Week 8: Project Ideas + Initial Sketches
Updated: Dec 3, 2020
Project Ideas
1. Online Forum Game Emulator
The idea that I have that I am going to focus on is an online forum that discusses who the retro gamers are and some major retro gaming history facts that have recently been talked about online. It will visually mimic the menus and gameplay of retro games through a bitmap (pixelated) remake of a popular modern game. There will be a retro video game controller on screen that the user can control though their keyboard or mouse. The action of using the keyboard or mouse is similar to modern computer games and online emulators for classic retro games.
The topics discussed through this forum will be the information that younger modern gamers will need, or want, to know about the retro gamers of modern day. It will consist of levels they will have to complete with achievements that they can unlock. If it is possible, it will also not only come with instructions within the emulator, but a physical manual or game magazine to help the user navigate and control the retro themed forum. This is to further enhance the experience retro gamers had by mimicking the act of reading game manuals and magazines to help them complete a game.
Possible Methods of Production: I would love to have this be an interactive software but due to time restraints I will stick to some skills that I know I can work with. For the forum itself I will most likely create it as a promotional video for a game or a YouTube gameplay. To do this, I would use my knowledge in Animation and Video Editing to create such video. If there is time, I will also include the physical manual for the game which would be a print design.
2. Retroized Shooter Game
My back up idea is a modern day shooter game in the form of a retro arcade shooting game. There would be a transparent chat box that pops up on the screen like it would in a modern game. The chat would be using the language, and conversations that retro gamers use. Same general concept of the online forum idea except it's simplified to a gameplay of an arcade game. The audience will view it as a spectator which is someone who has died in an online game and is watching the other players play the game. They will watch the game and read the chat while experiencing the retro gamer's first person avatar perspective giving the idea that the viewer can see retro gaming through the eyes of a retro gamer.
Possible Methods of Production: Animation and Video Editing
NOTE: I ended up creating an arcade themed shooter game that mimics the elements found in online forums. I will be looking into modern day games to convert to retro if I move forward with this idea.