Week One
Leaving The Familiar Behind
Introduction
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My name is Kate Giles and my discipline is Digital Design, specifically Game Design.
When I come to face a problem during the creation process of a game I see it as both a challenge and a path to a new direction. I'm always thinking of alternatives and new ideas as I am creating and I treat problems the same way so that I am able to have a range of solutions if my ideas don’t work out the way I had planned.
Within Game Design there are a few key methods that get predominately used, one of them being prototyping which for me is the most important as it is what makes or breaks my game. Prototyping is one of the most important processes when it comes to making something within a game. It’s what enables me to find out what works and what doesn’t within a games environment and how it can be seen to the player when played. It also allows me to test a range of my ideas and bring any 2d or 3d assets that I have made into the world to see how they work.
I find myself quite an independent designer, even in a group setting. In different ways it works and doesn’t work as I am able to go off and produce all the work that is needed on my part but I am still learning how to communicate and be okay with people working at a different speed than I might. Previously during my time in undergrad I worked on two projects with a group, they both went well however I did find that I was putting stress and pressure on myself which wasn’t needed due to wanting to put out work that my group would be happy with as well as making sure it was done in a timely manner. The process of making something within a group is always a really different and new experience as everyone has their own creativity and thought process so there are always new and interesting ideas that are being brought forward that in turn make new projects.
My 5 words
The 5 words I chose are Silhouette, Decipher, Metamorphosis, Shadow and Mirror. I find that I am quite a creative thinker and I am always looking for inspiration for art or projects from anything that I can. When I chose my five words, this kind of mindset is what brought me to find words that when I read I can visualise ideas and things I could create with them. All the words I chose gave me a large inspiration to create and stimulated my creative senses.
Silhouette
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Definition:
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Noun
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A two-dimensional representation of the outline of an object, as a cutout or configurational drawing, uniformly filled in with black, especially a black-paper, miniature cutout of the outlines of a person's face in profile.
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the outline or general shape of something: the slim silhouette of a skyscraper.
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a dark image outlined against a lighter background.
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Verb
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to show in or as if in a silhouette.
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Printing. to remove the background details from (a halftone cut) so as to produce an outline effect.
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Synonyms/Similar Words:
contour, likeness, portrait, shade, shadow, shape, delineation, etching, figuration, form, line, lineament, lineation, profile
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Figure 1. Kate Giles, Silhouette Mindmap. 2021
Reflection
Silhouette is a word that I have been familiar with since I was young. During school, making silhouettes during an art project was something that I did throughout many different years. I think this memory drew me to silhouette; it influenced my creativity and want to make. When looking into the word, not only was I interested in the origins of it and its resembling of cheapness and a cheap artistic method, but it had such literal definitions that made me want to explore more. My first instinct when I think of silhouette and the possibility of my project, I thought about its linear shape and form and how flat imagery is when a silhouette is used and how I could push that in the 2D body of my work. Silhouette heavily realies on shape and form and I think that could be very useful in exploring my research idea.
Figure 2. Kate Giles, Street Scene Sketch. 2021
Figure 3. Kate Giles, silhouette sketch. 2021
Figure 4. Kate Giles, Street Scene. Maya. 2021
Decipher
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Definition:
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Verb
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to make out the meaning of (poor or partially obliterated writing, etc.): to decipher a hastily scribbled note.
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to discover the meaning of (anything obscure or difficult to trace or understand): to decipher hieroglyphics.
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to interpret by the use of a key, as something written in cipher: to decipher a secret message.
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Obsolete. to depict; portray.
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Synonyms/Similar Words:
analyze, breakdown, decode, deduce, elucidate, interpret, solve, translate, unravel, break, cipher, construe, crack, disentangle, encipher, explain, expound, read, render, reveal, spell, unfold, bring out, dope out, find the key, make clear, make out, puzzle out, unriddle
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Figure 5. Kate Giles, Decipher Mindmap. 2021
Reflection
Compared to my other choice of words, 'decipher' did not incite a sense of creativity within me. Even though the term was familiar to me and I had already understood its meaning, it was new and different in terms of how I approached design and my impulse to create. I already know that it will be a challenge to develop around the word decipher when it comes to experimentation. However, if I look at it in a narrative form and use it as a critical idea around interactive narrative, I will be able to use it to push my research and project ideas.
Metamorphosis
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Definition:
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Noun
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Biology. a profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism, as from the caterpillar to the pupa and from the pupa to the adult butterfly.Compare complete metamorphosis.
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a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation by magic or witchcraft.
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any complete change in appearance, character, circumstances, etc.
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a form resulting from any such change.
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Pathology
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a type of alteration or degeneration in which tissues are changed: fatty metamorphosis of the liver.
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the resultant form.
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Botany
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the structural or functional modification of a plant organ or structure during its development.
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Synonyms/Similar Words:
evolution, rebirth, alteration, change, changeover, mutation, transfiguration, translation, transmogrification, transmutation, transubstantiation, transfiguration
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Figure 6. Kate Giles, Metamorphosis Mindmap. 2021
Reflection
Metamorphosis has always had strong ties to the change in biological and physical state. When exploring the word metamorphosis, I want to focus on change and the switch between forms. In my research, I want to look at the use of 2D and 3D within the same space. I'm interested in using state change (the change between one dimension to the other) as a possible way to explore metamorphosis. Exploring different ways to include the two dimensions in a single space without compromising on one will help me look at other possibilities for producing objects within my research project.
Figure 7. Kate Giles, Room and drawer sketch. 2021
Figure 8. Kate Giles, 3D and 2D drawer sketch. 2021
Figure 9. Kate Giles, Box and Cube 2D and 3D animation. Photoshop. 2021
Figure 10. Kate Giles, Drawer 2D and 3D animation. Photoshop. 2021
Shadow​
Definition:
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Noun
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a dark figure or image cast on the ground or some surface by a body intercepting light.
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shade or comparative darkness, as in an area.
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Verb
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to overspread with shadow; shade.
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to cast a gloom over; cloud: The incident shadowed their meeting.
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Adjective
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of or relating to a shadow cabinet.
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without official authority: a shadow government.
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Synonyms/Similar Words:
dark, gloom, obscurity, shade, adumbration, cover, dimness, dusk, penumbra, protection, shelter, umbra, umbrage, obscuration, breath, intimation, memento, relic, smack, suspicion, tincture, tinge, touch, trace, vestige, dim, obscure, overshadow, adumbrate, becloud, bedim, cloud, darken, gray, haze, overcast, overcloud, overhang, screen, shade, shelter, shield, veil, cast a shadow, inumbrate, stalk, dog, pursue, tag, tail, trail, watch, keep in sight, spy on.
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Figure 11. Kate Giles, Shadow Mindmap. 2021
Figure 12. Kate Giles, light cycle sketch. 2021
Figure 13. Kate Giles, window shadow sketch. 2021
Figure 14. Kate Giles, Day to Night Cycle. Unreal Engine. 2021
Mirror​
Definition:
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Noun
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a reflecting surface, originally of polished metal but now usually of glass with a silvery, metallic, or amalgam backing.
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such a surface set into a frame, attached to a handle, etc., for use in viewing oneself or as an ornament.
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any reflecting surface, as the surface of calm water under certain lighting conditions.
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Verb
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to reflect in or as if in a mirror.
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to reflect as a mirror does.
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Adjective
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Music. (of a canon or fugue) capable of being played in retrograde or in inversion, as though read in a mirror placed beside or below the music.
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Synonyms/Similar Words:
reflector, speculum, cheval glass, gaper, hand glass, imager, looking glass, pier glass, polished metal, seeing glass, depict, echo, embody, epitomize, exemplify, follow, illustrate, imitate, mimic, personify, represent, symbolize, typify, double, emulate, glass, image, show, simulate, act like, make like, take off
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