Over the break, I drew out some (very rough) sketches of what I wanted my fantasy world to look like. I sketched a huge tree in the center (as labelled), surrounded by a forest, and some houses – like a tiny magical village. I wanted the large tree in the center to be bare, so the branches would seemingly cut into the sky as the players looked up. The sky would be filled with the aurora borealis, however with a slightly darker colour scheme. I want to maintain this dark colour scheme – dark blue, dark green, dark purple – for the entirety of the world, to give it this dark elven quality; perhaps something one would likely see in a Dark Souls or Elder Scrolls game.
This darker colour scheme would be contrasted by light blue, pink, and yellow glittery lights interwoven throughout the center tree. Highlighting the tree with its bright lights and size suggests to the player that it may be of great significance to the surrounding townsfolk, inciting some interest in the world and what secrets it may hold (the lore). I’ve actually begun thinking about the lore of this world, and my ideas were further stimulated when playing God of War (GOW) Ragnarok during the break. There is a section near the beginning of the game where the player travels to the Elven Realm, Alfheim, and transcends through the “Light Temple”. The use of colour and the way the vegetation was designed truly reflected my initial vision for the fantasy world I wanted to create, though perhaps less dark. I already knew I wanted to have bright, almost neon, lights laced within the large tree of my world, but seeing the shimmery effect used in GOW inspired me to have my lights animated and glimmer, making it all the more immersive for the player. Because this breakthrough was stirred solely by the world design of the Elven temple, it further confirmed my decision to have the villagers of my fantasy world be elves, an idea that I was juggling with before.
In the lore of my world, I decided the dwelling villagers (and myself) would call the large center tree “Lignum Vitae”, meaning “the tree of life” in Latin. The Tree of Life is already a Celtic symbol and has its own meaning – a bond between earth and heaven; it represents the afterlife. The Lignum Vitae represents a similar thing for the citizens of my fantasy world – it is where the spirits of the Elves lay to rest, a manifestation of the “afterlife” for fallen Elves. Thus, the Lignum Vitae is worshipped and cherished among the villagers, as it contains their ancestors’ and loved ones’ spirits, not to mention the masses of magical power it holds (signified by the glittery, contrasting lights).
I wanted the architecture of my world (the villagers’ houses) to be slightly abstract, emphasizing the mystical quality of the world. I did my best to capture my vision in my sketches, but they definitely don’t do them justice. Hopefully, I will be able to model these in Maya successfully to accurately portray their intended appearance. I would like them to be a beige/off-white colour, once again contrasting with the dark surrounding forest and the general colour scheme of the world. Each house is uniquely shaped, almost as if moulded by clay. They have rounded edges and are uneven (even the doors/windows), comparable perhaps, to melting candles.
Though visualisation is a strong suit of mine, drawing is not. And so, my sketches are labelled but inaccurate representations, hence why I have detailed particularly vivid descriptions of how I intend my world to look, and why this is the case. I feel that adding a “because” to elements of my world inspires me further, and boosts my motivation to hopefully be able to accurately create my vision. Not to mention, I enjoy creating plots and lore! I am particularly happy with the creative freedom that we have for this project, but I am nervous about my skills in Maya and my ability to accurately depict my world as I have planned and visualized in my mind. As someone still unfamiliar with Maya and its controls, I fear that creating my world may not only be more difficult for me but also more time-consuming due to my novice abilities. This may make it more difficult for me to build my world as beautifully and as accurately as I’d ideally like, but I will try my hardest.
