Project 2 Proposal

This week my Design for Media class is starting up a new project called Project Pipeline. Basically we have to pitch an idea that will later turn into a group project, if chosen as one of the three that our class will be working on.

So what is the idea exactly?
I would like to create a short Point-and-Click Adventure video game. 

In order to create this project, a couple of us will need to know how to do some basic programming, of course. I am proposing that we create this game in Adobe Flash, since I am fairly familiar with Action Script 3 and it is not difficult to learn enough of the basics needed to create this game in a short period of time.  Although, if there are more experienced programmers on the team that would be able to create it using another programming language, I am completely open to that as well--in fact, I'd definitely encourage it!

Obviously with the time given, it will not be a terribly long game. I am very open as to what the storyline will be for this game, but I have created a few quick concept ideas to start us off.

First Idea:
This game will be about a middle-aged woman who was attacked by her boyfriend, and accidentally ends up killing him in self-defense. After murdering him, she is wanted by the police and heads off on a quest to escape their pursuit.

Second Idea:
This game will be about a young girl, by the name of Lizzie, who was abused by her peers in the 4-H Club. After being abused for a long enough time, she eventually snaps and murders all of those at the camp. She ends up killing more innocent people, and the whole game is about playing as Lizzie, murdering victims. Her method of murdering her victims? She beats them to death with a golf club.

I am basically thinking this will work as a reverse of the usual detective-styled games. Instead of playing through the game as a detective to trace down the murderer, this game will be about the murderer who must stealthily escape from the police, without leaving tracks for them to find. Although I have not uploaded concepts for the second idea, that is the one that I am leaning more towards. It will be up to the team to decide on which of the two to expand on, though.

And here are a couple of concept sketches that I put together for character designs for the first idea:

Note: All of the storyline ideas and character concepts are very rough and can definitely be negotiated and changed around by the team. This is just a starting idea to kick-off the project.

Roles
Here is a basic flow chart for the roles needed for this project:

I have chosen a couple of people who I believe would be very well fitted for the positions. These are the descriptions of each job, as well as nominations that I have chosen (the nominations are very flexible and subject to change if necessary).


-Director: I personally do not want to direct my own project, so I am open for suggestions on who would be willing to take the job. The director must have a strong passion for the project in order to help it all come together. They must be able to take control of the team and keep everything in order.


-Head of Art Direction: The head of the art direction must be able to instruct all of those in the visual development of the project. I feel that Jinny Hinkle would be best suited for this position.

-Story Director: Although I created a basic storyline for the game already, it is very far from a final concept. The director of story is in charge of creating the script and overall direction on how the story is drawn out.

-Programmers: For this game to be put together, there will need to be at least two programmers. The programmers must have an understanding in at least some kind of programming language (Note: If no one on the team has any programming knowledge, I will be willing to take the position as one of the programmers and help teach another how to use Action Script 3 in Adobe Flash, if necessary).

-Background Designers: There will need to be at least two background designers for this project. The background designers will be the ones to design the landscapes and spaces in which the story takes place. They will also be responsible for creating the objects that the characters will interact with, in the game. I am nominating Laura Mansfield and Tara Nester and as background designers.

-Character Designers: I have designed a few characters, as seen earlier in the post, although these may not be the final concepts. This project will require at least two character designers. The character designers will refine the designs and unify them together. They will be responsible for designing model sheets and final concepts for the characters. If I am not a programmer for the project, I would hope to be one of the character designers.

-Animators: This project will require at least two animators. The animators will be responsible for creating the animations of the characters within the game. They will also animate any objects that the characters interact with. If there is enough time, they may also work on animated sequences within the game. I feel that Emma Pennington and Katie Fuchs would be best fitted for this position.

-Sound Developer: The sound developer will be in charge of locating or creating the sounds for this project. Their job will include locating the voice actors, creating or finding the music, and sound effects for the game.


-Head of Editorial: The head of editorial will be responsible for the organization of the group. They must maintain the blog and organize meetings for the group.  This position is for someone who is very organized and a great note-taker. Hillary Hastings is definitely the one best suited for this position.

-Publicity Director: The publicity director is in charge of the overall marketing of the game. Their job is to search out competitions and ways to advertise our project.

-Branding/GUI Director: The job of the branding and GUI director is to keep everything unified. Their job is to create the overall color palette, logo, and menu screens for the game. They will also be responsible for creating a unified type and fonts to use for the game.

-Documentary Director: The overall creator of the making-of video. The documentary director must have strong knowledge in video editing programs such as Adobe Premiere or Adobe After Effects.



Overall Timeline
And here is the overall timeline to explain roughly when everything should be completed by, and within which time frames.