Elements

As a group we discussed a theme for the game, with micro organisms and aquatic creatures being too similar to flOw Jac had the idea to use elements within the game. This can easily be translated within simple imagery.

The elements we chose were the classic; air, water, fire and earth. 

Sketches of the idea, representing the playable element.

After discussing the idea of elements we decided that the theme did not currently fit in with the paintings and the flow mechanics, so needed to be adapted.

FlOw Art style

The main organism you play as is just as simple as any of the other cells you encounter. The main difference between yourself and everything else is the change of colour when aggressive life forms are near, turning red when near you.

All creatures are made up of rings, circles and curving patterns. The developers chose not to include straight lines within any of the designs, to give it a more natural aquatic feel. While simple it is easy to distinguish types of organisms, some being like snakes, others like jellyfish, giving an added interest of what type of creature you may encounter next.

Initial FlOw Research

"flOw is a game about piloting an aquatic organism through a surreal biosphere where players consume other organisms, evolve, and dive into the abyss. With an embedded design of DDA (dynamic difficulty adjustment), players with differing skills levels can intuitively customize their game experience and enjoy the game at their own pace."

 http://thatgamecompany.com/games/flow/

Looking into flOw I found the game was very simple, with little to no goals, apart from to survive and eat other cells. It appears to be based on almost exactly what you would expect real life micro-organisms to be doing. With such simple game play thatgamecompany manage to create a highly addictive game using a basic yet appealing art style.

Initial Sketches of flOw microbes as well as new types of creatures