Project Proposal

Name: Stephan Liennard

Pathway: UAL Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production and Technology (Game Design) Level 3

Project Title: Final Major Project

Rationale:

Before I began attending college, I only had 4 GCSE’s (English, Maths, IT, and Art), and no prior experience with any professional media-related techniques, software, or equipment. Due to my low GCSE grades, I had to re-sit both my English and Maths exams, and because of this, it took me a while to progress onto the Level 2 Creative Media qualification.

I passed the Level 2 Creative Media course with Distinction and went on to the first year of the Level 3 Film & TV qualification; however, this turned out to be an area that I was particularly adept at. I subsequently transferred onto the first year of the Level 3 Game Design qualification, which I passed, and am now on the second year.

During my time on the various Media qualifications, I learned some of the professional skills that I lacked when I left school, such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premier Pro, and Logic Pro X. I began privately experimenting with a game design software called “RPG Maker MV”, which I used to obtain my Distinction from the Level 2 qualification.

Whilst on the Game Design course, I learned the basics of another game design software called “Unity”, however I have had extreme difficulty in actually utilising it. I have also had difficulty learning the specifics of any programming language; although I understand the basic concepts, the specific languages are area that I have had no success in comprehending.

I have also had increasing difficulty in organising and planning my projects and ideas, due to an overabundance of ideas and thought processes.

Project Concept:

Based on my Pre-Production research, the aim of the project is to create a Japanese-style Role-playing Game inspired by games such as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Fire Emblem. I am intending to use a 2D 16-Bit Pixel Art style, reminiscent of games released during the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Typically, JRPG’s have complex plots of epic proportions, so I intend to create a demo of my game, which will consist of the beginning of the story. I am also planning on using a medieval-inspired fantasy setting for this project, which is a standard trope of the RPG genre as a whole. Although there are common conventions in the JRPG genre, I will also be adding some additional features, such as a custom battle system.

I’ll be looking at historical sources on medieval history, as well as fantasy literature and other RPG’s to provide context for this project. There will also be visits to appropriate medieval sites such as castles, to provide visual and contextual references. I will also need to perform an audience profile, to identify my target demographic. For all of my research, I will be using a wide variety of secondary research media, such as books, podcasts, videos, and games. I will also be using various primary research methodologies and techniques, such as surveys, focus groups, and interviews.

The three phases of this project are Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production. In the Pre-Production phase, I will be compiling my research and using that to create a variety of material on how I’m going to create my game, and what I’m going to include or exclude from the project. During the Production phase of the project, I will actually be creating and modifying assets, as well as developing the playable section of the game. Once I have completed the Production stage, I can move onto Post-Production, during which I’ll be finalising the demo and creating the exported version ready to be presented.

Evaluation:

During this project, I shall be using WordPress to document the development of my project, using detailed explanations reinforced using images and screenshots. I will be critically evaluating the ongoing project work, as well as reflecting on the work that I have done, including any creative decisions or development problems, using the feedback from tutors, peers, and friends.

There will also be a fortnightly review of the entire project and comparing it to the initial concept statement that I outlined in the project proposal. At the end of the project, there will be a project presentation, which will lead into a final project evaluation.

Proposed Research Sources:

Square-enix-games.com (2019). SQUARE ENIX – Games. [online] Available at: https://square-enix-games.com/en_GB/games [Accessed 14 Mar. 2019].

Store.steampowered.com. (2019). Browsing JRPG. [online] Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/JRPG/ [Accessed 14 Mar. 2019].