. He appeals to the audience as the 'down on his luck' loser. He also has sharp wit, hence the pose. The clothes of the sidekick is based upon that of a genie, but are very tight fitting, as he has put on weight since leaving the rank of a Pixie. When I think of this character, I picture Danny DeVito.

Villain Shape:

Villain Detail:

For the villain of the show, I have tried to channel the likes of 'Skelator' from He-Man and 'Cobra Commander' from G.I Joe. By this I mean a more maniacal villain as opposed the dark, evil villain of a more grown up shown, hence the evil laughter pose. I have also given him armour for an imposing look and made it more pointy and triangular. This especially comes across in the hands. It is in contrast with the hero who has circular hands and gloves, while the villain has pointed gauntlets. I have also used a helmet to mask his true face, again in the vain of 'Cobra Commander'. All you can see is red eyes and the rest is black. It creates a mystery as to what exactly the man underneath looks like. I also used a long, flowing cape as opposed the the shoulder cape for the hero to create more contrast.

Character Design - Plot Synopsis

I have redone the plot synopsis because I forgot one key component... the fact that its 80s cartoon. I was so busy thinking of some realistic take on Arthurian and Fantasy archetypes that I overshadowed the most important part.

80s Cartoon Plot:

The Kingdom of Camelot lives in peace, surrounding itself with the Forest of Serenity for protection. England beyond this border, is a cold dark place which the evil Dark Lord Mordred rules. Inside the city walls, lives a young man named Garz that aspires to join the Knights of Camelot under the guidance of the great Sir Lancelot. But on the eve of her wedding, castle maiden Dylena is kidnapped by the evil Mordred that claims her love for himself. Astride his mighty dragon, Lancelot ventures into the Barren England in look of the damsel. Seeking to prove himself to his mentor, Garz starts his own quest to find the maiden, leading him into the Forest of Serenity and beyond...

Join Garz, a young man seeking to save the maiden, and his friend, Vortaii, a Pixie that has lost his way after leaving the Pixie Protection Guild, as they journey throughout there great mystical land for a lost Hero and a lost Maiden. Along the way they will meet new friends, such as dragons and imps, and visit magical places. But they will also face the ultimate evil... Dark Lord Mordred!

Follow there adventures every Saturday!
(1980)

Character Bios to follow...

Mulholland Drive Review

Where do I start with this one...
Phil said that this film divides opinion and spurs on discussion. There is the group that loves its intricacy and general weirdness that they embrace it. There is the group who find it irritating that it can't seem to hold a plot. I fall into neither of these two...
I despise this film. So lets delve in:

The film is about... oh, a road block already. To be honest I have no idea. There are to many plot strands that don't go anywhere or are linked so minutely that there non important. I tries to be so many different films and genres, it has no focus, which I never knew it would, absolutely infuriates me.

I can watch a film that has no story, where its all about the action for example. I can also watch a film that focuses on character development and story progression. Mulholland Drive falls into neither category as it tries to be something and not at the same time.

One plot through out the film is the journey of Naomi Watt's character Betty, as she flies to Hollywood to chase the American dream. Yes, this plot starts with a story. So far, so good. By the time the credits role, was there any continuation? There were a few scenes here and there about her auditioning but a conclusion? No. This is juxtaposed with a scene that lasts about 10 minutes, also at the beginning, where two men sit in a dinner, discussing a dream.
'This dream talk is lasting a bit long, but it must be leading somewhere... right? RIGHT????'
No, inner Earl voice... it does not. Man sees scary face. Scene over. Thank you for being in my film, goodbye. We will never talk of this again. There were countless more of these little (and not so little) scenes throughout the film, that I can't even start analysing for fear for my sanity.

On a high point, the direction was well done, only allowing the viewer to see what they needed without it feeling forced.

When the film finished, Dan said to me 'I have to go ask Phil what that was about'. I, on the other hand, wanted to distance myself from the film as soon as possible. I think the main culprit was that it was confusing and ,to me, had no story realised enough. I don't normally get confused, I watch 'Lost'.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the chance to see the film, if only to discover my hatred for it...

Yes Naomi, this movie does start with a semblance of a story... But don't get your hopes up

Maya Facial animation - Lip sync

Here is how it stands at the moment:

Only a playblast I'm afraid. It seems my PC isn't cooperating with it. Whenever I load it, it says
'errors have occured while reading this scene that may result in data loss'
and bammo, nothing there...
No biggie, I'll render it out at Uni.

Also why is the video freezing in the corner at the end?

Void Canvas Ident Work

At the moment I have been tasked with creating an Ident for the team from our Logo. It's fair to say I have created alot but thats because we want it to be perfect, something we are all 100% happy with.

Here is the Evolution of the Ident:

Character Shape Skecths

These are the shape sketchs I did during the lesson.
I'm not the most artistic of people so stripping away everything but the the skeleton allowed me to so just how to put a character together and a better understanding on how to do my future characters:

Hercules:

Danger Mouse:

Batman:

Daffy Duck (Female):

Character Design - Series Influence Map & Synopsis

I created this Influence Map to showcase what exactly is running through my head with my current Character Design.

Top Left:
This image showcases that I want war and confrontation in my series. A conflict that is consistent throughout, which means that along with a single story each week, there is also an underlying conflict happening on there borders.

Top Middle:
A young boy with a sword. In many Arthurian stories and Fantasy stories the main character is a young man, that is disregarded as some form of peasant.

Below Top Middle:
A fantasy forest. This image showcases the surroundings and kind of environments in my world. Based in the modern world but with a fantasy twist.

Top Right:
A mystical landscape with castles that peak through the clouds. This image showcases the surroundings and kind of environments in my world. Based in the modern world but with a fantasy twist.

Middle Left:
A young man being knighted for his bravery and courage. Many main characters either receive this title early or strive for it.

Below Middle Left:
Dragons are common myths in Arthurian legend, but in fantasy they are more a kin to commonplace. In the series, Dragons used to be commonplace until hunted to extinction, except for a select view.

Middle Right:
This image symbolises the fantasy aspect. With a horde of evil 'monsters' in the background and a scantly clad woman leading the attack, it shows a threat to an empire and a traitor leading it. Why scantly clad? It would seem that all fantasy needs to have a female character wearing next to nothing to draw in the teenagers. You can thank the Japanese for that...

Bottom Left:
The most iconic image of the Arthurian era. The sword in the stone is a story that everyone knows or is at least aware of. It may not be key to the series but something similar has to be used to ground the audience into the world.

Bottom Middle:
A robed man uses magic. Magic is always related to the Arthurian Legend, but with a fantasy twist, the amount and power of the magic must be amplified. The variety of the magic must also be greater to include all the different elements that are so common in fantasy.

Bottom Right:
A knight in all his fantasy gear. His armour is similar to that of the medieval era yet has a very distinct look of fantasy. In almost all Arthurian and fantasy tale there is a dark knight. It is essential to include the dark knight in the series.

Synopsis:
It is the turn of the 8th Century. The citizens of Camelot have lived in peace before any could remember, all thanks to the diligent work and protection of the Drakon. The Drakon where a select group of young men and women who had learnt the ancient secret of taming the roaming, elusive dragons of England. Dragons are becoming fewer and fewer by the year due to a mysterious disease spreading though out there numbers. On the eve of The Joining, a ritual for new Drakon apprentices, a small but fearsome group of the Darg infiltrate the prosperous, thought impenetrable city of Camelot. The Darg are a savage race of humans, twisted in mind and body due to the vast amount of magic lying on the English borders, they seek only to feed on the flesh of what they consider abominations. Garz, a young man seeking to join the ranks of the Drakon, must hold up arms against the attacking force as his companions flee in terror...

Join Garz, the fearless Drakon Knight, and his companion, Vorrtai, as they journey to the edge of there great land and beyond in the search to find the missing oracle of Camelot, Moriasam, while there home is under constant siege from the evil Darg forces. But what has befallen the once loved Moriasam at the very edge of there world? And who is causing the continued assault across all of England?

Find out every Saturday at 10am!
(1985)

Lost in La Mancha Review

This one was frustrating. Not because of the quality of the documentary but because of the content. 

'Think about this Logically...'

That's what I wanted to shout at Terry Gilliam, the director. 
The documentary follows the director on his quest to produce the movie he has wanted to make for 15 years. But tragedy struck the production of the film in one of the worst places, Pre-production. Its at this stage when you have to take a step back and re-evaluate, just like the assistant director said. But Gilliam forged on and entered the Production stage, pushing his forward forward. It was during the FIRST week of production that the entire film was in jeopardy and finally canceled. Much to Gilliam's dismay, the financiers pulled out and with no money and no more main actor in the form of Jean Rochefort, the entire film was canned.

The whole emphasis of this documentary was disaster. At every possible opportunity, something went wrong, whether it be equipment washing away or actors getting Prostate problems. At so many stages, you couldn't help but think 'look at this logically'. Gilliam was so obsessed with this film he let it control him, not taking any advice seriously and in the end blowing millions of dollars. Its a case of not getting stuck in to one project so deep that you can't escape.

Character Design - Lets start this

Oh boy, writing on two blogs is going to get confusing.

Our second unit running parallel is character design, which to be honest, I was little concerned about. But not anymore. Our first lesson really allowed us to see the depth that we have to put into the characters. 

Its about simplisity as well as creating characters that look good. For example, a Hero must follow the look and style of a hero. This will vary depending on the given topic. All three characters must produce these elements. From analysing the character movie, all the characters have very distinctive clicks that suit them.

Here are the two pictures I drew in class:

This first one is 50 Foot Cowboy. I tried to go down the Godzilla route by making his eyes demonic and henceforth

This second one is a 'Pigmy Secret Agent'. I tried to one again make the face look tribalised and include different objects from both worlds.

The words for my characters are:

Fantasy Arthurian

Now these words are very similar in a way but it allows me to take existing Arturian archtypes, such as Knights and Wizards and really ramp up the fantasy aspect as opposed to making it realistic.