Additional Research + Inspirations

For each idea I need to undertake a small amount of research for my potential features and mechanics. Each of my game ideas also take inspiration from different forms of media. This page contains the information I have gathered and how it will be used in each game.

Idea #1 - Sea Monster Exploration

Inspirations

Avatar the Last Airbender (2006) & The Legend of Korra (2012)- "Touch Vision"
- Avatar the Last Airbender is a childrens cartoon focusing on the adventures of a group of children who live in a world where people are gifted with element shifting abilities (known as bending). The Legend of Korra is a sequal of the same premise, set 75 years after Avatar.
  - Both shows feature a character called Toph, who is completely blind. On numerous occasions it is mentioned and demonstrated that she can "see" using her hands and feet. The visualisation of this shows waves spreading around the environment she is in, forming the shapes of people, objects, and building structures around her. She can also feel minescule vibrations caused by movement.
  - I visualise the player-character using an ability exactly like this to navigate during one of the stages of the game. The character will have to bump into the walls and floor to gain a brief visualisation of the environment, and other fish will be highlighted when they move.

Luca (2021)
- Luca is an animated film about a young sea monster who tries to blend into a human village without being discovered.
- The sea monsters in the film have a very unique transformation. Whilst dry and out of water they have a human form, which shifts into their sea monster form when wet. The sea monster forms are also unique, having a vaguely humanoid form but still very much looking like a sea creature.
- This transformation is how I imagine the character in my game morphing while going between stages, but much slower than in Luca.

Monsters vs Aliens (2009)
- Monsters vs Aliens is an animated film about a group of monsters being used as a task force against an alien invasion.
- There is one character in particular, called "Link", that I envision my player-character looking like.
  - Link is an aquatic mutant and looks similar to some of the sea monsters in Luca, but with more of a rough, frightening appearance.

Research:

Pallesthesia
- Pallesthesia is the ability to percieve vibrations through the skin
- This is the scientific name for the ability I was inspired by from Avatar
- Characterised by a feeling of vibrating in a limb
  - Stroke patients have been found to have a diminished sense of pallesthesia
Marine Iguana's
- Reptile found only on the Galapagos Islands
- Unique as it is one of the only aquatic foraging reptiles
  - Lives on land, but feeds on algae in the sea
- Movements were researched by the team of "Luca" for the film
- Also looks very similar to the "Link" character from Monsters vs Aliens

"The Making of Luca" & "The Art of Luca"
- Primarily researched: The animation technique for shifting between human and sea monster forms
  - Disney were able to find a way to slowly overlay one character model with another, making it look like one model is going through an intricate change
    - Were able to make the scales shift on the character using a similar technique to the movement of thousands of marigold petals in "Coco"
  - Behind the scenes of Luca: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLUzH3IPZLQ

Idea #2 - Submarine Builder

Inspirations

Club Penguin (2005) - Aqua Grabber minigame
- Club Penguin was an online browser MMO. The game allowed players to talk to one another, play minigames to earn currency, and take part in themed events.
- Aqua Grabber was a minigame where the player took control of a submarine and explored one of two environments. The player had to collect a certain number of items to "complete" the level, and earn currency depending on what they collected.
  - Both levels had a definitive "end state", which is a particular item hidden in the bottom of the level. Once that item was found the game would end.
- The mechanics of the game matches what I would like for the Submarine Builder game.
  - The ability to control the movements of a submersibal and a hook or "grabber" of sorts
  - The ability to collect certain items and return them to the surface
  - Oxygen being a limited resource and having to strategise around that to continue

Raft (2018 Early Release, still in development)
- Raft is a survival game where the player must navigate the ocean using their raft. The raft can be built upon and expanded, and crafting is a key mechanic. The player must also manage hunger, thirst, stamina, and illness.
- The crafting system of Raft is of inspiration to me as the materials must be gathered through gameplay. Some of them are common items found drifting on the surface, whilst others must be actively sought out.

Idea #3 - Pirate Scientists

Inspirations

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012)
- The Pirates! is an clay-mation film focusing around a rag-tag group of pirates during the final years of the "age of sail" and piracy (early 1800s). The film is a comedy, and focuses on the group using Charles Darwin to showcase their possession of the last existing Dodo and win enough money to maintain their lifestyle, while also avoiding capture by the English Navy
- I want to have the comedic aspect of my game be similar to the film
  - Vague approximations of what new creatures and lands are actually called
  - Silly and lighthearted

Research

Cartography
- The art and science of mapping the world
- Performed for thousands of years but developed a distinct style during the middle ages
  - Characterised by calligraphy and artistic representations of sea creatures to fill in blank space
- I want to use the middle age cartography artstyle for the game. I also aim to include the sea monsters depicted on maps, both common ones such as sea serpants and ones of my own creation.