Major Project Proposal
Evaleez Voo Lian Yun / 0350275Major Project | Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Proposal
Instructions
MIB:
Task
Characters
On the first week, our lecturer, Ms. Anis, introduced the final year project and provided the necessary guidelines and documents. I chose an idea I had been developing for some time: designing characters and maps for Overwatch, inspired by ASEAN cultures. To make the project more impactful, I decided to reflect the diverse cultural elements of the region.
Since this project will be showcased publicly at our final year exhibition, I plan to 3D print the character models and create collaterals like posters, pins, and stickers for the public to enjoy and purchase.
Afterwards, I presentated my idea to Mr Kannan and he supported the idea of making Overwatch concepts and asked me t imagine myself as one of the Blizzard employees while making the concepts. He also encouraged me to make 3d models of all the collaterals and make use of Unreal Engine.
Some sketches of the characters:
Here are some of the initial thumbnail sketches I made:
From here, I explored and refined the characters even more. One of the challenges I faced was that my characters looked too fantasy instead of being sci-fi. Ms Anis advised that instead of making the entire character ASEAN based, maybe you can use a 25% 75% ratio. 25% of it has cultural aspects, eg using the selendang but the overall armour and tech is sci-fi.
Further character developments:
I was spent some time to think about their weapons and how it would work in game. Mostly I was aiming for long range weapons for the tank and the support, while having a closer range attack for the DPS character. This is because there is not much close range characters in Overwatch.
Environment
For the environment, I wanted to showcase that Borneo was a rich coutry, both culturally and financially, since the stereotype is that Borneons live on trees :(. Here is the moodboard:
Here are some of the initial thumbnail sketches I made:
Final Output
PDF:
Feedback
Week 1
- The idea of making Southeast Asian concept for Overwatch is okay
- Can make characters based off regions instead of a country itself, eg. Borneo, Oriental, etc
- Collateral ideas are good
Week 2
- The concept is okay
- Imagine yourself as someone who is hired by Blizzard, so you need to make sure the artstyle and 3D render is similar to what they have
- Integrate futuristic elements into the concept but base it off of traditional structures/ elements
- Create sketches
Week 3
Ms Anis:
- Instead of making the entire character ASEAN based, maybe you can use a 25% 75% ratio. 25% of it has cultural aspects, eg using the selendang but the overall armour and tech is sci-fi.
- Can research on Filipino dances for inspiration, eg weapon design
- Switch the rat theme on the Cambodian character to a ruby scientist, so it doesn’t paint a negative light on the country.
- Make a composition where the players are in the spawn room, looking out to where they are supposed to go.
Mr Kannan:
Anatomy
- find character reference
- The motifs are cool
- How your iterations from ideation to final output (atm not clear)
- Get pureref and collect all the body type similar to the body
- Trace the body (to make it the foundation)
- And then see where you can exaggerate it
Game Mechanics
- how to play this character
- Willl you be able to use it
- Can you play the game as it intends to
- Ability of the character should be in the realm of overwatch
- Sickle may not fit in the world (need to ammend the idea of sickle) scifi-ish
- Be careful to not be concord!
Character
- unique selling point
- Personality, backstories
- Extract components separately
- Look at overwatch style guide, find its key components that is consistent in all characters
- Be more consistent!!!!
- Make a persona (write point notes on each character)
- Add a reference character from O2 itself
- Character face features need to be following the area its inspired
- Has to be a solid study (refer to the O2 universe)
- For the design, just focus on key things: Structure, silhouette studies vs O2 characters, readability of the character
- Range weapon/ melee weapon, then key components
- Big shapes first! Design later
- Capture the essence of the character first
- How they use negative space, hierarchy
- When designing> think of where they are situation in the country> example in the mines, red light districts, specific town? Rubies area mining area? Like is her weapon powered by rubies????
- Maybe sketch some npc and see how they stand out among the crowd
- Think of the splash art
- Play with asymmetrical designs
- Weapons have weight, how is she going to balance her body
Week 4
Nusa:
- Further develop the armour and assets
- Reference is okay, need to further develop
- Likes:
- No.5 Feet, No.1 & 4 Upper Body, No.4 Arm
- Grenade belt
- Traditional Hat
- Shirt may be too flabby
- Instead of wearing the hat, he carries it
- Add ethnic hair and features
- Not too intricate> aim for big motif + colours + modernised patterns
- Cybernetic motifs
- Increase the quality of the work
Lucena:
- Make sure the body shape is not too similar with everyone
- Check what is the common Filipino body, are they more petite?
- Ask “What is so Filipino about this?”
- Decide whether she is referenced from the working culture or celebrities
- Where are her cybernetic parts?
- Design 2&3 is there, do not use 1
Mara:
- Reference Iron Man for the back implant for her arms to extend out of
- A lot of empty spaces now
Week 5
- For the arena, you need to make the exterior and interior
- One do 1 arena
- Choose a character that supports the place
Week 7
- Mentioned that my characters look a bit too generic, not ASEAN enough
- Need to make 3d models for everything
- Make sure the anatomy is correct for the character
- Can get inspiration from the cultural shapes they have in their buildings/ traditional outfits
Reflection
Over the past seven weeks, I have focused on developing Southeast Asian-inspired Overwatch concepts that effectively balance cultural representation with futuristic design elements. Feedback has been instrumental in refining my approach, including achieving a 25/75 cultural-to-sci-fi ratio, incorporating Filipino cultural references such as traditional dances, and exploring innovative ideas like ruby-powered technology. Emphasis was placed on enhancing character anatomy, creating strong and recognizable silhouettes, and ensuring consistency with the Overwatch universe’s visual style. The process also involved addressing feedback on cultural specificity, avoiding generic designs, and preparing detailed 3D models with accurate anatomy and environments. This iterative process has significantly strengthened my design, storytelling, and problem-solving skills while maintaining alignment with industry standards.
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