Post by OneGameDad in Live From The Bunker

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So I've been thinking about artwork for this game. And I'm torn between doing something artistic, and something basic.

This is what I'm thinking of for the artistic aspect.

Original by Joakim Olofsson. Gif & Glitch aspects added by OneGameDad.

I was thinking of this glitch style gifs because I can apply it to artwork I haven't created and thereby make something new. I'll still credit the artists of the original work, but per fair use I want to make sure it's different enough that there are no issues. I like this style because it gives a sense of how adhoc the bunker is and poor the wifi is within the game. So the player character is going through showing off their lair, but their connection isn't great because they're underground. Gifs also add some movement to an otherwise still medium.

The only problem with this is one of dissonance. As the player you are the character livestreaming. So you won't see the issues with your feed. Thus any interference and other issues affecting the image stream are not viewable. All you receive is information regarding the quality of your connection.

So it's a question of style over cohesiveness. Granted movement is done through clicking, the same goes for speaking. So conceptually there's already a distance the player has to overcome, a suspension of disbelief, in order to rolepaly as the character in this game. Does the glitch gif add or detract from that? What do you think?

pfail7 years ago

I think the effect is cool looking and will add a sense of real time to the game. When I saw the glitched image, I actually thought it looked less like wi-fi interference than, say, a hardware malfunction or some sort of internal disruption. Maybe there's a way to pivot to that, if necessary. In any case, I think the effect will be useful to communicate something is wrong to the player, regardless of which end they'd expect the glitch to be on.

Majugi7 years ago

The glitch art seems like a good idea to me. I don't think it changes the "fairness" of using the original art one way or the other, but it could give your own project a more distinctive and cohesive look, particularly if you're using art from multiple sources. Making the image less static is a big plus in my opinion.

I don't entirely get what your UI will look like and how the glitches will play into the story, but I feel like there must be some way to spin the story for the visuals to make sense. Maybe your salvaged computer is having issues. Maybe the fluctuating power levels in the bunker mess with your screen. Maybe the apocalypse was something that specifically affected computer systems. Maybe you're watching your own stream so you can tell what viewers are seeing. Regardless, if there's one thing that video games have taught us, it's that players are usually willing to accept narrative dissonance if it's stylish/fun.

OneGameDad7 years ago

Thanks for the feedback Majugi and Pfail. I think I've figured a way to justify it with the internal logic of the game. Rather than the player character walking about with their own camera or mobile phone streaming their MTV Cribs episode, they're using the internal security cameras. That then accounts for 1) Why you don't see the character, 2) There's the image issues and 3) The Player sees a variety of stats and the chat while streaming.

As far as "fairness" goes, my understanding of the fair use doctrine in the US is that a person can use another's work as long as it is changed a certain amount and is then considered a new piece. While I don't think I'll be changing anything that much I will not be making any money from this work and I will be correctly attributing the creators.

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