We all experimented with different early-stage designs (Since the team member responsible for the early-stage concepts disappeared—she was a classmate from the 2D animation online course—we had to create the designs ourselves.). Although some ideas were not adopted after discussion, the process of exploration was still valuable and meaningful.
First-Layer Environment Design:
I sketched some pillars, possibly entwined with gargoyles, along with a statue representing “See No Evil.” During our discussions, we initially planned to use three sets of statues to connect the dungeon’s layers, symbolizing “See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil.”
Although this design was ultimately not adopted, I believe Ben’s concept for these statues was excellent. “See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil” can serve as a moral code, representing the avoidance of evil, or as a form of satire, criticizing willful ignorance of reality.
However, we needed to reduce our workload, and Lucy felt that overly open spaces might make the overall scene feel empty. We would either have to spend a lot of time decorating it with assets or risk making the scene look sparse.
Since we discussed the idea of an unattainable treasure, I sketched a small creature design.
Environmental Creatures Concept (connect to Gothic cemeteries and treasures): First floor
Shell man：They were explorers who strayed into the dungeons, perhaps motivated by the desire for wealth or simply by curiosity. However, deep darkness and endless loss have turned them into what they are today. To avoid confronting their own desires, they retreated into their cold shells. However, the darkness within brought no salvation. Their legs have long since withered, leaving only hands to drag their bodies. Now, driven by instinct, they wander in search of golden shards to fill the void within.
Shell gold Shard：The shards of gold that had fallen from the Shell were covered with deep cracks and radiated a faint, warm glow. “The weight of gold will eventually bring down everything, including the soul.”
I wanted to design a tragic fate for outsiders like the knight—lost wanderers who unintentionally stumbled into this place but, driven by greed, never managed to leave. Over time, they retreated into their shells, their bodies deteriorating into skeletal remains.
In the end, this creature wasn’t created because we needed more representative monsters. Additionally, since the first layer is quite dark, adding shell man might go unnoticed by the audience while increasing our workload.
Story Setting
So we all discussed how to connect the story, which helped us a lot in building the scene. In the end, we decided to make the protagonist a knight who encounters an adorable furry creature in the darkness. At first, the knight doesn’t realize that the creature is actually part of this environment and tries to rescue it. However, as the story progresses, when the knight sees the surrounding plants attempting to capture the creature—and when the creature reveals its sharp fangs—he finally realizes that it belongs here.
In the final moment, the protagonist faces a crucial choice, one that determines whether he can successfully escape.
Weekly Conclusion:
In the second week, we clarified our goals, including the story logic, the protagonist’s objectives, and the assets we needed to create. Despite changes in team members leading to role adjustments, everyone adapted smoothly and adjusted their responsibilities accordingly.
For example, Anis took charge of storyboarding, acting like a director to oversee the overall pacing and coordinate the team. Lucy, although primarily responsible for character animation and rigging, also contributed to storyboarding and designed the knight’s concept. Since the team member responsible for early concept design disappeared, Qi Ji and I, who were in charge of asset creation, had to design some environmental creatures ourselves. Meanwhile, Ben collaborated with Anis on post-production and developed a method for team collaboration in UE5 without requiring the same WiFi connection.
As a result, everyone had a clear focus for the week, ensuring steady project progress.