Overall, I massively enjoyed doing my final project. I’ve discovered I want to be working with games/in the gaming industry and I think this project was the perfect opportunity for me to explore that sector. Even when I was struggling with Blender, trying to think of a compelling story, or lock down working with other collaborators I still enjoyed it all. I really feel I have created something unique and I am very proud of what I have pulled together over the past few months. That being said, there are definitely some things that I should have been able to accommodate for during the process or have done differently.

Things I should work on/should have done/should have done differently

I needed to get on top of my collaborators more. I cut it very close with getting the characters in to do what I needed to with them (I got them two weeks before the deadline) and that should’ve happened much sooner. On top of that, I didn’t make the connection to use the Fuse characters as the base models instead of him building them from scratch. I should have realised this almost as soon as I conceived the idea of working with the 3D modeller and I didn’t. I was actually so disappointed with myself I hadn’t thought of it sooner. A lot of time was wasted and not just mine either.

Even though there is a fashion element in this project, it should have been more at the forefront. I do a fashion based course after all, so there should have been more in depth research and analysis on the costumes they should wear. For me, the story, characters, and message were more important; I needed to get that right. To me, this decision is completely justified but I do appreciate I should’ve incorporated more of a fashion element.

I could’ve done more research on how to market my project on Instagram. I decided to do the Instagram quite late into the project, which is something I should’ve decided to do earlier. I was pretty lost on what my outcomes were to be and the only reason I came to the conclusion to do the Instagram was because Eloise suggested I just do all of the visual promotion. Had I done more research on how to market my project on Instagram, I think it could’ve had a much better flow. I was just posting pictures when they were finished. Between collaborating with everyone, finishing my module, and creating the content though the way the page looked was at the back of my mind. Having compelling content is more important than how the Instagram page looks. It’s not going to be enough to just have a nice looking Instagram if your content isn’t good.

My sketchbook is extremely disorganised and difficult to comprehend! I’m totally aware of this. I don’t like layout (for sketchbook I find it a bit redundant, since it’s meant to process thought processes, to me anyway), so hence why it’s more of a “scrapbook” kind of vibe. I’ve always been pretty scattered in my thought processes and I change my mind so quickly that sometimes I forget to document it. Therefore, there are probably gaps missing that I don’t even realise. So sorry for that!

I’m very indecisive and sometimes I can forget to document the changes I decide on. Or I make such a big jump without any kind of research that it doesn’t make sense. I did that a few times e.g. with the “reveal” photos with the crazy backgrounds, or the photos with the glowing rings. Sometimes I just want variation and I do it without research.

Things I did well

I did a good job of the production/collaboration aspect. A massive part of production is collaborating with the appropriate people and I worked with so many different artists to achieve my outcomes. I also had to act as project manager for all of this too, which I think I did a good job with. I was in contact with all of them, was able to keep everything I needed from them separate, and I kept on top of the deadlines. Even though I realised very late into the project we should’ve used the Fuse models as the base I made sure it was a very quick turnaround. I was on top of the modeller every day, making sure he was getting done what needed to and monitoring everything. He finished them and gave me plenty of time to work with them!

I think I achieved my goal of creating compelling characters very well. I was super focused on making sure the stories were interesting, factually correct, and explored difficult topics in an alternative way. With Avani, I was able to talk about sustainability without using the word sustainability, since that is such a turn off word now, unfortunately. I also made Nina and Avani such an out of touch, fantastical way but I was able to make them all more relatable with Sahana. She is ordinary and her story is achievable.

The concept of the game I came up with is a more positive spin on “the future”. Most of the time, especially in games, the future is desolate/dystopian. I find it a bit overplayed and also very negative. It’s easy to think about how horrible our future could be because it’s harder to make it better. I wanted use this project as an opportunity to explore how our society could change for the better and leave a more light hearted note on the COVID-19 situation. Everyone already has a lot of negativity going around, so I wanted something a bit more upbeat.

It was important for me that I simply lay out the intent of the project that was separate to the Instagram account. I felt this was necessary because I didn’t want people thinking I had found the solution for the issues presented, or that I had made it seem easier than it actually is. That wasn’t what my project was about and explaining that is key for others understanding my project. I think adding the website in at the last minute was an excellent choice for me to do. It gets across my message, it isn’t lost.

What I’ll do with this project/these skills I’ve learned

When I have handed this project in, have completed helping with the online graduate show, and have a much needed break I’m going to develop my skills about video games and the industry. I’m starting at square one with this, so I need to work very hard to learn everything I can on my own. I have a few books from the library I haven’t been able to return about the psychology, history, and ideas of games, so I’m going to start with those. I also want to develop my skills in Blender more, to enhance my awareness of character building both physically and conceptually.

I’m not starting from nothing in terms of work ethic but I will need to do a few internships in the gaming industry. I’m perfectly happy with this because it’s where I want to be and what I want to do. I absolutely would not settle to do a fashion internship. You get treated like dirt, are paid nothing, and for something I have close to no interest in. I’m really committed to learning about games because I am always so blown away by them. I think they’re so wholesome and impressive and combine every kind of art in human culture and I want to be a part of that.

I don’t have any idea where I could intern. It’ll be difficult for me to find somewhere but I will do it!!!!

• All three sets are completely different to one another, which is what I intended. I didn’t want one set to be even a little bit alike to another one.
• The overall intention behind these sets was to follow that of when I created the characters.
• Enzi and Avani are much more fantastical and far out as video game characters. Their back stories are extreme and completely unrealistic. I wanted their sets to reflect this. The sky is the limit with them, so anything goes with what I create for them.
• Sahana is very different to the two of them. She is much more grounded in reality, so her set should reflect this.
• Sahana’s set is by no means as interesting as Avani’s or Enzi’s but it isn’t meant to be. She is the character people are meant to relate to and understand more because she is most like humans and what we are able to accomplish realistically
• I don’t think anyone could see themselves in Enzi’s office, or living in what I’ve made for Avani but they aren’t meant to either. That’s a key element of video games: to interact with scenarios we might never have known in real life
• I could imagine being in a room that I’ve created for Sahana very easily
• My intention for Sahana’s character and set wasn’t to make her boring. It was to make her ordinary and therefore, more relatable.

Dimensions has been really easy for me to use and I’ve enjoyed using it. It has allowed me to achieve exactly what I wanted. I’m honestly blown away by the technology of it. My laptop also handles it pretty well, which is shocking since it’s about 5 years old. I’m not able to export them at high resolution anymore though. My computer crashed when I was trying to export one and I lost some of the work I did. I cannot risk that at this point so I have to export the images at low res. This isn’t such a big deal for me because it makes the images look grainy, which is a theme that has been consistent throughout my project.

Key points about Dimensions and my project

• All of the objects, materials, images, and lighting in the sets are from Adobe Dimensions. They come with the app
• Everything in the set has been created by myself with the objects in Dimensions.
• Avani’s set is much more abstract and I focused on using natural materials and lighting to help represent her.
• Enzi’s set is very atmospheric and the idea behind hers was to make an office from the future. I wanted to focus on using unconventional materials e.g. glass for the walls, in order to achieve this. I also used an image of the desert, where she works
• Sahana’s set is meant to be much more ordinary, like her character. I made a classroom and focused on creating it open and collaborative, as I imagine that’s what it would be like in the future.

I’ve really enjoyed collaborating with other artists and practitioners. I enjoy working with people and being able to create things with them. The magazine project in second year was really enjoyable for me because it was a group project. I also don’t feel skilled enough to be doing the things I want to achieve. Of course, I’m the creative for everything, so that doesn’t mean none of these things for my project aren’t my ideas. I’ve definitely had input from the people I’ve been working with too. I think it’s good to allow this because they’re a part of it too, so if they think something should be different then I should allow that.

It has been a little stressful from time to time working with other people for my final project. I am a very organised person, so that hasn’t really been an issue but I’m a massive perfectionist. I know that sounds like, “My weakness is I’m a perfectionist” but I really am. It has caused many problems for me in the past because I want things exactly the way I envisioned them and if they don’t I get stressed out and start all over. In some cases, it’s not left me with enough time to change my work so I end up submitting something I’m not happy with and what isn’t very good. There has been that issue with my project and since I’m not working on it and I can’t see everyone in person it’s hard to make changes.

At the same time though, because other people are doing it I’ve trusted their judgement and let them create whatever it is they’re doing. I then just relax a little and go with the flow a little more.

Blender is an app to create and animate 3D characters and objects. I’ll be able to put my characters in Blender, since they are OBJ files and be able to change the way they pose from there

I have hardly an experience with Blender. I did one lesson with someone from the University and it was extremely difficult to use. The lecturer even said how Blender isn’t user friendly at all and is extremely difficult to learn and use.

I’ve been following tutorials online to try and rig the bodies to move them around but it has been so so difficult. Many of the problems that occur in the application is because I’ve done something so minuscule and I haven’t realised I’ve done it. When I try to carry out an action and get an error message, I have to start the whole thing again.

When I do achieve what I want, it’s very satisfying. When I can’t though, I get stuck. Sometimes I can’t even find a solution to the error I’m facing online.

I’m pretty limited with this and so I’m not able to be as creative as I might have been with the poses because of how hard Blender is to use. This means the poses are pretty basic and stiff, so I’ll have to play around with lighting and sets more.

Avani

I really love Avani’s story. I think it explores sustainability in a more extreme and interesting way that we haven’t seen yet before in our society. I’m so excited I’m able to bring this to life almost to see how our society could be like if we went to these extreme measures. I had a lot of fun creating this story and it gave me the opportunity to have a bit of fun with this as well. I wanted to create a story about sustainability that wasn’t boring and overused because I knew if I did, I wouldn’t be able to sustain people’s attention. People find sustainability boring, especially in fashion. I think I’ve found a way to talk about it and address it in a non-conventional way.

Enzi

Enzi’s story with R.I.T.A. was really difficult to form. I had to try and think of a way that would make the idea of funding the NHS work and it turned out to be so far fetched and unrealistic. It also couldn’t be too rooted in reality either, since I don’t know the ins and outs of the NHS at all. I don’t know how funding works, who pays them, where they get their supplies. I had to make up a lot of it. I don’t actually think this kind of thing could happen. It’s very much wishful thinking. Then again, video games are a chance to explore what we might not be able to know in reality. Enzi and R.I.T.A. are like Avani’s character and story. They are pretty fantastical but I like that about them. It gives me an opportunity to look at what our society could be, and what it could be for the better.

Sahana

Sahana’s story is very much rooted in reality. Her story isn’t as far fetched or even as interesting as the other two but that’s what I wanted. I still want people to look at my project and think, “Maybe this is possible.” It’s hard to see that with Avani and Enzi but with Sahana, what I’ve written could happen. This is an opportunity for me to create something we can all work towards, without feeling too overwhelmed by it. I don’t mind Sahana isn’t as interesting as the other two, I think my project needs that. Fashion can sometimes be intimidating and unattainable because of the elitist views within it. That’s why I don’t want to go into fashion anymore. It’s extremely elitist and judgemental and it’s difficult for me to justify that. Especially when the planet and people are taken advantage of. I want to lessen that with my project and show people this doesn’t have to be the case.

Summary

Avani was the first character I created and I realised how extreme her way of life is. I think if this were to ever happen it wouldn’t for a very long time.

Enzi was also created in a similar way in that her story and the company she works for is extremely unattainable and I don’t think the equivalent of R.I.T.A. would ever exist in real life

However, I don’t have a problem in creating characters like this. Video games are an opportunity to explore what we might not be able to ever experience in real life. Superpowers, living on different planets, being able to scale the Notre Dame during the French Revolution, or playing in the Star Wars universe.

Avani and Enzi is the exploration of how video games can offer this unrealistic aspect and escape from our regular lives. The sky is the limit and if we lived in an ideal world this is what I would like to see happen with Avani and Enzi.

When I then began to create Sahana, I didn’t want her to be like the other two. I wanted her story to be more ordinary and realistic.

This is because I want people to be able to relate to her more. Like she is a normal person we could actually see and know in our real lives.

I also wanted a character whose story was more attainable. I don’t think there will ever be a company like R.I.T.A. and if people were to ever live like Avani it probably wouldn’t be for a couple hundred years at least (if we make it that far)

I could see what happens with Sahana happening in real life. These changes to education could definitely be made

Even though she isn’t as interesting as the other two and much more ordinary, her story and message has the same magnitude and importance.

I went to the exhibition, Time Walker: Wonderful Things at the V&A, in hopes of finding inspiration for what my final project would be. I’m not the biggest fan of Tim Walker but I was more interested in how he was using space. Initially, I wanted to do a project that was about exploring space in a sustainable way. I had never worked on a project like this before, so I knew it would pull me out of my comfort zone and help me learn and experiment with things I had never done before.

I also looked at the exhibition, “The Art of Innovation” at the Science Museum, to see if I would get any other inspiration. I didn’t really. I found it a bit boring and unimpressive.

After these exhibitions, I didn’t think this was the way to go for me. If I was finding the way these exhibitions were presented boring and uninspiring, then it would be the same thing for my project.