Escape Challenge: discussion and inspiration
ngon master
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]
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]
Replies
omg! she could be bathing in blood. There, I've added violence so its game related now, and no longer creepy.
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.
[ame="
How can environments escape exactly? If anything both character and environment art is required.
...
...almost like... a combination of two characters... some kind of morphed character... I see...
In relation to a kid cosplaying:
[ame="
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:
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
anyways, wish there was few months advanced notice so people could clear their schedule.
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.
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