ROBOT BOY
Robot Boy was made to serve as a detailed storyboard which at the same time can function as a concept. Its original intent is to be used in a game, preferably in a cinematic sequence.
The storyboard initially contains interactions that can open up further decisions. This influences the possible end of the story and unlocks intuitively two different gameplays.
Time: 10 days
Tools: Fineliner/ Indesign
Objective: Task given by the University of Lucerne for the Entry examination.
Story
The style is based on “Casette Futurism” (The 80s vision of our future). The culture is heavily rooted in a retro-transhuman vision and looks at bodies as devices to be used and lives as functions to be played. Even if at times calculative, this world is not dystopian but plays in a reality where machines are not seen as lesser or very different to humans.
The protagonist has experienced a severe trauma which makes his left, feeling part of the heart numb to emotion.
While the right, rational part of the heart is still functioning he thinks of his life as “worthless" since he is incomplete.
He must plan what to do with his broken part that will lead him on a surprising journey.
If the player decides to donate the "heart", the ending becomes more emotional and the gameplay rather story driven. If the player decides to "invest" further in his heart, the ending includes a more mechanic-driven and extensive gameplay.
© 2023 by Mascha Hlushchenko