Game Design Document

YEAR 2 PEOPLE!

So there you have it year two is here! this year we are creating our very own game demo all from scratch (or pre-built assets) its going to be a blast, first task is to come up with an idea list which is pretty simple be done in an hour or 2 so keeping that in mind i went ahead and got use to everything all again but i also added in the new addition UNREAL ENGINE 2! what a piece of software it is! so good to use and its just like a devkit for modding (so pretty familiar)


So all in all a damn good year, lets get going!

(see below for reintroduction to software)




TREE STUMP!

so i was looking through google at asset and came across this picture of a cartoony tree stump for the life of me i cant figure out where it is now but i decided that i wanted to do something similar but redo the texture for a more serious approach...

Once i get some trees on the go and any other foliage ill try and make a scene with this situated in it until then PEACE!

Folly

We were tasked to create a folly within maya a 3d modeling package,

this is my end result with many failed attempts due to technical problems, this has caused my blog to slack with minimal information, below i will post all past pictures of failed attempts with some reasearch

BA3 and medieval doors!

BA3: Maya and architectural studies 

Last project of the term!
here we have to do 4 studies within Autodesk Maya based upon buildings or parts of buildings from any era.

My first study i chose to do a medieval rounded wooden door, having never used maya before i thought this was going to be a tough and slow progression rate but i was very wrong once starting maya i found it was easier then i thought, the real challenge is texturing and UV mapping.

Below are the references i found for the door, i like the combination of the stained wood and bright stone this sets both off very well making them very distinct.

The Model:

Here i began texturing, (there are no previous screen shots due to the files corrupting on a pendrive)  as this door will be a static none used door if it were in game, i only needed to texture the front which is the part players would see, this ment i could save alot of time and over all size so this is only a very low poly door.

Having taken the UV maps into photoshop i begun to texture, this was very frustrating at first to figure out how to even get the maps INTO photoshop, but in the end it was worth it as i quick like what the end result was.

below is the final product, i am quite happy with it over all as my first model and textures, i added bump maps and adjusted lighting, i feel i could of adjusted the bump maps to not be quite so prominent on the stone arch, i like it on the door as it gives a very old used feel to it with lots of scuffs and marks, when i come to do model 2 i will keep these things in mind and improve upon them to the best of my current ability. 

Done and dusted

so thats me done, turntable finished, final finished, essay finished, and now just for the pdf's to be sorted feels great to be done!

Roles and practices within the games industry

What is a 3D artist?

I will be discussing what is a 3D artist, their job role, and where they sit within a game company, I will also compare independent and mainstream 3D artists giving some in-sight into just how very different they both are while still being the same job role. I will then go into to discuss about how new technology has effected the creative outputs from the 3D artists and whether this is a good or a bad thing. Then to conclude with a look back at my original question and develop upon it with some words of my own.

In short a 3D artist is someone who creates the physical assets to be put in game, this can range from the model of the enemies to chairs right up to the environment, it has many forms for example, modellers, texturing, lighting, animation, which all require specific knowledge and a lot of the time (specially within indie companies) the modeller will also do a lot of the other rolls at once.

Contract vs Freelance

Contract:

Pros

No time searching for another job,
Being around other people helps with motivation to improve and impress when surrounded by artists who think alike,
Making a solid, set amount rather then having worries about finances,
Meeting people higher up the chain to maybe better your future,
Gaining the long term experience by working through the ranks to add to future CV's,
Keeping work life and home life separated creating an environment where you can relax.

Cons

No choice on work hours they are set,
Only one client where as freelance has the option to keep things entertaining by switching projects,
Possibility to make more money is not there, salary is set,
Travel costs getting to a studio and back, rather than waking up and working, this means less time is spent on a project.

Freelance:

Pros

You are forced to push yourself towards the best out there
Get to work across numerous titles and styles
Money, can be as much as double as in house
Independence
Get to work YOUR way
Claiming stuff for work purposes (legitimately)
Learning valuable stuff from your mistakes
Become very good with money
Don't have to move halfway round the world to work with top studios
Some clients give you a lot of creative control
Some places also give you the time to go all out

Cons

Doing your own taxes or paying for an accountant,
You miss talking to people,
Can be stressful dealing with all the contracts and stuff,
Takes a year or two before it starts to be constant,
Making mistakes early on is soul destroying,
A lot of projects get cancelled afterwards which can be annoying
Software is expensive,
Switching off is very difficult, no home office disconnect, work stays in your mind as it is at your home,
Sense of insecurity,
Some places want your work yesterday,
No sick or holiday pay, but can be negotiated if for long stints,
Quite easy to burn out.

As you can see both have great pros but also their downfalls, freelance being the tougher of the too, it is not guaranteed work but it does mean a lot more money but a lot more self promotion where as contract is set salary with no worries and concerns. If I were to take on one I would choose freelance, not for the money but for the variety of work and styles, this also means meeting new people and creating a lot of contacts for if I ever wanted to go contract in the future.

With the growing decline of traditional sculpting and flux of 3D software, the industry has seen a decreasing number of opportunities for traditional artists, these means two things A) Moving over too 3D software B) quitting all together, from what I have seen from my time talking to people working in the industry a lot have just stopped, they stopped 3D all together to do other things like go freelance for boardgames or model figures, or turn to 2D and ride up the ranks in that.

Now Traditional was never as big within the game industry if at all, but on a forum discussion I found made a very good point Username “Leigh” (2015) “Usually when we get maquettes on a production, they come from the client side” As far as freelance I have seen this a lot, clients like parts on a figure they want in game, for example clothing or fur on some braces and they have no other way of showing it other then the figure, it looks to be a useful resource that is catching on.

To conclude “what is a 3D artist?” a 3D artist is a lot of things, they can be animators, textures, they can run whole departments and own the company but first and for most they alter shapes to create things, things they refine and touch up to then go into a game to be sold and distributed for consumers to enjoy which can range from full blown AAA titles down to Indie teams working on the next mobile release, from contract to freelance across the world without them the development of a games industry would be short, we would still be creating 2D sprites that only run one direct on the screen, without them games would in affect not be as great and powerful as they are now.

Bibliography

leigh, january 26^th 2015, Traditional and digital sculptors in today's industry, CG society, Febuary 17^th 2015, http://forums.cgsociety.org/archive/index.php/t-1250829.html

Small update

Started adding texture to my final piece, then for poly painting and sorting out a turntable render, nearly finished!

Huge update!

Lots of images and lots of updates first of all final piece is 90% complete, my ideas changed alot through out, with me completely dumping my puppet idea, as it went off to far form the original task, so i stuck with a jester in a much more simple form, and i found i like it alot more then i thought i would!

1) Stage one, adding clothing and the basic form of my gargoyle, i found a figure to be the best start as it let me work out proportions alot better.

2) further detailing on clothing, this is about as far as i got as i didnt want to over crowd it with detail and wash out how well it reads to the eye

3) Here i tested out maybe having pompoms on the his hood, but i didnt like them and decided against it soon after

4) one the clothes were out of the way with the face needed to happen, i went for a wicked, evil smile with a demon like face, the smile made it look mischievous which is exactly what i was going for.

5) onto the posing, i ended up cutting the torso down alot and removing the belt, i felt the belt didnt really suit what i wanted.

 6) and here is my final form, i added is section he will go against the wall on, i pushed his body forward and tiled his arms/head up to give a leaning over/down effect, all i need now is to texture it, add some paint, and see if that is enough to justify calling it finished!

Further research into jesters: