Part 1: Initial Weeks Progress for MOTG

DISC380 Blog – Initial Weeks

Weeks 1–4

At the start of Semester 2, I set out to immerse myself in a range of projects to both sharpen my technical skills and broaden my creative perspective. I reached out to other animators in the course to see where I could contribute, and by the end of Week 1, I had committed to two collaborative projects, Melodies of the Grove (MOTG) and Cassette, alongside my own independent 3D modelling project. Taking on this combination felt ambitious, but I wanted the balance of working in collaborative, pixel-based projects while still pursuing my long-term interest in creature design and 3D workflows.

At the same time, I was also in early discussions about another film project. The role would have involved developing animatics to strengthen the story, but this wasn’t fully confirmed until much later in the semester. Even though it wasn’t certain at this stage, it shaped the way I thought about time management — I knew I had to leave room in my schedule for opportunities that might come up.

My roles across each project:

Melodies of the Grove (MOTG)

• Pixel art: UI design and development
• Creature design in a pixel art style
• Walk cycles and light animation

Cassette

• Pixel art animation for the credits

3D Modeling Project

• Using 3D software (Blender, Maya, and ZBrush) to develop a creature for my fictional world, Prometheus
• Full texturing
• Rigging
• Animation
  

Why I choose these projects: 

For Melodies of the Grove, my work would be focused on combining design and animation within a pixel art framework. The UI design needed to be visually clear and easy to navigate, but also stylistically consistent with the overall world of the game. Designing pixel art creatures and animating their walk cycles would be a rewarding challenge. 

Cassette also relied on pixel art, but my role there was more contained: animating the credits sequence. Even though it was a smaller task, I thought that it would broaden my skill development. 

My independent 3D modelling project would allow me to stretch in a different direction. This project would be focused on developing a fully realised creature for my fictional world, Prometheus. My plan was to take the creature from concept through the full 3D pipeline: modelling in Blender, Maya, and ZBrush, texturing it to bring out surface detail, rigging it for movement, and then creating animations. Unlike the pixel art work, which would require simplifying details, this project challenged me to explore form, anatomy, and texture in depth. It also provided continuity from Semester 1, where I had begun developing this world and its creatures.

Inital Research and Concepts: 

During these early stages, I began developing creature concepts for both Melodies of the Grove (MOTG) and my independent 3D modeling project. This part of the process was about exploring ideas, gathering inspiration, and starting to translate those influences into designs that could fit within each project’s world.

MOTG Creature Concepts

I had already begun small sketches and early ideation in late Semester 1, continuing into the mid-semester break, since I had agreed to design and develop the “Fire Country starter” creature for the game. Having the chance to design a starter creature felt like a big responsibility — in games, starters often set the tone for how players connect with the world and its creatures.

For inspiration, I drew from a mix of sources. Pokémon was an obvious starting point, since it has such a strong history of designing creatures that balance familiarity with creativity. I looked at how Pokémon combine real-world animals, mythological references, and playful exaggeration to create designs that are memorable but also functional in-game. At the same time, I wanted to bring something more unexpected into the mix, so I leaned into cowboy and Western motifs. The idea of blending fire, desert imagery, and cowboy aesthetics gave me a unique direction to push the starter creature away from being just another elemental-based design and towards something that carried more personality.

Moodborads below;

 

These were the first moodboards and small sketches I made for the creature. At the start, I found it difficult not to overthink the design. Instead of focusing on the starter, I kept imagining the final form. This meant I had too many ideas at once, and it became hard to settle on something simple.

When I began developing the concepts further, I put most of my attention on the final form design. In a way, this worked to my advantage. Once I understood the final form, it was easier to simplify and scale the ideas back into a starter design.

One of my main inspirations was the washboard. Its ridged texture reminded me of an armadillo’s skin, and I thought it could be a fun way to tie music into the creature’s design. For the final forms, I imagined their underbellies working like washboards, reinforcing that musical theme. The washboard also stood out to me as a unique and unusual folk instrument, which I felt matched the goal of making the creature memorable.

However, I realised the washboard was too complex for a starter design. To make the starter more approachable, I shifted to using a cowbell instead. The cowbell still carried the music theme and was quirky enough to stand out, but it was also simpler and easier to read in pixel art. I liked that cowbells are often used alongside washboards in real folk music, which created a natural connection between the starter and its later evolutions. Which landed me on this final design ((Unfortunately, I don't have any of the final form designs saved because I thought I'd always have my sketchbook on me (I dont have my sketchbook :());

This process taught me the importance of keeping starter designs playful and straightforward, while still leaving room for the final evolutions to carry more detail and complexity.

Bonus:

I also designed another creature as an NPC. It was discussed early on, but it probably won’t make it into this demo of the game. Still, I thought it was worth sharing here.

Initial UI Research and Design: 

While developing the initial creature designs was probably the most fun part of the early weeks, the UI was definitely the most daunting but also the most exciting. I volunteered to be the lead UI designer for Melodies of the Grove, and the only person in that role. I had been somewhat interested in UI design before, but I hadn’t dedicated much time to researching or practising it. So, when Joseph mentioned he wanted someone to handle the UI, I immediately put my hand up.

At first, I was really excited, but I quickly realised that UI is a huge part of a game. It isn’t just menus and buttons; it shapes how players interact with the world and experience the game overall. Especially once I noticed the UI in the games that I was playing was really important to how I personally interacted with the game. Once I understood this, I really locked in and began a focused research phase.

I started by googling “game UI” and “how to design game UI,” which led me to a website called Game UI Database. This site is completely dedicated to showcasing game UI across a wide range of genres, from League of Legends to Cuphead. It became a valuable resource for understanding different styles, layouts, and design conventions, and it helped me start thinking critically about how to create a UI that fit the look and feel of MOTG.

Initial UI Asset Planning

Once I had a clearer understanding of the role UI would play in Melodies of the Grove, I started listing the assets the game would need for the initial demo. This helped me organise my work and ensure nothing essential was overlooked. The main UI elements I identified included:

• Menu buttons – for navigating between screens

• Interactive buttons – showing when players can click or select something

• Text boxes – for dialogue, instructions, or notifications

• Loading assets – to indicate progress between scenes

• Health bar assets – to display the player’s health during gameplay

This initial planning was crucial because it gave me a roadmap for what I needed to design and helped me think about how each element would fit into the pixel art style of the game. By breaking it down, I could start focusing on creating each asset while keeping the overall user experience in mind.

UI Asset Research and Pitch

After the initial planning, I began researching what these UI assets might look like by using the Game UI Database. This helped me see examples of menus, buttons, health bars, and other elements in a variety of game styles, giving me inspiration for how MOTG’s UI could look while staying consistent with the pixel art aesthetic.

Once I had a clearer idea, I put together a UI assets pitch to present to Joseph. The goal was to show what I was thinking and highlight which elements we should prioritise for the demo (and possible future aspects of the game). Even though I had already outlined the initial UI plan, the pitch allowed me to communicate that I had considered every aspect thoughtfully and was ready to move forward with design.

Here is the pitch in this link:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGtxPCR2wk/RUtgR74lCBJkL8h6qT8lHA/view?utm_content=DAGtxPCR2wk&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h693fa48003

(I might try to upload the whole pitch on my blog if I can figure that out.) 

This was my initial progress update for MOTG. In my next blog post, I'll be talking about my other projects and reflection on why I dropped them further down the line of this sem.