Final Major Project: Termtime Planning stages

During the side scroller project we really began to think about our Final Major Project.

 

Some people are already starting to finalise their briefs and even hand in their proposals and during this time I had more or less decided on what I wanted to do as a personal project, but was still uncertain about the scale.

 

Whilst working with the concept artists on the style guide we got to talking about our project. The other three concept artists were considering doing almost entirely concept based projects built around a similar model to the Skillful Huntsmen book. Two intended to work together but Lucy was going to work alone and like me was a little unsure about scale.

 

After a bit of chatting and discovering that she was drawing some of her inspiration from Sky Blue - a Korean mixed media film - that I had also watched we decided to team up for a project that shared some of the film's ideas.

 

Initially then the project got put on the back burner because of the side scroller project but we chatted regularly and put together a pinterest board for our ideas with the intention of discussing them further in the Christmas holidays.

Side Scroller: Post Mortem

The Side Scroller project was the first project we'd attempted that had the year working all together as a team. It would last until the fourth of December and our task was to create a four level side scroller that would take inspiration from Trine 2’s fantastical scale and colours. The Four levels would be themed; Hot, Happy, Cold and Scary in that order.

I was working on the Cold level as the level's concept artist. I also worked with the other concept artists to produce a style guide and narrative as well as overall assets like collectibles and checkpoints however due to the collaborative nature of the project at no point did I feel isolated or restricted to my area.

As this was our first project working as a single team there were a few hiccups with communication initially but as a team I thought we worked very well. We quickly got into the habit of not only sharing the work but also having regular meetings and such in order to coordinate what we were working on. I also thought that once our style guide was created we worked efficiently to it, there was no real point when things had to be changed because they didn't fit.



We faced problems with scale, an obvious issue with a project of this kind some of our initial ideas proved to be a little ambitious and for the first week of concepting we worked hard to strike a balance between our time frame and our ambitions for the project which we solved through a combination of smart down scaling and using more repeating assets. Later in the project the area brought up to benchmark level would be reduced.

One of the reasons for this reduction was another problem; the game play elements. This was the first time anyone had had to design game play alongside the visual aspects of the game. I personally have never done anything like this and it meant that getting that initial whitebox off the ground was a slower process than we would have liked. This delayed us in the beginning and ultimately meant that to solve the time issues we had with finishing we had to reduce the amount of the level that would be bench marked.


A problem I faced at times was not knowing where to go. Working on concepts first and foremost there wasn't the next stage to move onto but I quickly solved it by looking to others. Also making a lot of lists.


Problems and issues were largely overcome as a team. When we reached blocks or unexpected problems it was the time to hold meetings and pass around work. Daily scrum meetings meant that we started the day knowing what we wanted to achieve by the end but also with an opportunity to say what our problems had been and ask for suggestions and solutions.

If I were to approach a similar project then I'd place the style guide on a higher priority. Now that we've gone through the process once it's easier to see how one can be produced and say we should have been faster but it was a difficult task that in the future we could complete more quickly. I'd also  prefer to diversify the team; having people on the team who could fill in for skills that we as artists might not have (Programming, designing game play and story and the like) would really speed up the process and make us feel a lot more sure about what we're producing. Also, the scrum meetings which were a huge help needed to be implemented from the very beginning. We started to regularly use the process after a couple of weeks, but working in that way from the start could only improve efficiency.



As for what we produced, I'm personally very pleased with it. This is the first time that we've attempted something of this scale and this is the first time I've had this role in a project and despite not being able to finish the entire level what we have bench marked is something that I can honestly say I'm proud of having a hand in. Obviously it's not perfect, with extra time I'd like to be able to go back over and tighten up material values, rework the composition and finish the lower parts of the level especially, things like the stone of the statue need work and some areas feel too empty. If I were to approach this project all over again there would be slight changes to my workflow as certain things like style guide and level block outs would take higher priority (This project was a good exercise for getting over my tendency to focus in on one idea or a small element and instead focus on the bigger picture) so we could speed through with the later stages easier.

In conclusion I believe this was a successful project. We largely achieved what we set out to do and I definitely feel like I've learned and progressed, gaining skills that I could only gain by working on a project this size with a group this size. Our ideal finished piece was not met, but the reasons why were clear and in the future these problems can be addressed before they even arise. Any mistakes made in our project were not only corrected and adapted for, but we learned from them for the future.

Side Scroller: A slight change of plans

At the start of the fourth week of the project we looked at our current game as a whole. Up to this point we'd been whiteboxing and then moving on to creating an alpha version of the game with first pass assets and basic textures in order to test the flow and gameplay of the level. 

 We'd reached the alpha stage and were in the process of working out where to go from there; some gameplay elements weren't working and some areas were too sparse. After the tutor feedback which was mostly that the level wasn't full enough and some parts weren't terribly interesting to play the tutors realised that the scale we'd been given was actually a little too big. Perhaps because of the very small amount of art direction we'd recieved at the start of the game been delayed in the early concepting stages as we got caught up in trying to work out the overall style and look of the game. 

Not having a level blockout also meant that we'd had to design the gameplay ourselves; something that we'd never had to do before and therefore took quite a long time going back and forth between design and engine in order to get a level that was traversable and contained gameplay elements.
At this point it was decided that rather than making the full level each level would pick about a third of their level for them to build up to benchmark level whilst the rest would be kept at alpha stage. We decided, since our level has quite a few items that are repeated around the level, that we would bring the top half of the level up to the final standard. A couple of assets would be moved as they'd already made them and wanted to showcase them (The prayer wheels were originally going to be in the lower cave but were moved into the upper part so they'd be part of the benchmarked scene.

The original level

The reduced level; these parts would be benchmarked and the 'blockout' parts would stay at alpha level

This change allowed us to work on a denser looking level that wouldn't feel so empty however a huge challenge at this stage was still making the game entertaining. Our tutors encouraged us to make the gameplay entertaining which had been a consistent challenge since we have no level designers on our teams. Though it was interesting to create such a different style of game the time frame and the scale meant there were times when it was easy to feel out of my depth when it came to designing game play and only having two engine artists creating the four levels limited us a little.

If this project was to be done again, then it'd be nice to collaborate with other areas of the university; other departments concentrate on programming and designing levels and a joint project with people who have a more diverse set of skills could really produce an amazing final product.

Side Scroller: Assets and Engine

Once the level's overall design had been decided and we had a basic layout for items in the level it was time to start producing assets. Many things like rocks and foliage could be built using the style matrix talked about in my style guide entry, as variations on a theme they could be used so long as they stayed consistent in terms of textures and form language ( A lot of thought was put into the way that snow interacted with the assets as a diagonal running perpendicular to the line of the rock)

the shape language of the level; intersecting diagonals were prevalent and this basis was used when modelling much of the scenery.

Other assets required more attention however. Hero assets like the statue and the prayer wheels as well as smaller more complex items like the lanterns and the bell had to be concepted. I also helped create the checkpoints (an asset I would later model for the game) 

The first concept of the checkpoint and my model in engine

Some assets were concepted whilst the style guide was being created, and some differences can be seen before and after the art nouveau influences were added but largely speaking the concepting followed the usual process I stick to; silhouettes and sketches before moving on to more detailed variations and final designs.

It was interesting to concept whilst others were modelling the assets, usually when I'm working on a project by myself the concepting stage is mostly over once the modelling starts however working as the concept artist meant there was always an interesting back and forth between me and the environment artists. I found myself working more flexibly and moving between items as they were needed to be modeled as well as being in constant contact with the other concept artist about consistency across the levels.

It was an enjoyable way to work and I found myself more motivated to work because of the constant input from others. Seeing my concepts immediately taken and modeled, then sent back to me to tweak again was a new and interesting way of working where I got to see results much faster than normal and found myself more invested in the work I was doing.

Statue silhouettes

statue variations

the statue's final design

Visual  notes for statue materials

A big thing I learnt was how to make my drawings as clear as possible; whilst making an item by myself I could take liberties with orthographic views and designs as I didn't have to explain to myself what I'd been intending when I drew a line or made a mark in a particular place. Concepting for other artists to model from was a very different matter however; if a drawing is unclear they could interpret it in a completely different way than I had meant when I drew it so working in a clear way became essential to progress and I quickly got into the habit of making notes or visual notes (like side sketches or example photos) in the corners of the concept art. I got used to working fast and efficiently in a way that others could understand without explanation.

Bell designs

Prayer wheels; the bottom right image would be the one used in the game.

Side Scroller: Idea Generation and Concept Creation

Initially the Cold Level Team all started out on idea generation, images and inspiration were gathered into a 600+ image mood board before we isolated several ideas and honed in on a few. At first we wanted to steer away from the more usual depictions of cold especially with Disney’s Frozen as prevalent as it was. 

A mood board and colour scheme was produced for each idea

We looked into the potential of an ice palace with a Middle Eastern architecture theme rather than a European one. We looked at everything from the cold recesses of space – ultimately abandoned because of the lack of potential to make as an interesting side scroller in the time we have – to cold foods like ice-cream. At the time the style guide started to be made we'd settled on a snowbound castle in a style reminiscent of Persian architecture.

initial sketches were very linear and flat in terms of gameplay

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In the end it was the theme of pilgrimage from the other levels that influenced our final choices; what had been an abandoned palace became a mountaintop shrine and quickly became a statue carved into a mountain as it was easier to link it with the happy and scary levels.

Over the course of development some areas were exaggerated and some lost; the statue grew to cover nearly half the level and the surrounding structure was abandoned in favor of the mountain behind. Areas like the caver and the mountain to the statue's right were elaborated upon after discussion about utilizing space. The mountain was modified to contain a cave and the lower cave was to stretch back into the mountain to create a sense of depth that the level had been slightly lacking in. Adding a deeper section of the mountain made it feel less flat.

the quick sketch of gameplay and platforming elements

Platforming elements and gameplay were also added in at this stage. The bell was added, who's chime when hit by the player would make the statue hands begin to move. Things like special collectables (shown above as stars) as well as killbox placement were pencilled in at this time and we had a lot of fun moving around items to get the best out of the space. I'm particularly fond of the cogs that send you back to the save point when you get trapped between or underneath them.

Colour variations 

Once we'd worked out the basic layout the environment artists moved onto whiteboxing while I worked on more finished concepts of the level and it's elements. It was particularly challenging to stop the level becoming monochromatic; the colour scheme was mainly black, white and blue in order to maintain the feeling of cold. Adding purple hues not only added depth to the colours but it also linked the level with the levels before and after. 

It was during this stage that we decided on the cave layout; though when the amount of the level being finished to benchmark changed, the assets were moved to the top of the mountain in order to showcase the asset.

First Final concept

The first rush of idea generating at the start of concepting is always my favorite. I've always enjoyed doing the initial sketches.

Beginning the Side Scroller Project

After two short projects we’ve moved onto a longer one.  We’re working with the whole year together on one project and we’ve been split up into groups within the projects; groups of three environment artists each with a concept artist for each of the four levels, a group of five character artists and two engine artists. Though we’re in our own separate groups we knew from the beginning that we’re going to be working together and across groups on a lot of things.

Our brief was to create a side-scrolling game that would take inspiration from Trine 2’s fantastical scale and colours. The Four levels would be themed; Hot, Happy, Cold and Scary in that order.

I was the concept artist assigned to the third level, Cold.

The game levels layout

Initially there was a lot of talk on changing things, the brief was received and we weren’t sure on some of the points; the game ran right to left rather than the more conventional left to right (a fact that some early concepts didn’t take into consideration) and the order of the levels was called into question; wouldn’t the first level, as your introduction to the game and your starting point be Happy rather than Hot? Though they were talked over, these issues weren't changed in the final piece.

Each level began generating ideas and building reference mood boards and the four concept artist’s met to produce a style guide. During last year’s Off the Map project we produced a style guide together so it was something I was familiar with but the larger scope of the project and the lack of art direction we’d received meant there were many conflicting ideas and aims that we had to reconcile. Groups immediately went in their own direction and pulling it all back into a cohesive game with a style that everyone was happy to work in was a challenge.

The concept artists came up with a style guide; We looked at everything from super stylized games such as limbo to realistic games like Hitman two in order to decide on a uniform style and theme for the game. In the end we drew from Trine for its fanciful scale though we chose a slightly more toned down colour palette:

The style part of the style guide and game colour scheme

In cold level we began looking at many different things to draw inspiration, from the colds of space to the submerged factories found by urban exploration. Though we initially steered away from traditional 'cold' images we were warned against colour schemes and images that didn't bring a truly cold feeling to the level and we picked something quite traditional. In the end our choice of a mountaintop castle or temple fitted in very well with the other levels ideas which seemed to lean towards a 'pilgrimage' style of narrative.

 

Side Scroller: Style Guide

When starting the Side scroller project it became quickly clear that we'd need a style guide to hold it all together and this fell to the concept artists to do.

We looked at everything from super stylized games such as limbo to realistic games like Hitman two in order to decide on a uniform style and theme for the game. In the end we drew from Trine for its fanciful scale though we chose a slightly more toned down colour palette:

The style part of the style guide and game colour scheme

The style guide we produced contained the overarching concept of the game – as a pilgrimage through numerous areas – as well as overall game look guidelines and guidelines for creating architecture and other elements.

We also included information on what to expect when it came to architecture, though we were inspired by Cambodian structures like Angkor Wat we wanted to include Art Noveau influences into our patterns and decorations. I produced a rune alphabet for all of the levels to use to create a feeling of a shared language or culture between the very different levels.

The Rune Alphabet used throughout the game

I’ve never had to create a style guide for many people to use independently before and trying to create something flexible that could be used to create a cohesive game that contained very different environments was a challenge that was eventually overcome by creating a style matrix that could easily be referred to as assets were being created.

The Style matrix

In the end the style guide was successful; the game flows well from level to level and none stand out as being a different style or feel

King of Death: Post Mortem

Our second project of the year was to produce a scene, throne and character that would represent the king of death. This is the first group project of the year and lasted for two weeks.

Of projects we’ve got, this one is one of the more interesting and we quickly got a lot of ideas, initially we ran wild, collecting every piece of inspiration we could think of and collecting them into a Pintrestboard before we decided on a couple of ideas; an amusing take on the theme with an unlikely hunter as the king of death, we looked at small predators like cats and even animals like mice which wouldn't be threatening.

this kind of idea generation worked really well and we found that as a group our ideas worked well with each other.

We also stumbled onto information on a lake in Tunisia which calcified the corpses of animals and birds that died in it, leading us to a theme which would eventually become our project; Death as an aspect of nature. We took the calm feel of the lake and the still water forward into our concepts and mood boards and we set out to produce an image of death not only as a natural process or entity but also as a beacon and a quiet, calm presence to the people it’s welcoming.

When it came to concepting we chose to produce initial sketches and then split off to concept a piece of the scene each. Though there were four elements and five team members we divided up well and I was in charge of the clothing and general body shape of what we wanted to be an androgynous, regal character (As another group member created the face)

in order to produce the misty feel I tried a new way of working with pencils; erasing the smudge graphite to create form and highlights.

You can see the beginnings of what would become the character's mushroom crown here!

Up to this point I’d been thinking of the character in terms of a pale hole cut into a dark space and initially I had trouble coming up with concrete clothing designs for the character, though I quickly settled in the mushroom theme we I went through different silhouettes and styles as the costume needed to reflect the personality of a character which would not move, speak or interact with the viewer.

Draped clothes that emphasized elongated limbs, slinky lines and cloaks that emphasized a proud, shoulders-back posture quickly became the favourite and building these up on the androgynous form the brought me to a set of five images 

The character ultimately became a combination of these images, since somewhere deemed to masculine or feminine (the first and second being female figures)

We went back and forth on including hair for quite a while; Striking the balance between a human character and an alien one was carefully debated as long hair is a typically feminine-associated trait it’s inclusion tended to tip the scales of the character.

At this point I produced the first final concept, which initially included the half ‘shaved’ head with mushroom growth. A lot of factors in this concept ended up looking too feminine and it was changed to the final concept.

The final concept did away with the hair altogether in favour of a ‘crown’ of a mushroom bloom that extended down to the shoulders. More of the chest was exposed as well and what was clearly readable as fabric was changed to look more like the tendrils and webbing of mushrooms which was leant away from after the initial concepts. Coupled with Rachel's lovely designs for the face and head this concept was passed onto different members of the team to be modeled.

Modelling is where I fell down a little during this project. My portion of the work was on the rocks that would make up the character's mound base I used a lot of programs and techniques I'd never used before and I would have liked to produce more but progress was frustratingly slow on practically every level. Still I'm proud of what we produced as a group; this was a two week project and in those two weeks we worked efficiently and communicated well. Without the luxury of time that we had from last years group project we had to work efficiently and cut to the centre of things like concepts and ideas. It was a refreshing way to work, without getting mired up in things. 

With the chance to do this project again I'd definitely take my time to re-do all the rock! though they look good in the scene I wish I'd had the time to go over them again and fix them properly and produce something I'm really happy with.

As a group we worked wonderfully, having very similar ideas and goals really helped and especially after we got organised with our individual tasks we ran the entire project smoothly to produce something that hit not only the brief but our groups aims to bring out the natural  aspects of death whilst still keeping that regalness.

Our key concept image:

By Findara Mcavinchey

Throne concept by Chelsea Lindsay

Beauty Screenshot:

 Our character Concept:

Face concept by Rachel Cox

My own clothing/body concept

Beauty screenshot:

Week 3: King of Death

Week two of this project was a major source of frustration to me. I used a variety of programs I've never used before and found that I was taking longer at everything than I felt I should be.

this was the first time I'd ever used Zbrush and something about the interface and workflow meant I had a huge amount of trouble producing the modular set of rocks I'd been tasked with.

Once I had the hang of it I did not find Zbrush unpleasant, but I found I had trouble at first.

 

Even unwrapping gave me trouble as I used re-topology tools for the first time here as well.

 

Eventually I produced a set of rocks but I would prefer to have produced something I could be more proud of and in the future I'll be retrying this when I have time.

 

 

Week 2: King of the Dead

This week we started our second project of the year. Our task, in groups of four was to produce a small scene consisting of a throne a back wall and floor and a character to represent 'death'.

 

My group set about trying to find a way to represent death in a less than usual manner; the obvious ideas of a cowled skeleton mounted on a horse and carrying a scythe were quickly placed aside in favour of more unusual ideas.

 

Our initial Pinterest board of inspiration

 

We cast the net broadly at first with our initial idea generation. Looking at popular representations of death in religions of the world or in media and stories. We also looked at those who effect death such as big game hunters or predatory animals and plants. When we found a Tanzanian lake that would fossilize the bodies of animals that found their way into it which was an image that we found particularly compelling and started us on the route of the lake scene.

 

We did not initially decide on only one idea, we toyed with a more comical idea of a cat as a big game hunter but eventually settled on our final idea.

 

During this time we also decided on our style; a slightly exaggerated realism inspired by the exaggerated physical forms of Otto Schmidt's art.

 

Our final idea, refered to as 'Lake' was to represent Death as a part of nature. A calm influence and an end of things to be met without fear in the end. I liked this idea as it lined up with a few personal beliefs that dying, not Death is the thing to be scared of.

 

Final Pinterest Board

 

We decided to portray Death as a thing that grows in the darkness and as a beacon to those lost. With this in mind we set about concepting. Initially death was to be in the lake, but quickly rose onto a plinth to display status and to accentuate the journey into death. And Death as a beacon.

 

Though we started off generally concepting, we moved onto more specialised areas and I was in charge of designing the general body and clothing of the Death character. An initial challenge was to create an androgynous form for the character.

 

Final design