EDN
TRIGGER WARNING - BODYS AND ORGANS
EDN was comprised of two distinct projects. The 3D Modelling
The investigation began with an exploration of an organic entity. I chose the pupil of the human eye because of its mechanical pulling of muscles to open and close. Combining my parametric Grasshopper script with another persons, we created a glass cage mask, fit to the human face. Expanding both scripts, and being informed by the horror of glass mask, we built a videogame. The Videogame
The name EDN is an abbreviation of the Garden of Eden, mimicking DNA and other genetic/medical naming typologies to give it a science fiction feel.The narrative is a dark journey of cosmic horror, told through the eyes of a wanderer traversing from a literal uncanny valley through to an alien world, only to discover an unsettling truth.The game is available on my Dropbox.Research
Preliminary research started with investigations into an organic form. This was then scripted into a parametric 3D form.
My partner began her research with Sundew plants, which would later become the triffid-esque plant life on our fictional planet.
My research began with the eye, which would later become the alien structures covering our planet.
A Taste of Horror
In an effort to combine our grasshopper scripts we began looking at precedents similar to our existing forms.
The rigid cage like appearance of medieval torture devices were our starting point.
Further research showed these had been developed into bespoke accessories by fashion designer Kit Paulson.
Combining our typologies we created a glass iron-mask, given elegance through material choice of glass and copper.
A Video Game
The next step was to turn our scripts into a video game.
Building off our glass mask as a precedent, we decided to investigate the horror genre.
Major features became:
Eldritch horror as a genre definer,
H.R. Giger’s alien horror as an atmospheric guide,
and Hideo Kojima’s twisted approach to the hero’s journey and first person perspective as our narrative flow.
Research
To build the atmosphere we looked at Hideo Kojima's Silent Hills unreleased demo.The player follows a simple Z shaped corridor. But each time the player exits, they reenter at the beginning. This sense of endlessness, combined with subtle clues, changes, and general sense of unease eventually culminates in full blown chaos and terror.We wanted to mimic this simple yet effective formula in our game.Inspired by our parametric forms, we drew on inspiration from The Day of the Triffids, where humanity succumbs to blindness and is overwhelmed by flesh eating plants.Then we began devising a simple linear path that tracks back on itself to show the Triffids taking over.
2. The Horror
Playing with scale, lighting, colour, and forms to create an eeire overwhelming sense of displacement for the player. The aim was to make the player feel like they didn’t belong, and to overwhelm the player completely. 
3. The Narrative
The Heroe’s journey of exploration, overcoming challenge, and returning as changed for the better was twisted by our horror narrative. We wanted our character to begin within a familiar location, before being forced through trial and tribulation, believing they will exit as saviour. But in reality we show they are simply a test subject within a larger trial of Earthly take over. The player's existence is ultimately pointless, nothing was their own.
Building the game
In building the game we faced several challenges, namely how to create an appropriate atmosphere, and how to get the character to flow from point a to point b.Our solution was to use portals, and non-euclidean geometry. This allowed us to fake the character’s position in space, as well as disorienting them, but maintain a single forward path.Several “worlds” were created, where the player is taken through them, expecting their return to normal, only to be overwhelmed by scale, and horrors beyond comprehension.
