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Faye Meadows
Character Artist @ Rocksteady
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Soul Seeker - Global Game Jam 2021

This is the game that me and my partner Alistair created for the Global Game Jam 2021 at Birmingham University and won! There were around 10 teams and we were tasked with creating a game under a 'Lost and Found' theme. As a two-person team without programmers (we are both 3D artists) we decided to make the game Soul Seeker that focused on relaxing visuals and more 'simple' gameplay. The aim is to deliver lost souls to the after life. You, the Reaper, must use your magic to 'heal' the lost souls (changing their colour and allowing them to then be pushed by the player) and deliver the souls that are hidden across the map. You can play the game at: https://globalgamejam.org/2021/games/soul-seeker-0

I was in charge of blueprinting the game, UI, character creation (creating the models, animation and blueprints). This game was created in 48 hours. We implemented lots of cool additional features, such as Alistair creating footsteps from the characters and I crated sound cues to find the souls, cloth simulations and a number of particle effects. Overall I am so happy with how this game turned out and feel it was pretty polished and a big success!

Video showing gameplay and model turntables that my teammate put together after the jam.

These are assets I created for the UI. I created them in Photoshop.

These are assets I created for the UI. I created them in Photoshop.

The theme was 'Lost and Found'. We were inspired a lot by the movie Soul by Pixar and to make a monochromatic-ish environment, set in the place between life and death.

The theme was 'Lost and Found'. We were inspired a lot by the movie Soul by Pixar and to make a monochromatic-ish environment, set in the place between life and death.

In-game view.

In-game view.

My partner was in charge of creating the environment. I created the character statues but he made the rest of the environment and scene background props.

My partner was in charge of creating the environment. I created the character statues but he made the rest of the environment and scene background props.

We worked out how we could not have to create too many different meshes but use them in smart, modular ways to create a sense of vastness and interest to the environment.

We worked out how we could not have to create too many different meshes but use them in smart, modular ways to create a sense of vastness and interest to the environment.

We made different zones in the map: Grass planes, ancient ruins, central tower, red cave, leaning pillars, etc.

We made different zones in the map: Grass planes, ancient ruins, central tower, red cave, leaning pillars, etc.

This is a comparison of the overall map unlit and then with the post processes. We took an artistic advantage to the post processing to make our map more visually appealing and polished without needing to model too many assets. This was really effective.

This is a comparison of the overall map unlit and then with the post processes. We took an artistic advantage to the post processing to make our map more visually appealing and polished without needing to model too many assets. This was really effective.

This is the initial concept for our character that I created. We wanted him to be reminiscent of the Grim Reaper but not in a scary sense.

This is the initial concept for our character that I created. We wanted him to be reminiscent of the Grim Reaper but not in a scary sense.

The high poly character I sculpted.

The high poly character I sculpted.

I generated the rig in mixamo and did some re-skinning. The animations are also derived from mixamo but edited so the character would hold his staff and use hold it up to cast magic. The low poly was created in Maya.

I generated the rig in mixamo and did some re-skinning. The animations are also derived from mixamo but edited so the character would hold his staff and use hold it up to cast magic. The low poly was created in Maya.

This is the high poly spirit I sculpted. We wanted a crystalized style and for the spirits to be neither human nor animal.

This is the high poly spirit I sculpted. We wanted a crystalized style and for the spirits to be neither human nor animal.

I created a custom rig and animations for the spirit in Maya. The non-humanoid shape meant it had to be custom rather than using somthing like mixamo to automatically generate this.

I created a custom rig and animations for the spirit in Maya. The non-humanoid shape meant it had to be custom rather than using somthing like mixamo to automatically generate this.

The turntable of the emissive character. I used a high to low poly pipeline for the characters.

The final end screen of our game.

These are some of the blueprints I created. There were lots of new techniques I used and this is definitely the most complex game I hgave blueprinted. We used a mass change system to allow the player to move the spirits once 'healed'.

These are some of the blueprints I created. There were lots of new techniques I used and this is definitely the most complex game I hgave blueprinted. We used a mass change system to allow the player to move the spirits once 'healed'.

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