I wanted to demonstrate the various stages of development possible with the Lander, and decided to make three snapshots. These are not all the states the Lander is capably of being in, but they provide a good range of statuses that give you a good idea of all the available options.
The lander is placed near a stone outcropping and surrounded by sparse foliage, indicating that it is in a relatively safe area of the Smoldering Mesa – the stone outcropping would protect from the worst of the heat, wind, and sandstorms, which allows the plants to grow.
The first image I created for this project was the lander as it appears when Trashbot first arrives on Terra.
I wanted the form of the craft to be soft and asymmetrical, to indicate that it was a cozy and safe place the player is meant to return to. I initially used a greyscale color palette, but ended up pushing it brown-er to get it to integrate better with the environment.
In terms of wear, I created only one path of treads leading away from the door, which would later increase.
For the next stage in development, I added several crates surrounding the craft, and two large tarps pinned to the lander, the rock face, and a pole planted in the ground.
This stage was meant to show development regarding practicality – the player uses the craft as additional storage, and as a place to shelter from the elements, and so expansions were made out of practicality alone.
The color of the tarps were somewhat inspired by the design of the colony on Jupiter in the game Universe for Sale by Zeno Colangelo (which is a game I adore and that definitely has influenced my game art since playing it)
The final iteration of this scene includes various elements Trashbot and Amalia applied to make it more home-y. This includes string lights and potted plants, and a worn down welcome mat.
Additionally, I included glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the front- all low down where Trashbot can see them. I also included two hand/clawprints over the door – one from Trashbot and the other from Amalia.
I included the quail, owl, and snakes scattered throughout Trashbot’s belongings, which add a significant boost to it’s Comfort and Humanity stats when in proximity to them.
I am really happy with how this project came out in the end. It is a good portfolio piece for the project.