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Friday 25 October 2013

Illuminated Knight Storyboard

From my initial game design research I worked up a storyboard for an opening cinematic that would be a great introduction to the narrative for the player, and visualise the design concepts I wanted to convey.

Storyboard

Scene 1:

Interior of a church, dark, dimly lit with a few candles on sconce’s and chandeliers. The sound of a battle can be heard raging outside.

The camera pans down the isle focusing on the walls, shadows of men fighting dance across them, illuminated by the huge fire that engulfs a nearby settlement. Cries of pain, steel clashing against steel can be heard ringing from a thousand different sources.


Scene 2:

Bang, Bang, BANG! The camera quickly turns to face the door as each bang makes the door shudder. With the focus on the doors, they fling open. A knight with head bowed holds them both open at arms length silhouetted by the light of the burning city in the background. Silhouettes of men fighting and dying in battle fade into the distance as far as the eye can see behind the weary knight.


Scene 3:

Focus on the feet of the knight as he trudges, wearily down the isle, pools of blood congeal beneath every step he takes, each one seemingly heavier and more painful than the last for the battle fatigued warrior. The door creaks behind him and slams shut (off camera). Gregorian chant can be heard softly in the background mixing in with the sounds of battle.


Scene 4:

The camera pans lazily with the knight, he surveys the windows of the church as he walks revealing the rich stained glass that adorn the walls (each window should be representative of a different level, boss, or scenario within the game). The knight turns his head from side to side staring in wonder at the rich artwork.


Scene 5:

The knight flops down at the altar on his knees resting on his sword. Its point digs into the stone floor as he rests both hands on the pommel and his head on his hands, he begins to pray. As he prays the camera rotates around to behind him and as he looks up the camera pans up as well revealing a large stained glass window which depicts a galleon on an ocean. Sounds of gulls can be heard at that moment, are they outside? The galleon moved or is it a trick of the light?


Scene 6:

Focus on the feet/legs of the knight the sound of glass tinkling on the ground can be heard as a small blue, sapphire like gem, bounces into frame and rests by the foot of the knight. With each bounce the gem catches the light and sparkles (lens flare, and slow motion perhaps?).


Scene 7:

The knight picks up the glass shard gently between his armoured thumb and forefinger and holds it up to the light of the altar window, rolling it slowly as he does so (it catches the light again). Focus on the gem, then focus on the window in the background, at the same time he notices a small hole in the blue ocean of the stained glass.


Scene 8:

The knight steps up and moves closer to the window. Focus on the hole as he traces it with the tip of his mailed index finger. The Gregorian chant begins to be heard more clearly over the noise of battle.


Scene 9:

Focus on the feet of the knight as blue sapphires start to rain down around them from the top of the frame. (Slow motion, hopefully done using Realflow/Particle effects). Again each gem catches the light and sparkles.


Scene 10:

Camera behind the shoulder of the silhouetted knight, focus on the window as it starts to crack and then explodes into a million pieces and roars through the window like a burst dam. The knight is pushed forcefully back out of the scene to the right. The music also picks up to a crescendo.


Scene 11:

The gems fill the church, the knight struggles but then is engulfed, drowning in the sea of sapphires. The last thing we see is his hand closing into a fist as the gems rise higher covering the frame of the scene. The music dies.


Scene 12:

Black, the sound of gulls and breaking waves can be heard. The scene starts to resolve itself above a gently moving sea that appears to be made of stained glass. A large shadow looms into the scene and the sound of splashing oars can be heard. A hand plunges from the foreground into the water and when it pulls back is holding onto hand of the helpless knight.


Scene 13:

As if the stained glass window has come to life, the galleon from the previous scene is now gently rocking back and forth on the sapphire waves. Crew members rush back and forth doing their daily duties, as seagulls wheel and call in the air. One of the crew pulls the knight aboard, he slumps down on his knees coughing, as the crew member pats his back and the points to the left. The galleon slides gently left and into a bustling port, as far as the eye can see a city of spires stretches into the distance. Sounds of children playing, sellers shouting, and dogs barking bring the scene to life.


Scene 14:

The title screen pans in from the right 'Illuminated Knight', as clips form different levels of the game flash onto the screen, hopefully this will give the player the idea of what they can expect, but also act as a game trailer/demo. It'll highlight the in game mechanics, glass vs stone, ice, fire, sand, reflective puzzles (moving statues to reflect light for puzzle elements), or overlaying different colours of glass to create new colours

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