I am developing my own semester-long adventure/stealth video game concept targeted at young adults. Set in 90 C.E. Ireland, my concept explores how the world would have handled life if the dinosaurs did not go extinct, as well as the inevitability of mankind trying to take advantage of these ancient creatures.
This specific portion of the project establishes the first biome that would be found in the game - the main character's home village. It has not been attacked in 50 years since they isolated themselves after the first dinosaur attack... but all of that is about to change after a previously unknown species shows up on the island's shores and starts wreaking havoc.
I have included my process work and design boards with each design to show my research, thought process, and choices that I made to keep the project consistent.
This specific portion of the project explores home designs from the main character's village. Modeled after the souterran structures the Iron Age Celtic people had already developed, these homes are often built into and out of natural hills and cliffs for added protection. Younger generations, like the main character, have never experienced a dinosaur attack, so they are not as cautious about building visible structures above ground.
Due to their isolation and limited resources, most houses double as grazing pastures for their livestock. This particular house has a cut out outside of the interior but under the hill where the livestock can go for shelter.
Due to their isolation and limited resources, most houses double as grazing pastures for their livestock. This particular house has a cut out outside of the interior but under the hill where the livestock can go for shelter.
This specific portion of the project establishes the set design of the main character's house within the initial village biome. As a stone worker and carver, they have many tools and ongoing projects in their workspace and personal space. Due to the limited resources available in the isolated village, they have come up with creative ways to construct their everyday items - like using clay to make ceramic furniture, or recycling every material possible. It was a challenge to create storytelling in this interior without designing the character first, but so rewarding when everything clicked together at the end!
This specific portion of the project establishes a 'vehicle' design of a different main character. They come from a village that is classified as this story's 'land of bounty', where they have learned to domesticate and harmoniously live/work with the dinosaurs. In order to safely traverse the wet, boggy, terrain of Ireland that no longer has established roads and is teeming with invasive dinosaur species, you need a large, sure-footed dinosaur yourself. Due to this dinosaur's size, it is not fast, but can carry a structure that is livable and transport cargo. This specific human-dino pair transport resources on outreach missions to other isolated villages.
For the (current!) final installment in this project, I designed a "Land of Bounty" - situated on an island within one of Ireland's biggest lakes, the original settlers isolated themselves here when the original dinosaur invasion occurred. Due to their level of control over access to the island, it was much easier for their community to thrive and learn how to coexist with the dinosaurs. Now, it is a bustling hub where they live in harmony with the dinosaurs, and grant citizenship to lost travelers seeking refuge.
I am excited to continue this project in the future and continue exploring the different humankind adaptations and timeline divergences that dinosaurs provide.