The document provides details about Gemma Nicholls' pre-production process for creating an animated videogame and promotional poster. For her main project, she will design characters, backgrounds, music, and sounds for an original videogame. Her secondary product is a poster to advertise the videogame. The intended audience is ages 15-24, appealing to different personality types. The videogame will be playable on PC and is meant to entertain users and help pass time. Style sheets explore color schemes, character and background designs, and poster layout ideas.

1. Pre-Production
Gemma Nicholls

2. Pre-production• What am I making?
• For the main part of my project/production I am making a animation of a videogame created from scratch. I will design the characters,
the background and make and choose the music and sound effects. The secondary item I am making is a side product from the main
videogame. I will be creating a poster for my videogame.
• Why? (What is the purpose of making my products)
• The purpose of my videogame is to entertain my target audience. My videogame can also be used as a fun way to spend time when
bored or when people have free time and want to play a videogame. My posters purpose it to advertise my videogame, while also
allowing fans of the game to enjoy having a reminder of the game in their possession.
• Who is it for? (who’s my Audience)
• My products are designed to appeal to both genders. The age I've designed my products around is 15 to 24 and the different
psychographics my products will mainly attract are;
– Needs driven-
• This group act upon impulse and instinct. This group does not plan and will respond to messages relating to missing opportunities and
impulse buying.
– A mix of some socially conscious type A’s and B’s
• People who are concerned about how their actions effect the world and people who have given up on humanity. E.g. people who are
concerned how they affect others with their emotions and people who don’t want to take part in society and would rather stay home
online in virtual reality.
– Emulator/Wanna be
• This group wants to be/appear like an Achiever to attract the opposite sex or the approval of their peers. They respond to messages
about making them seem more successful and becoming Achievers. e.g. People who want to show of after completing a hard computer
level.
• Where will it appear/on what? (How will my audience see/play it)
• The device used for my videogame will be on a P.C this is because this device is what most people have commonly access to. If I was to
release on multiple devices next would be PlayStation as it is what the majority of people who answered my survey said they played
games on (not multiple choice). My poster would appear on paper but be created digitally so it can be shared online.
Reflection:

3. Style sheet - Colour scheme
The colours I decided to used in my
projects consist of a variety of black
and white tones.
I chose this colour pallet because I
wanted to keep the look/design of the
game layered and simplistic. This is so
you would appreciate the design but
would focus more on the gameplay. As
well as for me I could focus more on
the animation and not struggle with
trying to find multiple complementing
and contrasting colours. This is because
I would spend an excessive amount of
time trying to get all the colours to
work well together and make a
intricate background that I don’t think I
would be able to keep up consistently
with the amount of time I have and
things I need to do.

4. Style sheet - Videogame background

5. Style sheet - Videogame characters

6. Style sheet - Videogame characters/background
analysis
Background –
These images I have chosen have a variety of minimally detailed line work to more complicated and sophisticated line work. The art styles range
in material, some using watercolour or photo realism, chalk and then there are some that just use a pen. This range of photos show different
textures that can be created with the different materials. I will be creating my backgrounds using Photoshop with a graphics tablet and mouse so
the style material I will be focusing/using is a pen and I will explore different brush tool setting so I can add some texture to my background. I
want to keep my background simplistic so I will not clutter it with excessive amounts of background props.
The majority of locations shown in my images are of quiet places like mountain ranges and forests. These are the places I will make my character
explore/start in. This is because quiet and isolated settings are places where people start to think about things more especially eerie thoughts
and I want my main characters main enemies to be their own thoughts (different versions of them self ) a quite place where they are alone is a
good place where your mid can be overtaken with all sorts of thoughts and questions.
Characters –
The characters page is split into different sections. The top right having images for the mobs. I wanted to add in a villainess side character who
wasn’t the main evil character that would trick the protagonist. I thought that I wanted it to looks like something cute and trustworthy and I
thought that a sly fox was the best animal that could deceive the main character by leading them to danger. I wanted the fox to represent an
emotion that the main character had felt to put them into this upside down dream like world thy are trying to escape from. I think the addition
of this character gives this game depth. Their where a few other mob character ideas but I didn't’t want to add to many characters since I would
only be able to animate so much (like the cut scene and opening level or so).
Without the top right the rest of the page has the main character/ villain (as they are reverses of each other) design and customisable features. I
wanted to give my audience a way to make the character their own and also add in more game like mechanics. For this to happen I wanted to
add in the game collectable character features. So the player can find special items they can use to change the the protagonists appearance like
hairstyles and articles of clothing and find these through playing the game so for people that love to show of what they have completed/ brag
and completest would look forward to playing and finding something.

7. Character movements
Animal movements:
Most animal who use four legs have running and walking cycles that consist of similar leg
movements. This means I could use most sprite sheets for reference. Out of the animal sprite
sheets I collected I prefer the fox sprite. This is because foxes are smaller than humans and are
able to sneak around easier. I also like the idea of having a sly and sneaky fox meet the
struggling protagonist and mislead him. Foxes can be found in various locations depending on
the bread witch makes it easier to believe that a fox just appeared in a random location then
a lion.

8. Story board
Videogame story board/ scene plan
Scene plan cut scene
1. The first scene shows the protagonist alone in their
empty room. This shows solitary and gives the viewer
the idea that the main character is all alone
2. Secondly darkness slowly engulfs the protagonist
while they show a pained expression to the point of
crying. This gives the viewer the idea that the
darkness that is engulfing the protagonist is caused
by their emotions.
3. The visual changes to a close up of the phone the
protagonists holding. This hints that what they are
viewing are caucusing the emotions.
4. The full black screen shows that the main character
has been completely overwhelmed with their
emotions.
5. After that scene white eyes that are opposite to the
protagonist )maybe a mouth as well) that appear look
evil and show that something has ether awoken in
the player or taken over the player. This leaves some
questions like what happened?.
6. Lastly the different background shows that the
protagonist is in a completely different setting. The
fact that he's alone and has the opposite features
from the ones that appeared on the black screen
shows he's the same person that was in the bedroom
crying. This leaves a lot of question that people would
want to try find out some answers

9. Style sheet - Poster
The images I chose contain many different ways to
present/layout a poster, along with different
background images and styles. A majority of these
images and existing posters use a layered effect to
build up the image. Almost all of the images are
coloured in black and white with this there are lot of
sharp contrasts and it keeps the image looking clean
and defines shapes. The images I chose to look at have
a variety of big, little, simple and complex shapes. A
large portion of the images have textures or effects.
For example mist, scratched, fade and smoothed.
Most of the images keep to the bare minimum of text
with just the title . This leaves all the focus on the
imagery. Although the text is minimal most of the text
on the images is bold and stands out in a contrasting
colour from the background. This makes it an
important part of the poster/image. Some posters
even build their image around the title. Posters
without titles are harder to recognise as part of that
brand/game unless done well. Since I am making my
poster as an advertisement for my game I will be
adding a title on to it so it is recognisable as a product
related to my game.

10. Layout plans: poster
Lake
Main character
Trees
Rocks
protagonist
Light clouds
Evil character
Good side
Bad side
Dark clouds
Good side
Main character
Evil character
divide
Bad side
Good side
Chest
Clouds
rocks
Main character
I made a potential design for my
videogame poster. I wanted to see a
plan that used a mirror effect. This is
because my videogame main
protagonist and evil character are
mirrored opposites of each other. I
liked this plan the most out of the
mirrored layouts. However I struggled
to think about what could go in the
background and I think it can only
really work with plain or textured
backgrounds and I wanted to add a
non cluttered background but for it
to include some terrain.
This design was the seconded
mirrored layout I created. I liked the
simplicity but I struggled with the
same problem of what to include in
the background, the same as the first
one. I like this one less that the first
design because imagining the poster I
can do more with the characters
stances and positions in the first
design than this one.
This design was created with the
target audience in mind saying they
preferred one main focus. I prefer
this design to the others as the
terrain type background fit well and
I can create this terrain as a level in
the game so both products link.
When look at this layout I like how I
can make the background layered
(with the trees and rocks) and I
think this design is more visually
pleasing. I just have to make sure
not to make it to cluttered .
I created this design with minimal
background props to keep the
design simplistic. I also wanted the
poster to feel a bit more personal so
I zoomed in on a small space. I liked
this because it makes you feel like
you can escape (escaping a the
dream world being the point of the
game).I chose the protagonist to be
on / coming out of the chest
because I was thinking I could use
that prop as what the character
searches for in the game to make it
a familiar object layers/audiences
can look for.
title
title
Title
title
title

11. Lake
Main character
Trees
Rocks
Layout plans: chosen poster
This layout was chosen because the wide view gives more
context to the scene. The singular protagonist near a empty
forest also gives of the feeling of isolation. I like how the
scene gives this impression because the game is about
breaking away and leaving bad emotions to escape back to
reality. So this poster would represent more of the start of
the game witch I am working on. To make my game and the
poster link more I will make my first level terrain a forest.
I'm not sure I like the placing of the title so I will move that
around in the creation process until I am pleased with the
outcome. I will also try to keep the poster not too cluttered
but with layers and depth.
title

12. Poster/videogame style sheet: fonts
Out of all the fronts I tested my favourites
where these two; -smile and wave- and-
ailerons-. I still hadn't decided a name
between pandemonium and anarchy and I
preferred Anarchy in font smile and wave
and pandemonium the font ailerons.
To decide I asked the people in my
classroom as they fit in my target
demographic and the majority preferred
pandemonium in the ailerons font.
I chose this font because I preferred the
way that the title pandemonium looked.
It’s clean has nice spacing. It also look
minimalistic with no crosses on the a
and it simple. Also my demographic
agreed with this decision.
Chosen font:

13. Sound effect/music list
Sound effect/music list
Background music(s)
minor/ major notes = happy and
sad sounds
Collecting items
Complete puzzle/quest sound
character getting hurt and
Harming monster
Animal background noises
Terrain running/walking sound
(Eco's/textures).
Weapon(s)
Mouse click(s)
How would I create my music and sound effects?
To create sound effects for my videogame I could create them
manually using physical materials or using digital means. For
example using digital beep box and garage band rather than using
real instruments and recording it using physical materials. I want to
create my sound effects/music I can. However, for harder to create
sound effects like If I don’t have the equipment to create them I am
not against downloading a couple sound effects and trying to edit
them. This is because I want my video game animation to look like
an actual game being played and sound effects would effect its
authenticity.
Why are sound effects and music important?
The music and the sound effects are important because they are
used to heighten/lower a mood, they provide us with information
about the location of a scene, advance the plot and tell us about the
characters in the. Without music or sound effect the player/
audience wouldn't’t know how to think and feel and probably get
confused when watching something.

14. Resources/Budget
Equipment/
Props/ Costume
needed
Locations needed Cost
Graphics tablet College/home Free (already owned/
provided)
Adobe software Photoshop College/home Free (already
available/provided)
Adobe software premiere College/home Free (already
available/provided)
Computer/ devices to work
on
College/home Free (already
available/provided)
Sound effects Home Prices vary ( 0 - £ 10) – free
from creating online – costs
to create own with
materials

15. Contingency Planning
Potential Issue Solution
One potential issue is for me to not be able to access
the computers/ internet.
A solution to this problem is for me go to somewhere with public Wi-Fi/software
access when not in college or complete most of my work in college and leave as
little as possible for me to complete outside. I could also come in to college on my
study days and come in earlier/ stay later on non full days.
Another problem I could come across is loosing any of
my progress.
To stop this from happening I need to keep all my work saved up to date in multiple
area. For example the computer at college, my memory stick and my laptop at
home.
Not being able to access my work could become a
problem if I work with different computers./ laptops.
To keep this from becoming a problem I have to make sure I can access my work
from different locations even if I forget my memory stick. A solution to this would
be to email my self or put it on cloud storage. This is because they are less likely to
crash as they are reliable services.
A potential issue is me misplacing and loosing my
memory stick.
To make sure I can still assess my work I need to make sure I have my work saved in
multiple areas that I can access. Also to make sure I don’t loose my memory stick I
need to put it in a place I will remember and make a note if I'm leaving it
somewhere.
My computer /laptop I'm using can overheat which is
a potential issue.
A way to make sure this doesn't happen is for me to take breaks and make sure the
device I'm using is well ventilated so the possibility of it overheating is low.
Another potential issue is if I were to become ill or any
other reason and be absent from class and unable to
attend college.
If this were to happen as a solution I would need to be able to access my work
outside of college and be in contact with my tutor to see what I could do outside of
sessions.

16. Health and Safety
Potential Issue How will the issue be avoided?
One potential health and safety
issue is for me to get eye strain from
looking at the computer for long
periods of time.
To avoid the issue I will take breaks every 90 or
so minutes to help my eyes from becoming o
strained. I can also make sure to keep my
screen brightness at a reasonable level.
My joints becoming stiff is another
health and safety issue.
If I start to get stiff joints I should stretch them
before they become a problem. For example
with my leg joints I should get up and walk
around as it is not good for the muscles to be
constantly sat down.
Another potential health and safety
issue is for me to damage my ears
listening to load sounds/music.
To stop this from happening I will keep devices
( e.g. the computer, my phone ) volume levels
at reasonable levels to not harm my ears or
disturb people around me.
Electrocution from electronical
devices is another health and safety
issue.
One way to stop this from occurring is to keep
away from plugs and not to mess with them if
something stops working.
A potential health and safety issue is
(RSI) repetitive Strain Injury which is
damage to the fingers, wrists and
other parts of the body due to
repeated movements over a long
period of time.
To make sure this is avoided I need to make
sure make my posture is correct and I have a
five-minute break from typing every hour or
so.
Another issue regarding health and
safety is spilling liquids and foods
over equipment making them
damaged and other problems to
occur.
keep drinks and food away from the electric’s
can stop this becoming an issue

17. Production Schedule
Day/Lesson Tasks
week 1 Tuesday - basic characters
Wednesday – detail characters
Thursday - movement of characters
Friday - movement and finishing detail
• Product reflection in-between for a break or done at home
week 2 Tuesday - left over work from week 1
Wednesday- basic background(s)
Thursday- detail background(s)
Friday putting all together/ finishing detail
week 3 Tuesday - Wednesday- create anything else needed
Wednesday - Friday –animate
• Product reflection in-between for a break or done at home
week 4 Tuesday – poster basic layout/design
Wednesday – Thursday - Thursday detail/ text
Friday - finish anything needed
• Product reflection in-between for a break or done at home

18. Schedule
Week Tasks to be completed Specific tasks
1 Initial ideas and
proposal
 Complete mood boards, mind maps and analysis.
o Mind maps –
– Main ideas (videogame genre, type, colour, why I chose), characters, final ideas, and
background.
– -Side ideas –(poster-text and font, colour, view, background)
o Mood boards- text and font, characters, backgrounds
o Analysis- Pros and cons, mood boards, mind maps
o Schedule
 Key influences.
o Companies/people
 Proposal
o Target audience, concept, rational, schedule, evaluation, bibliography
2-3 Research • Existing products and analysis
o Analyse 5-7 existing products
– 4-5 existing videogame
– 2 existing posters
 Analyse –type of image, audience appeal, why I chose.
 Research analysis- compare to each other, reasons why I chose, how it will help my
production/ beneficial.
• Secondary and primary research
o Conduct secondary audience research
– Audience research
research o Conduct primary audience research
– Survey monkey
• Subject research
o Sound effects, character movements, colour pallets, prop, backgrounds, visual and angles
• Practical research experiments
o Practice lip sync animation
o Practice animation step by step
o Practice animating still image
• Bibliography

19. Schedule
Week Tasks to be completed Specific tasks
4 Pre-production and planning • Storyboard
o Cut scene -visual planning - why I chose to do this
 Style sheet/visual planning
o Posters
o Fonts
o Videogame backgrounds
o Characters
o Animal movements
o Colour scheme
 Layout plans
 Sound effect/music list
 Budget
 Health and safety,
 Contingency plan
 Schedule
o Production schedule
5 production  Create all the characters, character text/ movements and monsters/ minions.
 Character design
o Basic outlines
– Ruff sketches
o Detailed character designs
– Colour
– Small details
– Eyes, heart, fur etc.
o Character movement
– Running
– Walking
– Jumping
– Pick up items
– Fighting
 Product reflection

20. Schedule
Week Tasks to be completed Specific tasks
6 Production  Left over work from week 1
 Background
o Basic background
– Sketches
– What’s going to be their
– What it will look like
o Detailed background
– Coloured
– Light direction
– Shading
o Props
– Outlines
– Detail
– Prop movements
 Production reflection
7 Production  Create anything else needing/ fix anything
 Start to animate to make a coherent videogame.
o Edit in premier pro
– Add music/ sound effects
 Product reflection
8 Production  Secondary product creation (poster)
 Basic poster layoutdesign
o Outlines
o Light direction
o What appears on the poster
 Detailed background
o Clearer structures and details
o Added colour(s)
o Shading
o Effects

21. Schedule
Week Tasks to be completed Specific tasks
8 Production o Blurs
o Lens flare
o Opacity increase/decrease
 Text
o Font effects
o Spacing
o Bevel and emboss
o Stroke
o Drop shadow
 Production reflection
9 Evaluation  Evaluation
o Research
o Planning
o Time management
o Technical Qualities
– Videogame and poster
o Aesthetic Qualities
– Videogame and poster
o Audience Appeal
– Videogame and poster
 Peer Feedback, Peer Feedback Summary
o What could be improved upon?
o What did they like?