The Siren's Grasp | Hilarynhuskey

FORM FORGE 2024

The Siren's Grasp

Statement

Form Forge 2024 The Siren’s Grasp was a semester long collaborative production project developed through the Form Forge creative research initiative. The project brought together students and alumni of varying skill levels to collectively design and build a cohesive 3D environment inside Unreal Engine while emphasizing real world production pipelines collaborative authorship and practice based research.

The project was centered on a shared narrative and visual concept. The Siren’s Grasp is a haunted tavern constructed from the wreckage of ships at the end of a hidden grotto within the Isle of Shadows. Once a bustling hub for pirates and smugglers the tavern became cursed after its captain Elara Stormfury was bound to a corrupted treasure transforming her into a demonic presence tethered to the space. This narrative framework served as both creative inspiration and a research constraint guiding asset design material language and environmental storytelling.

Participants signed up to create specific assets ranging from props and modular architectural elements to hero assets and characters based on a shared concept package that included mood boards references and narrative context. Each asset was developed through required stages of concept art refinement and game ready 3D modeling ensuring consistency while allowing for individual artistic voice. The collective goal was not isolated pieces but a unified environment where all contributions functioned together spatially visually and narratively.

The Siren’s Grasp functioned as a shared research space where participants explored questions of visual cohesion modular design atmospheric storytelling and pipeline integration. Artists investigated how materials lighting scale and repetition contribute to mood and how individual design decisions accumulate into a cohesive world. The project also examined collaborative production challenges including asset ownership feedback loops technical constraints and iteration within a real time engine.

Leadership and mentorship were central to the project’s structure. Team leads oversaw asset groups facilitated critique ensured pipeline consistency and acted as intermediaries between contributors and the final integrated scene. This layered mentorship model supported peer led learning and provided advanced students and alumni with leadership experience while also serving as a site for pedagogical research into critique culture and distributed production workflows.

The semester culminated in a public exhibition and presentation in November 2024. The exhibit showcased concept art 3D models and final Unreal Engine renders accompanied by an opening reception a formal presentation and an awards ceremony. This final event functioned as both professional exposure for participants and dissemination of creative research outcomes reinforcing the project’s position as scholarly collaborative work rather than extracurricular activity.

Overall Form Forge 2024 The Siren’s Grasp exemplified Form Forge’s mission to merge teaching creative research and community engagement. It demonstrated how large scale student productions can operate as a living laboratory where making collaboration and reflection are treated as valid modes of inquiry within contemporary digital art and game development.

Overview

The Siren's Grasp is located at the end of a hidden grotto, accessible only by navigating through a treacherous cave system within the Isle of Shadows. The grotto is a natural amphitheater surrounded by high, jagged cliffs, with the tavern constructed from the remnants of wrecked ships that have met their doom in the stormy waters nearby. The walls of the tavern are made from the weathered wood of these ships, reinforced with iron fittings and adorned with the figureheads and masts of once-great vessels. The atmosphere is one of eerie beauty, with dim lanterns casting flickering light across the aged wood and rusted metal. The Siren's Grasp was once a bustling hub for pirates and smugglers, a place where the most daring seafarers came to rest, share stories, and plot their next heist. However, everything changed when the infamous pirate captain, Elara Stormfury, fell victim to a cursed treasure. Once a feared and respected leader, Elara was transformed into a demon, her soul bound to the tavern she once called home. Now, she lurks in the shadows of The Siren's Grasp, her presence felt in the creaking of old wood and the distant echoes of sailors’ last cries.

Characters

Elara Stormfury

Elara’s form is hauntingly beautiful yet terrifying. Her skin has a translucent, pale blue tint, reminiscent of the deep sea. Her once golden hair is now a mass of dark, flowing shadows that seem to move with a life of their own. Her eyes glow with a cold, azure light, and her lips are stained a deep black. She wears a tattered version of her old pirate captain's coat, with intricate patterns that shift like waves across the fabric. Her fingers end in sharp claws, and her presence is always accompanied by the faint sound of crashing waves and distant, ghostly whispers.

Mira "The Songbird" Thorne

Mira is a striking woman with flowing black hair and pale skin. She wears a tattered red gown, reminiscent of the ones she wore during her performances. Her eyes are a deep violet, and when she sings, they glow faintly with a haunting light. Around her neck, she wears a silver pendant in the shape of a bird in flight, a gift from a lover long lost to the sea. Despite her curse, Mira carries herself with a quiet dignity and a melancholic grace.

Dorian "The Seer" Valros

Dorian is a tall, slender man with a gaunt appearance. His eyes are covered by a black cloth, and he carries a cane carved with ancient symbols. His hair is long and silver, and he often wears a long coat with intricate patterns that resemble constellations. Despite his blindness, Dorian moves with a strange, otherworldly grace, as if guided by forces beyond the physical world.