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----->