What am I doing?
So I mentioned previously that BA5 is a direct
continuation from the back end of BA4 where, in a small group, we designed an
exploration survival horror game called Distorted Delirium. The continuation
element calls me to refer to the BA5 brief title “Production” as we are being
tasked to produce an interactive segment of our game.
So far I have filled out an learning agreement form
where I stated the type of work I felt I could produce within the project time
frame. Here is my proposal:
For BA5 I intend to
push my basic knowledge of Maya further by completing extensive research on the
subject of creating game engine ready 3D assets. This includes furthering my
knowledge in how to create an engine ready asset, how to texture it and produce
a successful render.
My research will aid
my practical work where I plan to create a 3D asset which relates to my BA4
game design document (Distorted Delirium). I want to ensure that the model is
game engine ready and textured beautifully so that I can render it professionally
and take it into the CryEngine. I want to show that I can create an asset which
is usable within an interactive playable environment.
I am working alone
for BA5 and therefore have my own separate schedule and time frame of work
although I will be working closely with my BA4 team to ensure that my work
stays true to our game design. If we can collaborate then we will and any
collaborated work will be clearly detailed as we are all working from the same
game design.
Whilst it might sound simple to others, I want to use
this time to ensure that what I learn stays in my head. I recently tried to
texture a model and referred back to old blog posts from 1st
year but I was missing a few crucial areas. I have a plan of action in my head
and I intend to stick to it.
So, Asset Creation Huh?
Yep, asset creation is my focus. Asset creation for my
groups game Distorted Delirium. Where is the best place to start then? Well, in my
learning agreement I stated that by the end of this week/beginning of next, I
want to have a good idea of the type of asset I could create which would be
appropriate for Distorted Delirium and also get a series
of intense research blog posts done so that I have a good grounding for the
project. If there is one thing I have learnt is that whilst constant research
is a necessity, practical work should be started ASAP!
Amnesia, Round 2!
I decided to re-visit an old “friend”, Amnesia, for some
inspiration as Distorted Delirium is heavily influenced
by it. The difference when playing it this time was, however, that I wasn’t
just looking at the overall atmosphere and aesthetics of the game for basic
research and influences. No, I was playing to study geometry. BA5 is 3D heavy
so I wanted to look closer at the assets within the environments of Amnesia, look at how
they were built, the shapes used, how the geometry fitted together, how low the
poly count appeared, how they used textures and what sort of assets they used
to fill their environments.
Amnesia Screenshots and Notes
Broom, bucket & wooden wall panel
Table, candle & miscellaneous equipment
Candle stick stand
Candle stick ceiling light
Bookshelf
Table, chair & various study-like equipment
Desk, chair & example of desk detail/geometry
I noticed the top of this large decorative pot asset had
a low sub division as the edges of the top aren’t completely rounded, As the
pot is only a small part of the environment, this kind of low poly count is
alright because the player wouldn’t stand around like me staring at pots
thinking “I am SO un-impressed by this pots possible low poly count, what a
waste of money”. This is something I can keep in mind when creating my Distorted
Delirium assets.
Low poly soft sacks
Miscellaneous shelf assets
Wooden wheel
Large low poly wooden mallet
Oil lamp
Basic geometry skeleton bones for atmosphere
Here is an example of how an incredibly basic piece of
low poly geometry has been used and reproduced for environmental assets. You
can see a mid length cube which has been textured to look like a plank of wood.
I did a close study of the plank of wood and noticed that each of it’s edges
were completely smoothed so there were no indentations or cracks on the sides.
It is all in the texture. The texture makes it appear more 3D than it actually
is which makes you read the simple shape as a plank of wood. The other image
shows how this basic asset has been used multiple times to create a pile of
wooden planks in a separate area. 
Very basic, simple geomtry, low poly wooden box
Wooden chair & table
This really is only the tip of the iceberg for my
research. I plan to look into scene creation and how asset lists are created
and modelled. I want to look at a wide variety of games and get to grips with
the creation and implementation of these assets into game engines. I feel good
that I have made a start however. Regardless of where my research is at by
Sunday, I want to try and make a start on something even if it is the most
basic asset so I can confidently say I have got the ball rolling :D
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