Degree Project: Initial Cultural Inspirations - Other Media

This blogpost is moreso to cover starting points from other mediums which I could use to inform design decisions, mainly from a visual and environmental standpoint for the game. It is also to gain a deeper understanding of the projects which likely in-part inspired the games I am already inspired by.                                                                       

William Gibson - Neuromancer (1984): Often considered a seminal work for sci-fi, being the writing that coined the term "Cyberspace" and definitive Cyberpunk, at least aknowledging this novel's existence is important for understanding the core concepts behind the work I am making as the game's narrative involves the player going into a simulation/ cyberspace and just by reading through extracts I'll be able to visualise imagery which I could use for assets.

Phillip K. Dick - Another Sci-Fi novelist who I am more familiar with than Gibson and his books: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Flow my Tears the Policeman Said, Time out of Joint and the Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? anthology series from channel 4. A lot of his works, at least the ones I have read are about how people interact artificial constructions that fall between living and not and the effect that has on the human mind whether that is an android/ replicant made to look like a human or animal, a simulated town or even entire realities. I may include that motif in my narrative for my game as that idea of realizing you're in an entirely fabricated existence, existentialism, it could be interesting to explore with a 4th wall breaking aspect in the story.


https://amzn.eu/d/eyNT6fA


https://www.amazon.com.mx/Androids-Dream-Electric-Sheep-inspiration-ebook/dp/B003FXCSNQ



https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flow-Tears-Policeman-Said-MASTERWORKS-ebook/dp/B003HV0TP0

Yorgos Lanthimos:

Lanthimos' works as a director share some themes with my game visually and narratively, though his work is much more absurdist and violent with many of his works being dark/ surreal comedy. The themes more important to me at least in terms of inspiration are narratively dealing with loss but also the use of clinical, sterile but also surreal environments with lots of white and empty space. Many of his auteur features can be found in this clip:https://www.imdb.com/video/vi998160921/?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_1



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