In my previous post, you may have noticed that in the Subnautica update video, the playable level area was a straight horizontal plane as opposed to having the player scrolling around a large cylinder. This is because trying to make that idea a reality was being an absolute pain, and was getting in the way of progress. Due to this, I decided instead to try to set up a fish-eye lens effect, to give a similar impression as scrolling around a cylinder. Unfortunately, this was also a massive pain, as the necessary post-process effect was interfering with the underwater post-process effect.
After struggling quite a bit with these two issues, I was a little burnt out with Subnautica, but I still wanted to be productive. I decided to start putting together ideas for my third and final 2D adaptation... Skyrim. Sounds like a big task, I know - but I had some ideas I thought would work really well. I knew I wanted to take inspiration from top-down Zelda games (Link's Awakening Switch in particular), and I wanted it to have an HD-2D aesthetic. Here are a few reference images:
Screenshot from Link's Awakening (Switch)
Screenshot from Octopath Traveler
Screenshot from Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
And here's a quick excerpt from the adaptation document:
"The HD-2D aesthetic seems to mainly be defined by its use of 2D sprites for characters and creatures in a world built from 3D assets. I'm using this aesthetic for Skyrim 2D as it's a super modern and beautiful way of revitalising classic gameplay styles, 2D RPGs in particular. In addition to the 2D sprites in 3D environments, HD-2D games often have dramatic lighting, as well as a camera effect for a shallow depth of field. Link's Awakening on the Switch also happens to have this camera effect. Very small objects in the real world, such as insects and raindrops on leaves, often appear in images with shallow depth of field as it's necessary for the camera to focus on such tiny things. Applying this to games makes the whole thing look like miniature dioramas, which works for Skyrim 2D as it is reminiscent of tabletop RPGs.
Link’s Awakening, and other 2D Zelda games, were also the main point of inspiration for me choosing the top-down format. This style is great for dungeon crawling as it allows for layouts more akin to real-world spaces which can help when it comes to designing them as we’re more familiar with the view – this also carries over to external locations."
I also managed to start work on the proof of concept demo - here's a quick look:
That's all for Skyrim 2D for now, just a teaser really. After a short break from Subnautica, I was ready to return to the project. As the underwater effect was much more necessary, I decided to scrap the fish-eye too. My tutors and I agreed this was the right step, as it would allow me to make progress elsewhere, and the proof of concept was already looking good.
That's all for now - I'll post a full playthrough of Subnautica 2D shortly, since I actually completed it before making this blog post. Crazy plot twist, I know. See you in the next one!
I finally finished my Subnautica 2D adaptation project! Here's an excerpt from my adaptation document where I reflect on the project: I’m happy with the result of this adaptation. As was inevitable, Subnautica had its own unique set of challenges compared to Resident Evil – notably dealing with my idea for the layout of the world, as well as dealing with the fact that the original Subnautica has a freely-controllable first-person perspective. This has a knock-on effect on the world and level design, as well as how certain mechanics work, as the player can’t aim and interact with objects in the same way. However, the 2D perspective meant I had more control over what the players can and can’t see, and it was useful not having to design a world in which the player can look at from every angle as this would have been time consuming; instead, I could focus on implementing gameplay and mechanics etc. As I mentioned earlier, Barry Purves’ talk inspired me to go with making the game a side...
Here's the full playthrough of my Skyrim 2D demo, should give a good impression of how the game would play! Since the last update I've mainly added finishing touches such as music and sound effects, working magicka usage, NPC text, and some more VFX, specifically for absorbing the Dragon's soul! Very happy with how this one turned out as well!
Finally finished my final adaptation, Skyrim 2D! Here's an excerpt from my adaptation document where I reflect on the project: Overall, I’m super happy with Skyrim 2D, which is good as before starting the project, the scale of the original game was quite intimidating! I actually started the demo before the document this time, as I was keen on setting up the HD-2D visuals with the depth of field effects. This ended up being a good move, as it let me know that it was possible (there weren’t difficulties like with Subnautica 2D’s ill-fated cylindrical world) and that it looked great and worked the way I wanted it to work! I had an interesting realization while working on this project. While I want to make it clear that my previous adaptation, Subnautica 2D, ended up being a successful project which I’m proud of, I found myself being a lot more enthusiastic about both Skyrim 2D and Resident Evil 2D while working on them. For both Skyrim 2D and Resi 2D I had a clear and distinct vision...
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