Gate Designs
Introduction
In Lament there are four realms and one hub world. Each realm represents a stage of grief as a result they each have distinct aesthetics. For our vertical slice we decided to focus on the depression realm as a result I began working on the gate of depression to begin with.
Gate of Depression
In designing the gate of depression I wanted a design that was somewhat exaggerated while retaining a sense of sorrow. I was inspired by wrought iron gates for the design works. I was also inspired by theatre masks as the central piece of the gate as it allowed for an immediate understanding of what the realm was beyond the blue colouration.
Inspiration Images
Beginning of the gate design early on. I used the symmetry tool in Aseprite to ensure the ornate design looked as symmetrical as possible.
This was the design I came up with and my groupmates responded positively to it. I outlined the tears with a light gray colour to imply that they were protruding metal designs and not literally tears.
This was a quick mockup of the scale the door had in perspective to the player. It was important that the door be highly detailed which lead to it being much larger than a conventional gate or door, however while this was not necessarily the original intent this outcome proved to be favourable as it added an extra atmosphere to the gate. It being this huge imposing monolith standing before the player makes the realm feel like whatever lies behind the door will be an exceedingly harrowing experience; which fits any stage of grief.
This was a version with more shading and different tones of the colours added in to show depth and reduce how flat the door looked originally.
This is the final version of the gate of depression. I added more shading to the borders of the door as well as tears to exemplify the realm’s theme of depression. For the design itself I added in brick textures to some parts of the gate to for more texture. Some parts did not have any brick textures to imply different materials as though the door is not entirely brick and made up of varying substances. Overall I was pleased with the design I created and I my groupmates were satisfied with the work I produced.
Gate of Anger
For the next design I decided to make the anithesis to depression which was rage or anger. For this design I followed the GDD’s description and mood boards of the anger realm. I worked on a magma texture to make the gate look as though it was made of lava.
This was as far as I got with the lava design idea. I realized that this design was not shaping up to turn out how I’d wanted to do it and thus I scrapped most of it. While the GDD specified that the realm of anger was full of lava and fire it did not specify anything about the gate of anger thus I decided to make my own design.
I still followed the general colour scheme of the realm of anger, using reds, yellows, and oranges. However I decided to look back on what I did for the depression gate and use similar inspirations, particularly spiked wrought iron gates. It would not have as ornate a design as depression instead its design would be more hostile, with spikes as seen on old wrought gates and fences.
Inspiration Images
This is the final design of the gate of anger. I completely retracted the lava design with the only firey design left being within the mouth and partially in the eyebrows of the mask. The rest of the design was inspired by wrought gates and imagery of hell as well as mood boards from the GDD. I made the backdrop of the door a brick texture with orange lines separating dark red bricks as if to imply the bricks were nearly scorching hot or perhaps some sort of solidified magma. The twisting spikes were reminiscent of horns, again utilizing motifs often associated with hell. Overall I was pleased with this design and so were my groupmates.
Gate of Bargaining
For this gate I had a rather hard time envisioning how I would portray bargaining. I continued with the theatre mask motif as I had for depression and anger, however I decided to add another unique aspect to this gate. The previous gates had unique aspects, anger had thick eyebrows and a firey mouth and depression had tears streaming down its face. For this one I decided to give it hands and held off on intricate designs. The hands were clasped as if it was begging, fitting the theme of bargaining. The facial expression was panicked to further this point. I also made the background consist of columns and bricks only, to imply as though it was a great palace of some sort while leaving the borders bare and not including much in terms of intricate designs. This was to follow how the GDD outlined that the realm of bargaining is a makeshift palace, thereby the gate has enough design to imply that it may be the entrance to some grand palace however with closer attention paid at the lack of detail can make one guess that this realm is not as grand as it may seem. It also fits the idea of bargaining with the gate being rather subdued as though the face on the gate has made offerings of its intricate details.
Inspiration Images
The simple design of bargaining. Its colouration followed the GDD’s outline. Though its subdued I am happy with the design and believe it fits the stage of bargaining well.
Gate of Denial
This gate was difficult to make. Denial is a rather abstract emotion and is difficult to portray visually. I looked up images in regards to denial and found that a common motif was closed eyes and a resigned expression. As a result I gave the mask a sullen expression with a slightly annoyed aspect as if the mask is either in denial itself or is perhaps denying the player. For the design of the gate itself I was influenced by the GDD’s description of denial being “labyrinth-like” and decided to include this description within the door’s design. I created a maze-like design inspired by aztec designs as well as designs from The Legend of Zelda, specifically Tears of the Kingdom’s zonai designs and mini maps of the labyrinth dungeons. These influences resulted in a rather intricate maze-like design pattern.
Inspiration Images
This is the final design of the gate of denial. I gave it a green-gray look as the GDD specified that the realm of denial was lit up by “faint green torches” and it worked out well as now each door had a distinct colouration and aesthetic. I was pleased with this design and believe it does well to capture the essence of denial.
The Masks
Here are all the masks that I designed for each gate. I believe their expressions do well to exemplify each gate’s theme. I am considering potentially animating them. If I had more time to work on this project I surely would however for now my attention must be focused on other aspects of Lament.
Reflection
Designing these doors helped me improve my artistic and pixel art skills quite a bit. I learned how to use the symmetry tools effectively in Aseprite as well as other shortcuts such as the outline tool for easier shading. My artistic skills were also tested as I made intricate and ornate designs. I usually specialize in making characters or landscapes so these types of designs were outside what I am used to. I think I was able to make achieve the desired outcomes however. I also was able to use the GDD and synthesize the information within it into the gate designs effectively. Overall designing these gates furthered my artistic skills, my proficiency in Aseprite, and my ability to make artworks beyond my conventional works.