Being an animal lover, I was absolutely thrilled to have the chance to design a wildlife game. Our game designer came up with an idea of a kid working in a wildlife conservation centre, and learning about the animals.
We decided to make it in isometric view, with a colourful style suitable for kids under 12.
Animals
For the first draft, we focus on animals of South East Asia. I had had to read up a lot about the animals, lest I make mistakes about their design. Most animal designs consist of males, females and babies, except for a few special cases.
Sumatran Tiger: Babies have blue eyes, which turn to orange gold in adults
Sumatran Rhinoceros: They are the hairiest of all rhinoceros!
Rhinoceros Hornbill: The young (and the mother) are holed up in a hollow tree, only to emerge after reaching adulthood. That's why we decided to skip the design for the babies.
Proboscis Monkey
Orang Utan
Malayan Sun Bear
Malayan Tapir: A little unusual from most mammals, the females are larger than the males
Leatherback Turtle: It's very difficult to differentiate between males and females, so I use the same design for them
Komodo Dragon
Greater Malay Mouse Deer: I was surprised to learn that they are not true deers, and the males have tusks
Greater Bird of Paradise: I didn't have to create the babies because of the same reason as the Rhinoceros Hornbill
Borneo Pygmy Elephant: They are the smallest kind of elephants in the world
The next step was to recreate the animals in 3D, to save time when animating the animals. One of my team mates was in charge of the 3D modelling, while I got a chance to try out texture mapping for the first time.
Texture map for a baby Malayan Tapir
Texture map for a Malayan Sun Bear
Buildings
Requirement for the building design is that they have to be upgradeable, so every building will have a level 1, 2, and 3 design, each time getting bigger and bigger. I decided to build the houses using material found in abundance in the area, so for South East Asia, I built them mostly using timber and leaves.
Training Grounds
Animal Hospital
Food Store
Breeding House
Avatar
We like to let players choose their own looks, with customizeable hair, eyes and clothes. For that, I created the avatars completely using Illustrator. It would probably be easier if I had started out on Illustrator for the basic shapes, then use Photoshop for the shading, but I still like the results, and it would be a lot easier to change the colours using Illustrator.
Background
Every conservation centre will have its own terrain and flora. For each new animal that the player has unlocked, a new area will be opened. For South East Asia, I have created a spot of ocean and clean beach especially for the Leatherback Turtle.
Trees
The trees created for each area need to be indigenous. For example, the mango trees found in South East Asia. These has to be the most fluffy-looking trees I have ever drawn.
I've also created a few more trees. The fir tree is for a colder climate than the rest of the trees, though.
Unfortunately, production for the game has been stopped to focus on the other games. Still, I'm glad I had a chance to participate in it.