NARRATIVE - Storyboard

Character - FABULOUS ASSASSINATION / Inspiration

Mentioned Video Games:

Taiko no Tatsujin / 太鼓の達人

Metal Gear Solid V

Bayonetta

DRAGONQUEST Series

Katamari Damacy

Mentioned Actors / Actresses:

Catherine Deneuve

Tony Curtis

Christina Hendricks (Ref. Joan Holloway in Madmen)

Brigitte Bardot

Uma Thurman

Marilyn Monroe

Audrey Hepburn

A balance between games, aesthetic chic & music.

Character - FABULOUS ASSASSINATION / Parfait & Marquise

"I'll have you know I'm a thriving local Triangle player in the small instrument community"

♢♢♢

I've begun thinking about the two strawberries, Parfait & Marquise, (Yay, names!) in their relation to the town itself. As they are a pair it'd be great to accentuate that fact with a coy vehicle that they can both ride together so in thought of effective entrances for them a scooter can be a great addition. Right now going full out mod-style on the scooter itself isn't needed but that idea of really personalizing it would be something to take from it. Added clutter towards the back with wickerbaskets and compartments, as well as stickers and chipped paint from the brightly coloured scooter can all be lovely additions to really nail home that it's their own travelling home. It would infer they go from towns to assassinate troublesome individuals often, and together.

Secondly I had wondered about tying the rhythm aspect of the game mechanics in more to the logic of the world. The final boss battle against the King would be quite literally staged in a theatre with an orchestra pit below playing music for the King as you fight him. If the King's army goes up in ranks as you progress through the town they could have makeshift instrument-weapons corresponding to usefulness/size.. I.e a triangle is considered childish similar to a Recorder, moving up to the big boys of an Orchestra such as a Cello. The layout of an Orchestra could correspond to the order of the King's Army that Parfait & Marquise face as they make their way through the town; starting at (tiny) Violins eventually making their way all around to the Conductor himself - The King! However, Julien kindly pointed out to me that with all this on top of what is already there it could start being too overly cluttered with what is going on. To avoid this, Parfait & Marquise could be the only two with actual weapons aside from the King making them the only ones who can truly fight him in the first place and would then explain why they need a Scooter as well.

「Maya Tutorial 」- Cartoon Characters - Parts 7,8 & 9

♢ Head Modelling Part 7 - The Ear

♢ Head Modelling Part 8 - The Neck

♢ Head Modelling Part 9 - The Throat

Film Review // Viva Las Vegas (1964) - Character Relations

figure 1. Viva Las Vegas Film Poster

In another of MGM's star-studded musical comedies, Viva Las Vegas gradually becomes a romance in itself from the performance of Ann Margret & Elvis Presley and their inexplicably un-ignorable on-screen charisma. Light-hearted and often at times completely goofy the fast-paced ventures of Rusty and Lucky begin tenfold! With a story that doesn't look back, director George Sidney, who had also directed Bye Bye Birdie, uses the same allowance of fun coupled together with heaps of spontaneous "let's do this now!" to last a life-time. Perhaps whilst not a film to overly analyse for it's script, camera technique or even it's pacing; the purely character film focused on showing off Ann Margret & Elvis Presley with shameless glee delivers endless laughable moments.

Within ten minutes of opening bright lights, flashing words & the introduction to Lucky's (played by Elvis) garage the wild-goose chase to find Rusty (played by Anne) begins. Stardust, Sahara, Flamingo, Tropicana, checking show after show for the woman who had appeared shortly at his garage all but seems after all not to be a performer in the heart of Las Vegas. As Lucky sings for a club of rowdy dancers in order to coax out the location of Rusty he comes up empty handed once again.. But in a rather suave movie style, and especially to musicals, coincidence is everything. Rusty's voice is heard from down poolside from Lucky's hotel room - and before we know it "The Lady Loves Me" is being sung between Lucky & Rusty. Albeit jumping the gun, feelings that the characters - especially Lucky - have for one another are made clear with the musical number and any discrepancies in the script though minimal at this stage are corrected in lyric. 

"The lady's got a crush on me

The gentleman's crazy obviously"

figure 2. Rusty & Lucky sing "The Lady Loves Me" Poolside

In innocent adoration the relationship between Lucky and Rusty is one sided in story but on screen though Rusty is seemingly denying any confessions of Lucky's, Ann Margret & Elvis's chemistry shrines through. - All in all creating a loving hatred. From this song and the scene it seems as if Lucky has all but forgotten about his racing career; and that his wants completely revolve around  Rusty. On the other hand the story at this point does not make room to know about Rusty personally and shows her as a target to be sought after, however, regardless of this George Sidney uses comedy to lighten up as simple scenario as Viva Las Vegas.

The character depth of this MGM Musical is questionable (if not surprising) as their individual relation with themselves and the environment is close to nil. So if so where does the conflict come from?  Much later in Rusty & Lucky's singing and dancing adventure around Las Vegas Lucky's conflicting desires cause Rusty to become angry at him for being careless but at the same time shows Rusty in selfish light.  "You choose me or racing!"  Money becomes a major theme of Viva Las Vegas as Lucky tries desperately to clamber the money together for a new racecar. Duing this time he completely disregards Rusty and is seen as being selfish as well. As both characters oppose each other but continually find themselves back together there is a duel of who can subside their own stubbornness first. The most conflict arises at the midpoint of Viva Las Vegas; with Rusty & Lucky dancing between chasing eachother back and forth as the Italian race car driver Count Elmo Mancini (played by Cesare Danova) acts as a shape-shifting Casanova towards Rusty, further stirring Lucky's want for Rusty to belong to him and not Mancini.

figure 3. Rusty & Mancini have dinner together; Lucky waits them.

As the rest of Viva Las Vegas plays out with childish motive the personalities of both Lucky and Rusty become entirely engulfed by the environment. Hustled and bustled through a seemingly faster paced third quarter they compete against each other for a less than pleasurable reward; only pushing them further apart. Unable to obtain the money Lucky needs for his race, he returns to the garage. Meanwhile; Rusty's affection for him comes back to full swing, -with some stubbornness mind - and after writing his name all over pieces of bread (oh how romantic..) she decides to give in to Lucky's racing hobby. In the case of Viva Las Vegas, Rusty does not have any glaring flaws minus an old case of purposely giving people the cold shoulder when she see it fit; whereas Lucky's comes from his split wishes to love Rusty but also continue his racing career. In the end however akin to MGM it may be everything works itself out and shortly after a won  race they become wed. Cut to split-screen dancing!

Maya Homework - Poses from Reference >> "After Poses"

Film Review // Pulp Fiction - 3 & 5 Act Structure

figure. 1 Pulp Fiction Movie Poster

figure 2. Opening Frame, Definition of Pulp

Quentin Tarantino's unholy matrimony of mash-ups and irregular timing are paired up once again; devoid of derivative usage from the well-fitting score to the character tropes of drug mules and gimps. Guns appear in the hands of Tarantino's characters as commonly as a cigarette in the 1960's, and with no absence of small talk as the differences in fast-food between America & Europe are told jokingly,  wishfully observing from afar (but not up close, heed that possible wished for shotgun of Vincent & Jules indeed appear) we are brought into their lives. Unlike Tarantino's earlier film, Reservoir Dogs; Pulp Fiction does not adhere to one event in fixed time, but instead breaks apart a typical three or five act structure open and with it any chance of linear storytelling. - Obtuse it may sound at first, but it soon becomes clear that in order to hear more about how in Amsterdam you may buy a whole glass of beer at a movie theatre instead of just having a paper cup; Tarantino slyly fits more information into key events of the numerous characters' lives whilst retaining his slapstick humour. 

Arguably Tarantino's fragmentation of the acts serves no more than a way to show that to follow a story it does not have to be linear in time; nor does it have to conform to character development simply in terms of a character encompassing one by one, an average state into discord, and out to their self-improved state of being. Tarantino's barrage of events can only be described as inner-worldly. Whilst the films created, Pulp Ficiton being no different, are stylized with the use of outsourced music and themes there remains a certain intra-personal realism to it all. - The same intra-personal feeling from every single event that happens. Not once do they feel as if they are affecting the grander scale, Earth, or the Universe at large. They remain personal to the present characters and audience. Much like listening to music with headphones on. - In this sense Tarantino is almost gratifyingly fitting snippets of separate events to be pieced together in a eccentrically honest way to fit his style of presenting films.

figure 3. Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) & Vincent Vega (John Travolta) Dancing.

Structure of Pulp Fiction is questionable less because of how the scenes are placed together but instead, the importance of each one.The beginning and end scenes match up bringing Pulp Fiction full circle which only leaves the middle to decipher. In terms of time it is not so relevant as Tarantino bounces back and forth between the future and past but never arrives at a solid answer for what is the present. The diner scene shown at beginning & end, where an overly-ambitious (yet unstable) couple try to rob everyone of their wallets eventually becomes interrupted by Vincent & Jules. We do know, however, that Vincent had already been shot to death albeit accidentally by Butch (Played by Bruce Willis) previously. From this it certainly isn't obtuse to say that the traditional beginning & end is no more than the middle and Tarantino does not try to deviously and without reason give meaning to the split up scenes. A case of being witty and understanding structure enough to deviate from it without causing unwanted confusion. 

To ask then: if Pulp Fiction has a structure regardless of the almost collage-like mix-matching of scenes and if it has fragmentation without the lost information we would look towards the characters at their lowest level of character development; their "come as you are" formality in order to show change or reluctance thereof; and finally any account of death. - The beginning and end. With Tarantino placing the traditional middle part of the three act structure at the beginning & end of Pulp Fiction it reduces our attention to the chronological "middle", which in the case of Pulp Fiction shows us the beginning and end. Vincent's night and accidental drug over-dosage of Mia (played by Uma Thurman) followed by his eventual death by the hands of Butch (figure. 4) give us his life experiences in separate scenes without directly effecting one another leading to ultimately enough space to differentiate scenes as standing alone whilst simultaneously creating an impossibly unpredictable outcome.

figure 4. Vincent Vega's Death by Butch

Referenced Maya Pose Practice

I question how much more opaque my interests can become

NARRATIVE - Colour Comps

Colour comps testing saturation and values 

Character - FABULOUS ASSASSINATION / Rough Concepts - Baby Tomato Warriors 「FORM 1」

These were some initial monster-themed ideas in their initial first form. - The cadets of the army! However oddly I feel as if some of them go too far towards being monsters/mutated and thus end up losing the feeling of a person and more towards a mindless grunt. It'd be nice to convey as if they occasionally become bored with standing guard over nothing because of the King wanting to seem powerful with a large army of mercenaries when in reality there is an element of uneasy hostility towards the King at this level within the recruits; getting more fanatical about the King positively as you go up the ranks!

Character - FABULOUS ASSASSINATION / Rough Concepts - Greenhouse Town

Some interiors of the Greenhouse Town. (No name yet!) Have to consider scale in relation to the outside scenery -> greenhouse -> inside of greenhouse. Houses and what not are made out of plant pots and the town has it's own irrigation system. The shape itself of the greenhouse is coming up...

Character - FABULOUS ASSASSINATION / Rough Concepts - Tomato King

The Tomato King in denial. He's quite a ways off yet in visualization. Generally he should be round; his clothes can help to push that too. - Secondly, his clothes need to be garishly over the top as if he's overcompensating for his lack of height! Personality wise he should be quite serious but becomes tripped up in his words as if he doesn't think about what he says before he says it..

Character - FABULOUS ASSASSINATION / Rough Concepts - Main Characters

I have been focusing on the body shapes of the two strawberries quite heavily as I very much want for them to read from the ground up that they are indeed strawberries. Starting off tall they have been shortened and exaggerated into a bunch of triangles at their most simplistic form. The challenge was adding atleast some shape into that! Whilst I think I'm closer to their shape; their clothes will also have to be heavily considered in their silhouette, otherwise it will ruin it.

Lipsyncing Excersize

Lip Syncing Parts 1-4

♢ Lip Syncing Part 1: Character Rig Installation

♢ Lip Syncing Part 2: Jaw Bounce

♢ Lip Syncing Part 3: Adding Phoneme's & Viseme's

♢ Lip Syncing Part 4: Tongue, Eyes, Blinks, & Brow

Film Review // Archetypes : The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

fig 1. The Rocky Horror Picture Show Poster

The 1975 Rocky Horror Picture Show directed by Jim Sharman is a low budget musical comedy based on the original musical stage production. It was greatly received for being satirical and mixing music with science-fiction.. being able to combine enough drama to be compelling but continuing not to take itself too seriously. It opens with "Science Fiction Double Feature" as it's title song.

fig 2. Brad Majors, Janet Weiss & Dr. Frank. N Furter.

Following the Journey of Brad Majors and Janet Weiss as their car breaks down needing to use a payphone they arrive at a mansion of strange eccentrics. The film is fully narrated by a criminologist. Brad and Janet are introduced by Riff Raff to Dr. Frank.N.Furter, as the master of the house. Making his musical entrance we learn that he is a transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania with two more close acquaintances, Columbia and Magenta.

At this point in the story Brad, whilst slightly coy, is the natural hero. Janet Weiss, whilst could be the heroine she is much more of The Innocent. Brad and Janet are very quaint. As they are introduced to Dr. Frank. N. Furter (played by Tim Curry) they are pushed off their pedestals plunged into a world and lifestyle much different from their own. Dr. Frank N. Furter though attired in heels and more makeup than Janet herself quickly is established as The Ruler. Relishing in his ability to address the crowd of party-goers the momentous occasion of Rocky's birth begins. The interesting part about the eccentric transvestite is his ability to be a Ruler, Scientist and Creator all at the same time. But because of this his power-trip at wishing to achieve many things instead of one becomes his downfall.

Rocky is born, and though brandished with Dr. Frank.N Furter's ideals, muscles and all, his ego is much more naïve. His innocence mirrors that of Janet's and the two characters can relate in this way. Rocky explores his new world like a child may; playfully and oblivious to danger. Riff raff and Magenta seemingly entwined begin to mess around with Rocky. - Chasing him and scaring him with fire. In this respect, they are the Jesters. Columbia however is far more caring as we begin to find out she had been intimate with Eddie, just as Dr. Frank. N Furter had been. Eddie gets jealous of Rocky and becomes enraged, however Frank. N Furter stops his retaliation quickly by killing him with an ice axe. Whilst Eddie's life is short and only has one appearance, he is portrayed by the other characters as a Rebel.

fig 3. Magenta (left), Columbia (right) & Dr. Frank N. Furter. Rocky is born.

As Frank N. Furter departs with Rocky to a bridal suite, Brad and Janet are shown separate rooms for the night. Columbia and Magenta also go back to their rooms. Complications occur however when Frank N. Furter sneaks into the rooms of Brad and Janet separately dressed up as eachother and try to coax them into intimacy. Janet becomes spooked at this advance and runs out of the room back to the main room where Rocky was born. She sees Frank N. Furter being intimate with Brad and becomes emotional at the least but soon after she hears Rocky laying in his birth-tank shaken up by the tormenting from Riff Raff and Magenta. In a moment of innocence, Janet consciously abandons her innocence and becomes a Caregiver of sorts. Whilst singing "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me" Rocky and her share intimacy all whilst Magenta and Columbia watch from their rooms on the TV screen laughing and giggling away.

An announcement is made that there is an intruder in the house, a rival of Dr. Frank N. Furter, Dr Everett V. Scott appears looking for Eddie. Everett Scott doubles as both a Scientist and an Explorer. Whilst Frank N. Furter is disrupted by the appearance of the rival scientist they decide that hospitality is still vital. Over dinner it becomes obvious that the food they are eating is actually Eddie's remains. Columbia runs off upset and sings about him and Janet also runs with Rocky. At this point hell breaks loose.

Rocky captures everyone but Riff Raff and Magenta in a Medusa Transducer, forcing them to perform cabaret -including the paralyzed from the legs down- Dr Everett V. Scott with Dr. Frank N. Furter as the leader. He asserts his wishes for control and power in a most unreasonable way. The previously missing Magenta and Riff Raff return garnished in their full space- attire ready to return to Transsexual, Transylvania. They explain Frank N. Furter has gone too far with his control and they do not wish to be under his wing anymore. In anguish, Frank tries to run and save Rocky. Columbia also defends them. All three are killed by Magenta and Riff Raff but Brad, Janet and Dr. Everett V Scott are left to be free. The narrator ends the story as the camera pans away.

fig 4. Riff Raff & Magenta come back to kill Dr. Frank N. Furter

Whilst the narrator is not a main character he does play a vital role in explaining the characters' questionable motives throughout The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Though not completely correct that he is a God ego, as he is reviewing events critically as if a report, he is the Magician. An understanding of everything around him, and the ability to envision the truth. The Rocky Horror Picture Show ends, "And crawling on the planet's face
Some insects called the human race
Lost in time, and lost in space
And meaning." (Narrator)

"Science Fiction Double Feature" plays.

Illustration List:

Figure 1. The Rocky Horror Picture Show Poster(1975) [Poster] At: http://www.rockyhorror.com/images/downloads/RockyHorrorPictureShow_Poster01.jpg (Accessed on 07.10.15)

NARRATIVE - Fresh Ideas

I had drawn a sketch to begin showing the environment in which the puffer-fish could live; conceptualizing the surrounding area. Environment seemed to be something we should push more-so than the character. The main idea to bring from it was creating a ceiling of sorts above the seabed. Holes would shine down the patterns. It starts to suggest unknowing above the "ceiling". (Which would be a rock form)

Fast forward past this, and to add our scrapping of the puffer-fish idea completely most of what we had already discussed became irrelevant. - But we knew what not to do. We did however keep the idea of a "ceiling with holes in" in a way to really force the idea of being trapped below and rising towards the surface for freedom. (a little more literal here..) Alan suggested using a glass bottle (or any glass object) to tempt the fish towards the surface; and we added that the environment can be physically chasing the fish from below upwards. The only issue we had with making this work was the double causative. The environment physically causing a fish to flee mixed with the bottle being a beacon was troubling. As a story by itself not only was it too linear but had no room to fit a secondary story that did somehow link to the main one.

Finally I had decided that in order for our editing style to properly fit within our narrative, thinking about the relationship between the two stories seemed the best way to go first. With each of our story ideas we were leaning more and more towards environment being a bigger part than the characters. or; to signify something. The newer idea is simple but leaves a lot up to the audience whilst it may seem vague. (gotta be wary of that!) A fish swims up to the surface in search of freedom. As this happens another fish is being dragged back down from where the main fish is trying to get to. It's considerably about contrasts. They meet in the middle and at this point the secondary story absolutely foreshadows either a demise or freedom of the main character. After this the secondary story has served it's purpose and the fish is dragged aggressively to the bottom straight away by the same environment that is passively chasing the main character. There is a pause at the mid-point and the main character must decide silently if he continues upwards. He does. He goes further up but we never know if he reaches freedom or the same demise as the other fish.

Pacing and timing will be extremely crucial with this story as with the ending and fates of the fish cannot be confused as fate but as freedom. Thankfully style-wise we have a lot of freedom (ha) and can do what we choose have started thinking about differentiating colour-temperatures.

「Maya Tutorial 」- Cartoon Characters - Parts 1,2,3,4,5 & 6

Combined,

♢ Head Modelling Part 1 - Importing Image Planes & Creating a Custom Tool Shelf

♢ Head Modelling Part 2: Blocking

♢ Head Modelling Part 3: Refined Blocking

♢ Head Modelling Part 4: The Mouth

♢ Head Modelling Part 5: The Eyes
♢ Head Modelling Part 6: The Nose

CHARACTER - Budding Ideas

Going into this project the relationship between the story and the game's mechanic itself was really important to consider. I feel as if the story should be considered alongside the mechanic - of which should be very strongly obvious to make a game enjoyable but with care of not creating a gimmick!

「3 CARDS」

Ironically I feel like the three cards I picked randomly are just a small over-statement about my life, but regardless of that....

With last year's Fantastic Voyage project being focused on Education and being correct on the facts I wanted to take a more ironic side of educating, especially with the game element. I.e odd facts that aren't of vital importance to learn but more-so the quirky facts good for small-talk.

Originally I had a concept of controlling two moles underground, one with each analog stick. The idea of the game would be to micromanage two moles within the close vicinity of eachother; one digging infront for a path, and the second collecting ridiculous objects people have buried with a vacuum. With well-placed game-magic giant objects would be absorbed into a tiny vacuum. - and yes, using a vacuum underground surrounded by dirt. 

Using the card Home quite literally as an interactive feature of the game. The Education and Criticism however come from a much more script-related place in the game and link to why the moles are underground collecting objects speedily in the first place. A "leader of moles / emperor / king" full of egotism demands them to collect the objects in order to make a giant statue of himself above ground to scare the humans and prove they are not pests. All the objects you collect in the game reflect how the statue looks at the end. If you collected 100% chairs, then the statue will be made out of that! As you go through the game the King remarks mockingly on your ability to move underground, explaining how moles are pests, questioning how well you can see etc. Ironic learning. Furthermore, all objects you collect will be kept record of in a book where you can read small descriptions of each object.

So, think Katamari + Luigi's Mansion.

However, I do tend to come up with one idea, flesh it out too fast and stick with it without considering anything else. - Not this time! I thought about the template I had come up with of micro-managing two characters and liked the amount of interesting gameplay you could get from it, but I didn't also only want to re-skin the same idea, and so..

I pushed the idea of ironic learning far further (atleast I hope so) to have the premise of a game that begins with the concept that most people think tomatoes are vegetables; but they are actually a fruit. 

A Tomato King with a bad fashion-sense who controls a City situated inside a small Greenhouse is in denial over the fact he is a fruit and not a vegetable. As a result he begins trying to banish all fruit from his City with help from his baby-tomato army. Two Strawberries go undercover as Tomatoes to assassinate their way through the tomato army to reach the King and stop him. There is however another catch. The two Strawberries' personal motives for stopping the Tomato King are due to his terrible fashion sense. - and when I said they assassinate their way through it is in the most fabulous way possible. 

The premise behind "fabulous assassination" comes from the two strawberries' absolute need for stylish fashion sense. (according to themselves, anyway) They pass for tomatoes by wearing giant collars, hiding their triangular - and totally not spherical - head shapes. I mentioned keeping the template of two characters for micro-management.. it would be too difficult in this situation for the player to control two free fully-moving characters at the same time so instead the emphasis of the personal style of the two Strawberries can be differentiated slightly. You will be able to switch between each character whenever you feel you need to deal with the enemies ahead. For example, if there are many baby-tomato warriors in one area you would use the girl strawberry as she relies on strength. Whilst all encounters would be partially quicktime, her distinct play style involves a short 3-part roulette to choose the outfit she will dress her victims in; and then finishing them off with button mashing at the appropriate times. Whereas the boy strawberry is 100% about dazzling them with his looks and stylishness he has a play style based around rhythm. - Hitting buttons to the rhythm. When they finally reach the Tomato King they combine their two play styles together in waves, and use the girl strawberry's tomato-warrior victims as examples of their great fashion awareness. To add to the stylishness of the game I thought the game could have two styles. A slightly cartoonish style for most of the game; but in fight cutscenes they turn into fully-sized *fabulous* characters. - Sort of like a Spongebob closeup. 

Ultimately the home comes from the banishment of fruit from the Greenhouse City (their home)  because of the Tomato King. The criticism this time actually comes from the two strawberries towards eachother & towards the King. The Education, comes from the perspective of the two strawberries strongly believing their way of fashion is perfection & also that yes, tomatoes are a fruit.