[S.E.E.D.] by Joana Rolo

«In the future, the Earth we know has been destroyed by global warmth and there are as many deserts as there are cities underwater. The few forests left are disappearing and animals are becoming a rarity.

In the Country of the Yellow Monarchy, the king has just passed away. His son, prince Ree, accidentally finds out that the state of the planet was caused by a worldwide conspiracy between governments, but there is a cure: [S.E.E.D.].»

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[S.E.E.D.] is a project for a Beat 'Em Up game, which consists in choosing one of several characters, then following their storyline while fighting several adversaries one at a time and in different stages of their way, until they reach the last (known as the Final Boss), who they must defeat so they can finally reach their goal.

I chose to place this project in a futuristic setting, in which the Earth's state has been caused by global warmth (undoubtedly inspired by the catastrophic previsions of 'An Inconvenient Truth') but that can be reversible.

I used Microsoft's PowerPoint to create a simulation of the game and its interface, even though, due to the limitations of the program, it was only possible to include a demonstration of the various menus that the player can interact with and the possibility of following (but unfortunately not taking an active role in) the main character's storyline.

PHASE #1 | Research
Ines Glória1 . Joana Rolo2 . Ricardo Bessa3

1.1
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Toyota Motor Marketing Europe ("TMME"), The Process of Recycling
Visited on March 30th 2008, in Toyota – Today Tomorrow

It's interesting to see how conception, fabrication and the end of utility of a car have now environmental concerns. With interactive and appealing graphics, the user has access to the advances made by the enterprise towards the conservation and improvement of the environment.

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A Perfect Circle, Emotive, Counting Bodies, 2004

A mix of the theme 'Pet', this song talks about the ignorance imposed by the people who claim to be our protectors. It's a vicious cycle from which we cannot escape. Concerning the matters of the environment and politics, it creates various possible interpretations surrounding something inconvenient. 'Go back to sleep; Safe from pain and truth and choice and other poison devils...'
For more information about the song, visit the official website.

1.2
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Creative Partnerships, Cookbook,
Visited on March 31st 2008, in Ideas that can change the world

Just like in the Time article mentioned below, this website's own article (that, in this case, works more like some sort of 'cookbook' for the reader, just like its title suggests) reflects on the state of the planet we're living in (both economically and sociologically) and presents us with clear and innovative steps and strategies to change and stabilize the world.

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SACHE, Jeffrey D. - 10 Ideas to change the world Barbara Kiviat et al, Time vol. 171 'What's Next', n12 (2008).

An article that reflects upon the world we live in, in which we are presented with steps and strategies in order to change our planet.

1.3
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“ BURNS, Michael - Spreading the green message. Illust. Neil Duerdan. 'Digital Arts' magazine. London. n77 (2007) pages 26-32

An article about sustentability and design and how every and each one of us can help the planet simply by using the right materials and having a strict ecologic policy.

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Ashes and snow - visited on March 31st 2008

Website of an artistic project by Gregory Colbert in which humans and Nature are shown to us in perfect harmony. We're motivated to be ecologic every day, to save resources, to respect the planet... and Gregory's work, with a naive look on wild animals and their relationship with us, helps us fint a motive, a reason to respect those principles, and places both humans and animals on the same level, which, in the end, is the only truth.

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