Hello, my name is Brie Parr and I am the Designer for Glass Castle. My inspiration for this game was originally conceived from a song called "Castle of Glass" by Linkin Park that was released in 2012. Ever since I first heard it I always imagined there was a hidden narrative within it. Over the years, my interpretation of that narrative has taken many forms, but it wasn't until March of 2021 that I attempted to adapt it into a graphic novel. I was then able to solidify the story of Glass Castle; it is about a boy named Zayden who mysteriously awakens inside a Castle of Glass, and upon exploration, discovers that it is a gateway between all of time and space created by an old wizard named Zachariah. The conflict of the story is that a man named Zayn has attacked Zachariah, stolen his magic wand, and is wreaking havoc upon the universe!

So how did this story become a premise for a video game?  Simply put, when I was given the opportunity to pitch a game idea, I thought that this was the one story idea of mine that could be most easily adapted into a game since it is set up in such a way that the Castle is akin to the central hub of a video game and each portal will lead Zayden to a unique world. Instead of writing and drawing out dozens of pages for a graphic novel, my team and I will be designing open worlds for players to explore and interact with.

We have already gotten off to a great start! I want to start by talking about the amazing work the programmers have been doing. The core mechanic of this game, besides player movement, is the ability to learn and use spells and magically enhanced abilities. So far, Christian and Collin have proved to me that they are the real wizards here. They have already finalized the abilities to jump, double jump, dodge, and walk/run, as well as the ability to use the Telekinesis spell that allows the player to grab, move, and resize objects. These player controls and spells start out very basic and easy to learn because I want the player to really believe that they have the same limits that a 12 year old boy would have. As the player learns more spells and magically enhanced abilities, however, they should start to feel excited that the character is growing more powerful (even though he never becomes overpowered in the least).

Next, I want to talk about art style. Since the story was going to be adapted into a graphic novel, I want to keep that 2D stylized look in the game. The art style that I typically draw with is inspired heavily by anime, so that is the style that I used both in the (unfinished) graphic novel and my character turnaround for Zayden. To keep within this style, all of our 3D modelers are working on making relatively simple and stylized assets (our character modeler, Liam, has never modeled an anime stylized character before, but he absolutely nailed it!). To put the icing on the cake, Cyrus has been experimenting with a toon shader for Unity, and it has yielded amazing results! This shader is the key to making this game look and feel the way I want it to.

Keeping with the art theme for a moment, I want to point out all the amazing concept art Mel was able to create so far. One of the biggest themes in the game is the glass magic, and therefore, I want elements of the U.I., as well as the game's main logo, to have glass and crystal themed designs. As a 2D artist myself I know that it can be a challenge to capture the essence and beauty of crystalline glass since it's very reflective and irregular, but Mel has a talent for knowing exactly what I'm looking for.

Finally, I cannot overlook my level designers. They have been working to interpret the GDD and create maps of the Castle and each of the worlds. They have also been brainstorming and writing ideas for possible puzzles and story objectives that fit into specific worlds. I wish I could incorporate all of their ideas, but I have had to be selective to stay within the scope of this project. For example, Chris wrote this incredibly detailed backstory for the 2nd world explaining why the landscape was arid and that instead of acid rain, like I envisioned, it was actually Hydrazine, a corrosive substance created by a pollutive factory. He originally wrote about the player venturing into the factory, but that would have loaded up the 3D artists with way too many assets to create, so I opted to place the factory farther off in the distance as a 2D asset to be created, but kept the idea of Hydrazine rain cloud enemies.

Overall I am incredibly satisfied with the work my team has been doing. Everyone is motivated and ready to make Glass Castle an amazing experience for developers and players alike!