DeeJay

More, more! DeeJay is Ellie's pet, and an obstacle on Johnny's first mission. He's a sabertooth-tiger kitten, with a lot of spunk, and a mischievous attitude. It's unclear to Johnny at first how Ellie and DeeJay met, but they make quite a pair: their antics cause most of Johnny's predicaments along his journey.

Amelia Earhart would often refer to little "DeeJays" as the gremlins that lived in her plane's parts, causing trouble whenever something strange or inexplicable happened during preflight checks. This became a natural fit for a troublesome pet like Ellie's.

Lady Bits

Back again with more info and pretties for you! This week we're showing off Ellie, Johnny's buddy/partner/quest-giver/love-interest on the island. She's Amelia Earhart's daughter, and certainly inherited her mother's drive and determination, though with a slightly rebellious teenage disposition. She'll be the first human Johnny encounters on his adventure, and will ultimately become his primary companion.

Born on the island, Ellie's a strong survivalist, and is sturdier than she looks. She spends most of her time with her pet cat, Deejay, looking for excitement in their jungle paradise. Daughter of Amelia and Fred Noonan, she's named after the Lockheed Electra that they flew on their panultimate mission.

A Hero Is Born

JM here. We did it! One week down, and Semester Games is officially official. We're all super excited to get into crash production mode, but like any game, we've got to start from the beginning.

So today I give you the first concept art turnaround of our first game's leading man, "Johnny," drawn by yours truly. He'll be the playable character in Episode 1, and will be faced with numerous challenges to overcome while trying to find his way home.

He's a pretty typical 20-25 year old guy, going on spring break from college. Bummer for him he ended up on a dangerous, uncharted desert island in the Bermuda Triangle!

I designed him, trying to make a fun, relatable guy who players can get invested in, while keeping him strong and sturdy enough to be believable during his semi-heroic feats.

Coming up next: Girls!

Tour the Island

Today's the first official day of class! Very exciting, the coming weeks should be very busy but fun.

As more locations and events in the Island project are unveiled, I'll be sharing some of the concept art attached to those locales. First, here's the first beach Johnny lands on, at the start of the game. Beaches will act as a safe area for exploration where the player can relax a bit, in between missions.

The current art direction is stylized in color and form, though inspired by nature. We're definitely not attempting to make a photo-realistic game, but we want to maintain a suspension of disbelief. Much of the time this semester is going to be spent developing the lush nature of the jungle encroaching on the beach.