Technical Specification

Project outline

The game is a cop game, based in near future New York. The main character is up against criminal gangs. The game is heavily action based, and is a FPS. It will feature mostly shooting sections with a little bit of interaction with ncps. It will be cross platform next gen, (playstation 3, xbox 360 and pc) and aimed at an audience of males aged 16 to 25. The style will be  realistic and the game play will be fast paced. This game will need to use 3DS Max to build the assets and the level will be built unreal engine. Photoshop will also be needed to create the textures in the game, as well as other possible programs such as crazy bump to create normal maps.

Lead Character

The lead character is around 45 years old. He has short brown hair with flecks of grey. His eye colour is also brown. He is also fairly stocky, and not very tall. On his arms are scars from his service in the force. He has been with the police for a long time and it shows in his stance and his looks.

10,000 triangles

texture 1024x1024 x2 with specular and normal maps

rigged with a skeleton with no more than 25 bones

NPC

police officer, age 30, male. A squad mate of the main character. He is younger, with slightly longer hair, which is coloured blonde. His eye colour is green.

5,000

texture 1024x1024 with specular and normal maps

rigged with a skeleton with no more than 20 bones

Vehicle

squad car

a standard patrol car. Its slightly updated from modern day versions, with the insides  featuring computers and other technological updates. It is slightly worn, with scratches and some mud spattering.

5,000

texture 1024x1024 with specular and normal maps

Environment

Club/ bar located in SoHo. The building is relatively old, and the club is up market. However, a fire fight has broken out between two rival gangs and the police have been sent in to gain control of the area. The club is in a mess, with the area covered in bullet holes and smashed up furniture. The bar has a heavy art theme and will feature some destroyed canvasses and lots of paintings. The style of the bar is modern, which clashes with the older style outside.

  20,000 triangles

texture 1024x 1024 with specular and normal maps. 

Prop

this prop is the bar. It is made of metal with a glass worktop, which is extremely polished.

2,000 triangles

texture 1024x1024 with specular and normal maps

Queens Building project

Got the Queens Building brief yesterday, as well as the teams. It's going to be a survival horror, although I though beforehand that we got to choose what we could do with the building. It seems like it'll be ok, I've been working on some paint over's and floor plan ideas, which has been quite fun. Got some pictures of the building for reference too, although my photograph skills and equipment are a little lacking . 

The main worry is that nobody that is in our group has had any experience with UDK, and I hope that we don't run into too many problems (famous last words). As long as we don't make the task too complicated, and try to do too much, then we shall be fine.

Post Chrismas Update

Well just got back from Christmas, So I thought I'd write a little update. To be honest, I have been very unproductive this Christmas holiday, especially with the 3D side of things. I have filled up a little sketch pad with drawings though over the break. I always have this feeling that I'm not doing enough, especially when I look at what other people are producing. I've continued doing some more speed paints, and hopefully it will help me with my painting. Gesture drawings, I need to get back to doing those. And I've been working on a personal 3D project of a house.

I've also started a separate art blog. This is so I can spam all my drawings up there, and hopefully encourage me to draw as much as possible. I've bought some marker pens in the sale and they are great fun to use, especially for quick sketches.

We're handing in all our first semester work tomorrow. I've got everything on disk and sorted, I'm just a little worried that nobody has been reading this blog, and that they'd think that I've not done anything for Critical studies.

Update 2

This has been a stressful week, the character model project has really caught up with me. Unfortunately, this means I've had no time for other projects, such as the ones in visual design. This week the new project was to redesign an office space. We were given blueprints, and I have blocked out the layout in 3ds max. I've started to paint over some ideas, but I want to finish the other visual design projects first. With the war of the worlds sculpture, I have finished the model and I am now painting it. I couldn't get it to stay up in a crouching pose (at full height it would not have fit in the oven) so it's now a defeated one. Its lying down, and I've made some little crows to peck at it .I've also added some more detail to my Leicester final, for the urban environment project. I like how that painting is going, it's probably my favourite piece so far. But finishing the character project is the top priority, then I'll catch up on the rest of the things before the Christmas break.

Level Design

level design is the creation and design of levels in games. Level designing is very important; there is not point making a game look pretty if it just isn't fun to play. Level designers must create the layout of the environments in a way that is engaging and interesting to the player, and also functions well in terms of structure.

The starting point for level design is the blocking out of were buildings and objects are in a level. level design also includes the placement of places enemies will spawn, where check points are placed, where special events happen and the placement of objects the player will be able to interact with (for example buttons or doors This often takes place before any art is created. In our last guest lecture, we were told that often the concept artists are given just the blocked out level and asked to paint over it to create a concept for the environment. ).

Interaction with the level is very important to engage the player. According to an article on level design,

 'Interaction with your environment helps establish a connection with the environment'.

This means that a player can interact with a level, and can do more than simply walk through it, it becomes more interesting and they feel more involved in the game. If a player can participate in the environment, such as pushing buttons, shooting exploding barrels and opening and closing doors, they will find it a lot more exciting to play.

One of the major pitfalls that level designers fall into is making the layout too complicated.  The best designs are usually simple. But just because a level is simple doesn't mean it's not interesting.  Getting lost in a level is extremely frustrating, so level designers need to make sure the player is able to negotiate their way with relative ease. A really simple way of doing this is to use lighting, as players will naturally move towards a bright light. Also, establishing landmarks, such as a large building or a river, can help guide the player the way they are meant to go. Using these different things, the level should not be difficult to navigate.

'Each level in itself is its own story. As level designers, you set up the thesis by preparing the initial situation '

This means that all levels should tell a story. A good example of this is in Portal. Most of the story is told through the environment. For example, the player can find very easily the behind the panels areas, which contains scribbling and other things left by another person. This lets the player know that someone before them has been trapped in these tests before them, and tells the player a little more about the history and purpose of the environment. In this way the level can tell a story without any words. Endless exposition can be very boring and disengaging for the player. For example, how much more effective is it to show something happen, then just be told about it?

http://www.worldofleveldesign.com/categories/left4dead_mapping/l4d2-level-design-tips-part1.php

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3329/beginning_level_design_part_1.php?page=4