Week 18: Container City Post-Mortem

After 4 weeks the Container City project is officially done, with today being the final presentation of our level. Hours before our presentation we couldn't gain access to the server where our level was but thankfully there was an easy fix and the presentation went okay and had a positive outcome. In this blog post I will try and cover my involvement with the Container City assignment.

Concepting

Like all other briefs, this project started with my group concepting. The only 2 restraints for the level was that is must feature containers and be either futuristic or dystopian (or both!), apart from that though we could design what ever level we wanted. After a few hours we all eventually settled for the idea that these containers were taken over by an ancient tribe. A ship had crashed ashore and the local tribe used the left over wreckage as their home, you'd play as one of their prisoners, trying to escape.

I began trying to put down these ideas onto paper. We wanted a rough level layout as quickly as possible so when a layout was well-liked I made a very rough block-out in 3DS Max. Looking back at it and especially after seeing some of the other levels being made I think we could have pushed the size of our level slightly. This could have given us more room to try and explain our story even if it meant more asset work.

Once we were all happy with the basic layout we all started concepting the rooms. I took the cells and also decided to have a go at the altar area too, anything to get me to draw some more. I am actually surprised by the results of my concepts but they only give an initial idea and do not really give a good sense of mood or atmosphere due to the lack of values and colour. I'd really like to try photobashing, as I am quite good at Photoshop and photo manipulation, but I think I am scared of bad results at the moment so I have put if off.

Cells Exit

Cells

Altar Entrance

Altar, looking back at the entrance

While doing this concepting we were also constantly gathering reference from the internet, here's a link to my pinterest board related to this brief.

Early Development

To make sure we could keep track of the assets we were creating I made a quick asset list, borrowing heavily from the one I used during the Film Room Project; this asset list grew a bit over the development like the previous one did. I couldn't figure out a decent way to show the texture sheets used though, as many objects shared texture space with other assets which made things confusing.

We each picked certain things to tackle, like particle effects or foliage with the modelling being divided up as there was so much to do. Below is a screenshot of some of the earlier models I made; a container had been provided so I just had to retrofit them to the other sizes and damage a version of one of them.

As a group we chose to create the building blocks of the level first, with all the filler props coming later. This way we'd have a much clearer idea of what the final level would look like and be able to adjust anything if we needed to. I used 2 1024s for all of the textures for my models, but I without a doubt think I could have optimized it much better, possibly allowing more space for more assets. 

Development

After doing the major components we all then focused on populating the level. I also had the task of creating the water material we wanted to include. At first I thought this was going to be daunting task but I found a really helpful YouTube tutorial video[1] which was simple to follow and gave great result, even if the reflections don't work correctly.

As I wasn't the person working in engine I unfortunately don't have any development shots of the level, as most of my time was spent modeling and texturing, therefore it might be hard at the moment to get an idea of what the level actually looks like. Instead here are the texture sheets I had used for the assets. The metalness and roughness had been combined in an RGB space on the right sheet, the left sheet had no metal, so instead I just used a constant in the material editor.

Towards the final days of the project I moved onto decal duty, wanting to create a variety of decals to add extra life into the world. Before this I had never created a decal but there wasn't much difference between creating a texture. All of my decals were 256px in size, yet surprisingly looked fine even when large, which really shocked me.

End Result

For half of the assignment I was unsure if we'd be able to pull this off, as our level wasn't necessarily that "modular" yet I think the final results look really good. There are obviously a few things I'd love to change or tweak but that'll have to be done another time. I'll stop typing for a bit and let the final screenshots talk for themselves.

During our presentation it was mentioned that we could have pushed the idea further and I agree, with more palettes with objects on, just left alone. The larger level size I wanted could have accommodated some of these extra story telling props. Looking at some of the interior screenshots now I do think we could have used some extra colour, as they are very orange and brown.

The next assignment is now upon us and it's become clear that this Container City project has been more of an introduction to level design, which will filter into the next brief. I won't go over the new assignment in this post but I am already quite excited for it.

References & Notes
[1] UE4 - Interior Water #1 by Pub Games

Week 17: More Meshing About

Next week will be the final week of this Container City project and at the moment I feel like it is the calm before the storm. The main texturing is now done and I am creating extra assets to help populate the level; I also tried some Z-Brush this week but the results haven't really blown me away, I'll go over the outcome a little later.

Now that the texturing is finished on some of the assets, I can at last show off some of the work I've been doing over the last 2 weeks. I also feel a little more comfortable with the PBR system now, as I think I have captured some good likeness in the materials I am trying to simulate.

Below are a wooden beam and a generic stone block, which we'll be using to help break up some of the repetitive walls and also hide any unwanted seams or holes in the level. My aim for the wood was to have it look extremely weathered and worn, which I think I have done quite well thanks to an old park bench I found. The Altar I decided to create out of modular pieces, this way we can expand the design or size of the thing if needed and can also use some of the pieces elsewhere in the level.

I used Z-Brush on the altar and while some parts came out quite nice, such as the stone disk, other parts came out poorly, like the main building block is either missing the detail or looks oddly burnt, as you can see from the picture above. I however do think I've nailed the stone texture across the altar.

The logs had a problem with the texture looking repeated, as I can not stand easily noticeable, repeating textures so I had to readjust some of the unwrapping; without the use of Z-Brush I think I managed to capture the gnarled look of an old log.

I also had fun trying to imply a damper surface on the bottom of these stone pillars, where maybe dirt and water have been splashed about more. This isn't everything I have modeled, as there are a few smaller things that use the same texture space but there isn't much point in showing them. I am now making a few more assets to help fill some of the spaces, like altar seats, bones and a wall ornament, with some other ideas up my sleeves too. I just hope I can get this all done by the end of next week.

Week 16: Meshing About

This weeks, or last weeks update I should say has fallen by the wayside a little. I've spent the last week knocking out various meshes, unwrapping them and making sure they work within engine all for my group project, the container city. I am going to keep this post a little shorter than usual but I will go over some of the things I did last week.

First up is the concept art that I started while writing the last post, the view from the opposite side of the altar.

Standing at the Altar, looking back at the entrance

We sat down at the start of the week and made a plan about what we needed to mesh out first and everyone in our group agreed that we should begin with the bigger pieces first, the main components of our level. We also agreed to make sure each object was unwrapped too, with the lightmap, to help get a clearer picture of the final level. We didn't want no ugly lighting errors!

I created a spreadsheet again to track our progress on the assets, I think certain parts of it still need some tweaking to be made clearer but overall I think this quite an effective way to make an asset list. The planning and creation of this spreadsheet is something I enjoyed, like the previous group project; maybe I should have taken a career in management?

Everything I created I tested in engine first, to make sure the lightmap and collision worked correctly. Once everything is textured I'll post up more detailed images, but at the moment there isn't much point. I also gave myself the task of creating the water we wanted in the level, which actually wasn't too difficult with the help from this Youtube video [1]. The water effect isn't the best ever, but once in the level it pulls it off convincingly enough without a massive hog on resources it seems.

Water Material: Mostly for my own reference

The rest of this week I will be mostly texturing, with maybe some more asset creation towards the end if I can squeeze it in. I will also be doing a little bit of sneaky Z-Brush work on the altar, as I think the idea behind the Mayan style will benefit greatly with a little Z-Brush love. I'll be trying to write up the next post on Sunday too, if I don't get to (un)wrapped up in texturing. Ha ha. Ha... puns.

References & Notes
[1] UE4 - Interior Water #1 by Pub Games

Week 15: First Week of 2015

I had to check that this week was still only the first week back of term, as it has felt like an eternity already; I am still unsure if this is a good thing. Being the first week back we've been given our first project of 2015, which this post will cover.

Container City

The assignment for us is to create a small playable level out of shipping containers in a realistic, dystopian or futuristic setting, in a group of 4. This might sound quite restricting but we have a lot of exploration room in how these containers are used, maybe they've been refurbished for a space prison or a group of survivors have taken shelter inside a cluster of them. The main point is that the containers are visible in some manner.

Lest We Forget: Brink [1]

At first the brief of the project didn't get me hyped up for the new year, but after getting my head around it for a week I began to get excited for the potential of the end result. I've also spent a lot more time in studio and I hopefully plan to continue this trend, maybe the energy inside the studio has rubbed off on me, even if it might not seem like it.

Our group began generating ideas while also making a block-out during the early part of the week, by the middle of the week we had a fairly good idea of the level plan and a theme. Our idea is that a cargo ship crashed ashore and then a local tribe eventually moved into the wreckage of the containers, turning it into their home. The player will control a prisoner, who makes their way upwards through the container temple in hopes of getting out. Below is a rough plan and block out.

With a rough plan and a block out we could begin pushing into the concepting stage, which is what I have been doing over the later part of the week. I have kept the concepts to line art only for now, adding values to something as complicated as an environment is something I don't really have time to experiment with, it could be done at the end of the project though if I have time. The block out has really helped speed up the concepting as the perspective is for the most part sorted, I just used the block-out as an underlay and drew over the top.

Cells

Cells Exit, the statue changed slightly as it didn't look scary enough

The cells would be quite dark and covered in sand, with water in places. As the player makes their way upwards, the sand slowly disappears as the containers become more prominent which should signify that the player is leaving the beached area. As the player gets closer to the finish, natural light will begin to shine down through cracks and more over growth will be seen, until the player reaches the altar which is outside and clearly aboard the freighter. Adding values or doing a photobash would probably sell this idea a lot more.

Altar Entrance

I am at the moment in the process of concepting the opposite view of the altar, to try and give a complete view of the area. Next week my group should be well into the modelled stage, and hopefully have the base level built at least. I think if we don't begin to move will fall behind though, and I don't want another group project to end up in stress.

References and Notes

[1] Screenshot from Brink, developed by Splash Damage.