Task 2 – Setting Research and Ideas Generation

Task 2 – Setting Research and Ideas Generation

Choose one of the following interior settings:

Setting	Theme
Castle	Set in a prison beneath a castle during the medieval period. The setting is dingy, damp, dirty, dark and oppressive. There is evidence of torture and interrogation.

Collect together a wide range of visual and written research about your chosen setting and consider the brief you have been set carefully. Present your findings on your blog so that you can easily work from them. This is where you will generate ideas and give yourself essential reference material to work from. Ensure that you are meeting the requirements of the brief from the start. Remember to cite all sources.

You must consider the timescale available and plan your project accordingly.

Remember that you are trying to generate thoroughly thought-through ideas for a 3D environment showing creativity and flair and working independently to professional expectations.

Castle Setting

Online Research

I have selected this image because it shows a range of textures with the floor and walls and also gives me an idea of the kind of structure of these dungeons. It also includes evidence of torture and maybe interrogation. To add to my ideas I am trying to find examples like this that show a range of dark and dingy settings as well as detailed and intricate settings. I like this image because it appears overall gloomy and mysterious and produces a eerie feeling which I personally believe is perfect for my kind of castle/dungeon setting.

I've chosen this image due to it's great detail when it comes to the wall texture. It shows the walls colour and whilst they may be light these can be interpreted, they could also be changed. I really like this image it shows a vast amount of detail in the walls which (in my opinion) is incredibly important both to my initial thoughts and my final design as well.

I have chose this image because it gives me an idea of the lighting that I could introduce to my 3D environment whilst the castle might be dark, gloomy and oppressive. I believe small amounts of light either through the sun or other means could actually improve the atmosphere and give a sense of depth to the scene.

I selected this image as it shows quite a lot about medieval standards of prisons. There is an extremely narrow corridor which is rather different from the modern standard of open prisons. On the right of the scene there is a large metal gate which could have been used for shutting prisoners on the opposite site or just locking them in. Opposite the gate, we see mossy rock showing the damp setting to the walls. Further back, up the stairs, we can see the corridor extending into darkness, adding to the gloomy and oppressive effect of the whole idea of medieval prisons.

I believe this image is quite important when generating ideas for my final 3D environment. It shows an arched corridor aimed towards a large wooden door. The corridor has torches facing perpendicular too the wall, this gives us quite an eerie/creepy feel to the atmosphere and I like this image due to it giving off that effect. 

I have also researched some torture methods of the medieval period and some of the interesting ones i think are some of the most recognized through-out history. For instance, I have selected the guillotine as my first one. This gives me some inspiration to add maybe blades or some form of sharp torture technique to my 3D environment. I like the guillotine, because it is very simplistic yet it is recognized as being one of the most used.

The Spanish donkey is a gruesome form of torture that (like the guillotine) is extremely well known. I think it would be good idea to maybe include something like this, it is very simple yet hints at forms of interrogation/torture and is definitely noticeable. The victim would be sat on top of the Spanish donkey, the torturers would then add weights to the victims feet so it would force them down into the spikes/wood.

Much like the Spanish donkey, guillotine and other types of medieval torture. The rack is probably one of the most famous devices used. In essence the victim was placed inside of the rack with their hands and feet bound to the wheels, as the torturers turned each wheel the victims hands and feet were then pulled further towards the wheel, eventually too much force would cause the victim to split in 2.

Film & Television Research

Saw

The Saw franchise is one of most popular and well known in terms of the horror/torture franchise. Saw really goes in depth with what torture actually is, most traps are certain death or instant death after a specific amount of time. Usually in these traps, there is 1 way out commonly portrayed by a key too open the torture device, however the lengths the victim must go through to get that key are by no means easy and also torture the victim.

For instance the Angel trap from Saw III is a brutal trap where the rib cage of a female detective will be ripped from her body when the time runs out. To get the key to open the device, the woman must get the key from the bottom of a jar, that is filled with acid.

Gaming Research

Portal 2 is a game set in the future. It is a game based on the mute protagonist Chell who wakes up from suspension after an extremely long time essentially she might be the only test subject to still be alive in the facility. She is then taken along in the hopes of getting out by a companion known as wheatley. You awake the artificial intelligence antagonist GLaDOS who was destroyed by chell in the previous portal game. GLaDOS then places Chell in the facility to test forever (kind of like a prison in my opinion) and being forced to do something is definitely a method of torture.

Real World Inspiration

Alcatraz

Alcatraz or Alcatraz island is a prison in the modern world. It was developed on an island off shore (aprox 1.5 miles) off San Francisco Bay. The Island was developed in 1868 to have a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison and since 1933 to 1963 a federal prison. Whilst at the moment it is open to tours I believe I could take inspiration from it's somewhat dark past.

Sources:
http://www.exploring-castles.com/image-files/castle_dungeons2.jpg
http://www.medieval-castle.com/castlefiles/images/dungeons1_275.jpg
http://s288.photobucket.com/user/TheHomelessPoet/media/Fantasy%20Pictures/Dungeon12.jpg.html
http://s288.photobucket.com/user/TheHomelessPoet/media/Fantasy%20Pictures/Dungeon9.jpg.html
http://s288.photobucket.com/user/TheHomelessPoet/media/Fantasy%20Pictures/Dungeon5.jpg.html
http://list25.com/25-most-brutal-torture-techniques-ever-devised/3/
http://list25.com/25-most-brutal-torture-techniques-ever-devised/5/
http://collectiongamingnetwork.com/uploads/57ca7e3ba6b0a0f2267e040beb2d96e3.png
http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/website/images/homepage/main-promo-3.jpg