…but with a hilarious and not at all surprising amalgamation of stress, panic, procrastination, and volcanic enthusiasm barely contained by the dangerous human assumption that we have “plenty of time.”
The end is nigh. But not so nigh that I intend to do anything about it.
Yet.
The plan – the wall of red string, post-it notes, and cat pictures currently posing as a plan – is to look at a video game. A number of them. Which I’m sure isn’t going to lend itself to anything so disastrous as, say, chronic procrastination masquerading as research.
I digress.
The “plan” is to look at a number of video games – games like Assassin’s Creed and Uncharted and Mirror’s Edge – and analyze their fashion. Specifically, how the characters, central and otherwise, represent themselves with what they wear; how the fashions of the supposed day (ancient, modern, futuristic) reflect the society that surrounds them, or how it does not properly represent the human landscape and why that is; and, most importantly, how the modern fashions of their designers influences the way that these characters are represented, particularly with regard to ancient and futurist fashion.
How we aim to do this is still up in the air, hovering like an alien spacecraft. Practically daring us to throw something at it, just to see what color it makes when it explodes. Which, in normal-human-speak, translates to “We have a goal, a conspicuous hole where the plan usually goes, and enough resources that if we just start looking at things that exist, we’ll eventually have something we can at least pretend is cohesive. It’ll be just fine.”
Famous last words.
So, what to throw at the alien spacecraft? Interviews with gamers of various ages will be involved, asking them what game aesthetics they enjoy and why; we have access to a vast repertoire of historical knowledge that will definitely be pertinent when analyzing how fashion expresses the world that requires it; and the games themselves, of course, and whatever research and designer notes we can find online (with the very real potential of making digital contact with the designers themselves – most of them are actually quite personable; human, even). We intend to use animatics with voice-overs as the backbone of our presentations, because animatics have the potential for an excess of color, and learning things is just so much more fun when you’re being taught by a very small blood-and-sunlight-scaled dragon named Henry Chancellor III.
Thus concludes the tenuous summary of our plan-that’s-not-a-plan. With luck and providence and a fair bit of animal sacrifice, it might just become something worthwhile.
Might.
February 6, 2018 at 10:43 pm
These ideas are great, Krya, but I will ask you the same question I asked Will: How will this concept fit into the local, archival element that is required? Does fashion in the video games reflect what was worn at the time? Is there a certain item or kind of fashion that you could focus on that has a connection between local archives and the gaming industry? Think outside the box and see what comes to mind. Also, what technological resources are you thinking about? Dr. Brown
February 7, 2018 at 6:14 pm
First of all, I must critique the usage of animal sacrifice. This method produces ineffective results when dealing with alien spacecrafts. I would suggest throwing more coffee at it, as aliens are fascinated with the human dependency on caffeine. With this blurb out of the way I simply love Uncharted. Do you plan to focus on the whole series and how the character designs progress, or on the most recent release- The Lost Legacy?
February 10, 2018 at 3:11 am
Incorporating video games into your project sounds like an awesome and fun idea. Although I haven’t played many video games myself, I do enjoy watching others play. Mostly, I am fascinated by the plot and art styles in video games. As a costume designer, the character fashions have also greatly intrigued me, particularly because they are not restrained by what can be made in real life. Instead, the costumes are purely creative and do not face the challenges that are sometimes met when creating a garment. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog post, and I’m excited to see what you and your partner come up with by the end of the project!