Kai Bittighöfer - Malleus Maleficarum

The Project

This visual project was part of the production design course of my third semester of Game Design at HTW Berlin. We were given complete creative freedom over the setting and world our creations would belong to, as long as it would fit the theme Signs.

The hypothetical 3D first-person horror survival game Malleus Maleficarum takes place in 16th century Europe during the times of witch hunt. Players would play as a hunted witch with the ability to read omens and signs to predict the future.

Not only did the era offer a lot of inspiration, I was also very interested in learning more about this time period during my research.

The Billboard

I decided to create a pub sign, that would be found in a city highly frequented by witch hunters. The billboard itself is very strict, harsh and authoritarian. It shows the mindset of the player's enemies.

The players can gather several bits of information from this billboard: it is the landmark for a potential quest, the name "The Burning Witch" paired with the image accompanying image informs immediately that the region is extremely dangerous, the little sign "Under protection of the royal guard" signals that enemies are also inside the building, there is a hidden symbol on the billboard that can only be seen using magic. The symbol lets players know that despite the danger, allies are not far.

Initially the wooden witch was not painted. After giving the witch a chipped layer of paint, the wording of the lower sign denying witches entry also got harsher.

By night the hidden symbol is even more visible.

The torch placed at the bottom of the sign would be lit by night and make it appear even more ominous. The same torch would also be used to light the fire to burn witches at the stake.

Items

The items I conceptualized are objects the players could use and would be stored in their inventory. My goal was to choose items that make sense with the history of witches but also elaborate on the game's story.

In order to read the signs and find clues, I gave the player a monocle. From the beginning I wanted to incorporate a rough and uncut gemstone, that would have to be looked into.

My first idea was to place a monocle cord at the base of the gem.

Here the gem was placed inside a hagstone/adder stone.

Finally, I added a decorative frog mouth at the base. It turned the monocle in a piece of jewelry, which would help disguise the true nature of its purpose, something witches would look out for. The frog also became a main motif in for the character, like a guardian of her family.

Naturally a well prepared witch needs potions. To not settle for the usual bottle, I also took inspiration from perfume flacons. Ideally, the shape of the potion bottle gives a hint of their use.

From left to right: a snakes head (the cork) emerges from a rose – sneaky poison, a makeshift bottle made from a hollow horn – grants strength, a sacred heart – gives health

The dragon bottle would contain spoilable fire.

I explored the idea of having multiple bottles in one. On the left it functions as a biosphere for a flower while on the right it mimics the chambers of a heart. The bottle in the middle could be made out of crystal. Paired with the eye inside, it hints to looking into a crystal ball and seeing the truth.

A spellbook is a must. It gave me a chance to implement a lot of details and give the player character more depth. It needed to be worn out, as if it were handed down through generations of witches.

The final book could be opened from the middle, giving it an even more special touch. The illustration on the cover is inspired by alchemistic drawings describing the creation of the philosopher's stone. On the torn piece of cover is the family's sign.

Some items I did not end up making more elaborate were an invisibility cloak and a hex-bag.

The cloak would momentarily turn the players invisible, with the long cords swinging according to which direction players would walk in. Elaborate tassels would provide some eye candy, as the player characters back would be concealed while wearing the cloak. The pointy hood was a reference to a potential origin of the pointy witches hat.

The hex-bag would be crafted and serve different purposes. In witchcraft, these are left at enemies houses under their beds as a curse.

Vehicle

To give the players means of transportation and faster travel, the vehicle I created a mobile shop, that doubles as the player character's home. Like Mary Poppins' bag, entering through the door in the back would lead to a much larger room than the little chamber appears to be.

The player character would sell medicine and charms, but could conceal them quickly, if witch hunters were approaching.

The banner on top of the vehicle also displays the symbol of the player character's family. It is a simplified frog face, with the vertical pupils and bloated cheeks. The frog can also be found as a novelty lantern on the right: a frog sitting on a sea rose with a dragonfly on its back.

The door was also supposed to feature the family's symbol, which was very fitting as a window in the door. Shining a bright light from the inside would cast a recognizable shadow for other witches, letting them know who inhabits the vehicle.

I had a lot of fun with the project and was able to test some techniques, I am not very familiar with, like photo bashing for getting a better texture on my assets. In general, I really enjoy coming up with meaning and backstories for assets and coming up with iterations. My goal is to provide a meaningful visualization of the projects I work on and infuse what I create with character and backstory.