Claudia Short MA Games Design: Semester 3 Project: Final Review & Reflection

As a final reflection on my project i would like to say although i am happy with the art i made i am dissatisfied with how incomplete this project feels - I think the issue comes down to how my brain works, where it struggles to function with the empty gaps in an idea if it doesn't make sense i can’t plan out the concept which is why i’m so dependent on having accurate research in my work.

I think the most important part of this final review and reflection is to answer if I was able to show how I answered the question I had written for myself at the beginning of semester 2.

‘Deconstructing the importance of research when crafting concept art for games that explore folk tale themes.’

Having this sort of information helped expand my project in a way that allowed the concept art to develop naturally and i believe i showed that in my work - starting from the idea of a goblin carved from stone and finishing with a collection of concepts about a Hob who churns butter was all supported and improved by research.

Learning about the relationship between Folk Tale creatures and local farm animals, finding information and references of materials and assets made from heather opened me to new ideas from mechanics to inventory and by researching documents and books crafted by Folklorists who collected the accounts of locals in rural villages who described the Faeries, Boggarts Hobs and such who were apart of their everyday lives helped me find a way to transcribe these creatures to bring new life to their folklore and adapt them into a game.

The research was not in vain as having this information collected in one place means I can return to this project.

Hobs and Such, What Could of Been.

Character Design -

With my character design there are some sketches I would have liked to see rendered into digital concepts, especially the first two initial concepts. I would have liked to experiment more with the type of fur and hair texture the Hob has to be more accurate to the description of Hobs in Folk Tales while keeping to the rules of my art style.

The fact I only have one human character design in my concept art is also disappointing, I had many more human characters planned out to add, such as the Farmer, Innkeeper and the local villagers of Over Silton.

Reference Library:

Below is a collection of images found and saved that would have inspired and influenced the concept art of this subject.

Inventory

One design hurdle that comes with a character who wears no clothes is where does he put the items he collects?. Several pieces of visual research followed this idea ranging from woven baskets made from heather to old medicine travel boxes.

Reference Library:

Below is a collection of images found and saved that would have inspired and influenced the concept art of this subject.

Folklore Creatures

One of the things i really delved into for this project was the other types of folklore creatures that lurked on the Moors; in my list of ideas was small goat-like Faeries who adorned themselves in clover leaves and stole teacups, a fearsome Barghest similar in appearance to a wolfhound but had heather growing from his fur so when he would rest he would faze into the hills of the heath and the Boggart.

What happens when a Hob goes bad? He becomes a Boggart. He would reside by the Hobthrush Rook after being chased away from his farm in Farndale but would still be on the lookout for cousin trouble for travellers. There was one particular description that had taken my interest and what I wanted to do with the character's design.

“Some accounts describe boggarts as fearsome, shape-shifting creatures, occasionally resembling the archetypal devil, with horns, cloven hooves and glowing red eyes, but most were simply ugly, squat and recognisably human. These creatures struck real fear into communities and it was common for people to use charms or symbols of protection to keep them away – it’s thought that today’s good luck symbol of the upturned horseshoe originated as protection against boggarts.”

Katherine Clements, Folklore of the Yorkshire Moors, 2018

By using that goat influence and turning it to the opposite direction by making it scary would emphasise how much more malicious the Boggart is compared to the Hob.

Reference Library:

Below is a collection of images found and saved that would have inspired and influenced the concept art of this subject.

Research Reference:

https://www.foyles.co.uk/blog-Folklore-of-the-Yorkshire-Moors

https://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/visiting/see-and-do/land-of-myths-and-legends

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/history/yorkshire-monsters-terrifying-prowl-streets-18258619

https://engole.info/grindylow/

https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/tag/grindylow/

https://www.britannica.com/art/Barghest

https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/laying-boggarts/

https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2020/10/26/beyond-faery-iv-bogies-boggarts-and-bugganes/

http://soilstonebone.co.uk/the-longridge-boggart