GAME-A-WEEK is a 9-week programme organised & run by Firepit. → Join the Ziscord

GAME-A-WEEK #7 | MAR 9 → MAR 16

POTTERY

Gif by Mashable

Pots are everywhere in games but they don't really ever get the spotlight. What would a game about pottery and ceramics be like?

Ceramics and pots straddle a unique middle ground of both precious and disposable. Ceramics need to be made in batches, as no matter how well crafted a piece is, there is a decent chance they may break in the kiln. Decorative pots are usually very precious, but extremely fragile.

In games, pots are artistically neglected. Consider how often sculpture is used in games to be appreciated or protected in comparison to pottery and ceramics.

Pots are usually hand crafted pieces that take a lot of time and effort. They are a result of utilizing natural resources found in the literal earth nearby. This means there are dozens of ways to create pots that vary across the globe, since they’re all working with slightly differing materials. Each pot is unique to its culture, location and maker.

So, why pots? Taking something that’s almost universally taken for granted in any work is usually interesting - pots are just one slightly frivolous example. It’s always worthwhile to try to not take any asset in your works for granted, even if you only do it once. Maybe you’ll find at the end of this week, that you simply Do Not Care for pottery, and that’s ok! But now that decision is a conscious one.

Note: While we’d like to encourage making games beyond the most obvious mechanic of breaking pottery, if you want to make a game centered around breaking pots, you *must* use this sound effect in your game in some form. https://tinyurl.com/potSmashSfx

Check out this Google Sheet for more information/resources!

Quick Resources

• Kintsugi is a japanese artform of repairing broken pottery and ceramics with a gold coloured lacquer. This to highlight the beauty in it’s imperfections and embrace the transience of fragile artwork.
  • I recommend having a read of the philosophy section of the article, and if the transience/imperfection elements of this art form appeal to you, take a look at wabi-sabi too.

• 3d printed ‘raw earth homes’ by WASP. Combining 3d printing technology and ceramics, old meets new in this ingenious building process.
  • Combining 3d printing technology and ceramics, old meets new in this ingenious building process.
    
  • Fascinating micro-documentary that highlights some really interesting limitations and challenges of the process. For example, some places simply cannot have a raw earth home made because the local soil is just not suitable for it. These homes are built from nothing but that which is around them.

• Richard Batterham and his independent pottery sourcing his own materials and mixing his own clay, Richard manually completes the entire process of pottery and ceramic making on his own.
  •  Hearing his ideology and approach to his work is great. Early on, he talks about mixing your own clay. I think it’s easy to feel isolated from your work and art. Especially as folks who make digital art, something intangible, I find it really important to reflect on how to incorporate this attitude of tangibility and manual processes into game making. How can you connect more with your work as you make it, and once it’s released to the world? What can you do in your process to fell more connected and fulfilled by your work?