An Introduction to Space Whales
For my senior thesis project, myself and a group of 4 are working together to build an interactive story within Unreal Engine. As standing juniors, we have spent the past semester in preproduction developing the story, solidifying concepts for the environment and characters, creating FX samples, and proving the pipeline.
A short synopsis: A young woman is called to a foreign planet by her older sister, who has spent the past several years there researching a cure for a terminal disease. Embarking on a planetary journey to reach her sister’s post, the young woman discovers clues along the way that foretells her sister’s ultimate tragic downfall.
Below are mood and inspiration boards that have influenced our concept creations.
ENVIRONMENT
The landscape is heavily inspired by the terrain of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, minus the water and replaced with a thick white fog. The main character will be running on the tops of these rocky isles.
MAIN CHARACTER (PLAYER)
The main character sister (still unnamed) wears a bodysuit, with military-esque elements layered on top.
PLANTS
The vegetation of the terrain will consist of a combination of deciduous and non-deciduous trees. Details like fungi, tree webbing, gnarled roots and bark, and shrubbery will be prominent.
CREATURES
We want to populate our environment with aquatic-inspired creatures that both roam the land and drift through the skies (hence why the placeholder name for our project is called “SPACE WHALES.”
The upcoming blog posts are going to detail our process of game creation, from preproduction to production to the finished product. Our goal by graduation -May 2021-is to have a AAA third person story “game” within Unreal Engine.
We are a small group of 5 (listed below), but we plan to enlist the help of a few extras throughout production as necessary. Any of their work will be credited.
Group members:
Danielle Berning
Daniel Le: daniel_le.artstation.com
Eric Rogers: ericrogers.artstation.com
Annie McClement: anniemc918.artstation.com
Crystal Lee (myself): crystalylee.artstation.com