Ruest, Annina

Elyrion's Harmony' is a 2D side-scrolling game in the fantasy genre. It takes place on the planet Elyrion. Elyrion is home to multiple countries, including Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. The player plays as Lyra, a citizen of Earth who witnesses her village's destruction by the malevolent sorcerer, Malachor. Seeking to tear the world asunder, Malachor's chaos disrupts the once-harmonious planet. As Lyra, players navigate diverse landscapes and battle elemental challenges to save her world.

Invictus is a narrative virtual reality (VR) game which makes use of 16th century alchemical concepts on becoming spiritually whole. As an alchemist, the player begins their first steps in achieving The Great Work – a state of perfect being; synonymous with creating The Philosopher’s Stone. To begin, players embark into a stage called Nigredo, where the many is transmuted into one through the processes of alchemical Fire – calcination – as a method of purification. Players begin in an alchemical laboratory, learning about and preparing the first stage and process. To experience being transmuted by the power of Fire, players brew the “Philosopher’s Tincture” in their lab and submerge themselves within the concoction. Players next find themselves awaking at the top of a mysterious library tower deep underground. As players solve magical puzzles and traverse down the tower, they learn of the lessons that Fire has taught humanity over the ages. This thesis describes the game and its context in alchemy and technology.

This thesis is divided into two parts: a machinima (a short film created in a game engine) and a written thesis document. My machinima is a short surrealist film created with photorealistic 3D elements that are then used to create lifelike environments. The video is divided into four environments, each of which resembles a rocky landscape. The final environment has a surrealistic aspect to stimulate the viewer's imagination . The written component of this thesis demonstrates my process when creating this machinima. It also discusses related work by other artists as well as related work done by me previously that aided in the development of my thesis.

Circuit Builder is an asynchronous mini-course for children that combines online tools with hands-on experiments. Online tools are a cost effective format for education, and there is an increasing need for them as the use of virtual activities rises, with personal computers in classrooms and children's homes becoming more commonplace. Circuit Builder has three sections: electricity, conductors and insulators, and resistors. Each section begins with a video explanation followed by an interactive simulated circuit building environment. Circuit Builder was designed using Unity 2D, with scripts in C#, then incorporated into an HTML page along with videos. Throughout the design process, I center on children’s perspectives and abilities. Circuit Builder contributes to the field of asynchronous online STEM education, and could be used as an independent computer-based activity in an elementary school classroom or afterschool program.

This thesis document describes an immersive world that can be experienced through the virtual reality (VR) platform Oculus. I created this space using the game development software Unity. In the environment, there is a stylized art gallery displaying three oil paintings that have been compartmentalized with the software Photoshop, then animated with code written in a software called Processing. This thesis provides personal experience and research to validify and contextualize the use of VR for meditative spaces and shared emotive experiences.

This thesis has two components: a practical part and a written part. The practical part is a 2D side-scrolling game titled Elisabeth Scrivener and the Great Library. It is an adaptation of the bestselling novel Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. Like the novel, the game is set in the Great Library of Summershall. This is a place where magical grimoires of varying strength and benevolence or alignance are managed and contained. The player character is Elisabeth, an apprentice librarian and the player follows her as she progresses through the library taking advice from benevolent grimoires and defeating and containing not so benevolent grimoires. The written component of the thesis provides background information on the game itself, how the game functions as a literary adaptation and details the creative process of the making of the game.

Throughout this thesis I discuss and showcase the work I have created as an undergraduate with a concentration in Transdisciplinary Visual Arts. The work includes interactive and visual representations of a variety of animal species. These works have been used as visual aids in an educational setting such as informal learning at Manatee Lagoon as well as in lab manuals used for undergraduate science courses such as biological principles and biological diversity.

River Springs Preserve is an in-development educational video game that aims to introduce players to the flora and fauna of South Florida and teach them about the struggle between native and invasive species. The concept and game mechanics have been fully planned, the illustrated game assets have been completed, the branching dialogue system has been established, and 40 species have been photographed and categorized to be implemented into the game.