Greg Mote
	Folio pictures and words
	Art Center College of Design portfolio
	Edgar Breaks Tradition action adventure game with lots of toys
	The project to design a video game was sponsored by Sega. The output was limited to only a few seconds of animation, and I put a lot in that little bit of time
	The Introduction to Edgar's world (Stream) (Download) (Single frame at full resolution)
plot	edgar was born a bit different. physically his head is several times larger than his body. not only is edgar's head big for his body, it is huge when compared with other people's heads. Edgar's brain is also quite large. inside his brain, he has the normal thinking capacity of an infant his age, but the rest of his head is filled with matter that gives him power to command inanimate objects. for edgar, this tremendous power is limited to moving toys that are within his sight. using his unusual power edgar sets out to recreate the world in the form that best suits his wishes. starting in his home and in his crib, edgar discovers his power and reshapes his room to fit his world view. from there he takes on the rest of his house and the world.
goal	play with all the toys and never grow up.
environment	in and around present day suburban america first stages are in small spaces and as game play continues, the scale changes until eventually the entire world is edgar's playland.
characters	edgar johannes elk is several months old and star (or costar) of the show, he has average infant intelligence, supreme psychokenetic power, is quite moody when things don't go his way, and he really likes playing with toys. edna juno elk is Edgar's twin, they are identical in every way. a single player can choose to be either edgar or edna. when two players play, then both edgar and edna get to party. roland elk is edgar's paramedic dad, a bit edgy when things get strange. he tries to give edgar what he wants, but edgar's demands are beyond the scope of roland's skills and pocketbook. gina elk is edgar's truck driver mom, likes to drive. mostly to get away from edgar's demands. her nurturing side is shown early in the game while edgar is still in his crib. Later on, she is merely a bewildered roadblock to edgar's power and ambition. oprah elk is edgar's three year old sister, a very happy child. she is a playful kid who doesn't mind having a little brother as long as he doesn't mess with her stuff. doctor noreen is edgar's doctor, a professional who finds edgar to be an interesting creature. edgar comes across her after he takes over his room and begins to expand in to the remainder of the house. mike rebelious sanitation engineer whom edgar meets outside house he could be a friend to edgar later on. randy lives across the street and rides his bicycle everywhere. edgar meets randy as he expands his reign to other houses. sabrina the girl next door, seven years old and really likes babies. edgar doesn't like her attention.
type	one or two player adventure.
style	visual three dimensionally rendered in real-time as a solid cartoon with backgrounds in deep colors and foreground action in bright colors. the feel is soft, plush and squishy. most objects are made of the basic geometric shapes with a tendency for most objects to be spherical. animation lots of floating toys bouncing and tumbling about as edgar plays. non-player characters are not as highly active. audio infantile music and the sound of toys bumping into stuff. player interaction wander in three dimensions, grab stuff, throw stuff and play with toys in general. edgar can wander any where he wants. the limits on his movement are characters that must be removed by either making a friend or by over powering them with toys. edgar's toys hover in a sphere around his head and body; each toy can be manipulated individually. when edgar wants to use a particular toy, he rotates the toy field until the desired toy is in front of him, then he is able to play with the toy, hurl the toy or drop the toy. toys can be picked up by moving over them and adding them to the field. toys can be taken by other characters if edgar is not careful or makes a mistake and gets them madder than he can deal with. if edgar loses all his toys in the first stage, then his mom comes and takes him back to his crib where he must start over again. if he loses them in the second stage, then the police pick him up and return him home after a stop over at the police station. in the final stage edgar losing his toys results in the armies of the country, world or galaxy surrounding him and making his life quite unpleasant.
platform	sega saturn.
audience	all ages of suburban refugees.
play sequence	this is an approximate route since edgar can wander freely about his world. the three overall stages are separated by pivotal places that edgar must pass.
	at home the adventure begins introduction short movie explaining edgar's condition and mental state edgar's crib a training ground and practice round. edgar meets mom and dad and discovers his power over the toys in his crib. once the player has mastered the manipulation of these toys, edgar is able to escape his crib and begin on the first real stage of his adventure. edgar's room here is where edgar gathers toys from various points around the room. elk hallway he meets oprah here. when he gets past her, his mom grabs hold of him and takes him out to the car. mom's car edgar plays with the interior of the car. doctor noreen's office first there is the waiting room and then edgar gets to play in the examination room; meanwhile edgar's mom is frantically trying to keep everything under control. mom's car the ride back depends upon how the doctor's office went. either it is more play time or it is a toyless experience. elk living room edgar plays with the television, radio and couch. oprah's room oprah doesn't really find edgar's exploration of her space too agreeable. if edgar does it right, then he will be able to gather more toys, if he makes too many mistakes, he will lose toys. kitchen edgar learns to play with his food. the kitchen door leads to the next stage. the neighborhood edgar defines himself backyard more toys along with nature. frontyard more kids enter the scene along with their toys. mike the sanitation worker is also here. sabrina's frontyard a terrifying experience where edgar meets a person who wants to play with him. sabrina's house if edgar makes it past sabrina then he can begin to invade his first foreign land. randy's frontyard randy is much bigger than edgar and has a lot of toys city streets . restaurant . galleria . city hall . airport here is where edgar ends the second stage. he has to get through the metal detectors with all of his toys and board the plane to go on. edgar versus everything else between the start and end of this stage, Edgar's brain becomes so large that his body is but a speck of dust clinging to his head airplane . cities across the globe . solar encounters the planets . galactic mayhem the finale scenario where edgar fights the laws of physics to shape the known universe into his own playland
19980917	© Greg Mote