High Concept

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My game design won the 2016 Pilbeam Game Design 'Most Inspired' Award, presented by Jagex, for an action-adventure game featuring puzzle elements. Titled 'Bolormaa' (meaning Crystal Mother), an elderly Mongolian woman relies on the help of various animals for abilities such as flight, speed and brawn in her quest to stop forces destroying her vast arctic homeland by a demon who wishes to dry the lands and mine the earth to increase his power.

 

In this single player action-adventure title, creatures such as eagles, bears, wolves, narwhal and malamute (sled dogs) will help her soar the skies, tackle fiery beasts, climb mountains, cross seas and travel at high speeds over ice and snow to solve puzzles and restore balance. It was inspired by climate change, as well as a lack of elderly and foreign protagonists and would feature diverse world music. With Bolormaa herself being highly frail, she would fully rely on her animal allies, which I hoped would instill an emotional attachment when using and caring for them, that would enrich the user experience whilst enjoying different styles of fast paced and thoughtful gameplay through complimenting puzzles and objectives. The idea was inspired by a love of Pokemon and action-adventure titles.
 

Plot

 

An elderly Mongolian mystic is greatly troubled by the climate change happening around her, following the rise of a western feline demon who is creating a drought to melt the ice and dry the seas by destroying the ice temples of Mongolia, to mine the earth for gems and oil that will increase his power. Time is ticking.

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Bolormaa, or ‘the crystal woman’, is the last of her ancient society. Over centuries living in the icy mountains alongside various animals native to the frozen lands, her people have formed a kinship and telepathy with many creatures that rely on the ecosystem and cold climate to survive.

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With her flock of Mongolian eagles, she must traverse the land to restore the temples before it is too late. Along her way she will gain the aid of other arctic creatures such as bears, wolves, narwhal and malamute (sled dogs). These animals will help her tackle fire beasts, climb mountains, cross seas and travel at a fast pace.

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Levels will be vast, atmospheric and hazardous, meaning Bolarmaa will have to take full advantage of her animals. They will be mostly icy, but will decay and distort as the game progresses, showing the effect that the climate change is having on the land.

 

Game Objectives

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Bolormaa will have to find 9 ice temples to restore their power over the environment. To do this, she must travel through many expansive environments, solve puzzles, and defeat enemies along the way. These gameplay styles will depend on the animal that she has aiding her. As she enters their territory and reacquaints herself with them, she will gain the power of summoning them at will. Different animals will be necessary for certain levels and objectives. Bolormaa carries only the health of her animals, being quite frail, so must use them whilst caring for them, creating an emotional bond towards the animals for the player.

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Eagles

Large eagles will grant Bolormaa flight by allowing her to sit on top of them. This will involve highly manoeuvrable gameplay where the player will fly through the skies. Levels that will require the aid of eagles will include seeking items through a map radar, and travelling to the tops of extraordinarily high mountains. Eagles have medium health.

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Bears

Bears will help Bolormaa in combat against large creatures and climb mountains. They are slow and heavy footed. Bears have large amounts of health, but can grow tired.

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Wolves

Wolves, in a pack, will help Bolormaa by attacking many small foes or performing tasks for her at once, which will help her when solving puzzles. Bolormaa will use wolves and bears differently in various combat situations. Wolves carry medium health.

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Malamute

With the help of sled dogs, Bolormaa will be able to travel at very high speeds. This will help her travel distances quickly when needing to escape foes or perform timed missions. The speed will also let her travel over ice coated seas, as other animals will be too slow or heavy to escape falling through. Malamute are quite frail, meaning Bolormaa will have to travel with great care.

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Narhwal

Narhwal will help Bolormaa cross seas and take advantage of water routes that are unsuspecting of foes. Narwhal can travel through ice by breaking it as they swim, but not are quick as wolves in a purely travel perspective. They can, however, break ice around foes and maroon them on ice blocks when Bolormaa has no time to flee and must take action. Narwhal have medium health.

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Below are original concept pieces for  'Bolormaa'. In this art study I was experimenting with an art styles that would be bold, striking, and inspired by both fantasy and fine art. The art shown below was created both traditionally and digitally. I developed the main antagonist by creating a 3D model of him in 3DS Max and Zbrush.