There is just so much going on regarding the game idea; it has to be playable, so I'd have to think up an actual strategy/algorithm and program it (though that part would supposedly not be the hardest, as I have already been told about an online platform with which it is apparently quite easy to make games without a lot of coding), but while I want to keep the player involved and thereby interested, the assignment is for me to present myself to an audience.
To combine these to vital parts of my idea seems downright impossible to me right now. Initially, I wanted to use the design of the individual Tarot cards as a medium for myself, arrange them in a random pattern und then have a Chinese-Lucky-Cookie type of thing come out at the bottom: a fake and fun future prediction for the person playing the game. I definitely think that it would be possible, only I'd need more than four weeks to actually make it work. Also, as I come from more of an illustration background, I noticed that I had concentrated mainly on the design and illustrations adorning the cards than on the actual gameplay. Once I admitted to myself that the idea is undercooked and that the focus would not be on the visual appearance but more on the mechanics and story behind it, I lost interest fast.
Since that moment I have mainly focussed on my first idea: the short film. I have dabbled in gif-making before and greatly enjoyed it. Just this last semester I had made a gif that I like a lot and that, more importantly, was a lot of fun to make.
I feel that to make a frame by frame animation, I'll have more freedom to express myself while also staying true to what I like best (illustration). The only real issue with this idea is the time limit set by the deadline. Four weeks isn't a lot of time and the final product won't be longer than two or three minutes, at most. Still, a lot can be told in even a few seconds, so I don't feel restricted by the likely shortness of the outcome.
My two main sources of inspiration for the short are an animated short film by Charles Huettner that was released in 2013: 'The Jump'.
As well as the game 'Monument Valley' that can be downloaded for iPhone and Android through the AppStore. (I greatly recommend it.)
Both the game and the film transport a feeling, a mood, an atmosphere that resonates with me. It is tranquil yet slightly unsettling, visually interesting and beautiful without being overburdening, still retaining a sense of simplicity. Furthermore, the themes that are dealt with are spiritual and emotional in both examples. I think these are great references for me to come back to and to reflect upon when coming to a wall during my own project implementation.
I'd like to solve this project without using any kind of voiceover. I don't want to explain myself or my motivations orally but rather let the pictures do the work for me. It is what I prefer in the real world as well. I'll need sound of course, though a soundtrack is something different than a voiceover, right. As the assignment is to present myself, I want the overall colorscheme to be the one that I also use when illustrating something (at the moment); lilac, purple, blues, pinks, apricot... generally on the colder side of the color spectrum.
During my first week at NUA I'd already made some kind of mockup, something like a first try regarding an animation. I show it to you now, but the finished product will look quite different, I imagine.
Cheers.