GAME DESIGN

ART DIRECTION

Sanctuary

An RPG that turns high school biology into a rescue mission. Restore four damaged climates, card by card, with a fox named Strider at your side.

Year

2023

Role

Project Lead

Client

Stride K12 x SCADpro

Team

30 students from 17 majors

The Sanctuary student team on the steps of the studio

00 THE BRIEF

Gamify a biology course.

Stride Learning Solutions, an online K12 school, asked SCADpro for a video game with one job: teach high school students biodiversity and conservation, and make them want to keep playing.

The Sanctuary student studio, spring 2023

THE STUDIO, SPRING 2023

20

WEEKS

30

STUDENTS

17

MAJORS

4

CLIMATES

6

CHARACTERS

100+

CARDS

01 RUNNING THE STUDIO

01 KICKOFF

02 ON PAPER

03 ENGINE

04 BUILD

05 SHOWCASE

JAN 2023

Kickoff

Stride’s brief met 30 students from 17 majors. I set up team leads, one shared schedule and a weekly review with the client.

THE FIRST GAME FLOWCHART, MAPPED BY ME

02 THE STORY

Fix what Menagerie broke.

In 2023, zoologist Juniper learns her employer, Menagerie, is wrecking ecosystems. She quits and founds Biosphere to heal them. In 2048, the player joins as her grandchild.

OPENING CUTSCENE / 1:44

My part: I composited the cutscene and animated the fox, the fire transition and the final group panel.

MEET THE BIOSPHERE TEAMHOVER A CHARACTER, OR TAP A NAME

The Founders of Biosphere: Rivo, Afia, Juniper, Bjørn, Leilani and Strider the fox on a grassy hill at sunset

THE FOUNDERS OF BIOSPHERESix heroes, one rescue team.Hover anyone in the painting to meet them. Each one guides a different part of the game.PAINTED BY ME FOR THE PRODUCTION BOOK

THE FOUNDERS OF BIOSPHERE, PAINTED BY ME

MEET THE BIOSPHERE TEAM

THE FOUNDERS OF BIOSPHERESix heroes, one rescue team.Each one guides a different part of the game.PAINTED BY ME FOR THE PRODUCTION BOOK

THE FOUNDERS OF BIOSPHERE, PAINTED BY ME

03 THE WORLD OF BIOSPHERE

Four climates. Each one hurt in a different way.

Students travel from familiar ground to the most fragile ecosystem on Earth.

03 THE WORLD OF BIOSPHERE

Four climates. Each one hurt in a different way.

Students travel from familiar ground to the most fragile ecosystem on Earth.

01 / 04

CLIMATE 01 OF 04TemperateThe starting climate, picked because students already know grassland. This is where they learn Cardinal and most of the game.GrasslandMonoculture ForestPondDormant VolcanoDESTINATIONThe Dormant Volcano, visible from the very first step.

VECTOR WORLD ART BY ME

04 CARDINAL

A card game with no battles.

MY 13 CARDS13 cards I painted for Cardinal.Tap the pack. Drag it to see the back. Then click any card to see it full screen.

05 IN ACTION

Press play.

Real footage from the build. The opening cutscene lives in chapter 02.

05 IN ACTION

Press play.

Real footage from the build. The opening cutscene lives in chapter 02.

TITLE SCREEN

TITLE

MEETING JUNIPER

JUNIPER

CARDINAL

FAST TRAVEL

TRAVEL

Title screen

0:14 / IN GAME

The first thing students see: the logo, settings and accessibility options, including a color blind mode.

06 BEYOND THE SCREEN

A game you can hold.

The book, the poster, the invitation, the box and the brochure sold the game in the room. I designed every one of them.

06 BEYOND THE SCREEN

A game you can hold.

The book, the poster, the invitation, the box and the brochure sold the game in the room. I designed every one of them.

01 / GAME POSTER / 18 X 24 IN

Game poster. Painted and designed by me, printed for the showcase.

02 / SHOWCASE INVITATION

Join Biosphere’s Final Showcase, May 24 at the SCAD Student Center. Illustrated and designed by me, in print and digital.

02 / SHOWCASE INVITATION

Join Biosphere’s Final Showcase, May 24 at the SCAD Student Center. Illustrated and designed by me, in print and digital.

03 / GAME LOGO

Sanctuary logo. Designed by me for the title screen, poster and book.

04 / CARD DECK BOX

Boxed Cardinal deck. Packaging designed by me, a keepsake for Stride.

05 / SHOWCASE BROCHURE

Showcase brochure. Designed by me: the team, the game plan and samples of the work.

06 / PRODUCTION BOOK

The whole game, documented to outlive the class.

My part: I led the book and painted the cover. Layouts by Madelyn Buchmann.

Cover / 154 PAGES

154 PAGES / TAP TO READ

Georgio with a paper toucan at the final showcase

On May 24, 2023, the studio handed Stride a playable game, a printed production book and a boxed card deck.

PARTNERSStride Learning Solutions (K12) and SCADpro. Supervising professor: Scott Horner.

PROJECT LEADGeorgio El Haber

WRITINGGillian McMillan, Madelyn Buchmann

BOOK AND DESIGNBook led by Georgio El Haber, cover by Georgio El Haber. Layouts by Madelyn Buchmann, with Hailey Paetzel and Jin Kim.

PRINTPoster, invitation, packaging, brochure and flowcharts by Georgio El Haber.

CHARACTERSSam Moyet, Val Slivka, Cecil Leuzinger, Caden Cheron, Eevie Lanier, Sarah Via, Ava Gisleson. Founders painting and Strider paintings by Georgio El Haber.

STORY AND CUTSCENEStoryboards and scenes by Maria Weaver. Compositing and animation by Georgio El Haber.

ENVIRONMENTS AND MAPSSarah Via, Qianqian Tan, Shuyi Shi, Laura Carrier, Yuntong Lei, Mavis Tan, Allen Tan. Vector world art by Georgio El Haber.

3D, RIGGING AND LANDSCAPESRebecca Bellezza, Mian Brindsi, Jose Leon, Jackson McClellan, Niraj Sarvaiya, Allen Tan

CARDINALProgramming by Sierra Jacobs. Frames and icons by Max Lei. Logos by Sam Moyet. Cards by eleven artists. Poster, UI and 13 cards by Georgio El Haber.

GAME SYSTEMSColin Horvath: movement, camera, dialogue, collisions and UI

MUSICGillian McMillan

AIRSHIPConcept by Georgio El Haber, model by Jose Leon

Created by SCAD students through SCADpro in partnership with Stride Learning Solutions, 2023. All artwork credited to its artists.

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