GMWS · Morrigan's Story - Aesthetics and Glossary

Aesthetics & Glossary

Aesthetics

Gas Mask War has different types of aesthetics that was changing with the pass of the time. These aesthetics are important because the player will see it represented in the different factions and places.

Regarding the game aesthetic, it will be 3D realistic. I base this featured in Ubisoft games like Far Cry 5 or Ghost Recon Wildlands.

Art

1960

Art is a mix between the Art Nouveau, the Art Deco, the Futurism and the CyberPunk.

I take from the Art Nouveau the intention to create a new, young and free art. Its inspiration from nature but incorporating the advances of the industrial revolution. The idea of that even the smallest everyday objects should have aesthetic value, but be accessible to the entire population, so, the beauty is not a luxury is a necessity. I take its rounded lines, which intertwine with each other’s, and the asymmetry of the movement. Also its sensuality and its eroticism.

From Art Deco, I take his aerodynamic, geometric and clean lines taken from cubism, its influence in Egypt and the fauvist use of the color. I like it because it is based on the city, the urban, the progress and the machines. It is functional as well as elegant.

Therefore, Art is a utopia in which beauty is available to all to be a necessity so basic as eat or drink. In this utopia, there is no great difference between classes and everyone can opt for the same luxury and waste. It is an unbridled, fast, beauty and fun aesthetic. In which everything is valid.

The materials that it uses are not only the typical from the Art Nouveau and the Art Deco, like glass or metal, also uses “futuristic” materials such as the optical fiber or the electronic complements. The use of these materials highlights the highly technological era in which they live. So, although there is a great reference to nature in Art, there is also a great reference to technology, petroleum, the urban and the electricity.

The colors are vivid in the ornamentation and luxurious in the clothing. However, the color that stands out is the gasoline color with its iridescence.

The clothing is androgynous and comfortable. The women use suits as short dresses, with big buttons without bra and always with a waist belt. These belts are electronic and can change its color using an app on the Diaries (the Diary is something like a smartphone). Under the suit, the women can use silk shirts with open back complemented with long electronic back necklaces. In the night, the women use long dresses with open back or short dresses with optical fiber fringes.

These are some examples, but the general idea is that the Art is an elegant aesthetic, that uses the movement and the sensuality of nature in every single detail of every single object. But, also, it uses technology and electricity in everything as well.

Abstract Art

1960

The Abstract Art is the mix between the Art Deco, Futurism, Minimalism, Cubism and Rayonism.

It is based on Cubism and Rayonism. They use very bright colors and very clean and geometric lines. The use of asymmetric figures in the architecture and in the clothing.
I based my design of the colors and the idea of Clean Future in this picture that I found while I was doing my research.

Dirty Art Part 1

1973

The first Dirty Art is closer to the Art that the later Dirty Art. It had the same bases as the Art but changing the luxurious materials to other recycled ones.

During the spring of 1973, three years before the beginning of the Energetic Crisis, several groups of young people seeking asylum from the injustices committed by the government in the sleeping subway network. There, they built an underground city with their own electricity, using the wagons of the subways as shared apartments and tents as places of leisure. They got their own basic supplies from the outside through secondary tunnels that came to the surface. It is here, under these circumstances, that where the new artistic movement is formed. The Dirty Art tries to emulate the style of Art, but using recycled materials, taking things from here and there to create something beautiful that resembles the Art. This Dirty Art uses more the Art Deco as a base than the Art Nouveau. The reason is that Art Deco is much more exaggerated in its lines and in its colors, regarding the society’s desire to flee from the economic depression and the ghost of war. In addition, this new movement tends to eliminate that erotic and sensual part that the Art Nouveau had, but staying with the elegant and practical part and with that mentality that every detail must-have beauty.

Later, during the Hard War, the Dirty Art became in the most used style, except in the Trade Cities that kept intact the luxurious Art style. The houses of the Ruined Cities were the only ones with light and resources. Many of the houses lacked a roof or some of the walls. They were very precarious times. Despite this, the survivors did not want to give up that some beauty surrounded them, even if it was only in their homes. So, those who could not work or in every free time that the survivors had, they tried to find pieces of “beauty” in the rubble of Ruin Cities, in the Dark Areas, in the abandoned cities or, the most fortunate ones, in some of the abandoned Trade Cities. These memories of a better life could be from doors or windows to pieces of crockery or cutlery, with which they then built all kinds of everyday furniture and objects such as tables, cots, chairs, plates or cutlery. This Dirty Art adds touches from the Dieselpunk aesthetic. Here the “dirty” part is not only for the materials but also is a reference to the circumstances: the dirty sky, the air, the soil … The colors are grays, blacks, browns with some touches of dark reds or dark greens. Only that “beauty pieces” that they used in the construction of new things conserved some of the bright and “happy” colors from the Beautiful Days.

Dirty Art Part 2

1995

The final Dirty Art (the main aesthetic of the game) lost the Dieselpunk part and came back to the first Dirty Art, closer to the real Art, but mixed with Abstract Art. So, this is a really funny aesthetic, saturated with bright colors, clean lines, very practical and beautiful in any detail. Which generates a somewhat cleaner and refined aesthetic, but it is still a hodgepodge of the different aesthetics.

This Dirty Art uses the plastics material from the Abstract Art, the metal materials from the first Dirty Art and also the recycled materials from the Hard War Dirty Art. This creates really amazing villages, built it with all the materials and objects that the survivors could find mixed with new, clean and colorful materials and always from an artistic and beautiful point of view. So for example, in my novel is mentioned an Outskirt called “Redes” that they are completely made with rests from ships and boats, buoys, diving suits, fishing nets… Others were built with planes, cars or debris from other cities, but, again, they always place full of beauty.

AbstractPunk

1999

The Abstract Punk conserves the essence from the Abstract Art, but mixed with the funny Dirty Art. Are like the normal Abstract Art, but with the influence of the Dirty Art in the use of the colors and structures.

Glossary

BEAUTIFUL DAYS, THE

OS DÍAS FERMOSOS. 1930 – 1970
This is the name given to the 40 years of peace and luxury that the humanity lived before the Energetic Crisis and the Hard War.

BEEHIVE (LIQUOR)

This was the liquor used by GWFCE to kill the most part of the members of Clean Future. The liquor was similar to the mead. It was made with honey of extinct flowers from the greenhouses of GWFCE, pure gold, precious minerals, pure water never polluted, exotic spices, a honeybee inside and the secret ingredient, mutated spores of the Cordyceps sinensis. This liquor mummified everyone who drank it.

BORDERS, THE

The Borders was the improvised walls building in the Hard War to separate the Dark Zones, where the Rites and poor lived, from the White Zones, with the Capital Cities, Ruin Cities and the beautiful and rich Trade Cities.

BUTTERFLIES (ROBOT)

The Butterflies was small robots with the form of the bug that was used by the GWFCE for spread the Eris’s Dream in the Supercities in their attack on 2011. These robots had their wings made from stained glass and the face was a skull.

CAPITAL CITIES

The Capital Cities was the biggest cities in their countries during The Beautiful Days.

CENTIPEDES (ROBOT)

The centipedes was a robot made by the Radical groups to fight against the liberator group, Fighter For Free Shelters during the Freedom War. This robots with the form of the insect, injected Eris’s Dream on their targets, madding them.

CLEAN FUTURE

Clean Future was an ecologist group conformed by several rich men and women concern for the environment. They create summits on 1960 to try to make conscience about the situation of the planet. They offered ecological solutions that would have supposed the end of the comforts and luxuries that the people was so accustomed. This made that The Hushers attacked the summits and the Clean Future bases, killing many members, thing that the people celebrated. After this, Clean Future bought to the governments the remaining natural reserves and protected them with Domes. Part of the group it was not agree with this choice, they thought that the best that they could do was fight for the Mother Earth. However, the most part of Clean Future rejected this idea and the group was separated between the originals and Green Warriors For Clean Earth that fought for their beloved earth.
Several years after, on 1995, Clean Future declared the war to the remaining governments. Wining in just a month. Then they started to create the Supercities and rescue all the survivors from the Hard War, cleaning the earth and transform again in a home.
On 2011, Clean Future was eliminated by their old companions Green Warriors For Clean Earth

CLEAN MINDS

Clean Minds was the army from Clean Future. After the GWFCE attack, they transform the Supercities in military states and became in Radicals.

CONFORTLIFE

ConfortLife was the company that created the first Androids in 1930.

DARK ZONES

The Dark Zones was the name given to all the places that ran out of electricity during the Energetic Crisis. In these places appeared the first Rites. Today we call Dark Zones to the places that still have Rites.

DOBLE C (BEER)

The Doble C is a beer with mushroom liquor, made from Cornezuelo del Centeno (Claviceps purpurea), an hallucinogen fungus. This beer is made for the braves, the crazies, the blessings and the symbionts.

DOMES

The Domes are the constructions made by Clean Future to protect the natural reservations. It can be find in the entire planet.

DRUIDA (SODA)

Druida was a beverage very famous during The Beautiful Days because its fruity and sweet taste. Also the container and the look was special, with minerals that gave to it the look of a magic potion.

ENERGETIC CRISIS

The Energetic Crisis began on 1970 and was the result of the abuse from the humans of the natural resources. The crisis bring the Hard War only five years after.

FREE MASKS ARMY

The Free Mask Army were a group of young people concern about the Energetic Crisis. Tired to watch how the society was ignoring the problems, this group took refuge in the abandoned subways and became it them their home. Building cities filled with colors, life, art and music.

FREEDOM WAR

The Freedom War was the name given to the battle between the Radicals and the FFFS.

GREEN WARRIORS FOR CLEAN EARTH (G.W.F.C.E.)

Green Warrior For Clean Earth are radical bioterrorist group that thinks that the annihilation of all humans are the only way to save the planet. Was for that reason that on December 2011 they started the attacks that ended with the humans but not with the humanity. The created the Toxin. Now they are trying to create a straingthat transform the survivors in Perfect Symbionts that will die for the Mother Earth.

GREY ZONES

The Grey Zones was the abandoned places by the governments. They were last on the lists to receive energetic resources, medicines or food. With the time, all them become in Dark Zones.

HARD WAR, THE

The Hard War began on 1975 and ended in 1995. Was a world conflict that confronted the countries in the search of energetic resources.

HUSHERS, THE

These civil groups only reunited to silent all the threats to the wellness. Like Clean Future in 1960 or the Devotees in 1963. They were extremely violent and cruel.

OBLIGATORY PROSTITUTION SERVICE (O.P.S.)

This law was approved on December 1977 and allowed the government exchange healthy women for energetic resources. These women was use as prostitutes, maids, slaves or nannies. On August 1983, the OPS law was amplify to men until the 16 years old.

O.P.S. DEPOTS

The OPS Depots was prison schools for girls and boys where they were indoctrinated to become in good slaves. In that places the children were maintained with good health and with a healthy look always.

OUTSKIRTS, THE

The Outskirts was the “temporary” cities created by the survivors from the Hard War under Clean Future instructions. There were created with junk and debris. The idea was that the people had a safe place to call home while the Supercities were constructed. However when the construction was over on 1999, Clean Future restricted the entrance only to a few survivors.

POLLUTED ZONES

This zone what their name say. They designate high pollution places.

RED WAR

The Red War was a conflict that happen on February 1984 and confront the Free Masks Army and the Government’s Army. The governments wanted the healthy people that was living in the subway for the OPS and the army. They attack during weeks, but the Free Masks Army was winning in all the Underground Cities. Then the Government’s Army surrender only for bombing the subway isolating the cities and killing lots of innocent people.
The battle is called like that for the red emergency lights that was activated after the bombs and that made the blood “disappear”.

RUIN CITIES

The Ruin Cities was the name gave to the Capital Cities that had a high-polluted level and were abandoned by the governments.

SPIDERS (ROBOTS)

The Spiders were created by GWFCE as a bomb full with Toxin. These robots was hidden on the Evacuation Camps and waited until was a great number of survivors inside, then they explode contaminated the most part of the humanity.

TRADE CITIES

The Trade Cities born in 1966 in a try of the governments to distract the population form the Energetic Crisis. This cities were full of luxury and pleasures. It were leisure centers, with casinos, hotels, shops, spas… Whatever you want or imagine was there.
During the Hard War, it were used as shelter by the richer and were protected by the governments.
On 2004 was reconstructed by Clean Future and now a lot of it are use as Trade Shelters.

TROMPETA DOS MORTOS (BEER)

Black beer made with the mushroom Trompeta dos Mortos (Craterellus cornucopioides)

UNDERGROUND CITIES

This was the name gave to the cities built by the Free Mask Army in the subways.

WHITE ZONES

This was the name gave to the inhabited zones during the Hard War. These were the “richer” zones and was separated to the rest with The Borders.