Google Doodle
National Houseplant Appreciation Day
Introduction
This project involved the creation of an interactive Google Doodle display. The final product was a complete game where users could move around the scene as one of the plants, with the ability to bump into other objects. Hosted on spline.design, I modeled assets for this project in Cinema 4D as well as spline.design.
The event that I chose for the Google Doodle, National Houseplant Appreciation Day(January 10th), is a national day where houseplant enthusiasts can take a moment to appreciate their sprouting collections. "Google" itself, displayed through different plant pot shapes and colors, is a part of a scene mimicking a natural setting for houseplants in a home. To support an oxymoron as my trope, I contradicted the outlet of learning and education that Google is, with a comfy couch that is perfect napping material.
Process
I began my conceptual process by planning potential layouts through sketching on my iPad, utilizing Procreate. I created a short storyboard to display movement for my game concept.
After settling on a rough layout, I jumped into modeling in Cinema 4D. I started by planning pots in various shapes and sizes.
After completing the main models required for my composition, I easily uploaded them into my spline.design scene. Here I assigned materials and textures to each object, while keeping in mind file size and loading time.
I decided the color of each plant pot located on the back shelf depending on the assigned “Google” letter it represented.
I created side tables for each side of the couch, and modeled a small radio to utilize spline.design’s sound embedding function. This could be a point of further interaction for players.
Using the light rendering studio, I made the atmosphere warmer to create a homey and cozy feeling for viewers.
I decided to also reference Google’s search bar and other important icons within details of the scene. I originally planned to implement a floating search bar beneath the couch, but this iteration did not mesh with the concept and felt out of place. I finally decided to create pillows for these elements which blended with the rest of the surroundings.
I made final decisions including to lighten the background wall and floor colors in order to make the objects stand out more and provide a higher impact for viewers. This was also when I made some revisions to the gravity settings for the game controls. Click the button below to play my game!
Final
Here’s another look at my final design, as well as a link to my final project presentation PDF.