My post for assignment says what I though of this assignemnt.
Heroes and Villains Revisit
I redrew the Hero and Villain from assignment 6. I decided that I should redraw them for this portfolio in higher quality. They might be better or worse, who knows:
I added a background to this one. It has a sunrise, it kind of makes the character seem more like a character than just an empty shell.
Here is the villain. I've messed up the hands. I wabted to make it look like he was holding them in a similar fashion to Mr Burns from the Simpsons.
My post for assignment says what I though of this assignemnt.
My post for assignment says what I though of this assignemnt.
Adding Chance to Chess
This assignment was based off the idea that chance can be added to even the most skilled based games. Chess being about complete skill of the player.
I came up with most of my chance mechanics using dice, spinners or coin flips. Generally, these are the most popular forms of chance that can be added to a game. Where a player would make a choice, such as which piece to move, chance can be added instead, such as using a dice to choose.
Although, in the first draft of this assignment there wasn't enough analysis, too many rules and mechanics, a few of which may have actually broke the game. In the redraft I removed some of the new mechanics and analysed the ones left further.
I came up with most of my chance mechanics using dice, spinners or coin flips. Generally, these are the most popular forms of chance that can be added to a game. Where a player would make a choice, such as which piece to move, chance can be added instead, such as using a dice to choose.
Although, in the first draft of this assignment there wasn't enough analysis, too many rules and mechanics, a few of which may have actually broke the game. In the redraft I removed some of the new mechanics and analysed the ones left further.
Creating a casual board game using pattern
Casual games based on pattern are very popular today. This is because they can be mobile and can be accessed quickly for short bursts of play, anywhere, anytime the player is bored. I had to come up with a game based on pattern to appeal to a casual audience.
I came up with a card game which uses colours and chance cards. Players must guess sequences of cards the other player creates. Points are gained based on if a player gueses the right cards and gain bonus points for guessing in the right order.
The chance cards add more chance to the game, where each player has a possbility of adding some kind of effect to the game. One example is the reverse engineering card which makes all players lose points for that round of play instead of gaining any.
This was a good assignment as casual games are very appealing. They can be played quickly and don't require much space to play. I think I might try to refine this game more in future.
I came up with a card game which uses colours and chance cards. Players must guess sequences of cards the other player creates. Points are gained based on if a player gueses the right cards and gain bonus points for guessing in the right order.
The chance cards add more chance to the game, where each player has a possbility of adding some kind of effect to the game. One example is the reverse engineering card which makes all players lose points for that round of play instead of gaining any.
This was a good assignment as casual games are very appealing. They can be played quickly and don't require much space to play. I think I might try to refine this game more in future.
Finished Assignments
As I've completed the assignments for this year, I might as well the turnarounds for them here. The images will be in order of when the assignment was set.
This was the first assignment, after learning the basics of 3DS MAX we were tasked with modelling a simple object. Some examples were a treasure chest, a old western wagon and a throne. I picked the throne as I felt it gave the best options for creativity. A chest usually keeps flat or rounded, nothing special and a wagon must look like it will function. the above throne looks like it would be very heavy and somehow strikes fear as it looks like a bird spreading it's wings, as to make it look huge and dangerous.
the first attempt at this model was a little broken, so I remodelled it. Many areas had multiple vertices in the same place. The UV Map was messy too. Now the model is much cleaner and so is the UV Map.
This was the part of the second assignment. I didn't model this demon, I'm not really good enough to yet. Hopefully soon I will be. Anyway, I created the texture for the model. I'll admit, It's not too great. That's likely due to my paining skills being quite bad. Overall though it looks okay, could be better though. I tried to highlight muscles to add a little bit of shading.
This is the last assignment for this year. Everyone had to model a current generation FPS weapon. Many people picked assault rifles or old style pistols. There were a lot of interesting designs. I picked to create what can be simply described as a ShotgunHammerSaw. It literately is a combination of a Shotgun, Hammer and Saw. The gun is a shotgun, the central black area is shaped like a hammer and the magazine doubles as a crude saw. I'm not really sure what inspired this design. Maybe it was the opportunity to create a modern FPS weapon with no real limits.
I also created the UV map and texture for the model and I went for a metal for most of the gun, but also wood for the stock, handle and pump. The normal maps and specular maps took a long time to create. I kept getting a text based error when trying to create a projection. Eventually it worked and then I had both. Look at the last post under Introduction to 3D modelling to see both maps.
I used Xoulil Shader 2 as a realtime shader for the weapon. The lighting is a little funny, but I hope to work on lighting and stuff. I had a problem where one side of the weapon would be completely white. After messing around alot this problem was reduced.
Overall, I'm pleased with progress made this year, but I know that I can improve and will try to improve my skills with my free time.
Creating a Timeline of Social Board Games: Trivial Pursuit
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| The pieces. Arguably the most recognizable aspect of the game. |
The famous game of trivia. Another highly famous part of the game is the pieces that are used. The iconic coloured Pie Slices can be recognized almost instantly by many people across the world.the coloured pieces represent the question categories that the players must know trivia in. Answering questions gives the corresponding piece which slots into the yellow cylinder base piece. The first player to fill the base piece with all of the colours and moves to the centre of the board wins.
The board has spaces the same colours as the pieces and landing on one whil mean that aquestion of that catagory will be asked to the player. Players move by rolling dice. There is also a 7th colour, Grey, which results the player rolling again when landed upon.
Here is the board, the palyers must complete their Base Piece with all 6 colours before they can travel to the centre and win.
Board Image Source:
http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/officialgallery/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/trivialpursuitimage1.jpg
Pieces Image Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Trivialpursuit_Token.jpg/220px-Trivialpursuit_Token.jpg
Creating a Timeline of Social Board Games: Ticket to Ride
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| Here is the board from a British version of the game |
Interestingly, i heard about this game from Xbox Live Arcade. I didn't know it was a board game until it was shown during a lecture in introduction to games design. the game is basically a game about creating train routes. It's surprisingly fun due to the colourful visuals and inclusion of real world locations.
Players must collect coloured cards which can be used to create routes. Cards are drawn at random so players don't know what colours they get. Players gets points based on the length of railways and if the player can complete the destination tickets they get by connecting to very distant cities.
During a turn the player can either draw train cards (the coloured cards needed to create a route), create a route or draw more destination tickets.
This game is social more between friends who have an interest in trains. Arguments may arise as one player may seem lucky and get all of one colour cards, meaning they can easily build the longest routes.
Here is a link to where I got information from: http://www.daysofwonder.com/tickettoride/en/content/overview/?game=us
Image: http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/dem/personal/t2r/tunnelsbridges/tnb-entireukmap.jpg
Creating a Timeline of Social Board Games: Pictionary
Pictionary is like charades, a classic game where players must act out words for other people to guess. Usually based on pop culture. The difference with Pictionary is that players must draw the object and show it instead. Players have a minute to draw the object. The player who is drawing draws a card from a deck to receive the object they must draw. Other players must guess the object for the player to be successful in drawing. Friends have fun trying to guess what drawings are. Arguments and discussions arise from whether the cat someone drew looks more like a horse and other fun topics. Friends can talk long after the game as it shows peoples true drawing skill. It influenced the game Draw Something, found on smartphones. the game is essentially the same but is played over the internet and has no board. It lacks most of the social aspect as you have no real contact with the people you play with. They are in your facebook friends list, but you can't actually see them through the game. There is also a board game. It's not that different to Pictionary, also made by Zynga. A company known for not really coming up with new or unique ideas.
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| Source: http://miad.utrechtblog.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/43/files//2011/09/pictionary-13640.jpg |
Creating a Timeline of Social Board Games: Primordial Soup
Primordial Soup is an interesting game from 1997. It is based off of the Primordial Soup theory that all life on earth formed from a single source or a 'soup' of carbon which was influenced by various chemicals to create life. Each player gets coloured pieces and the main goal of the game to evolve the player's starting amoeba Players take phases to turns. The first is to feed the amoeba by moving it in the direction with the current direction card, by the number of spaces printed on the amoeba. After moving the eats one of the coloured cubes not of the same colour as the player then must add two cubes of the players colour as excretion. over turns, players evolve by creating new genes or creating mutating old ones. The goal of the players is to be the longest to survive.
Here is a review of the game: http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/11/11109.phtml I got images from there too.
Creating a Timeline of Social Board Games: Carcassonne
This is a game I played during time at university. It is a fun game played by up to 5 players. Each player gets a different set of coloured pieces that are shaped like people. The goal of the game is to gain points and travel furthest on the board. The players move based on points gained by placing tiles on the table and creating places like roads, castles, forts and farms. Players can take these places when they build them by placing one of their pieces on that place. The piece can be removed when the area object has been completed. For example, if the players create a fully complete castle, the players involved in it's creation gain the points for the castle. A new player can contribute to building and gain a share of the points for completing the building. At the end, the player who has built the most and gained the most points wins. The larger a building, the more points that are gained.
Players will usually act friendly to try and get large structures as others help build, making them as large as possible. Or they could be cold and get angry if any other person tries to take any points from their structures.
Here is what the finished game could look like.The brown areas are castles and the white areas are roads. Players would place pieces on places they own until they are finished.
Players will usually act friendly to try and get large structures as others help build, making them as large as possible. Or they could be cold and get angry if any other person tries to take any points from their structures.
Here is what the finished game could look like.The brown areas are castles and the white areas are roads. Players would place pieces on places they own until they are finished.
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| Source: http://norvig.com/carcassonne.jpg |
Creating a Timeline of Social board Games: Yahtzee
Yahtzee is a popular game from 1956. A game that uses 5 dice, a cup and a complicated scoring system. It can be played alone but like many games is better with friends. I never really understood how scoring worked in Yahtzee so I would play a metagame where rolling higher numbers than your friends mean you won, or rolling a Yahtzee (all 5 dice are the same) would create an uproar of excitement due to how rare it was. It was also exciting to get multiples of the same number. This was similar in style to a minigame in New Super Mario Bros. on the DS. There was a card game which put the player against Luigi. Whoever had the better hand won. Often it was down to had the most cards of the same type. A full house would be like a Yahtzee where all of the cards in the hand would be the same.
I still don't really understand the rules, but someone has tried to explain it here: http://grail.sourceforge.net/demo/yahtzee/rules.html
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| Source: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51O89reUcuL._SY300_.jpg |
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| Source: http://gamingmemoirs.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Poker-Luigi-New-Super-Mario-Bros.png |
Creating a Timeline of Social Board Games: KerPlunk
Name: Kerplunk
Rules:
This game has players taking turns to pull sticks out from the central column. The player that makes the marbles resting on the sticks fall by removing an ill placed stick. This game is very skill based.
Social Aspects:
Kerplunk encourages talk between players as often arguments will arise as to which sticks will cause the marbles to fall. One player may believe that a stick will be safe to remove but another player will smile knowing that they will in fact fall. Then an argument as to who is right will ensue.
Rules:
This game has players taking turns to pull sticks out from the central column. The player that makes the marbles resting on the sticks fall by removing an ill placed stick. This game is very skill based.
Social Aspects:
Kerplunk encourages talk between players as often arguments will arise as to which sticks will cause the marbles to fall. One player may believe that a stick will be safe to remove but another player will smile knowing that they will in fact fall. Then an argument as to who is right will ensue.
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| Source: http://smythstoys.static.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/product_images/100152_L.jpg |
Final Project - Group Game Design Document and Pitch
For this years final assignment I've been placed in a group with two others in my group to create a game design document, using everything we have learned this year based on a theme based on the lecturer's choice. The them for my group was Assassins and Ninjas.
I've been assigned in creating the game world, some of the mechanics, choosing an engine and deciding on the main gameplay functions. So far, I've started to look into multiple engines that could be used. The three engines I looked at are Cryengine 3, Unity 3D and Unreal Engine 3/4. These three engines are free to use, but do cost money to sell a game made in that engine. I've also gone into some pros and cons for each.
In terms of the game world, I've created a very basic map (in paint). Its landscape is based off of a mixture of Japanese mountainous towns, Middle Eastern deserts to western cities. The world will be open to explore, similar to skyrim where mountains can be scaled and cities can be visited.
I still have work to do for mechanics and main gameplay ideas. So far the main gameplay idea is a mixture of Skyrim, Assassins creed and Ninja gaiden. There are a few gameplay mechanics such as trading for items instead of buying them with currency and followers who you must constantly help otherwise they will not help you back in return.
I've updated this post after completing a presentation to the lecturer, pitching the game. Overall, presentation went well and I enjoyed the experience. I do need to work on my presentation skills, likely I'll need to work on saying things in as few words as possible as at the end very little time was left to talk about game engine choice.
I've been assigned in creating the game world, some of the mechanics, choosing an engine and deciding on the main gameplay functions. So far, I've started to look into multiple engines that could be used. The three engines I looked at are Cryengine 3, Unity 3D and Unreal Engine 3/4. These three engines are free to use, but do cost money to sell a game made in that engine. I've also gone into some pros and cons for each.
In terms of the game world, I've created a very basic map (in paint). Its landscape is based off of a mixture of Japanese mountainous towns, Middle Eastern deserts to western cities. The world will be open to explore, similar to skyrim where mountains can be scaled and cities can be visited.
I still have work to do for mechanics and main gameplay ideas. So far the main gameplay idea is a mixture of Skyrim, Assassins creed and Ninja gaiden. There are a few gameplay mechanics such as trading for items instead of buying them with currency and followers who you must constantly help otherwise they will not help you back in return.
I've updated this post after completing a presentation to the lecturer, pitching the game. Overall, presentation went well and I enjoyed the experience. I do need to work on my presentation skills, likely I'll need to work on saying things in as few words as possible as at the end very little time was left to talk about game engine choice.
Normal and Specular Mapping a Current Gen FPS Weapon
After a lot of trouble with cages and text based errors when trying to create projections of my high poly model to create a normal map for my low poly gun, I've finally got one which works.
A normal model is necessary to add extra detail to a 3D model without adding extra polys, which would require more resources to render. Normal maps are good when creating objects in 3D which need to have a lot of detail, but because of the limitations of current generation consoles and PC games can not have as many high detailed objects in view at one time. Normal maps allow this extra detail without losing resources.
Here is my normal map:
A normal model is necessary to add extra detail to a 3D model without adding extra polys, which would require more resources to render. Normal maps are good when creating objects in 3D which need to have a lot of detail, but because of the limitations of current generation consoles and PC games can not have as many high detailed objects in view at one time. Normal maps allow this extra detail without losing resources.
Here is my normal map:
A specular map defines where a model is shiny or glossy. For example, metal will be shinier than wood. The closer to white an area of a specular map is the shinier that particular area will be.
Here is my specular map:
Timeline of Social Board Games: General Presentation
I've been Talking with Nigel and the overall presentation will be a poster. The design of the poster will be like some kind of bard game, similar in style to the game of life in design. Every so often on the board there will be a year and a physical game created in that year. Background information will be on separate sheets to discuss. For digital games there will be off shoots on the board with plug sockets. These are connected to TVs which house the digital game name and Years.
I might make a power point with images of the games, to display more information while saving space on the actual poster presentation. I'll see what Nigel thinks about that.
I might make a power point with images of the games, to display more information while saving space on the actual poster presentation. I'll see what Nigel thinks about that.
Social Board Games: Scrabble
Name: Scrabble
Year of original Release: 1948
Rules:
This is a word based game where points are given to players who create words on the board. There are special areas where if a word crosses it in some way the player will gain points bonuses. Points are given based on the point values of each letter used in a word. The more common a letter is, the fewer points that letter gains. For example, E gains very few points whereas Q gains a lot more. words can also only be placed if it uses at least one letter from another word already on the board (except the first word).
What makes it social:
What isn't social about a game about words? Often arguments or discussions will arise as to whether a word is real or not and the player who made it should get points for using a load of rare letters. Scrabble also helps improve the vocabulary of the people playing as it encourage usage of less common words with less common characters. Talking between players help improve this aspect. People who play for the first time tend to not gain as many points.
Year of original Release: 1948
Rules:
This is a word based game where points are given to players who create words on the board. There are special areas where if a word crosses it in some way the player will gain points bonuses. Points are given based on the point values of each letter used in a word. The more common a letter is, the fewer points that letter gains. For example, E gains very few points whereas Q gains a lot more. words can also only be placed if it uses at least one letter from another word already on the board (except the first word).
What makes it social:
What isn't social about a game about words? Often arguments or discussions will arise as to whether a word is real or not and the player who made it should get points for using a load of rare letters. Scrabble also helps improve the vocabulary of the people playing as it encourage usage of less common words with less common characters. Talking between players help improve this aspect. People who play for the first time tend to not gain as many points.
Mixing Styles Part 3
This week a lot of progress has been made in imitating the Styles of Ashley Wood and Marek Okon. These concepts I'm drawing in these styles should be finished by next week.
Here they are:
This is in the style of Marek Okon. It has a lot work that needs to be done to make it look photorealistic like this style. It's unlikely it will look photosrealistic when finished, but I'll work on it.
This is my approach to Ashley Wood's style of painting. I didn't use any lines, which shows why it is so rough. The background colours were taken from the general colour scheme Wood tends to use. There is a giant mushroom in the background, not sure why. Might make it a theme. This picture should be finished soon.
Edit:
The finished images look largely the same. It was interesting to try and imitate another persons style of drawing. The assignemnt wasn't really seeing how well we copy the style, but how well we can cope trying to draw in a different way to we regularily do. I liked drawing in Sean Galloway's style as it is a cartoony style and I am much more interested in this art style. Marek Okon's style of drawing wasn't really that interesting, it was just trying to imitate real life. It seems to lack a little creativity, leaving aside the actual characters within the drawings, just trying to make images look realistic seems a little boring. As for Ashley Wood's style of painting, I found this quite interesting. I decided to not use any lines within my painting and used a similar pallet. It was good as it was so different than what I'm used to drawing.
Here they are:
Edit:
The finished images look largely the same. It was interesting to try and imitate another persons style of drawing. The assignemnt wasn't really seeing how well we copy the style, but how well we can cope trying to draw in a different way to we regularily do. I liked drawing in Sean Galloway's style as it is a cartoony style and I am much more interested in this art style. Marek Okon's style of drawing wasn't really that interesting, it was just trying to imitate real life. It seems to lack a little creativity, leaving aside the actual characters within the drawings, just trying to make images look realistic seems a little boring. As for Ashley Wood's style of painting, I found this quite interesting. I decided to not use any lines within my painting and used a similar pallet. It was good as it was so different than what I'm used to drawing.
Social Games: Logo Board Game
Name: Logo Board Game
Year of Release: 2011
Rules: Players gain points by answering questions correctly relating to the business behind the logos. Questions answered right allow the players to move around the board to centre winners circle.
It's enjoyable to see when a friend doesn't recognise a major business logo, creating excitement as players try to guess franticly as they don't want to seem stupid.
Inspired: Many smartphone apps are a game similar to this, where players gain points fro guesing logos correctly. They also lose points if they guess incorrectly.
Year of Release: 2011
Rules: Players gain points by answering questions correctly relating to the business behind the logos. Questions answered right allow the players to move around the board to centre winners circle.
It's enjoyable to see when a friend doesn't recognise a major business logo, creating excitement as players try to guess franticly as they don't want to seem stupid.
Inspired: Many smartphone apps are a game similar to this, where players gain points fro guesing logos correctly. They also lose points if they guess incorrectly.
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| The board |
Social Games: Jenga
Name: Jenga
Year of Release: 1983
Rules: First a tower is built in layers made of 3 block put side by side, rotating the direction the blocks face each layer.
The players must pull out one of the blocks on their turn from the tower. The piece taken must be placed on the top of the tower in a similar fashion to how they are placed at the beginning. The player that makes the tower fall loses.
Defining Features:
This game was unique at the time as it was about balance in a 3D space. Players must be cunning and try to lure the other players into a trap where the tower will collapse on their turn, allowing the craftiest player to win. A good understadning of balance also helps.
Information gathered from http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2452/jenga
Year of Release: 1983
Rules: First a tower is built in layers made of 3 block put side by side, rotating the direction the blocks face each layer.
The players must pull out one of the blocks on their turn from the tower. The piece taken must be placed on the top of the tower in a similar fashion to how they are placed at the beginning. The player that makes the tower fall loses.
Defining Features:
This game was unique at the time as it was about balance in a 3D space. Players must be cunning and try to lure the other players into a trap where the tower will collapse on their turn, allowing the craftiest player to win. A good understadning of balance also helps.
Information gathered from http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2452/jenga
Social Board Games: Mouse Trap
Game Name: Mouse Trap
Original Year of Release: 1963
Game Information:
Mouse trap wowed the world with it's Rube Goldberg machine way of capturing mice. The players take the role of mice who must get cheese and escape the board. Set up time for the game was quite long (for me anyway) but the game incites social interaction as excitement occurs between players as they notice the ball start to roll, causing the trap to slowly fall. This excitement causes heated talk between players.
Original Year of Release: 1963
Game Information:
Mouse trap wowed the world with it's Rube Goldberg machine way of capturing mice. The players take the role of mice who must get cheese and escape the board. Set up time for the game was quite long (for me anyway) but the game incites social interaction as excitement occurs between players as they notice the ball start to roll, causing the trap to slowly fall. This excitement causes heated talk between players.
Mixing Styles Part 2
This week I've mostly finished the work in the style of Sean Galloway. Just needs a bit of finishing. For the next piece of art based on Ashley Wood I've started, but there is still a lot of work to do.
Here is the piece baced on Sean Galloway:
Here is the piece baced on Sean Galloway:
Here is the Ashley Wood Piece so far, It has a lot of work left to do:
I'll post more progress next week.
Creating a Timeline of Social Games
To get a better understanding the games profession my group must research the history of Social board and video games. I'm going to try and make some kind of power point presentation with a quick timeline of as many social board games as possible (games that are played with friends). I will go into more detail about 5 specific games and what defines them as social board/video games.
Some of the games I will be looking at are Mouse Trap, Twister, Yahtzee and some other less famous ones. I'll be researching boardgames and physical games and Nigel (the person I'm working with) will be tasked with researching social video games.
The main games I will look into are Mouse Trap, Twister, Yahtzee, Buckaroo, Carcassonne, Logo Board Game, Pictionary, Primordial Soup, Scrabble, Ticket to Ride, Trivial Pursuit, KerPlunk and Jenga.
For the timeline I'll try to mention as many games as possible but as games tend to have multiplayer and so the timeline will have many entries. For example, nearly all board games are social in some way as they are played with others in the same room.
I'll note down the rules of each game and the year it released to allow them to be sorted into a timeline. Here is the format a presentation slide will take:
Name:
Year of Release:
Rules:
Defining Features:
Each slide will be ordered chronologically. Here is an example slide, using Twister:
(http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5894/twister)
Name: Twister
Year of Release: 1966
Rules:
A large mat is put on the floor and the players follow instructions from a spinner which will land on a colour (Red, Blue, Green or Yellow) and a body part (Left hand or foot, right hand or foot) which tells the player where to place the body part on the mat. The person who falls over or any part of their body other than hands or feet touches the mat loses.
Defining Features:
This game is very social as it forces players to contort around other players to reach different areas. It is a very active game which requires the players to bend in awkward game. It often gives interesting social interactions between players as they have fun and laugh at themselves and other players getting stuck or having to move awkwardly.
I'll do this for each game and will be using websites like boardgamegeek and others which give overviews of the game and the year they were published, to allow atimeline to be created.
Some of the games I will be looking at are Mouse Trap, Twister, Yahtzee and some other less famous ones. I'll be researching boardgames and physical games and Nigel (the person I'm working with) will be tasked with researching social video games.
The main games I will look into are Mouse Trap, Twister, Yahtzee, Buckaroo, Carcassonne, Logo Board Game, Pictionary, Primordial Soup, Scrabble, Ticket to Ride, Trivial Pursuit, KerPlunk and Jenga.
For the timeline I'll try to mention as many games as possible but as games tend to have multiplayer and so the timeline will have many entries. For example, nearly all board games are social in some way as they are played with others in the same room.
I'll note down the rules of each game and the year it released to allow them to be sorted into a timeline. Here is the format a presentation slide will take:
Name:
Year of Release:
Rules:
Defining Features:
Each slide will be ordered chronologically. Here is an example slide, using Twister:
(http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5894/twister)
Name: Twister
Year of Release: 1966
Rules:
A large mat is put on the floor and the players follow instructions from a spinner which will land on a colour (Red, Blue, Green or Yellow) and a body part (Left hand or foot, right hand or foot) which tells the player where to place the body part on the mat. The person who falls over or any part of their body other than hands or feet touches the mat loses.
Defining Features:
This game is very social as it forces players to contort around other players to reach different areas. It is a very active game which requires the players to bend in awkward game. It often gives interesting social interactions between players as they have fun and laugh at themselves and other players getting stuck or having to move awkwardly.
I'll do this for each game and will be using websites like boardgamegeek and others which give overviews of the game and the year they were published, to allow atimeline to be created.
UV Mapping a Low Poly FPS Gun
This week I've created a low poly model of the high poly gun which is under 6,000 triangles. I've started to UV map it so that it can be textured. So far every piece has been UV mapped, but just needs configuriing so that all of the checker pattern is the right size and the same everywhere.
Here is an image of what the lowpoly UV wrapped gun in progress looks like:
I'll post the finished UV next week and possibly some textures.
Here is an image of what the lowpoly UV wrapped gun in progress looks like:
I'll post the finished UV next week and possibly some textures.
Mixing Styles
For this assignment I must create three drawings in 3 different styles fro m3 different artists. These artists are Sean Galloway, Ashley Wood and Marek Okon. These artists have very different draing styles.
Sean Galloway is more of a cartoon artist, specialising in squarish fingers, cell shading and bright colours. I like Galloways work as it suits the style of art I like to draw, Being more of a fan of cartoons than realism.
The second artist, Ashley Wood is the most interesting looking as it is all done in oil paints. Big clear strokes of the brush can be seen and few colours are used, dark ones at that to emphasize Ashley's theme of World War 2 times and robots.
The final artist I need to imitate, Marek Okon, specialises in photorealistic art. Honestly I'm not looking forward to drawing my character in his style as I tend to avoid realism as it requires a lot of detail. This is something I don't really add to pictures.
My character has no name but so far is a Bee Girl. I've started doing the design work in Galloway's style as this is what I feel I'd be comfortable doing and have had the most fun doing.
Here is the picture so far:
As can be seen, it's a cartoony character. I'll work it more into Galloways style then I'll start to recreate it in both Ashley Wood and Marek Okon's styles.
I'll report the progress on this next week.
Sean Galloway is more of a cartoon artist, specialising in squarish fingers, cell shading and bright colours. I like Galloways work as it suits the style of art I like to draw, Being more of a fan of cartoons than realism.
The second artist, Ashley Wood is the most interesting looking as it is all done in oil paints. Big clear strokes of the brush can be seen and few colours are used, dark ones at that to emphasize Ashley's theme of World War 2 times and robots.
The final artist I need to imitate, Marek Okon, specialises in photorealistic art. Honestly I'm not looking forward to drawing my character in his style as I tend to avoid realism as it requires a lot of detail. This is something I don't really add to pictures.
My character has no name but so far is a Bee Girl. I've started doing the design work in Galloway's style as this is what I feel I'd be comfortable doing and have had the most fun doing.
Here is the picture so far:
As can be seen, it's a cartoony character. I'll work it more into Galloways style then I'll start to recreate it in both Ashley Wood and Marek Okon's styles.
I'll report the progress on this next week.
Modelling a modern FPS gun: High Poly
So far I've modelled the high poly model of the gun assigned for this task.
It is made of roughly 50,000 polys and will be used to make a low poly gun that is less than 6,000 tris (about 3,000 polys) by deleting unnecesary edge loops.
Here is an image of the high poly model:
It is made of roughly 50,000 polys and will be used to make a low poly gun that is less than 6,000 tris (about 3,000 polys) by deleting unnecesary edge loops.
Here is an image of the high poly model:
Creating a UI (User Interface)
For this assignment we were tasked with creating a UI for a digital version of the social game, Twister.
We had to draw sketches and describe how the UI would work as well as an analysis on how important feedback is for a UI. I spoke a bit about haptic feedback, where the player feels like they are in direct control and see realtime change, such as health going down as soon as the player is hit.
The general idea of the UI is based off what someone would expect from small arcade games on Xbox Live Arcade where the layout is simple, not to confuse more casual players. The UI consists mainly of bright colours, loud sounds and large text that clearly indicates how many points each player has.
Finally we had to conceptualise the control scheme for the game. With this it was also required that a justification of why this control scheme would be a good idea to use. I thought of using MaKeyMaKey. This interesting control scheme uses specialised script and wires which turn any object into a controller. As an example, here is a Banana Piano. The different bananas, when touched produce different notes within the software that comes with MaKeyMaKey.
Here's some information on the MaKeyMaKey: http://www.makeymakey.com/
We had to draw sketches and describe how the UI would work as well as an analysis on how important feedback is for a UI. I spoke a bit about haptic feedback, where the player feels like they are in direct control and see realtime change, such as health going down as soon as the player is hit.
The general idea of the UI is based off what someone would expect from small arcade games on Xbox Live Arcade where the layout is simple, not to confuse more casual players. The UI consists mainly of bright colours, loud sounds and large text that clearly indicates how many points each player has.
Finally we had to conceptualise the control scheme for the game. With this it was also required that a justification of why this control scheme would be a good idea to use. I thought of using MaKeyMaKey. This interesting control scheme uses specialised script and wires which turn any object into a controller. As an example, here is a Banana Piano. The different bananas, when touched produce different notes within the software that comes with MaKeyMaKey.
Here's some information on the MaKeyMaKey: http://www.makeymakey.com/
Designing an Environment part 2
Good progress has been made on the village sketch. I'm currently adding shade and detail. Not much else to say other than today colour was added, as well as new buildings and features to the village.
Here is a what it looks like so far:
As can be seen, the main problem is a lack of detail. This will be priority for now. The finished product will be uploaded on the next blogpost for creative thinking on either thursday or friday next week.
Edit:
Here is the final image:
I've added more detail such as lights an made the scene look like it is at night. Overall, I enjoyed this assignment as I prefer designing environments to characters, as I amn an aspiring level designer.
Here is a what it looks like so far:
Edit:
Here is the final image:
Board Games
For a few assignments I was asked to produce board games and puzzles. There needed to be a game board, pieces, rules and an analysis of each. Here are the games:
Puzzles: Diffuse the bomb!:
Here I had to design three puzzles related to the theme of diffusing a bomb. The puzzles all had to be vastly different and require different skills. Here are the puzzles:
1. Clear the way - The player takes the role of the bomb diffusal expert and must get to the bomb. Unfortunately, the building is structured like a maze and scared crowds are blocking the direct paths! The player must push the crowds out of the way to get to the bomb. However, they can not push crowds through walls and they can not pull crowds. This game is based on Sokoban.
2. The player must cut the right wire! Similar to a minigame found in Wario Ware where the player has a limited amount of time to cut a wire. If they pick the wrong one, the bomb will explode. The game plays by another person selecting a wire that needs to be cut and the player asking yes and no questions, without asking directly which colour is right or wrong in order to figure out which wire is the right one to cut.
3. Buzzer puzzle - To diffuse the bomb the player must get the pliers to the bomb, blocking the path is a metal wire, attaching the pliers to the hoop and completing the wire obstacle course will meanm sucess. The player must be quick though as the bomb is on a timer.
Sonic 3 Board Game:
For this assignment I was told to pick a video game I liked and convert it into a board game. It had to be a real time game, I picked Sonic the Hedgehog 3 for the Sega Megadrive. The game worked in a way as being as much a literal translation of the game. The reason for this was that if the video game was fun the way it was, the board game should try to emulate that. Often board games are precreated in digital form, where very few aspects are changed as the game being changed would not make it that game any more.
As in Sonic 3, the mechanics of multiple paths, collecting rings, fighting enemies, avioding obstacles, mini-bosses and bosses were all present. The number of rings the player collected during a turn were determined by a dice roll and enemies, obstacles,bosses and mini-bosses were all represented by cards which were drawn when the player touches specific areas on the board.
The board was a recreation of the levels from Sonic 3 & Knuckles. From Angel Island Zone to Doomsday Zone, but the Prototype board only had the First 3 zones; Angel Island, Hydrocity, and Marble Garden Zone. Like othe board games there were paths the players must follow. However there were branching paths so the players had a choice of which way to finish the level. Different routes were different lengths and have more or less chasllenge depending on the length of the path. Longer paths tended to have fewer enemies or obstacles but the player would lose out as being a game based on Sonic 3, the fewer moves taken to finish a level would grant the player higher bonus points at the end of the level.
Puzzles: Diffuse the bomb!:
Here I had to design three puzzles related to the theme of diffusing a bomb. The puzzles all had to be vastly different and require different skills. Here are the puzzles:
1. Clear the way - The player takes the role of the bomb diffusal expert and must get to the bomb. Unfortunately, the building is structured like a maze and scared crowds are blocking the direct paths! The player must push the crowds out of the way to get to the bomb. However, they can not push crowds through walls and they can not pull crowds. This game is based on Sokoban.
2. The player must cut the right wire! Similar to a minigame found in Wario Ware where the player has a limited amount of time to cut a wire. If they pick the wrong one, the bomb will explode. The game plays by another person selecting a wire that needs to be cut and the player asking yes and no questions, without asking directly which colour is right or wrong in order to figure out which wire is the right one to cut.
3. Buzzer puzzle - To diffuse the bomb the player must get the pliers to the bomb, blocking the path is a metal wire, attaching the pliers to the hoop and completing the wire obstacle course will meanm sucess. The player must be quick though as the bomb is on a timer.
Sonic 3 Board Game:
For this assignment I was told to pick a video game I liked and convert it into a board game. It had to be a real time game, I picked Sonic the Hedgehog 3 for the Sega Megadrive. The game worked in a way as being as much a literal translation of the game. The reason for this was that if the video game was fun the way it was, the board game should try to emulate that. Often board games are precreated in digital form, where very few aspects are changed as the game being changed would not make it that game any more.
As in Sonic 3, the mechanics of multiple paths, collecting rings, fighting enemies, avioding obstacles, mini-bosses and bosses were all present. The number of rings the player collected during a turn were determined by a dice roll and enemies, obstacles,bosses and mini-bosses were all represented by cards which were drawn when the player touches specific areas on the board.
The board was a recreation of the levels from Sonic 3 & Knuckles. From Angel Island Zone to Doomsday Zone, but the Prototype board only had the First 3 zones; Angel Island, Hydrocity, and Marble Garden Zone. Like othe board games there were paths the players must follow. However there were branching paths so the players had a choice of which way to finish the level. Different routes were different lengths and have more or less chasllenge depending on the length of the path. Longer paths tended to have fewer enemies or obstacles but the player would lose out as being a game based on Sonic 3, the fewer moves taken to finish a level would grant the player higher bonus points at the end of the level.
Creating my first Board Game
For this assignment we needed to create a board game using what we had learned in the first few weeks. My idea was similar to Risk, where the players must take over territory to win.
In general, this original game idea didn't work too well. It originally used a grid structure. This was unnecesary and it allows players to have more freedom if they are free to build in sectors (like in Risk) that they own.
I also didn't really explain price scaling for different troops and locations to be built, but I though about this and price increases are proportional to added functionality of the more expensive pieces. For example, buying a village is £500 but a Town is £5,000. This is because a Village gives 50 useable people for the military; whereas a town has 500 people. As the number of available people in a village is 500, which is 10x as many as in the village, the price is 10x as much.
I'll be making other changes over time too. I'll post the changes at a later date.
I've updated the game. Instead of using a grid, the game now uses zones. This is a lot more similar to risk. This system seemingly works for risk, and is not too confusing to understand, which was a large problem with using a grid.
As mentioned above, I found it difficult to explain the gaps in prices between structures. Now structures don't depend on money but on limits on the player for each zone. A player can place any two structures in a zone, but each structure takes steps to create. A village is simple to create, but produce new squadrons slower, Villages produce faster but cost a Village to make. A city is even better, and so will cost a Town and village to make.
In general, this original game idea didn't work too well. It originally used a grid structure. This was unnecesary and it allows players to have more freedom if they are free to build in sectors (like in Risk) that they own.
I also didn't really explain price scaling for different troops and locations to be built, but I though about this and price increases are proportional to added functionality of the more expensive pieces. For example, buying a village is £500 but a Town is £5,000. This is because a Village gives 50 useable people for the military; whereas a town has 500 people. As the number of available people in a village is 500, which is 10x as many as in the village, the price is 10x as much.
I'll be making other changes over time too. I'll post the changes at a later date.
I've updated the game. Instead of using a grid, the game now uses zones. This is a lot more similar to risk. This system seemingly works for risk, and is not too confusing to understand, which was a large problem with using a grid.
As mentioned above, I found it difficult to explain the gaps in prices between structures. Now structures don't depend on money but on limits on the player for each zone. A player can place any two structures in a zone, but each structure takes steps to create. A village is simple to create, but produce new squadrons slower, Villages produce faster but cost a Village to make. A city is even better, and so will cost a Town and village to make.
Designing FPS Weapons part 2
In terms of progress with creating a new FPS weapon that could be used in a game (and will be shown in UDK later), It's going reasonably well. The design is finished and I've already started modelling it.
So far I've created a basic model for all of the main parts of the Shotgun, except for the stock. I'll likely do this today. Then I'll work on it a bit then save it as a low poly model. This will then allow me to create a separate high poly model which I can use for Texturing, normal maps and specular maps.
Today will generally be used to add more detail, to have as much as possible in the low poly model under the 6000 triangle limit it has. This way, reliance on a normal map for details will be smaller and will make the overall finished weapon look better.
So far I've created a basic model for all of the main parts of the Shotgun, except for the stock. I'll likely do this today. Then I'll work on it a bit then save it as a low poly model. This will then allow me to create a separate high poly model which I can use for Texturing, normal maps and specular maps.
Today will generally be used to add more detail, to have as much as possible in the low poly model under the 6000 triangle limit it has. This way, reliance on a normal map for details will be smaller and will make the overall finished weapon look better.
Designing Environments
For this assignment the class must design an environment based on a building in Manchester city centre. I chose a small pub for the basis of a small village in the hills.
First I made a simple 3D model of the scene in 3DS Max to help with perspective, which is an important anspect of this assignment.
Here is the progress made so far. The colours have been created from the 3D models and I am using it as a guide to draw. The scene will be wintery, but with no snow, just colder colours being used (such as blues and bluey greens and greys). I've not followed the model exactly but that doesn't matter for now.
I'll have to add more detail aswell, there might be a forrest or something in the background, faded with the mountains.
First I made a simple 3D model of the scene in 3DS Max to help with perspective, which is an important anspect of this assignment.
I'll have to add more detail aswell, there might be a forrest or something in the background, faded with the mountains.
Creating accessibility for FPS games
Here we were tasked with taking a popular FPS and making it more accessable to the mass audience. I chose Team Fortress 2 to modify and ended up adding a few modes to accomodate these new players.
It should be noted that I dodn't really like this assignment as a problem is that if you try to appeal to the largest audience you tend to take away what was originaly challenging and fun to the original fan of the game. A series which appeals to a wide audience is Call of Duty, which has seemingly not seen many improvement since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. This is due to the fact that the mass audience enjoys the Call of Duty games and will willingly buy new versions even with little change and so the developers have no need to improve the game series if they can keep it roughly the same and make a lot of money. This saves effort for them, which is understandable, but it gives a bad impression to people who value games and actually want to see them improve.
It should be noted that I dodn't really like this assignment as a problem is that if you try to appeal to the largest audience you tend to take away what was originaly challenging and fun to the original fan of the game. A series which appeals to a wide audience is Call of Duty, which has seemingly not seen many improvement since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. This is due to the fact that the mass audience enjoys the Call of Duty games and will willingly buy new versions even with little change and so the developers have no need to improve the game series if they can keep it roughly the same and make a lot of money. This saves effort for them, which is understandable, but it gives a bad impression to people who value games and actually want to see them improve.
Creating a Concept Document
Creating a small concept document was the task of this assignment. The concept document must have been a game design idea for a game of your creation based on an 80's cartoon. The cartoon I was assigned was Jem, a very pink and vibrant cartoon with a musical basis.
The difficult part of this assignment was coming up with how to change the show into a game. That is why I tried to design a game which fitted to the original show as closely as possible. After looking at other documents and my own I seem to notice that visual appeal is important for a design document. So, later I will add many more images from various points in the show to illustrate my points. I'll also likely remove mentioning on how the controls will work in favour of an image showing them instead.
From this assignment I learned that in games design you might not work with any kind of interlectual property you particularly like and so that you should not limit your ideas to just what you want to do, otherwise you could miss out some good oppertunities.
Imagery is also essential. It's best to use an image where possible instrad of text. Pictures are worth a thousand words. I'm trying to remove a lot of text and replace it with images. The updated version of the document should be available soon.
The difficult part of this assignment was coming up with how to change the show into a game. That is why I tried to design a game which fitted to the original show as closely as possible. After looking at other documents and my own I seem to notice that visual appeal is important for a design document. So, later I will add many more images from various points in the show to illustrate my points. I'll also likely remove mentioning on how the controls will work in favour of an image showing them instead.
From this assignment I learned that in games design you might not work with any kind of interlectual property you particularly like and so that you should not limit your ideas to just what you want to do, otherwise you could miss out some good oppertunities.
Imagery is also essential. It's best to use an image where possible instrad of text. Pictures are worth a thousand words. I'm trying to remove a lot of text and replace it with images. The updated version of the document should be available soon.
Designing Characters and Locations
For this assignment skills learned from a lecture about adding characters and story to a game to create both one character, and one location of our own choice. The assignment is now finished and is ready to be handed in.
My character idea is a Latvian cat woman (still based in the world created in the Heroes and Villains assignment for creative thinking) who is the vice president of the company the villain (from the assignment mentioned above) owns. She can be quite forgetful but is a friendly and morally guided character.
The location is a city of which was bought out by the Business TonCat (ran by the villain). The primary location is the TonCat headquaters which is a very tall tower that stands out from the surrounding city. It contains many things, the primary purpose of the tower is to house 10,000 offices which have won multiple awards over the years for their user friendliness. The ground level of the tower is open to the public and is actually a shopping centre. It houses many shops which offer a wide range of goods. From Video games to food, everything is available here. Finally, the basement levels house small assembly plants which manufacture the electronic goods that TonCat is also known for.
This assignment was difficult as thinking up a character and their backstory is difficult. Including having to detail a location added to this. However, it was fun to create a story and invent new people and places, letting the imagination run wild.
My character idea is a Latvian cat woman (still based in the world created in the Heroes and Villains assignment for creative thinking) who is the vice president of the company the villain (from the assignment mentioned above) owns. She can be quite forgetful but is a friendly and morally guided character.
The location is a city of which was bought out by the Business TonCat (ran by the villain). The primary location is the TonCat headquaters which is a very tall tower that stands out from the surrounding city. It contains many things, the primary purpose of the tower is to house 10,000 offices which have won multiple awards over the years for their user friendliness. The ground level of the tower is open to the public and is actually a shopping centre. It houses many shops which offer a wide range of goods. From Video games to food, everything is available here. Finally, the basement levels house small assembly plants which manufacture the electronic goods that TonCat is also known for.
This assignment was difficult as thinking up a character and their backstory is difficult. Including having to detail a location added to this. However, it was fun to create a story and invent new people and places, letting the imagination run wild.
Designing a level in UDK
For this assignment the class was told to create a multiplayer level (either Capture the Flag or Deathmatch) in the Unreal Development Kit (UDK).
I had trouble coming up with a good idea for the level, but in the end I based it on a symmetrical stadium which allows players to fall to their death on the sides. It has two levels of height, the lower path safer to travel but likely to have more players running around, and the higher path, which is more difficult to travel and use effectively, but less players will use.
Overall, I'm reworking the level and have somethings I need to improve on it. These are that I need to make the higher level more difficult to use (for example making platforms thinner), apply textures fully (I ran out of time the first time it was handed in), reconfigure paths for bots, to make paths smoother and finally to add more lights to increase the levels general aesthetic appeal.
I had trouble coming up with a good idea for the level, but in the end I based it on a symmetrical stadium which allows players to fall to their death on the sides. It has two levels of height, the lower path safer to travel but likely to have more players running around, and the higher path, which is more difficult to travel and use effectively, but less players will use.
Overall, I'm reworking the level and have somethings I need to improve on it. These are that I need to make the higher level more difficult to use (for example making platforms thinner), apply textures fully (I ran out of time the first time it was handed in), reconfigure paths for bots, to make paths smoother and finally to add more lights to increase the levels general aesthetic appeal.
Designing a vehicle part 2
This week for the vehicle design I've finished the main bulk of the drawing and colouring. I'm not going to work on the shading to give it a more 3d look. The driver is a rabbit, being an old friend of the owner of the limo, Winston (from the Heros and Villains assignmnet).
The limo is dark grey/black with orange highlights and has many comfort features expected in such an expensive vehicle.
The rabbit drives Winston around and also has access to the limo's features. There is no front door for him to get into the limo, so he must enter by a sliding door on the side of the limo.
The estimated selling price is said to be above £1,000,000.
Edit:
Here is the finished car. I added lighting and fixed the shade so it wasn't too dark. Unfortunately, the print is a lot darker. I enjoyed this as I've alsways had an interest in vehicles and getting to design my own was fun. Originally I was going to draw a Train Chainsaw (Basically a Train with a giant saw on the front) but then I though that it would be too complicated. I might try and sketch one up at some point though.
Here is the driver:
He is a rabbit because the vehicle fits into my animal based universe from the heroes and villains assignment. He's quite old but he is a skilled driver. It seems that he a little annoyed about something. I dodn't really like drawing him as I'm not too much of a fan of drawing characters. A lot of my characters seem to wear suits. I tried modelling this in 3D first just to get the perspective right. I'm likely going to use 3D for perspective in a lot of work.
The limo is dark grey/black with orange highlights and has many comfort features expected in such an expensive vehicle.
The rabbit drives Winston around and also has access to the limo's features. There is no front door for him to get into the limo, so he must enter by a sliding door on the side of the limo.
The estimated selling price is said to be above £1,000,000.
Edit:
Here is the driver:
Party Games: Mario Party
For a research assignment my group has been asked to create a timeline for social board games. This includes Mario Party, so I should get it out of the way now.
Mario Party is a video game series based on around a virtual board game. The players must compete with each other and must move around the board by rolling a dice (or multiple) and try to collect coins and stars to beat their opponents.
The main feature of Mario Party games is that every turn the players must take part in a mini-game. The winner(s) are rewarded with coins.
Here is an example of a 4 player mini game in the original Mario Party. It's called Hot Bob-omb. The players must throw the bomb to each other until one player has the bomb and it blows up in their face. The other 3 players win.
Mario Party games introduce new elements now and then. Mario Party 2 added items which can be used on a players turn. For example, a player could obtain a mushroom from an item mini-game and the use it next turn to roll 2 dice instead of just one. Mario Party 3 added a story mode and duel mode.
So far, there have been 11 Mario Party Games ranging from the the first on Nintendo 64 in 1999 (1998 for Japan) up to Mario Party 9 on the Nintendo Wii in 2012.
Mario Party is a video game series based on around a virtual board game. The players must compete with each other and must move around the board by rolling a dice (or multiple) and try to collect coins and stars to beat their opponents.
 |
| Here is an example of standard Mario Party Gameplay. |
Here is an example of a 4 player mini game in the original Mario Party. It's called Hot Bob-omb. The players must throw the bomb to each other until one player has the bomb and it blows up in their face. The other 3 players win.
Mario Party games introduce new elements now and then. Mario Party 2 added items which can be used on a players turn. For example, a player could obtain a mushroom from an item mini-game and the use it next turn to roll 2 dice instead of just one. Mario Party 3 added a story mode and duel mode.
"Duel Mode introduces a new game mode to the Mario Party Series that has two players duking it out with partners. Players move around a board, much like the Battle Royale boards, trying to catch up with the other player and have their partner attack their opponent. Each player has 5 pieces of heart that serve as a life meter. Each partner has different stats in attack power and defense health along with a salary that must be paid every turn. Duel Maps do not feature a mini-game after every turn but they do feature a spot on the map that will start a mini-game once passed 5 times. The game is over once one of the players loses all of their heart pieces or the limit of turns are up. There are no items in Duel Map boards." (http://mariopartylegacy.com/marioparty3/modes/duelmode/)
So far, there have been 11 Mario Party Games ranging from the the first on Nintendo 64 in 1999 (1998 for Japan) up to Mario Party 9 on the Nintendo Wii in 2012.
Designing FPS Weapons
For the final tak of the year I need to design, model, texture (and show in a working game engine) a gun which would be suitable for use in current generation FPS (First Person Shooter) games.
I've decided to model a shotgun. It was an easy choice considereing I've already designed an assault rifle, pistol and bazooka for another course, creative thinking. Designing a shotgun allows me to come up with some new ideas.
For the general concept of how guns function I looked at the Principles of Firearms. This webpage names the components of a gun and describes their function. This is useful as this gives a list of what I need to include in the design.
http://rkba.org/guns/principles/definitions/gun-components.html
I also looked at an article on specifically how shotguns work and what defines them from other types of guns. This is essential to understand if I want to design a shotgun that looks like it could work.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/shotgun1.htm
Some interesting things I'm noting are:
1.The size of the barrel indicates the gauge number and therefore, the amount of recoil firing will have. The lower the gauge, the wider the barrel, the higher the recoil.
Here are two examples:
This is a 4 Gauge shotgun with a relatively wide barrel and will have lots of recoil.
This is a 20 Gauge shotgun. As can be seen, it has a thinner and longer barrel than the 4 gauge one above. This will have less recoil, which is safer for the user, but doesn;t look as cool.
A 4 gauge shotgun may seem to have too much recoil but having a fair amount makes the gun look much more powerful when fired.
2. How will the shotgun be reloaded?
There are 4 main types of reloading a shotgun:
Break action - Where the shotgun 'breaks' open and allows the cartridges to be reloaded into the barrel manually.
Bolt action - a bolt on the shotgun is pulled to release the remains of the last cartridge and allow a new one to be loaded.
Pump action - probably the most famous form of reloading, this is where a fore-end (pump) is placed under the barrel, pumping back and forth once reloads the gun. It also has a recognisable sound.
Autoloaders - These function similarily to machine guns and will automatically reload with no input from the user.
To keep with my current theme of designing things to fit in with the world created by the Heroes and Villains assignment for creative thinking, similar colour schemes and designs will be used.
References:
Image of 4 Gauge shotgun
http://media.beta.photobucket.com/user/Sn1P3rM98/media/ks23.jpg.html?filters[term]=4%20gauge%20shotgun&filters[primary]=images#/user/Muskyhunter1/media/Hunting2008151.jpg.html?filters%5Bterm%5D=4%20gauge%20shotgun&filters%5Bprimary%5D=images&_suid=136059626497905193423193835687
Image of 20 gauge Shotgun
I've decided to model a shotgun. It was an easy choice considereing I've already designed an assault rifle, pistol and bazooka for another course, creative thinking. Designing a shotgun allows me to come up with some new ideas.
For the general concept of how guns function I looked at the Principles of Firearms. This webpage names the components of a gun and describes their function. This is useful as this gives a list of what I need to include in the design.
http://rkba.org/guns/principles/definitions/gun-components.html
I also looked at an article on specifically how shotguns work and what defines them from other types of guns. This is essential to understand if I want to design a shotgun that looks like it could work.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/shotgun1.htm
Some interesting things I'm noting are:
1.The size of the barrel indicates the gauge number and therefore, the amount of recoil firing will have. The lower the gauge, the wider the barrel, the higher the recoil.
Here are two examples:
A 4 gauge shotgun may seem to have too much recoil but having a fair amount makes the gun look much more powerful when fired.
2. How will the shotgun be reloaded?
There are 4 main types of reloading a shotgun:
Break action - Where the shotgun 'breaks' open and allows the cartridges to be reloaded into the barrel manually.
Bolt action - a bolt on the shotgun is pulled to release the remains of the last cartridge and allow a new one to be loaded.
Pump action - probably the most famous form of reloading, this is where a fore-end (pump) is placed under the barrel, pumping back and forth once reloads the gun. It also has a recognisable sound.
Autoloaders - These function similarily to machine guns and will automatically reload with no input from the user.
To keep with my current theme of designing things to fit in with the world created by the Heroes and Villains assignment for creative thinking, similar colour schemes and designs will be used.
References:
Image of 4 Gauge shotgun
http://media.beta.photobucket.com/user/Sn1P3rM98/media/ks23.jpg.html?filters[term]=4%20gauge%20shotgun&filters[primary]=images#/user/Muskyhunter1/media/Hunting2008151.jpg.html?filters%5Bterm%5D=4%20gauge%20shotgun&filters%5Bprimary%5D=images&_suid=136059626497905193423193835687
![http://media.beta.photobucket.com/user/Sn1P3rM98/media/ks23.jpg.html?filters[term]=4%20gauge%20shotgun&filters[primary]=images#/user/Muskyhunter1/media/Hunting2008151.jpg.html?filters%5Bterm%5D=4%20gauge%20shotgun&filters%5Bprimary%5D=images&_suid=136059626497905193423193835687](http://media.beta.photobucket.com/user/Sn1P3rM98/media/ks23.jpg.html?filters[term]=4%20gauge%20shotgun&filters[primary]=images#/user/Muskyhunter1/media/Hunting2008151.jpg.html?filters%5Bterm%5D=4%20gauge%20shotgun&filters%5Bprimary%5D=images&_suid=136059626497905193423193835687){kind=link}
Image of 20 gauge Shotgun
Vehicle Design
For this assignment we've been tasked with designing and drawing a vehicle with it's driver. My idea follows with the theme created by the Heroes and Villains assignment. It will serve as the limo of the main antagonist, Winston Kingston IV.
It's front grill is based of cars from the 1930's while windows are triangular and the rest of the car is based off of modern to futuristic design. The limo also has expandable wings and jet engines which take in air from various slots on the sides of the body and through the grill.
Details of what's inside will be revealed later, along with who will be lucke enough to drive it. Did I also mention that it has armour?
It's front grill is based of cars from the 1930's while windows are triangular and the rest of the car is based off of modern to futuristic design. The limo also has expandable wings and jet engines which take in air from various slots on the sides of the body and through the grill.
Details of what's inside will be revealed later, along with who will be lucke enough to drive it. Did I also mention that it has armour?
Bump mapped Barrel
This week we looked at bump maps (normal maps). We looked at using nDo for photoshop to create normal maps from images. Here are the normal maps of my barrel:
This is the normal map made of the barrel, the long way.
Here is a scratched metal normal map created with nDo in photoshop.
The grey barrel is the low polly model using the above normal maps, I'm going to practice creating normal maps from high poly models a bit more.
Designing Weapons Progress
A week before the weapons and armour sheet needs to be handed in, I'll go into the final designs. The Armour will actually be 'Power Ranger' style, with skin tight clothing with a motorbiker style helmet. Armour will be placed over this thin cover, but being set in the future, the armour itself can withstand light fire.
The heavy weapon is now a bazooka which folds into a jetpack (double functions) and can be straped to the users back.
The Robo Cat is a concealed weapon and is smaller than before but is released in secret and attacks the enemy without them noticing with frighteneing sharp speed and claws.
The pistol has been recoloured to the same colour as the Robo Cat. It is more of a functional tool than a weapon. The colour that is chosen by the slider on the barrel determines the effect. For example, selecting yellow will allow the gun to shoot beams of light, to light up any dark areas. This gun can also be used as a weapon in a desperate situation.
The overall theme of this set is the ability to fold away and being electical based. The Robo Cat uses electricity to function, the assault rifle launches arcs of electricity at foes, the pistol uses electricity for most of it's functions and the bazooka doesn't fire grenades or shells but overcharged bolts of electricity which cause a shockwave which electrocutes a reasonable area where it hits.
Edit:
Here are the final images of weapons and armour:
The heavy weapon is now a bazooka which folds into a jetpack (double functions) and can be straped to the users back.
The Robo Cat is a concealed weapon and is smaller than before but is released in secret and attacks the enemy without them noticing with frighteneing sharp speed and claws.
The pistol has been recoloured to the same colour as the Robo Cat. It is more of a functional tool than a weapon. The colour that is chosen by the slider on the barrel determines the effect. For example, selecting yellow will allow the gun to shoot beams of light, to light up any dark areas. This gun can also be used as a weapon in a desperate situation.
The overall theme of this set is the ability to fold away and being electical based. The Robo Cat uses electricity to function, the assault rifle launches arcs of electricity at foes, the pistol uses electricity for most of it's functions and the bazooka doesn't fire grenades or shells but overcharged bolts of electricity which cause a shockwave which electrocutes a reasonable area where it hits.
Edit:
Here are the final images of weapons and armour:
Here are the finished weapons. I liked designing weapons and I tried to be creative with them. Aproblem is a lot of the time it is too easy to design something based on something else and leave it at that. I tried to design my weapins based on exisitng technology but tried to add something new. For example, the assualt rifle and the pistol look very similar to normal gun design, but extra futuristic features have been added such as electromagnets and weird colour effects. I think that I should have put more detail on the assault rifle though. MAybe smoothed the lines some more.
I'll be honest, as drawing an actual character wasn't important and the main idea was armour design, I decided to use a pose for the armour. This is quite obvious as the character in the armour seems to be drawn to a much higher quality than I usually draw. I led drawing this though as I didn't have to really worry about proportions. I went for a power rangers style theme of coloureful, skintight armour. I've also pointed out where all of the weapons go within the armour.
Weapons
This week we moved away from drawing characters to drawing weapons. For this assignment it is required that a set of weapons and armour are drawn. A heavy weapon (like a bazooka), a standard weapon (like an assault rifle), a light weapon (like a pistol) and a concealed weapon (like a hidden blade) must all be drawn.
My design idea is cat based, to fit in with the universe created in the Heroes and Villains assignment. The helmet has cat ears to enhance hearing and has a universal translator (Cat to human/ cat to cat).
The heavy weapon is actually a robot the user can release, which will help the user in combat, but only for a short amount of time. The robot is charged by solar panels on the backpack it is stored in.
The standard weapon uses electro-magnets to direct high voltage current toward a targeted enemy. The barrel of the gun doesn't actually release the voltage from the inside, that is used to launch tiny metal claws which grip onto the target. Then, the metal claws can be used to direct the lightning beam where to strike from the gun.
For a concealed weapon, I was thinking of a cat claw grenade. The grenade is covered in spikes which stick to an object when thrown. Then after a short amount of time the grenade explodes, showering the area in very sharp claws.
I'll have more information by next week, I'll also have a better idea for the functionality of the robot and the light weapon.
My design idea is cat based, to fit in with the universe created in the Heroes and Villains assignment. The helmet has cat ears to enhance hearing and has a universal translator (Cat to human/ cat to cat).
The heavy weapon is actually a robot the user can release, which will help the user in combat, but only for a short amount of time. The robot is charged by solar panels on the backpack it is stored in.
The standard weapon uses electro-magnets to direct high voltage current toward a targeted enemy. The barrel of the gun doesn't actually release the voltage from the inside, that is used to launch tiny metal claws which grip onto the target. Then, the metal claws can be used to direct the lightning beam where to strike from the gun.
For a concealed weapon, I was thinking of a cat claw grenade. The grenade is covered in spikes which stick to an object when thrown. Then after a short amount of time the grenade explodes, showering the area in very sharp claws.
I'll have more information by next week, I'll also have a better idea for the functionality of the robot and the light weapon.
Finished Demon Texture
I've finished the rough version of the texture for the Demon model, provided by jharrison. As I said in the earlier post, It's very blue. Shading is limited and is used to make the lighting on the demon look odd, as if from a strange place. This strange shading also gives what I feel to be a kind of cartoony look to the model. I'm not sure why I prefer this style, maybe realistic models detract from creativity where the artist has the freedom to shade the character in strange ways, as if they are making up their own universe with it's own physics. I'm not really making much sense anymore am I?
Here is the A3 sheet I'll print out and hand in tomorrow, followed by the texture:
Here is the A3 sheet I'll print out and hand in tomorrow, followed by the texture:
Here is the link to the olycount Texturing SDK Masterthread:
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70908
Here is the link to the Demon model and wire texture by jharrison:
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1389600&postcount=54
Demon Texture
I tried to add a skeleton to the demon model made by jharrison which I am using for the texture practice assignment. It didn't work too well. I'll get more practice on that later. Anyway, for the texture I decided on making the demon dark blue, opposing to the usual red perceived as the evil colour. The claws and nails are a yellowish colour to show that they aren't very looked after. There is a lot of blood on the demon, around his mouth and on the soles of his feet. It's best not to say how it got there.
One thing I don't like is shading the model. It's strange to think that shading would be required seeing as the lighting in a game environment should produce shadows on the model. However, the shading adds depth to the texture. The model should be textured by Monday I'll post the finished work then.
One thing I don't like is shading the model. It's strange to think that shading would be required seeing as the lighting in a game environment should produce shadows on the model. However, the shading adds depth to the texture. The model should be textured by Monday I'll post the finished work then.
Sea of Ghosts: Maskelyne redesign
Progress on the Maskelyne redesign is going well. I'm trying to make him look thin with a tired aggressive look to make him look villainous. He has pale skin as I feel being rich and a unmer researcher he spends a lot of time inside doing research.
He wears fancy clothes as he is rich which are bright in colour. They are dark red and peachy coloured. He has long, boney arms and is holding a unmer artifact. I have yet to draw this, but due to the way I decided to shade, it looks like the light comes from the artifact. The art should be finished next friday. I'll post an image of it then. The picture will contain a front view a nd back view of Maskelyne, both at a 3/4 angle view.
Here is the finished work:
I'm glad I got to draw Maskelyne as I feel he is ine of the most interesting characters from a Sea of Ghosts. He can be funny but also has a cruel side. But he sees the logic in everything, even his own bad actions. This makes for an interesting character.
Anyway, I still have the same problem of drawing characters but I think there has been a slight improvement. I still need to work on arms and legs and try to make them look more realisitc (in terms of proportions.
He wears fancy clothes as he is rich which are bright in colour. They are dark red and peachy coloured. He has long, boney arms and is holding a unmer artifact. I have yet to draw this, but due to the way I decided to shade, it looks like the light comes from the artifact. The art should be finished next friday. I'll post an image of it then. The picture will contain a front view a nd back view of Maskelyne, both at a 3/4 angle view.
Here is the finished work:
I'm glad I got to draw Maskelyne as I feel he is ine of the most interesting characters from a Sea of Ghosts. He can be funny but also has a cruel side. But he sees the logic in everything, even his own bad actions. This makes for an interesting character.
Anyway, I still have the same problem of drawing characters but I think there has been a slight improvement. I still need to work on arms and legs and try to make them look more realisitc (in terms of proportions.
Mega Man X
The Mega Man X series is a continuation of the Mega Man series of games in the 22nd century. Being set 100 years after the classic Mega Man games allows a new stories and characters to emerge. One such character is Mega Man X. He is actually Dr Light's (mentioned in the last post) last robot. Mega Man X (X from now on) is discovered by an archaeologist named Dr. Cain who uses him to create Reploids, which are generally robots based off of X with complete free will. Unfortunately, some of these robots become hostile and X must do something about it.
The first game was Mega Man X on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1993. here is a list of the Mega Man X games in chronological order within the story (the years are when they were first released):
Here is a video by Egoraptor describing the differences between the two series of Games and how generally Mega Man X is an overall improvement and challenges the player.
References:
General information (http://megaman.wikia.com/wiki/Mega_Man_X_(series))
Game features of Mega Man X (http://www.megamanxcorrupted.com/game-features/)
Information on Mega Man Maverick Hunter X (http://megaman.wikia.com/wiki/Mega_Man_Maverick_Hunter_X)
Sequelitis:Mega Man Classic Vs Mega Man X(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FpigqfcvlM)
Some interesting facts about the Mega Man series (http://didyouknowgaming.com/search/mega+man)
 |
| The new design of Mega Man, Dr Light's last robot |
The first game was Mega Man X on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1993. here is a list of the Mega Man X games in chronological order within the story (the years are when they were first released):
- Mega Man X (1993)
- Mega Man Maverick Hunter X (Mega Man X Remake) (2005-2006)
- Mega Man X2 (1994)
- Mega Man Extreme
- Mega Man X3 (1995)
- Mega Man Extreme 2
- Mega Man X4 (1997)
- Mega Man X5
- Mega Man X6
- Mega Man X7
- Mega Man X8 (2004)
- Mega Man X:Command Mission (Side story set later in the series)
 |
| Zero - A new character added in Mega Man X, originally intended to be the new design for Mega Man, but was too different to be used. |
Here is a video by Egoraptor describing the differences between the two series of Games and how generally Mega Man X is an overall improvement and challenges the player.
References:
General information (http://megaman.wikia.com/wiki/Mega_Man_X_(series))
Game features of Mega Man X (http://www.megamanxcorrupted.com/game-features/)
Information on Mega Man Maverick Hunter X (http://megaman.wikia.com/wiki/Mega_Man_Maverick_Hunter_X)
Sequelitis:Mega Man Classic Vs Mega Man X(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FpigqfcvlM)
Some interesting facts about the Mega Man series (http://didyouknowgaming.com/search/mega+man)
Mega Man: Classic Games
The Mega Man series celebrated its 25th anniversary late last year on 17th December 2012. This anniversary is from the date the first Mega Man game was released on the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) and Famicom (as 'Rock Man') in Japan.
The Mega Man games are usually 2D platform games which allow the player to use weapons to defeat enemies instead of the traditional jumping on them as seen in another 2D platforming series; Super Mario Bros. Oddly enough, according to Shigeru Miyamoto, the man who helped create most of Nintendo's most iconic series'such as Super Mario and The Ledgend of Zelda, said in a recent interview with Famitsu Magazine that Super Mario Bros/ would have originally had guns, similar to Mega Man.
Fortunately, the development team realised that with Super Mario Bros. relatively slow moving enemies, using guns would make Mario way to over powered and would take the fun from the game. Because of this change in decision, two great series were able to form.
The games are based heavily around the idea of futuristic robots where almost everything in the games are robots. Each stage in the classic games are named after the boss at the end of them which grant Mega Man a power if he defeats them. To get through the levels the player must run, jump and fire weapons upon the enemies while avoiding projectiles all at the same time. For this reason, Mega Man games have often been said to have been difficult. This also could be also because at the time games were quite short, so to make them last longer developers would make them difficult to make them last longer. Notable examples of this are Battletoads (I know this from personal experience) and Ninja Gaiden.
Here is a timeline of the classic Mega Man games on NES:
Mega Man games were also set in a futuristic setting, in the early 21st century. A few of the games reference this by saying either that the year is 200X or 20XX. The basic story for these games is that Dr Light and his robots (Mega Man and a girl named Roll) are constantly fighting with an evil Dr Named Dr Wily.
References:
Information on the interview with Miyamoto (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-10-20-miyamoto-mario-originally-had-a-gun)
Mega Man Timeline and general information (http://megaman.wikia.com/wiki/Mega_Man_(series))
The Mega Man games are usually 2D platform games which allow the player to use weapons to defeat enemies instead of the traditional jumping on them as seen in another 2D platforming series; Super Mario Bros. Oddly enough, according to Shigeru Miyamoto, the man who helped create most of Nintendo's most iconic series'such as Super Mario and The Ledgend of Zelda, said in a recent interview with Famitsu Magazine that Super Mario Bros/ would have originally had guns, similar to Mega Man.
Fortunately, the development team realised that with Super Mario Bros. relatively slow moving enemies, using guns would make Mario way to over powered and would take the fun from the game. Because of this change in decision, two great series were able to form.
The games are based heavily around the idea of futuristic robots where almost everything in the games are robots. Each stage in the classic games are named after the boss at the end of them which grant Mega Man a power if he defeats them. To get through the levels the player must run, jump and fire weapons upon the enemies while avoiding projectiles all at the same time. For this reason, Mega Man games have often been said to have been difficult. This also could be also because at the time games were quite short, so to make them last longer developers would make them difficult to make them last longer. Notable examples of this are Battletoads (I know this from personal experience) and Ninja Gaiden.
Here is a timeline of the classic Mega Man games on NES:
- Mega Man 2 (200X, as shown in the opening. Starts in June 9,[1] one year (and 2 months) after the first game.[2])
- Mega Man 3 (200X, as shown in the Virtual Console manual. Gamma is stolen in August 28.[1])
- Mega Man 4 (One year after Mega Man 3, as shown in the NES and Virtual Console manuals.[3])
- Mega Man 5 (20XX, as shown in the opening. About two months after Mega Man 4.[3])
- Mega Man 6 (One year after Mega Man 5.[3])
- Mega Man 7 (Six months after Mega Man 6, as shown in the opening)
Mega Man games were also set in a futuristic setting, in the early 21st century. A few of the games reference this by saying either that the year is 200X or 20XX. The basic story for these games is that Dr Light and his robots (Mega Man and a girl named Roll) are constantly fighting with an evil Dr Named Dr Wily.
References:
Information on the interview with Miyamoto (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-10-20-miyamoto-mario-originally-had-a-gun)
Mega Man Timeline and general information (http://megaman.wikia.com/wiki/Mega_Man_(series))
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