I have been thinking about the subject for my environment quite a bit – I eventually came up with an idea I really liked… But was convoluted and a bit vast for the three weeks we have.

I really like adventure and role playing games – The most impressive and imaginative environments I have seen are in these kinds of games.  Being a huge fan of “Dungeon Slashers” (Role playing games which involve delving into vast dungeons and collecting treasure and finding powers to ultimately reach the end/final boss) I have decided to do either a really tall tower or a really deep dungeon.

I basically want a general Idea which I can refine and alter as I go.  I have decided to create a massive tower… which can also go down if I felt the desire to play with dungeon design.  We are all influenced by everything.  Images that spring to mind include , Megadrive: Corporation (FPS) PSX Azures Tower (Hack n slash), Castlevania series, Zelda (Mainly for their forest designs).  I also recently saw an Anime film thing “Lupin the Third” (which was pretty cheesy) but had a brilliant concept of an independent country’s castle – purely for opulence and defence this castle had hundreds of floors involving dungeons, sewers, mechanical workings and of course a tower.

On a classical art note there are many ye olde artists to draw inspiration from. Edgar Alan Poe stories are pretty nice.  I originally thought of the tower of Babel, which is a fictional tower of biblical proportions.  I remember this image well – when I was about eight we did a jigsaw of it one Sunday… I still remember thinking it was fuckin’ cool at the time.

Video games often refer to real world lore (Final Fantasy pillage all their names from Nordic legends among others)… “Ragnorok” Old stuff is cool and we unwittingly have absorbed its resonance indirectly through one source or another.  I remember a game on the Megadrive “Soliel”or “Ragnecity” where they had a babel tower.  I like it when games use real history – is almost educational in a way… and isn’t another fucking ruined temple.

So I got to thinking of my tower, I don’t want it to be blatantly copied from say Lord of the Rings or any game but I don’t care to create something totally original – if that’s even possible.  Anyways, I was thinking about how the tower was made and how it would fit and create my universe around it.  I like nature programs and trees are interesting – the skioya tree is the tallest living thing on the planet.  There are some trees around five thousand years old… Born before the pyramids and Christ were and a lived through a lot of wars took place.

So my tower is actually at heart a tree.  I started doodling just to get the scale, original surroundings and general mood.  I guess there is a time-line as I do want to medieval it up.  I want to somehow make it biblical like the Babel tower (those dicks thought it would actually reach to heaven).  So it’s going to be an epicentre for the people.

I was half considering making it a little “timeless” and incorporating subtle sci-fi technology –like maybe the tower is eternal and has outworld visitors or something.  I may implement this but don’t want to get too far ahead.

So this week I have decided on…

Genre:                            RPG/adventure game    ie. Diablo, Spiral Knights

The subject:                   An epic tower – Can look at interior later on

Artistic influences:          Zelda, Alundra, Castlevania, Spiral Knights, Castlevania,                   Mount Roraima, Tower of Babel

Plan of action:                   Origin & surroundings – initial tower creation (narrative) – Full blown medieval/nature state (playable)

Final outcomes goals:     Scale of tower – Interesting incorporation of nature & mechanical technology (not Avatar)

Something missing… the mood of the tower?

I have done several pics and did a 10 minute model in 3ds Max to help construct the tower/tree and its surroundings.

 

I worked a lot out in the above image – scale, overall shape, its function and how it may work – details. I was considering having it upon a high plateau (mount Roraima inspired) but now think this may detract with the proportions I have chosen.  Will try it larger so it doesn’t look like a giant plant pot(bottom of page)!  A major thing here is scale – it needs to be massive to create the feel that you are unlikely to see all of it and it has long lost corners within it.  I was thinking cable cars for transportation – this would look cool between branches and roots – giving a greater feel of size.  It’s a real challenge to show objects to get the scale – I did a pyramid here (we all have an idea how big they are) but in the final image there won’t be a nearby pyramid.  Will have to involve settlements and characters, possible in foreground.

I am also considering the climate and trying to fit all the bits together to make it seem a little more realistic – What plants and wildlife may be there, local materials for construction, having a half convincing reason behind the towers creation. There is almost too much to consider, which would be a hindrance so must make quick executive decisions and lay quick-solid foundations.