Finished my trash project

When I finished my treasure chest I was well in the first
week of my next project THE TRASH. With the trash project I was not worrying
about it that much, as it was just a bunch of boxes all placed randomly. My
initial thought was that I wanted to get it over and done with because I wanted
to start on the mortal engine project. It took me about 2 weeks to finish the
trash project which is a record for me as I never finished a project so quick.
It just shows that I am getting faster in using 3d max which is fantastic.
Although I did say to myself that I would try and add more objects other than
boxes....I kind of added a lot boxes:/ however I did add a big cone to the mix
which is not a box everything else is pretty much boxed shaped.

More than the modelling I particularly like the use of my
texturing, not only did I make it look dirty and scruffy (I think) I also added
a small text on the box, which says;

12/12/2011 WAB

Keep area clean or pay 1p fine

All proceeds go to JRahman Corp

If you’re wondering what WAB means then it stands for WEN
AM BAK!!!

Task 16: Elements of game design, part seven: level design

Level design is similar to environment design, the way an
environment artist would start planning what he would have in the scene a level
designer would also have to start planning its process. Level design can fall
in different categories when it comes to developing, it can be as missions,
levels or stages. Level design is not something that is done visually (which is
widely regarded by a lot people) it is more to do with intellectual side in
terms of planning and construction within a game formality.

Level design usually starts with concept art, sketches, renderings, and physical models. When the initial
process of planning is complete then these concepts will go in to documents,
and thus making a model of an environment.

I think planning the
level is vital as it not only allows the fundamentals to be laid but it also
allows the basic shapes to be in place. Planning is not something that will
allow an artist to finish all his work, but it does allow the work to be completed
at a faster and a much smoother rate. If you think about it when an artist
makes a concept for a level, rather than having to think of what to do next he
would have everything he needs in front him, this in turn would allow the level
to be created at a much smoother rate. The planning process in level design is
called Preproduction this is just a document stating what you are going to
create? And how it will look and play?

I think level design needs
to have a few elements which are required in terms of building a good
environment. Planning is first and foremost, because without planning there are
no real fundamentals. Secondly is
Visuals, taking in regards to color theory, lighting, architecture, landscape
and also what the player would see and not see. Thirdly is Gameplay, which
includes the players movements in the level, how fast he would move and what he
would encounter on the environment.

Most of these issues are usually
completed by the level designer who is responsible for creating environments
and scenarios using level editor. Some of the celebrated level designers are
from PC First Person shooters such as John Romero who made the levels for Doom.

Many believe that level
design is just to do with the artistic side of developing, this is not so as it
also requires a lot of technical process. This is due to the amount of conceptualizing
that needs to be done before any of the creating can be done.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_design

http://www.worldofleveldesign.com/categories/level_design_tutorials/why-i-failed-for-years-at-level-design-and-game-environments.php

Finished the Treasure Chest

So I finally finished my treasure chest the other day actually a few days after the deadline..... I know
I should not have but there is always something I forget to add. This year we
have the freedom of working towards our own deadline which was pretty daunting
at first as I thought about how I would manage projects. Last year at every
deadline we had our work marked if it was not handed in time then it just would
not have been marked it was as simple as that. However this year we have to
manage our own time but all the work needs to be handed in before Christmas.

So back to the treasure chest. I was actually quite pleased with the final
outcome. It came out just as I wanted with a few errors of course. I did not
want to copy the exact reference image; I wanted to add my own twist. So I
decided I would make the legs a bit different, instead of making the top of the
legs connect to each other I made them go in to the main box.

This did not change the main basic shape but it did make it a bit unique as mine was the only one that
had this. I also changed some of the colours instead of adding a wood texture
all around I played with the colours a bit. On the legs I added a plastic
texture to the wood part which also gives it a nice feel.

I am pleased with what I have achieved considering I was gobsmacked when I first saw
the project last year. I thought to myself that looks very hard to do. But now
that it is over with I am well chuffed with the end result :)

Task 15: Elements of game design, part six: visual composition

Painting, sculpting or sketching, all of these need some sort of
composition to make the final image appealing. Without the right composition
the image would just look like another piece art work without any sort of
meaning. Composition is usually used to arrange certain elements to form
something. R. Berdan mentions “Effective
images are those that command attention and communicate some feeling to an
audience. Capturing a "feeling" and your viewers' attention is a
demanding task that requires practice, experimentation and study”. I think
an image needs to capture the audience in terms of what their feeling and what
they are thinking when they look at an image. This is something that is missing
from a lot of work that people do including mine; I think this is vital as most
people produce work for the audience so the audience needs to feel attracted to
the image.

To organise a scene is very difficult it requires a lot attention
to detail. I think it is a lot easier for a painter to come with a nice
compositional art; however I think if an artist goes to photograph something
then it would be a lot more challenging for him to get the right the scene, as he
would need to go out and search for he’s desired scene. But I think a painter
can just put down on paper on how he wants he’s final image to be laid out. I think
natural composition is usually the best lay out for forests and jungles, with a
few minor placements of your own.

For artists the composition for any scene requires planning, an
artist needs to plan where he would put objects to make a believe atmosphere.
There needs to be countless amounts conceptualising to get the right
composition, only then can someone come up with an interesting scene. R. Berdan
also says “Improving our visual sensitivity requires
quieting our minds, relaxing, and preparing by learning as much as we can about
our preferred subjects”, this is also something that needs to be taken in
consideration. In my experience I have found that I cannot work when there are
loud noises. For instance if I am drawing I need to be alone with only my
sketchbook and pencil.

Learning about something before we start to interact with it
is also an interesting fact, as this allows us to better understand what we are
about to tackle. When we see a scene that is interesting we need to isolate
everything that is not necessary and focus on the important visual elements.

People should study intensely on composition; this would make the
artists think a lot more when they are producing a sketch and also in turn come
up with a final outcome.

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_(visual_arts)

http://photoinf.com/General/Robert_Berdan/Composition_and_the_Elements_of_Visual_Design.htm

http://goshen.edu/art/ed/Compose.htm

Task 14: Elements of game design, part five: planning and concepting

Planning is something everyone should do before they start
on something whether it be writing a story or making a game. I think planning
needs to be grafted well in order for something to be realised. For instance game
directors often plan and process ideas among the team before they even start
creating the storyboards. Planning a game can lead to ideas being seen and judging
what needs to be cut out and what needs to go into the final product.

Planning also allows a fundamental foundation in which the
director and the team can base the game off. The game designer is usually the
one who takes some sort of lead in creating the game. Game designer usually produces initial game documents,
that contains the concept, gameplay, feature list, setting and story, target
audience, requirements and schedule, staff and budget estimates. Different
companies have different procedures regarding game design and development.

When niche developers want to make a game they need plan and
concept their ideas and make the appealing as they can. They need to sell their
product to publishers; if they agree then the publisher will fund the project
hoping it can get a return in terms of profit. However that is not always the
case as even the big developers lose money when it comes to profit. I have
noticed that most commercial games do not make profit, no matter how much
effort is being put in to it, if the game does not grasp the attention of the
audience then it just will not sell.

Back in the days when gaming was just a fraction of what it
is today it only took one person to make a game; he was responsible for programming,
graphical design. sound effects etc. It only took about 6 weeks to create a
game, but know it can take years to create a game employing over a 100 staff.

I do try and plan my work before I start any of my work; I find
that it does help with the flow of something that is being created. I think it gives
an incentive in which I can base my ideas of. I do need incorporate it more within
my work, as I would like to integrate it more with my 3d work and visual design
stuff.

While researching I found couple of links one of which is a
video which shows how a programmer creates a Technical Design Document in which
he shows the things expected in the game;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJrXXcHyJNA

http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?PlanningGame

Year Two, semester one

Task13: Reflection on year one, and ambition for year two

I have finally completed the first year it was a hectic year but I leant a lot of
important aspects, ranging from; overcoming my weaknesses and gaining new found
talents. It almost feels like I levelled up. “Your new abilities are the use of
efficiently unwrapping textures in 3d max and a better understanding of colour
theory” lol. Those are the things that I feel like I now have better
understanding of.

Thereare still a few things I need to work on especially my Photoshop skills. I
would like to develop these skills during the second year. I do feel a lot more
confident using Photoshop however there are still issues I need to figure out.
One way I would like to overcome these issues are by watching as many tutorials
as I can. One artist I have been told about is Feng Zhu who specialises in
concept art drawing, great guy to learn the basic and advanced Photoshop
techniques. Here is the link to his YouTube page; http://www.youtube.com/user/FZDSCHOOL

I know now how hard I need to work in the second year compared to the previous year.
During the first year I literally worked my ass off, I did not have much free
time I was always behind in work trying to catch up with previous work (it was
like a game of tag). However when I actually finished the year and it was time
for the final assessment I was pretty confident that I would get a decent mark,
but I was disappointed. I got marks that were below what I was expecting.

Then it occurred to me that I worked so much that I gave my free time to do more
work, but it still was not enough. So when the letter came to my house saying
that I passed I was happy but then I thought I need to work so much harder than
last year. If I do get any free time in the second year I would not waste my time
by playing video games or even watching TV, I will try to learn new things to
make my life easier within the course. This is my target.

I realised after the result it’s not about how much work you do it’s about the
quality that goes in to all your work. That is something I need to bring in to
the second year.

BRING IT ON YEAR 2 !!!!

Finished the last 3D project

Well I have finally completed all the 3D projects the last one was the weapon of our choice. I created a sword which I can say I am proud of. It actually turned out the way I wanted it to. I tried to put as much detail as I can, using speculars and normal maps. Although I do need more work on specs and norms I am quite happy with the final outcome. At first I was quite scared as our tri budget was 700 tris and I thought, “What could I make from that”. So I started to research and came up with my design.

I was thinking a while back that “I can’t wait till I finish the last 3D project”, however know that I have finished it I feel weird. As most of the time was spent on 3D work I used to get the 3D work out of the way then I used focus on other work. But know that I have completed it I feel like there’s something still left, so from time to time I go on 3d max and try to improve the weapon a bit or even try to add a word on my design document.

But I am glad that 3D work is done and dusted only one more week of visual design left....

Gran Turismo 5 Review

I have been playing the game for about 2 weeks now, as I didn’t have much time play it due to an overload of work. I have been a fan of the series since the PS1 generation starting with Gran Turismo 1. It was pretty good, but was not what I had expected, and felt more like an arcade game. Gran Turismo 2 vastly improved the career mode, to the point it needed 2 disks. I was very happy with the changes and improvements in the second, but I still felt this game wasn’t what I wanted.

When GT3 was released on the PS2 it brought a much needed graphical improvement, and some much needed features. I was very happy with the way the series was going. The biggest jump for me has to be Gran Turismo 4, featuring the best graphics ever seen on the PS2, and one of the best career modes to go along with it.

GT5 career mode is completely different from GT4. GT4 had a nice world map where I could just roam about to destinations. GT5 does have skipped this it has gone back to the simple point and click menu which is all nicely laid out, but I have to say I miss the world map in GT4.

The races and events are the same as GT4 you need a required vehicle to enter the events the aim is still get to first place. But I was introduced with a brand new levelling up system were you need to level up to buy cars. For example if you wanted to buy a top notch car then your level needs to be at a pretty high standard as well having loads of money. At first I did not like this idea, but it kind of makes sense know. People will know have to earn levelling points as well as earning loads of money.

The special events are a new addition to the game and I have to say I love them. One of the reasons I was so hyped in getting this game is because some of the special events allow you to drive on the Top Gear test track. I being a fan of Top Gear and a gamer increased the hype factor for the release date of this game. However I have to say the events are very short and there are not many of them, so I would have preferred if there was more to the special events.

There are two modes Gran Turismo; the first one is A-spec where this has all the major events and second one is B-spec where the AI does all the driving you are like the manager of that driver, which all sounds well but I did not pay much attention to this as I was quite disappointed by it in GT4. Nevertheless I tried it on GT5, I have to say it vastly improved the AI and it lets you be in control.

One of the major jumps GT5 has had is that, it is the first GT game to be on the current gen consoles, so a lot was riding on the developers. The biggest change has to be graphics; they are very vibrant in terms of colour palette. Although I do have to say that when you are going at a certain speed some of the foreground becomes blurry and sometimes hard to see what it is. Also some of the premium cars sometimes become blurry and have jagged edges. This is one of the issues I have with the game, however all in all its wonderful game nothing much has changes from the previous game which is good. I would recommend this game to any car enthusiasts.

8.5/10

Task 12: Personal review of the first year

So the first year has nearly come to an end, and I got to say it’s been a blast. Just as most people I have had my ups and downs but all in all it was all worth it. I think the actual course is laid out pretty well especially visual design. I have always wanted to improve my knowledge on drawing skills when I started the course I was rusty on drawings, however each week I had tasks to understand the basic concepts on how different things work. For example I did not know that the vanishing and horizon lines would be so helpful, it helped me a lot. Visual design has helped me understand more to just drawing an object.

I have to say 3D work was a nightmare to start with but with sheer practice and determination I have learned the basic foundations of making a certain model. 3D modelling is a vital aspect in the industry so it was vital for me to get my head round it. Although the course structure is laid pretty well, I would say maybe add more tutorials on blackboard, even if they are not related to the work we are currently doing. I say this because a few people finish their 3D models well advanced of the required deadline so instead of not doing anything they could help themselves to the extra tutorials. In addition it would be very useful if the tutorials were videos instead of screen shots.

The first academic year went by very quickly maybe because it is not exactly a year only about 6 to 7 months of teaching, this is another thing I would like to address we are paying for well advanced a year but we only get half that time, it’s just not right. Nevertheless the time flew by without knowing it.

Critical research allowed me to understand how the game industry works, in terms of what they need and want from graduates. It gave me a path on where I want to go in the future. I think it would be awesome if we could go to some of the game companies as part of our curriculum, this would allow us to better understand the environment of designers work place and also see with our own eyes a real life game company. It would also give us a chance to interact with designers that we aspire to be like in the future.

I like the fact that we go out on location with Visual Design I think this helps us to realize the topic that we are trying to learn. For example I do not think I would have been able to understand perspective without going to places like the canals or the archway. Guest lectures are brilliant love the fact that they come in and talk about what they want from us to get in to the industry. Also really aspiring when former graduates come in and give us insights on how they achieved their goals and ambitions. In fact I was quite happy when Jolyon said that he was pleased in how the structure of course was laid out and the tutors were doing a great job.

So guys do what you’re doing and keep up the good work!! =)

Task 11: Elements of game design, part four: environment

Level design is one aspect that all games need to have, if they do not then a game will not work. When a developer makes an environment then he needs to consider what sort of objects and pathways are going to be in it. They also need to make it compelling as well as easy to navigate for users. The developers in Mirror Edge used unique markings on different parts of the map, to make it suitable for users. Mirror Edge is a game where the character needs to find a route and somehow get to that place. The level design is very interesting as the whole map is usually in a very plain colour, however the important parts are coloured in red so the player can identify where he/she needs to go. I think without this it would have been very difficult.

Depending on the environment the mood and atmosphere can change dramatically, it will allow the user to figure out what is happening in the game. When the mood and story are combined this is when a game or even a film comes to life.

Big games such as Call of Duty have many developers working on a single map this is because the demand gets higher and higher as the year goes on. This is not to say that each year people will get a better map. I for one think that the previous maps for Call of Duty are better. Not everyone is satisfied with the end results. Small companies who are developing environments are sometimes better than the big companies.

I do not think that realism matters in games as I for one am a game play person rather than graphics person. There are some people who think that all graphics need to be on par with the current year; meaning each year all game graphics need to improve. I do not think this necessary as I think this will indefinitely increase the time in which a game is made, and thus people might lose interest in the game, as in the case for Gran Turismo 5.

Back in the Square-enix even they showed game play for Final Fantasy Verses 13, which was awesome! In an interview one of the developers said that one of the streets is actually a street scene from the Square-enix headquarters in Japan. This is something I think developers should incorporate in their games as users could identify themselves in that area and also be familiar with that certain location.

Squeenix Event

There was an event yesterday (2011-01-19) by the publisher Square-enix called the ’1st Production Department Premier’ where they show case their first party titles. Although the event was a success people were not that intrigued like they were when they first previewed some of the games 4 years ago. I have read people’s thoughts after the event some were delighted because it’s been ages since they got anything new from Sqeenix and a lot of them were not so pleased. One of the reasons is that FF: Versus13; a game which was shown, was supposed to be a dark gritty game with blood on every hack and slash.

The thing is it was still as they described but with the new trailer it seems like they were slowly going back to their roots with very bright coloured and unrealistic atmosphere. Versus13 was supposed to be a complete different game, it is to be the first FF game to have blood and gore in it. A lot of people were speculating that Versus13 was going multiplatform and it was going to be as crap as ff13, OH that reminds me although ff13 was kind of crap because of the girly and annoying characters and other reasons. They decided to make a direct sequel called ff13-2...Oh great... more pansies running around half naked. There’s just no point in it.

Anyhow back to Versus13 because it’s just cool. People thought it was going multiplatform but they announced that it was staying for the PS3 or is it..... see the thing is most exclusives will have ‘for Playstation 3 ONLY’, but Versus13 had ‘for Playstation 3’ and that’s it. So I think there might be a possibility for multiplatform.

All in all I was quite pleased with trailers and images they showed at the event. Versus13 has been in development for about 4 years now and they only started to open up with the public showing real-time game footage and epic cut scenes. Speaking of cut scenes the CGI is so good every time I see it I always think it looks too good to be real all the more reasons I want to play it. I would have been even happier if they gave a release date for Versus13 that would make my day very special.