Friday 30 November 2012

Extended Research

Just some extra material i've found to aid in my own design. This is a game called AtomMate.


AtomMate is a chemistry card game that consists of a deck of 49 playing cards with the names, symbols and facts about the elements of the Periodic Table. It is used to play games that involve making chemical compounds. Designed for students aged 10 and up, it is a grow-with-me game.
Beginning students learn the names and symbols of the elements. Intermediate students learn to combine the elements to form molecules and compounds. More advanced students can use the cards to enhance their understanding of simple reaction.

The reason I'm siting this game is it proves to be an interesting example of a suitable game platform for which I can then make my own interpretation of.

http://www.webelements.com/shop/product.php/34/atommate_card_game

An update post of my design progress so far will come as soon as I get my scanner back up and running.

Friday 16 November 2012

Slight Change Of Direction

Just had my tutorial with Alan today. After a long talk it has become clear that my ideas for this project and intentions of getting it done right were a bit too ambitious and wayward. However, there is a new plan.

The idea is to create a number of SIMPLE characters, similar to my mercury character, based still off of the periodic table. These characters would solely be based around metaphors of what they are. For example:

#1 - Ice
* What is ice most commonly seen as? Examples:
  - Ice Cube
  - Ice Lolly
  - Snowman

#2
* Look at their shapes, what they are made up of.
  - Ice Cube = Water + Ice
  - Ice Lolly = Ice - Flavouring
& etc

#3
* Try are make a character based around these principles

Use this method to create characters from various elements on the table


*Note- To keep the characters bound relative to eachother, they must all have some distinct similarity i.e maybe having the same/very similar body structures.


Influences & Examples


Garbage Pail Kids Top Trumps

"Each sticker card features a Garbage Pail Kid character having some comical abnormality and/or suffering a terrible fate, with a humorous, word play-rich character name such as Glandular Angela or Half-Nelson" Wikipedia


Pokemon: Gotta Catch'em All
Pokemon are essentially real-world creatures that have been combined with specific elements, most based on the creature's habitat, in order for it to aquire special powers. The Pokemon is then given an iconic name which is likely to be a mish mash of the creature and its provided element. E.g. Squirtle = Squirt + Turtle. The turtle has the ability to squirt water because that is its natural environment.



Lego Men

Lego characters are simple characters made from Lego, which can then be disassembled, mixed and matched to create new personalised characters.


I now plan to follow these examples in the creation of my own set of characters, based off of the periodic table.

Minor Crit Presentation

Minor Interim Crit Presentation

Monday 5 November 2012

Mercury Character: Elemental Forms 2 (Ice)

I've put more emphasis on the ice silhouetes more then anything, trying to come up with different shapes & sized to pick from. I quite like them all really, but especially like #1,2 & 3 as they are the most variable.


 
Ice Silhouettes (Body)
 
Ice Silhouettes w/Skeletons

I add the skeletons simply to show whats what; indicating the base mercury form from the element attached/mixed/magnetised with the mercury, which makes up the body.