By Jay Foster, Tess Bratkowski, Daniel Goodman
Initial Ideas Our initial plan for resolving the brief was to create a smartphone app, which using game mechanics to communicate it’s message, could be used to warn people of the risks associated with overbreeding pedigree dogs. Using case studies, such as the popular online flash game ‘Can Your Pet’, as our inspiration, we sought to communicate the charity’s message by having the player directly engage with a simulated pedigree dog; raising it and finding it a suitable mate to raise a family with.
Initial Low-Poly Background Designs
Concept Art for Background
Final Background Renders
Concept Art & Background Design Due to the hardware limitations of creating a game for smartphones the aesthetic we chose to go with for our app was a simplistic low-poly 3D style inspired by the works of artist David O’Reilly and his game ‘Everything’. We opted for minimalist design, both in terms of shape as well as lighting and colour.
3D Models The initial render we created did not fit with the aesthetic we had decided upon, so we opted to simplify the visuals and design muliple breeds of dog based around the same basic dog model to demonstrate the evolution of an overbreeded pedigree dog.
UI Elements and Background Assets The UI elements used in our app were inspired old 8-Bit games using a simplistic colour pallette. The aim was to emulate the stylings of modern smartphone games which strive for a retro aesthetic. Sketches for Select-Screen Icon
Select Screen Icon
Life Bar
Pixellated Dogs
App Idea The player is incentivised through the Pedigree Meter on the right-hand side of the screen to pick other dogs of similar pedigree in order to progress in the game. As the game progresses, unknown to the player due to the stat screen being tucked away in the bottom left of the screen, the dog develops more and more physical ailments which in turn results in a decrease in life expectancy.