Josh Audsley-Smith: February 2016

Thursday 25 February 2016

Adaptation Part B - Research The Spanish Flu

Spanish Flu symptoms (information from About Education http://history1900s.about.com/od/1910s/p/spanishflu.htm)

The victims of the 1918 Spanish flu suffered greatly. Within hours of feeling the first symptoms of extreme fatigue, fever, and headache, victims would start turning blue. Sometimes the blue colour became so pronounced that it was difficult to determine a patient's original skin colour. The patients would cough with such force that some even tore their abdominal muscles. Foamy blood exited from their mouths and noses. A few bled from their ears. Some vomited; others became incontinent. The Spanish flu struck so suddenly and severely that many of its victims died within hours of coming down with their first symptom. Some died a day or two after realizing they were sick.

With the Spanish flu being a air born virus the vehicle that would best fit it would be some sort of flying vehicle. The symptoms that stick out the most to me is the skin turning blue and the foamy blood exited from the mouth and nose and bleeding from the ears. With the Spanish flu spreading so fast it would make sense that this vehicle would be the fastest one or have some sort of speed boost, this speed boost could be portrayed in a style of the vehicle sneezing. The ability of this vehicle be the speed boost and a foamy blood spray that blinds the vehicle behind you.

Adaptation part B - Research Black Death

The Black Death was spread supposedly by fleas on rats and the rats where spread around the world by the trade ships they boarded. These trade ships spread the plague which would make it a perfect vehicle to be the base model and shape for my vehicle.

As these ships have an old look to them I plain on using a modern style of trade ships, but I'll incorporate some of the features of the original trade ships that carried the plague. When I first hear "Black Death" I think of dying flesh that has gone black, this could be incorporated into the ship by the metal rotting away and turning black.

With the possibility of the different racecourses being on land, air or sea each vehicle with have three different types of sages to fit with the each course.

Sunday 21 February 2016

Adaptation Part B - Research

For my adaptation I am going to take plagues and diseases and adapt them into vehicles. Each different plagues/diseases will have a different type of vehicle and abilities. There is three plagues/diseases that have stood out straight away which are the Bubonic plague (also known as the black death), Rabies and the Spanish Flu. The Black Death and the Spanish flu death count put together is in the million's, which seems like they would be the best to plagues to involve in my adaptation as they are well known.

Bubonic plague (Black Death)

The Bubonic plague had three outbreaks and killed around 50 million people, it was also used as a biological weapon. It is said that the plague takes three forms. In the first people suffer an infection of the lungs, which leads to breathing difficulties. Whoever has this corruption or contamination to any extent cannot escape but will die within two days. Another form in which boils erupt under the armpits, a third form in which people of both sexes are attacked in the groin. It also causes the skin and flesh to die and turn black.

Influenza pandemic (The Spanish flu)

Symptoms of Spanish influenza, like seasonal influenza, include fever, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headache and lack of appetite. The severity of these systemic symptoms is proportionate to the degree of immune activation. Spanish flu also cased demonstrated extraordinary damage to the lungs with acute focal inflammation of the airways and soft tissue of the lungs. These changes were associated with massive swelling, bleeding and near-complete destruction of the surface cell layer of the lungs. The first two findings would have resulted in markedly impaired oxygen diffusion, while the latter would have provided the ideal breeding ground for bacteria.

Rabies

Rabies is a very serious viral infection that targets the brain and nervous system. You can catch rabies if you are bitten by an infected animal and haven't been vaccinated. It's almost always fatal once symptoms develop, but can be prevented if treatment is given promptly after exposure. Symptoms of rabies are fever, headache, feeling generally unwell, feeling scared or anxious and round half of people also experience pain and a tingling sensation at the infection site. Initial symptoms of rabies last for two to 10 days before more severe symptoms start to develop. These typically include aggressive behaviour, hallucinations, agitation and producing lots of saliva.

My plan is to take certain symptoms for each disease and turn them into the abilities of the vehicles or the look of the vehicles. I like be look at all types of vehicles from hovercrafts to boats. Having one type of each vehicle will help give different play type to each of them.

Cars