As a group we had a meeting with mark to discuss our outcomes for the project. After telling him we were considering creating an animation he suggested that it would probably be the same amount of work to make a level in a game engine with better outcomes. We thought about this length and decided to try and make a level for the character to walk through entirely in 3d.
From this our roles naturally became more noticeable. I am now the lead concept artist. I will be creating all the concept work in BA8 as well as texturing 3d models. Jarvis will be the 3d generalist. He will be creating all the 3d assets that need to go into the game. Ollie will be the graphics designer, which will consist of creating the UI, posters, logos, titles, menus etc.
The pipeline will be as follows;
I will create the concept art for one of the subjects such as characters, Jarvis will then take these designers and create a 3d model. He will then give me these models and I will texture them. During the while process ollie will be creating decals for the characters such as armour logos, or textures. He will then give them to me when I have finished with the texturing. I will apply Ollie's designs and send the models or UV's back to Jarvis. Finally Jarvis will insert these asset into the gas engine. This process will repeat with each different asset that we create.
My process in more depth;
I need to start the concept work before Jarvis starts to create any models because his work needs to reflect mine. To make this process work, during BA7 I will be creating concept art while Jarvis is learning the process of a game engine.
When I need to texture an asset I will either paint it in a 3d package or take the UV's and paint them in photoshop depending on what they are. For example if I need to texture something with round edges I will need to texture it in a 3d package such as Zbrush or Mudbox. If the object has sharp flat edges then I can use photoshop.
Research will determine my success so I need to have a strong understanding of how to digitally paint using 3d package and become as fluent with it as photoshop. I will also need to research how to use the basics in a game engine because I will have to contribute to this at the end of the project. I will also have to use Maya to extract UV's.
The game engine that we will be using is UDK because it is simple to use for beginners and it is available at university.
We have also decided to create a blog for the group which will contain all our research as a group for the project. This will help us reflect on each others research.
Sunday 30 October 2011
seeker robot
I based the seeker robot on one of the silhouettes I created.
I chose this design because of the characteristics the robot needs to have. It needs to be fast to find the player but it also needs to be quick bulky to drag the speaker around. I think the body shape fits this. Also the use of a wheel rather than legs suggests speed due to it referencing an automobile.
I used the same process with this robot as i did with the seeker robot so I will not show the development.
The player must know the robots uses, the large lamp that the seeker carries shows this. I tried to make this look as interesting as possible so it would stand out and be easily visible. I connected the two robots with a chain, In the game I thought it would be effective f the chain dragged along the floor so the player knows they are coming.
I am happy with the speaker design but not the seeker. I think this is because of its static pose isn't dramatic enough. I will redesign this in ba8 but for now I will have to leave it.
If this design goes into the design document then I will redesign the background to enhance the piece. The one that is there presently was just a mock up to enhance the tones of the robots.
I chose this design because of the characteristics the robot needs to have. It needs to be fast to find the player but it also needs to be quick bulky to drag the speaker around. I think the body shape fits this. Also the use of a wheel rather than legs suggests speed due to it referencing an automobile.
I used the same process with this robot as i did with the seeker robot so I will not show the development.
The player must know the robots uses, the large lamp that the seeker carries shows this. I tried to make this look as interesting as possible so it would stand out and be easily visible. I connected the two robots with a chain, In the game I thought it would be effective f the chain dragged along the floor so the player knows they are coming.
I am happy with the speaker design but not the seeker. I think this is because of its static pose isn't dramatic enough. I will redesign this in ba8 but for now I will have to leave it.
If this design goes into the design document then I will redesign the background to enhance the piece. The one that is there presently was just a mock up to enhance the tones of the robots.
speaker robot
I created this design for the speaker robot. This design was a development of the silhouettes I had created previously. I decided to put the speaker on the arm. I think at the moment it looks like a bell so that will have to be changed.
here I began to texture the robot. Originally I was going to leave it at this stage which is why parts are not finished to the same standard but I started to like the look of the textured areas so I continued to build up detail on the rest of the body. I applied a gradient as a multiply layer in two shades of brown. If this was not here then the robot would be grey.
one benefit of using a multiply layer for the gradient means I can change the colour easily. Here are some quick tests to see what the robot would look like in different colours.
This is the finished concept without its arm. I will have to create the seeker robot before i can design the arm because they will connect to each other. I am thinking of either creating a cord or chain that joins them.
one benefit of using a multiply layer for the gradient means I can change the colour easily. Here are some quick tests to see what the robot would look like in different colours.
This is the finished concept without its arm. I will have to create the seeker robot before i can design the arm because they will connect to each other. I am thinking of either creating a cord or chain that joins them.
Friday 21 October 2011
professional game documents
As a group we are starting to consider creating parts for the game document. I thought I would start by researching what goes into a professional game document.
Chris found a website called gamepitches.com. This has several game documents in their entirety. It is very useful seeing what would be represented in the industry. Certain things we thought needed to be in there weren't and others that were we didn't think of.
Fallout: Brotherhood of steel 2;
This game document is quite old so the main use was to see the headings and what it consists of.
Wednesday 19 October 2011
machinarium
I chose to look into machinarium because it is a puzzle based game where the player interacts with the environment. In this sense it is similar to what we want to create. I also wanted to research it because it is painfully beautiful. The aesthetic has a clear theme that it does not deviate from and yet the environments do not appear boring.
As I played the game, I found the puzzles far too hard. I researched this to see if I was just being stupid however there have been many people saying the she thing. Often why the game wants you to do is not obvious. Finding the items I needed to complete a task was often impossible because I didn't know what to look for in the first place. The hand drawn artistic direction made finding these objects even harder. My main issue with this game was knowing what was possible and what wasn't. I would think Oh i won't try that because it won't be possible, but often it was, and the opposite. If the game had different difficulty settings this would be excusable but until then I will not look forward to playing it again.
I think as a puzzle game it has elements that will be worth considering for our own game such as the use of the environment to help the character but on a smaller scale. This combined with our idea of making interesting ways to disable an enemy would make in my opinion a more satisfying gaming experience.
When looking at the aesthetic, the hand drawn style is quite original. It seems like this is paired with elements of 3d which creates uninteresting look. Light and colour is used efficiently to break up different areas of the game.
I like the dome shape created by the empty space. This being black creates a high contrast to the environment making it stand out.
One technique that is very good in the game is the use of space. In the image below the focal points of the game are off centre.
As the level develops more of the map is shown. This is a clever way of showing different rooms while staying in one. It also creates an interesting aesthetic that the player does not expect. If these ideas were not used the overall look of the game may become repetitive. Ultimately the player may lose interest due to the theme of the game.
The player losing interest int he game because of its aesthetics is an interesting view to research. I believe this to be true when considering certain themes. If the theme is bleak much like 'Oddworld' and 'Machinarium' then artistic inventions need to be considered much like the one above.
As I played the game, I found the puzzles far too hard. I researched this to see if I was just being stupid however there have been many people saying the she thing. Often why the game wants you to do is not obvious. Finding the items I needed to complete a task was often impossible because I didn't know what to look for in the first place. The hand drawn artistic direction made finding these objects even harder. My main issue with this game was knowing what was possible and what wasn't. I would think Oh i won't try that because it won't be possible, but often it was, and the opposite. If the game had different difficulty settings this would be excusable but until then I will not look forward to playing it again.
I think as a puzzle game it has elements that will be worth considering for our own game such as the use of the environment to help the character but on a smaller scale. This combined with our idea of making interesting ways to disable an enemy would make in my opinion a more satisfying gaming experience.
Oddworld: Abe's oddysee
Oddworld was a game franchise that I remember from when I was young. I would play this game on my playstation 1. when looking at the game mechanics, they seem very similar to new arcade games such as machinarium which, as it stands is the genre of game that we will be producing. The game was a great success when it was created and was credited to be 'a platform game for people who are tired of platform games'. (gamespot)
I have chose to research this game even though it is quite dated now because the game mechanics and general ideas are similar to what we are trying to create. The game is very simple which I believe is its best quality. For a game this old it is visually stunning and I believe I can learn a lot from looking at it in detail.
Abe's Oddysee was set in a bleak, futuristic factory environment. This is similar to the theme that we will be using however it will be represented in a different way. Considering the game was made in 1997 it is still visually pleasing.
Abe was a slave in the meat-procesing plant. The character is an alien which even to todays standards looks rather original. The basic narrative for this game is that the factory uses Abe's kind to create a new food. Abe finds this out and tries to escape the factory taking as many of his kind as possible. This s quite an original concept for a game even though the basic premise of escaping an environment and trying to take your friends wit you is a generic concept.
When considering the enemies, there are four different kinds. Each type of enemy has different characteristics which must be understood to defeat them. The player must adapt their playing style to fit the enemy. For example the parasites can be distracted if the player throws meat for them to eat. The game developers referred to the creature AI as A.L.I.V.E. (Alive Lifeforms In a Virtual Environment). These different character traits makes the gameplay more exciting and helps create a realistic game world.
The colours in the game change to create variety in the environment. This was necessary to keep the game exciting without changing the bleak theme. The image above shows sepia tones with the characters in silhouette which creates an amazing aesthetic considering this is a ps1 game.
The sounds in the game are interesting if not a little too simplistic. There seems to be an engine room noise throughout the game creating a sense of reality in the game world. The character makes disapproving noises if he trips or bumps into other characters which I think is a nice touch. The sound plays a large part of this game but it is subtle so the player will often not notice it is there unless they look for it.
Even to todays standards the game mechanics are simple but effective. The game could easily be represented tomorrow as an IOS game and not be laughed at as a pitch. The game consists of puzzles that interact within the environment such as switches and traps to get from point A and B which is a similar concept that we have for our game.
I have chose to research this game even though it is quite dated now because the game mechanics and general ideas are similar to what we are trying to create. The game is very simple which I believe is its best quality. For a game this old it is visually stunning and I believe I can learn a lot from looking at it in detail.
Abe's Oddysee was set in a bleak, futuristic factory environment. This is similar to the theme that we will be using however it will be represented in a different way. Considering the game was made in 1997 it is still visually pleasing.
Abe was a slave in the meat-procesing plant. The character is an alien which even to todays standards looks rather original. The basic narrative for this game is that the factory uses Abe's kind to create a new food. Abe finds this out and tries to escape the factory taking as many of his kind as possible. This s quite an original concept for a game even though the basic premise of escaping an environment and trying to take your friends wit you is a generic concept.
When considering the enemies, there are four different kinds. Each type of enemy has different characteristics which must be understood to defeat them. The player must adapt their playing style to fit the enemy. For example the parasites can be distracted if the player throws meat for them to eat. The game developers referred to the creature AI as A.L.I.V.E. (Alive Lifeforms In a Virtual Environment). These different character traits makes the gameplay more exciting and helps create a realistic game world.
The colours in the game change to create variety in the environment. This was necessary to keep the game exciting without changing the bleak theme. The image above shows sepia tones with the characters in silhouette which creates an amazing aesthetic considering this is a ps1 game.
The sounds in the game are interesting if not a little too simplistic. There seems to be an engine room noise throughout the game creating a sense of reality in the game world. The character makes disapproving noises if he trips or bumps into other characters which I think is a nice touch. The sound plays a large part of this game but it is subtle so the player will often not notice it is there unless they look for it.
Even to todays standards the game mechanics are simple but effective. The game could easily be represented tomorrow as an IOS game and not be laughed at as a pitch. The game consists of puzzles that interact within the environment such as switches and traps to get from point A and B which is a similar concept that we have for our game.
reflection on group work
I have noticed several differences in a group project compared to working on my own. This is a large gamble to work in a group for my final year of my degree because I have never worked with these two students before.
One thing which is harder when working in a group is creating ideas. The benefit of this is that when we come to a decision with an idea then we know everything about it because we have been pitching it to each other. The negative however is that everything takes longer. On my own I would create an idea for a character and produce sketches for it. When I'm happy with this stage I would create a final image. In a group I would first pitch the idea to the other members then we would discuss elements that we liked and disliked. I would then change these parts to create a better design for the group and have them critique it again. Then I would produce a final piece and have the group look at this and make several changes again. This is a lengthy process compared to working on my own, however this is a more realistic process when considering how the industry works and I will end up with a stronger portfolio at the end of the project because I am forced to critique my work more often and I have the resource of peers looking at my work constantly which is a huge benefit.
One thing which is harder when working in a group is creating ideas. The benefit of this is that when we come to a decision with an idea then we know everything about it because we have been pitching it to each other. The negative however is that everything takes longer. On my own I would create an idea for a character and produce sketches for it. When I'm happy with this stage I would create a final image. In a group I would first pitch the idea to the other members then we would discuss elements that we liked and disliked. I would then change these parts to create a better design for the group and have them critique it again. Then I would produce a final piece and have the group look at this and make several changes again. This is a lengthy process compared to working on my own, however this is a more realistic process when considering how the industry works and I will end up with a stronger portfolio at the end of the project because I am forced to critique my work more often and I have the resource of peers looking at my work constantly which is a huge benefit.
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