Art Vision
Overview of art direction: 2D art, quite cartoonish. The style is visually appealing and explores “child-like wonder” as it’s set in a circus
Mood/Theme: *Varies from setting to setting*
- During daytime: When player explores the circus site, it’s vibrant, joyous and full of energy. There are decorations and crowds of people everywhere.
- During night time: The mood shifts completely, it feels gloomy, eerie and sinister. It almost feels as if the player is going to get jump scared at any moment.
References:
- Character sprites: No obvious line art for the characters, big heads so the player recognises their features and pastel colours. The Coffin of Andy and Leyley and Night in the Woods, helped define the character sprite visual direction.
- Environment / environment: Utilises thick line art and simplistic shapes; not too much detail in the background. Almost like a child’s colouring book and takes inspiration after the Coffin of Andy and Leyley.
Colour palette: *Varies from setting to setting*
Characters
Protagonist
Nola
Nola is the protagonist of the game, she grew up on the streets and because of her unconventional upbringings she learned how to be quick on her feet and be quiet when needed. She is quite awkward and bashful around other people as she doesn’t know how to act “normally” in front of them. Despite this, she tries to be helpful and is an all-round pleasant person to be around. Nola is also a curious individual, interacting with as much of her surrounding environment as possible. Now that she’s settled in the circus and now knows what it’s like to have a family and people that she cares about, she would risk anything for them.
Motivation throughout game:
- Retrieve the missing incantation pieces
- Become friends with your crew mates
Circus Crew
Harley
Harley is an aerial ballerina and considered the crew’s sweetheart due to her kind and outgoing demeanour. On stage, she looks elegant and moves with grace on the tightrope. She is full of energy and will go out of her way to make new friends and make them feel special. She has been in the circus since she was a young girl and has come to love all of the circus performers.
However, her reasoning for bringing Nola into the circus is anything but pure. She intends to make Nola retrieve these incantation pieces; in return Nola gets sacrificed instead of the entire circus crew.
Considered “morally grey”
Motivation throughout game:
- Get Nola to retrieve the incantation pieces so she sacrifices herself instead of the circus crew
- Give Nola hints on where to find the pieces
Bozo
Bozo is a clown, although his job consists of making other people laugh, he can’t seem to love what he does. He finds it humiliating having a huge crowd of people laughing at whatever you do, even if it isn’t part of his act. As soon as his shift ends, he makes himself a cup of coffee and goes straight to his trailer to watch his favourite show consisting of colourful ponies navigating their friendship- this side of him is meant to be kept a secret.
Bozo is quite a pessimistic character and dislikes most of the circus crew but puts up with the main members.
Personal belongings (relevant to the game):
His pony figurine
Finch
Finch is a fire performer and one of the oldest in the crew. That being said, he is also a husband and a father, but because of his line of work, he can’t see them often, but he writes regularly to them. As he’s a father he projects his fatherly instincts onto his crew mates without realising. This can be done in the form of cooking meals for his crew mates.
Finch is a very caring and friendly co-worker and will do his best to up lift the player’s mood.
Personal belongings (relevant to the game):
A locket containing a picture of his family
Clara
Clara is a trapezist but up until recently, she has been taken out of the circus routine completely due to an unseen circumstance with her duo. Due to their disappearance, Clara has been spending most of her time in her trailer and helping out with the equipment.
Due to her having more free time, she usually goes back to her trailer to sketch out costume ideas; as her act requires her to do tricks in the air, she isn’t allowed to have thick or long skirts as a health and safety precaution. She sketches out a costume concept and proceeds to make the costumes herself. She doesn’t mind spending the majority of time by herself as she is quite a reserved individual that doesn’t like to speak much at all.
Personal belongings (relevant to the game):
Costume sketches
Edith
Edith is a knife thrower and gives off a cold aura and impression. She is also diligent and excellent at what she does as her act requires her to handle knives and occasionally have another crew member assist her with her act. Despite her expressionless gaze and unwelcoming vibe around her, she cares deeply for her friends and often gifts them luck charms. She is also a very spiritual person, believing in the occult.
Edith is also suspicious of the Ring Master and Harley for the disappearance of Clara’s duo, her avoiding the circus’ “sweetheart” has earned her judgemental stares from some of the circus performers.
Personal belongings (relevant to the game):
Knives
Antagonist and Enemies
Ring Master
The Ring Master is the main antagonist of the game, he portrays himself to be extroverted and attentive to his crew’s needs. Although this holds some truth to an extent, he meddles around with dark magic to interact with another realm. This realm’s residents are hungry creatures and feed on the souls of the deceased.
In some parts of the game, the Ring Master breaks the fourth wall through his dialogue and mannerisms, but not in a way that it is obvious to the player.
Motivations throughout game:
- Sacrifice the crew’s souls to the lost souls and gain more power from it
- Impede Nola’s progression in the game
Lost soul concept
*These concepts can be changed as long as the lost soul maintains a mask design
These are lost souls in their harmless state, which is the majority of them. Lost souls are residents of another realm and feed on human souls, but their hunger never ceases. The sad lost soul indicates that the player can do a side quest for them in exchange for currency.
Corrupted lost soul concept
A corrupted lost soul is a lost soul that has gotten too greedy and went out of their way to kill a human and eat their soul all to themselves. These are the entities that will show themselves at night, at random. If the player fails to sneak past them, the corrupted lost soul will lunge towards them and take a bit of their sanity away.
Outstanding features:
- A broken mask, half happy half sad
- A crooked silhouette
Animation Style
All characters (except enemies): No hand drawn animation needed. When characters move, they bounce slightly. For reference, look at The Coffin of Andy and Leyley character sprite movements.
Corrupted lost soul: Stays stagnant, at most, the entity will need to be animated like it’s inky
Environment: Small objects can be animated to make the area feel lively E.G bubbles floating in one spot, grass swaying in the wind.
Character Sprites
*The first row shows Nola in all her outfits; her normal outfit, street outfit and the last one can only be obtained after completing Clara’s side quest.
Characters at night
Characters have a slight blue tint
Environment
Market / Alley way:
- Dark, dingy and damp. Almost like an alleyway in New York, but be mindful that this is set in the 60s. Broken bottles and litter, mainly in the alleyway.
Circus tent exterior:
- Decorations everywhere, stalls of food, bubble machines, and performers about.
Circus tent interior:
- Big interior, shaped in a circle as to showcase the main stage. Equipment can be seen lying about and bits of confetti.
Carnival:
- More lively, rides and arcade games are at every corner. Even more food stalls and bigger crowds of people
Trailer village
- Surrounded by the forest trees, bits of confetti everywhere and trailers are spaces randomly. Some are close together, some are further away.
Circus at night:
- Environment changes completely, some of the plants glow in the dark, feels barren and eerie. There is fog everywhere and a slight blue tint.
Night market
- Feels magical and mysterious, crowds of lost souls. Firefly lamps and fire flies luminate the area. Stalls selling human flesh.
Circus maze (only accessed at night):
- Completely dark, shrubs are sparsely spaced out. Trails of blood can be seen at certain points
Examples of environment art
*These concepts can be changed as long as the overall “vibe” stays relatively the same.
Alley way
Circus entrance – Day
Circus entrance – Night
In each environment of the game, the player will be able to save their progress by interacting with a popcorn stand:
Although this is in greyscale it shows the concept of what it could look like, sometimes the popcorn stand has a popcorn man behind it, serving you and on coming people!