Hellway: The first chapter

For my 3rd year project, in Computer Games Art, I planned to base it on a long running personal project. The project, which I named Hellway, is based upon the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, and takes the form of a continuation of the Inferno, but has a modern /futuristic twist. 

The setting that Dante created in his original poem is rife with inspiration and of great influence. It has always been a personal interest of mine, but I found it particularly interesting that hell has always been depicted in this traditional fashion, outside comedic interpretations. 

I wanted to explore the effect of such an extreme environment on a group of characters after several millennium of hellish exposure.This setting provides many opportunities for unique stories and despite this project being an action game I wanted to find the best and most engaging way to tell them, in contrast to certain other games within the sub-genre.

I'd also planned to link this project with my dissertation as exploration of the sub-genre's use of narrative. I'd noted that it was an area of much debate and discussion among gaming communities but that it had never been academically analysed. 

My decision to make an art book was so that I could play to my strengths, both 2D design and narrative. It allows me to present the games characters and locations alongside interesting traits and features that would be as engaging to the reader as they would to a potential player.