Candytopia

Artist Statement

In the game Candy-topia, The player follows the character of Reese, a Reese’s Peanut-Butter Cup, on his quest to become a knight in the fictional Kingdom of Candy-topia. After finding out that the princess of the kingdom, Princess Sugar has been kid-napped by the evil Gummy Bears from the neighboring village Reese is faced with a decision. Should he got after the Princess and try to save her or should he leave that task up to someone else? Through the decisions that the player helps Reese make, Reese can choice to Travel across the Snowball Mountain, through the Gummy Worm Forest, and even venture across the Hot Chocolate Pond to face the Gummy Bears and bring Princess Sugar Home. Will Reese save the day and become a Knight? Will he exceed everyone’s expectations, including his own and become the next King? Or will he fail miserably and have to become a farmer to help support his family? Find out by playing Candy-topia.

For this story, I was inspired by the idea of the game Candy Land coming to life.  I really wanted the main characters to be something that everyone would be familiar with and thought pieces of candy would be perfect. I liked this Idea because looking at candy there aren’t types that would be inherently good or evil or kinds that would be strong and brave, which is why I thought it was funny. The main character, Reese, is a peanut-butter cup because I thought the image of a tiny piece of chocolate wanting to be a knight was cute. When you look at any candy you just see something that is small and sweet, which are great character traits for someone who would want to become an unlikely hero, like Reese.  The thought of a little piece of chocolate wanting to become a Knight was funny to me, but also endearing. Peanut-butter cups are relatively small on the scale of candy sizes, so defending itself or others doesn’t seem likely. But this is exactly what Reese want to do, he wants to defend his kingdom even though he’s clearly not right fit for the role of a Knight. 

In this story, Reese’s biggest want is to become a knight. He wants to become a Knight more than anything else, but we learn that in order to do so he needs to prove his bravery to the Royal Family of Candy-topia. Through the series of choices that the player can make, Reese has to decide to be brave in scary situations that will either lead to him saving Princess Sugar, falling short and having to become a farmer, or exceeding all of his expectations and becoming the next King of Candy-topia. By being brave Reese should be able to move through the game at a faster, more exciting pace. He encounters other characters and obstacles that can help or hurt him along the way, and will stand to face a bigger reward than if he chooses the cowardly options throughout the game.

I told this story as if it were being told to children. I decided to do this because the main characters are candy and I feel like the theme of being brave, and rescuing the princess were childlike and innocent. That being said, the beats to the story are shorter and fast-paced, because I didn’t want the passages to overwhelming and filled with data. I think this provided for a well rounded story because I made sure a major plot point took place on each passage so that the game didn’t get boring in places. However, I think the outcomes that require more bravery from the player end up taking up the most time.

The most difficult part of creating this story, for me, was coming up with different endpoints. I brainstormed this idea long before we started writing the game, and because I did that, I only had two outcomes. Having to come up with a third outcome became kind of a daunting task because I had already put so much thought into the other Ideas that I wanted the third one to be just as well thought out. I honestly thing I went a little over board because I ended up coming up with several Ideas about how to end up at the four outcomes that I came up with. My biggest struggle ending up trying to keep the game short and sweet rather than being too drawn out. I wants the player to enjoy the game just as much no matter the outcome, so I had to make sure all of the possible paths were concise and added to the overall feel of the story. I think I accomplished this.

Because Reese’s ultimate goal throughout this game is to show bravery, the player is rewarded for making braver choices. I decided to do this when thinking about how I wanted the game to end. I felt that I wasn’t fair for the player to “win” the game without trying to save the princess. So, when a player opts out of trying to save Princess Sugar, they can still continue to play, but there is no way for this player to become a knight. This is also why in some of the scenarios I chose for the player to win the even bigger prize of becoming King. This player has to choose options that I feel are the bravest, and deserve a bigger reward. I feel like the individual outcomes are unique and make since based on the choices that the player makes.  

In conclusion, I made that brings the world of candy to life. This game will test the players level of bravery while helping the main character to the end. I enjoyed making this game, and put a lot of thought and effort into it. I feel like anyone who plays it will either want to play again to see all of the rest of the possible outcomes, or they will be satisfied having played an entertaining game.