DE4402 Research In Context: Mental Health Representation in Videogames

 This is my final draft for my thesis on the representation of mental health in video games.

DE4402 Research In Context: Mental Health Representation in Videogames

 CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION

PERSONAL RESEARCH STUDIES
Lawlight Maledictus
American McGee
Natalie Martinsson
Robery Kurvitz

PRACTICIONER LECTURES
Benni Hill
Robert Alan Watson
Sarah Kennedy

CONCLUSION

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

In the university work and private work that I have completed and worked on, I have primarily focused on creating effective character design and secondarily writing for many different characters, including their personalities and struggles. Along with this, one thing that I do tend to focus on is the negative aspects of characters, highlighting the fault each of them have, mostly from their inner struggle. This is all in an effort to help interpret how characters can have flaws and problems with them, more specifically, mental health, and how it can be represented. In the video games industry, there are many different artists and game developers who are able to also convey these aspects of mental health in many aspects through the games they develop, be it in the player character, a separate character, or represented in the world they populate.
In this contextual research, I will take a deeper look into the use of creating art and characters in videogames that focus on representing multiple aspects of mental health in order to achieve a greater understanding of its uses in videogames it appears in, all in order to see how this compares to my own work, and understand the effectiveness it has to fairly show to a game’s audience the topics of mental health within their characters and environment. I will also explore the artists who delve deep into the ideas of mental health, interviewing each one that are exceptional enough where they can help bring a lot of useful insight onto the same topics presented.

PERSONAL RESEARCH STUDIES:

For the gathering of evidence for this research, I have looked at different artists, inside and outside of the video games industry, in order to understand their distinctly different creative processes from which I can learn from, and to compare those to my own body of work in order to see how my own work is comparable, as well as how it also contrasts. This was also to help understand my aims as a game developer and artist, and what my own intentions are with my game projects, with how I am able to learn what to aim for when compared to other artists.

One artist that I have discovered who has excelled in the themes of representing mental health is known as ‘Lawlight Maledictus’. His art mainly comes from personal experiences throughout his life, interpreting it with morbid imagery and the uncanny valley to express how wrong something feels. While, as an artist, his work has not been part of a commercial or independent video game project, his work was tantamount in understanding and translating the themes appropriately. From the interview I conducted with him, he has stated that “I've struggled with mental health and autism at a very young age and every day I take it as it comes for me to break the cycle I do a lot of mental health art. The majority of my work is based on my own or others mental health.” Compared to my own body of work, Lawlight has different context to showing his sides of mental health though his art, and has accomplished this in a macabre manner that gives the topic much needed nuance. This has influenced my own aims with my projects, which Lawlight has told me not to hide any details about mental health when representing it, making sure I show the full picture, it allows me to be authentic with my own work and not spare any details about a character and the mental health problems that are represented through that.

Another artist that I have tried to contact about this topic is American McGee, the main artist and designer of the Alice: Madness Returns series. His work and process is primarily focused on conveying a twisted subconscious world through the eyes of a troubled woman, titularly named Alice. The world that was built for these games are a staple of psychological horror, combining a sprawling world whose concepts are able to challenge the player. Compared to my own work, McGee has been able to make this a commercial success through the excellent character design and being able to interpret the struggles of Alice. When compared to McGee’s body of work, My own work has been focused on delivering a similar level of quality through its character design being able to say much more without any words spoken, as well as a project that focuses on the mental health problems of a girl. It has also taught me that the world building as part of the representation is equally as important as the characters, be it how the main character perceives reality or how other people can implant their own reality onto others. I have tried to get into contact with the artist to further understand their process, but I was unable to get a reply.

The next artist that I have contacted is Natalie Martinsson, creator of the horror games Fran Bow and Little Miss Fortune, which both focus on a girls in a horror setting dealing with drastic mental health problems, usually relating back to aspects of mental health, trying to survive the horrors of each world they are in. Martinsson is able to show through her designs, in both the world of the games and the characters that populate it, that people can and will suffer, but there is light at the end of each tunnel, which is a positive message that understanding these issues and dealing with mental health in a professional and respectful manner is the right thing to do. This compares to my own body of work by going deep into the psychology of a person and how the world around them affects them personally, and it is also able to show that a person who has a friend is able to prosper after finding help, and this can help someone overcome many problems. My own work will follow a similar structure through my next project. I have tried to contact her, but unfortunately I was not able to get into contact with this artist. Despite this, their portfolio was an integral part of my evidence gathering to understand what my own aims are.

Another artist who has been a reliable source of information is Robert Kurvitz, the designer for the computer role-playing game, Disco Elysium. Kurvitz’s work is primarily focused on creating a world where the people in it endure a lot of torment, in the context of Lovecraftian horror, yet the suffering of the characters and the trials and tribulations they go through is apparent. While his video game is a definite talking point, the literature he has also created follows similar stories in the same world as his game, which was to positive acclaim, consistently keeping the same methods of the portrayal of mental wellbeing intact. An interesting point about this game is that Disco Elysium even quantitates emotional strength as a statistic, which shows its importance as a plot point in relation to a character’s mental wellbeing. My own body of work draws parallels to their own because the games and books that Kurvitz has worked on are all about the characters that feature in the game, making them the focal point that the player and narrative should focus on the most. Furthermore, my aims for my projects are similarly focused on the characters the player follows, and understanding them as characters, be it through their triumphs and what negative aspects there are about them.

PRACTICIONER LECTURES:
In order to gain more insight on the topics I have been covering for this research, it was in my best interest to seek out different artists that have greater experience covering these different topics.
The artists I looked into are people who are inside and outside of the games and art industry whos art is still valuable to my research.
Over the course of the Masters Degree Course, the University Of Central Lancashire has invited visitors from different artists and developers in the games design industry, some of which have worked with the same topics that I have focused on. I have made sure to ask specific questions to each of the speakers whos topics they covered were of great importance to my research.

BENNI HILL:
Benni Hill is the creative director of Bonsai Collective, a games studio in the UK, who excels in world-building and writing for games. His appeal for videogames started with Sonic and later story-driven games like Shenmue. He was an artist at the University Of Central Lancashire, where he did stop-motion animation and studied the production process extensively. He has had a place at White paper Games, in which he was successful; In the games he has worked for, he explored the concepts of demantia in a game his team has worked on, Ether One, using the topics of dementia as a driving force, which was received with high critical praise. Subsequently, this trend continued with the game ‘Luminova’, a game that deals with the topic of anxiety. The games that he has directed was one of the reasons wh I deemed his work to be valualbale to this research, as we had something to compare our bodies of work to.
It was important that I interview him to understand what he knew about the topics of mental health in games.
My own body of work compares to his by focusing primarily on the mental health problems that are the focal point of a character or story, and the goal of representing them and exploring what it means to the main character the player controls is a top priority for the player to experience, as it is what the foundation of the game is built upon. My aims for my own project are similar to his own, focusing primarily on the characters and

ROBERT ALAN WATSON:
A speaker who explained his process and journey is Robert Alan Watson, who is a graphic designer who has set up his own design company, called Raw Design Studio, and has worked on small and large scale projects using his art direction and design, to make products such as bedsheets with educational value, and podcasts about creative innovation. Robert has usually gone through a meticulous process whilst designing each product and piece of work to make his ideas a reality. Some of the products he has helped to design are with the company Raw Design Studio, which was mainly about packaging meat for consumers in an efficient and environmentally friendly way. While some of his projects have little to do with the video games industry, his philosophies focus on the creativity and effort with each idea he designs. I have tried to get into contact with this artist to understand his creative process more, however, I was not able to get any response from him.

From his body of work, it compares to mine by having a clear goal in mind whilst designing anything, having a plan and moving forward with it. While his work doesn’t usually focus on the mental health of a character or the player character, his work ethic and his process is equally as important whilst designing any project, and my aims, in relation to Watson’s work, are to make a cohesive and approachable product, in the form of video games.


SARAH KENNEDY:
Another speaker that I have seen give a lecture in class was Sarah Kennedy, who is a big name in the animation and voice acting industry, working for multiple projects during her career, using multiple mediums of animation for each project. A lot of her projects focus on the struggles of daily life that each main character lives through. While this is not a case where her work has been present in the video games industry, as an artist, her work is an invaluable example as to the logic of representing different mental health problems. I was sure to ask her my usual set of questions to understand her process and to see if there is any connection to mental health throughout, to which she answered:

“I am interested in social realism, observational comedy, and humour.  I like work that says something, that highlights a social issue but in a humorous way.  Then way we co-exist with each other, the way our lives are intertwined, the way people communicate, the nuances of social conditioning and cultural norms. I find recording the voices and directing the actors the best bit.  The script comes to life and I can hear if it’s working.  I always do this as soon as the script is written.  It gives you a strong idea that is working in a relatively short time.”

 

From the answers given, it shows that Sarah has a clear tendency to be able to effectively represent mental health in the projects she has worked on, especially in shows such as Pond Life with the struggle of Dolly Banks’ life and her inner struggle against her family’s wishes. Comparing her body of work to my own, she has used many different mediums to tell stories about different kinds of people, meanwhile I have not used as many mediums for my own projects, only using so little in contrast.

To summarize my findings, there are many games and artists that are able to represent different kinds of mental health within their properties with great effectiveness, whilst also showing a large sum of nuance with the characters that suffer through these challenges they prevail through. The artists and game developers that I have interviewed were able to give me a much greater understanding of how these themes are to be effectively interpreted within their lines of work, whether it is purely visual in a character’s design and a game’s environment, or represented through the character’s speech and actions that help to convey it. Furthermore, the information that I have learnt from these developers and artists can be used in further projects, both narrative and design, in order to help convey the themes of mental health in a positive and carefully structured manner towards an audience who would be able to understand the messages that I wish to convey, be it a positive message, a message about mental health, or a character study where the audience is able to identify with a character’s flaws and struggles. My aims for my own projects have been shaped by the different artists and developers I have attempted to contact and research, and I have now learnt how to more easily give a more accurate and honest portrayal of mental health problems, through a non-judgemental outlook and giving much needed appreciation for the related characters.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Dunlap. K. N. (n/a). Representation of Mental Illness in Video Games. iThrive Games. n/a(n/a), pp.81-81. [Online]. Available at: file:///C:/Users/jbigl/Downloads/09.Representation%20of%20Mental%20Illness%20in%20Video%20Games.pdf [Accessed 2 April 2023].

Instagram. (n/a). the__lone__artist. [Online]. Instagram. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/the__lone__artist/?hl=en [Accessed 15 March 2023].

McGee, A. (n/a). Home. [Online]. American McGee's Blog. Last Updated: 2023. Available at: https://www.americanmcgee.com/ [Accessed 27 April 2023].

n/a. (n/a). About. [Online]. Killmonday Games. Last Updated: 2023. Available at: https://killmondaygames.com/about/ [Accessed 27 April 2023].

n/a. (n/a). STUDIO-Bonsai Collective. [Online]. Bonsai Collective. Last Updated: n/a. Available at: https://www.bonsai-collective.com/ [Accessed 27 April 2023].

Watson, R.A. (n/a). About | Raw | Design & Digital Agency | North West (en-GB). [Online]. Raw | Design & Digital Agency | North West (en-GB). Last Updated: 2023. Available at: https://weareraw.co.uk/about [Accessed 27 April 2023].

MA: Games Design: Dream Roamer: Central Themes

 The central themes for this game are about finding representation in mental health through the writing of the characters and the set-up from the world building.

Throughout the game, the player will answer questions from the perspective of a therapist who is there to guide Claire through these nightmares she's experiencing.

There area  lot of ways that mental health can be represented through this game, however I have settled on distinctly representing anxiety and depression through the gameplay and story. This is done with the mechanic of overexerting yourself whilst trying to break free from a depressive episode through great effort. However, waiting a short time can make you healthier, which is representative of taking time to reflect upon one's self.

Depression can have an effect on one's dreams, twisting them into nightmares that reflect how a person is feeling deep down or showing them something they did not want to see.

This study helps to exuntuate my points and I have taken this into account whilst designing each area of Dream Roamer.

https://www.banyanmentalhealth.com/2019/11/27/depression-and-dreams-how-mental-health-affects-your-dreams/

MA Games Design: Dream Roamer: User Interface

 The interface for this was went through different designs, in order to decide which worked the best in context with the games themes and setting, while also being readable by the player so they understand its purpose.

The first design I tried was a circuler interface that cycles between moon-like phases in order to represent a health counter. The design of this was imspired by Megami Tensei's Moon Phase interface, however the function of the interface in that series works differently than for Dream Roamer.

The second design I tried out was to use bubbles in a row to represent the health counter, pictured below is each frame in descending order, which is the frames of remaining health.

 

 

The third design I tried is similar to the second design, however the way health is represented is through a bar rather than seperate bubbles.

 

 

After much thought, I decided to use the Moon version of the health counter. This was mainly because the game takes place in a dream, it made more sense to have an interface that represented nighttime easier.

MA Games Design: Platformer Project: now titled Dream Roamer: Character and Enemies

 For the next game I am in the process of making for my Masters Degree, I am making a game with GBStudio, but this game will focus on the aspects of mental health as its focal point, and the ways the player can play this game and find ways to cope with it better.

My first ideas for the game was a platformer where the mechanics resemble feeling stress in the real world, where the player can perform strong attacks once they have taken enough damage in order to heal, but not to an infinite degree where the player can constantly get hit by enemies in order to do so.

For the start of the designing process, I created a main character that would be going through their own turmoils. Using Adobe Photoshop, I created Claire, who the player will control in the game.

She went through different designs, most of which was deciding on a hairstyle that would show up best on a Gameboy screen and colour palette, once that was decided, the rest of her outfit helped to compliment her hair, especially once she was made as a sprite.
The lighter colours on her jacket were not only a stylistic choice, but they were also used in order to map out the shape of her body whilst making her sprites. This is also true whilst animating the walk cycle for Claire, colouring one of the legs differently helped greatly with mapping out where each of her legs should be.

I have also designed six different enemy types that will populate the dream-like worlds that Claire will travel through.
Each will function differently with how the player will have to avoid their movement patterns, as well as defeating them.

As seen on the sprite sheet, the mass of stars was meant for an animation representing the defeat of an enemy, shown by a small sparkle of stars, however this became tough to implement as the amount of frames on screen slowly led this to surpass the limit, resulting in graphical errors.

The first enemy designed for the game is called a Gunk, influenced by the idea that these monsters are clogging up Claire's thoughts, whilst making them a simple threat, similar to a Goomba in the Super Mario games. Stomping on top of it will defeat it, as it moves left and right.

 

 

The Crawler works in a similar way, however, they are meant to be faster than a Gunk.

 

 

The third enemy implemented in the game is a trickier one to beat, the Encroacher, This enemy will stay still until the player gets within range of it. Upon getting too close, it will dart towards the player in order to make contact. Holding the jump button for the highest possible jump is the key to survival.

The first boss of the game is an enemy called the Blocker, whose AI works similarly to the Encroacher, however, the line of sight is larger to span the whole boss arena. It takes six hits or shots to bring down, allowing you to complete the level.
The speed of the Blocker is also faster than the Encroacher for the extra challenge.

 

The fourth enemy implimented into the game is the Grasper, which will act as the second boss.
The function of this boss will be to grab Claire as it descends, dealing a point of damage.

While not implemented yet, an enemy that I plan to add is the Bloat, an enemy made to represent overthinking which can overwhelm a person who does so. The plan with the Bloat is to make the Ai simple as it will walk back and forth, but will require three hits to defeat.

Another enemy with similar intentions is the Sludge, who will require multiple hits to defeat, however, they will block health pickups until they are defeated.

 

 

The Enforcer is an enemy that works similarly to the design and movement of the Encroacher, however, he has longer range of attack that the player has to avoid,on account of wielding a lance and a more frightening face, representing a suit of armour

 

When possible, I also plan to add enemies such as the Corvid and Wasp, whose appearances prey on common phobias of birds and insects. These enemies will be in the sky and will act as a mobild hazard to the player.

DE4403: MA Games Design: Mental Health Platformer Ideas

 For the next game project on my Masters Degree, I will be using GBStudio, a software package I have used in previous projects, to make a 2-Dimensional Platformer. I have started drafting ideas up for how the gameplay loop will function.

The main gameplay loop will be traversing a 2-D platforming level, running and jumping, and defeating different enemies. All the while, the payer will have a bar on their interfece known as the Stress Meter. When each level starts, the meter will be set at a neutral state. When you take damage, the meter rises to the right. If it goes over the limit of the meter, the player loses a life from not being able to manage their stress. When at a higher stress, the running speed and jumping height are lowered. This can be lowered by expending that stress meter in order to do a large jump or large attack forward. When the player is at a lower stress, the player can run faster and jump higher than normal.

The player wouldn't be able to constantly keep taking damage from one enemy to make their stres higher to gain oppurtunities for extra attacks, as enemies will disappear after taking contact with the player.

DE4402: Games Design MA: Research In Context

 For this semester of my Masters, I have to write a research report on a given topic, which I have decided will be about how videogames are able to help deal with mental health, more specifically how to cope with larger problems.

To help gather insight into this type of art in order to help with a project, I looked to artists that specialize in drawing and painting interpretations of mental health's problems and symptoms. One example to commend for their art is an artist who goes by the psuedonym 'Lawlight Maledictus', who is a neurodivergant artist I had interviewed. The interview in question was about what I could learn from his type of art he creates and what I can do to use it in my own projects. The answers given were very helpful for constructing my Research Report.

My questions for each person I've interviewed, and Lawlight's answers are:

What genre of art do you specialise in?
"Answer for question one, for my genre of art i specialise in surrealism, figurative, landscape, narrative, social commentary, symbolism."

What type of themes do you cover in your art?
My themes are mental health psychological horror, body horror, self insertion, religion, tradition.

In what ways are you able to cope with your own problems relating to the themes you cover?
"Now that question deserves a answer, Art for me is a coping strategy a method of means to helps it keep sane, I've struggled with mental health and autism at a very young age and every day I take it as it comes for me to break the cycle I do alot of mental health art and drink alot of green tea, alot. Im just a mentally strong person who try to keep sane thats all."

What was your inspiration for one of your pieces?
"The majority of my work is based on my own or others mental health I say my most complex inspiration was there was this girl who had a rare disorder its called body identity integrity disorder it causes the subject to make them selves disabled they either remove there legs or make them selves blind etc its a interesting subject, I call it the Deterating Barbie."

What can I learn from your craft specifically?
"I say craft wise there's a saying I go by imagination is like a weapon those who lack it are the first to die, what im saying is use what comes to mine dont be afraid of being censored show people your true colours be ruthless be honest, be your self dont be anything like me be better then me."

I also asked an extra question, after being offered to ask any more that came to my head.From one of your pieces you've made, what lesson can be learnt from it that I could implement into a game project for the player to take from it, such as a concept or a method to cope with a problem?
"I'd say there is always room to improve and progress and practice doesn't make perfection practice makes progress, my personal favourite concept/troupe is self insertion finding your self in the image and relating to the concept its like looking at a metaphorical mirror and seeing your self in the image."

The information and advice that he has given is an invaluable asset.

DE4403: MA Games Design: Chesspionage: Dungeons & Dragons Set Digitized

 These are the digitized versions of the Cesspionage Dungeons And Dragons pieces, based on each of the most iconic and powerful monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual.
The first monster who represents the King is the Tarrasque, which is known for being one of the most powerful monsters in Dungeons and Dragons, boasting monsterous power, able to destroy cities effortlessly.
The same applies for the Queen piece, represented by Tiamat, the Queen Of Chromatic Dragons, a destructive opponent that a team of players can fight against.
The Bishop is represented by the Beholder, a crafty abberation who shoots many different beams from its eye stalks, floating around the battlefield.
The Knight will be represented by the Troll, who is powerful enough to jump around its opponents. As Trolls are known to lose limbs, it will be designed further to have lost an arm, but will be holding a horse's leg in its intact arm to represent its Knight status.
The Rook will be a Death Knight, an while it will not be a Knight in Chess, it is still a ferocious opponent that will have large range in movement, and its head has been designed to resemble a Rook's tower, which the original Death Knight bears a slight resemblance to.
The final piece is the Pawn, who is represented by a meek Goblin, while they are weak, they excel in strength in numbers just as a Pawn and other Pawns in Chess do.

DE4403: MA Games Design: Chesspionage: Space Theme

 This is the second complete chess set for the Chesspionage series in order to broaden my Body Of Work on this Masters course. The first side represents either NASA scientists and astronauts, and the opposing side represents alien invaders as seen in various science fiction movies and videogames.

DE4403: MA Games Design: Chesspionage: Extra Sets 2

I have designed different thematic sets of Chess Pieces for the Chesspionage Project, in the efforts to flesh out my Body of Work more.

I was asked to create a chess set based on animals, specifically I decided to put together a variety of animals usually found in the Savannah areas of Africa, being Lions, Monkeys, Elephants, Rhinos and Giraffes. I would consider switching the roles of the Rhino and Giraffe around, so that the Rhino is a Rook and the Giraffe is a Knight, which would make more sense.

 

The next set that I created is a horror themed Chess set, including Frankenstein's Monster and his Bride as the King and Queen, a Vampire as a Bishop, which it makes sense given the religious implications of vampires. Jack-o-Lanterns were decided upon as the Pawn as they are simple in shape, their faces can be carved into many different expressions, and pumpkins can be crushed easily. The Knight is a Dullahan, or a Headless Horseman, riding his horse, making sense for the Knight. The Rook is a Werewolf, this was chosen for its amount of power.

 

The third set drafted up was a set based on Greek Mythology. The King and the Queen piece  represent Hades, the King of the Underworld, and another threatning figure in mythology, Medusa the Gorgon.
The Harpy and Minotaur pieces should be swapped around in their roles, because Harpies are able to fly as Knighrs are able to jump, and Rooks are more befitting for a powerful Minotaur. The Pawns are skeleton warriors, seen most iconically in films like Jason And The Argonauts, and the Bishop is another famous figure in Greek Mythology, the Cyclops. Having similar range of movement to a Minotaur makes it equal in power.

 

The last unique set that I have made a rough draft of is a Dungeons And Dragons themed set, more specifically, themed around the most powerful and iconic monsters. The first monster who represents the King is the Tarrasque, which is known for being one of the most powerful monsters in Dungeons and Dragons. The same applies for the Queen piece, represented by Tiamat, the Queen Of Chromatic Dragons. The Bishop is represented by the beholder, a crafty opponent who shoots many different rats form its eye stalks, floating around the battlefield. The Knight will be represented by the Troll, who is powerful enough to jump around its opponents. As Trolls are known to lose limbs, it will be designed further to have lost an arm, but will be holding a horse's leg in its intact arm to represent its Knight status. The Rook will be a Death Knight, an while it will not be a Knight in Chess, it is still a ferocious opponent that will have large range in movement. The final piece is the Pawn, who is represented by a meek Goblin, who excel in strength in numbers.

DE4403: Games Design MA: Chesspionage: Extra Sets

 In order to extend my body of work, I needed to design more character sets for the Chesspionage project. To vary the designs significantly, I decided to go for different themes. The first theme I made rough designs for is a Science Fiction theme. The white side of the chess board is based on NASA spacemen and the brains and brawn of Earth's space travel, meanwhile the Black side of the chessboard.

 

In order to find inspiration and a good frame of reference for the designs of the pieces in this theme, I should look at movies and videogames such as Ridley Scott's 'Alien', 'Starcraft', 'Warhammer 40000', and 'Mars Attacks!'.

 

The first more detailed sketches were for the pawn pieces, representing astronauts and aliens, both common sights in science fiction. Their simplicity and round designs made them suitable for the role of pawns.
To stay consistent with the first Chesspionage set I designed, their feet are part of the base, making them desemble a chess piece.

 

 The King pieces are based on the ideas of leading powers on both sides. Typically, military generals are used in science fiction as a symbol of authority in space operations, overseeing the operations, which is what i try to convey with these designs, whilst keeping the integrity of chess intact, with the use of the headpieces the same as seen on the tops of chess pieces.
The Alien side ofthe board's forst design goes for a vibe that would be seen in the game series Starcraft, with a slender appearance, fantastical robe and pointier crown. Their appearance also takes influence from Illithids, or Mind Flayers, from Dungeons and Dragons.

 

A similar design choice was taken when designing the first drafts of the Queen pieces, where a smart scientist makes the role fo the queen on the White Side, while an alien Queen was used for the Black Side of the board. In future, the next design for the Black side's Queen will be more designed after a movie like Alien or Mars Attacks!, which are more iconic and well known when thinking about tyrannical alien life in fiction.

  

The Knights' first designs are taken from the image of mounts seen in science fiction like Star Wars' Tauntauns, and the probes and rovers used by space stations to explore different planets remotely, such as the Mars Rovers, specifically Curiosity. Their skills in exploring alien terrain make a good candidate for the Knight piece on the White Side, whilst a more alien vehicle or mount (in this case a cavalry unit) works as a base for the design of the Black Knight's piece. 

 

For the Bishop pieces, the Astronaut side goes for a more comical approach with an astronaut ordouned as a priest/bishop, wearing a Mitre on the top of its helmet, and holding a scroll of holy scripture. While there is not a great connection to religion with spece travel, some astronauts and Ground Control at NASA and other space stations will pray to their god for success and safety, so lampooning the subject feels to be slightly comical. The Black Priest on the alien side's design goes for the subject of alien races worshipping their own deities in science fiction, believing in a creator that created their universe and birthed them.

 

 

For the Rooks' first design, the idea of large celestial objects being the role of the Rook made sense as a concept, with how difficult they are to impede, both meteors and large space-themed abberations such as Shoggoths. The White side was chosen to be a meteor to represent the research done on them by astrophycisists and space stations in order to prevent them becoming a threat and colliding with the Earth. A Lovecraftian inspired horrific creature like a Shoggoth impeding a piece's progress on a chessboard, whilst being able to move very quickly in 4 directions is fitting for a Rook's space-themed design, and fits in with the design family of aliens.