Consumania
Your goal is simple: stick to your shopping list. Fail, and you’ll spiral into uncontrollable purchasing madness. Step into a futuristic supermarket and dive into the exponential chaos of human overconsumption in the absurd, satirical world of CONSUMANIA!
A collaborative project between bachelor's and masters' students at the Royal Danish Design Academy, I was both art director and developer - guiding the game's visual identity, while using Unity and visual scripting to bring the game's technical mayhem to life. With mechanics inspired by Katamari Damacy, it was my job to help keep the chaos coherent and fun.
Roles: Art Direction ∙ 3D Art ∙ Tech Art ∙ Development
Development
I used visual scripting to create a Katamari Damacy-inspired rolling ball of chaos, triggered when touching items that aren't on the player's shopping list. The ball grows as it collects objects, with a system that filters out items larger than itself to maintain steady, controlled growth.
Art Direction and 3D Art
Reflecting themes of overconsumption, I pushed a hyper-consumerist plastic aesthetic, with round, toy-like proportions. I created 3D models and renders of the supermarket’s interior, furniture, and humanoids, to establish the game’s visual style and color palette. I then guided the other 3D artists in creating additional assets (food, buildings, accessories) to match the defined style.
2D Concept Art and Assets
Defining the city’s visual style beyond the supermarket, I gathered references of futuristic cities to imagine a near-future Denmark. Based on these, Sara sketched buildings, vehicles, and signs that matched the supermarket's aesthetic. After my review and approval, selected assets were then 3D modelled. In a parallel process, D.J. created satirical illustrations for packages and signs, amplifying the absurdity of overconsumption while integrating a 2D style within the encompassing 3D world.
Playtesting
During post-production, we created a flowchart mapping expected player engagement and emotional responses, then tested our hypotheses using GSR and FACS analysis. Results showed strong responses during key transitions: excitement spiked when the rolling ball was triggered and during the breakout from the supermarket.
Credits
Art Direction, 3D Art, Tech Art, Development: Mati Kalter
Narrative Direction, Level Design, 3D Art: Wika Domercka
Concept Art, 3D Art: Sara Lisinka Nielsen
Illustration, 3D Art: Anastasia Jacobsen
Illustration: D.J. Goon
Narrative Direction, Level Design, 3D Art: Wika Domercka
Concept Art, 3D Art: Sara Lisinka Nielsen
Illustration, 3D Art: Anastasia Jacobsen
Illustration: D.J. Goon
