Off the Map: Alice in Wonderland

This is a competition hosted by Game City in partnership with the British Library. This is the last project and will run right up till the end of April. We can then continue to polish our projects for the competition deadline on the 22^nd of June.

I have been assigned into a group of six comprising of Jake Roddis, Sara Wright, Hannah Simmons, Olivia Anderton and Emily Kelly.

Day 1

We were initially set the task of making a side scroller game but within an hour of this seminar we were told that we could now make a first person game.  By this point we had already talked with our group and had already built up some enthusiasm for creating a side scroller game, so we decided to stick with it.

Mood Boards

Right off the bat I wanted to really keep close to the original texts and imagery. As our audience is the British library I thought it would be smart to try and cater our product to them. The British Library might be looking for a playable book, a way of introducing the world of Alice to a new generation who now potentially would struggle connecting with a book. May be if a child could connect with our game, this could then spark interest in the universe, that kid could then choose to further invest by picking up the book and reading it. I think the British Library will be looking for this, a means of introducing a new generation to Alice and Wonderland.  

Oxford and Christ Church

Attention to detail will be important in this project. If we create areas which are meant to be Oxford, this will be marked and viewed by people who know Oxford. We will have to study the architecture and general tone and have to accurately capture what we learn.

Forest Mood Board

Dark ,dingy , dense, scratchy , British , relatable, magical and ominous were some of the tones I was trying to capture here. These are images from my child hood, climbing trees and crawling though mud and brambles in some unmaintained Pembrokeshire forest.

Canal Mood Board

I wanted to create a first person beginning area for our level; this would mark a clear line between the real world, and entering into the mad world down the rabbit hole. As everything inside Wonderland is quite challenging, confusing and in a constant state of unease this area needs to be juxtaposed with this. A serene, peaceful and safe environment that tries to capture the care free summers of child hood. The book is ultimately about her leaving this state and entering adulthood so having this change felt in the game would be a good aim.

Christ Church Interior

Some truly amazing architecture here to pull forms and inspiration from.