Milo a satellite of stories

Welcome to my entry: M.I.L.O. A satellite of stories! I’m Robin and I was in charge of the visual and conceptual design of this project. I also worked on the game design and the narrative design. 

Milo is a 2d story driven  point & click game made with digital and analogue mixed media. 

This project started out as a vague concept based on personal interests and fascinations and over the past 8 months it has grown into a fully independent and unique game experience. 

M.I.L.O. is made with digital as well as analogue media and consists of a lot of different techniques and styles. With this project I wanted to play with the visual elaboration of games and wanted to see how far you can push the boundaries of visual game making.

(and yes! The satellite is a real physical prop! ;) )

The satellite

The satellite is the place where the whole game takes places. It is the most important asset in the game and became the main staple for the feel and atmosphere of the game.

It al started with a simple sketch of what the satellite should roughly look like. Because I wanted to make a physical prop rather than a 3d render and I had no experience in doing so I needed a discreet plan of action.

I Came to the conclusion that the satellite should be lightweight and sturdy and found that chicken wire would be the perfect base for this. (also because it’s cheap). I would drape epoxy on top of this frame to fill in the base form for the satellite. This is the same stuff a lot of boats are made off, it is rather toxic so you should wear a gas mask while applying it. After I laid out the main form I started dressing the satellite with textile and textile harder. I was designing this prop on the go and found out by using this technique I could easily create organic and unique forms witch go well with the tree shape that is growing out of the satellite. After laying down the textile with the textile harder I began adding smaller details with the glue-gun. I used whatever resources I could find around me which caused a lot of interesting textures. the satellite was starting to somewhat look like an intergalactic junk yard. After I sprayed the whole thing black the overall form suddenly became much clearer. After this I just continued to paint and add more little details with the glue-gun. Again I was just kind going with my gut feeling on this.

Real high res photos of the prop are used to give the game world shape and form.  All the interactive landscaped inside the game are all based on this single prop.

The characters

There are 4 characters in total that live on the satellite. they all inhabit a different part of the satellite and the player will be able to physically move around in these parts in the game. Each character has its own distinctive visual style and medium different from each other and the world they life in. The visual design and narrative of all four characters are based on their own personality type and narrative.

The four characters are each based on one personality type and the related characteristics in both their physical appearance and their psyche.

In contrast to the development of the satellite itself the development of the characters was way more thought-out and controlled. This was because the characters needed to be impact-full on their own and stand out from each other. Their individuality had to become an important part of the game experience, if not the most important one. Because of this the visual development didn’t start until their narrative was already largely developed.