Shutter
Shutter is our graduation project at ArtFX 2022. Explore and solve puzzles with a camera that modifies objects using perspective. All in a space-age inspired setting.
The Game
In Shutter you play as Keith, a new employee that has arrived at the mysterious research center L.I.E. (Learn, Investigate and Exploit). Explore and solve puzzles with a camera that modifies objects using perspective. All in a space-age inspired setting.
After 11 months of work the game was finished on april 2022 and it's currently available for PC on itch.io.
The Environment
The architecture of the environment is a mix of Brutalism and Space Age (70's). To achieve this the environment was mainly composed of concrete and coat/plastic materials. We built it in a modular way, relying heavily on tileable materials and trimsheets.
Concept and Lighting
Shutter has a strong ambience, iconic architecture and designs. The aesthetic of the game was developed through a lot of research and drawings, then we obtained concepts that established visual rules for the rest of the production
One of the rules defined is that the lights coming from outside the facility would have a cold/purple tint whereas the ones from inside would be warm/orange. We also wanted to have these strong sources of lights and darker corners to bring more contrast, dramatic and mysterious effect to the game.
Keith
Keith is our main character. Our goal was to make a charismatic and convincing character, while remaining in harmony with the environment of the game. With movement being a important part of our game he had to to be athletic and slender. The sharp shapes and exaggerated proportions was an effective way to make his silhouette more dynamic.
Skins were an additional feature of the game that we first added to support the narrative a bit, but also to encourage exploration.
Props
Props play an important role in making our world feel grounded and belivable. Since the begining of production we had the ambition to fill the world with as much props as we could to convey that feeling.
UI
For the UI of our game our main goal was to keep it clean and efficient for our main menus and gameplay. As an additional feature we created a menu for the collectibles the players would find spread around the world, which are divided in cassettes and documents.
FX
The Perspective Mechanic
Our core mechanic was based on the game Superliminal, we thought it's core mechanic of forced perspective was interesting to program and uncommon enough to feel new for a lot of people.
Our goal was to see if we could make it work on third person with the justification of using a camera. We went through many iterations during our prototyping phase, trying different controls, and switching between first and third person camera.
Level Design
For progression of our game we always envisioned having a Hub area where the player would come back everytime he finishes a new zone of the game. For this purpose we built all our puzzle zones around a central area where the player can use an elevator to move around the building.
With the idea of having a hub stablished we decided to build each zone of the map introducing each meachanic one by one and combining them as you progress. We started by blocking out ideas for a lot of puzzles in individual rooms, and then combining and rearranging them as we put them into the environment.
While doing this we also stablished a color code, deciding that all objects that interact with the camera are blue and all interactive machines like buttons and pressure plates would be purple(green on the protype).
Credits
ARTFX
Clément Ciranna - Programmer
Joris Doucet - Character Artist
Thomas Le Roux - Game Designer & Level Designer
Clara Lopez - Game Designer & UX/UI Designer
Julian Macias - Technical Artist & Programmer
Allan Magagnosc - Environment Artist & Material Artist
Vincent Medeiros - Art Director & Concept Artist
Samuel Hoareau - VFX Artist
Guilhem Perez - 3D Animator
Corentin Zimmermann - Props Artist
Thomas Bruyneel - Props Artist
Joris Abadie - Facial Rig
AUDIO WORKSHOP
Alexis Corsand - Sound Designer
Jules Feydy - Lead Sound Designer
Mickael Merrheim - Sound Designer
Lucas Pauzies - Sound Designer
MAAAV - Musiques Appliquées Aux Arts Visuels
Federica Alfano - Composer
Mathis Marchal - Composer
Roman Perreton - Composer
VOICE ACTORS
Mark Kaczmarek - Robby
Hugo Scott - Scientist
Comments (2)