Final Boss Design - 'Pesits'

Pestis Concept

Pestis concept and colour ideas

Based on the silhouettes chosen by the team, I tried to create a design for Pestis, the boss character.

It was also suggested that he could have a layer of feathers on his arms, so I attempted to incorporate that into the design, with what I felt was little success.

 

After producing these sketches, and seeing that the rest of the team was also doing refined concepts, I decided to take the first look at potential colour palettes that could be used by putting some base colours on the featherless version.

-Chloe

Pestis concepts

I liked the impossible-thin figure that Emily drew and made some quick concepts based off of the selected silhouettes.

Boss Concepts and Environment

Lewis;

The following images show designs for the skyline that could be applied to a skybox, as well as top-down views of the level. The last 3 environment images are some perspective concepts and level layout designs.

Boss Concepts

Boss Concepts

18/02/15

--Emily Bruce

Plague Research

Latin name of bacteria - Yersinia Pestis.

High fatality rate for centuries. Has wiped out entire civilizations.

First recorded outbreak: 541 A.D. lasted for 200 years.

Known as "The Black Death" in Middle Ages.

Infection usually spread by fleas of rodents as opposed to rodents themselves. Can also be contracted by handling infected material/tissue/liquids.

Three different forms of the Plague in Humans:

1. Bubonic Plague
• Symptoms
• Enlarged Lymph Nodes
• Chills
• Headache
• Fever
• Weakness
2. Sceptecemic Plague (The Black Death)
• Symptoms
• Fever
• Chills
• Weakness
• Abdominal Pain
• Shock
• Tissue Bleeds/Dies causing blackness
3. Pneumonic Plague
• Symptoms
• Chest Pain
• Shortness of Breath
• Coughing
• Fever
• Chills
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea

Plague Doctors

• Kept spices in their masks to ward off the plague, which was believed to be caused by miasma.

• Wore beak masks in conjunction with waxed (water-proof) coats to protect from infection.

• Plague doctors in Scotland carried a long stick with a sharp end to lance victim's boils at a distance. In other areas, canes were used to point out areas that needed attention and to keep people at bay.

• Theories at the time believed that the plague may have been carried by birds, masks were modeled as they were in hope of scaring off birds.

• Most Practicing Plague doctors were not medically trained, and their duties included inspecting people for plague symptoms, quarantining the sick and removing the dead more than actually treating them.

A Poem about Plague Doctors

In 1672, a physician named Dr. Hodges wrote a poem about this rather strange-looking garb. 

That poem is included in Wine: A Scientific Exploration (at page 42):

"As may be seen on picture here,

In Rome the doctors do appear,

When to their patients they are called,

In places by the plague appalled,

Their hats and cloaks, of fashion new,

Are made of oilcloth, dark of hue,

Their caps with glasses are designed,

Their bills with antidotes all lined,

That foulsome air may do no harm,

Nor cause the doctor man alarm,

The staff in hand must serve to show

Their noble trade where'er they go"

Researching 14th century medicine + Boss designs

Back in the 14th century, it was still a common idea that the health of a person was closely linked to their starsign, the movements of the planet, etc.. How a person was treated could be influenced by what star they were born under, and the time they contracted the disease was often compared to astrology charts to help with diagnosis.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Anatomical_Man.jpg

A factor that people at the time thought contributed to the appearance of the Black Death was the coincidental alignment of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars on the 20th of March, 1345. Perhaps we could take some inspiration from this?

http://41.media.tumblr.com/1695ff9c92feac97e171ddc1e0173298/tumblr_n7silcEukQ1soj7s4o2_1280.jpg

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/bloodletting-leech-method-science-source.jpg

The medical implements used in this time period in London are unfortunately still quite primitive, going by what I found.   

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/e9/30/0d/e9300dff871d4745198d3144046fbd17.jpg

Here is a later version of a surgical knife - the only reference image I could find. Perhaps knives could be incorporated into the boss' claws, feathers and other parts of the body.


Additionally, here are some concepts I did for the boss character, mainly figuring out the features the boss could possess.

-Chloe

Boss and Environment Concepts

- Lewis Evans

Boss Ideas

--Emily Bruce

Ideas for environment

Ideas for environment, imagery of St. Paul’s cathedral and tudor houses.

--Emily Bruce

Boss Silhouette Designs

 Range of ideas, rats, birds and golem-esc designs. Tall and fat.

 

 Plauge doctor designs. 

Liked the silhouette of multiple wings on the boss.  Looks very threatening.

The first stage of concept design, silhouette drawings. These help establish interesting features from the concepts. These can also be handed over to the other team members to develop.  

--Emily Bruce