Building Alliances - Week 3:
In this blog I will talk about the different things that we discussed in class such as the moodboards we were asked to make, other ideas we had and the research we started from the team meeting we had.
Moodboards:
The moodboards I made were specifically looking at the art style and how the monsters could look. I took inspiration from games like Stardew Valley, Terraria and Kingdom Rush for inspiration that we could use for creating the levels or creating the microplastic monsters that we can use in our game.
Level Inspiration:
I took inspiration from a few different games where I thought we could take inspiration from such as interesting path ways like in Stardew Valley. I thought that we could use that for inspiration as some places in the game have some interesting pathways like the caves in the volcano or the town centre.
Enemy Inspiration:
We thought that the monsters in Terraria and Stardew Valley were really good inspiration for our enemies as a starting point whilst we still need to research what the monsters could look like. Once we have more research done into what the microplastics could look like we can do more moodboards for the research we will need to know.
Ideas we had:
We decided to look more into the the way that we would do the levels and the level selection. We looked into a way of either having the level played on a cut out from the body specifically ones similar to pictures seen in science text books. Our 2D lead drew up a drawing of what it could look like however we are still deciding how we want to use it in our game as we either want to use it as a level selector or we would use it for the actual gameplay however we still need to choose how we use it.
Research:
Our research lead gave us topics that we should focus on and asked me to focus on researching how to combat and prevent microplastics. I found that there were Microplastics and Nanoplastics so I made sure to look at both of them to see how they could be prevented or if they could be combatted at all.
Microplastics:
ARE PLASTIC BOARDS REALLY THAT BAD?, 2024. SharpKnifeShop, 7 October. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/50MSmBlu94M [Accessed 16 October 2024].
Plastic boards used in cooking when chopping up food can cause tiny plastic pieces from the boards to embed itself in the food that is being cut and prepared. Its one of the many ways plastics can get into food.
Ways to prevent microplastics:
- Cut back on bottled water
- Get an NSF-certified water filter
- Don't use plastic to store food
- Don't reuse single-single plastics for food and drinks
- Don't microwave plastic
- Wash plastic by hand (Don't put in dishwashers)
- Use wood or bamboo cutting boards
- Reduce dust (Microplastics can be in the air we breath and could be in the form of dust)
(Wirecutter, 2024)
Nanoplastics:
What are Nanoplastics:
"Nanoplastics are a type of microplastic, distinguished by their extremely small size. Microplastics are usually less than 5 millimeters across; nanoplastics are between 1 and 1,000 nanometers across. For comparison, an average human hair is roughly 80,000-100,000 nanometers wide." (Inverse, 2024)
"Nanoplastics are created when everyday products such as clothes, food and beverage packaging, home furnishings, plastic bags, toys and toiletries degrade." (Inverse, 2024)
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| (The Conversation, 2024) |
"We already know that microplastics are present from the heights of Mount Everest to deep ocean trenches. Now, there is growing evidence that Nanoplastics are more prevalent than larger microplastics in the environment."
(Inverse, 2024)
"Since nanoplastics are small, they can easily penetrate cells and tissues that larger particles cannot. If they accumulate within living organisms, they could potentially cause adverse biological effects."
(Inverse, 2024)
"Performing deep breathing exercises assist you to get the microplastics out of your lungs. If these toxins stay in your lungs longer, they cause various respiratory diseases, including chronic coughing and shortness of breath." (MOCEAN. 2024)
"Moreover, inhaling these toxins makes you susceptible to an episode of asthma. Therefore, practicing deep breathing exercises by inhaling air from your nose for 4 seconds, holding your breath for 4 seconds, and exhaling it from your mouth for 4 seconds may flush out toxins from your lungs." (MOCEAN. 2024)
"Your body detoxifies toxins from plastic ingestion, mainly through the kidneys and liver. However, certain supplements work as a plastic detoxifier to reduce pressure from these organs. Supplements such as vitamin C, glutathione, and N acetylcysteine (NAC) contain antioxidant properties that counteract the adverse effects caused by plastics and their pollutants." (MOCEAN. 2024)
We could use the idea of supplements to inspire the look and how the power ups work in the game. We could have supplements that you choose at the start of each level and they give you different abilities or power ups throughout the level with each of them doing things.
Links:
MOCEAN, 2024. How To Detox Plastic From Your Body? [online]. Available at: https://moceanpt.com/how-to-detox-plastic-from-your-body/[Accessed on: 10 October 2024].
Mohan Qin, The Conversation, 2024. What, Exactly Are Nanoplastics And How Can We Avoid Them?. Inverse: Science. Available at: https://www.inverse.com/science/what-are-nanoplastics-how-to-avoid [Accessed 10 October 2024].
ARE PLASTIC BOARDS REALLY THAT BAD?, 2024. SharpKnifeShop, 7 October. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/50MSmBlu94M [Accessed 16 October 2024].
Qin, M., 2024. What are nanoplastics? An engineer explains concerns about particles too small to see [online]. The Conversation: Environment. Available at: http://theconversation.com/what-are-nanoplastics-an-engineer-explains-concerns-about-particles-too-small-to-see-225791 [Accessed 10 October 2024].
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