Fantasy world link

Scene:

For my project, I chose to create a fantasy forest-like world. Initially, I had tried creating an outer space scene with aliens and spaceships but I couldn’t get it to have the same “wonder” aspect as I could with the fantasy world. The aliens and spaceships just looked unanimated and the scene was dull and boring. So instead, I decided to create this mystical realm where dragons, fairies and other magical creatures can roam. To start off, I chose a skybox that has bright blue skies, fluffy clouds and gold mountains. I thought that this was the perfect setting for a fantasy forest. I also included some horizontal sun-rays that stretch across my scene because they add to the mystical aspect. I added many trees where fairies and nymphs will live, and attached a mystical sound to one of the trees that is supposed to be magical. As you approach the tree in the scene, you can hear the fantasy sound increasing. I thought that mushrooms would be a nice addition to the fantasy forest because they appear to be a magical home for the creatures that will inhabit this space. I ended up only adding one dragon because I found it difficult to position creatures properly within Unity. I’m still a bit confused about how to insert objects into your scene after you’ve imported them into the project itself. I’m also having a bit of trouble with positioning things so that they can be “discovered” rather than just readily available to see. It was a bit difficult layering single objects to make them appear to be one. For instance, I wanted to include a bonfire, but I couldn’t get the fire part to hover properly over the pile of wood. This also prevented me from adding leaves to all of my trees—some of them are bare instead.

Thought exercise:

I think that my scene lends itself to all kinds of stories. The user can move through the scene and discover many different mystical creatures like dragons, fairies, mermaids, nymphs and gnomes. Each creature can have its own quest attached to it. For instance, when the fairies are discovered, the user may have to help them gather magical berries to complete a potion. I think sound will be an integral part of the “discovery” process. When the user hears a twinkling sound, they may follow it and find that the sound is attached to mermaids. When they hear flapping, they can follow that sound and find that it’s attached to a dragon. I can use sound to strategically guide the user through the scene and have them discover parts of the story in the order that I want them to.

I can also potentially create a dream-like story using my fantasy land. The user will see the scene as a dream and be able to fulfill tasks that defy natural laws and physics, as they would in an actual dream. They may fly alongside dragons, swim underwater with mermaids without having to hold their breaths, and so on. As the user moves through the scene, things will be constantly changing as they are in dreams. At one point, they may be in a tree with nymphs only to suddenly be transported underwater with mermaids. Since dreams are not always linear, this idea lends itself to a storyline that is has many twists and is complicated, which can be interesting.

One other storyline that my scene lends itself to is a hero’s journey. The user will have to complete many side tasks in order to finally face some sort of “boss” (maybe a large troll) which they must defeat. Throughout the scene, they will encounter less threatening enemies who they will have to defeat, or helpless creatures who they will have to help. They’ll be guided to these characters through the use of sound, as I mentioned before. Once the final “boss” is defeated, the story will come to an end with the user as a victorious hero. An alternate ending could include the user’s defeat instead of victory.