Major Projects
22/4/2026 - 03/8/2026/ Week 1 - Week 14
GUAN YAXIN / 0370687
Information Design / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
LECTURES
1. Project Overview & Context
Overview & Context
Introduce the project background, explaining its relevance to Graphic Design, Entertainment Design, or Digital Animation
Discuss current industry trends, such as:
Growing demand for engaging visuals
Motion graphics
Immersive entertainment experiences
Advancements in animation technology
May also cover the project's narrative context, world-building, or real-world problem backgrounds
Problem Statement
Identify design challenges or gaps related to aesthetic appeal, narrative structure, and immersive experience
Examples:
How to improve visual storytelling in animations
How to create more captivating graphics
How to develop innovative design solutions for digital entertainment
Highlight identified problems through narrative and design structure
2. Project Objectives
Project Goals
Detail how the project will solve design and contextual challenges in Graphic Design, Entertainment Design, or Digital Animation
Goals may include:
Enhancing visual impact
Creating engaging narratives
Designing interactive, immersive experiences
Scope & Deliverables
Define the project's scope, such as:
Storyboards
Concept art
Character designs
Animations and animation sequences
Music and sound effects
How the audience interacts with the project
Deliverables may include visual and physical design mockups, time-based media prototypes (animations, short films, etc.)
3. Audience Research & Existing Media Analysis
Target Audience
Describe the target audience and their engagement with graphic design, entertainment content, or animation
Define their needs for creative and visually appealing experiences
Problem Identification
Highlight the context and experience when the audience views or interacts with the project
Point out specific engagement flow, focusing on visual clarity and flow
Benchmarking Existing Media
Analyze existing media (graphic designs, animation styles, or entertainment platforms)
Identify strengths and weaknesses, focusing on:
Visual storytelling
Immersion
Effectiveness of animation techniques
Key Differentiators
Emphasize what will make your design stand out:
Innovative visual concepts
Unique character designs
Dynamic storytelling approaches
4. Ideation, Concept Development & Information Design
Initial Design Concepts
Showcase sketches, concept art, mood boards, and early storyboards derived from user insights, trends, or identified contexts
Ideation includes all or a combination of:
Content Breakdown & Copywriting: Show information design of content and its visual representation
Storyboards & Animatic Sequences: Illustrate narrative through storyboards to ensure seamless flow of visual and story
Design Sketches: Progressive rough sketches of the design for identified outputs
Concept Selection
Justify the final design choice, aligning it with user engagement goals, visual impact, and ability to convey dynamic or emotional experiences
Includes:
Visual Design Guidelines: Present design elements such as color schemes, typography, character designs, and animation style
Design Systems / Style Guide: Discuss how visual components maintain consistency
Accessibility Considerations: Describe how the design accounts for visual accessibility
5. Development Plan & Schedule
Gantt Chart Planning
Explain how development will be scheduled until Major Project II using a Gantt Chart
Checkpoints
Elaborate each checkpoint and its output description
INTRODUCTION
Whole process
In Major Project 1, our team took the original fantasy game Affinity Epoch as the theme, and developed around the game world view, character design, scene design and game prototype. This is a fantasy adventure game with peaceful exploration, spirit and beast collection and the coexistence of man and nature as its core gameplay. The player will play a girl from the modern world, meet people from different regions after coming to another world unexpectedly, get to know all kinds of spirits and beasts gradually, and start her own adventure journey by establishing a contract.
In this project, I am mainly responsible for Concept Art and some 3D Asset Production. My work mainly includes world view visual design, scene concept design, NPC role design, spirit beast design, publicity map drawing, and some scene model making.
At the beginning of the project, we collected a lot of preliminary data, including fantasy games, animated films, natural ecology, national culture and architectural styles in different regions, hoping to build an original game with a complete world view, not just a few independent scenes or characters.
Our game concept has undergone many adjustments. At first, our view of the world was relatively simple, just a fantasy world with the collection of spirits and beasts as the core gameplay. However, with the continuous progress of the project, we realized that only collecting gameplay is not enough to support a complete game experience, so we began to further improve the whole world outlook, hoping that players would not only "collect spirits and beasts", but also explore a fantasy continent with culture, history and ecosystem.
In order to achieve this goal, I began to rethink the connection between each region, rather than just designing different scenes separately. I hope that the three areas not only have different colors and environments, but also reflect different lifestyles, cultural backgrounds and animal ecology. For example, forest areas emphasize the symbiosis between man and nature, so buildings are hidden among trees, and residents rely on collection and exploration to make a living; Grassland area is characterized by migration and trade, so it has vast space, large animal herds and open settlements; Because of the harsh natural environment in desert areas, residents rely more on oases and form a lifestyle that adapts to extreme environments.
Then, I began to design scenes in three main areas, namely, Verdant Whisper Forest, Wind Wander Prairie and Crimson Blazing Dunes. At the same time, I also designed some weapons.
Verdant Whisper Forest is the most vigorous area in the mainland, so the overall design uses a large number of towering ancient trees, waterfalls, streams, vines, luminous plants and ancient relics, hoping to create a mysterious, quiet and vibrant forest atmosphere. In terms of color, I mainly use green, turquoise and warm yellow as the main colors to make the whole area full of natural and healing feelings.
Popular grasslands want to show vastness, freedom and openness, so they use large grasslands, rivers, windmills, camps and rolling hills in the distance as the main visual elements. At the same time, it is also an important area for the migration of animals, so a lot of space for large-scale animal activities has been added to the scene, hoping that players can feel the vitality of the whole ecosystem.
The red sand dunes are in sharp contrast with the first two areas. There are long sand dunes, canyons, oases and ancient ruins buried by wind and sand, hoping to create an environment full of unknowns and exploration desires. In order to make the scene more regional, I refer to some elements of desert civilization and plateau national culture, and re-create it with fantasy design language, instead of directly copying the real culture.
In addition to the environmental design, I also completed the conceptual design of four NPC characters and the design of the protagonist with the team leader ninghe.
In the forest area, a lively, cheerful, first-order spiritual practitioner who likes to fantasize that he knows magic, and a high-order spiritual practitioner who practices alone in the forest and has a quiet and gentle personality were designed.
The desert area has designed an adventurer from other areas. He loves to travel and explore many places on the mainland, but he has never really established a contract with the spirit beast until he completed his first contract with the help of the protagonist. This role represents the spirit of exploration and the significance of building trust between man and beast.
In the grassland area, a young herder was designed with reference to the national culture of the plateau. He lives with cattle, sheep, spirits and beasts, and is familiar with the natural environment in the desert. Although he loves his hometown, he always yearns for the outside world, hoping to embark on a journey in person one day.
In the aspect of character design, at first I paid more attention to the costume and appearance of the characters, but later I gradually realized that the characters really attracted the players' stories and personalities. Therefore, I readjusted the background settings of NPCs, hoping that they can not only serve as task publishers, but also let players know more about the cultures of different regions. For example, although the girl in the forest claims to be a magician, she is actually a pharmacist. Her innocence and optimism can make the forest area look more relaxed and warm. High-level spiritual practitioners represent the most mature and stable relationship between man and beast, providing players with growth direction; Adventurers in the grassland area symbolize the spirit of exploration, while shepherds in the desert area embody their love for their hometown and yearning for the unknown world. These characters not only enrich the plot, but also make each region have more distinctive humanistic characteristics.
Spirit beast design has also gone through the process of continuous improvement. In the design process, they are an important part of the whole world's ecology, which is consistent with their living environment. Therefore, each kind of spirit beast combines realistic animals and fantasy elements, such as snow antelope, four-cornered sheep and long-tailed sheep in the snow-capped mountains, flame beavers, big ostriches and flame moths in the desert areas, etc. I hope that the spirit beasts in different regions can reflect the characteristics of the local ecological environment. At the same time, in order to conform to the relaxed and healing style of the game as a whole, I designed the spirit beast as a whole to be more rounded and lovely, and reduced the aggressive shape, hoping that players can naturally feel close to them, instead of treating them as fighting tools. Therefore, I refer to the animal ecological characteristics in reality, for example, the spirit beast in the snow mountain has thicker hair and stronger body to adapt to the cold environment; Desert spirits have wide feet, long limbs and heat-resistant characteristics to adapt to high temperature and quicksand environment. This design not only improves the credibility of the spirit beast, but also allows players to intuitively feel the ecological differences between different regions.
In addition, in order to conform to the aesthetics of the target audience-children and young players-I try my best to use rounded and soft modeling language, and reduce overly complicated or aggressive designs, so that the spirit beast as a whole is more lovely and friendly, and it is easier for players to resonate emotionally.
After completing the conceptual design, I also participated in the production of some 3D scene models, and helped to adjust the model scale, material effect and overall style, so that the 3D assets could restore the original painting design as much as possible.
In addition, I also completed the protagonist design and Key Visual drawing together with the team leader, hoping that through the key visual drawing, the overall artistic style and world view of the game can be completely presented.
During the whole production process, we constantly revised according to the tutor's opinions, including role proportion, scene layout, spirit and beast design and overall visual style, so that the project gradually became complete.
Challenges and Problem Solving (challenges and solutions)
In the whole project, we have encountered many challenges, one of which is how to maintain the consistency of the overall art style.
Because the team members are responsible for the production of different parts, everyone has different painting habits and design methods. If there is no uniform standard, the characters, scenes and models that are finally presented are prone to differences in style. Therefore, we continue to unify the overall direction through discussion and revision, including color matching, role proportion, modeling language and material performance, so that all content can conform to the same world view.
Another challenge comes from the transformation from two-dimensional design to three-dimensional production. In the conceptual design stage, some details can show the picture effect well, but after entering the 3D modeling, we found that some shapes are too complicated, or are not conducive to the subsequent UV expansion and model optimization. Therefore, we need to constantly find a balance between aesthetics and manufacturability, and simplify the design appropriately, so that the model can not only retain its original characteristics, but also meet the needs of game development.
Time management is also a problem that needs constant adjustment throughout the project. Because there are other course assignments to be completed at the same time this semester, we must reasonably arrange the weekly work content and constantly adjust the priority according to the project progress. Under the limited time, we decided to give priority to the design of world outlook, roles and main scenes, leaving more perfect and optimized space for the follow-up Major Project 2.
proposal
final Presentation
art book
FEEDBACK
WEEK 3
General Feedback : The initial concept and game direction were clear. Continue developing the world-building and ensure the gameplay concept matches the visual design.
Specific Feedback : Further develop the fantasy world by giving each region its own identity, culture, and environment. Expand the overall concept before moving into detailed asset production.
WEEK 5
General Feedback : The concept art showed good progress. Continue refining the characters and environments while maintaining a consistent visual style.
Specific Feedback : Improve the connection between the environments, NPCs, and spirit beasts. Consider how each design supports the story and gameplay rather than functioning as individual illustrations.
WEEK 9
General Feedback : The project direction is becoming more complete. Continue translating the concept designs into 3D assets.
Specific Feedback : Refine the proportions and details of the models. Keep the 3D assets consistent with the original concept art and optimise them for use in the game engine.
WEEK 11
General Feedback : Good progress on both concept art and asset production. Continue improving the prototype and visual presentation.
Specific Feedback : Focus on polishing the environments, improving model quality, and maintaining consistency between characters, creatures, and scenes. Continue testing the assets inside Unity.
WEEK 14
General Feedback : The project has established a strong foundation for Major Project 2. Continue refining the prototype and overall visual quality.
Specific Feedback : Further improve the game by expanding the world-building, polishing the 3D assets, enhancing gameplay interactions, and producing a more complete and professional final prototype.
REFLECTION
Experience
This is the first time for me to participate in the whole process of an original game from conceptual design to prototype production, and also let me really experience the difference between entertainment design and traditional illustration design.
In the past, I paid more attention to the completion of a single work, but this project made me realize that game design needs to consider not only whether the picture is beautiful, but more importantly, whether different designs can form a unified and reasonable world view. From characters, scenes to beasts, every design needs to be interrelated and serve the whole game experience together.
At the same time, this is my first attempt to establish a complete world setting. From the simple story background at first, to the gradual improvement of the relationship between cultures, ecosystems, NPCs and spirits and beasts in different regions, I can more and more understand the importance of World Building in entertainment design.
In addition, I also began to contact some 3D modeling work, learn how to transform 2D conceptual design into game assets, and think about the model structure, scale and the requirements for subsequent animation production. This makes me better understand the relationship between conceptual design and 3D production, and also makes me realize the important influence of pre-design on subsequent development.
Observation
During the whole project, I found that an excellent game world needs not only rich content, but also overall consistency.
Whether it is costume, architectural style, plant design or the appearance of animals, it should be influenced by the same set of world outlook rules. If each design is completed independently, even if it looks good individually, it is difficult for players to believe that they belong to the same world. Therefore, in the design process, I constantly adjust the visual language between different regions, hoping that players can identify different regions at a glance through colors, shapes and environmental characteristics.
I have also observed that the emotional connection between characters and spirits often comes from their stories and behaviors, not just their appearance. Therefore, when designing NPC and spirit beast, I pay more attention to their background setting, lifestyle and the relationship with the environment, hoping that these contents can enhance the realism of the whole world.
In addition, in the process of teamwork, I deeply feel the importance of communication. Since each member is responsible for different parts, we need to share the design progress, unify the style and give advice to each other constantly to ensure the consistency of the whole project. If there is a lack of communication, even if a personal work is done well, it may affect the final overall effect.
Findings
Through this Major Project, I not only improved my ability in character design, scene design, spirit and beast design and conceptual design, but also further understood that entertainment design is not just "drawing", but telling stories, shaping the world and creating a complete experience for players through visual design.
I learned to think about the project from a holistic perspective, rather than just focusing on my own work. For example, when designing a scene, I will also consider how the characters live, how the spirits and beasts move, how the players explore, and how these elements together form a credible ecological environment. This design thinking has changed a lot compared with the past.
Although there are still many contents in the project that need to be improved, such as adding more kinds of spirits and beasts, optimizing the details of three-dimensional models, enriching interactive content and improving the overall game performance, Major Project 1 has established a stable foundation for subsequent development.
Next, in Major Project 2, I hope to continue to improve the details of the scene, improve the quality of the model, enrich the design of characters and spirits, and further optimize the overall visual performance to make the game world more complete, real and immersive.
Looking back on the whole production process, my biggest gain is not only the improvement of technical ability, but more importantly, I learned how to complete a large-scale project with the team and constantly modify and optimize it according to the feedback. I believe these experiences will lay a solid foundation for me to continue to study entertainment design and enter the game industry in the future.
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