ART in VIDEO GAMES: Subnautica, Creature Design, and Immersion

hey how's it goin I am Jack and this is subjectively speaking the show where we discuss character design through a subjective lens and all that means guys is that a lot of what I'll be saying today is my opinion so please leave your thoughts on what we talked about in the video down in the comments and start a conversation while you're there don't forget to Like and subscribe it really means a lot guys oh and be sure to check out our sponsor blick click the link in the description for great deals on art supplies from their websites and one last thing real quick thank you guys so much for 500 subscribers I know it might not seem like much but it's really a huge milestone for everyone here subjectively you guys are great and we promise to keep the content coming every week for all of you now we got that out of the way and let's dive into this video today we'll be talking about a game that in my opinion is underappreciated by a lot of people subnautica has been playable for several years although officially it wasn't released as a full game until January of 2018 now a sequel to the underwater survival game called subnautica below-zero has just been released in an early test mode and already has exceeded my expectations for the sequel to this game could look like because below zero isn't really a finished game yet we're only going to talk about the og subnautica in this video some Nautica like a lot of games in the survivals onre employs the players wits insights and ability to react to dire situations you play as a maroon spaceship mechanic stranded on a planet the surface of which is 99% water as you desperately search for other survivors of your ships crash you learn the dark secrets of Altera the company you work for and explore the infinite mysteries of the strange planet you now find yourself on the level of immersion the game is able to create is imperative to the players comprehension and enjoyment of the game as it is in any survival game if the driving motivation for the player is to survive then the game must be successful enough in its ability to convince the player that they are indeed living in the world of the game and have them believe that the threat of death is very much a real consequence of their actions a lot of survival games rely heavily on their gameplay to create this level of player immersion and the best games in the genre can engross the player in their world with minimal visual elements but subnautica is different while the game mechanics still play an important role in immersing the player the key element in creating a believable world falls to the art direction of the game it should go without saying that a game with a keen eye for visual design is going to be very successful in immersing a player and subnautica is one of the finest examples of world building that I have ever experienced in a game the pacing along with a loosely structured story allows the player to explore the planet of four or five four six be at their own pace and to the extent of their comfort it took me probably around two months to beat this game I'm kind of a careful player and I like to take my time exploring open worlds and to my delight there was neither an oak nor cranny that I could not dive into this kind of openness ties in perfectly with the directional motif of the ocean which to humans is as vast and mysterious of space itself perhaps even more so the deep seas of our own planet play host to creatures as alien as any character designer contree him up and when the world's dictating what can or can't exist on earth are stretched to the point of break that's what we start to see some really crazy character design but hold on you never encounter another character in subnautica right the player character is the only human on the planet and all other interactions with people happen entirely through voice recordings or radio transmissions well character design doesn't always mean human design in fact some of my favorite character designs aren't even humans at all creature design is an infinitely broad sub-genre of character design from a professional point of view there really isn't even a difference between character design and creature design it's really all one area of concept but for our sake in this video we'll use creature design to refer to the character design of any living organic being that is not explicitly human basically anything that crawls climbs so there's flies or all the weird things in between you know we're talking Caillou's Pokemon and Koopas whatever this thing is and of course the numerous alien life-forms inhabiting planet 454 6b creature design has existed in storytelling for millennia pretty much since the first story was told back when humans were very much a part of the natural food chain creatures were extremely relevant to us and you could bet that old grandpa egga had some great stories about the giant cave bear that took his leg all the way up through human evolution cultures from around the world have dreamt up incredible creature designs fantastic beings that represent our deepest fears or our greatest aspirations some stories attribute such creatures to the creation of our universe while others are responsible for horrific natural tragedies as we grow as a species our experiences combined with the stories of the generations that came before us inspire even more bizarre and unique designs that all play an important role in the stories that they originate from and of course some creatures are more memorable than others just because someone uses an imaginary monster to personify an intangible concept doesn't mean they'll do it successfully a lot of the time people think that using a mythical creature like a dragon or a troll is an easy way to cheese a reaction out of the audience based off of our preconceptions of the tropes associated with such creatures but if you want to make something as iconic as say Godzilla or a xenomorph there has to be a lot more to your initial concept than just fear the xenomorph for example has several layers of concept behind its design one of those concepts being a reappropriation of phallic imagery with intent to play off of male insecurities and invoke subliminal discomfort in men this concept played an important part in the visual design of the creature and it's the reason for its iconic elongated head yeah be sure to bring that one up at your next family dinner conversation I could go on and on about awesome creature design and why it's successful and important and I could list so many different examples but basically when applied correctly creature design is used to bridge the gap between intangible concepts and physical representation in subnautica the themes represented by the creatures you encounter in the game are those of curiosity fear and exploration what is friend what is foe and what is food they say curiosity killed the cat what effect does it have on a player well in subnautica if you're not careful you might end up like the cat but what's cool about the game is that the risk of losing your life is often outweighed by the reward of discovering something new being a blueprint to construct a new piece of technology a clue uncovering more of the lore or an entirely new ecosystem with boundless potential for discovery we as players are encouraged to risk it all to satisfy our curiosity and learn more and it usually pays off as the player moves their way through this world poking and prodding and figuring out what's what it's important that they know at a glance what creatures are friends which creatures are foes and which ones are food I mean this is a survival game after all we got to eat when we first dive into the game now no pun intended we're instantly surrounded by new creatures but no apparent threat is imminent the aliens that we see though unlike anything on earth are small brightly coloured and designed with rounded silhouettes these visual clues indicate to a new player so these creatures pose no threat to them and the next logical step is to interact with them and see how they can help us survive well ok it's not very voluntary help but that's the food chain sorry little guy as the player continues to the game it becomes more comfortable with the mechanics more and more creatures are gradually introduced some like the crash fish want us instantaneously of their danger with their bright red color and the loud whining scream they let out right before they explode next to your head [Applause] others take some figuring out like the gas APOD for example it's the first beast you encounter that's actually larger than yourself so instantly you as the player will become weary but in this case just a brief investigation of the animal we revealed that despite their size they have no intention of attacking you they are however capable of dealing damage so their size was important in translating to the player that a threat exists albeit a benign one and of course it doesn't take long to figure out that the creatures with the big mouths and the sharp teeth are the ones that will try to say goodbye it out of you based off of prehistoric marine reptiles with some inspiration for modern-day fish like the alligator gar the stalker won't hesitate to let you know that it is higher on the food chain but you don't really know what big is until you see a Leviathan a class of apex predators of unearthly proportions if you see one of these things run unless it's a reef back there cool the leviathans are used to indicate an area of significance that requires further and tentative exploration or as a form of a barrier to signify to a player that they can't go any further even open worlds have to end somewhere they're pretty much the closest thing to final bosses that subnautica has but there are a lot of spoilers involved with these things so just just go play the game so in summary size color and shape are all crucial elements of character design that are used to aid the player in understanding and alien world because no matter what planet you're on humans have an uncanny ability to tell which things are gonna kill and eat you one last fun thing subnautica does with this creature design it breaks all the conventions that it establishes with the player you see like I said earlier this is a game about exploration and curiosity you can interact with these creatures in any way you see fit if you want to eat them go ahead if you need to fight back to avoid being eaten by all means but just because something wants to eat you doesn't mean it will submit ACCA's unique and somewhat hidden mechanic of taming and domesticating alien life is one of the most ingenious thematic mechanics I have ever seen incorporated in a game it allows for even deeper immersion of the player in the world by customizing each player's experience with the game and the true nature of each person playing will soon come to light depending on the choices they make throughout the course of the story and those choices can start with the smallest seemingly insignificant creatures we may be trying to survive but why let that take away our humanity it might be just what this planet needs in subnautica like so many games with a focus on creatures and monsters the design of each beast is crucial to the players understanding of the games tones and beams compare a game like doom to subnautica both take place in alien worlds and both have a ton of player interactions with strange creatures but obviously they are very different games there's no questioning on the players part that the creatures in Doom must be eliminated I mean there are no opportunities for interactions that don't end in someone getting blown up which for me is kind of sad but this is a gory first-person shooter the game's focus has always been on death and destruction and it would be confusing thematically if the creatures in the game reflected anything but those themes a game with characters that are not human and it needs to be able to treat those creatures with the same level of care and design as they would a human character they're necessary in solidifying the themes of the game and explaining to the player how to play it some Nautica checks every box of good creature design the aliens of Planet 4 5 for 6b are designed using the most bizarre features of animals from earth that we're familiar with with additional creative liberties used to convey character intent and heighten the level of curiosity in the player the opportunity to explore world no one has ever seen before is an experience that most people would say has been unattainable since the last corners of the map were filled in but subnautica through immensely successful immersion has been able to recreate that sensation in a way so believable you'll forget that you're even playing a game thank you guys so much for watching I hope you enjoyed this video please don't forget to Like comment and subscribe and be sure to check out some of our other videos also we would love to see some of your art share on our Instagram our work we've inspired you to make and we'll feature it in a future video once again thank you guys so much for watching and I'll see you next time [Music]

Channel: Subjectively

Views: 163,943

Rating: 4.9669604 out of 5

Keywords: Subnautica, Video Game, Discussion, How to Draw, Illustration, Character Design, Creatures, Video Essay, Talk

Id: WtYKPYuBUwg

Length: 12min 3sec (723 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 28 2019