WHO AM I, WHO ARE YOU?
Lisha and Aisha are twin sisters. They are born with certain characters that set them different from ordinary people. Lisha, a few seconds older than Aisha, is gifted with a highly rational mind but nearly incapable of perceiving emotions or affection. On the other hand, Aisha is very sensitive and susceptible. She loves to go on advanturous trips and often gets injured, but she cannot feel any pain. During one trip, Aisha discovered an abandoned temple that exists in a folklore told by local people. The legend has it that all the priests served in the past at the temple are all twins. Furthermore, Aisha learns that a certain mysterious appliance in the temple can integrate the souls of twins. Eager to solve the mystery, Aisha urges Lisha to go exploring the temple together. Though not convinced, Lisha send her AI robot “AMBU” to go on the advanture with Aisha as her urge persists.
Game Poster Design I am the Lead concept Artist in the Alisha game franchise. All the following posters, level visuals, character illustrations and character designs were drawn and supervised by me. I was also responsible for the supervision of relevant production staff in the final game scene.
The poster of “Aliisha-the oblivion of the twin goddesses”
This pic is from one of the projects I designed for Underscore, that is going to be used as the official game box artwork. The overall concept covers the core elements of the game. I used a three-layer structure to represent both protagonists who start off the adventure, and the two priestesses of the ruins of Twinkokka , along with the man whom the priestesses fell in love with. The cover also contains the silhouette of Nolyaw before his death, and the last layer written in ancient text. The frescoes and the monster, Nolyaw at the bottom of the ruins serve as the background.The first layer is the protagonists, Aisha, Lisha and their robot partner AMBU, I decided to use Lisha in her blue holographic projection version, to contrast the overall tone, creating a visual center, and then used the light emitted by the AMBU connected to Lisha as a visual guide , passing the line of sight through Aisha in the middle, and then using the flashlight in Aisha's hand to guide the structure of the next layer, representing the protagonist's progression from the gate of the ruins to the exploration. The love triangle between the two priestesses and Nolyaw is a core plot in the game, so I used the two opposing statues to make an opposite image, and the block between the two statues and the background were used to create a Figure–Ground Illusion. Forming the figure with antlers in the hat is an important role in the confrontation between the two priestesses. Nolyaw symbolizes the monster Nolyaw who was cursed by one of the priestesses in the depths of the ruins at the bottom of the screen.
Game Level Design
In terms of color and level symbolism, the game’s "mood" is a core concept of Aliisha - the oblivion of the twin goddesses. As an art designer, I really hope that players can feel the characteristics of the level and the emotions that may be transmitted when entering the individual levels. Below are the visuals I designed for each of the game's levels.
The gate of Twinkokka
The golden grassland marks the ancient entrance to the ruins situated among the groves and bushes, where visitors receive the blessing of God. The priestesses perform a variety of rituals every year to appease God and prevent natural disasters, as well ensure peace and abundance for all mankind. The people in turn built a great and majestic temple, for the priestesses to better serve their God, and perform these sacred rituals and traditions. The core design of the scene in this level is based on the idea of 'piety', conceptualizing the reverence mortals have for these ruins.
The room of Veneration
Among the legendary ruins lies the greatness of Twinkokka, the ancient ceremonial amphitheater, where offerings were made to Twinkokka every year by the priestesses and the villagers. The air smells of sweet grains. After Aliisha passes through the Gate of Twinkokka, they enter into the vast hall of the impressive ruins. The abandoned sacred grounds welcome the two sisters, as they find a giant musical instrument resting in the middle of the wooden floor that covers the circular chamber, the impressive domed roof above. Here, the important theme of crops and harvests, representing the cyclical nature of life is woven into the design for this level.
The room of Balance
As the twins climb the winding stairs, they come to the fourth floor of the ancient temple, covered in fresh snow. The whipping wind blows harshly upon Lisha and Aisha as they come face to face with a massive wall of ice, dividing the floor down the middle. This is the inner sanctum of the long-since deceased priestesses - two women who both fell in love with the same man. This intimidating ice wall symbolizes division and conflict, their relationship having undergone an intense separation. Another of the temple’s great mechanisms can be found here: The chain and the scale symbols of the emotional entanglement that existed between the two priestesses as depicted on the murals which completely cover the inner walls of the temple.
The Stalagmite Cluster Valley
The valley named "The Thousand Eyed Gates of Hell, is a deep and menacing valley of massive stalagmite spikes, protruding from the ground. The atmosphere is shrouded in a thick green fog- the reflections from the crystals embedded in the rock below, like ravenous eyes, hungrily waiting for their victim. There are great stones floating throughout the level, which Aisha and her sister will use to face the mighty Noylaw, the cursed beast whose body is surrounded in black flames. Nolyaw, forever burdened by remorse dwells for the death of his lover, dwells on a great boulder, cursed by the magic of the woods; his soul forever oscillating between his human and evil nature.
The Gemini Coffin
The final level, a forbidden place full of mystery and magic, guards the sacred artifact in the canopy above. The branches stretch forth and wrap around the sacred tomb, resembling a human brain, and giving off an eerie and psychedelic glow. Within the tomb lies the ancient coffin, carved in an almost symmetrical-like fashion, representing the dualistic nature of the ancient priestesses. It is this coffin dedicated to Twinkokka that is said to fuse the souls of twins into one, thus repairing the mortal deficiencies of each twin, combining their strengths into a new person. On either side of this final level, are two gigantic effigies of the twin priestesses, Landia and Aquara.
Design Processing: Take “Nolyaw” and “The Giant Instrument”for example.
The concept of Nolyaw
First, I will introduce how I designed the monster "Nolyaw" in the ruins. I received a total of four requirements from the producer at that time: this monster has wood attribute magic, a cursed appearance, and appears as the final stage of the level. The power that is characteristic of a mighty and the fury at being trapped in the ruins for a thousand years. Based on the above requirements, this is the final presentation. I added a crown weaved of thorns and vines on Nolyaw's head, full of plant imagery, and the radial shape forms a line of tension to reflect his aggressiveness. The wrapped black flame around him represents the effect of the curse, and also activates the design of the attack mode. I also designed huge forelimbs to reflect his powerful sense of intimidation. Nolyaw had fragments from the ruins encrusted into his head, representing his many years trapped in the ruins. The overall concept refers to the image of the Egyptian Sphinx, but I did not directly combine the elements of the lion into it. I used the plasticity of plants to imitate the outline of the lion. This is the design concept I chose to pursue. I think the way to design characters, especially fantasy creatures, needs to be streamlined and gently internalized in order to reflect its uniqueness and presence.
The concept of The Giant Instrument
The Giant Instrument is one of the representative puzzles in the Aliisha game. It is located in The room of Veneration. It combines the elements of horn, gong, music box, pipe organ, and a picture scroll, with the triangular appearance to establish a solid sense of stability, reflecting its sanctity.
The request I received at the beginning was that The room of Veneration needed a huge, magnificent instrument as a puzzle, big enough to represent the ruins of Twinkokka called the country of music and that it also needed a special shape, something innovative and unlike any musical instrument currently in existence; so I referenced a variety of modern and classical instruments and cut and remodeled them, blending them together harmoniously, to produce this designed this impressive design.
This is my design focusing process. You can see that there were various attempts in the initial design of Nolyaw. I tried to design an image that combines Dunkleosteus and a wolf, with the attributes of an agile creature, who uses his fins and tail for long-range attacks. With the gradual focus on the appearance of wood magic, I began to conceive an image with flowers as the main body. I have tried various flowers, including rafflesias and sunflowers, and finally, I used the hibiscus flower that has a strong stem shape but an elegant appearance. It symbolizes Nolyaw's tragic life experience. As for the placement of the flowers, I tried to place them on the head and shoulders, but I felt that they would affect the overall sense of majesty, so I chose to make the head have spikes instead and left the flowers at the back of the body, and as one of his methods of attack is to release a pollen shock wave from the flower on his tail. The bottom is the final screen in the game.
This is another design focusing process, you can see that the big instrument is bigger at the beginning, occupying the back of the whole level, but in order to focus the visual center in the middle of the stage, I slightly reduced the dimensions of the instrument in the level, and had it make contact with the center of the stage with a walkway to establish a visual guide.
The second picture is a close-up design drawing of each part of the magical musical instrument. You can see that it is a highly detailed design. This mechanism combines with the core gameplay and achieves the best performance in gameplay. The bottom is the final screen in the game.
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