Night Thorn

Night Thorn was created based on the loose brief to make a sequel/remake/continuation of a previous game made for this semester. I chose to make a game based on The_Perfect_City.exe . I didn't want to make a sequel, nor change anything about The_Perfect_City.exe, so I decided to make a game based in the same universe. This time, I chose to focus on an inside look at one of the many experiments that are taking place within this world. I wanted to differentiate from the previous game, and shed some more information on the world.

Much like the Portal games, I loved the idea of the player being a test subject who is constantly monitored. From an aesthetic viewpoint, I chose to look once again at vintage artwork. I love vintage 50's advertisements and posters, but I also find some of them unsettling, as if the happiness shown in them is forced. I decided to use these models in my own posters, to create an unsettling atmosphere of fake happiness in this game, much like the propaganda scattered about the city in the previous game, telling the residents who lived there how happy they should be.

All of previous games had taken place inside buildings or boxed off rooms, so for this project I tried to expand my skills are create an outdoor environment. I had to learn how to create terrain and trees, and a skybox to be shown in the distance. I found it difficult to create a large amount of individual trees, as the tools I was using were confusing and I didn't have the time to learn how to use them and create them all. In the end, I was happy with using the standard Unity trees as they lended to the artificial look of the environment.

I have used a variety of different assets in previous games, ranging from my own creations in Photoshop and SketchUp to pre made artwork from the Unity Asset Store and from Google images. For this game, I used a blend of my own artwork and 3D Modelling along with assets I found on the SketchUp 3D Warehouse. This new resource I discovered has a bunch of amazing 3D models that I'd highly recommend to anyone who wants to make a game but feels constrained by their art skills or the price of many assets on the asset store.

Overall I'm happy with the finished product of the game. I'm not a very artistic person when it comes to 3D Modelling or artwork, and I felt constrained a lot by this, as the overall look of the game is mostly realistic. Although it's not as fleshed out as I would have hoped, I feel like it's a nice self contained game, and I'm happy with leaving it as it is. However, I do have an interst in continuing on with the world these game are set in….

Stay tuned to my itch page and follow me on Twitter and Tumblr for any updates on existing games and new releases!

Twitter: @AlexChahill

Tumblr: bopa-games.tumblr.com