Documentation.

Working towards a brief.

   The purpose of this blog is to practice preparing a project outline and brief similarly to the one I shall be following for my FMP in third year. I hope to use this as a chance to show a professional approach to this task. After researching several styles of project briefs (linked at the bottom) and looking at the briefs we have had to follow over the last two years I hope what I write will be appropriate.

 The planning of a project is possibly the most important stage of creating a level or character. The brief is there to prepare you of the work ahead. It is used as a guide to follow and to be checked often, remember to always go back to your roots.

                                                                     Brief

Project outlines

                  The aim of this project is to create a realistic 3D environment which is to include a lead character, NPC, Vehicle and any extra props needed. The final result must be as close to an "AAA" standard game as possible. The level must run efficiently on lab computers at a minimum rate of 30 FPS at 1080i support.

Aims:

  

•  The final models must be highly detailed with minimal smearing and seams, however they must run         smoothly in engine.
•   Additional maps must be used to give your models the most realistic and effective outcome 
•   Topology to be used correctly and a sensible polygon/triangle limit in place.
•   To follow the brief and tecnical specifications correctly.

Learning Objectives:

•  To be able to work efficiently alone and to a deadline. 
• To successfully work to a plan and show good time management.
• To ensure all models work efficiently within engine.
• To have working collisions on all assets.
• To use skills in Photoshop, 3DS Max and chosen engine proficiently.

 

Additional Information:

The audience must be considered and shown throughout the environment through assets and level design.

The Genre must be reflected throughout the level.

Technical Specifications:

Software:

•         Photoshop
•         3DS Max
•         Cryengine

  (Optional)

•          Mudbox
•          Zbrush
•          Crazybump

                     Lead Character:

                           

•                                25,000 Triangle limit
•                               Two 1024x1024 Colour Diffuse map + Additional Alpha
•                               Two 1024 x 1024 Normal/Specular and additional maps.
•                                Correctly rigged 

                    NPC:

•                              Varies from 10-25,000 Triangles dependant on players interaction time.            
•                               Two 1024x1024 Colour Diffuse map + Additional Alpha
•                               Two 1024 x 1024 Normal/Specular and additional maps.
•                               Correctly rigged

                    Vehicle:

•                              10,000 Triangle Limit
•                              Two 1024x1024 Colour Diffuse map + Additional Alpha
•                              Two 512x512 Normal/Specular and additional maps

                     Environment and additional Props:

•                             Up to 200,000 Triangle Limit depending on density of props needed.
•                             LODs to be created sensibly
•                             Must run at 1080p resolution
•                             Must run at minimal 30 FPS rate.

Level must run smoothly and be appropriate for its audience. A flythrough and screenshots must be included alongside a design document to document the process of creation.

Links and references:
http://www.blitzgamesstudios.com/open-days/sample-briefs/
http://www.gamespy.com/game-specs.html
http://www.gamespot.com/forums/system-wars-314159282/tech-specs-of-killzone-sf-and-crysis-3-character-m-29419004/
Also research into our past project briefs and others we have received from industry.

Note: this blog will most likely be edited once I have access to Microsoft word again, so for now the brief is here but not formatted how I would like it to be.

Level Design VS Environmental Design

To start us off, here is a similar article to the topic I shall be discussing:

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DanTaylor/20130929/196791/Ten_Principles_of_Good_Level_Design_Part_1.php

I hope to not repeat this article too much but I do agree with a lot of what it speaks about.

Last year I blogged about the purpose of Environmental Design and aesthetics of gaming, however people often misconceive Level Design as being the same thing, which is very far from the truth. Level design is the creation of a layout and how the environment will sit in engine, where objects will go. It is also how people will interact with objects in their surroundings and the different ways in which the game can be played.
I realize I will probably use these references a lot but lets take a look at Dishonored and Thief.

Dishonored :

Thief:

Here are two street maps for both games. Dishonored has a very linear map that is easy to read, Thief has a much more complex layout which is much harder to read (well, its fine when in game, but just from seeing it here its quite unclear.) The point I am making here is that although Dishonored's map is very linear, when playing there are many different ways to get from point A to point B, those paths are easy to follow and are interesting even though simple, there is always something going on no matter which part of town you are in. 

 In comparison, Thief has a large ground map but very little exploration outside of these paths and honestly? very little reason to explore outside of those paths. There aren't any surprises, interesting characters to meet... Maybe a few collectibles to find but overall its much easier to just run along the street rather than stop and explore.

This is down to level design and planning of the level. Complex is not always the solution, a simple map can be just as interesting by chucking in a few extra goodies that make you want to explore. 

 As a player you want to get the full experience out of your game. You want that opportunity to research the town, city or building you are in and by adding those intractable items outside of the main path is what I find to be exciting in a game. The art work doesn't even need to be there! simple place holders in the world won't make me lose that incentive to explore, just because its all white, un-textured or a simple white box in place.

It's the little extras that make the game so much more interesting, rather than just "go get the mission done" I want to see "Go get the mi.. or whats this over here? and this! Oh this looks interesting too.. Ok the mission can wait." In my eyes that would make it a much more enjoyable game to play.

When designing a level you have to take into account what NPCs will be in the scene and where, the layout of the map, how easy it is to navigate and other ideas such as how the player should feel when playing, what do you want the player to be thinking? This takes planning and research, but can also be achieved by releasing pre-alphas to get feedback on how the world feels, then it can be edited to fit  with the companies ideal outcome - so no, it has nothing to do with the art of the game, but more so on how the game will play and how a company wants the player to react and feel throughout.

Links:

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130428105816/dishonoredvideogame/images/7/75/Map_eminent_domain.jpg

http://guides.gamepressure.com/thief/guide.asp?ID=24017

Visual Composition

The composition created in a 3D level or character design are usually more complex than its 2D counterpart, yet the principals remain the same.
Within a painting you would usually find a key focal point or colour that your eye is drawn towards. This is not an accidental part of a painting, but a more complicated
thought that has been expressed through drawing or painting.
For example take the below painting:

Painted in oils by Dirck De Bray in the 17th century. The contrast between the bright flowers in the foreground and the much darker features behind means our eye is typically drawn to the more detailed flowers
in the foreground (for me specifically the pink tulip in the center.) It seemed this painting was created using the principal of the Fibonacci spiral (below.)

our eye is drawn towards the center of the spiral, which again in Brays painting would tell us how the pink tulip is the main focal point.

However pulling off this kind of effect in a 3D situation would be more complex. In a 2D picture the image will never change, it is just one single frame. Now imagine trying to get the same sort of effect throughout a game level
which typically runs at 40+ Frames Per Second. This can typically be achieved through lighting and "reveals."

The best example of this I can give is that of Halo 4. A lot of the game levels are grey, either indoor metal or outside rocky levels mostly played during dusk/night time. The below screenshot is an example:

The surroundings are a very dull grey/brown with blue highlights, quite difficult to extinguish from your HUD and gun, however the use of a single bright light makes the scene interesting whereas without that light there would'nt be much to see or be interested in.

That light can be considered the focal point as that is what your eye is drawn towards, then there in the composition of the rocks encompassing the light, telling you that is the way the player must go. (Would it be corny to reference the phrase "go towards the light?" as
it seems to be a basic principle most games use.

However its not just found within game levels, similar principles can be found within character design as well.
Typically it is human nature to be drawn towards a persons face when talking to someone or just looking around in general. You wouldn't concentrate on their legs or shoes (unless they were seriously fabulous) but on their faces, as humans recognize faces before anything else.
- Similarly to how people can walk around and see faces in objects, you'd must easily recognize it as a face than a torso or body part such as a hand.

Therefore designs typically base around a characters facial features, then clothing would come second. I imagine the face to be the most important part to a character therefore making it the "focal point" in the design.

A good example of this can be found within games that have their own character creation option. There is usually a large range of choices for facial features such as brow depth or jaw width, yet only a few options for the body design as it is seen as less important than the face.
Therefore the composition of a character would be based around the face.


To me this shows that you could create a highly detailed scene or character but without that focal point by either lighting, colour of other method the image may seem dull to the eye, to keep the player interested there must be something they wish to look at or be drawn towards, be it in 2D or 3D.


Links and references:

http://collection-lingenauber.org/still_life_paintimgs.html
http://babysoftmurderhands.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Halo-4-Campaign-Mode-Screenshots-5.jpeg
http://www.dragonage.com/

Planning and Concepts

Planning is important to any project be it back in school all the way up to the highest businesses.
There was planning even before your life began and that planning reflects on how you're brought up and the kind of person you will become in life.
Video Game Art Design is no exception, bad planning will lead to a bad final result.
It is important to plan for the appropriate amount of time to each task. For example if we were set four weeks to create a scene you'd need to plan out what is to be done each week, possibly each day for such a short amount of time,
one week would be set for concepting, setting up colour palettes and figuring out priorities of each task. Doing this successfully will lead to a successful project, however bad time planning and management will lead to a poor outcome.
Many people still think the planning is the least important part as its the work at the end which is important yet that work cannot be produced at a decent standard without good planning.
You can not create anything in 3d without a concept first, how can you make something when you don't know what it is suppose to look like, its time period or function?

I will be using the following examples to show my idea of good and bad planning.

The picture above shows a colour chart of the whole world of Journey, its shapes and colours and how those change as the player progresses,
this is a pretty basic picture for a 3d artist to follow, but it highlights everything said artist needed to know before building.
Landscape wise this picture shows the shape of the landscape and how it changes, along with the colour and mood of each "level." It is a relatively simple piece yet is full of useful information. It is important that everyone in the team follows the right colour palette to save on fixing
textures later down the line. Journeys concepts remained simple and the world relatively small which made it easier to create a concise, beautiful but short game which really pushed the idea of "Quality over Quantity."

Another example of planning that - in my opinion, left a worse outcome is that of "Thief" developed by Square Enix.
Although I fully enjoyed the game there were many frustrations throughout that could've been avoided with better planning.
It is considered a stealthy game yet you often have to run in the light along streets as you are unable to climb most buildings. This often leads to being spotted which is not ideal in a stealthy game. I feel
this could've been avoided with better level planning. You tend to spend a high amount of time desperately running around an area trying to find ANYTHING to climb to get out of harms way.
You will also spend a lot of time trying to find a way up to an open window with no obvious way to get up to said window (quite often you have to run
quite a long way from said window to climb onto a path that will then lead you back to the window.)
I feel there should've been more planning on these routes so there would be less frustration for the player when...well, playing the game.

I try to use my own experience in planning on previous projects to help me figure out how to plan - which is something I find most hard, for my next project. I feel my ability to manage my time and plan my projects
is improving the more I do it, however motivation and lack of can often get in my way. I have had a lot of issues due to bad planning
which will hopefully get ironed out as time goes on.


Image references:
http://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Thief-city-hub-41.jpg
http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-23/jrn-world-color-flowchart.html

Year two, the beginning

It's only been a couple of months and you can really feel the pressure this year. I feel so much more motivated to get my work done with time to spare and to a professional level. One problem with this is that I have been concentrating so hard on my visual design and Games Production that my poor blog has been neglected and majorly lacking in content, so it is official. Sunday is Blog day. I suppose this may seem rich considering it's Monday today, but from this point onward expect at least one blog update every Sunday.

  I realize a good online presence is crucial which is why I shall be setting up my personal online portfolio later this year, most likely over the Christmas period. I hope this will give you the chance to get a feel for the work I do, especially now I have the equipment to work properly in Photoshop, something I was very in-continent and actually quite worried about using considering how advanced some people in our course are. But then if I spend all my time worrying over other peoples work then my own confidence will slip, something i do not want. I've spent the last year becoming more confident in my abilities and I am not about to throw this away.

 It's great to see how popular the course has become over the last few years, with all its publicity and amazing students. I feel privileged to still be here and to have the opportunity to work with some truly awesome people, I just hope I can keep up enough this year to do well in the end. I am sure it'll be fine, my imagination can be pretty crazy but I feel that is something I can use to my advantage here, even if i couldn't really express it during A levels.

But life is a ride you just have to go with, so lets see what happens, shall we?

First year summed up

One year gone, gosh that was fast! I suppose now is the moment to look back and recap over my first - and hopefully not last! Year of university.

 So what about the course? I believe its the first time I have done something I actually really enjoy. I pretty much hated my life through all of school as all kids do. I have always had a passion for art but could never express it through GCSE or A level art as my teachers hated photographic or realistic art, its all about modern art and expressionism which caused many arguments and me getting into a fair bit of trouble. I knew I had made the right choice in choosing DMU from the very first open day I went to and the course most definately has not left me down.


 Visual Design I have particularly enjoyed this year as it is everything about what I love - drawing. Ok, I hated the two character projects because I am awful at drawing people but that can be improved, but other than that it has been great. I feel like  have been taught so much more than what I had been taught in school about perspective, tones and shape and have actually enjoyed it. Everybody has been friendly even if I have not been the most social of people but I have met some great people who I actually have things in common with. I mostly enjoyed being out and about most days, be it drawing or out with friends - especially the trips to Bradgate, but it is always nice to get out of the city for a while. The life drawing sessions have been incredibly useful in the improvement of my understanding of female anatomy however I would've liked to study the male body as well. It's all good being able to draw one but not so much the other.

 I have never had any proper proper 3D software experience other than CAD back in year 7 and 8 so it was all very new, however the courses structure helped me improve these skills incredibly fast and I feel quite confident in my abilities in 3DS, now as for Photoshop, that's another issue... Hopefully I will learn more about working with Photoshop next year though.

 I've also loved critical studies, even if I have been a bit... Ok, incredibly lazy with my blog posts. Writing has never particularly interested me, which probably seems an odd comment coming from one who studied English Literature. The main thing I think I would've liked to see more in Critical Studies is more presentations! I know this will pick up within the next couple of years but from my first presentation to my third I can feel that Improvement in my organisation and confidence, which I would love to keep building upon. Although writing is not my strong point I have enjoyed reading through articles and the research in general because I feel it gives me a much greater understanding into the course and the topic of gaming.

There isn't anything I can particularly think of to improve the course as it seems to be running perfectly well, I haven't heard a single negative comment on the structure or coursework (other than there's too much and we won't get it done in time, but that comes down to laziness and motivation, the third term seemed a lot slower than the first two.) However I cannot wait to -hopefully- start year 2 and improve myself further! Lets see what waits ahead shall we?

Enviroment Design

Every game starts with planning, including the creation of the games environment. This includes the art style of the game, how levels will be navigated and how each level will be decorated. The setting of a game is as important - if not more important than the plot and game play.

Collaboration on ideas is also incredibly important. The designers must be able to agree on something specific. Having some of the game set in a remote desert environment and the rest set in a frozen wasteland wouldn't make any sense. Everything should be exact and purposeful, it should fit the theme of the game and be easy to navigate. Collision meshes are used to stop people going into areas they shouldn't be able to get into, these are easy to make when the environment is inside a building or enclosed space because characters should not be able to walk through walls, however it is harder to emulate an end-zone when doing an outdoor environment however depending on the setting of the game you could create a reasonably realistic end of map area. For example, Far Cry 3, developed by Ubisoft is free roaming but ends with the ocean, which fits its island theme. Skyrim is mostly surrounded by mountains and games like Portal just have walls... or very big drops. The only game I could currently think of that doesn't seem to make realistic end zones are games like Silent hill where the road has a large crack to stop you passing - which is mysteriously cleared up after certain events, or tape across the road. In real life there would be nothing stopping you from passing, although I suppose I shouldn't be comparing a horror game with monsters and a "trapped" city to real life.


 A games environment must also match its game play, you would expect a first person shooter to have a lot of objects placed in each map - places to hide, to scope and to take cover. You'd usually also expect a level of detail to fit the mood. Realism seems to give off quite a "serious" tone whilst puzzle games do not need the same level of detail, as it is not needed for the game play. The environments must mimic the tone of the game through its use of lighting and colouring. Child friendly games tend to consist of a lot of bright colours to keep them feeling happy, however a horror game would use darker and less saturated colours and specific lighting to try and give the player a feeling of fear and suspense. All of the above features give a game it's style.


   Borderlands is a perfect example of a stylized environment which reflects the story and game play so well. The world of borderlands is created under a very specific style, it is almost cartoon-ish in its ways but still keeps its realistic roots. If a comic book could come to life this is how I would imagine it to look in 3d. The textures are a mix of both hand drawn and photographic, yet every object is surrounded by a border, making the environment fit its humorous genre. It also contains a lot of harsh shading/lighting and complicated level designs to keep its hectic and insane theme.

 The maps are very expansive for exploration yet never seem to get repetitive nor boring, something i feel can happen with games such as Skyrim - where the environment is stunningly beautiful and realistic but repetitive and can get a bit dull.

 Of course Borderlands was never originally designed to look how everybody now knows it. Gearbox head Randy Pitchford had proposed re-designing the complete art style of the game when the game was over half way through production. These changes were accepted and went ahead, as the original design didn't stand out from previous titles. I have to believe that Gearbox changed the style for the better, as the environments now feel very unique from anything else I had played.


 Overall I feel a levels design has to be thoroughly planned to fit the games genre and story line. There is no point in creating large, beautiful scenes if there is no need to. Keep it small and precise, do not waste space, time or money on an un-needed area, to me a game seems more perfect when every detail is needed there and not there just because it could be there.