The video game gala on December 9th was a lot of fun and in my opinion, a huge success. Before this, I did not know that there was even an event where students could show these types of works- I did not even know we had a videogame class to begin with. The mood of the night was light and cheerful due to food, friendly faces, and an overall array of fun games. To be honest, I only got the chance to play four of them due to long lines and I was a little disappointed by this. However, the games I did play were fantastic.
One game that caught my eye was an adventure-platformer dubbed The Natty Boh Hunt, the art of which was partially created by a friend of mine named Kristin Seymour. Seymour is an art major at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and she provided all the visuals for the game, which is just as important as the programming to make for an overall appealing game. Her influence on the style of the game is blatantly evident to me since I’ve seen a few of her other works before. Long story short, Seymour loves Maryland. Natty Boh, chugging Natty Boh, the Maryland flag, terrapins, and SMCM have been predominant themes in her works over the past few months and we can see this reflected in the game clearly.
After speaking with her on the subject, obviously Mr. Boh was her choice of main character. The object of the game is to send Mr. Boh around SMCM and find as many hidden beers as possible without getting too drunk that you fall into pits or off of ledges (which is a very real danger while intoxicated on campus). The game was very well made, but with me being an art major I decided to focus more on that aspect of the game. Seymour explained to me the process of making the graphics for The Natty Boh Hunt. She worked mainly in photoshop and illustrator, utilizing a few different techniques. For the background Seymour photographed many places on campus for your character to explore, then she would digitize and pixelate them to fit in with the game’s old-school 8-bit look. Mr. Boh himself was easier, only having to create a simple body and legs for his iconic head. Finally, we come to the beers and food. Kristin would first draw her objects in only color, no black outlines. This technique allowed her to go back in after each object was complete and outline her work, but not in the traditional sense. Seymour would outline the works so that some of the color spilled outside of the lines which gave the game a very old school cartoon look which fit in nicely to the surroundings.
Overall I had a great time at the gala. It allowed me to take a look at all the possible ways to develop one’s self as an artist and the different outlets that technology has and is making for us to express ourselves. It really makes me think as an artist “I’ve made a pretty picture, now how does it move?”
