Spirits: Concept Art & Assets
Spirits takes place in an parallel world in the 80's where most people have psychic powers. The player character, Isaac, enters a quarantined mall in order to subdue a friend suffering from the deadly illness called 'psychorabies' before the police have a chance to intervene. This was the capstone project of my final year in college where apart from game design I made concept + character art, some branding for the team, and textured throwable assets.
Spirits gameplay (made in Unity).
Initial character sketch for the (at the time) unnamed player character, who hid their face due to being a vigilante and fought with giant psychic hands. Also had a hockey stick as homage to (Earthbound) Ness' baseball bat.
Player character silhouettes - trying to find the right fashion and personality that fit the tone of the game.
Player character (named Isaac) turnaround.
The boss' initial concept sketches, drawing on the 'hostage' theme (as they suffer from an illness 'psychorabies') and a mix of base instincts + technology.
The last boss sketch depicting an unused mechanic of the boss using objects (here, TVs) in the environment as a shield or 'curtain' to protect itself. The person inside the orb in the 2nd image is meant to look like a pupil from far away.
Some sketches of potential objects in the mall area.
Textured throwable assets (models by Matthew Murchison). The intent was to capture the 80's feel through colour and material of these objects, though they have a toon shader in-game.
Key environment concept art, showing the intended palette and atmosphere of the mall area. Heavily inspired by vaporwave.
Concept of the 'time freeze' mechanic that was later cut. CRT scanlines along the edges for added retro feel.
Spirits poster, meant to look like something old you'd find on a teen's bedroom wall.