Escape Challenge: discussion and inspiration

ZacD

I figured it'd be nice to have a thread just to talk about the contest. Discuss ideas, share possible concepts and reference materials you aren't using, etc. If you have questions about the terms, use the QA thread. Don't use this to pimp your thread, but feel free to link other threads if it's relevant. Also don't post wips here, use your own thread.

I did some brainstorming of what "escape" could mean.

Escape oppression and confinement
- Jail/prision
- Trap/Death trap
- Chains and locks (Houdini?)
- Prey
- Escape route

Escape Earth
- Space

Escape Reality
- Drinking/Bar/Drugs/Depression/Grief
- VR/Digital Escape
- Escape emotions, such as eating your feelings

Escape Modern life
- Go back to nature

Escape Life
- Death
- Suicide

Escape Yourself
- Over come personal limits or handicaps

I'm probably missing a lot of possible meanings up escape, but I figured it'd be a good starting place for a lot of people.

I saw this awesome concept for using virtual reality as an escape.



There's also been a lot of super hero related escapes and jails

Loki's cell in Avengers



Magneto Escapes - X-men First Class

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etPXBm0zRvM"]Magneto Escapes - X-men First Class Theme - YouTube[/ame]

V for Vendetta has 2 very good imprison, escape, and reborn moments.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBPvkctfN6Y"]God Is In The Rain - YouTube[/ame]

Paradan

I'm voting for whoever does a girl taking a bubble bath. It could be like candle lit and have the bubbles mostly petered out so there's some good refraction nudity. Physics too, you'd have to get the whole boob buoyancy thing right.

omg! she could be bathing in blood. There, I've added violence so its game related now, and no longer creepy.

Bek

I'm not sure if I'll enter this challenge yet but I've been toying with this idea:

Music is almost always playing when I'm at the computer, and sometimes I'm taken from consciously focusing on what I'm doing to seeing the events in the song play out in my head, imagining the environments, characters involved, trying to figure out the cryptic lyrics might mean..

So I was thinking, although I wouldn't be able to do this myself, creating the environment I see when a particular song is playing (Harvest and Bleak from Opeth's Blackwater Park record are the two main contenders at the moment), and basically showing the events of a small part of the song as a real-time environment. Ideally I'd show a video that has the song playing while the camera explores the environment, and it'd finish by showing headphones sitting on a desk, with the song just faintly audible from the headphones as the camera pans back. Or something like that anyway. Might not work since you have to submit screenshots for the main judgement, and my idea wouldn't clearly show "an escape" in screenshot form.

McGreed

I had this idea (which I kinda skipped in favor of others) of a sofa and in front a couple of TVs with DVD players and this elaborat DVD changing system from shelfs on shelfs of DVDs, and automatic rolling table with an robo arm to open the door when the pizza man came ect.

valuemeal

I am not sure, this one is much too vague to really peruse without folks getting confused. To tell you the truth it seems more geared towards environmental fellows than anything. Hard to make a character that would be an escape.

Target_Renegade

This thread made me think of eXistenZ. Going to watch it again now. If I enter the competition, I'm going to try and keep the scope fairly small but try and implement more shader side techniques.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAdbdUt_h9M"]eXistenZ (1999) - Trailer - YouTube[/ame]

WarrenM

valuemeal wrote: »

I am not sure, this one is much too vague to really peruse without folks getting confuse. To tell you the truth it seems more geared towards environmental fellows than anything. Hard to make a character that would be an escape.

I think every entry so far has at least 1 character in it. :P

Andreas

valuemeal wrote: »

I am not sure, this one is much too vague to really peruse without folks getting confuse. To tell you the truth it seems more geared towards environmental fellows than anything. Hard to make a character that would be an escape.

How can environments escape exactly? If anything both character and environment art is required.

valuemeal wrote: »

fellows

...

valuemeal

It just seems as though an escape is somewhere one would go, as apposed to a character being something one escapes to. Perhaps someone could be escaping into being one character, such as that young kid who transforms into captain marvel or a dnd character cosplaying their hero or something of that nature.

Andreas

valuemeal wrote: »

It just seems as though an escape is somewhere one would go, as apposed to a character being something one escapes to. Perhaps someone could be escaping into being one character, such as that young kid who transforms into captain marvel or a dnd character cosplaying their hero or something of that nature.

...almost like... a combination of two characters... some kind of morphed character... I see...

Snader

This fellow looks like an escaping fellow.



In relation to a kid cosplaying:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pWZRJd4z8o"]Noisia - Shellshock (feat. Foreign Beggars) (Official Video) - YouTube[/ame]

Jesse Moody

Andreas wrote: »

How can environments escape exactly? If anything both character and environment art is required.
...

You don't need a character. Allude to a character being there or getting away.

Say footprints in the snow of a crash site or something.... Not gonna give too many ideas but it's quite easy...

Andreas

Jesse Moody wrote: »

You don't need a character. Allude to a character being there or getting away.

Say footprints in the snow of a crash site or something.... Not gonna give too many ideas but it's quite easy...

Aye I agree. Was just saying that it's not a concept that alienates character artists; it works for all. :thumbup:

ErichWK

Thats what makes this a good challenge. It's a vague and tricky concept where we...as problem solving artists..have to...problem solve... to figure out how to fit in the theme. Brilliant ideas aren't handed to us! USE YOUR IMAGINATION.

agentfros

I had an idea that I was loosely playing with when I first saw the Escape challenge. I was thinking of escape from space pirates. I know it sounds kinda cheesy but I like cheesy B-movies (Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus anyone?). Anyways, space pirates.

I'll get around to posting a topic on the Escape Challenge thread once I am able to post new threads. I'm kinda new and I lurk a lot

MM

Valve might be looking for more T-Shaped employees hehe

anyways, wish there was few months advanced notice so people could clear their schedule.

Snader

Well considering you have 10 weeks there is a month to reschedule and then a month to work. =P

ZacD

Yeah, it's 2 beauty shots, it can be as simply or as complex as you want.

adam

ErichWK wrote: »

Thats what makes this a good challenge. It's a vague and tricky concept where we...as problem solving artists..have to...problem solve... to figure out how to fit in the theme. Brilliant ideas aren't handed to us! USE YOUR IMAGINATION.

I love you.

For me the appeal of this contest really that there is no right or wrong approach to it. So long as your submission has at least a character, vehicle or an environment it will be possible to tell your story of your 'escape'. From there we removed the cap on triangles & textures so that artists can just focus on making the artwork, all while challenging themselves to make sure it is efficient game art that they are making. Just because we have no caps doesn't mean its OK for you to submit sloppy work.

In some ways, I actually think this approach is more challenging then if we were to give you hard limits.

I also believe a solo artist can just as easily dominate this competition as an entire team of 5 individual artists. It's all in the story & execution of your idea and in there lies the 'Challenge' of this Polycount Challenge.

I'm glad you guys are digging the Escape.

Zpanzer

Jesse Moody wrote: »

You don't need a character. Allude to a character being there or getting away.

Say footprints in the snow of a crash site or something.... Not gonna give too many ideas but it's quite easy...

Exactly, implied elements can, if done right, make a much more interesting narrative then one where the story teller holds the viewers hand. The human mind is great at filling in gabs with something that has a root in each persons personality and experiences. Take Amnesia as an example, one of the contributing factors the how scary it is, is that it's something unknown that's chasing you in the beginning, so your mind automatically creates a idea of what that monster can be from a blueprint of what you as a person finds most scary.

A little Extra Credits episode touching on the subject:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/the-beast-macabre

edit: one more that might be usefull:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/more-than-exposition