Player Reaction Towards Atmospheric Design And Humanoid Enemy Designs Within Video Games Of The Horror Genre Author - Eleanor Rossington Supervised by Dr Umran Ali The University of Salford This Dissertation is presented to the School of Arts & Media, University of Salford, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of BSc Hons. June 2020 1 Contents Contents 2 Keywords 4 Abstract 4 1.0 Introduction 5 2.0 Background And Context 5 2.1 Historical Context 5 2.2 Personal Context 5 2.3 Industrial Context 6 2.4 Importance Of My Research 6 3.0 Literature Review 6 3.1 The Importance Of Character Design 6 3.2 Anatomy 8 3.3 Colour Theory 8 4.0 Case Studies 11 4.1 The Last Of Us 12 4.1.0 Introduction 12 4.1.1 Background 12 4.1.2 My Review 12 4.1.3 User Review 14 4.1.4 Industry Review 14 4.1.5 Conclusion 15 4.1.6 Summary 15 4.2 Dead By Daylight 15 4.2.0 Introduction 15 4.2.1 Background 15 4.2.2 My Review 15 4.2.3 User Review 17 4.2.4 Industry Review 18 4.2.5 Conclusion 18 4.2.6 Summary 18 4.3 The Forest 19 4.3.0 Introduction 19 4.3.1 Background 19 4.3.2 My Review 19 4.3.3 User Review 20 4.3.4 Industry Review 21 4.3.5 Conclusion 22 2 4.3.6 Summary 22 4.4 Until Dawn 22 4.4.0 Introduction 22 4.4.1 Background 22 4.4.2 My Review 23 4.4.3 User Review 24 4.4.4 Industry Review 24 4.4.5 Conclusion 25 4.4.6 Summary 25 5.0 Current Perceptions (Pre-Assumptions And Expectations) 25 5.1 Perception Of Character Design In Horror Games 26 5.2 Importance of Atmospheric Design In Horror Games 26 6.0 Aim And Objectives 26 6.1 Principle Aim 26 6.2 Research Objectives 26 6.3 Benefits Of The Research 26 6.3.0 Education 26 6.3.1 Personal 27 6.3.2 Professional Development 27 7.0 Results And Practises 27 7.1 Preparation 27 7.2 Practice 27 7.3 Results 28 8.0 Research Strategy And Methodology 28 8.1 Research Strategy 28 8.1.0 Primary Research 28 8.1.1 Secondary Research 28 8.2 Methods 28 8.2.0 Surveys 29 8.2.1 Case Studies 45 8.2.1 Literature Reviews 46 9.0 Psychological Fears And Phobias Research 46 9.1 Psychological Fears 46 9.1.0 Fear Of The Unknown 46 9.1.1 Manifestation Of Fear Within The Mind And Body 47 9.2 Psychological Phobias 47 9.3 The Uncanny Valley 48 10.0 Folklore And Fairy Tales 48 10.1 Traditional Folklore 49 3 10.2 Mythology 49 10.3 Urban Legends 49 10.4 The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales 50 11.0 Discussion Of Findings And Analysis 50 11.1 Personal Thoughts 50 11.2 Social Media Opinions 50 12.0 Recommendations Of Practice 51 13.0 Limitations Of Study 52 14.0 Conclusions 52 15.0 Further Questions 53 16.0 Appendix 53 17.0 Bibliography 54 Keywords Horror, Concept, Character Design, Humanoid, Uncanny Valley, Fear, Phobias, Anatomy Abstract In this thesis, I will be analysing the effectiveness of humanoid character design within video games and the reactions they evoke within the player. I hope that by investigating how effective certain aspects of humanoid concept design are for characters and enemies that I can help in understanding what exactly creates a response from the player. Furthermore, I will be looking into the atmosphere in which the designs are presented and how this also affects how the players react towards the design. The research question for my dissertation is how do you effectively design characters within the horror genre? My theory is that when creating effective character design in the horror genre, you need to research subconscious fears in humans, by exploring this and other traumatic responses with humans. I hope to be able to understand what is most effective in evoking a reaction from the person by researching into those specific fields amongst others so that I can apply these to my character designs and make them more effective in evoking fear within the audience. I will also be researching environmental design while designing my characters, I will be doing this to try and mimic certain types of atmosphere that I have found are effective in creating a reaction from the player. I hope by researching into these areas that I will be able to create a range of horror characters that I think will scare and horrify the audience, a character that if they were within a game would trigger the fight or flight response when encountered. I will be using my research and experimentation in order to make a book with a series of characters that I hope will evoke some kind of frightening reaction within the player. I will be playing about using different fears and other effective design characteristics as inspiration whilst creating my designs. 4 1.0 Introduction Concept art can be a very important process within the creative industry, whether it is concepting for video games or films and television shows, in both the animated and realistic type. It can be used in helping plan out certain parts alongside storyboarding, the concept art can be used to plot out the base of what will happen within the story, and how the characters should look in different ways. By using concept art, you can experiment with how you would like the character to look before refining it, making it a lot easier to create variations within the design without having to completely scrap the previous idea, it can easily be changed. Not only is concept art used in the creation of interactive media, but also in things such as books, as a basis for illustrations or showing diagrams to the reader. These can help demonstrate something for the reader or even show the reader what exactly the characters that they’re reading about look like. Throughout my project, I will look into the evolution of Triple-A games alongside indie games and observe how they concept their own characters, seeing how they evolve over time as the games have developed further. I hope that after researching how they do this process, that I can learn and apply how to create an effective set of characters that will evoke a reaction within the audience, for instance, if the designed character was within a game, how the player would react towards it. I will start the process by creating a set of mood boards, taking a range of inspiration in order to concept a variety of rough ideas for the set of creatures that I intend to create. After I have the rough concepts will improve upon a few of the creatures that I like the most and ask for some feedback on the designs to see possible ideas that I could improve upon the designs in order to create emotion within the audience. 2.0 Background And Context 2.1 Historical Context Concept art is artwork that conveys an idea, or multiple ideas, to the audience in a rough fashion, instead of a refined vision, by creating art in this way, it allows for faster editing and creation of variations so that the piece can look exactly how it’s meant to be before the finished product is created. Concept art has a long history not only in films and gaming but also in other areas of design and manufacturing. It can be interpreted in any number of different artistic methods and isn’t strictly limited to being created digitally, many people use more traditional methods. “Conceptual art is art for which the idea (or concept) behind the work is more important than the finished art object.” - Tate Art Gallery 2.2 Personal Context 5 I’m a final year student, who’s been studying games design for the past few years, while on this course, I have learnt the basics of both 2D and 3D art for the course. I have been passionate about creating conceptual art for years, even before University while I was in high school, I have been working on improving my art. Especially since college where I started to work more commonly in digital art instead of traditional art, although I still feel traditional-based sketches are the best way to begin a piece, as I find it a faster way of concepting and it makes it easier to choose which concepts work the most and then improve further upon on those. For a long time, I’ve been enthusiastic about concept art, especially that within videogames, as I enjoy coming up with ideas and being able to play about with how they look before finalising them. In games specifically, there can be a whole range of quirky and unique characters and I really admire the diversity and story that can be shown through the process of the conceptual stages of the character’s designs. 2.3 Industrial Context In the entertainment industry, concept art is a crucial stage when it comes to developing the appearance of the characters and environment, it can help expand upon the universe within the game, film or TV show. Concept art can not only be used for character designs but also costume and environmental designs amongst other pieces within the world, like props and vehicles, concept art can help when it comes to creating pieces to help with world-building.