Before I start creating anything, I must research the design influences that went into this game idea. In his GDD, Parker listed a two major design influences: Superflat and Vectorheart, so I will talk about them more and their relation to my role and the game overall.
Superflat
Created in: 2000
Creator: Takashi Murakami
Superflat refers to flattened Japanese art, containing elements of Japanese pop art, graphics, and fine art. It comments on the nature, and often soulless, nature of Japanese commercial art. Superflat also includes otaku and kawaii culture, so many artworks will have many of these elements in them.
How this relates to Kinetic Panic
Kinetic Panic’s art style from the GDD has a lot of similarities to Superflat. The main character “Eta” has a “kawaii” touch to them, which makes them both cute and also gender-neutral. They have most of the elements of a kawaii-oriented Superflat artwork, and I find them similar to Aya Takano’s “White Night” (2006). The figure depicted has big round eyes contrasted with a confrontational stare. Yellows and blues in the painting create a neutral light. If I want to accurately portray Eta, I should take into account this aspect of their design.
Vectorheart
Created in: Late 1990s – Mid-2000s
Coined: Evan Collins
Vector Heart combines the Y2K Aesthetic futuristic and bold typography, taking from both Swiss modernism and utilitarian industrial design with ironic critics of capitalism and consumerism.
How this relates to Kinetic Panic
Kinetic Panic’s art style also takes inspiration from the Vector Heart art style. You can see this in the architectural style where a lot of the structures look like they are at an angle. 45 and 90 degrees are the most popular in Vector Heart. A good link between this style and KP is ‘Work by Delta’ from the book IDN Pro Iconography (2002). The cube-like structure has a lot of little complexities going on inside of it, and I’d imagine the levels would have hidden places within these structures, making for a fun exploration within the level. While this is something for Carter to look at as he’s the environment artist, it still gave me a good insight into what this game will look like as we come together as a team to make the game.
