Rafael Ferreira
Illustrator & Producer
GAMES
The following list details the projects in which I have participated, arranged in order of recency. Within the 'View more' section, you can find additional technical details about the game, as well as information on development challenges and downloadable post-mortems (available for certain projects).
PAPERS
The following is a list of some papers/studies that I have authored (from most recent to oldest). At this time, they are only available in Portuguese.
Case Study: The influence of Bosses’s character design from the experience of a Dark Souls player
The concept of boss on digital games appears in the late 70s, showing complex and interesting characters whose can be interactable by the player itself, distinguishing them from regular enemies, in narrrative aspects, design and gameplay. However, to obtain a better player experience, those Bosses must have a well defined visual and behaviour components. To understand the influence of character design on diferente gameplay parameters, this paper explore the concepts of Boss and character design supported with critical thinking. Following, this article shows the results of an experimental study (battle with Artorias, The Abysswalker in Dark Souls) with ten players (in between eighteen and twenty-five years old), among which five never fought against that Boss, and the others five already did it. Of the first mentioned, given the high speed of the enemy and lack of familiarity, few were able to defeat him. Of the second group, the majority proved to be victorious due to the possession of greater confidence and knowledge of attack combinations.
The Gothic of Plague: Tales of innocence
The objective of this study is to explore the fundamental concepts of the history and theory of architecture, the distinction between the application of architectural elements in the real and virtual world and the development of an analytical and critical spirit concerning a developed architectural structure. To this end, a game will be used as a medium to explore the architecture that composes it. The present study aims to examine the use of Gothic architectural elements in the game Plague Tales of Innocence, set in 1348 during the Black Plague pandemic and the war between France and Britain. The investigation will explore the function of these elements within the game's virtual environment, providing insights into the utilisation of Gothic elements in gaming contexts. Concurrently, an analysis of the application of the concept of utopia in the game world will be conducted, with the objective of raising awareness not only of the dystopia applied in this virtual French society, but also for the presence of an excessive feeling of abandonment. In this regard, the organisation and urban constitution of the game's communities will be considered, with the objective of capturing the symbologies and allegories applied to the game's scenarios.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Game analysis
The fundamental question that must be posed is that of the very definition of the term 'game'. Despite the varied connotations, the term under investigation is understood to be associated with human behaviour; in other words, it may be regarded as a human or social activity. In addition, it is acknowledged that a game is characterised by several key elements, including players, rules, narrative, immersion and a specific outcome. In light of this, it was proposed that an analysis of a digital game be developed in order to achieve two objectives. Firstly, to enhance awareness of the term 'game' and its meaning. Secondly, to gain a more profound understanding of how the elements described previously can contribute to its definition. The game selected for the purposes of analysis is Sonic the Hedgehog, a title that was released for the SEGA Genesis in 1991.
______________