Reflection

Reflection time

In general I thought the second year went pretty well. I enjoyed it a lot more than first year and I have become more confident in my work. Through the first semester I felt I was working at first year level still, enjoying the visual design side of the work more than the game production but when I got into second semester I found a new love for 3DS Max and asset creation meaning I started to do more 3D work improving my knowledge and skills in the area.

In my visual design I find my style has constantly changed but still has the horrible manga style. I feel I have improved my skills throughout second year and due to me doing more Photoshop and digital painting I have started to improve a lot more in my computer skills. I enjoyed doing work in the holidays a lot as I managed to mix together my interests with the university work to get a result I was pleased with.

In my game production I felt at the beginning of the year I started out really slow and being at year one level still. I felt my first semester projects did not go as well as I’d hoped though I was quite proud of the vehicle I created at the time. When it came to second semester I began to use 3DS Max more and I became quicker at using it. I also started to like what I was starting to create and even though it was making trash I felt it was the best thing I’d created over the year. When it came to the group project I managed to get a lot faster at making things and started to enjoy using 3DS Max even more. If I could have changed anything over the past year it would probably be to redo my whole first semester. I feel I could have worked a lot harder in the first semester especially with the 3D Environment and Vehicle. I would also like to go back on the Visual Design and do more work for the first semester. I really feel I began to work harder in the second semester compared to the first semester. I would probably would go back and do more sketches in my sketchbook and do more work off the computer since I enjoy using traditional media and I have not used it so much over this year.

Over this year I feel I’ve learnt a lot to do with programmes. I have found that I have become a lot quicker with my work and a lot more efficient due to learning more about the programmes I use. I have become faster at creating 3D assets and faster and unwrapping them too. In Photoshop I have began to make my own brushes to give a more realistic effect to my paintings and it also allows me to play with new styles as well.

I also learnt how to use Unreal this year and have enjoyed using it. I created my own room and added physics to some of the items in the room. I wish I had spent more time using the engine, being able to add effects to things.

Group Project

Now it’s time to write a blog entry to do with the group project.

The group project, something I haven’t enjoyed as much as I wish I had.

After deciding on a back room and working out what we needed to do. Originally we wanted to change the building into something more gothic and have some grand cathedral like architecture. We soon decided that this would take a lot longer than we would have to make the project and so decided it would be best to make the room that we were going to use to our best ability and then fill it with items and make it more resident evil styled.

After deciding everything I made a basic white box of the room. This was to work out where lighting would go, where items should be placed and to help with scale. Originally I got the scale wrong so I then edited it so it would have a more correct scale. I spent a lot of time on the railings in particular when making the model since I felt they were a very unusual shape and would cast some rather nice shadows with correctly placed lighting.
When I had created the white box I used it to help with creating a concept for the level. I changed the colour of the lighting to work out what would look better. In the concept I blocked off areas and added rubble to hopefully give it a more run down, broken feel.

After doing that I started working on my 3D work. I began with making piles of rubbish and boxes and then created smaller assets like plug sockets, shutters and signs. I created a few items to add into the group project and I made them either dirty or broken to fit with the style of the level.
I double checked that everything was correctly named and collision meshes were placed where needed on the items. I made sure everything had the needed texture maps, not just diffuse but specular and also normal maps.

Finally I decided to place my items in my own unreal room to prove I could use unreal. I created some fracture meshes for my items and I also added some physics so things could be shot. I scattered my 3D objects around the room so they can be seen and walked around.
After getting everything until unreal that I had made and everything had been placed into the group project I considered that part of my work was complete.

Working in a group project has been a new experience for me and though I did not enjoy it as much as I should of I still wouldn’t dismiss a third year group project. I feel that if the communication in our group was a little clearer and a little more forced then the project would have been made a little faster and more items could have been made.

The group has taught me a few things. It has allowed me to speed up making items. I have definitely sped up using 3DS Max compared to when I was using it for the Mortal Engines project and I feel the pressure of having to get my assets completed for another person on time has helped.

Cultural Walks

For one of our Visual Design briefs we have to create a problem with Leicester and fix it with a form of art.

It took me a while to think of an idea for this project but after creating a couple of mood boards I finally got an idea.

While walking through Leicester it’s quite easy to notice that it’s rather built up, dull and unless you go to certain areas it lacks a lot of greenery. This is when the thought occurred to me “Do people living in Leicester realise how beautiful the parks are around them?”
Right outside Leicester there is Bradgate Park and just walking through it is awe-inspiring. It’s such a different environment compared to the centre of Leicester so how wonderful would it be to put something based off Bradgate Park right in front of the Highcross.

So now I had my problem and part of my answer. I wanted to place something based off Bradgate Park in Leciester but what was that something.

I looked over old photos from my time wandering through the park to try and get an idea of what I could use. One idea could have been Old John but that wouldn’t create the more natural look I wanted. Then I noticed how amazing and downright beautiful some of the trees are in Bradgate. They’re all twisted and warped, hollow in places and weird. So now my mind was settled on creating some form of tree.
I now knew what I wanted to create, a tree of some form to place in the middle of Leicester but I didn’t just want to plant a tree. As a statement planting a tree would work but I wanted to get more creative.
I had an idea about using Willow shoots and weaving them to create a shape of a tree. We used to have a dome house in my primary school made of weaved willow and kids used to play in it all the time. It was very natural and it would also sprout leaves as well. Though I liked this idea I wanted to create something a little different, using man made materials.
I started to look through different sculptures to try and get an idea of what I could create; I wanted to create the essence of the trees, twisted, hollow. I wanted kids to be able to play around it and find it interesting to look at too. My mind drifted to one of the old Bradgate Park briefs where we had to create a wire sculpture. I then began to imagine it in a bigger scale. It would have the essence of a tree, kids would be able to climb through it and play around it. Though only problem then would be that it wouldn’t be very colourful at all.

My attention drew to the leaves and what could be done of the leaves. They couldn’t be real leaves since they’d die off pretty quickly. I then remembered that a lot of Leicester’s new look is based on lighting so perhaps some form of lighting could be used.

Lighting alone wouldn’t create a rather “leafy” look alone, in face the tree would just look like it has Christmas lights draped around it so something would have to be made to be placed around the lighting to make it look like leaves. I want it to be transparent and durable yet have some colour so as the lighting filters through it shine the colour of the material.

I then thought of some form of coloured plastic. Plastic’s quite durable, it comes in a variety of colours, it can be transparent and it can be fused quite well to metal. It could be attached to the top tree branches to either look like leaves or just large sheets bunched together to create a larger body of leaves.

Colour suddenly came in to place. My initial idea was green but then I thought again and thought autumnal colours would be prettier, there would be more variety of colour (gold through to red) and it would be more striking.
So I finally had my idea complete. It would be a tree made of wire with thin durable coloured plastic for leaves, then for a more striking effect at night lighting would be place on the branches.

Progress

I’m dedicating this blog to progress.

Every so often while rummaging through my room I’ll find a sketchbook that’s years old, look through it and be amazed at how much my artwork has changed.
More recently I’ve been looking at university work and how much I’ve progressed from first year and through second year.

When I first started the course I didn’t know how to create things in 3DS Max and I wasn’t that confident at digipainting. The very first digipaint I created was very blotchy, the colours were too bright, the shading wasn’t right and the background was just as strong as the foreground. My life drawing wasn’t proportioned correctly either.

When it came to the 3D work, everything was classed as an improvement from making a small church to texturing but I never noticed how much I’d improved on 3D work until this year. At the beginning of the year I wasn’t confident with my 3D work. Though I managed to complete the tasks I was given I still wasn’t happy with what I did. In the second semester however the first thing I made was a wheelie bin and I was quite happy with it. After that I created some trash then moved onto the group project, to which I made a white box of the room and more rubbish. The items I created in second semester looked much better than first semester, even the white box I created for the group project seemed a lot better then what I was making in the first semester. In the first semester it took weeks to get everything made and textured and in second semester I could make small assets in a few hours.

The picture above is a screenshot of an airship I created for the mortal engines project. It took at least 3 weeks and tweaking over a holiday period. At the time it was one of the best models I’d created.

And this picture is of a more recent piece of 3D work. Again it’s a type of vehicle but it’s a lot more simple and without texturing. It took less time compared to the first one. It also has more detail in compared to the first, since I created indents for doors and handles.

When it comes to the artwork throughout the year I don’t think I’m improved as much as I have in my game production work. I have however improved greatly from the beginning of first year.

This was the first picture I did in my first year. It was a digipaint of the canal. At the time it was very blotchy and the colours were all wrong. It also took me a few days to make.

This is the first picture I created in the second year. The colouring is a lot better, perspective is more correct and I’ve managed to put more detail into it. It’s not as blotchy but the lines are more sketchy and loose.

I have also improved on my life drawing skills, developing a better sense of proportion also developing different styles and colouring. The first of the two pictures below is the first year drawing, the bottom one is the second year

Graphics vs. Game play

Throughout the years I have enjoyed playing many games but more recently I have found that rather enjoying the game I’ve just found it visually stunning. Though it is a good thing that games are getting better visually once upon a time it was about playing the game and enjoying it. I am an artist and I love high-res HD graphics but it’s always been a pet hate when I play a pretty game to find it boring and the plot lacking.

Back in the time of the original Playstation there were many games there were failures but a lot shone through(if not more so for plot). This for me has become a less recent occurrence. Recently I have found games to be boring if not lacking a good plot but visually stunning.
I remember back on the Playstation owning Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider 2. Back then the graphics were brilliant, good old pixilated triangular boobed Lara in all her glory climbing cubed rocks and swimming through turquoise waters. It might not seem so brilliant now but back then it was astounding. Not only were the graphics good for the time but the plotline was brilliant. You played Lara Croft an archaeologist who with two pistols and a shotgun (plus many other guns) went on a long journey through many levels around the world to get to some form of epic treasure to defeat the bad guy. Sure these days the games might have the same basic plotline but now the game run time is a lot less and though Lara looks good in Denim with her now rounded boobs I don’t want to go around pulling levers to make her arms stronger to go through a door. The only recent success Tomb Raider had was in a remake of the original game for the PS2, great graphics and a sound plotline.

Another example of how graphics have outshone the game play was the most recent Final Fantasy game, Final Fantasy XIII. Never had I seen such attention to detail in some skin. It was such a visually stunning game but when playing the game I found that it felt like I was playing through some form of artist showcase. The game play was appalling, there were some good ideas but they were thrown together so badly nothing fitted and worked well. The characters were unlikeable too. Maybe it was just the company at fault, trying to prove they could bring something new to an old series but after playing a lot of Squares prettier games I find myself losing faith in the games industry.

A lot of Final Fantasy fans these days want a remake of Final Fantasy VII after seeing the Playstation 3 demo. Square refuse to do this though because making it with the same quality graphics as XIII would mean it would take over 5 years (according to them). At least if they had a go at making it they would have a sound plot in place rather than the terrible stories they’ve started throwing out.

After playing quite a few games recently I’ve found that I’ve enjoyed the most a fighting game called Blazblue: Calamity Trigger. Sure it’s a fighting game meaning minimal plot but a plot still exists, the characters are likeable and to top it all off it’s a 2D sprite fighter.

I also seem to be enjoying playing my hand held games recently which have never really been good for graphics but on occasion have thrown out some brilliant plots.

The evolution of a great game series...

This one is just for you Mike!

And so as the release date for Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver starts coming into view I’m going to dedicate a blog to this epic game series.

Way back in 1996 Nintendo decided to create a game which was based on insect collecting, a hobby which the creator Satoshi Tajiri had as a child. This idea obviously evolved and became a game about collecting imaginative creatures rather than collecting insects.

Pokémon (or Pocket Monsters) is a game where the player becomes a Pokémon trainer, going on a journey to collect and train all the Pokémon they can find. Along the way they have to beat a selection of strong opponents who are gym trainers and after beating these trainers the Pokémon trainer can fight a group of elite trainers to gain the title of Pokémon master.
Technically the story of the game ends there but you can continue and fight people online, trade Pokémon and more recently compete in competitions.

Originally the game was released back in 1996 as two versions Pokémon Red and Green. Since these two proved popular an enhanced Blue version was released and this was then later reprogrammed with Red to become the international release versions in 1998. After these versions were release another version, Pokémon Yellow was released. This version had slightly enhanced graphics but the biggest change was in the plot. Rather than being the exact same game they changed the characters and certain scenes to try and mimic the anime which was fast becoming more popular than the games at the time. These games were classed as first generation only having the first generation of Pokémon in them (the first 151)

The second generation was released in 2000 as Pokémon Gold and Silver. These games took the new Pokémon total to 251, adding 100 new ones into the mix. These games made use of a time system in which the game kept track of time, turning the game to day or night depending on the time that was set, this effected Pokémon and certain events. The graphics were also better than the previous game having more range of colour in them. An enhanced version of the games called Pokémon Crystal was released later.

In 2003 the third generation was released. Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire was released bringing with it 135 new Pokémon to the mix. As popular as the games were they were criticised for leaving out certain features like the day-and-night system which was in the previous game. Again an enhanced version of these titles were released called Pokémon Emerald.
After the release of Ruby and Sapphire remakes of the original games were released. These were named Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. The game boasted better graphics but again was criticised for simplicity like Ruby and Sapphire.

The fourth generation debuted in 2006 called Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. These were for Nintendo DS. An additional 107 Pokémon were added to the mix bringing the total up to 493. These games were a lot more complex than their predecessors, boasting touch screen technology and a lot better graphics. A more enhanced version called Pokémon Platinum was released.
In 2009 Nintendo announced remakes of Gold and Silver for the Nintendo DS. They were released in September in Japan and are to be released later this month everywhere else. They also announced earlier this year that a new game was in development and it is to be the fifth generation.

In Japan and throughout a lot of the world Pokémon is a popular franchise spawning not just games but anime, manga, card games and toys. The anime is just as popular as the games these days, running for as long as the games have. It has been running for 12 seasons now, spanning over different generations of Pokémon and regions. There are also 12 films to go along with the anime and a thirteenth set for release in the summer.
Though Pokémon might not suit everyone’s taste you have to admit it’s had a good run and it will probably continue until a new even more ingenious game with weirder creatures is released but until then remember, gotta catch ‘em all!

Final Fantasy XIII review

Today is a very awesome today. Today is the official Final Fantasy XIII release and since I’ve wanted to write a game review for a very long time I’m going to write one about Final Fantasy XIII and whether waiting 3+ years was worth it.

Final Fantasy XIII is the latest Final Fantasy title to be released by Square Enix. It is a Fantasy Japanese roleplay game with a fast paced action twist. It has both good and bad points so far and this is what I think so far of it.

STORY
It’s a sci-fi fantasy style story based in a world called Pulse, a beautiful utopia that looks like something out of James Cameron’s Avatar (which is quite funny since Square want to sue him for stealing their environment). On this world there is some really powerful beings called Fal’cie’s who can ‘curse’ humans into becoming L’Cie. The L’cie are given focuses by the Fal’cie which if they don’t complete something bad happens and if you do then the reward isn’t so great (basically a lose lose situation). You play a group of humans turned L’cie who have to save their world etc etc etc.

Basically like every Final Fantasy it’s all pretty much japans RPG dribble which includes curses, magic, monsters with fancy names and some form of emotional main character with hair issues. The story isn’t as amazing as previous ones. One thing which annoyed me mostly about it was after playing about 3 hours I suddenly started to realise that I was replaying Final Fantasy VII, the intro story and the characters are nearly enough identical. Square probably decided to do this after realising Final Fantasy VII was their most liked game out of the series.

All in all I found the story to be pretty poor (especially compared to previous attempts) but it was definitely not the worst aspect of the game.

CHARACTERS
As usually Square has created a crazy cast of characters with over-the-top hair and clothing but this time there is a bit of a difference.

When playing a Final Fantasy game I tend to end of becoming attached to at least one character, mostly the main character but this time no one has grabbed my attention. Sure they look great but personality is another issue all together. At the moment the characters are just socially inept morons with colourful back story. Maybe it’s because the opening few hours the game flitters from character to character meaning you don’t really get a main character. It could even be because of the voice actors.

In short awesome looking characters, pathetically thought out personalities.

BATTLING
One of the big things in Final Fantasy is the battle system. For roughly 10 games it was a action-battle-time-wait-for-bar-to-load-then-attack battle then suddenly it got to Final Fantasy XII and you only needed to control one character and you could set up all the other characters actions out of battle. Now in XIII the battle system is different again.

You control one character and they act as your main and you have two other characters in your group. Instead of setting the other two characters actions you set their style of fighting. Usually they go in as “Ravagers” which means they’ll just constantly attack but then within battle you can change their style via a funky shift-changing thing called a “Paradigm Shift”. Your characters can then be changed into Medics, Saboteurs, Synergist etc. This is less time consuming then setting them up outside of battle but there is a downside.

The styles have no middle ground, when you are in that style the character will stay doing what it is told to do until you’ve switched again, for example a medic constantly heals even when all characters health are full and in order for the medic to attack their style must be changed, changing all the other characters in the process. Now this would be perfectly fine but since Square seems to have wanted to speed up game play and make the battle scene look rather messy by having characters flip around none stop it’s very distracting and so shifting becomes a second thought until half your parties dead.

Basically very messy/distracting battle scene with a switch system which could probably do with being more refined to keep up with battle speed.

VISUALS
The one thing Square Enix is best at. The best thing about the game so far has been the nice high definition graphics. They are simply gorgeous.

Since the world is fantasy based the palette is very vibrant. At the moment it’s been mostly dominated by greens and blues and very harsh light tones. The environment is very much like James Cameron’s Avatar mixed with Tron in places.

The graphics are the best I’ve seen within a game. So crisp and detailed. The Skin textures are amazing, mottled slightly and filled with pours. The hair is probably not the best hair I’ve seen in a game but still amazing and the eyes seem somewhat lifelike.

Definitely a thumbs up from me though I do prefer my more Final Fantasy IX styled worlds to this one.

As much as I could continue babbling on about the game and the good and bad points I’m going to stop myself and give a general overview.

To me the game is a set of brilliant concepts that just don’t fit together. It seems as though Square don’t know if they’re making a roleplay game or a fast-paced action game (the two don’t really merge which is a shame). It’s one of the better games I’ve played this year though on the Playstation 3. Reviewing the game as a Final Fantasy I would say it’s probably one of the worst ones they’ve made to date even if the intro story was the exact same to Final Fantasy VII.

On the bright side this game is one of three and definitely not the one I’m pinning all my hopes on.