Girly Girl – Showing off the winner entry

On the request of friends, I have decided to include my entry for the SOE contest. Maybe now, the claims that it was a ‘pageant’ (Yes, I read the kotaku commentaries too) will end and be replaced with looks of awe as people marvel at my witty words and giant sheep.

Without further interruptions, I present you:

~My SOE Entry~

(The Annotated Edition)

First Round: Provide an essay with no less then five hundred (500) words about women in the gaming industry. Why do you want to work in the games industry? How do you think you can change and improve the image of women in games? How do you think that will increase the creation of games that more women will want to play?

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Pink

By Julia Brasil

It all began with a color.

Because the pink DS stood out amidst the myriad of black and red, it was confined to house arrest for many months. Its candy coated surface was to me a sign of weakness; a stereotype I had unknowingly reinforced. It was obvious that the pink color was chosen specifically with girls in mind, from the glossy finish to the strap holder, it was marketed as more than just a console, it was a fashion accessory. During that time, the streets were filled with posters of girls, children, sexy young women, house wives or grandmothers, all smiling and posing with the DS in hand, and it was not uncommon to read on magazines about such and such playing a video game for the first time in one of those pink contraptions. To me, however, the pink DS represented the quiet frustration of being a woman in a ‘man’s world’.

My first experience with video games was not very different from most. Growing up in Brazil, the few games we could acquire were played by my brother while I watched and commented on his progress. Eventually, he could not finish the games fast enough for my viewing pleasure so I had no choice but to take up the controller myself. It was not until I grew older that I saw what a rare thing it was for a girl to play video games in my country, almost to the point of being unthinkable. Boys play soccer, girls play dodge ball. Boys play video games, girls don’t. My feelings of outrage at this childish status quo gave way to a strong resolution: The only way girls would play more games is if there are more girls making them, so I would do my part and join the games industry.

Now that the idea of girls playing games is more commonplace, I have come to realize it is much more than that. If games are about fulfilling fantasies, than the fantasies of girls are still largely unfulfilled. The dream of fame and glory, of killing anything that moves or rescuing a damsel in distress is mainly a masculine one and while girls may be attracted to a gruff or charming male protagonist, they are not an extension of themselves. I believe that being ‘girl’ friendly is more than slapping pink paint or having the option to be a female avatar; it should also be reflected in game play. Women not only approach problems differently than men, but we also expect different things from them and it is about time developers take that into consideration.

As girls who play games, we live in a male oriented community where everything that is considered ‘girly’ is undesirable and, in an attempt to fit in, we tend to denounce that which emphasizes our ‘girlyiness’ like a Companion Cube plushie or a pink DS. We assume, for the most part, that gender does not matter when it comes to having fun and enjoying a game and this is partially true. A good game should be fun regardless, but why it is fun can vary between one person and another, so why not gender?

We may be women in a ‘man’s world’ but we should not deny the side of us that is feminine. I want to join the games industry because it has the potential to offer unparalleled freedom and immersion, but this will only be done if we make games that matter to both boys and girls

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(This story does have a happy ending – me and my ds are best mates now, especially when the new Harvest Moon game comes out (more on that later) also, I was told my essay fell short of 500 words, nudging on 498 or so, should have used more adjectives, I suppose)

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Second Round: The In-Game design – Using the tools provided, create a zone for Everquest 2.

(ohhoho – this one was “fun”, my poor old lappy couldn’t run EQ2, you see, so I had to use the ones at my college, needless to say every time I changed computers I had to re-install and repatch the game. Good times)

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This will require some explaining: The Story behind the Zone (and why sheep play such an important part of it)

The idea was the newbie player would arrive in a clearing and see two giants(I think they are called something else in the game), generally a blood thirsty folk, this couple has fallen into hard times, having been thrown out of their usual spot, so instead of fighting the player, they ask for his/her help. Their pet, “the most precious little tiny sheep you can find” has gone astray and they want it back.

The problem is that the surrounding area is filled with sheep but whenever the player brings one to them (once the player clicks on a sheep, it would follow him/her) it is the wrong one.

The solution: There are two ways of going about this quest: Looking for every single sheep through trial and error or paying attention to what the Giants say (they are a talkative sort) and realizing that their sense of proportion is rather skewed and that the large abandoned fortress not far from the clearing was theirs before being thrown out by goblins.

So, holding to these clues (my 90s adventure game addiction is strong to this day) the player must go into the fortress, fight some very territorial creatures and retrieve the largest sheep ever to grace Norrath.

(Fun fact: This idea was inspired by Monty Python and the scale size tool from the designer’s kit in EQ2)

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Third Round: The Everquest 2 Concept Art

(I have direct linked Sony, I doubt the increase on traffic of two or three people more would break their website)

Concept 01

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Explaining the Concept Art:

The idea was a simple one: To create a creature that would demonstrate both the history and tragedy of the Fae race. I wanted to create a fairy that could not fly, who was forever bound to the ground and reduced to a shadow of what it had once been. That is how the Broken Fae Queen came to life.

Early on, I decided to create a boss monster, something that would pose a serious threat to a middle level player at the end of a dark and tortuous mausoleum or dungeon. Before I take hold of a pencil, however, I always try to come up with a short story for the concept art I will be making. In this case, the creature would be a failed experiment of Queen Cristanos. The spirit blossom of a Fae queen, perhaps, that had been horribly deformed by her magic and became little more than a mindless slave with destroyed wings and missing parts, substituted by magical appendages, and bound to protect a hidden treasure.

Concept 02

With this idea in mind, I produced several smaller sketches and silhouettes and narrowed it down to two that had the most interesting shapes. (Seen in Concept01.jpg in the bottom right corner). At this point I concern myself with just the aesthetic feeling of the character. I wanted to make something that would feel at home in the continent of Norrath while still standing out from your traditional mob or rpg villain. The character would be very small in stature, about the same size as the Fae and Urusai race, and have a haggard look to her armor and clothes while still being threatening.

Once the general shape and look was done, I gave more thought to the colors. I try to stay away from traditional color patterns by trusting on tone variation and constantly checking the color value on grayscale. I played around with different colors until I found one that was both pleasing to the eye and gave the character the eerie feeling of something that is unnatural. (Seen in Concept02.jpg in the top right corner in its green glory).

Concept 03

Next I begin to think a little more about motion. Generally, I do this at the very beginning process but because the creature’s weapon was so unique, I had to figure how it would attack its unsuspecting victim. The inspiration for her attacks came from ballet. Having done it for many years, I envisioned her movements being erratic but graceful, like a doll on strings. Her weapon was also more clearly defined at this point. Her arm would serve as a large blade attached to her shoulders which she could swing left and right together with a proper sword in what I referred to as pirouettes of death. (Seen in Concept03.jpg) To compensate for her lack of wings, she would jump very high and I toyed with the idea of her blade also offering ranged attacks in the shape of shards that would be thrown at its enemies.

There are still a few questions left unsolved at this point. For example, how to make something small be frightening or how the creature’s walking animation would match her attacks, but at this stage I am very pleased with the character design and forward it for further criticism and questioning.

(Any similarities in writing style to the tutorials written by the talented individuals of Imagine FX is purely coincidental – or is it?)

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So there you go. I have laid it on the table, so to speak, all that was involved in my submission for the contest. I don’t know what the other finalists submitted or what in my entry stood out to the judges, but something must have or I wouldn’t be showing this today.

Now, if you will kindly reciprocate by commenting, I’d be most obliged.