Arkames

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3D Puzzle Platformer

High Concept

Assistant Manager

Game Designer

Art Director

Download

Completed

March 2023 - April 2023

Contrary to Chick N' Wars I wasn't aware in advance of the specificities for this second project. As the conditions were laid down for a 3D Platformer in UE5 using modular assets, I wandered in the back of my mind.

With a focus put on a controlled and restricted gamespace, as to not overload the creation of assets, I first thought about a game based on speed, jumping on traffic inside an futuristic tunnel. Then I drifted to a more a puzzling one whose mechanic would be simpler to implement, one of a 2D character in a 3D environment composed of red, white and yellow. By the end of the guidelines explanation I had it, what will become Arkames.

Like Chick N' Wars I would step off from the project manager position, offering the experience to someone else, however unlike it I would play a more central role.

Light Up

Embody a traveler trying to restore the link between the islands of a shattered world after the collapse of Olympus.

Blessed by the light of its fallen Gods you will be able to reactivate ancient mechanisms and repair the achipelagos' structures in order to reach and release the uniting power of their former weapons.

Look for a new angle by rotating around the islands to find hidden elements allowing you
to solve the many puzzles scattered across this broken world.

All accompanied by a relaxing mediterranean atmosphere.

Key Visual

Explaining the concept

Pleasing Sea of Dreams

Arkames' art direction didn't came out of nowhere. As cliché as it might sound, the featured environment was envioned during a lucid dream of mine. A vision I tried to recreate through several mediums.

First in UE5. I thought it could represent a good opportunity to learn the engine new modeling tools. This particular project was called Arka, which gives you an idea on where the name Arkames came from.

Another more concrete attempt was Spark N°22, which provided a basis for the color palette, one of red, white and yellow.

Project Arka

Spark N°22

With that in mind I made sure to quickly provide visuals cues to get everyone on the same page.

That included a first draft for the world scale, the gameplay elements, the palette as well as ideas for the character.

The latter would later evolve in a character design contest From which would emerge our Traveler.

First Draft Presentation

Initial Concept Art

Traveler's Concept Art

Traveler's Animation Loops

Opposite you will see all the 2D Assets I produced for Arkames. They range from the Traveler's animation spritesheet to very basic UI elements.

Guidelines such as soft edges as well as a light and volatile feel were kept in mind as I learned how to animate using Photoshop.

In addition to it is the game's logo, to which I would later add the game's prompting catchphrase "Look for a new angle".

A final note regarding our modest sound design, it was mostly made with mouth noises. Do what you want with that information.

Archipe-lego

I naturally took the mantle of Art Director, monitoring the conception and creation of 3D Assets while producing the game's 2D assets. That meant providing guidelines and intentions to our designated modeller Anthony Berthollet and offering feedback along the way.

The first task at hand was to tackle the modular aspect of the game through blocks of land with the goal of having enough variants to give a more natural feel to the islands as well as keeping this softer tone with a simple bevel on the edges. It was once again lego time.

We also had this idea of using the character's width as our scale unit to produce a correlation with the metrics, making level design ajustements easier and more coherent.