JR The Game - Title Screen Final

       For the final version of my title screen, I decided to keep the same ideas I had during development. I also added in menu options that match the text style of the title, that highlight when they are selected. As for the other animations, they all transferred over well, even though it took some layer effect tricks to animate the flashing lights (I had to utilize color overlays with the color blend style). The only animation I wasn't able to insert was the up-and-down motion of the sombreros, as I couldn't combine it with the forward movement. Aside from that, everything turned out well, and those who saw it in progress really liked it.

Also, I apologize for the low quality of the video. The raw mp4 file was the original resolution, but Blogger down scaled it when it was uploaded.

JR The Game - Title Screen Concept

      For this title screen, I decided to go for an image that acts as a “premise” to the game’s story. As you can see, there is a silhouette of JR monitoring a conveyer belt with completed customer orders headed to a room for waiters to pick them up (these customer orders double as models for the in-game food items that JR can pick up to regain energy). The other major part of the shot is the window to the back “yard” of the restaurant. Here, we can see Pedro hiding among the reeds, scheming and readying his siege on the business. Behind him, the line of sombreros is a group of minions sneaking through the reeds.


   There are several parts of the screenshot I decided to animate. The first is the conveyor belt. This is to scroll several different moving food items on screen, which both adds to the atmosphere and shows the player the kind of food the restaurant makes. Then, there is the flashing lights around the title, which contains a moving pattern of lights not unlike that seen on movie theatre signs and those annoying crane games in arcades. In the background, the line of minions has an alternating pattern of bobbing up and down while moving forward. To complement this animation, the reeds they are walking through will move back and forth as well (each bent using the “puppet distort” effect).

JR The Game - Mood Board Final

    The color schemes chosen for my concept images were well-received, and the color choices well-defined the images. So, I felt that I didn’t need to overhaul the color scheme to define the game or to make things stand out. For the final product, Instead of simply updating the concept images presented earlier, I decided to take some of those elements and put them in a mood board together, to see how well their color schemes would work together.


    Using the colors I had picked out earlier, I modified some of my existing graphics, as well as making some new ones, to create a board that has a more consistent art style. Similar to the Katamari art style, I used the color bar by color bar simple shading and art style for the shading of most objects (I’ve used this kind of shading when modifying pixel art, so I’m pretty fond of it). For example, the pier/boardwalk, while looking like pixel art, was an attempt at a pseudo cel-shading effect that uses this style. The beams of sunlight reflect the simple lighting style, but I made that one a little differently. All of the “layers” of color are actually the same color, but they are of gradually decreasing opacities.


    Overall, the goal of this image was to work the different elements towards the same art style, while making their respective color schemes go together. Even in a simple art style such as this, the contrast between vibrant and earthy pastel seems to have worked out well.

JR The Game - Palettes and Color Schemes

  This graphic is a wallpaper of the Katamari Damacy game series. Aside from the rather silly-looking characters and landmasses, the game has a very distinct art style that is serving as inspiration for my own. The colors chosen in the art are a mix between bright and earthy tones, but they’re all applied to simplistic shapes, and they are all in a pastel style. The shading is also very simplistic, and you can see that in the fact that each part of the shade is a layer of a single color, instead of a smooth realistic transition.


   The art style gives off a cartoonish and non serious vibe, which the colors and the simple shading enhance. The artists probably chose this style to reflect the crazy and nonsensical nature of the game overall. You’re rolling a ball around and picking up objects to make your katamari bigger, and the objects tend to be crazy or do crazy things (examples being sheep on mopeds, penguins on a couch, etc.), so they went with an art style that matches the situation. As with the characters, they went for bright, crazy colors, to both follow the vibe of the game and to make them stand out (the King’s multi-colored pattern on his long helmet thing is a notable example). Their overall intent is to give off a relaxing but silly vibe that will give the player a good laugh while playing.

With JR The Game, I am going for a similar art style, but with a bit more detail. The graphics I picked to extract colors from demonstrate the different color schemes that different elements of the game will have. Like the environments in Katamari, the environments in JR will have pastel earth tones that match their setting, which will gain more brightness and color as the game progresses. However, they will still sit in the same general range of brightness between levels. Each level will have it’s own palette of appropriate tones that follow an overall color scheme, but will still look more unique on each. The big exception will be Fiesta city, which will have it’s own bright and festive color scheme through it’s own levels.
The graphics used as references for the color palette, however, are realistic images. I hope to simplify the color amount in each one to create more fitting environments for mood boards. 


The characters follow a different style. Like Katamari, these characters will consist of brighter colors and extra details (while staying true to the cartoonish theme). As you can see on the character palette, the tones selected are less pastel and less earthy than the background palettes, and they contain a much wider array of colors. it also shows the contrast between JR’s and Pedro’s color schemes, JR having brighter versions of his environments’ earth tones, while Pedro has vibrant and festive colors to go with the vibe of his Fiesta City environment. I plan to give the game’s enemies a similar color scheme to Pedro’s. The overall intent of this contrast is to make the characters stand out more easily while still fitting in with the game’s overall style.

JR The Game - Final Concept

Intro/Story: JR The Game is centered around an alligator named JR, who owns a BBQ club/restaurant in North Carolina. He has always had a big appetite for mischief and food, and knows how to be wild and have a good time. However, one day, an incident occurs where he is thrown out of his restaurant, which is taken over. The man responsible for the incident is Pedro, the owner of a rival Mexican restaurant chain, who is tired of falling second to JR. Distraught and lost, JR traverses the many marshy environments of the southern USA, battling Pedro’s minions along the way. He takes back his restaurant, only to find that Pedro has trashed the place and fled. So, JR then heads to track him down at his capital, a place known as Fiesta City!

Environments: The game has a diverse array of environments found in the southern USA. JR starts out in the swamps, which are glum and dark. This kind of environment is rough, but is less of a problem for JR due to his species, along with a lower quantity of minions stationed in the area. As you progress throughout the game, JR will encounter more open environments such as highways and marshes, which introduce more difficult hazards. As you progress through the game, the color schemes for the areas will become brighter and more vibrant, motivating the player to progress further and bringing about a hopeful vibe.  One of the more interesting environments will be the coastal beach, one of the last environments before reaching the restaurant. A beach may seem relaxing, but it is very hazardous to JR. There are jagged rocks in the water, plenty of minions, and most importantly, there is salt water. Salt water is not healthy for alligators, so JR can only stay submerged for a short amount of time. Things will also take a turn when JR enters the urban Fiesta City, which will feature bright, neon colors, and a stark contrast to the natural environments the player will be used to.

Abstraction and Realism: Being a non-serious and generally humorous game, the art takes on an abstract and cartoonish style, similar the the style utilized by the Mario series and Genesis-era Sonic the Hedgehog games. The weapons Pedro’s minions utilize are toned to fit the light hearted and comedic theme. For example, hot-sauce-filled gasoline tanks, and paint-firing pistols.


However, some realism is still utilized in the game’s concepts. Aside from the salt-water gimmick, one of the game’s main gimmicks centers around the fact that JR is cold-blooded. This gimmick takes the form of an energy meter. The meter goes down slowly over time, and results in a lost life if emptied completely. Therefore, JR must find sources of energy periodically. Rays of sunlight will slowly fill JR’s meter while resting within them, while buckets of BBQ food will  fill a part of JR’s energy meter instantaneously. The amount filled depends on the kind of food.


The gimmick is further built upon during the Fiesta City levels. As they all take place at night, where are no rays of sunlight that JR can utilize. Instead, he can utilize heat lamps found in various places throughout the city. His BBQ food is also much much rarer throughout the city, and in it’s place is much of Pedro’s own kind of food. This food, however, causes JR to LOSE energy, so he must utilize his resources carefully when traversing the city.

Location/Time Period/Technology: As stated during the intro, the game takes place in the southern United States. More specifically, in states such as the Carolinas and Louisiana. This setting establishes an array of diverse and gator-centric environment that JR will traverse. However, after the game’s plot twist, JR must track down Pedro. This event brings JR to the game’s penultimate setting: the heart of Mexico!


The game’s takes place within the recent decade. However, technology does not play a large role during the main part of the game. This is due to the emphasis on natural environments. The one exception to this rule is the highway levels, as vehicles such as cars, trucks, and motorcycles are present, and their rooftops utilized by JR to cover a large portion of ground. Technology makes itself more present once the plot twist comes around, as JR rides a train to Fiesta City, and frequently utilizes taxis (with parades acting as obstacles!) and subways trains to navigate the large complex metropolis.

JR: The Game - Concept of a Concept

        The concept of this game is centered around an alligator by the name of JR. His character is rather eccentric and wild, being from the southern USA, and he always has a big appetite for food and mischief. His appearance will be similar to that of a normal alligator, only more upright and cartoonish, along with sporting several oddball accessories such as sunglasses. Due to his love of food, he owns a very famous BBQ restaurant and club, which I plan to have involved in the game’s plot. I also plan on giving JR a sort of “sidekick” who would assist JR in several of the game’s areas.

   The game’s location, of course, takes place in the southern United States, mainly in places like South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana, with the time period being within the past few years. With a southern setting, I plan to have several gator-inhabited environments such as swamps and marshes, with a few more urban areas mixed in when you reach later levels. The color scheme will start of rather glum while visiting the swamps, but will slowly progress to brighter and more festive colors as you progress throughout the game.

  The game is intended to be abstract and cartoonish with it’s art and environments, with a general trend towards silliness. However, there is a mechanic that the game will have that throws some realism into the mix. Being cold-blooded, JR needs heat in order to sustain his energy. This will add a new element to the gameplay, that will require the player to keep JR’s energy up to progress through the levels. As his energy and temperature reduces, he will slow down, with a life lost if all energy is lost. In order to refuel energy, JR can relax in bright rays of sun, which will slowly refuel his energy while inside, while plates of BBQ food (burgers, steaks, chicken, pork, etc) fill his energy meter instantly.

  The above images are a few examples of reference images for the different environments, character inspiration, etc.

Rock Paper Scissors - Finished Product

   This more final version of the project went very smoothly, and was fairly easy to make. For the layout, I decided to mix elements that worked from the two different proposed layouts. I didn't use the exact design of either of the two due to space constraints. The biggest issue with space was fitting them all at the bottom with the rules, so I decided to add them to the diagram instead.

   The comments other students made on the plans referenced that I hand-drew the individual elements planned for the page. While I planned to scan some of the drawings, I didn't have much time to do so, plus then hands I drew weren't that well drawn compared to the others. So, for the most part, I stuck to using images from Google for the hands and objects (with some modifications). However, I did hand-draw the arrows in Photoshop, which turned out pretty well and close to the way they were on the notebook page. I also hoped to simplify/remove color from the elements taken from Google, in order to make their appearance closer to that of the drawings, but I couldn't find a function for this in Photoshop.

  As for other elements, I stuck to a color scheme of greys for the background, and with shades of blue for the boxes, bubbles, and glow effects on most of the text and images. This also made the "fiery" colors on the arrows stand out more, which contributed to the design of the diagram and added some contrast. Even though I originally planned for a Rock Paper Scissors symbol border, I instead decided to use this pattern for the background. The inspiration came from the poster of another student's Metal Gear Solid variation of this game. That poster contained a watermark background, which filled the empty space between the text boxes. Since my background looked a little empty beforehand (being a simple dark-to-light gray gradient), I knew that implementing the pattern into it would tie this project together.

Rock Paper Scissors - Concept Art

    The planning process for this project was fairly simple, and I am deciding between two distinct layouts for this particular project. However, I am leaning closer to the second one. While the first one adds a bit more creativity with having the rules in the middle of the cycle, I thought that having the objects and their representative hand positions next to each other wouldn’t allow a lot of room for the “cycle”. In the second one, I decided to have the cycle in the middle and have the hand positions next to the rules to balance it out a bit more. Still, maybe elements from both layouts could be combined, but I’ll base that on user feedback.

    The graphics for each piece of the diagram were basic objects, so looking for good reference images on Google wasn’t a difficult task. The paper was very easy to create, but looked rather simplistic when compared to the other two objects. From that, I decided to find a good image of paper with a corner folder over, which allowed the graphic more depth and a bit of shadow. A standard recycling icon was used as a reference for the arrow graphic for the diagram. However, I decided to add spikes to it. The purpose was to give it a more “offensive” or powerful look, representing one object being strong against another. The border was a simple idea to fill up the more empty spaces on the page with a line of silhouettes representing each object in a pattern. I’m really thinking of using this to give the poster a more decorative touch.