Kepler
Kepler was an exciting roller coaster with many twists. This project was for my senior show at Southeastern Louisiana University. It had three main parts: an intro animation, an outro animation, and a project along the way.
But before we see the final work, let's start with the beginning.
Kepler Was Originally an RPG Concept
Yes! Kepler was originally meant to be an RPG with an intro animation and end credits. It was planned to have its own music, unique artwork, and a captivating story. Not only that, but Kepler did not receive its name until the final stages. Before our galaxy themed short film got its name, it was originally called RUIN!
RUIN! The Interactive RPG
Let’s start all the way from the beginning with Ruin. Ruin was an interactive animation and RPG game concept for my senior year of college. The backstory was… complex. In this dystopian story, humans underwent a psychological evolution that allowed them to reconfigure their own DNA. This phenomenon gave people superhuman strength, speed, and heightened senses. However, with that new power, they lost themselves. Eventually, the emergence of “Ruins” led to the destruction of one-third of the human race.
After a massive population drop, the survivors formed a region called Exodus. It has 12 territories, each with its own culture, politics, and economy. The names come from genetic changes causing kids to have different eye colors, matching the twelve birthstones. A person's quality of life depended on their eye color.
So how does one combat superhumans with no morality? Bear Suits. Yep, bear suits.
What’s inside the suits to stop the outbreak? A device in the bear head checks your hormone levels. If cortisol gets too high, it will explode! That means before someone turns into a ruin, a countdown begins. If the person isn’t calm while wearing the mask, they die within ten seconds. But there is always a different side of the story. The remains. The remains are people who went through the psychological phenomenon and kept their consciousness. So, basically super strong people that can think properly.
The Original Draft Intro
Introducing bear suits! BUM-DA-BUM!
In this story, the National Medical Association (NMA) urgently searched for a cure because many people were dying. They discovered that people felt better with child-like images and objects, so everyone had to wear a suit.
The Project was a Fail
After finishing a few seconds of my intro animation, I realized that I did not want to continue with the project. Not only did I not have the time to finish the concept, but I also was not interested in it. Something was missing. After making major changes, I decided to remove the video game part and ended up changing the project to a 3D animation.
A New Beginning
The new project was in 3D, featured a new soundtrack, and removed the bear suits. It still retained some playfulness and flair, staying true to the video game concept. The project follows a surreal storyline in which the audience is immersed in a new dystopian society where people are compelled to wear robotic masks and to "always smile." This world closely mirrors our own social environment and provides a chilling realization of the effects of corruption, control, and abuse of governmental/political power.
