The Lilaclock is a collaborative game that promotes shared memories and communication with family and friends! In the game, players share personal photos, video, and audio memories — only for them to be stolen and hidden by pirates in a place called Lilaclock. The objective is to follow clues to retrieve the lost memories.
RIT Spring 2021
Individual
Thesis
Deliverables
Concept video
(3D Motion)
Prototypes
Tools
Adobe Illustrator
Photoshop
CINEMA 4D
After Effect
Premiere Pro
Game Concept
Lilaclock is an online teamwork game. It provides players a unique place to share their memories. In the game, pirates in the memory world steal the players' memories and hide them on the Lilaclock. The players follow the trace and enter the memory world.
The game system will randomly collect shared memories through face recognition, and hide them in Lilaclock's Memoryland.
Prompt
When we organize files on a computer or a bookshelf, we can always find some missing photos, which bring back memories that we want to share with friends and family.
Problem
People share photos on social media and then swipe phones when they get together. Why not share enjoyable memories with the loved one more directly, and make more fun memories together?
Solution
Design an online collaborative game can provide players with a specific space to share their memories, such as photos, videos, posts, and audio records.
Lilaclock
In the memory world, memory pirates use Lilaclock to hide stolen memory. There are 12 Memorylands in terrariums on Lilaclock.
Memoryland
Each Memoryland has a Memory Box. Players need to enter the Memoryland, find the tool, open the box, and retrieve the memory.
Final Land
After exploring all Memoryland, the Final Land will appear in the center. On Final Land, players can review all memories and open the gate back to the real world.
Current Challenge
Social Media
Social media are the primary method for photo sharing in modern lifestyles and relationships. But they always draw users' attention to many different posts, not just sharing between family members and friends.
Statista 2020: In 2019, the average daily social media usage of internet users worldwide was 144 minutes per day, and it is still rising.
Photo Albums
Photo Albums are traditional methods for memory sharing.
But they are often overlooked. Digital albums and printed albums are not suitable for a fast-paced life, because people don't have time to organize their albums or forget to review after finishing.
Current Problem
We share photos on social media and then swipe our phones when we get together. Photo albums are old school, and we often forget them.
Why not share enjoyable memories with the loved one more directly, and make more fun memories together?
How Lilaclock Works
Lilaclock is an online teamwork game. It provides players a unique place to share their memories. It will be an effective way to have a fun time with family and friends. Lilaclock can also be helpful for a long-distance relationship.
Lilaclock is designed for futuristic Virtual Reality devices that support face recognition and online games. Through face recognition, the game system can randomly collect shared memory, and hide them in Lilaclock's Memoryland.
Background Story
One day, the player is cleaning up storage. A small box falls out with some lilac butterflies.
The player opens the box and finds some old items and a lilac ball. The Lilaclock shows up when the player touches the lilac ball.
This Lilaclock builds by the Lilacs Family - the Memory Pirate Family. The Lilacs Family tread human memory as treasures, and they steal old memories from the human world which human is gradually forgetting.
Players need to explore all 12 Memorylands to take back their memory fragments and open the Final Land to bring all memories back to the human world.
Three Objectives
1
Show Time Flies
The Lilaclock
2
Enjoy Memory
The Memoryland
3
Finish Collection
The Final Land
1
Show Time Flies
The Lilaclock
The timer on Lilaclock keeps counting to remind players that they need to retrieve their memory and destroy Lilaclock, not just enjoy the environment in terrariums.
The Lilalock has a clock ring, a week ring, and a date ring. The gears and clock hands continue to turn, indicating the passage of time.
Human memories power the Lilaclock. The power of memory pushes the gears to make the clock's hands continue to rotate.
There are 12 terrariums on Lilaclock. Each contains a different Memoryland.
2
Enjoy Memory
The Memoryland
The environment inside each terrarium is different. Players can enjoy their memory and scenery on Memoryland without being disturbed by the timers.
The game system can form different memory boxes, landscapes, seasons, and timelines through identifying photos.
There is a Memory Box on each Memoryland, which contains players missing memory fragments, such as photos and videos.
Players need to find a tool on the Memoryland to open the box and retrieve the missing memory fragments.
3
Finish Collection
The Final Land
After exploring all 12 Memorylands, the Final Land will appear in the center.
The background implication of Final Land is: "This is the end and the beginning."
Final Land is the place for players to review all memories they have found, so it is the end of the game. The memory of the game is over, but the memory with friends will continue.
The island is in the shape of a lilac flower. Players can review all memories on Final Land and open the gate back to the real world.
Extra Surprise
Easter Eggs
During the exploration, there are many Easter eggs for players to collect. They contain a small memory such as posts, comments, and audio.
Easter eggs are in the shape of lilac buds and can only open in the sun.
Design Process
Current Solution
Competitive
Interaction & Game
Trend Research
Rule Test & Design Iteration
Rule & Initial Design
Design & Iteration
Storyboard
Test & Iteration
3D Process
Competitive
Current Memories Sharing Solution
Users Active Sharing
Social Media:
It is the primary method of photo sharing in modern lifestyles. Users can actively choose what they want to share.
Disadvantage:
But they always draw people's attention to many different posts, not just between family and friends.
Digital Albums & Printed Albums:
The Traditional method of photo sharing.
Disadvantage:
People don't have time to organize their albums or forget to review after finishing.
AI Help Sharing
Sharing Suggestions:
Most photo albums such as Google Photo and iPhone IOS 12 have smart sharing suggestions that can remind users to share their photos with friends.
On This Day:
Many social media have the "On This Day" function to help users to recall what posts they made in the past.
Relevant:
Apps will identify events and places and recognize people using face recognition. Then suggest users share the specific memory with other people.
Takeaways
Design a collaborative game to provide players a specific space to share their memories:
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AI and face recognition can help players choose the shared memory.
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AI identifies the special events and objects and presents them in the game environment.
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Players can actively choose what they want to share.
Trend Research
Interaction & Game Type
3D Online RPG
Tokaido
Each player is a traveler crossing the "East sea road." While traveling, you will meet people, taste meals, collect beautiful items, and discover panoramas...
Relevant
It is a fun way to share travel memories. Players can collect picture fragments from different cities. The 3D version makes the environment of the game visible.
Tabletop AR: Tilt Five
A new gaming system. When looking at the board through glasses, players will see the game animated as 3D holograms on the table in front of them. The wand can be used to interact with the game.
Relevant
AR board games have both the cool holographic and physical touch of game. Players can sit and play together.
VR
Vacation Simulator
Visit the vibrant world of Vacation Island and make real memories of a simulated vacation. Explore activity-rich destinations filled.
Relevant
VR games give the player an immersive experience. The first-person perspective allows players to feel that their hands and memories create the world.
Takeaways
Considering the differences in the interaction methods of different game devices, I decided to build this memory-sharing game on the online VR platform.
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This technology allows players to have an intrusive experience and feel the unique environment in the game.
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Online games bring family and friends from different places together, deepening communication during the pandemic.
Rule & Initial Design
Rule Test & Design Iteration
Version 1
The first version is a teamwork board game based on a mythological background story.
Disadvantage:
The rules of a teamwork board game are too complicated. Too many cards and rules are not suitable as a casual game to share memories.
Version 2
The second version is an open world for players to explore. Based on a beautiful house, it contains small rooms in different environments. Players can explore different rooms to collect memories.
Disadvantage:
The model of the house is nothing new. Why do players want to explore the house to find memories in the game, not their own house in the real world?
Version 3
The third version is still an open world but changes the house to an island. There are memory boxes in unique shapes that contain memory.
Disadvantage:
The model of the island is boring. The island does not make any connection with the word "memory."
Final Version
The final version is an open-world game design. The main world is a giant clock, contain 12 Memoryland in the corresponding terrariums. Each Memoryland has a unique environment for players to explore.
Storyboard
Design & Iteration
Version 1
The first version shows the change from phone to VR game and the game process.
Version 2
The second version communicates with the audience and calls for action at the end.
Version 3
The third version focuses on the game itself. Show the unique game environment and process, and call players and friends to join together at the end.
Design & 3D Process
Test & Iteration
Lilaclock
Start from an island to a clock. I tested different textures and materials for Lilaclock. Finally, add layered materials to show the details and traces of the years.
Memoryland
I tried different shaders, environments, and lighting. From Hair Object to Octane Scatter, reduce the render time and increase the details of the grass. At last, use Vertex Map to add walking traces to guide players, add composite material to add details to the book.
Final Land
In the beginning, I created the Final Land with regular grass. But this is the last part of the game, so it shouldn't be that normal. I tried different shades and colors for the grass and ended up with white grass with a sunrise.