Monkey Island: The fortune of the Golden Crab
Genre:
Point and click adventure
Language:
English (UK)
Platform:
PC
Format:
Digital
Contents:
Introduction
Audio
UI, Puzzles and Typography
Visual style
Concept
Research
Audio Research
Interactive Research
Visual Research
Script Research
Planning
Introduction:
Monkey Island: The fortune of the Golden Crab is a point and click adventure game that takes place after the events of the previous monkey island game. In this adventure Guybrush has run out of his riches and embarks on a new to find more.
This project involves creating all the art assets, audio assets and animation for an introduction cutscene to the prequel to The Secret of Monkey Island. This project does not require a coded game only a cutscene.
Audio:
Within this project we will be creating the audio in the cutscene for the game. This requirement involves researching audio techniques and planning out how to use different sounds to create soundscapes such as being on a boat or out in the open ocean.
UI, Puzzles and Typography:
This involves design for the interactions between the player and the game world such as character dialog menus, fonts and ideas for puzzles that would be in the game.
Visual style:
The visual requirements of this project are to create visual art based around Monkey Island as well as a script and the cutscene animation. The visuals of Monkey Island will be used as the main source of inspiration for this.
Concept:
Guybrush Threepwood returns to the Caribbean after he loses all his wealth in a gambling ring. With his pockets empty and his gambling addiction itching on his skin he embarks on a new epic journey to find treasures and wealth.
Upon arriving back at the treacherous waters of the tri-island area, Guybrush goes back to the tavern where his journey originally started. “A crab of solid gold!… Worth more than any treasure!” Guybrush overhears a distant drunken pirate say. Upon hearing this his ears perk up. “This could be the treasure I need!” Guybrush mutters to himself. This is where his epic journey for the elusive golden crab starts.
Research:
Audio Research:
In pirate themed media there are trends in the audio used. Films such as pirates of the Caribbean and games like Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag are good examples of how to create audio that is fitting for a pirate game. In my animation I will also use different techniques for creating sound such as soundscapes and foley sound.
Pirates of the Caribbean:
The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is the most popular depiction of pirates and is a staple of pirate themed media that can be held accountable for how many people have thought of pirates since the early 2000’s. There is a lot of inspiration that I will take from the Pirates of the Caribbean films ranging from ambience to action scenes and even language and slang that they use in the movies. Since these films are extremely popular, taking inspiration from them for things such as music makes a lot of sense as the audience will be familiar with a lot of what is used.
Pirates of the Caribbean is the main research I have done into Pirate lingo, some of the terms and phrases that I have taken from this are, “me hearties”, “aye”, “yo-ho”, “ahoy” and “booty”.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag:
Assassin’s Creed has lots of musical notes that make it great to look at for a portray of iconic Pirate music. This game uses lots of tradition sea shanties from the golden age of piracy which I can use to add music to my cutscene which is historically accurate and catchy for the players enjoyment. Assassin’s creed black flag also features a lot of sailing and time spent at sea which provides examples of the sounds that are played while at sea to create realism to the sailing parts of my animation. There are good examples of ocean ambience in this game such as waves crashing and ships creaking but also less thought of details like birds squawking and the joyful whistling/clicks of dolphins which I really enjoyed as a player.
Soundscapes:
Soundscapes are a commonly used technique in media which create and environment with the use of sound. Soundscapes are used to add character and environment to a scene rather than it just being empty apart from the main dialog, a soundscape can be seen in many scenes for example a wooden ship on the open ocean. In this example, the soundscape would be made up of sounds like strong wind, wooden creaking of the ship, the splashing of water and the occasional shout from the crew along with the swooping along with the gusts of wind in the sail. This technique can be used to bring life into any scene which is why it will be crucial in this project.
Foley sound:
Foley sound is an audio technique that involves creating sound effects with creativity and seemingly random objects. A well-known example of foley sound is where two halves of a coconut are hit together in order to mimic the sound of a horse on a stone road. This audio technique will be massively important during the process of adding sound as things like horses and pirate ships are hard to find as well as hard record the sounds they make.
Interactive Research:
UI is the interface that a player interacts with in order to complete an action in the Monkey Island games. User interface should be practical and aesthetically pleasing as the user will have to use it for most of the tasks in a game. There are a few things that go into making a good UI, these include readability and clarity, consistency, aesthetics, and feedback speed.
Fallout 4:
Fallout 4 features a UI that is both functional and immersive. The Fallout UI is show as the in-game pip-boy which is an item that you pick up at the start of the game. The player in Fallout navigates through different menus in the UI by twisting knobs and pressing buttons on their pip-boy, this creates immersion as it looks like the players character never takes a break from the wasteland whilst also adding to the personal aspect of the character as it looks as if you are still in the first-person perspective navigating the device yourself.
Fallout 4’s UI is not directly comparable to the Monkey Island UI as they are two different styles of games in a different perspective although, there is some promising ideas that can be taken from the style of this UI.
Mirrors Edge:
Mirrors Edge features UI that is unconventional but has some aspects that can be used in monkey island for more ease of play. In Mirrors Edge, the player has now hud but instead has a feature called “Runner Vision” which highlights objects that the player can use in the game world in red. This style of UI means that the player knows what they can use in the game making it simpler to understand.
One problem with Monkey Island is that the player can often be confused and find themselves lost due to the lack of information around items. I would take the inspiration from Mirrors Edge’s UI to add some sort of highlights to items that the player can interact with in monkey island so that they spend less time searching for what can be used and focus more on the problem solving of the game.
Monkey Island:
The last game I looked at for inspiration for my UI is the original Monkey Island game as I want to have some sort of continuation of the original UI so that mine is not too unfamiliar from the original game. Monkey Islands UI is outdated and unimaginative compared to UI in modern video games, but that is good as it leaves room for improvement like a graphic behind to make it more appealing.
Visual Research:
For my games depiction of Guybrush I wanted to look back at the earlier games as they are arguably better-looking versions of the character. After looking at both versions of Guybrush from Monkey Island one and two I decide to base my version on the character from the second game where the character features items of clothing that make him look like more of a matured and experience pirate compared to the original design and outfit.
For the scenes of my animation, I looked on Pinterest for images of pixel art islands so that I could gain an idea of what I want to replicate in my animation. I found images such as the one below which I have used for inspiration during the art process for things such as colour palette and shape of the island.
In my animation I have used this research to better capture accurate characters and scenery which would fit into the design of monkey island as best I can.
Script Research:
When researching my scripts, I look at a site called scripts.com which lets you search for keywords of movie titles, and it will show scripts that relate to what you search. I found a few good scripts from films about pirates such as that from the movies “Pirates”, “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Pirates: Band of Misfits” which all helped with ideas for how pirates talk as well as act and what they might be doing in a scene.
Planning:
Storyboard:
I created this storyboard so that I have an idea of how my animation should play out and what parts go where. Each image on the storyboard is a key part of the animation which I will use to create pixel art and animate each scene. I chose to draw my storyboard on paper because it gave me more room to tweak and add extra details to each box compared to using a software like aseprite where I would have to make sure I have enough pixels for each frame.
Scripts:
Script 1:
Scene: Guybrush speaking to a pirate in a tavern:
Pirate: *sigh* “Another scurvy dog searching for fairy tales!”
Pirate: “Aint nothing in those Jungles but a lot of spiders and some scary bats… as big as a dog are they ill tell ya.”
Guybrush: *putting his last gold on the table* “Wont a little gold change your mind?”
Pirate: “Arrr!… Now that some booty is involved, I do recall meeting some little green people out in the Jungle they might know something about that damned crab.”
Guybrush: “Aye… thought you would know something about it ye scabby old sea bass.”
Script 2:
Scene: Guybrush meets a Jungle Goblin
Guybrush: *Jumps into the air in shock* “Yuck! What are ye you slimy rapscallion”
Goblin: “No need to be so rude matey im just a goblin. And ill skin ye if you call me slimy one more time!”
Guybrush: “My apologies then lad. You wouldn’t happen to know of any goblins in this here jungle would ye?”
Goblin: “Are both of your eyes glass you strumpet! You are speaking to one.”
Goblin: “What do you want with us anyways buffoon!”
Guybrush: “I was hoping to speak to your leader about the Golden Crab!”
Goblin: *curiously* “Aye?… But you will have to do something for me first.”
Concept art (characters):
Originally, I was planning on using this version of Guybrush which I edited to have a tattered red coat but I chose to change this to the original sprite sheet since it would of taken too much time to change the colours of every frame of the sprite sheet.
In my animation I used this original sprite sheet for Guybrush Threepwood from the second monkey island game so that he is as close to the original as possible. It was also helpful for saving time since I could copy the art over into my animation frames.
I also made this sprite sheet for an old pirate in my animation. This pirate is the one who Guybrush overhears speaking of the golden crab. This sprite sheet is for him blinking and starting to talk.
Moodboards:
Game Moodboard:
The images in this moodboard reflect the concept of my game and how it is about the search for an elusive treasure. I have included images that reflect the art style I have chosen to replicate as well and some of the challenges Guybrush will face along the way.
UI Moodboard:
With this moodboard I wanted to reflect how I originally intended my UI to look from research. The images of scrolls and maps convey how I wanted the UI to be immersive almost like Guybrush is reading things from his own journal or old map. I have also included an image of the old monkey island UI as I want mine to look similar but with more modern graphical elements.
UI:
This is the first iteration of UI that I was planning on using in a full monkey island game.
For this UI I wanted to make it as close to the original game as possible to preserve the semiotic understanding that the player already has of it from the previous games. I decided not to use this UI however since it is a bit bland and could look better with some more advanced graphics.
This is the second UI I designed for monkey island. With this version I wanted to add more graphical details to the UI so I changed the black background into a scroll/map item. With this change I tried to make the UI diegetic to Guybrush which should add more immersion to the game. I took inspiration from the fallout 4 UI for this design.
This is my final UI design. I continued improving upon the second variant of my UI since I really liked the idea behind it being a physical thing that Guybrush owns. I cleaned it up by making a more obvious inventory section and also changing the colour of the text. I also improved the graphics by adding handles to the sides of the UI.
The typography I have used in my animation and UI designs is the same, I think it is minimalist and easy to read which is why I have chosen to use it. I didn’t pick a certain font for my typography as I am not very good at drawing ornate or extraordinary letters with pixel art. If I had to make the a full game for this project I would use the Onesize font which is a clear pixel art font that can easily be read on lower resolutions and at smaller sizes which would make it good for a pixel art monkey island game.
First Level and Puzzle Sprites:
The first level of my game takes place upon a nervous pirate captain’s ship. The level starts with Guybrush looking for a new vessel when he stumbles upon a fitting ship at the dock. Guybrush must search around the port to find a variety of items that he will use in the puzzle. With all of the items including items like a bucket and a mop Guybrush can make a scarecrow to spook the nervous Captain who will then jump into the air falling from his ship.
This sprite is a bucket, Guybrush will use this as the head of the scarecrow.
This sprite is a mop that will be used as an arm for the scarecrow.
This sprite is a piece of tattered cloth that Guybrush will use as a shirt for the scarecrow.
This bale of hay will be used to stuff the scarecrow.
This sprite is a bucket of nails that Guybrush will have to use to hold the scarecrow together.
This pirate hat is for the scarecrow since what is a pirate without his hat.
This sprite is for a sandbag which Guybrush will need to hold up the scarecrow.
This sprite is for a pair of trousers that Guybrush will use for the legs of the scarecrow.
This is a sprite for a pole, Guybrush will need to use this to keep the scarecrow up.
This is the sprite for the last object of the puzzle, it is a cutlass to intimidate the pirate captain.
Mindmap:
This is the mindmap I made when creating a concept for my version of monkey island. It includes what features I would incorporate as well as how the game starts and the idea for the first level of my game.
Audio Planning:
| Audio: | Source: | Use: |
| Pirate/Calypso background music | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT8CwCKc6oU | Background Music. |
| Walking on wooden floor | Foley sound | Walking on a dock. |
| Ka-ching sound effect | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBYJdZlpBT4 | Treasure |
| Holy sound effect | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBYJdZlpBT4 | Introduction to the golden crab |
| Flag flapping in the wind | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0TbFrYUbgI | Flag sounds |
| Ocean sounds | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKRs_pJbIUE&list=PL9u1QIXS8cthUCxh8Gc0ZhGb7lGbFJPA3&index=1 | Guybrush’s raft on the ocean |
| Pirate speaking | Foley sounds | Speaking about treasure. |
Objectives:
The main objective for Monkey Island the Fortune of the Golden Crab is to find the elusive and extremely sort after Golden Crab so that Guybrush can sell it on the pirate bay for masses of gold. The Golden Crab is an otherwise normal crab except from the fact that it is made from pure gold. The reason the pirates and diplomats of the tri-island area alike want the crab is because it is unexplainable by science, the crab is living and breathing but made of gold!
The game will start where Guybrush’s adventure first began at the old tavern on melee island. The first side objective of the game will be to find a ship. This starts of the first puzzle; To trick a nervous captain into being robbed of their ship. Once the player has figured out how to get the ship from the pirate, they may then set sail. After speaking to people in the first section of the game Guybrush learns about a tribe of Goblins in the jungle located on the other side of the island, this is where you will head for the second side objective of the game.
Once arriving in the Jungle, the player must earn the trust of the tribe. The second puzzle is then started which send the player searching around the jungle where they must gather some fruits for the goblins to earn their trust and be allowed into their camp to speak to their leader. The game continues with more quest like this where the objectives are to solve puzzles such as riddles, minigames and object gathering until you learn the location of the treasure. Overall, I in vision the game to be like the other monkey island games in the way that the objectives flow from one to another.
Features and Mechanics:
Mechanics:
The mechanics of monkey island are mainly puzzle solving and minigames.
Firstly, in Monkey Island the Fortune of the Golden Crab the player will have to solve different puzzles. The types of puzzles I would include in a full release of this game would be a mix of riddles, dungeon puzzles in an Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider style format. An example of how I would implement this could be that the player takes a key from a pedestal in the jungle, upon lifting the key Guybrush realises that it is on a pressure plate which notifies the player that they will need something to replace it with. This puzzle would then consist of the player finding an item to replace the key with so that they can take it.
Secondly, the game would be point and click. This means that the player would have to click an option on the screen in order to interact with an item or move in a direction. I like this as it stays in the same format as the other monkey island games. This style of gameplay also allows the player to focus more on the story and roleplaying elements of the game
Target Platform:
The target platform for this game would be PC for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the game would be best suited to pc as it as having a mouse would make the point and click aspect of game play better for the player. This is because having the game on console would require players to use the joysticks like a mouse which would be uncomfortable for prolonged use. However, this is not to say that a later version of the game could be ported to consoles.
Secondly, most modern computes especially gaming computers would be able to run this game without any hassle. This is not to say that consoles could not run it as easily because modern gaming consoles have the hardware of good modern computers, but it makes more sense to have computers prioritised since that game would run the same with the only significant difference which makes computers more ideal being the use of mouse and keyboard to play the game.
Evaluation and Peer Reviews:
Art
For the art in my animation, I used the software ASEPRITE which is a pixel art tool which allowed me to create an animation using different frames of pixel art. ASEPRITE was very useful for this project since it made the whole animation process possible. Every frame of my animation was drawn in ASEPRITE. While using this software I found that the tools available made the animating and drawing aspects very easy. For example, tools like the spray paint made making scenes that have the ocean or clouds less time consuming to add details to.
For Guybrush in my animation I used the sprite sheet for the character in the second game as I realised that designing a new sprite sheet for him would be take too long and I would most likely run out of time. This proved to be very helpful since it had a walking animation on the sheet which I used to create a scene in my animation. I usually struggle with getting a good-looking walk for pixel art so this is something I would use again if I had to create another animation using the character.
I think overall my art could have been better if I gave myself more time to create the scenes but for the sake of animation, I tried to keep them simple so that I would finish with an animation that wasn’t too rough. For most of the art I looked on sites like google and Pinterest for scenes in pirate games and pirate landmarks to draw inspiration from. This project was probably not the best animation I could have put together, but it is something that I can improve upon in the future and a good introduction to pixel art animation.
Audio
Adding audio to my animation went well. In order to add audio to my animation I saved my work as a gif and then used Adobe Premiere to edit and add the audio. I would use Adobe Premiere again to add audio to an animation as it was super easy to use. This software lets you drag audio files in which you can then edit to make the length you want with a couple of clicks; however, some things were hard to find such as audio volume, but this is not really an issue, I would just spend more time figuring out how the software works if I were to use it again.
Getting audio for my animation was also easy I just looked online for royalty free sounds like wind blowing in a sail which I converted into an mp3 ready for use. For foley sounds I took a recording of me stepping on a wooden deck to use in my animation, but this was the only thing. If I were to do my audio differently, I would spend more time in planning stage of the project recording more foley sounds as I regret not using more. Foley sounds was also a good learning experience as I can use the research and information, I have learnt from talking to the audio engineer at college as well as watching videos to create sounds for other games and projects that will come in the future.
Finally, recording scripts. When I recorded my scripts, it was the last piece of work I did for the project, so I did not have much time to complete them. I regret this as they are grainy and have lots of background noise due to the recordings being done by phone. It was a first in voice acting for me though and this was fun getting to imagine how a character sounds and bring it to life.
UI
Creating a UI design for my game went well and was actually quite a lot of fun. When thinking of the type of UI I should use for my game I researched games with diegetic UI which was something I was interested in after learning about it through Fallout 4. UI researching was pleasant overall since there are a lot of options to look at and It allowed me to play some games to look at their UI design. Using the research that I gathered, I drew three designs for UI improving them in each different variation, I am happy with the final product that I made since it uses impressions from the original game with my own spin.
Peer Review
My peer review feedback shows that my audio research was plenty. I am happy with the amount I learnt about audio before creating my animation, so I am glad that this was conveyed with my document.
I looked at games for insperation on how things should sound as I wanted to have a simular way of displaying things with sound. This can be heard in my animation with the introduction to the golden crab playing a generic “holy sound effect” to signify that there is treasure.
For my visual research I mainly looked at other monkey island games. In the future I would spend more time looking at other games that involve the chosen theme and not just images. I can see this helping more for level building.
I would look more into colour research in the future as this is something we spent some time doing in lessons and it would be helpful for artistic projects like this one. Making sure that art has a good colour palette is very important in making work like this project look good.
The evaluation of my project’s development is something I wanted to leave until I received feedback from my peers so that I can take their input into account when writing an evaluation as I would want to see what others think with a nonbiased opinion.
Harvard referencing Links:
http://www.scripts.com. (n.d.). Scripts.com. [online] Available at: https://www.scripts.com
Pinterest (2019). Pinterest (United Kingdom). [online] Pinterest. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk.
http://www.youtube.com. (n.d.). PIRATE VOICE TUTORIAL & TIPS (How to talk like a pirate!). [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O5QlPBF95M
cloudconvert.com. (n.d.). CloudConvert. [online] Available at: https://cloudconvert.com
Seb Crowhurst Game Development 