3/4 - UPDATE

We have messed around with a variety of concept art, only which we came up with 3 final designs, which is the main character (Jax Mills (the boy holding the bubble wand), the main axolotl, and the king crab planned for the beach area in our game.

The writers on our team have also developed a main story that involves 4 brand new characters besides from our Main lead Jax Mills.
Story: 
In Blue Orchid City’s aquarium, a rare species of axolotls began multiplying at an alarming rate, leading them to take over the aquarium, then the city, then the region! It’s up to Jax Mills and friends to catch them all, putting a stop to the crisis.

Main characters: 

Main Character- Jax Mills (Visiting the Blue Orchid City’s Aquarium alongside his two friends when the crisis began, him and his friends were tasked by the owner and marine biologist to help them aid in the crisis given the three of them all had axolotl stickers somewhere on their person. He’s very quick to jump to solutions, often ignoring the risks that follow)

Friend 1- Seymour Reid (With Jax when the crisis started. The right-hand to Jax, he tends to have an ego and always looks to impress. His competitive nature can make missions and tasks frustrating at times, but it also helps boost morale during harsh grievances)

Friend 2- Gwen Florander (Also with Jax when the crisis started. Friend of Jax, she is the voice of reason among the trio and sometimes overthinks because of her cautious sentiments.)

Marine Biologist/Researcher- Cynthia Khatsteen (The main researcher behind these axolotls and is also the expert. She knows how to handle them best and she supplies the trio with the tools and training to capture them, hoping to find out more about the creatures along with stopping the crisis in the least harmful way possible)

Aquarium Owner/Operator- Oliver Masslehoff (BIG STRONG MAN, he is the owner of the aquarium and is a political figure in the region. He’s a little headstrong but he’s very opportunistic to solve the crisis in the best way that benefits the city)

Development: 
we started to experiment with ai interactions with the player (which soon become the axolotl, as well as demonstrating how a 2d character could move into a 3d space (for now we used a copyrighted sprite, but we plan to make changes to that obviously).

 
there are two images of the 2d sprite displayed next to the king crab final design above, and a video of the 2d sprite in action will be displayed below ( the box falling off the edge is  one of the examples of the ai running away from the player:

 (the sprite is sort of finicky in the horizontal direction due to issues with frame rate however that will be fixed shortly): 

another and closer video of the ai interaction will be displayed below (as the player gets closer to the box, the box runs away): 

level design: 
All level design is completed, and all axolotl placements have been decided (pictures of map are shown below:

Beach: 

City Area:

Mountains: 

Grassy Area:

More art:
 We managed to complete a few 3d models for the different areas as well, as the environments are entirely 3d (some of the models done need a little touch up with UV mapping)

Tree:

Swing set: 

Volcano: 

Beach towel and umbrella:



Lifeguard chair:


Volleyball net: 



Picnic basket and blanket: 



Beach chair: 



Bridge: 



Dining room set: