VFX work and updates

I've started a new video project in my spare time using Nvidias Shadowplay to record gameplay and Sony Vegas to edit and put the clips together. It's something I enjoy doing anyway, however I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to post my progress here.

I'm also going to be using Photoshop to create some overlays for the video, similar pictures such as the ones I explained here: http://dchambersnextgengamesdesign.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/video-projects-and-images.html.

Other than that I've started another GamerVFXerAnimationer which I should have posted in the next few days, I find that they're the best kind of updates I can post when I'm on a break.

I'm also going to post a Chernobyl environment update in the next week or so, I'm aiming to get two more updates on it before I have to put it on the back burner for a while.

GamerVFXerAnimationer #3

Games:

The Witcher 3 modding community have conjured up a glorious new graphics update upon the PC community, which got me thinking; how can a non-professional modder/modding team manage to improve the look of one of the best looking games of all time? Seriously is it a case of the art team over at cd projekt red slacking? Or is the modding community more intelligent than we give credit for?

This isn't the first game that's been graphically tweaked by the community, in fact pick any triple A title on PC and chances are that there is some mod out there that turns it into a marvel.

I imagine this is how many indie teams are born, making the most beautiful games look better, gaining a following, then releasing a title themselves while people are still interested.

VFX:

Of all the movie trailers I've seen in the past few years, Deadpool's has to be up there. With Ryan Reynolds in the suit and 20th Century Fox producing this film looks likely to break records.

Looking at the trailer the film seems to be full of VFX action similar to any other superhero flick but with another layer woven in. Other Deadpool projects such as the game last year, always had this effect where the action would stop abruptly to allow Deadpool to say a witty line or joke. There's use of this in the trailer, (which I'l link below) where a Chevrolet flips over.

Expect this film to be packed with hilarious effects from the start.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIM1HydF9UA

Animation:

The Sea is Blue is a short film which is made entirely using claymation ans stop motion. It's a really nice looking video and is well worth anyone's time.

The project was lead by Vincent Peone, an award winning director famous for College Humour, Worst Friends, and Troopers. The film itself is brilliantly different and really pulls you in for the six or so minutes in runs for, with a calming voice narrating the event. You can see the time and effort put into every frame with the simplistic models and scenes.

I honestly can't explain it better than the film itself, so I'll just link it here, give it a watch and you'll know what I mean.

The Sea is Blue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp2ZskwkhkA

Spare Time Coding

I've started watching a youtuber that challenges himself to program different games in a certain time period. The most recent one I've watched is a Minecraft copy made in the Unity engine, which proved to be much harder than I first anticipated.

Coding Minecraft to begin with took weeks upon weeks to do and only reached an alpha, and that was with a full team of professionals.

I like the series along with the guy that makes it, (Shane Beck, I'll put his channel link below), because its similar to the projects I would like to work on, setting a deadline and doing every job role at once.

Ant spoke briefly about something like this which we can do early next year if we so please. I'm definitely going to give it a try whether it be alone or with a small group.

Shanes channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/craftsmanbeck

Video projects and images

I've been using sony vegas to make some little projects recently for no real reason, but after a few months I still know my way around the engine and how to import images from photoshop and such.

I've also been making some random images on photoshop to go with the Unity game I started a few days ago. They're not too impressive, but I enjoy making them in my spare time.

Above is some work I made for a friend as a background. Its simple and uses only photoshops features apart from the imported character png.

I usually just download a font and then use the blending options on the layer to add features like stroke, drop shadows, glow, and bevels.

add a stroke:

then add drop shadow, inner shadow, and a gradient overlay:

Chernobyl Environment

I've started making models for a new environment project based in the ghost town of Pripyat where the Chernobyl disaster occurred. The idea is to continue building outwards from a centre point as I get more familiar with the game engine.

Its a project that will be inconsistently updated as I juggle free time, work, and college.

The models so far are simple and boring, but as I make more and fit them into a living, breathing world I hope to see something good take shape.

 
The reactor is a backdrop model, it sits far away from the player and doesn't get much attention.

To really get a good effect I may add some particle effects above it to simulate smoke, but thats something to do much later.

The apartments are similar to the reactor where they sit and draw little attention, these can also be added on to one another to make a complex if needs be.

Last Minute Work

Our Unity project is coming to a close, so I'm spending all my time finishing Wolfs Rest. The level is finished as is the character movement and lighting, leaving us with the collectables, and the enemies, and we have some code for each.

Here is the level that the player will be collecting items in:

The project will continue to be improved until it reaches a state where its playable and has some structure.

Teamwork!

Out of class recently I have been talking to Calum, mainly just about playing video games and such, but also about small projects. Calum wants to learn coding fully and specialise in it over the next few weeks, and we've been talking about smaller games we could make in a short amount of time.

At the moment I know plenty about art and design, and very little about coding, while Calum is almost the opposite, I think you know where I'm going. If we start to work on a project he can show me some coding skills, while I can show him some design skills, everybody wins!

Here are the two ideas we've had.

Flip Flop: calum

You play as a hippie-esque character that wears magic sandals that allow you to alter gravity with the click of a button. The idea is to have levels similar to Bloody Trapland, (as seen above) but where you have to flip gravity upside down to progress at times.

Jankem: david

You play as a revived robot awoken after 30 years, on a mission to find your creator in a destroyed city overrun by a cruel dictatorship. Fight through the security and police to find clues on where your creator is and if he is ok.

I like both the ideas personally and would like both of them to get finished at some point in time.

GamerVFXerAnimationer #2

Games:

Star Citizen has now raised over $100 million in crowd funding, $45 million of which came in the past year. This means that Star Citizen brought in more money than every other successful video game kickstarters combined.

The space sim has gained so much popularity due to the 'intergalactic trading' feature where the player can trade rare materials around the galaxy, or can mine the materials and sell them on. And with the combat feature in place people can expect to fight off pirates, or become pirates in space.

 
VFX:

Recently Disney and Steven Spielberg started working on a live action BFG remake, the film will be released in July 2016. The trailer shows an ever-loved scene from both the book and the 1989 animated movie, where Sophie, (the main character) notices something out the window of her orphanage. The reveal of the BFG looks amazing so far, exactly what I expected a live action remake would look like after seeing the original.

Animation:

Anomalisa is a stop-motion film that so far has taken 3 years to produce. Some of the feats the crew have achieved are incredible, for instance over 1200 tiny human faces were finely sculpted all of which look different from the other along with over 1000 tiny day-to-day props such as desks, computers, clothes, and much much more.

Each animator had a goal of 2 seconds per day, which equates to 48 frames all having to be perfect. The project looks interesting so far, if the trailer is anything to go by the movie itself should be an amazing feat of animation.

Christmas Break Project

Over the break I want to get some form of project complete, something that involves photoshop and coding. I want a full 2d platformer that can be easily added to using levels, etc. I have an idea ready and have already posted it on the blog.

The goal is to collect stolen water from thieves using either stealth, magic, or firepower. I want the game to be replayable, hopefully giving players the choice of what tactics to use will keep the game fresh and fun.

using UnityEngine;
using System.Collections;

public class SimplePlatformController : MonoBehaviour {

    [HideInInspector] public bool facingRight = true;
    [HideInInspector] public bool jump = false;
    public float moveForce = 365f;
    public float maxSpeed = 5f;
    public float jumpForce = 1000f;
    public Transform groundCheck;




This is some basic code for the platforms I will use in game, this is all I have so far excluding the backgrounds I made a few weeks ago.

Although im doing this for fun, I'll post updates on my blog to keep everything up to date, hopefully it goes somewhere.

Backgrounds I made weeks ago.

Wolfs Rest Assets

My goal at the moment is to texture as many assets as possible to make the asylum look a appropriate as possible. I'm starting with the larger assets such as benches, desks, and shelving units, this allows me to lay-out the level properly so every area is equally detailed.

Ive looked at some other indie projects on Unity mainly Slendermans Shadow. The game itself barely scrape into the 'horror' genre, but the levels themselves are fairly detailed and look similar to what Wolfs Rest's outcome should be.

Despite Slendermans Shadow being a first person game that relies on jump scares and ambient sounds, the look of the game matches our own, focussing more on making things look smart and clean rather than overly detailed messes that don't blend together.

I'm looking forward to the outcome of this project, its something I really want to finish and already I can see the progress I have made. I know that some people in the group aren't doing quite as much as I personally would like, but that comes down to Lee not being a communicative leader, something he needs to fix.

Once the assets are complete it comes down to finishing the character movement and interaction, im exited to see what Lee has ready.

new model!

I wanted to test myself with the modelling for the Unreal project, I thought that a vintage object would look good in the future setting we have, making a contrast. I chose a gramophone, because the look embodies the 30s, and it has the ability to produce sound which we could maybe include into the game.

One of the lings I learned by making this model was the handle, although I could have added a new cylinder for the handle, Matty showed me a way to extrude a cylinder out of a cube.

I connected the opposite lines of a rectangle on the cube to create a diamond shape, and then cut a line from one corner to the other. After that it was just a case of adjusting the vertexes to make a cylindrical shape.

Here is a better representation of what I am trying to explain.

Overall I am happy with this and over the weekend I am going to attempt to texture it, along with the Codsworth I made a few weeks ago.

Job Types (not finished)

Full Time

Where an employee is given a shift to work each week, although it changes from company to company, the usual shift consists of 5 8-hour shifts from 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday.

The employee is usually paid through their bank account. Employers should enrol you into a scheme called Pay As You Earn (PAYE). Where your employer takes away any income tax and National Insurance contributions from your wage before it is sent to your bank account.

Full time workers often get benefits such as annual leave, sick leave, and health insurance.


Part Time

A part time job contract is a form of employment that carries fewer hours per week than a full-time job. They work in shifts but remain on call while off duty and during annual leave. The shifts are often rotational.

Often a part time worker is given a pay slip at the end of each month, but it can vary depending on the company. The average annual salary is 30,000 pounds.

Some advantages are that the job is often more flexible, you have a choice of when to work, and you can work full time in busy periods such as Christmas and earn more money. Despite this you still wont get health insurance, sick leave, or holiday pay.


Internship

Often a starting role in the industry, interns will usually shadow an experienced employee. This helps you gain experience from the more senior member of staff, it could lead to a permanent role, or a good reference depending on how well you do.

Payment can vary greatly as companies are not inclined to pay interns, you could earn a small amount less than 10,000 pounds, or you could earn nothing.

Being an intern can be useful as it helps you learn key information that the company needs, which can lead to you getting a permanent role. You wont earn much money, if any at all which is a huge inconvenience.


Voluntary

Voluntary work is offering to work for a company without being paid, the job can change from company to company however.

You will not be paid, as it is voluntary work you are freely offering to work without being paid by the company.

A good thing about working voluntarily is that you will almost always get a job, which can help you learn skills for a more permanent job down the line. You will also have to expect to work for short periods of time, as companies will rarely keep you on for long.

New Unreal Models

A few weeks have passed since I made a model for the Unreal project, and even more time has passed since I made the first models for the fruit shop. Because of this I decided to make some new models for the black market, and re-make some of the older models that I wasn't happy with.

Skateboard:

I really didn't have a purpose for a skateboard in any project right now, but the black market situated under the fruit shop in our Unreal game could use it. Honestly for such a basic looking model the skateboard was a pain to make, the raised edges were awkward to raise without it getting really complicated, either way i'm happy with it now.

Blender:

Making a blender in 3ds max is actually really simple, its a case of extruding and insetting until the model begins to resemble a blender. Also with the endless companies making an infinite number of differently shaped kitchen-ware, almost anything can look like a blender.

My old blender looked basic and needed updating, although the image above looks like the offspring of a petrol pump and an arcade machine, when it is textured im certain it will resemble a futuristic blender.

Sly Cooper inspired 2d platformer!

A company have contacted the college about creating a game involving water in some way, shape, or form, it gave me the idea to make a 2d game in Unity where you steal water back from the thieves. Although I haven't fully written a story I am excited on making a game using my ideas, and my ideas alone.

The style of the game so far is heavily inspired by the Sly Cooper series of games, (mainly the first two).

Below are some backdrops for the game.

The first backdrop is my favourite, and will most definitely make it into the project, but i'm unsure on the second. I may just create varying backdrops that follow the style of the first and base it in a large city.

The game is in it's earliest stage, over the next few weeks I am going to edit and change so many features that this post may seen irrelevant, I'll keep the blog updated on all the changes.

Wolfs Rest Asylum Layout

I've finished the ground floor of the asylum's layout, with textured walls and floors. When we complete other assets I will fit them in the correct rooms. 

I've tried to make the corridors as long as possible without looking odd, or playing badly. The aim is to add tension, making the player fear for what could lurk at the end, or round the corner.

I completed the door models, walls, wall dividers, and a front desk. They're all the reusable models so far.

Although all the models were simple to texture, they helped alot with getting me used to the process of UV unwrapping.

Graphic Terminology

Quad

A quad is a 4 sided polygon with 4 sides and 4 vertices, and is made up of 2 triangles. A 3d cube has 6 quads

Vertex

A Vertex is a point that connects vertices together to create a face of a polygon. It connects three or more vertices together to create the face. A group of selected vertices can be scaled, but it will only change the distance between the vertices as a single vertex cannot be scaled as it is just a point in a 3d space.

NURB

A “Non uniform rational b-spline”. Can be simply summed up as a curved line in the 3D modelling software. Is able to be modified using control points. Gives smooth edges to a model.

Normal Map

A Normal Map is a more advanced version of the grayscale Bump map, normal maps use RGB values to modify the normals of an object. Using the added colour value the normal map can have more detail in the model, without increasing the polycount of the model.

<-----Examples----->

Improving the game

Last Friday we all focussed on UV wrapping a model of our choice to help us understand the process as a whole. Over the weekend I've textured a few items for Wolfs Rest, and started a base level using only our groups work. We have almost all the models made and when they're textured we simply have to put them together in a scene.

Its not much, but when the walls are up we can start adding the props, collectables, and of course the character.

I want the asylum to be a maze of long corridors with small, dark rooms that confuse the player. similar to the original Resident Evil. The corridors allow for chases and panic rather than jump scares. We want a level that actually scares people and makes them peak round every corner in fear.

A horror game we don't want to use as inspiration is slender, and clones of said game. These games rely on cheap jump scares instead of actually creating an atmosphere, Five Nights at Freddy's is the same.

Wolfs Rest Pitch

Yesterday my group and I pitched our Unity game, Wolfs Rest. Along with seeing all the other pitches from groups in both Next-Gen sets. There wasn't a huge difference between the best pitch and the worst, it was obvious that almost everyone took this seriously.

Positives:

We had the only trailer which set a mood for the game before we spoke.
Everyone knew what to say and didn't ramble on about pointless info.
There were no issues with the presentation, and everything went to plan
It was a decent length, not too short or too long.
We didn't use too much text, so people focussed on us.


Negatives:

We didn't have gameplay.
The story wasn't fully explained.
We could have done more with the time we had.

Overall the experience was enjoyable, I enjoyed showing everyone our work and liked almost everybody else's. The feedback we received can only improve our game, and I look forward to further improve Wolfs Rest.

Steven Hey came in to talk about the indie game industry and his career thus far. He is the marketing lead at Chillingo, EA's mobile team, his talk on the mobile market and how to get the most out of a game was interesting. Although our current game is for PC, I will use Stevens advice for future projects.

Wolfs Rest trailer

I've spent my weekend making a teaser trailer for our Unity game 'Wolf's Rest', using Vegas Pro 13, and Unity. I changed my mind so many times in editing, from using photoshopped images, to other similar titles' gameplay, however in the end Lee and I just made multiple levels in Unity and I recorded them.

It felt better to have our own work in the trailer and although it may have looked better with other gameplay and art that isn't ours, I have to say im happy with the outcome.

The trailer helped me with Vegas Pro, getting me used to the plugins available and how to adjust the clips and fit them together. Im going to continue making things on Vegas, can't hurt to learn a new program.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl-8GvCANoo

Wolf's Rest

We made a presentation for Wolf's Rest, (previously Macabre) and presented it to the class to ensure they were suitable for a guest next Tuesday. It had it's good and it's bad moments, but overall I'm happy with the outcome for two reasons; it was good practise for next week, and the class told us how we could improve.

I found that since I was talking about my role and the additions iv'e made allowed me to loosen up and just explain them easily. In the past most of the presentations were on topics I had to research which made it difficult to just explain without a script.

Although there are many fixes to be made, and that our presentation was a mess, I think that by next week we will have a good pitch, hopefully with a trailer that matches the games theme.

Macabre concept

I've designed some concept art to get a feel for what the game will look like, mostly the camera position and the lighting effects.

The idea we have at the moment is that the player discovers a lighter as his/her first light source, it works for close range encounters, but doesn't light up many areas besides the small area around the player. Shortly into the game you find a flashlight, this allows the player to fully inspect their surroundings in full detail.

We want the player to feel isolated and cramped, they don't know what lurks in the darkness until their light reaches it, which in many cases will end up being too late. It is elements such as this that really make a game scary.

Job Roles in the Games Industry

2D and 3D artists:

2d art is used in almost every game out there, especially in triple A titles such as Fallout, Assassins Creed, and Call of Duty. Every texture the player can see had to be designed by an artist, the ground, walls, vehicles, and other characters.

3d art leans towards the modelling aspect of games, animation, and VFX, and its usual for most 3d artists to work in teams. 3d artists are also often consulted on the development of the storyboard to get a keen idea on what they are exactly making.

Modelling is necessary in AAA games nowadays to make it look more detailed and sharp.

Creative Director:

The Creative Director is a fairly new role in the games industry and it is ensuring the quality and style of the artwork, music and gameplay within a game. Not all companies have a Creative Director so they share out the responsibilities to the Lead Programmer, Lead Artist and Producer.

A Creative Director is not an entry level route, you will usually need around 5 years experience in a senior game development position to even be considered for the job, or you could acquire a similar job in special effects or animation  to move up to creative director.

Lead Artist:

There are many responsibilities for Lead Artists, they are responsible for the overall look of the game, the art style of the game, directing the production of the visual material throughout the games development, and finally managing the art and animation team.

EA's Lead Artist has a minimum wage of £35k and a maximum of £38k.
Casapian Learning's Lead Artist has a minimum wage of 35k and a maximum of £36k
Splash Damage's Lead Artist has a minimum wage of £53k and a maximum of £58k

Level Editor/Designer:

Level editors defines and creates interactive architecture for a segment of a game, including landscapes buildings and objects, Level Design is necessary for two primary purposes - providing the player with a goal.

Level must stay true to the overall design specification, using the characters and story elements defined by the Game Designer, but the editors often have considerable freedom to vary the specific look and feel of the level which they are responsible.

Concept Artist:

A concept artist designs sketches and images for games or movies that are not in final phase. They create scenery and environment for their game or movie, character design and vehicle design ideas which are usually built on to complete the final build of the characters, vehicles or scenery within the game.

A concept artist would design things like the environment, characters, backgrounds and colour schemes of a video game. Usually these things go from concept to completion when the ideas are presented to the lead artist and the rest of the team and are then built on to make up the final form of the game.

Designer:

The Games Designer is who comes up with what the game will consist of and how the game will play. Mainly defining what the core elements of the game are like. Also it is important for the games designer to communicate regularly with the rest of the development team who are creating different assets and who are writhing the code.

The designer must be able to to work in collaboration with multi disciplinary teams, be able to communicate to artists, programmers, producers, marketing staff, and others involved in the development process.

Producer:

The project manager also known as the producer, is responsible for ensuring the successful delivery of a game, on time and within budget. They control the finances and other resources needed for a project and co-ordinate the work of the production team, making sure that the quality and vision of the game is maintained, whatever problems may arise.

In a publishers environment, Assistant Producers will focus on liaising between sales and marketing departments and the developer, and supporting the work of the publishers external producer.

Producers are expected to be fully aware of what the development team are doing and where they are going as a team.

QA Tester:

QA testers also known as Quality Assurance testers have the job of playing and testing a game before it is released. The goal of a QA tester is to find problems in a game, weather it be a massive game breaking issue, a small annoying bug, or just that the game isn't enjoyable in some aspects.

The job doesn't require any prior experience and in most cases doesn't pay as well as other jobs in the industry. However expect to earn anywhere between £22k and £35k a year.

Despite the job sounding easy, QA testing can be a long and tedious role that gets dull very quick.

Specialist Programmer:

Specialist Programmers require a vast knowledge in multiple different script languages, C, C++, C#, JavaScript, they need to know it all. The more the programmer knows, the better the chances of him/her landing the job.

Programmers can work both full-time and part-time, either being brought onto the team until the project is finished and then being let off, or being hired full time and being given a schedule. Specialist Programmers are often hired full time as companies tend to value the role more.

Programmer

 A regular programmer is expected to understand a great deal about a few script languages, specializing in one or two, however they don't need to understand every script language in full detail.

A programmer will likely earn about £20k starting out, but that sum will rise to closer to £40k with experience.

Technical Artist:

The Technical Artist is a relatively new role in the games industry, but is getting more important as hardware in PC's and consoles get more complex.

Technical artists are good at everything in a sense, knowing how to program and how to design elements for a game. This means that a development team can have someone that can bridge the gap between art and programming, a very necessary task.

It is rare for an individual to become very familiar with both the artistic sides of development and the programming side, and for this reason finding a Technical Artist is uncommon.

Associate Producer

As a Publishing Associate Producer in 343 industries, you will work directly with the Executive Producer and the discipline leads on areas such as the projects vision, scope, schedule and playtests.

Sledgehammer games are looking for a top tier Development Manager to take leading role working on the Call of Duty franchise. Candidates must be passionate, focused and driven to excel. Development Managers do a similar job to Associate producers.

Community Manager

A Community Manager is responsible for managing and growing a community as well as building relationships with the fans and partners including media influences, growing excitement and awareness for the studio and portfolio of games.

The skills you will need to become a community manager will include experience on all social media sites as well as video content such as YouTube and live streaming services. You will also need thorough knowledge in the games industry.

Audio Engineer:

The main role of an audio engineer is to write, record, mix, and remake the soundtrack in a video game; this includes but is not limited to music, sound effects, voices and ambient effects. The audio team can consist of any number of people, depending on the size of the company, but in most cases the less people in the audio team means each person must work longer per day.

Audio Engineers are given a sample o the game to get the feel for the environment, similar to a moodboard that a team would give to the artists. Usually a specific genre is given to the audio team for the right idea.

UI Designer:

User interface design in games differs from other UI design because it involves an additional element - fiction. The fiction involves an avatar on the actual user, or player.The player becomes an invisible, but key element to the story, much like a narrator in a novel or film.

Meta is where the UI fits on a 2d hud plane and are normally there to tell the player a certain thing. Like the blood splatter on the screen in Call of Duty to show when the player is hurt. Another example of this is GTA 4 where the players phone will ring and show up in the corner of the screen.

Animator

An animator has the job to move an element in a game, it can be simple like a low-poly person walking, such as the protagonist in N+, or complex like the face animations on LA Noir. Its a difficult job in most cases, however if a game is small and has few moving parts, the animators job gets easier, it all depends on the scale of the project.

Animators are required to have the ability to animate complex sprites and to work long hours on the job. They can expect to earn around £25k when starting out, but that sum rises to £32k+ depending on how much experience you have.