Second Tutorial Session

   Today's tutorial session was another incredibly productive one, to say the least (I'm starting to think that 20 minutes might not even be enough for these tutorials the further we progress for this module, heh), though I am still trying to figure out how on earth I am going to write all of this down and keep all my note and research gathering in check as I work on my dissertation and practical piece. Anyway, there was a lot that was discussed upon today, so hopefully I actually remember the particularly important bits that I can make proper use of for my project.
  
   Aside from demonstrating whatever project planning and time management that we have done for this project (Which I have already shown during last week's casual tutorial), we were also had to show any sort of progress we happen to have for our practical piece. And while I didn't necessarily have any sort of prototyping to show, I did have a few rough sketches to show for today on the main character and monsters that will be featured in the concept bible (And to a lesser extent, the short animation that will go with it).

   Having shared whatever sketches I have brought in today, Annabeth kindly reminded me on the importance of how a good story should have a metaphor, and that these monster concepts should actually represent something. For my project, I do actually have an idea on what my monsters are meant to represent. As I continued sketching out concepts, I began to realise how they all tend to revolve around religion, and that these demons and distorted images of saints could possibly represent a possible rapture even, in terms of the storyline (At this moment, I am constantly thinking about movies such as "Cloverfield" when it comes to the situation that takes place within the story, but it definitely is an interesting idea where only a small selection of human remains).

   Breaking away from the stereotypes of most horror games is indeed a challenge, so the next best thing to do is to find someway to go about it where these well known traditions, stereotypes and tropes can still be applied effectively. Taking the ordinary and giving it the twist it needs will be one of the biggest challenges I will have to face during this project.

   I was also advised to do a little study on video games (So there are definitely a lot of playthroughs to watch over the next few months, this data can also be added to the appendix of my essay) and collect data by looking into what my competition is doing, what tropes have been used over the years with most horror games, regardless of what horror genre it is (Why is the dark scary? What are the origin of these fears?). What locations (Subways, Shopping Malls, Motels, Museums... Hospitals), tools and situations are the most used? This will help further develop the design bible and story building (As well as something to reference in the essay).

  In terms of literature research, I was referred to the site Gamasutra and magazines Edge, Retro and Imagine FX that should be available in the library.