Definition
The theme for our final major project is based on the word Forgotten, I like this word as it gives us such a wide spectrum of stuff we can do, and there are many many words which can link to forgotten as well, I interpret this theme as a theme which is like ‘The things you can forget’ an example of this could be - Your purse or keys, since you can forget them when you go out etc.
Here are the synonyms of the word Forgotten. These will help me when I get to word association.
Word Association
Taking the word ‘Forgotten’ and ‘Forget’ I linked it to many different words, and this is my result.
How I came up with these is I thought of things which can be forgotten, or things which I commonly forget to do or get.
So, out of these, I picked a few of them I liked, and expanded on them even more.
I picked these since I think they have a really good potential, and I can expand it even more and create something unique and new which hasn’t been explored before.
I would link these to forgotten by making my project be about either forgetting these or remembering them.
Mind Map
And then from here, I expanded more on those words I picked, making a mind map of the words which relate to them, doing this would give me a better idea of the word and subject if I would pick that topic to base my FMP on.
After completing these mind maps, I picked a few of them which I liked, which narrowed it down to Ruins, Plants and Legends (Folk Stories & Fables) and expanded their mind maps more.
I picked these because I feel as if they have great potential, so I started doing more research on these subjects to inspire me on the subject.
Initial Research
For my initial research, I picked the themes from above and done more research into them, coming up with new ideas through my research using different types of media.
Ruins:
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Numpadn_Art/fmp-ruins/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL3e-wbIB8k&feature=youtu.be
Ruins link to forgotten because ruins need to be -forgotten- for a long period of time so they begin to crumble, another way ruins can happen is natural disaster, but I think ruins fits perfectly with the theme of forgotten as ruins is the first thing which pops into my mind when the word forgotten is brought up.
I think ruins has very good potential for a 3D modeller, since there are lots and lots of different details which can be put into a 3D piece representing ruins, take a look at all the games which are based in ruins for example. There is a lot of beautiful 3D pieces you can make with the theme of ruins.
To link this theme to art, you would probably be best with doing environmental art, but getting reference from real places and castles, and to link this theme to programming would be an even harder task, one thing you could do could be like a building game, where you must gradually build up the ruined building again.
Nicobass. (2017). Tomb Raider II - Dagger Of Xian REMAKE DEMO
Another reason why I’ve picked this theme is that there are many games which I know which have amazing ruins in, for example, NieR - this game shows a word corrupt over a disease which changes people into monstrous shades, and how humans are slowly forgotten and taken over through the years. - And the sequel to that game, NieR Automata follows the post-apocalyptic setting of the original Nier - But this time to a much larger extent, in an entire city, and different biomes, but this game is more based around a war between the human-made androids and the machine army of invaders from another world - I think the series is a very good example of the theme Forgotten and Ruins put together. Another game which I think is a great example is Breath of The Wild, and it’s easy to see the connection here because
SQUARE ENIX (2010). NieR Gestalt
BOTW is based in the ruins of Hyrule after being destroyed by Calamity Ganon, and Link - Having forgotten everything has to collect memories and slay Calamity Ganon, even though he doesn’t remember everything from 100 years prior when he was killed.
SQUARE ENIX (2017). NieR Automata
There are many pros of working on this theme as it is very extensive and lots can be done to very easily link Ruins back to Forgotten another pro of working on this theme would be the detail which can be put into it. - this goes for both art and 3d modelling
NINTENDO OF AMERICA INC. (2017). The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild.
The cons of working on this theme is that is it very bland and linking this theme to programming would be a hard task.
My own shoots in ruins (2018) - Boxgrove Priory
Plants:
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Numpadn_Art/fmp-plants/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWSMsabKgAs&feature=youtu.be
Forgotten links to plants in a few different ways, the way I got the idea of plants is that sometimes you can forget to water your plants and they end up dying, another way that forgotten links to plants is that on ruins there is usually moss and lots of plants and flowers overgrowing on unmaintained buildings and land.
Dark Horse Books (2018). The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Creating a Champion Art Book
I think plants is a good idea for an Artist or a Programmer as, there is lots of nice art which can be done to link to plants and flowers, and with programming, you could make a game where you have to keep remembering to water your plant, or you could be a personified plant which needs to remember to keep hydrated, another way I think this theme would be good for artists and programmers is that there could be some very creative UI which can be made which could link to watering plants or drinking water.
PopCap Games (2009). Plants VS. Zombies
I like this theme as I think it is very unique, and there are many games out there aimed toward plants, for example Plants VS Zombies. I think this is a good example of a game linking to the theme of plants as it is all based around plants fighting zombies, which is the most absurd 2 things which you could mash together, but it works! One thing which can link to plants and forgotten well is a few of the studio ghibli movies, these include:
Studio Ghibli (1984). Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind
Nausicaa of the valley of the wind, my neighbour totoro, Princess Mononoke and The Red Turtle in Nausicaa of the valley of the wind three nations exist centuries after the world was consumed in a poisonous fire spread by biomechanical giants called God Warriors. The centuries have eroded the buildings the people of the Valley of the Wind live adjacent to a place known as the Toxic Jungle, Nausicca tends to explore this toxic jungle, finding lots of interesting things.
Princess Mononoke links to the theme because the entire movie is based on development and environmental destruction, which princess Mononoke acts to stop.
Studio Ghibli (1997). Princess Mononoke
The pros of this theme are that, again, it is very extensive, so lots of different things can be done and still link back to this theme and forgotten. Another reason it is good is that you can make a game educational through this theme and help reduce global warming.
A con of this theme is that it would be hard for a 3D modeller to do as it isn’t a building or a weapon, its plants and nature, also the environmental concept artists for this theme would be a little more difficult because of the amount of detail in nature.
Religions:
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Numpadn_Art/fmp-religion/
Religion links to forgotten because there has been many bibles and information written about these different gods, but over the years this information has been worn out and re-written hundreds of thousands of times until the original information is not on there anymore, bibles and texts have been passed around for thousands of years that it isn’t the same as the original anymore, a bit like the game Chinese whispers – therefor the information is forgotten and conveyed in a completely different way.
Picture I took (2017) - Arundel Castle
Another way this link to forgotten is because most ruins are cathedrals and ruins link to forgotten since these castles and cathedrals are damaged over time or by war.
I have picked this theme as I think a church or a cathedral would be an amazing theme for a 3D modeler or a 2D artist as there is many details and beautiful buildings throughout the world.
Another reason I picked this theme is because there is so much art of religious beings which can inspire a 2D artist to study them and apply them into their work.
I don’t know a lot about religion myself, nor do I follow it, but the reason this has inspired me is because of the beautiful cathedrals I see, how the buildings are really detailed and when they’re ruined they still keep that beauty within them.
The pros of this theme is that there is so much content which you can use around the globe, and many different texts and legends which relate to religion which you can base your work on, another reason this is a good theme is that there are lots of statues of religious figures which can be used for inspiration, and coloured glass creating beautiful artwork which can inspire.
Picture I took (2017) - Chichester Cathedral
This theme might be harder for someone who wasn’t raised as religious, or someone doing programming, another problem is that your work won’t be original if you copy it right out of the bible, another con is that cathedrals and churches are huge, and a 3D modeler will not be able to model a whole castle in time, as it will take a lot of time and effort to do, and there would be too much detail, I think a 3D modeler should focus on something smaller, like for example, a window or some stained glass.
Legends (Folk Stories & Fables):
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Numpadn_Art/fmp-legends/
I think this theme links to forgotten since legends always get forgotten throughout time, much like religion, these stories would be re-written and people don’t know if they actually happened or if they’re just stories written for younger kids, there are lots of legends which exist, and they mix with religion as well.
Another reason l have picked this theme is because in a way, like religion as well, it can link to history, and history is another theme in itself, history can also link to forgotten, since history is forgotten and seen differently, or not be accurate.
I have picked this theme since I think it has a lot of content for an artist, mostly, since many legends tend to have lots and lots of drawings and art done for them which have been drawn and painted over centuries ago.
Legends have adapted into movies and cartoons, and one movie which I think really showed the theme of legends really well, is, again another Studio Ghibli movie, and this one is The Tale of Princess Kaguya. “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is a 10th-century Japanese monogatari containing Japanese folklore. It is considered the oldest extant Japanese prose narrative although the oldest manuscript dates to 1592. The tale is also known as The Tale of Princess Kaguya” - (Source from Wikipedia)
I think this movie is also good since it is a very artistic, which can inspire anyone doing 2D art based on the theme, every single frame of the movie was hand drawn in the style of the illustrations done from the folk tale.
Another thing which links to legends and folk tale is the Zelda series, whilst reading this blog – I leant that some of the enemies were based off of ancient gods, which makes this theme link to religion even more than it did, and this applies heavily to other games as well, like, as mentioned in my previous segment as well – The Drakengard series.
The pros of this theme would be that you have a lot of material to work with and you can somewhat take a legend and twist it into your own unique idea, with inspiration from the original idea, of course you can’t exactly copy the idea, well, technically you can since the oldest legends are copyright free, but it wouldn’t be a good idea.
A con of this theme is that legends can portray something which isn’t right in this generation, which can lead to someone misinterpreting your work.
(Left): Dark Horse (2013) - The Art of Bioshock Infinite
(Right): EDGE #279 May 2015 (2015) - Kirby & The Rainbow Paintbrush
War:
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Numpadn_Art/fmp-war/
War links to forgotten as it is wreckless and, many people die and are forgotten throughout wars, they die for their country, but another way war links to forgotten is that, the people who live through war want to forget it once it is over with as it isn’t a pleasant memory to remember, and another is people treat the opposing enemy team as if they’re monsters, and they have no feelings, this includes killing innocent kids.
Heroes of Might & Magic Complete Edition Book
This theme would be a good idea for a 3D modeller as you can model all of the firearms used in war, or the swords and weapons, this theme would also be a good idea for a programmer as a war-based game could be made, this theme would also be okay for an artist as many concepts could be done based around the theme of war with characters which have grown up in the setting and have struggled through it, or a character who was in the war and suffered injury.
I have picked this theme as there is a few movies which have inspired me into picking this theme, for example, Studio Ghibli’s Grave of the Fireflies, the way that the movie centres around a young boy and his sister, and how they have to survive off of very little food and barely a roof over their heads, and the sicknesses which you could get through these conditions, it is a real tearjerker and makes you realise how horrible war is.
Another movie which has inspired me is Saving Private Ryan, that movie shows the struggle of a soldier through the war, the horrible stuff that they have to do and see to survive.
And a game which has inspired me is the Fire Emblem series, war isn’t showed 100%
Heroes of Might & Magic Complete Edition Book
accurately in these games, but the game is fantasy based, and medieval put together, so it gives us a different angle on war, these games have amazing weapon design and (some) amazing character design which can be used to inspire you for your project.
The pros of this theme is that it has lots of documentary to it, which you can use to help you with your work, another pro of this theme is that you can give it a fantasy twist and do, pretty much what you like, as long as you keep in the back of your mind that it has to be linked to forgotten, you’re good to go.
A con of this theme is that the documentary that is recorded is very old, so details would be hard to make out and you’d have to wing them.
EDGE #279 May (2015) - Ori And The Blind Forest
Robot:
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Numpadn_Art/fmp-robots/
This theme in specific, is more based around robots, and androids and computers, I didn’t know what I could title it, but this links to forgotten since I initially started with the word codes – since you forget a lot of codes and programming, or it is hard to remember, or you forget the passcode into your phone etc. But in a way I think this also links to forgotten as, one day in the future, androids will take over, and destroy mankind. – That’s just an assumption. Another reason it can link to forgotten is that, one day, robots are going to take over our jobs, and we won’t have any jobs to do, and with robots doing our jobs, we will just become lazy.
Another way this could link to forgotten is a lot more literal, a program could be made which can do with forgetting memory.
I have picked this theme as I think it can be a great theme for a programmer doing UI, they could do their UI based on computers, and glitches, or they could make a program to do with managing or changing files, or they could make a chose your own path game, or another thing they could do is make a program which would give you responses to your questions.
I think this theme would be a good idea for an artist/concept artist as well as there is many different characters which they could make which could link to androids, or they could make a human character which is interested in making robots, another reason this would be a good idea for an artist is that they could make a computer based environment, there is lots of content which you can use.
There are lots of things which inspire me with this theme, for example, another Studio Ghibli movie called Laputa: castle in the sky, one of the characters is a robot, and it links to forgotten very well since the island that the robot is on is abandoned, and the robot has moss growing off of it, another studio ghibli movie which has inspired me would be Howl’s Moving Castle, the entire movie isn’t based on technology, but there is lots of creative technology in that movie which can be used to inspire you, for example, the aircrafts in the movie.
Another thing which has inspired me to pick this theme is the game Watchdogs, how the games are based around hacking, and this shows in the UI as well, the whole game is based and shown like it’s in the hacker (Aiden Pearce’s) perspective.
Another game which has inspired me is Starfox, how the games UI, as well, is based as if you’re actually in the arwing which Fox rides – it is more sci-fi based but there are many things which you can take from that game to inspire you.
The pros of this theme is that it would work very well if you are a programmer, another pro of this theme is that there is so much you can do whatever route you do go down with this theme.
A con of this theme is that it might go toward the sci-fi side of things and you may have trouble linking it back to forgotten in the long run.
