Studio 2 w1: statment of intention ( Project plan )

Vivarium builder & Reptile breeder simulator : 

Core mechanics:

• perspective shift: from 1st or 3rd person human viewpoint to begin freely able to walk around the enclosure and interact with the animal 

   - a way of viewing the habitat from different perspectives 

  - to get the animals point of view 

  - to inspect the animal health 

• Economy – In game currency - Progression (Private breeder or public shop ??)

  - incentives for regular use, such as animal care and tank maintenance

  - progression towards more expensive and rare animals 

  - upgrading to automated systems to ease reactivity  

• Breeding and genetics

  - variations in color morphs  increasing the animals value 

• Vivarium builder – habitat specific

  - a tool for bespoke vivarium environment

  -  geography manipulation, water placement, rock plant ant stick placement 

  - terrain blending ( arid, rocky, sandy, muddy, mossy ect

• Husbandry and environmental control

  – fine tuning environmental controls for animals specific needs eg; Light(uv), temp, humidity, ventilation,

  -- water filtration and air flow 

  -- bio activity ( clean up crew / detritivores) 

• Education – wild animal ecology – husbandry – breeding

RATIONALE: 

Potential inquiry questions: 

Could an interactive reptile breeding simulator be used to educate and change popular opinion on an underrated hobby ? 

Could the process of crafting living environment and connecting with creatures from their point of view  promote awareness on the current problems within our natural world ?

 Personal interest and motivations:

• growing up and living on a farm keeping animals was a big part of my childhood 

• I am passionate about the education on the relationships in the natural world

• the ecology and behavior of animals is an interest of mine as i believe with knowledge comes the ability to relate to various creatures 

• I would love to make reptile and amphibians more relatablen as they are a group of animals that are often consider weird or gross but can be adorable in the right light.

• I aim to offer a different perspective with the use of VR could help bridge the gap between something confronting and something interesting 

• I would Give the user freedom to create using a vivarium as a canvass to craft miniature living worlds .

CONTEXT

There are two major inspirations within the field of animal husbandry games, this is zoo tycoon and fish tycoon.  the core mechanics of managing expenses whilst breeding and looking after animals are highlighted within these two pieces. as far as I am aware this type of game has not yet been carried into the medium of virtual or augmented reality. However the hobby / business of keeping and breeding reptiles is very real and prevalent throughout the world, as is the realistic recreations of bio active ecosystems to house such animals in a more natural setting.
another important point of inspiration can be found within the movie 'fantastic beasts an where to find them' where the protagonist carries a magical briefcase that can be used as a door to an elaborate animal refuge. It is my hope that with the use of VR i could replicate the feel of a magical portal to one own natural sanctum.    

 METHODS

 A broad overview of steps i will take to accomplish this project include: 
Pre production: 

Research: 

• The reptile hobby ( what animals are commonly kept, their respective husbandry and breeding requirement as well as the the current genetic morphs present within the hobby

• Endangered reptile and amphibian species, what threatens their wild populations and other relevant information 

• Software; experimentation and research into 3D software that could aid in the project final outcome including but not limited to rendering engines, game engines, asset libraries as well as texturing and re topology software 

• extensive referencing for all aspects of the project from a broad range of styles and sources 

• thorough production planning to maximize production efficiency 

• well thought out script and story board to maximize project impact with minimal production time

production: 

• concept sketch characters, environments and ui/ux 

• Layout blocking and experimentation

• lighting expatriation 

• material and asset testing 

• creature sculpting, retopo, rig, texture and animation cycles 

• environment modeling and texturing  

• story board animation 

• post production effects 

• sounds design 

OUTCOMES:

The articulation for success for this project will be an engaging game trailer featuring the core mechanics and giving the viewer a real sense of what the virtual experience would be like. The significance for the effective compilation of this project is that it would potentially serve as a visualized proof of concept and justification for further investment of resources.