|
The experience of kinEkay is more of a sandbox than an actual game. The only way to lose is to not engage with the game, and the goal of the gme system is to receive and reflect the players’ emotions as determined through the choices of which eKay the player chooses to engage. While some of the game elements will promote balance and moderation from the player’s choices, ultimately it is up to the player to decide which eKay pleases them the most and how they would like to dictate their play experience. The essence for each eKay is rooted in a corresponding character archetype, and reflected in the game with visual representations, animations, and music that should all contribute to creating a unique feeling. Each will have a corresponding positive or negative influence on one of the four main aura types, which derivations of the Jungian archetypes of the Self, the Shadow, Anima, and Animus.
TThe above images show a progression of screens from the game as the player completes the actions of each Ekay. As more and more eKay are completed consecutively, the player is able to reach different levels that are accompanied by more visual stimulation, increasingly driving music, and a greater number of options of Ekay become available. The idea is that as the player becomes more adept with the game, the game becomes more cognitively challenging to increase the difficulty. With each level progression, another layer of structures are added. The environments begin very simple while the player is learning the game (left), but becomes more intense as the player achieves more success. (right)
Back to top.
|
|
The anima Ekay are intended to represent the female side of the psyche. For the purposes of this game, this has been correlated with the two archetypes of The Great Mother and The Child. The first Ekay here, The Great Mother, is described in the design document for the game as follows:
A limitless well of empathy and understanding, this eKay type is caring and nourishing which induces an approachable appearance and soothing, if not over demonstrative, movement path.
This Ekay was constructed to represent this ideal through primarily the use of scale. The profile of this creature seems benign at a distance but it becomes more imposing as it moves closer and takes up more of the players’ field of vision. In the texture map is a set of lips that is intended to create a sense of sensuality; something that is unsettling against the otherwise enveloping nourishment intended by the rest of the model.
The Child is much more spontaneous and fleeting Ekay. When directly facing the player, this Ekay can move deceptively quickly towards the player as it meteorically spirals through the environment. The model’s shape is intended to be fragile and slight in it’s impression.
|
|
|
|
The Animus Ekay correspond to the Jungian structures of masculinity. For kinEkay, this embodies a more primordial evolutionary spirit. The first Ekay of this class, the Cosmic Man, represents inherent necessity of motion. A wandering spirit, this Ekay moves quickly about the screen, drawing attention. The spikes along the character’s back make the model less inviting and more dangerous. At the same time, the pastel texture should make the player feel as though there is something softer underneath.
The Wise Old Man is intended to be a bit more playful, but still cause a kind of duality of emotion. The texture has been created with accented highlights to make the creature appear scaly, or slimy. But the awkward shape of the model and the wobbly motions that will accompany it make this Ekay endearing, if nothing else than for reasons of empathy when this Ekay is placed next to the rest of the more graceful Ekay. From the design document:
Boldly ambling in a re-imagined memory of duty, this fastidious eKay bears the responsibility of evolutionary necessity, reasoned by the iteration of mistakes.
|
|
|
|
Back to top.
|
Shadow
|
|
|
|
The Shadow Ekay appear from the darkest recesses of the mind, and are comprised of the darkest of intents: Fear, Intimidation, Lies, and Hubris. The Trickster Ekay revels in the consequences of deception. As soon as it’s located, it’s in a new spot on screen. And when the player reaches out to touch it, the Ekay disappears with a mocking laugh, only to reappear on the opposite side the of the screen to once again demand the players’ attention.
The Ubermensch, by contrast, does not hope to frustrate the player, but instead seeks to attract the player and draw them into his dark realm. From the design document:
The Ubermensch’s mysterious potential is spectacularly horrible. The enticement of its possible lone supremacy is irresistible and wholly unsettling.
The profile for this character is deceptive. When viewed from the side, it seems like a soft cloud of blue light. Once the player engages this Ekay, it turns toward the player in full address and reveals a sharper look. The character then moves in increasingly bold strokes, while all the while maintaining engagement and unsettling the player through an uncanny gaze that is worked into the texture map.
|
|
|
The Self
|
|
The Divine Couple is the manifestation of total balance and the apex of the game. Once the player has maintained a balance of Ekay until the fourth level of the game, the Divine Couple will emerge. These two Ekay work in unison and slow down the stimulation of the higher level to create a moment of zen at a point that will be fairly chaotic. When the Divine Couple emerge, each will take a position at opposite corners of the screen. The player will then move them one by one towards the middle of the screen. When they reunite they will explode in a deluge of light. All of the other Ekay will be revealed at once, allowing the player to continue in any path they’d like and providing an intense sensation of light and sound.
|
|
|
|
Back to top.
|
Creation and Technical Considerations
|
|
This project has been particularly challenging not only because the goals I had for the project changed regularly through it’s development, but also because I’ve had such a clear vision for the project for such a long time. I knew that the characters that I’d hoped to create were part of this ephemeral sub-psyche/sub-space world, and that I’d probably be able to achieve this effect sole through textures and modeling. I used a technique of using the glow effects included in Maya, along with a special version of each texture that tweaked the glow effects to make each model look as I’d hoped. I also experimented with transparencies in my model’s textures more than I have in the past. To create the textures I often found myself culling from my collection of photos of skies, architecture, and natural environments. I feel that some of this same energy is transferred to the model although all was using was a selection outline and then using painting methods over them. This, in combination with glow and transparency experiments, created a lot of unexpected results. Most of these were pleasant surprises that I felt added to the intended results.
One thing I would have liked to address are the glow intensities in the main environment with all of the environment’s structural elements are in place and all the Ekay are added. The glow effects don’t have an intensity setting available with they are used in combination with a texture map, and as a result the models get lost in the amount of light being created by the glow effects. I wanted a lot of stimulation at this point, but this doesn’t communicate the shapes as well as I’d like.
I think this problem will be addressed in my final use of these models. When I began this project, I’d anticipated creating the game in the virtools environment. My goals for the game have changed and I’ll be using these models as sprites, created through individual renders. When done this way as individual pngs brought together one by one, I think I’ll have more control of how the lights will blend together. In the end, I believe I’ll be very happy in how these models have turned out and the unique effects I was able to accomplish in creating these in 3D.
|
|
|
|
Back to top.
|
|
