Game concept art [WEEK 5]

Potential Visual layout -

I created this piece of concept art to give a very rough idea of what our game might look like, utilizing colour, art style and layouts. The UI i left in red for now as just notes, though i considered what buttons and functions we might need, for example part of our game will be set in a survival situation so health, hunger and thirst could be a useful mechanic. Under that is the objective bar telling the player what they need to do, whether that be following the safari group, photographing certain targets, or heading to a certain location. Points of interest will be marked on the map by floating symbols that also tell you how far away something is, as the map will be quite busy and populated by many plants this might make it easier for the player in terms of pathfinding. On the right hand side there are a few options that might be of use for the game, the camera mechanic is perhaps the most important of the mechanics as this is how the player will gather the photographs of the fauna and flora in the new Sahara. The map could also be quite useful in identifying biomes and points of interest in relation to the current position of the player. The journal is also a key function in the game. The journal not only contains the photographs the player has collected, but also vital information about the plants and animals they come across that could be vital for their survival in the deep jungle. The final two functions tie into this survival aspect, allowing the user to access their tools, food, medicine, and swap quickly between their weapon and camera in case they get too close to a hostile creature. In the centre of the screen i thought it would be a nice touch to have a camera viewport when the camera tool is selected, and when the weapon is selected, it would switch back to the classic crosshair.

Here are a few more notes about how the journal mechanic would work, and the sub menus such as the full page view, inventory, and map. These are just very rough notes that might help the UI artist, although i myself am the 2D lead, we decided as a team to split up all the creative aspects to let everyone have a go at something and to lessen the workload on one person. The director is also stepping in as the UI artist so i wanted to make something that could help them consider some ideas for our games mechanics.