Music video / Commercial collaboration
Poisonous Mushrooms
From music narrative to an extended game world
Poisonous Mushrooms is artist Deng Zexi’s first official music video. An office girl accidentally enters a game world; the lyrics become game levels, classical paintings are reinterpreted, and an interactive campaign extends the narrative.
My work covers early creative planning, scenes and storyboards, mini-game mechanics and visual assets, with participation in colour grading and visual consistency.
Watch the full MV ↗- My contribution
- Early concept, environments, and storyboards; promotional mini-game gameplay and assets; contribution to grading and visual consistency
- Project stage
- Music video released; this case documents my contributions
From office girl to mushroom witch
The artist’s workplace persona and the song’s narrative establish the office girl as the starting point. Her transformation into a mushroom witch sets a visual tone that is psychedelic, absurd, and rebellious.
Game-based MV × reinterpreted art × promotional mini-game
01 / Game-based storytelling
Real-world conflicts in the lyrics become game levels. Different genres and rules guide the character from office girl to mushroom witch.
02 / Reinterpreting classical art
Recognisable artworks are reinterpreted through composition, characters, and symbols, giving pivotal moments of transformation an emotional and contemporary context.
03 / Interactive campaign
Characters, environments, and symbols extend into a lightweight Douyin effects mini-game. Racing, mushroom obstacles, and achievement feedback shift the viewer into a participant and reuse the MV’s visual world.
Eight scenes trace the transformation
The office girl’s journey connects the real office, game loading, mushroom forest, rule-based conflict, and reinterpreted paintings. Exploration and resistance lead to the mushroom witch persona before returning to the office to close the narrative loop.
01 Opening · uncanny office
Mechanical office routines establish the initial character. Repetition and strange spaces foreshadow a reality beginning to distort.
02 Entry · game world
An unexpected game interface appears on the computer, pulling the character into a mushroom world where reality and virtual space intertwine.
03 Exploration · mushroom forest
Exploration, jumping, and challenges introduce the rules of the mushroom forest.
04 Conflict · distorted rules
Workplace hierarchies become chessboard and boss rules. Recognising their absurdity, the character moves from acceptance to resistance.
05 Awakening · birth of the witch
Challenges lead to an identity upgrade: the office girl becomes an increasingly autonomous mushroom witch.
06 Resistance · dialogue and discipline
Choices and rebuttals respond to outside pressure and social discipline, establishing a clearer personal position.
07 Agency · mushroom world
The player becomes a leader of the mushroom world, redefining rules and choosing her own direction.
08 Return · real office
The office appears to return to normal, but the character comes back with a changed identity and awareness.
My storyboards alongside the final film
Uncanny office
- Scene
- The artist looks into the camera
- Shot
- Medium close-up
- Lighting
- Cool overhead side light
- Camera
- Eye level, slightly to one side
- Composition
- Foreground occlusion
- Purpose
- Sense of unease
The mushroom boss
- Scene
- The mushroom boss appears
- Shot
- Medium shot
- Lighting
- Cool overhead light
- Camera
- Low angle
- Composition
- Central symmetry
- Purpose
- Authority and pressure
Chessboard combat
- Scene
- Fighting mushroom pieces
- Shot
- Medium shot
- Lighting
- Cool ambient light
- Camera
- Eye level
- Composition
- Foreground leading lines
- Purpose
- Active resistance
The mushroom shatters
- Scene
- Shattering a mushroom piece
- Shot
- Close-up
- Lighting
- Cool flash
- Camera
- Low angle
- Composition
- Central impact
- Purpose
- Emphasise the counterattack
Birth of the witch
- Scene
- Appearing in a shell
- Shot
- Wide shot
- Lighting
- Soft cool light
- Camera
- Eye level
- Composition
- Central symmetry
- Purpose
- Identity awakening
Mushroom banquet
- Scene
- Mushrooms converse around a table
- Shot
- Wide shot
- Lighting
- Soft high-key light
- Camera
- Eye level
- Composition
- Horizontal ensemble
- Purpose
- Pressure within relationships
Livestream dialogue
- Scene
- Responding to family questioning
- Shot
- Medium close-up
- Lighting
- Soft front light
- Camera
- Frontal eye level
- Composition
- Central composition
- Purpose
- Family discipline
Leading the mushrooms
- Scene
- The witch leads the procession
- Shot
- Wide shot
- Lighting
- Front and overhead side light
- Camera
- Low angle
- Composition
- Triangular composition
- Purpose
- Agency and leadership
Game entry, character selection & world map
Three core scenes extend the narrative: game entry, character selection, and world map. Digital painting, image reconstruction, and generative tools assist scene development; Photoshop and Procreate refine composition, character consistency, materials, and details.
01 / Game entry
The mushroom forest and start interface create the first visual gateway from the office into fantasy.
02 / Character selection
Costumes, poses, and visual elements express the growth from office girl to mushroom witch.
03 / World map
Connected map nodes unify the forest, chessboard, awakening, and banquet through spatial relationships, colour hierarchy, and a shared visual language.
Environment and character asset production
Sketching, form exploration, and style studies establish the mushroom world’s shapes, colours, and characters. AI-assisted exploration tests alternatives, followed by hand correction in Photoshop and Procreate to refine structure, proportions, edges, and details and unify the asset style.
Mushroom creatures
Environment & obstacle assets
Extending the MV into a participatory game
Building on the original Douyin effects game demo, Codex-assisted reconstruction develops scenes and interaction flows, refining character motion, obstacles, feedback, and interface presentation while integrating the self-produced assets.
Racing and avoidance establish a direct interaction goal.
Mushroom assets organise the environment and game rhythm.
Start, achievements, results, and replay form a complete flow.
From viewer to participant: characters, narrative, and visuals stay connected across media.
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