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
Art Direction and 3D Art
Set in a dystopian future shaped by hyper-consumerism, I developed a plastic toy aesthetic defined by soft, round forms and a neon-saturated color palette. I designed and modeled the supermarket’s inventory, wrapping everything in glossy plastic with a highlighted sense of cuteness and naivety. The same approach informed the featureless humanoids, whose personalities are expressed only through their gadgets. These examples guided our 3D artists in creating additional assets - from food and props to buildings - consistent with the defined style.
2D Concept Art and Assets
Imagining a near-future Copenhagen that aligned with the supermarket's aesthetic, I gathered references and defined guidelines for the team's artists, who created concept sketches of vehicles, signs, and buildings - some incorporating iconic Danish landmarks. After approving them, selected assets were modelled and integrated into the game.
Meanwhile, a series of 2D posters and product labels satirizing overconsumption were illustrated, which I reviewed closely to ensure that characters, colors, and tone felt cohesive with the game's stylized 3D world.
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.
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
