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 1960s America: 

Environmental Design

Research / References / Concept Art

Research:

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When researching what the style of the game should be, I settled on 1960s Pittsburgh America. This area has a richly diverse range of architecture all determined by social class. Downtown Pittsburgh was built up with large multi-story buildings, complex tram lines and streets of high-end stores targeting the wealthy portion of the city. You can see what the heart of the city looked like below:

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However, the city centre was built up due to the success of the area. Pittsburgh contained industrial estates which took off in the 1830s and expanded and peaked during the 60s. The Steel industry thrived so much during the 60s that Pittsburgh was home of one of the most dominant industries in all of America. 

 

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Finally, the suburbs of the area showed vibrant colours and presented the American Dream in a visual way. This area was located on the outskirts of the city and housed the residents of the city. This sort of style could easily be used when conveying the wealthy and vibrant Jazz side of the game.

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Straight away, whilst researching where to collate influence from, Pittsburgh stood out, it was a large city which housed industries, wealthy vast city streets, and suburban homes on the outskirts.

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To further express the wealth of the Jazz side of the game, I do plan to add creative freedom to dramatise the extent of segregation. I, therefore, plan to use designs and architecture of other areas to display the wealth of the area. I imagine suburbs detailed with colourful paint and white picket fences to show the vast difference between the two sides. Films like Suburbicon and Edward Scissor hands use set design to express an idealistic perfect society. The depiction of a colourful society residing under blue skies could be strongly beneficial and useful to contrast the aura and atmosphere of a blues-based society. Therefore, I plan to use elements of designs from these two sources to influence the Jazz side of the world.

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Below you will see the environmental designs of suburbicon which is set in 1957, a few years prior to the setting of our game:

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Below you will find examples of the set design for Edward Scissor Hands:

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Both films take influence from the 1950s, however, I think this can be useful to incorporate into our game. Jazz and Azul is about segregation and was shaped around research into racial segregation in 1960s America. This was a period which housed violence, protests, murders all for basic human rights. The 60s was an era of public outcry over crucial matters such as war, rights and freedom. In contrast to the decade prior, the 50s were vibrant and did not experience the same level of freedom of speech. For those succeeding it was a period of bliss. Although our game is set around the 1960s, it would be interesting to make the Jazz side of the game, which represents entitlement and self servitude, set with 50s inspired setting. In this side of the world, colour is still fruitful and vibrant, and those who live there are ignorant of others living in the Blues side of the world across the wall. The Blues side of the world, however, would take strong influence from the 1960s, it is industrialist, self-sufficient, it deals with unpleasant living conditions and a world set around depression but also reflects the struggles of those who were campaigning for basic rights in 60s America. This side of the world represents struggle as was evident during the civil rights movement. This side of the world is dark and cautious about the future. 

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Mood Boards

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Below you will find mood boards of both sides of the game world, as well as colour palettes of which the environments will use:

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Blues mood board:

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These images depict everyday life in 1960s Pittsburgh. It shows the residents of Hill District destruction of the area which occurred between 1950 and 1990. These pictures depict how I imagine the moody and run down Blues side of the game. They depict hardship, poverty and suffering which are all common themes of Blues music. 

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Jazz Moodboard:

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This mood board contains photos from 1960s Downtown Pittsburg, it shows success and thriving business which I envision in the Jazz side of the world of our game. Besides this, there are also pictures of the 1950s and 1960s American suburbs which show a luxurious way of living which was carried over into the next decade.

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Blues Colour Palette:

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These are the colours I imagine being used in the Blues side of the world. Certain colours on the right should be presented with lower saturation, but regardless, I don't imagine the whole world to be dark shades of blue.

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Jazz Colour Palette:

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These colours are how I imagine the environment will look on the Jazz side of the world. These bright colours could present the upbeat tone of Jazz music visually.

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Concept Art

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Using the research and visual studies I have previously done, I created two pieces of concept art of the sort of housing our protagonists may reside in within the game.

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Below you can see a concept of what Jasmine's house might look like. It is meant to be a large, and spacious house, with plenty of external space for gardens and greeny. On this side of the wall, space is plenty and its inhabitants can afford their own plot of land:

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In regard to the blues' side of the world, Azul would have grown up in a cramped household in an industrialist neighbourhood. The concept below suggests that homes are small and held above shops and workplaces. Where Jasmine has her own room and gardens, Azul would share his space in a small, loud, apartment flat with the rest of his family.

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Game Map:

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To help visualise the game world, I created a map which shows a town divided by the great wall. On the left side of the map is the Jazz society, it contains small separated homes, suburbs, and large shops with small industry. On the right side of the map is the Blues society, it contains streets of connected homes, large industrial polts, and empty streets waiting for development.

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Downtown Pittsburgh 1960.jpg
Pittsburgh Industry 2.jpg
Pittsburgh blues side 7 Lawrenceville.jp
60s jazz side.jpg
Pittsburgh suburbs 1.jpg
suburbicon 1.jpg
suburbicon 2.jpg
edward scissor hands 1.jpg
edward scissor hands 3.jpg
edward scissor hands 2.jpg
Jazz side.jpg
blues colour palette.png
blues colour palette 2.png
blues colour palette 4.png
blues colour palette 3.png
jazz colour palette 1.jpg
jazz colour palette 2.jpg
jazz colour palette 3.jpg
1960s-palette.jpg
jazz housing.jpg
blues hosuing.jpg
Game_Map.jpg
Blues side.jpg
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