Old Prison Modular Kit

Here are the final contact sheets for my Old Prison Modular Kit.

And, hopefully this video uploads okay, but here is my flythrough video.

Listening To:
Pogo on YouTube
Trip Hop and Drum n Bass stations on Pandora

Watching:
Mythbusters, The IT Crowd

Playing:
Jet Set Radio Future

3D For Games III Post

 So, after a long summer worth of silence, due partly to the fact that I took a full time job that took up more of my time than I wanted it to, I wanted to let everyone know that I am still here and this is what I've been up to...

 

Step 1: Preproduction

My first project for 3D for Games this year is to build a modular kit for some sort of structure. As always, we begin by finding reference. I am trying to decide at this point between 3 different ideas that all have the potential to be visually sophisticated, appealing, and versatile.

1) Electrical Power Station:

The reason I want to pick this is the visual complexity that can be produced by a relatively small amount of assets. The assets themselves could be easily fit into another part of the level it goes in. Example assets are:
-The tower that holds the cable(can be made of 1 modular piece to build the bulk of the tower and the cable holders, a tripod stand, and a 5 way connector piece)
-The Cables themselves
-Transformer Boxes

2) Prison Cells:

I wanted to pick this one because prison is a big part of literature and art in general, such works as the Count Of Monte Cristo, The Shawshank Redemption, and Batman: Arkham Asylum. Also, I feel like it would be an interesting texturing opportunity, as I could use gray scale images inside the RGBA channels to save texture space. Some Assets I would need:
-Cell Door
-Wall of Bars(the other half of the door)
-Toilet
-Bed
-Sink
-Wall texture(walls could be made out of BSP)

3) Water Mill

This one would also be a very interesting modeling and texturing opportunity. I also think that this one holds the most appeal and will be the most versatile of the 3. Some assets I would need are:
-The Wheel
-Wall and/or individual pieces of wood
-Window
-Roof

Step 2: Blocking Out Etc. Part 1

I ended up doing a modular kit for a prison. I think I'll like it a lot, and I'm going to go with a very run down, dilapidated old prison, my main reference being the 3rd Dirty Harry movie, where they visit Alcatraz prison.

Here are my assets for the Prison Modular kit so far:

So far I have, just blocked out, Stairs, Railing, the Bench/Table, Cell Door, Cell Bars, Toilet and Sink. I still need a computer console/control deck and a bed. I should also make the bulletproof glass

Here is the map for my two constructs, sorry its just a hand drawn for now. I plan on using additive BSP for my walls etc.

One of my plans is for a three level prison complex, with cells on just one side, the other section only has 2 stories, but it has cells on both sides, and the center of both are filled with tables for either Visitation or for Meals.

Here is a mockup for one construct in Maya

As always, more to come.

Listening: The Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty
Playing: Cut the Rope, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, Spyro the Dragon
Watching: Mythbusters, Full Metal Alchemist

Cool Things In Kismet #1: Animated FOV

This is the little trick I posted on the Cooksey's course site about how to animate the FOV of the character. As far as I know(i don't know why it wouldn't) it would work in First and Third-Over-Shoulder views. This would be extremely helpful for a sniper type scope zoom, and through a little tinkering this should be easy to recreate in Unreal Script.

The player hits a trigger in the world which zooms them out, then another trigger to zoom back in.

Basically what happens is that when you hit a trigger in the world(although it could be a button press or anything) the Field of Vision(FOV) is changed every .1 seconds or whatever you want it to be until it reaches the desired number. Each time it loops, being recursive, it will set the FOV to that number it just created, therefore creating a slow zoom in/out effect.

One Page Design For a UDK Weapon

When asked to make a weapon for my platformer game, I was really wondering what I could do because I don't really want to give my player a weapon in the platformer. So I instead decided to make a weapon that would be a Unreal Tournament 3 mod, but meet all the requirements of the assignment. Meet the Dirty Dealer:
























My thought process behind making this weapon was to look at reference for some of my favorite video game weapons. The two I chose were the Multi-Star from Ratchet and Clank, and the Flak Cannon from Unreal Tournament 2004. What I like about these weapons is that the bullets don't necessarily have to be fired at the intended target. Instead, they shoot a series of smaller shots that ricochet around the world, which not only feels satisfying to the player, but can be a powerful and useful attack. For instance, in Ratchet and Clank I like to hide safely behind cover, while emptying the room of bad guys with a series of well placed trick shots off a wall. Or in Unreal Tournament 2004, I like to get the Flak Cannon, and instead of firing at my target directly, I fire at the ground just in front of them, which I find to be more accurate and more damage causing.

A player wielding the "Dirty Dealer" would be able to fire off 5 razor sharp cards, aka "Five Card Stud", which will ricochet off anything it hits. If they use the Secondary Fire, although a huge ammo waster, will spit out 52 cards in various directions, aka "52 Card Pickup".

The only thing thats worrying me right now is figuring out how to make a particle detect collision on something and then change its trajectory. I will probably be able to get it to work, but just because I don't know how right now, its a bit daunting. ***EDIT: For those who wanted to know, I did eventually get this gun working properly, which required me to actually learn UnrealScript a bit. I should post a video of the working gun....***

Listening to: The Beastie Boys
                     Marilyn Manson

Playing: Playtesting Platformer

Watching: Mythbusters

3D For Games Character Turnaround

This is the final 3D model of my character that will work in UDK. I modeled, Rigged and Painted Weights on it recently, this is a pose I made using the TSM Rig in Maya.

Platformer Super-Post

As I am still in development stages of my platformer, I cannot post anything really cool about that. But, I can post a few pieces of development art for it. Here they are!

To the right is a piece displaying my new mechanics for this platformer. Its based in the realm of the One Thousand and One Arabian Nights tales, in that the main character finds Ali Baba's Cave and a Magic Lamp that gives him the powers to summon Jumping Smoke, Speed Smoke, and Exploding Smoke. The Exploding Smoke has recently been removed, as I decided that the main character doesn't have the need for it, and it can be used in a much more elegant way.

These are the mechanics in action to solve a number of Physics based puzzles. The jumping smoke will be able to launch the blocks, and the blocks(if dropped from an area high enough) will break. So the player has to be careful.

First Iteration of First Level

Second Iteration of First Level

First Iteration of Second Level

These are the many, many iterations my map has gone through. At first, I thought I would give the player two levels worth of tutorial, one to let the player grow accustomed to moving around in the world without the use of the magic lamp. The second level would give them the ability to use this lamp, and solve physics puzzles with it.

However, I decided that my levels were a little two linear, and because the main character would stumble across this cave, he would want to go exploring in it. I, therefore, in my final iteration, gave the player this ability, and added a bit of foreshadowing while I did.

As you can see in the final map, the player immediately gets to learn how to run, jump and crouch, and that some areas they cannot get to at the moment, but they will be able to once they gain the use of a new mechanic.

Final Iteration Combining the two levels, and adding exploratory areas.

 In my programming class, we made some Exploding Barrels" and "Smashable Crates", both a staple in many video games. My Barrel was actually a barrel, because I thought it might fit into my world. Turns out, it doesn't, so I will be soon remaking my barrel for use in my platformer. The smashable crate was actually a very ornate vase, which shows off the style of my level very clearly. What is a smashable crate without a collectable? Nothing. So I made a gold coin that the player could pick up, just for fun. It also gives my players an incentive to want to go and explore through the caves, because they would be able to find all the coins(if all goes as planned at the end of the game it will tell you how many coins you got as well as how long it took you to complete the game. If all goes as planned.... or I have time)



Listening to: "Good Hip-Hop" station based on Mos Def, Wu-Tang Clan, and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien

Playing: Playtesting Platformer game

Watching: Psych

Greetings, From SPACE!

 

Yep, this piece is a quick little thing I made after I got done with my low-poly UDK texturing. The Earth you see in the background is a texture I made over Winter Break, it rotates and has clouds that rotate faster. The Helmet glass section has a moving HUD texture on it, and the Arm pieces have a rotating "User Interface" texture on them. I have to say, I'm a little surprised as to how well this came out.

As previously stated, my character is a sort of Science Fiction B-Movie Astronaut, showing what the Future of Astronautics might be like if the B-Movie writers of the 50's and 60's were right about the aesthetic and design of the gear we would wear to go into space. The above is, obviously, a Work In Progress, and I will be done and soon rigging and animating this guy soon!

Watching: Mythbusters

Listening to: Drum'n'Bass station on Pandora

Playing: Portal 2

(yes that is the space core from Portal 2 in the top left corner. "SPAAAAAAAAACE!")

Platformer Project: Ripomatic

For our platformer in Game Design II, we all made short, minute long videos using any footage we could find and any song we wanted to make a "Ripomatic", a sort of animatic where we establish the overall feel we want to convey through our platformer. My choices were the feelings of discovery, through exploration, the idea that exploration can be dangerous yet exciting, and the idea of moving through spaces in an interesting way. These all relate back to my story, as my character finds the Cave of Ali Baba from the stories he heard as a child and therefore has a childlike wonder at the discovery of the cave. Inside, he finds a magic lamp that emits smoke that allows him to jump to great heights, run extremely fast, and even break down obstacles in his path.

Here is my final video, I used select clips from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Aladdin, The Great Mouse Detective, Alien, Avatar, The Abyss, Inception, The Incredibles, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Princess Mononoke, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, and Scott Pilgrim Versus The World. I used songs made by my friend from back home, Brad Thompson,  called Shadowboxin(GZA Remix) and C.R.E.A.M.(Wu-Tang Remix)

Here is the final video:(EDIT: For whatever reason, when I upload this on Blogger or Youtube, the Audio becomes out of sync. I don't know why this is. Facebook, it seems, is okay.)

Spring Break #2: Frog/Hopper Mech

This is a quick 10 hour model I made over spring break. I was inspired by an issue of ImagineFX, on the back of their latest issue I saw an advertisement for the DAVE school of Digital Animation and Visual Effects, where it showed someones 3D model they made in 4 days time, having no prior training working from someone else's design.

This is the image I saw on the back of an ImagineFX magazine

I said to myself, "Given my 1.5 semesters worth of experience with Maya, I wonder if I could design and model something like that, in 24 Hours". So, here is the final project.

Also included in this issue of ImagineFX was a Development sheet showing the different stages of the designing process. I used this as a loose guide for my project. I started with silhouettes so that I could think about what I wanted my mech's distinct shape would be. As I was drawing, I suddenly got the idea to make it a Mecha-Frog/Hopper mech. As excited as I was to get modeling, I never actually did any concept artwork for the mech, I however had a pretty clear idea in my mind of what to make it look like. Here are the silhoettes I used as reference during the modeling process, and you can clearly see how some of my decisions here made it into my final design.

3 hours in

5 hours in

7 hours in

9 hours in

9.5. This is where, through peer critique, I decided I did like the bot better with the "knees" facing front.

10 Hours. Final Render from Maya(For now)

Here is a turntable animation I made(hastily) with Autodesk Mudbox:


Watching: Futurama
South Park

Listening: Weezer
Blackbird Blackbird

Playing: Ratchet And Clank All 4 One
Vectorman(Genesis)
Sonic 3D Blast(Genesis)
Unreal Tournament 2004(Mac)

Spring Break #1: Digital Painting/Figure Drawing

Over spring break I'm going to work a little bit on non school related work to try to better myself.
Here is a painting I did in 3.5 hours. Its not the best, but I suppose I'm getting better. this is work from the photo on the right.

More to come!

Watching: Doctor Who
Listening To: Astronautilis
Playing: Ratchet And Clank: All 4 One

Push-And-Pull-Able blocks!

One of my mechanics for my Game Design Class is the ability to push and pull blocks for physics puzzles. And I did! Now i just have to make it break apart on impact with the ground. Fun!

Final High Poly Character

For those who don't know, my character is a Sci-Fi B-Movie Spaceman. His name is Johann Smith, he has an IQ of 179, and he shares a birthday with William Shatner. He has a doctorate in Astrophysics, a Doctorate in Xenobiology, a Masters in Engineering, and a Minor in Theatre.

Here He is:

Lego Rube Goldburg Finished

Here is the finished product of the Lego Challenge in Programming For Artists.

Lego Rube Goldburg Project

So here is my finished Rube Goldburg UDK Machine. Fun! I would like to modify this and get it so i don't lose any balls and everything works perfectly. More work is sure to come!

Suggested GAD Reading

To start off the new year/semester, I thought I'd let you guys know of a couple of really good art resources for character creating. I've had these books/magazines for a while, and they are pretty helpful.

ImagineFX:

The first one I want to mention to you guys is ImagineFX. Its a magazine that the school store usually carries, although I would suggest ordering the back issues online(its a difference of about $10, the magazine usually runs $17 at the school store, because the school store always provides us with the best prices...) and you can maybe find the ones I show online(or possibly an ebook pdf) to buy.

They are really good resources because they come with awesome dvd's that have brushes, textures, 3D models, Figure Drawing Models, Video Painting Tutorials, etc. They also have guides in the magazine about how to paint, techniques etc.

  This one on the left was the first issue I bought. It has some really cool stuff.
Just FYI it is hit or miss with the quality of the magazine. They have cool ones like these or they have "Pin-Up Art" "Manga" or "Horror" issues.
Here are some scans of pages from these issues.

Blogger apparently hates logically laying out images.....








The Art of Game Characters:

This book is a good visual reference of all types of characters from video games. It even splits the characters up into genres(Anti-heros, Femme Fatales, Cute Characters, etc) However, it is rather dated(it doesn't have the current generation characters) and still assumes that most video game players and developers are men(A quote from the book: "Sexy an Sassy: Women in a Boys World...If you consider that most games are made by young... males with the idea to sell to more young males."). Regardless, it shows a pretty good cross section of all types of game characters with many good references, and even interviews with game artists and their opinions about the characters they've created.

This book also has a counterpart called "The Art of Game Worlds", which I also have and highly recommend.
Here are some good images from this book:

Other Great Books:
Mechanika: The guy who designed most of the machines and vehicles from the new Star Wars Trilogy (Doug Chiang) shares his insight on creating cool sci-fi machines. Although I personally hate the new Trilogy, with a passion, its still a good reference.
Video Game Art by Nic Kelman: I bought this for 7 dollars from Half Price Books before I was even accepted to Ringling, and while it also has a ton of pages featuring great art from video games(pre-2008) including Characters and Environments, it also has a very detailed and accurate history of video games in the back. Its laid out in a very efficient way, talking about each individual element in a video game, from characters to villians to environments, and goes in depth talking about each one.

Listening to:
GZA/Genius - Liquid Swords
N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton
Them Crooked Vultures

Playing:
L.A. Noire(PS3)
Mortal Kombat(Genesis)
Shinobi III(Genesis)