Sword of Dissonance - Degene

This post begins a series of conceptual work I've done for my Academy of Art Thesis project, titled "Sword of Dissonance." The project was a "game-oriented visual development body of work" based on an original story. It's a fantasy work I began for my Creative Writing class, which they suggested I pursue for my Thesis :)

The story follows Degene, a knight on a quest to find a cure for his companion Rinn, a mysterious young woman afflicted with a curse that renders her mute. A simple premise, but things do get more complicated as their quest progresses :D

To start off, the main character of my story, Degene.

Please click here to see the posts in order.

SoD - Degene (Exploration)

Turnaround, Expressions and Design Explorations for Degene.

SoD - Rinn

The supporting protagonist of my story, and my personal favorite :) She's actually mute, so I gave her a flute as one of the few methods available to her for communication.

SoD - Rinn (Exploration)

Further exploration for Rinn.

SoD - Synthios Sword

The main character's weapon, from which the story's title is derived. It's a magical sword that transforms, dependent on the protagonist's mental state.

SoD - Valitere

The Jafar-ish advisor in my story, supporting the protagonist from the shadows.

SoD - Brise

SoD - Malchartes

Another one of the enemies in my vizdev project, an undead assassin.

SoD - Colsore

My main character's mount, a muscular steed with a hot magical skeleton that guided the design.

SoD - Minor Creatures

SoD - The Abstract Crown

The first boss in my Sword of Dissonance game concept. I knew when I started this design, it's base form would be from a different character, so I worked that out before moving on to its current incarnation.

SoD - The Visestalker

The third boss of my game concept, a colossal demonic entity that chases my main character throughout the level. In the early stages, I planned it as a machine-golem like creature, but decided it didn't really flow with the fantasy setting I established.

SoD - The Darkener

The fourth boss in my game concept, a creature whose form reflects the will and beliefs of the dark god it follows, manifested physically. It's one of my earlier creature designs, back when my design process wasn't quite as refined. Still, I kept the habit of jotting notes all over the place :)

SoD - Environments

A couple of environments, along with the various thumbnail explorations to arrive to each idea.

Confronting the Darkener

SoD Story Snippets

A set of moody story snippets from my Sword of Dissonance story.

Sword of Dissonance - Flavor Images

Atmospheric "flavor images" in SoD for....atmosphere XDD