tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58353438489636182552024-02-06T20:36:04.861-08:00Honours project - semester 2A progress diary for my Honours project.Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-77299556911941658122010-05-19T12:59:00.000-07:002010-05-19T13:09:34.177-07:00Final week! D:This week's posts have been sparse because I've been slaving away making the showreels for our degree show. A quick re-cap of the first half is as follows:<br /><br />Monday - gave my presentation, which I think went quite well. I had prepared a nice slideshow and covered all the bases I think. After that I collected some stray submissions for the showreel before going home and proceeding to build the short version. Problems ensued with a virus from somebody's pendrive and After Effects being a bit difficult.<br /><br />Tuesday - printed the dissertation, rendered the short showreel and made a start on the longer show reel. After discussing matters with the group I decided to split the longer showreel according to group - ie CA, VC and CSP in their own chapters, and within those the work was grouped in alphabetical order by surname. Had to switch to a different video editor, since the one I usually use was refusing a lot of the files - naturally this delayed things further.<br /><br />Wednesday - Jody burnt the short showreel to a DVD and it was well received at the final degree show meeting. Got my dissertation bound and submitted (phew!) then went home to continue making the long show reel. I also re-rendered the short showreel to put online - I fixed a spelling mistake and added Virgin Media as a sponsor, since they have agreed to display our short showreel in the Overgate. I aim to have the long footage ready to give to David tomorrow, for putting on the DVD.Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-24944963414966204222010-05-10T06:19:00.000-07:002010-05-13T13:42:13.072-07:00Week 1710/5/10 - Okay! So the work is essentially done. This week will be about preparing my presentation and submitting things for the degree show. I will also need to buy some CD cases and pretty folders for coursework submissions.<br /><br />But as far as the project work goes, I feel like I am pretty much done. Perhaps there will be a more interesting technical game progress video at the end of the week.<br /><br />11/5/10 - Received the draft disseration back and will be working on that for the rest of the week; also need to re-work one of the learning contracts. Made my submission to the Interface group today, and will be preparing submissions for 2 of the 3 modules to hand in on Friday.<br /><br />12/5/10 and 13/5/10 - Worked away at preparing for submissions on Friday, finished making the powerpoint slideshow for Monday, did most of the work needed for the dissertation.Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-55942405420785149772010-05-03T07:15:00.000-07:002010-05-09T09:55:42.652-07:00Week 16<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSTtXOdDoqzYXgADco22IThI57ELtMPQ_lo5c_RwFSobuYDtEWj8J-_HThgHDTlU-yprhGesfZlUo6H19bY6H9JfBa62Yjrn7S2Rc_cLJkJIbvr5OypRCggW5tevIuXXNqpsOgiNM2U_E/s1600/CD+cover.jpg"><br /></a>3/5/10 - Drafted a design for the business cards, front and back.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnHcEx2NxhbYJVlW7mvTTOZ5ZFuxG_Pezz3c1gdyknVjwhB1iWKuPO_ATXDT1Qad6j3iWiK687wypNU0p5__rLoDeIDZ0Ft_fdZJ-w6GraSkuzz2hdVRtLkkrMXqvN0L9DRmVfdXqJizb/s1600/Card+design.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnHcEx2NxhbYJVlW7mvTTOZ5ZFuxG_Pezz3c1gdyknVjwhB1iWKuPO_ATXDT1Qad6j3iWiK687wypNU0p5__rLoDeIDZ0Ft_fdZJ-w6GraSkuzz2hdVRtLkkrMXqvN0L9DRmVfdXqJizb/s400/Card+design.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467047602890278818" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguWzmbTFQ0dq5F0RaCUsN1xP5ifJtWZFoI-OWN7ACdb5wlIYusOwGCXSTc4370Ufl-07k8XzheupvmSA1dTdaOLqGo1VqhkRfzEwAx8EOMTh6QnfK0HA9xbEEM31zJDfgmCnvgr2BunC88/s1600/CardBack.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguWzmbTFQ0dq5F0RaCUsN1xP5ifJtWZFoI-OWN7ACdb5wlIYusOwGCXSTc4370Ufl-07k8XzheupvmSA1dTdaOLqGo1VqhkRfzEwAx8EOMTh6QnfK0HA9xbEEM31zJDfgmCnvgr2BunC88/s400/CardBack.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467047610504713362" border="0" /></a><br />I just opted for something simple that would match the aesthetic of my folio (on the front) and the project (on the back). Lifting from the poster design seemed to work quite well.<br /><br />4/5/10 - Finished touching up the poster. Minimal changes: a different font and slight tidying of the hexagons. I was always happy with the original design :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6o-uvj4nlCm2lvxYzl1qgADqCN-7trVAW2r4INX_sQ4jshtgZCAnMELgHBCcJtwofvO4YUTn23mOTpaAhh9R7SxCM-oZD0-EcZQ2EUxZrMHmtl6QVT7IdH1prQopKnulXYlbDR4IatkK/s1600/Poster.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6o-uvj4nlCm2lvxYzl1qgADqCN-7trVAW2r4INX_sQ4jshtgZCAnMELgHBCcJtwofvO4YUTn23mOTpaAhh9R7SxCM-oZD0-EcZQ2EUxZrMHmtl6QVT7IdH1prQopKnulXYlbDR4IatkK/s400/Poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467499523417471970" border="0" /></a><br />5/5/10 - today was the degree show meeting as usual, which took up a large part of the day. Afterwards I put together my materials for the Interface group: my details and widescreen films in the correct format. It is very important that my work is complete and ready ASAP, because it is my duty to put together the final showreel between May 14th and 19th (with my presentation on the 17th).<br /><br />Since there is so very little time left, I am working under the assumption that the videos I currently have will be the ones I submit - I am happy with this. The first two videos are complete and it will be easy to add a final tech demo to the third video after this week's development day if I choose to; however, the video is already a good length and can be submitted as it is.<br /><br />My main focus at the moment is on collecting the right work to submit on time; as I mentioned, next week is essentially going to be off limits. I may even start to write my report for Professional Practice this weekend. Tomorrow and Friday will be taken up with game development.<br /><br />6/5/10 - We developed today in preparation for our meeting tomorrow; the level meshes were exported for Unity and the tutorial level assets were implemented. I updated my tech demos video, which can be seen below.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwVHeOr6x8wrheIuYMDbYzNxk1F_DARsGgyAaVJ7tIn2JnhYGuid__C9_DCEBCZz6Ez6sDfU6-NdqsbjIrjNg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">There is now more footage of a complete tutorial level; unfortunately we were unable to implement level 1 today, but here is what the mesh looked like:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4veoN8MdSxgRDXeOc1BnW94X9S7GnBO0NtaNTqsbuwEUZnSXybHMesYyziXTiFAYMVOarzCxL8tTDwReaHXaPn7CkmpLmv0fwKjPkJdHnE4c4-B444PbWy96y-rG2LGnT5y187aKUifZm/s1600/Level1Unity.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 165px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4veoN8MdSxgRDXeOc1BnW94X9S7GnBO0NtaNTqsbuwEUZnSXybHMesYyziXTiFAYMVOarzCxL8tTDwReaHXaPn7CkmpLmv0fwKjPkJdHnE4c4-B444PbWy96y-rG2LGnT5y187aKUifZm/s400/Level1Unity.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468273059286574178" border="0" /></a>This mesh was exported as a single object; there is also a large dandelion in the layout but this needs to be exported seperately as it has a very high polycount.<br /><br />7/5/10 - I checked and printed my draft dissertation, ready for submission on Monday. I also printed the learning contracts to get them approved and signed ASAP, and started writing my report for Professional Practice. I plan to sort every submission into folders soon just so that I can track my progress - whilst keeping an eye on a suitable cut-off point for the last tech demo, that is.<br /><br />8/5/10 - I decided to make a promotional showreel for my project: one video which includes all the work I've done, as well as a couple of the technical clips. I think some sort of showreel is required for Professional Practice, and it certainly wouldn't hurt to have one anyway - so here it is!<br /><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzpnRLO-hhGCdJLx6apF_ahCEGZ_Uk7SakreVttb8t1_NCmRcw5wVcSUtiSm4gyzt4mvd5f2xbCuUenn6sVsA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Music: <span style="font-style: italic;">Veridis Quo</span> by Daft Punk, naturally.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Also designed a simple sleeve for the CD cases I'll be using - it's not a big deal but keeps with the theme of the poster. Could probably be jazzed up a little if I have the time.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSTtXOdDoqzYXgADco22IThI57ELtMPQ_lo5c_RwFSobuYDtEWj8J-_HThgHDTlU-yprhGesfZlUo6H19bY6H9JfBa62Yjrn7S2Rc_cLJkJIbvr5OypRCggW5tevIuXXNqpsOgiNM2U_E/s1600/CD+cover.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 361px; height: 361px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSTtXOdDoqzYXgADco22IThI57ELtMPQ_lo5c_RwFSobuYDtEWj8J-_HThgHDTlU-yprhGesfZlUo6H19bY6H9JfBa62Yjrn7S2Rc_cLJkJIbvr5OypRCggW5tevIuXXNqpsOgiNM2U_E/s400/CD+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468900236078409890" border="0" /></a><br />I'm still working on collecting things together for submission, whilst trying not to forget about relevent submissions for the degree show such as Interface, poster image files etc.<br /><br />9/5/10 - I looked over the dissertation one last time before making it into a PDF for emailing tomorrow. I've also worked on making sure each of the videos I want to submit is in the right format (ie .mov for everything but the Interface submission) and generally keeping things up to date. I posted on degree show Ning to make some comfirmations about our final deadlines for the showreel.<br /><br /></div></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-76804129350414478652010-04-26T06:39:00.000-07:002010-05-02T15:07:23.423-07:00Week 15<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwlypDcjOiHJNchyGzioFQHzDYy2LkAOS9XW2lBdcM8MOvDSx7T6X8llJjr7rJicbM-t9PfmCG9fsWEPU6VhYdguGvntL9Z-aUH3aw_7OtCV_WygOzo5W9Lmq0H8CUz4tGMjv6lu-lAH6/s1600/PosterDraft2.jpg"><br /></a>26/4/10 - I started the week by opening the dissertation again; I am working on compiling the (rather extensive) list of figures. I plan to complete this and the reference list for the end of the week, so as to have a definitive 'first draft'.<br /><br />I also aim to look at getting a hold of more tech demos from the programmers, as well as thinking out designs for the poster and business cards.<br /><br />27/4/10 - More work on the dissertation today. I started writing the reference list, and have completed the literature section. Next up is the *massive* games section to write; once this is over I will read the whole thing through again and see what else needs tidying up.<br /><br />I have compiled a video which chronicles our programming progress between late March and last Friday; obviously this video is full of placeholders and tech demos, making it less attractive than the others; but at the same time it is more informative and interesting.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwz_uwJQPx_wWLWnza_8MAVOdNdCggDVq037YfgLwfTQrXkIqlZ4QnkDdI1NX97pYUJFN8x5XSWtHM15B7rAg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I will continue adding to this video until submissions, since we are still working on the game every Friday and it is important to show the context of my project.<br /><br />28/4/10 - More dissertation work today, mostly concerning the video game reference list. I managed to complete it and will perform a comprehensive check on the entire document tomorrow.<br /><br />29/4/10 - No progress today (I'm in London! I have an excuse), so I figured I would stick up this draft poster design that I've had for a few days but wasn't going to post.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwlypDcjOiHJNchyGzioFQHzDYy2LkAOS9XW2lBdcM8MOvDSx7T6X8llJjr7rJicbM-t9PfmCG9fsWEPU6VhYdguGvntL9Z-aUH3aw_7OtCV_WygOzo5W9Lmq0H8CUz4tGMjv6lu-lAH6/s1600/PosterDraft2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwlypDcjOiHJNchyGzioFQHzDYy2LkAOS9XW2lBdcM8MOvDSx7T6X8llJjr7rJicbM-t9PfmCG9fsWEPU6VhYdguGvntL9Z-aUH3aw_7OtCV_WygOzo5W9Lmq0H8CUz4tGMjv6lu-lAH6/s400/PosterDraft2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465671709565968082" border="0" /></a>I quite like this design, but since I shoved it together the honeycomb is a bit offset - obviously I will make a tidier version if I don't change my mind. I'm happy with the colour scheme and general layout since both the low and high detail models are present; the poster also reflects the technical nature of my investigation.<br /><br />1/5/10 - Progress and submission checklist.<br /><br />Dissertation: completed draft, needs to be checked but is passable for a 1st draft submission.<br />Videos: complete, but with room for more to be added if necessary.<br />Poster: draft design passable, but a final needs to be made.<br />Business cards: not yet designed.<br />Report, artist's statement and promo synopsis: not started.<br />Promotional DVD: cannot be started until previous works are complete and approved.<br /><br />My aim for next week is to further refine the project work and dissertation, design business cards and write the artist statement and promotional synopsis.<br /><br />2/5/10 - On the train journey back I wrote up the Artist's Statement and Promotional Synopsis for the Professional Practice module; I am not sure how long each one would be, but reckoned I should at least write something and ask about it later.<br /></div></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-81191332979639115572010-04-19T13:08:00.000-07:002010-04-25T11:55:32.196-07:00Week 14<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5VxmSdIUFbY2eWzXi8O2f0Vt_goV5Hg7CyS1kloUzhcJLOEzUatW8z-C8LdHuchQSegurikumFisiEIa9bCNZbtngLoBh3UFj8qGu_fXtzbCoCy731EN4I149myX1SM1x5YhFpc7N5tSl/s1600/Level1Draft2-1A.jpg"><br /></a>19/4/10 - I spent most of the day refining the dissertation; I went right back to the start and proceeded to re-read, correct things here and there and add references and images. This 'second draft' should hopefully be finished by the end of the week, when I will start to look things over again. This evening I met with my group and we looked over people's submissions for the publicity showreel.<br /><br />I also completed the Bea model, although she needs some tidying up:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGm9ZEqCmOnD8Qnv4qRoIJZHKCZj_qPd3TamkO16spBm0RUlkUTu9u-dbDZSZGbdHUcrwTNEP7Ey-yZVdXQYdohJQ8GLUgqUIJRF6XNGTRmuLaIrEy8Hjx6A5uhRTgnHYRWndsmWSybZ-c/s1600/BeaMid.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 153px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGm9ZEqCmOnD8Qnv4qRoIJZHKCZj_qPd3TamkO16spBm0RUlkUTu9u-dbDZSZGbdHUcrwTNEP7Ey-yZVdXQYdohJQ8GLUgqUIJRF6XNGTRmuLaIrEy8Hjx6A5uhRTgnHYRWndsmWSybZ-c/s400/BeaMid.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461965443895563794" border="0" /></a><br />20/4/10 - Continued to refine draft 2 of the dissertation, and also UV unwrapped and smoothed the Bea model.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_duBTf5xAD2XkuzpsjbaP-Wu9u0GvHhFtu4RRRMr7ksg6_ku09h7Jk7FAaJZ6p9Nv-wQrVoo9WsTWLNXJpzBNBsCPJV94PCsyW19Xyhf6d19xdTJZlIOj-EGMRsFBvrNadVplOxHrvfc/s1600/BeaHigh1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_duBTf5xAD2XkuzpsjbaP-Wu9u0GvHhFtu4RRRMr7ksg6_ku09h7Jk7FAaJZ6p9Nv-wQrVoo9WsTWLNXJpzBNBsCPJV94PCsyW19Xyhf6d19xdTJZlIOj-EGMRsFBvrNadVplOxHrvfc/s400/BeaHigh1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462240399517189010" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdRdK0KnAM9LK4ek37Rh7zZbnnuDiaRSxH2qMGPrgSndctvLJVXFqZCM_6tBGyKip25enE38o5n2WX9knLrtVeM_ZhiIU57YjK1bjgm8ClVooZSi9Q89rXBBAf7E4iMENk87NhFjOBz7n/s1600/BeaHigh2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdRdK0KnAM9LK4ek37Rh7zZbnnuDiaRSxH2qMGPrgSndctvLJVXFqZCM_6tBGyKip25enE38o5n2WX9knLrtVeM_ZhiIU57YjK1bjgm8ClVooZSi9Q89rXBBAf7E4iMENk87NhFjOBz7n/s400/BeaHigh2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462240411498374002" border="0" /></a><br />This is a very basic texture map which I will add some shading to later; the colour scheme may change slightly so I will wait and see what Abi says. There are still a few things I'm unhappy with, like the part where her head joins the collar and the texture on the wings; but mostly I am pleased with how she's turned out - very cute!<br /><br />I also created another icon in Illustrator; I decided to post a large image of the rest as well since they were not that clear from the screenshot. Learning Illustrator is a slow process, but it is fun. I need more practice.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdvyn9QRo_ePwDTx8m3t5eOQdI0k1rCS2d4BuovKN63lhou_sPGPQ8mywaeGsKzN9MLUEXYtHKFcN-wCxEKSouwQ3jK1NjZ6yPQ3TWFpUh7Ev2LjVnwUCnUO3M7ohaNyV26Wwqe1D3qST/s1600/HUD+items.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdvyn9QRo_ePwDTx8m3t5eOQdI0k1rCS2d4BuovKN63lhou_sPGPQ8mywaeGsKzN9MLUEXYtHKFcN-wCxEKSouwQ3jK1NjZ6yPQ3TWFpUh7Ev2LjVnwUCnUO3M7ohaNyV26Wwqe1D3qST/s400/HUD+items.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462332826328505170" border="0" /></a><br />21/4/10 - Following today's supervisor meeting I have been refining the Bea model; I also added a skeleton but since it is not much of a visual progression there is not much point posting an image. After receiving some constructive criticism on the HUD design and mock-up level, I am working on new ideas for those.<br /><br />22/4/10 - I have re-done the first level based closely on Abi's storyboard - the biggest issue with the original was the matter of scale - and have taken a screenshot to test out a new idea for the HUD layout (see below):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Sogpax2oA_nk0fo9H6Wt4Zs-D1TxTTkK_B0lUcwoD5yk0E6SsmijPIn24CFQ-aqjNe-RUCVDIErY_PgNjEQtIRNgMteUIqXLKU-h2LPXLM76Ac9SrJMlYYt3QElVt0cdM3-VCfF6n_fz/s1600/HUD+idea2-1.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Sogpax2oA_nk0fo9H6Wt4Zs-D1TxTTkK_B0lUcwoD5yk0E6SsmijPIn24CFQ-aqjNe-RUCVDIErY_PgNjEQtIRNgMteUIqXLKU-h2LPXLM76Ac9SrJMlYYt3QElVt0cdM3-VCfF6n_fz/s400/HUD+idea2-1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462931797664811218" border="0" /></a>The main criticism of the original HUD was concerning the analogue wheels at the bottom - they did not fit in well with the aesthetic of the game and looked very much like they had just been stuck on (which they had). We discussed ideas such as the wheels looking like flowers, a different colour scheme and to have some sort of horizontal flow along the bottom; so I have attempted all of these things! The pink and blue match Bea's colours and the leaves provide a nice border along the bottom of the screen.<br /><br />The flowers are very large so I set their opacity to 50%; the bees will still be visible behind them. The centres of the flowers could act as 'sticks', so that when pushed they would move (like a top-down view of an actual thumbstick). Lots of iPhone games do this, and perhaps with the centres at full opacity it will be clear that those parts of the HUD are interactive - but I'm really not sure. This idea needs to be run past the team before I make clean versions of the flowers.<br /><br />I skinned and posed the Bea model, made some adjustments and fleshed out the texture a little. Unless any more refinements need to be made, her model is finished so I will design a plinth for her in the meantime. The pose is based on Abi's concept painting, minus the gigantic happy smile since that would mean changing the face! Bea still looks very happy, which is the main thing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPVy2junxUETqOmet1kPNqn9w1ujzeyoCBV-RX4qiZ5rJEeijU_oW-NsBLL_uqar7xpwQCc1h09il6FwZ_XNbUFiGvmfVBa25BfAmky9rg9SEl-8ERvGHL77DqyaEpzQtif3EQFTVSu72/s1600/Bea+posed.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPVy2junxUETqOmet1kPNqn9w1ujzeyoCBV-RX4qiZ5rJEeijU_oW-NsBLL_uqar7xpwQCc1h09il6FwZ_XNbUFiGvmfVBa25BfAmky9rg9SEl-8ERvGHL77DqyaEpzQtif3EQFTVSu72/s400/Bea+posed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463034584833921986" border="0" /></a><br />Another update!! I designed a plinth for Bea (obviously a flower was the perfect choice) and rendered a scene with all the fancy lights. I will hold off from rendering turnaround until I get some feedback on the model, since changes might have to be made.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgZ-QbVsByFshmM5UYIr8tgKPZICyb7fnu90lDZLe92PulJC-AWnyo5oq_eEoLXXU6V8H2LpVn80qtnKGUMWY-sTWMcIPYtiSGKWDlq0X8UjShK1bOSJkKoYonU99FJiuRYzoGDPChRvl/s1600/BeaFront.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgZ-QbVsByFshmM5UYIr8tgKPZICyb7fnu90lDZLe92PulJC-AWnyo5oq_eEoLXXU6V8H2LpVn80qtnKGUMWY-sTWMcIPYtiSGKWDlq0X8UjShK1bOSJkKoYonU99FJiuRYzoGDPChRvl/s400/BeaFront.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463044057810325634" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27Sf6Wx3wEnAorHAq2Z1Sva1bqyNOS-Qn8ElG3llk8Io7IFvbQv5mMT4ESgTg2bIMQDqTIFMB6tK4YE3M_F9eCrlkIGj9SsyskEpfb4upOwq7NHqWrX63gM3ROQtfgQVzxmxbceWjmoAr/s1600/BeaBack.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27Sf6Wx3wEnAorHAq2Z1Sva1bqyNOS-Qn8ElG3llk8Io7IFvbQv5mMT4ESgTg2bIMQDqTIFMB6tK4YE3M_F9eCrlkIGj9SsyskEpfb4upOwq7NHqWrX63gM3ROQtfgQVzxmxbceWjmoAr/s400/BeaBack.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463044053927996402" border="0" /></a><br />23/4/10 - Today was development day, so I spent some time re-exporting assets and creating new ones for the game - just small things like rocks. I also had time to place the characters in the new level layout, and I will render a video overnight. I created the new analogue wheels in Illustrator and conjured up an iPhone demo screen, complete with HUD.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvLsPZaxRxhXUOgMODyto8ImamvGOUw_ZMi3M310ZxBXFjU8nJflbOxpeIyau-sCwzGBZdAcYvEO08A3cQ_R80LAyUpdY2LuywoIjDsBnzZzYxN36Q2IlRLNLN1hO_Y1m_ClUOJ5NiEug/s1600/HUDscreenA.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 383px; height: 208px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvLsPZaxRxhXUOgMODyto8ImamvGOUw_ZMi3M310ZxBXFjU8nJflbOxpeIyau-sCwzGBZdAcYvEO08A3cQ_R80LAyUpdY2LuywoIjDsBnzZzYxN36Q2IlRLNLN1hO_Y1m_ClUOJ5NiEug/s400/HUDscreenA.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463414878820862306" border="0" /></a>I think these flowers could perhaps be quite visually confusing, although it might look better once the images are moving and the flowers are still? I can create an overlay for the level video tomorrow and test things out. The screenshot is not terribly indicative.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPQRAXIGQAg3twTYec5s-EtJ705taKoYO_lB2d7N2TmC4ygzbTXir2Rq8YDlyOX08vgT6CNA1dujvmLMQTcZ060AKKaiJcp52ygMf2OPs2JqHEgSElm-Htp28UJ0VnbsuH7MQXfx0IA3f/s1600/HUDscreenB.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 383px; height: 208px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPQRAXIGQAg3twTYec5s-EtJ705taKoYO_lB2d7N2TmC4ygzbTXir2Rq8YDlyOX08vgT6CNA1dujvmLMQTcZ060AKKaiJcp52ygMf2OPs2JqHEgSElm-Htp28UJ0VnbsuH7MQXfx0IA3f/s400/HUDscreenB.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463420631319126322" border="0" /></a>Small change: the leaves are opaque but the flowers transparent. Not sure if this is better, worse, or just different without addressing anything. I used a different scene as well, one that is busier. Once again I feel that a video is the best idea since we will see the whole level in motion.<br /><br />24/4/10 - Level video with HUD overlay.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx9JQL0W_7Wi3TlEiAb64OQRtxNxX7LZJDn_cQvv3H6z6KijwDQD7rhgFgOEyGMnhOaxXbwsEfFhdadXJMQhg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I took the level layout and replaced all the 3D characters with 2D rendered images; I will render the video at some point to see how it looks in motion. Below is a still capture.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5VxmSdIUFbY2eWzXi8O2f0Vt_goV5Hg7CyS1kloUzhcJLOEzUatW8z-C8LdHuchQSegurikumFisiEIa9bCNZbtngLoBh3UFj8qGu_fXtzbCoCy731EN4I149myX1SM1x5YhFpc7N5tSl/s1600/Level1Draft2-1A.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5VxmSdIUFbY2eWzXi8O2f0Vt_goV5Hg7CyS1kloUzhcJLOEzUatW8z-C8LdHuchQSegurikumFisiEIa9bCNZbtngLoBh3UFj8qGu_fXtzbCoCy731EN4I149myX1SM1x5YhFpc7N5tSl/s400/Level1Draft2-1A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463764960829612370" border="0" /></a>The bees look really nice here, but the ant looks rather flat; it's not helped by the alpha blending which has given him a lovely white outline. I think this is something that we would have had to deal with in the game as well, but hopefully it is less noticeable in motion.<br /><br />25/4/10 - I wrote up a definitive list of deadlines and tasks so that I can plan my work in these last few weeks. The deadlines are as follows:<br /><br />10th May - draft dissertation<br />14th May - Professional Practice submission<br />17th May - Honours project submission<br />18th May - end of year presentation<br />21st May - final dissertation<br />21st May - launch of Degree show<br /><br />The closest deadline is for the draft disseration; at the moment I have it all written up and have checked it once over but I need to write the bibliography, which will be something to focus on next week.<br /><br />The Professional Practice submission consists of the work we will submit for the show - in my case it will be 3 videos, up to 5 images and a poster - as well as a press pack including business cards, artist's statement and promotional synopsis, 1000 word report and relevant promotional material (such as a DVD in an appropriately labelled case). This is by far the most extra work to submit, since I have not been in a position to do any of the written work yet and have not designed business cards or a poster.<br /><br />The Honours project submission will probably consist of the work I submit for the degree show along with the weekly diaries, learning contracts and a link to this blog. My project submission videos are nearing completion: one video will be the character collection (complete but needs approval), another will be the level fly-throughs with low poly and rendered characters alternately (90% complete, needs approval) and the last will be a collection of tech demos and gameplay videos (need to be collected from the programmers).<br /><br />These are the main things I am working towards right now - polishing off the material for the videos, refining the dissertation and starting to plan the press pack content.<br /><br />I now have drafts for two of the three videos which I plan to submit: the character showcase and the level mock-up comparisons.<br /><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw1X4bzfL3JU5plY4JBsVus-hSJiawyOa2NNzyUWlalqlI5BAcsOASDiRps6yOfkdFQjazFCFOpdM4KmW7Yxw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwXu34vTSR7_-Rc_RDnyZYucNhkP9X49SeuX5DVBuUNvoggGnrvWS5hofe_wNBO86Cf8wfgdCyVb5i7pGQf' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><br />Since the video layouts have all been set up, it will be easy to tweak and replace content (eg. re-posing a character, changing the HUD, adjusting the level). I expect that some changes will be made yet, but it's good having something to act as a progress piece in the meantime.<br /></div></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-8187264663382378642010-04-16T08:16:00.001-07:002010-04-18T14:09:16.464-07:00Week 13<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiia3kljjEteSzNWeUv3JM8sscWgW_Wo-htVw4sqGWSrmsel2Sr65lEY87-vezL6RXIuMBPJLpRvV-H1HxqH1sg-CtwVIcb-YMiREM1jeVsFTR0Fgc9ItqQ8tmuDMdtYv8qGevwEhlbwYmz/s1600/Clean+HUD.jpg"><br /></a>16/4/10 - This week's post is quite late, seeing as progress did not start until today. I managed to animate the low poly model for Bea, and tested her and the other bees (which I had to re-rig for UV mapping reasons) in Unity. I also animated Harry the jet-plane ant; I'm hoping to render each of the low poly character animations and show them alongside the static turnarounds of the high poly versions for my showreel submission.<br /><br />17/4/10 - I made some videos! Rendering takes a long time.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dysCKXoOE0n-Nv-7wah535XKORTcO63YKJM1QWCePHUhfKh08crhpfMczIWztZAsLEZizgbIZ6pIRqNC4qM' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Quick collection video of everybody's idle animation.</span><br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxUdKbHXQHMRzYrmNfnYQ3fx_2ViqGn-tvgFNIFf_9RTREi92IoAXAn0Sxu809v5WZ0Jx9FDzTuKHuodI2x' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A fly-through of the level without any characters.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span>Having created these videos, I have thought a little more about what will be in each of the final submission film clips. At the moment I am aiming for one video of low poly characters, one video of high poly characters, one video which shows fly-throughs of the level comparing low and high poly characters</span></span></span> (either side by side or one after the other) and another which shows a compilation of tech demoes. Of course, this is subject to change as some clips could perhaps be strung together or played simultaneously.<br /><br />I will be submitting my high-poly character turnarounds and perhaps the level fly-through for the first showreel submission.<br /><br />Today I also decided to sketch out an example HUD for the game, based on other iPhone games such as <span style="font-style: italic;">Assassin's Creed</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Inkvaders</span>,<span style="font-style: italic;"> iDracula</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Castle of Magic</span>. Below is a lovely sketchy depiction of a possible layout, and the images I used as examples.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvtPFATiyGQdQys8tI3a3xpYLqJNPr2CZsV18pCG0SDjX4hZYE6SW5WClAxc-Z3NshUfQXh8cxj90QfpqZ_DHHNUT6uSpWcn6DYW-p3Vy9riVp2ka4i2ha0trNwhoyOGqMOoOJr8NSE24/s1600/Interface+examples.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvtPFATiyGQdQys8tI3a3xpYLqJNPr2CZsV18pCG0SDjX4hZYE6SW5WClAxc-Z3NshUfQXh8cxj90QfpqZ_DHHNUT6uSpWcn6DYW-p3Vy9riVp2ka4i2ha0trNwhoyOGqMOoOJr8NSE24/s400/Interface+examples.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461160195213257330" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi87kS9VNG3RSOCHoBmU4JJ4fYJkq7T7IauRIt5UT9Enp9IXvMgrYSHvuX8tYnN1wNoVmXGFX4w5FRNqyb7tizK03NAFIA2f1SoBF9N2s5NRMiPrwCgWn6CYWpMFE7oG-yLi4U0Y5a7wIr/s1600/Interface1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi87kS9VNG3RSOCHoBmU4JJ4fYJkq7T7IauRIt5UT9Enp9IXvMgrYSHvuX8tYnN1wNoVmXGFX4w5FRNqyb7tizK03NAFIA2f1SoBF9N2s5NRMiPrwCgWn6CYWpMFE7oG-yLi4U0Y5a7wIr/s400/Interface1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461158236735990594" border="0" /></a>I am pretty sure we'd be using dual analogue controls for moving and shooting; I will run this design past Abi for any suggestions as to colour scheme, shapes etc. but I think this looks okay. It's the first time I've tried interface/HUD design and it was very exciting! I am keen to use Illustrator for the final graphics, which should be fun :)<br /><br />18/4/10 - Here is the first level demo video, complete with moving bees and enemies:<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzx1jcX77U4yAaif3eCdSVVJeoh8RgOzsNIya1OyyWO-q7hsHj1eegWwn-LEradm9reSwGAK9-okw-_2nSj' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I can take this video, put an HUD on as an overlay and publish it as the example of low poly characters. Once the high model of Bea is finished I will render a second video of the same level, replacing the models with renders.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwFvFKghy7qsQpnUGhM9J-NvI9EpvV0qZUPsfDzMzlSJ0tPWp7mfhCgbTKeIT-rbuz2LO6tfGraBcrE-Hwn1g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">This is a mini version of the video I will be submitting tomorrow for the short showreel. I sped up the flapping of the bees' wings on request from Abi; also note that Bea is not present in this video since her high poly version is not yet finished.<br /><br />This evening I spent a little time in Illustrator creating HUD items. They're not all done yet; the more complex shapes might cause me some difficulty. Here's a little screenshot demo:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiia3kljjEteSzNWeUv3JM8sscWgW_Wo-htVw4sqGWSrmsel2Sr65lEY87-vezL6RXIuMBPJLpRvV-H1HxqH1sg-CtwVIcb-YMiREM1jeVsFTR0Fgc9ItqQ8tmuDMdtYv8qGevwEhlbwYmz/s1600/Clean+HUD.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiia3kljjEteSzNWeUv3JM8sscWgW_Wo-htVw4sqGWSrmsel2Sr65lEY87-vezL6RXIuMBPJLpRvV-H1HxqH1sg-CtwVIcb-YMiREM1jeVsFTR0Fgc9ItqQ8tmuDMdtYv8qGevwEhlbwYmz/s400/Clean+HUD.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461587259446283522" border="0" /></a>Yay, clean shapes! :) </div></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-79860196787143947052010-04-05T08:23:00.000-07:002010-04-16T03:15:29.483-07:00Week 12<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCqFXOVltWELxrL2qymI8UGtX8Vrm65fMPIZlx1QgI9nD-y8PH0f217ZhQKt7rfHEWd-gjBJZRyrk2uS7n6yJELdkNTgEfCKHXqh9wQ7YR92XT9O_PK5YUKmFdhpRdPOAgl_HuXmvw_bx/s1600/BeaProgress1.jpg"><br /></a>5/4/10 - I completed chapter 5 of the dissertation draft; now I just have the conclusion left before going back over the entire thing and starting the long tidy-up process. I also rendered the last two characters on their plinths. Below is a montage video which I threw together in Movie Maker - low quality win! Of course once I have the final character I'll make a slick sexy video with all the bells and whistles.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw8PxS-6ja9b80BR2ky7hfmZV8huHZcTLlLgHdEhq_otQImv4KgB2-LAUTnHtcUukdswvEc5kATR-88rafkTw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />6/4/10 - Today Abi and I met to discuss creating assets for the first two levels of the game; she agreed to take on everything in the tutorial and a few items in the first level. I have the rest of the assets for the first level. They are all static, and some will go in the game as low-poly models whilst others will be seen as renders. At the moment it is not important that they be textured.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNyRpnARIy0WXmXgw6gen9mqNo9BI_CytxAnWlovpUIR3Y0ERGIPjOz_Few63RyWTI5y5dnjvzLblMYDf1Q-c-4P23FEv_ADtLTx0BFON1SDZUqte79pX6W7st_VignwEdpjfvOoeo9ON/s1600/Flowers1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 169px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNyRpnARIy0WXmXgw6gen9mqNo9BI_CytxAnWlovpUIR3Y0ERGIPjOz_Few63RyWTI5y5dnjvzLblMYDf1Q-c-4P23FEv_ADtLTx0BFON1SDZUqte79pX6W7st_VignwEdpjfvOoeo9ON/s400/Flowers1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457130833067387090" border="0" /></a>Left: chopped grass stump (to be rendered).<br />Middle: lilypad (to go in-game).<br />Right: flower (to go in-game).<br /><br />7/4/10 - Most of the day was taken up with the degree show meeting, where we discussed progress as usual. I had some time to do more assets for the level as well.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNF6XLfq2YMwSGf5rJmLiwlKfggP5V7Hl5Y9Uhlfly3QYkVq3BiYqsfYEQVLL8b15SDePYz-tSUiNmCmMuU0SxXcb9VfqLbFYtAulMOMLbCcdAzkMwIQ_Xuu3cbvHOya1I4xwp4GCzNm0x/s1600/LeavesandVine.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNF6XLfq2YMwSGf5rJmLiwlKfggP5V7Hl5Y9Uhlfly3QYkVq3BiYqsfYEQVLL8b15SDePYz-tSUiNmCmMuU0SxXcb9VfqLbFYtAulMOMLbCcdAzkMwIQ_Xuu3cbvHOya1I4xwp4GCzNm0x/s400/LeavesandVine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457484458775658402" border="0" /></a>These leaves will be placed at assorted points in the level as renders. The vines will also be rendered and serve as climbing poles for enemies.<br /><br />8/4/10 - I created the last two items on my asset list, the checkpoint tent and the pansies.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix1TI7koJZyoQIPO5-X6h4z-0B7-CxSSjVsVo2QFJ7SGA6sA3itWqYjnFzHqlwPhmgthBpMo8onbKhC2A5dAMDe6BlRElOeFsFEkgn55PBQoZWNsVGDUN_JC9xeXKJB-D8LDmOGmrnn3tv/s1600/Tent.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix1TI7koJZyoQIPO5-X6h4z-0B7-CxSSjVsVo2QFJ7SGA6sA3itWqYjnFzHqlwPhmgthBpMo8onbKhC2A5dAMDe6BlRElOeFsFEkgn55PBQoZWNsVGDUN_JC9xeXKJB-D8LDmOGmrnn3tv/s400/Tent.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457832165519291538" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CdVntVFreEKa7E1hc9W9XcZTRaPwrFMlNW4QAMmZOcXvGgOK4f0dhTJeAK-vR2VpCAAiUAPoElWAHDmrK3SgYiU9zoubYDHQdxYZOCTGS2lxss-QQuGQs4NlnqIYOwl-7bW6lori412Z/s1600/Pansies.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 387px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CdVntVFreEKa7E1hc9W9XcZTRaPwrFMlNW4QAMmZOcXvGgOK4f0dhTJeAK-vR2VpCAAiUAPoElWAHDmrK3SgYiU9zoubYDHQdxYZOCTGS2lxss-QQuGQs4NlnqIYOwl-7bW6lori412Z/s400/Pansies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457832174724253842" border="0" /></a>The tent will be an actual model in the game, whereas the pansies will be rendered in the background. Over the course of the evening I managed to UV unwrap and assign very basic textures to each of the level items, before creating the bare bones of a level mesh (which will be edited accordingly tomorrow).<br /><br />9/4/10 - We started building the level in Unity today, and I created a low poly version of the lead bee based on Abi's concepts. We didn't get very far with level creation, so I set up my own mock-up in 3DS Max. The rendered items are not in yet, since I was unable to get clean transparency today; I plan to fill things in a bit tomorrow.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtMlt98vwpT74sMx-qaNfFM43jL4K13R1J9STQyPpT0teEKbseGGU82BwqnlstssORfJXL2LkG9X84zouotXOTpVDF0Pe9KiKwjZ_a-KHxSs9XxZQrhq8_csGES_STF3X-Ykm4iSFiU48/s1600/Bea.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtMlt98vwpT74sMx-qaNfFM43jL4K13R1J9STQyPpT0teEKbseGGU82BwqnlstssORfJXL2LkG9X84zouotXOTpVDF0Pe9KiKwjZ_a-KHxSs9XxZQrhq8_csGES_STF3X-Ykm4iSFiU48/s400/Bea.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458270975317462386" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Low poly Bea (WIP name but I love it!) with a very basic colour texture applied.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtRMgQuNPCLcf1MqCSLzNH1ATM6JncEtEpbpuKYV30o_ayKdmPHF8N2gJNOj9bnQkZIxyHXnyfNw332gpQtFiwlxO9DE9yCHLdHs_OgzR2RvvDhr-0ccKBcPqS17Nh_OL12Qf3E8FU4eA/s1600/Level1Full.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 63px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtRMgQuNPCLcf1MqCSLzNH1ATM6JncEtEpbpuKYV30o_ayKdmPHF8N2gJNOj9bnQkZIxyHXnyfNw332gpQtFiwlxO9DE9yCHLdHs_OgzR2RvvDhr-0ccKBcPqS17Nh_OL12Qf3E8FU4eA/s400/Level1Full.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458270953503322418" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">The full mock-up of level 1-1. There is still a lot of scenery to be added but the low poly 3D models which will feature in the level are all there.</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCPq3pb3N7zq6HHrHkQMVX_93EGZLdM8oFaM42B9fG0nQL8BvnQ6EKsw0r_BEWATcXKyZAZbmVlXu5PLLtkH1SfWy3ruF9sFKmUzjKBwqf94lNVWWkIQF2x0du_FVRMpjoo9KgHM1I7tSD/s1600/Level1A.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCPq3pb3N7zq6HHrHkQMVX_93EGZLdM8oFaM42B9fG0nQL8BvnQ6EKsw0r_BEWATcXKyZAZbmVlXu5PLLtkH1SfWy3ruF9sFKmUzjKBwqf94lNVWWkIQF2x0du_FVRMpjoo9KgHM1I7tSD/s400/Level1A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458270959018199522" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDuLx0cGMr2T94kxoLEKPJixefpKWrIDdLyJoLa80Hj2HPPpXanknUAgZaBnJPLwmG7OlZBb-74cVUjzu2Gr9vV1d9NhmBJktRpPiJb1uUlZktCygmWvb8Q8HVsezYs_QAQTzKsVYdm76/s1600/Level1B.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDuLx0cGMr2T94kxoLEKPJixefpKWrIDdLyJoLa80Hj2HPPpXanknUAgZaBnJPLwmG7OlZBb-74cVUjzu2Gr9vV1d9NhmBJktRpPiJb1uUlZktCygmWvb8Q8HVsezYs_QAQTzKsVYdm76/s400/Level1B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458270967168204642" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHeksg8JoWxDM-9gduZ04RPxSatJNsc5NaiZKVrvjtx91DnDxKuhOO9XZUgoe8nRbyEBX6Y-BEHsphN9nyT5l8fAkUxRa8rZ-jsQbrCawgfrji_Rpy4zGWwmFaA60M0NwrSYcsCy81t1h/s1600/Level1C.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHeksg8JoWxDM-9gduZ04RPxSatJNsc5NaiZKVrvjtx91DnDxKuhOO9XZUgoe8nRbyEBX6Y-BEHsphN9nyT5l8fAkUxRa8rZ-jsQbrCawgfrji_Rpy4zGWwmFaA60M0NwrSYcsCy81t1h/s400/Level1C.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458270972478559746" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Zoomed in shots at various points in the level indicate how the game will look when being played. There are probably some scale issues at this early stage.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">10/4/10 - I added some scenery to the level, which has ended up becoming quite a bit longer as I expected. Now all I have to do is add enemies in at the points specified on Abi's storyboard, and take comparison screenshots with the mixture of real 3D cgaracters and rendered characters. The screenshots below show the sequencing of the level.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvIpv7rEzPW51Qtr8-COsp3-S_b_-DBAfi6zMam3GSc9SvbFVyhq0QKOnpdPlMUqww8S5VCpStfft1ZJuOsTaFdS_s_jds9svHBGCWJL5pKhMRXnsAGLiLuTutTS-qOw03v4omkntjaf9/s1600/Level1-1A.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvIpv7rEzPW51Qtr8-COsp3-S_b_-DBAfi6zMam3GSc9SvbFVyhq0QKOnpdPlMUqww8S5VCpStfft1ZJuOsTaFdS_s_jds9svHBGCWJL5pKhMRXnsAGLiLuTutTS-qOw03v4omkntjaf9/s400/Level1-1A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458520588625886690" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnszVv5zp2qkGnNa9M27If97dHu9Wr2WmuWYctBRBUCtlHVZzl8GzyovZIJ5Auj5lUj6utzrTMLe9ewqVuvjlw7C0bQDZKJ9vrnKKWCqxx29nZvkgbkZXngjM1lYosvNTbPjNL3B0QkrNq/s1600/Level1-1B.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnszVv5zp2qkGnNa9M27If97dHu9Wr2WmuWYctBRBUCtlHVZzl8GzyovZIJ5Auj5lUj6utzrTMLe9ewqVuvjlw7C0bQDZKJ9vrnKKWCqxx29nZvkgbkZXngjM1lYosvNTbPjNL3B0QkrNq/s400/Level1-1B.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458520596308577298" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5zsji3e1Acigj5CJwnqcX8m-63-H02fvK4Kb_Id8poplTYx8uDsPvTn8nq_bUR7tcsNqVRx0ZnH6NOlE8iwKW3SGuzzCvh4qrOJ9FO-yKtipWHLYKXcMlLY2gBGlGnt1wcyFNgidkE1L/s1600/Level1-1C.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5zsji3e1Acigj5CJwnqcX8m-63-H02fvK4Kb_Id8poplTYx8uDsPvTn8nq_bUR7tcsNqVRx0ZnH6NOlE8iwKW3SGuzzCvh4qrOJ9FO-yKtipWHLYKXcMlLY2gBGlGnt1wcyFNgidkE1L/s400/Level1-1C.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458520601255773218" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vE8NgWYIGZ_phNlDe5SZOFuqab4qfcZZSKjubM4XskdX1MnMMi7L_Zbv9epUqA5MF7Ke1YaRDbrVKluC_cYCr32NSrNivlD3qsDBm2oTGJZyju4g830_f41LZ1qAcqme6DqoZ-q03lkQ/s1600/Level1-1D.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vE8NgWYIGZ_phNlDe5SZOFuqab4qfcZZSKjubM4XskdX1MnMMi7L_Zbv9epUqA5MF7Ke1YaRDbrVKluC_cYCr32NSrNivlD3qsDBm2oTGJZyju4g830_f41LZ1qAcqme6DqoZ-q03lkQ/s400/Level1-1D.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458520597274655634" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pzu-tB8Qiap4KKMlEDI0J0ICBZu-RxxNljYRdLcKl1-x8KUhU2T8R2TiM1iG2OLc3psv5NZrmvy9kFvQu0-yuBNqyzn9WBIjfA0G80yGfAmvBV4u36MkzEjhc0WFI5dk94TcWb1kmrOr/s1600/Level1-1E.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pzu-tB8Qiap4KKMlEDI0J0ICBZu-RxxNljYRdLcKl1-x8KUhU2T8R2TiM1iG2OLc3psv5NZrmvy9kFvQu0-yuBNqyzn9WBIjfA0G80yGfAmvBV4u36MkzEjhc0WFI5dk94TcWb1kmrOr/s400/Level1-1E.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458520607766385874" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQuG5T-rL-JOVzhD7YQvOrUpXr8af3KIOUiqDwggetq69-QAT-9ND83_IkOfyRSzDqBRflb9IaGSfdQ-g52DqDBT8nWi3_yY8QUM4yq9uNQ9DZPkS3tke8u2Lgx8WgOTwEZqOJQByKfpHE/s1600/Level1-1F.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQuG5T-rL-JOVzhD7YQvOrUpXr8af3KIOUiqDwggetq69-QAT-9ND83_IkOfyRSzDqBRflb9IaGSfdQ-g52DqDBT8nWi3_yY8QUM4yq9uNQ9DZPkS3tke8u2Lgx8WgOTwEZqOJQByKfpHE/s400/Level1-1F.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458522047025654594" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWAlpMFahk-XOkKIunEDTGKBtIWMlx-352AlQAJRE16WFI-l42Py55UvmaVNxpA0cq4p9TedT4YTAuBN8qEbQ4-MiHIgFkdiONdILsuvTx6NI2BUxbZitf-37t2Ck8qe86x7vMg6VzHBM/s1600/Level1-1G.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWAlpMFahk-XOkKIunEDTGKBtIWMlx-352AlQAJRE16WFI-l42Py55UvmaVNxpA0cq4p9TedT4YTAuBN8qEbQ4-MiHIgFkdiONdILsuvTx6NI2BUxbZitf-37t2Ck8qe86x7vMg6VzHBM/s400/Level1-1G.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458522050039815330" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMQTmjcZHwyIWnRnObxWHV7Vtw0cvbJK2gx2zwa0kPY3xOCW-iI8nutd-ou7imAeGw3QHSdi3ddm1B0Y9mJ-i6IBSro5le1b5emmB1tUymKPHDEDxsZY1IZ_uzlugbxIhGsqaJGI8mbeE/s1600/Level1-1H.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMQTmjcZHwyIWnRnObxWHV7Vtw0cvbJK2gx2zwa0kPY3xOCW-iI8nutd-ou7imAeGw3QHSdi3ddm1B0Y9mJ-i6IBSro5le1b5emmB1tUymKPHDEDxsZY1IZ_uzlugbxIhGsqaJGI8mbeE/s400/Level1-1H.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458522055459889954" border="0" /></a>I am pleased with how this is looking, aside from some annoying issues with transparency on the grass billboards. I'm not sure whether it would be a nicer idea to have some sort of fly-through video than just comparison stills...shall have to think on that one.<br /><br />I also rendered out each low poly character; with Bea complete and textured properly now, we have a full roster of low poly characters - rejoice!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0sArDco8oJEkVwWVivL4R_TGK1FmnEUE-K4IbW0YaYwMWG4MC5LyVQrYkOwyRLshZyk-Jt7U12pn36GyezP_-C0XTxVkZV7OSZIbPanpExyxdhYdlH_i2hexRacwJrenPmsyghtBoEC9I/s1600/Ant.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0sArDco8oJEkVwWVivL4R_TGK1FmnEUE-K4IbW0YaYwMWG4MC5LyVQrYkOwyRLshZyk-Jt7U12pn36GyezP_-C0XTxVkZV7OSZIbPanpExyxdhYdlH_i2hexRacwJrenPmsyghtBoEC9I/s400/Ant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458555852539273698" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQg2s-yTkkHo2pT6o4zxYK5CgQBG3vCxTW9ERTfKjbWMA4B_U_CPJ0je1pNGE6s74ShNanZaEZEK4xD1X_DSLPi2o2WrCpKB3i2HJOmZ7i0XvJPvIZJTPkgd98nq-kfrd9GZUGZEMuOrxC/s1600/Dark+Ant.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQg2s-yTkkHo2pT6o4zxYK5CgQBG3vCxTW9ERTfKjbWMA4B_U_CPJ0je1pNGE6s74ShNanZaEZEK4xD1X_DSLPi2o2WrCpKB3i2HJOmZ7i0XvJPvIZJTPkgd98nq-kfrd9GZUGZEMuOrxC/s400/Dark+Ant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458555870037119186" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27qY9oNXqduQu0YUTqzDLoHTTiIGR99GcFdQq0CEHmMOP66OahyCl51vySQ0GWyIhqQowjulMOGR7BkyvPtw8dPJP9Z0-xCoUUvrKDTCoi2-SrkYIKRrBHSY52Ruj3mteBWXRyd4XRHsE/s1600/Arms.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27qY9oNXqduQu0YUTqzDLoHTTiIGR99GcFdQq0CEHmMOP66OahyCl51vySQ0GWyIhqQowjulMOGR7BkyvPtw8dPJP9Z0-xCoUUvrKDTCoi2-SrkYIKRrBHSY52Ruj3mteBWXRyd4XRHsE/s400/Arms.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458555858027687810" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9ExP9uTZ79DXH1HuNOpoVx80_Uhs7A6XSKLXqxri81cHs8HI4XVN9yTvKQuUySw2sxkYeri4u9ZcRz4J1DhyL2X2rGPcYnKhA99j5C7lIvCnzH7t7gXSdmfoEvjnP7pniAeZuiZyGern/s1600/DarkArms.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9ExP9uTZ79DXH1HuNOpoVx80_Uhs7A6XSKLXqxri81cHs8HI4XVN9yTvKQuUySw2sxkYeri4u9ZcRz4J1DhyL2X2rGPcYnKhA99j5C7lIvCnzH7t7gXSdmfoEvjnP7pniAeZuiZyGern/s400/DarkArms.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458555872913535698" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNoXctw83xLWK8iiS8GXxTbbPHtf5hiTcp6Gb3IQdqkGwxiV0EDrb_Xw6gDYksqC7kT5EDZVMQFT4l6U__j-6KZdgPeHd3JBTqc87iSjkfkYrAzvwqNDmGE09HYzb17CGpa2UnrJLR2rw/s1600/Harry.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNoXctw83xLWK8iiS8GXxTbbPHtf5hiTcp6Gb3IQdqkGwxiV0EDrb_Xw6gDYksqC7kT5EDZVMQFT4l6U__j-6KZdgPeHd3JBTqc87iSjkfkYrAzvwqNDmGE09HYzb17CGpa2UnrJLR2rw/s400/Harry.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458556535392294354" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO5zvavm2VbbBxLvmrVieMhuOaY1nuDhsVAKAvMd5G6GofyvLvAVBrKwTheECUTv2APqd0huROW_K_3tTevEav8P6n91dTzeeQpsCiky9UvPcqoutGBL-bZoOsEt18EqnpFdh-lUsbnwlM/s1600/Bea.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO5zvavm2VbbBxLvmrVieMhuOaY1nuDhsVAKAvMd5G6GofyvLvAVBrKwTheECUTv2APqd0huROW_K_3tTevEav8P6n91dTzeeQpsCiky9UvPcqoutGBL-bZoOsEt18EqnpFdh-lUsbnwlM/s400/Bea.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458555861627263458" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoNc38Ef5Um64Oo6pSSgpm26lNZWGFcO9p0-mN8Y3lFaQrKMxrqWiHUWAkZ_pAGcRx1kuZHUxz_jDYD60TZ45YuwE9IacFpLigSb_bCMP4g2wHa8GGK3vag79QVKtiT0G-sSVpWZ6-UddC/s1600/Soldier.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoNc38Ef5Um64Oo6pSSgpm26lNZWGFcO9p0-mN8Y3lFaQrKMxrqWiHUWAkZ_pAGcRx1kuZHUxz_jDYD60TZ45YuwE9IacFpLigSb_bCMP4g2wHa8GGK3vag79QVKtiT0G-sSVpWZ6-UddC/s400/Soldier.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458558116591938722" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimpoAFtvzoVg0TMyPdBTMenPgFqNBAoysKyATR9wci38Tm4H_AgFZTB2pNSvwEhUnhCtIzketK0sHchFr1MmF48TkcALX9o3wrpwxg3ajY3N74EGD2HioJrfkAKpC7j_b3XA8Nm-3dlwXA/s1600/Soldier.jpg"><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstsAMN__IYkdCg6rpFSfhRU0ZSDwuajnqQZcamu-RaoeroLeXCJioZdTm3hdq0SfJYVEK_gPkL9Lrm1uA56rCTNUBf885BFtolYupESESRRKiv5t7VmRUxxF79TkQxz95rJM9e-73uIe7/s1600/Worker.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstsAMN__IYkdCg6rpFSfhRU0ZSDwuajnqQZcamu-RaoeroLeXCJioZdTm3hdq0SfJYVEK_gPkL9Lrm1uA56rCTNUBf885BFtolYupESESRRKiv5t7VmRUxxF79TkQxz95rJM9e-73uIe7/s400/Worker.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458556546172179826" border="0" /></a><br />11/4/10 - I wrote the conclusion of my dissertation draft - next week I will strive to re-read and tidy up what is there, and perhaps start adding references. I am not expecting to get much work done in the first half of the week however, since I will be away Monday through Thursday.<br /><br />Today I also made a start on the high poly model of Bea and rendered each completed high poly character to a plain, before arranging some of them in the mockup level; I also arranged some low poly ants in the level as noted on the storyboard, for the purpose of comparison.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCqFXOVltWELxrL2qymI8UGtX8Vrm65fMPIZlx1QgI9nD-y8PH0f217ZhQKt7rfHEWd-gjBJZRyrk2uS7n6yJELdkNTgEfCKHXqh9wQ7YR92XT9O_PK5YUKmFdhpRdPOAgl_HuXmvw_bx/s1600/BeaProgress1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 338px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCqFXOVltWELxrL2qymI8UGtX8Vrm65fMPIZlx1QgI9nD-y8PH0f217ZhQKt7rfHEWd-gjBJZRyrk2uS7n6yJELdkNTgEfCKHXqh9wQ7YR92XT9O_PK5YUKmFdhpRdPOAgl_HuXmvw_bx/s400/BeaProgress1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458983386063025186" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">The beginning of mid-poly Bea.<br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8EM3wZTuXxgPuysZtAuyI6bpaSHdflW2vvhn-33a6hOwlSnhEecpig0_Q1fJwqyDEvVU7kowAQN9r5b6i-TtIqGwtOlTdAYRFUC-rk6s366iijdzj4uhtTSSaXmfSFMRfsa6dbaPgHgxX/s1600/Low+Ants.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8EM3wZTuXxgPuysZtAuyI6bpaSHdflW2vvhn-33a6hOwlSnhEecpig0_Q1fJwqyDEvVU7kowAQN9r5b6i-TtIqGwtOlTdAYRFUC-rk6s366iijdzj4uhtTSSaXmfSFMRfsa6dbaPgHgxX/s400/Low+Ants.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458967614831837266" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Low poly ants in their enemy positions.</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90F3O8RDifaJ6ZbbvS9K1Lgvw0xXd5LaPEFNDD2a_-aqdwnqeslsnMSNcTxM-cdmTFCYHrYit_0KWk3Kfz8MwcqYzPVUGouhEMBPB4sQL4X0Irc52IooHZQYQQrn5PYm7S2BuArcsjr5b/s1600/Rendered+characters.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90F3O8RDifaJ6ZbbvS9K1Lgvw0xXd5LaPEFNDD2a_-aqdwnqeslsnMSNcTxM-cdmTFCYHrYit_0KWk3Kfz8MwcqYzPVUGouhEMBPB4sQL4X0Irc52IooHZQYQQrn5PYm7S2BuArcsjr5b/s400/Rendered+characters.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458967617825224690" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A collection of rendered characters just to show how they look.</span><br /></div><br />In a higher quality picture, these little rendered characters would probably look really nice. The low poly ants look nice too. I shall have to set up some proper comparison images shortly and put them side-by-side. I will probably have the characters in the exact same positions in each picture, so as to draw a better visual comparison between the two methods.<br /></div></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-35411913934370937892010-03-29T08:08:00.000-07:002010-04-05T07:59:43.405-07:00Week 11<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZYjXaxprtCk0RUW9Sy0ly_X4FOS1uq_YNFu_uprQUGJ8tELAFueCXqD66mbezmHGPIZlLtkiyBz3hk6jgG8glKXzvJngqOcqjRTjH32rDmmxmNkYfcYo7hgyMnel5eaUdTgPh8dDnpXk/s1600/Harry2.jpg"><br /></a>29/3/10 - I prepared the slides for a presentation which the Showreel group has to do this Wednesday; we have a meeting today to go over the slides together.<br /><br />I also started posing the characters for their turnarounds: I'm going to leave the skin painting until they have all been posed, so there are some deformations here and there. Any problems with the texture maps will be fixed too, of course. Below are some unshiny renders of the characters I have posed so far.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lzstR-ZvcU_Z6ptk4HXDxWPc6ut2SUCtV6F1ib1yWerLCiPAU39pia9oH-lsc6hoCtmO2EZQB2f8dxOG3wsTWlajrfXHO5b4US-FZA8A0sei4Sy8mal85Nx7euxVkLHuy3Lo2CCFyu1R/s1600/Harry+posed.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lzstR-ZvcU_Z6ptk4HXDxWPc6ut2SUCtV6F1ib1yWerLCiPAU39pia9oH-lsc6hoCtmO2EZQB2f8dxOG3wsTWlajrfXHO5b4US-FZA8A0sei4Sy8mal85Nx7euxVkLHuy3Lo2CCFyu1R/s400/Harry+posed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454076012854249026" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Harry is not quite finished yet, his hands grasping the switches need to be tidied up.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIWkjG4CWPvM4b52Cf_q08KQjFYifxaoOKMDbrXFiEzG2YjpzEmgr4WBf_lTQIW0O5V2iPXa8xEDih09pKko7TPvUFpTIYaThE2wAo2UfycByORWgzgqMqgAjAksVWDiap3jTjXRxmVBG/s1600/Arms+posed.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIWkjG4CWPvM4b52Cf_q08KQjFYifxaoOKMDbrXFiEzG2YjpzEmgr4WBf_lTQIW0O5V2iPXa8xEDih09pKko7TPvUFpTIYaThE2wAo2UfycByORWgzgqMqgAjAksVWDiap3jTjXRxmVBG/s400/Arms+posed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454075996894950274" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Arms could do with some skin painting on his, uh, arms! And fingers.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFP26QPTQbYoJC59rkBEhwjEfgOnx7V_5NazLpVnehXluxgxgo1KQURMvr7_YeehSS42Bd0HzrNAh7CesJ7i4VnVj5APvI4JCMsGivXtuq4okyLVYb0lmsdM5-SG2NVMGtCLg4SLQFd6Gm/s1600/DarkArms+pose.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFP26QPTQbYoJC59rkBEhwjEfgOnx7V_5NazLpVnehXluxgxgo1KQURMvr7_YeehSS42Bd0HzrNAh7CesJ7i4VnVj5APvI4JCMsGivXtuq4okyLVYb0lmsdM5-SG2NVMGtCLg4SLQFd6Gm/s400/DarkArms+pose.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454545603860070658" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Dark Arms may require some skin painting on his fingers too.</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbh325r7kxdC8MnxkMgnPpZjDtdCog1oDCFWRZOkRcBK3UpSLyrrw5on6UYuBUa_70dWqmltc3HrCeWJq4_y6w6OP5_uUi-zpqpRDwHz9ZgdQqiWNVgP0R-zvnUDRWysiFXLTnVqNJWlFU/s1600/Workerpose.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbh325r7kxdC8MnxkMgnPpZjDtdCog1oDCFWRZOkRcBK3UpSLyrrw5on6UYuBUa_70dWqmltc3HrCeWJq4_y6w6OP5_uUi-zpqpRDwHz9ZgdQqiWNVgP0R-zvnUDRWysiFXLTnVqNJWlFU/s400/Workerpose.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454545101789990978" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Worker needs his UV map fixed and some skin painting on the arms.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">30/3/10 - The Showreel group had another meeting, in which we finalised our slides for our presentation to Belinda tomorrow. I also repainted the texture for the Buzz the Soldier Bee so that it would fit in with the style of the other textures, and posed the remaining ants.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsIgrnK2AG5VDM2-a_F0CPIfaHcZr1c17OhvXoIKMnvJvp4QfLVHUpsFherFB53QigKDsknWS_fDchCITevIg_98dK2WCj1msBuY7xF0R0V_ikro5dLAItZCo2DEm207u4UFNDak19dZ1/s1600/Soldier+pose.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsIgrnK2AG5VDM2-a_F0CPIfaHcZr1c17OhvXoIKMnvJvp4QfLVHUpsFherFB53QigKDsknWS_fDchCITevIg_98dK2WCj1msBuY7xF0R0V_ikro5dLAItZCo2DEm207u4UFNDak19dZ1/s400/Soldier+pose.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454542726651852114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Buzz now has soft shading rather than the toon style. There are a couple of visible seams still.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddY2uejXd29ev6py6-yf4dsHzJThA4WfYh06ZKLN02pFIgazXxxZPi_7-xt8-_yrHHNoM6BVJv1qx2NRLVTJ7meTWy3fSpRaBFbgnAakqpEAwhC7D3WL_p39aLGEBlVmsNk_7Yr1fDU1R/s1600/Antposed.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddY2uejXd29ev6py6-yf4dsHzJThA4WfYh06ZKLN02pFIgazXxxZPi_7-xt8-_yrHHNoM6BVJv1qx2NRLVTJ7meTWy3fSpRaBFbgnAakqpEAwhC7D3WL_p39aLGEBlVmsNk_7Yr1fDU1R/s400/Antposed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454542569156327106" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">The Generic Ant and the Dark version have the same pose.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4fa5Ik3BY1wYOBQp2pCR9WXBXZzxg1wViMfL9yjXPRQwS9Vl_yt5MzpFzAIryq1H9XpYVXxaJAhafjiq3V-tvZtz7e4WjtuI8LshZA5o3F_Jg0btot7h6MoV_sJdCbMPQBHoZtF0BEiL/s1600/DarkAntPosed.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4fa5Ik3BY1wYOBQp2pCR9WXBXZzxg1wViMfL9yjXPRQwS9Vl_yt5MzpFzAIryq1H9XpYVXxaJAhafjiq3V-tvZtz7e4WjtuI8LshZA5o3F_Jg0btot7h6MoV_sJdCbMPQBHoZtF0BEiL/s400/DarkAntPosed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454542715026445314" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Some skin weights need to be painted on the fingers, as with the other models.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I made a start on Chapter 5 of the dissertation draft, which is the final chapter before the conclusion. So far, the structure has not changed from its original layout:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">5.0 Adapting game art for a portable platform</span><br /><br />5.1 Introduction<br />5.2 Low detail 3D models<br />5.3 2D renders of high detail 3D models<br />5.4 Pure 2D assets<br /><br />At this point I am not sure if this chapter will need some sort of conclusion; I will see once the rest has been written if a conclusion is necessary. This chapter will likely make good use of some images to illustrate each art method.<br /><br />31/3/10 - Today I painted the skin weights for the posed models, most of which are ready to be rendered this weekend. Following a supervisor meeting I have thought about making the turnaround videos more exciting in some way - like personalising each plinth, perhaps. Buzz needs to be re-rigged and posed with bones rather than the biped, so that will be my next main task.<br /><br />1/4/10 - I re-rigged and skinned Buzz the soldier and designed some different plinths to reflect the characters which stand on them.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEMMm6YyGzCJ9IKFUS0wztBATQLBn9kryR5veFXUVcKO-YdFELvQDa9tK1owNtCmJPnFfvrXlFD_zXls4HXGE75phRAm5AIBcM5Tb2VUq_Vw2njzZxJYJHkjpfElU8m0JyOTLNkEVElNLg/s1600/Plinth+designs.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEMMm6YyGzCJ9IKFUS0wztBATQLBn9kryR5veFXUVcKO-YdFELvQDa9tK1owNtCmJPnFfvrXlFD_zXls4HXGE75phRAm5AIBcM5Tb2VUq_Vw2njzZxJYJHkjpfElU8m0JyOTLNkEVElNLg/s400/Plinth+designs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455204904479756274" border="0" /></a>The spiked plinths are for the Dark iterations of the ants; the chunky and tall plinths are for the Heavy enemies. The bottom centre plinth is for Harry. I may work on these a little more if I have time - but the plan at the moment is for the ants to have silver plinths and the bees to have gold ones. The Bumble bee would have a gold plain plinth, Buzz would have a spiked one and the Worker would have a chunky one.<br /><br />With the camera scene set up and all the models ready, I can soon commence turnaround renders. Each one will probably take a long time with 100 frames to render, and I have several to get through what with high and low poly versions of each character!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtbTmn77SjaS2XhBtkwM470u_5U5tiFKOnZqQokqioDY0IUX-nCFRpHT3HNazPOOUkY9k0oEID8CgW3Bsr4UFseSG_xW9UCuc1sSsubPHfOOqYOfvpAvGg0X-VhTJvXI8du-aF3yGUGN6/s1600/AntFront.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtbTmn77SjaS2XhBtkwM470u_5U5tiFKOnZqQokqioDY0IUX-nCFRpHT3HNazPOOUkY9k0oEID8CgW3Bsr4UFseSG_xW9UCuc1sSsubPHfOOqYOfvpAvGg0X-VhTJvXI8du-aF3yGUGN6/s400/AntFront.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455206254741628194" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OyY6MqhPy2snh_lMH2mrVHaXyZY5qB9htc5HnBAo76i3z3HYhB_FF2PddfUoYWp0Qnvh0THx7CZeH6teZyoAXHdj21t_TRGp_ZUga-hdSGlPCGWCdugn56xYT_C7bM5tf9a-BFudJ3pt/s1600/AntBack.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OyY6MqhPy2snh_lMH2mrVHaXyZY5qB9htc5HnBAo76i3z3HYhB_FF2PddfUoYWp0Qnvh0THx7CZeH6teZyoAXHdj21t_TRGp_ZUga-hdSGlPCGWCdugn56xYT_C7bM5tf9a-BFudJ3pt/s400/AntBack.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455206258902000162" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The generic ant is ready to be rendered in full, so I will not submit stills of other characters until he is done - it took a little while to set him up!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Now for something visually pleasing (I hope): nice renders of everybody we have so far. That is, a full roster of enemies and two out of three bee types. They're not on plinths, but are otherwise ready.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kn6lx9etVN0rL2CT8GUeeTWBiKaUABpkWsvFrJuoiSvRGZMrDfQGy09YFqSQnJltdDRo48WpomrjLlwhcCnt4iOVw9QADnJtC4WJyrwrEOxD-dSQuzlYhkYL13TCZ5NQzF6g-wz75BWF/s1600/Low+enemies.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kn6lx9etVN0rL2CT8GUeeTWBiKaUABpkWsvFrJuoiSvRGZMrDfQGy09YFqSQnJltdDRo48WpomrjLlwhcCnt4iOVw9QADnJtC4WJyrwrEOxD-dSQuzlYhkYL13TCZ5NQzF6g-wz75BWF/s400/Low+enemies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455282963690090466" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Low poly enemies</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqc1ys9A80bKamZu_VpifOiRb_4cYD27TQrdRTK4Lmr5WHHgqCfD3G1HWaX0PgHNPZCYZsaOgvLhCzMA2YR4jTmMzDeFMyqN16pJbC7HmvYMQmj3eIGGX6fBs6Rq1YQbz19CgyS2-yBjA/s1600/Low+bees.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqc1ys9A80bKamZu_VpifOiRb_4cYD27TQrdRTK4Lmr5WHHgqCfD3G1HWaX0PgHNPZCYZsaOgvLhCzMA2YR4jTmMzDeFMyqN16pJbC7HmvYMQmj3eIGGX6fBs6Rq1YQbz19CgyS2-yBjA/s400/Low+bees.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455282954024076706" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Low poly bees</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNOqXqPDPMTA5tyjB1B5SlCIAnvZe2_B5voD3t38T0sYaaXDn6bbqMRnWM6ZusqDADNDmNY_b1-0olPHv7soDDwjp6MMpbjJqqLaRsnRLXUI4FC8-LWr-3LNsftlBlIXmXowG6Kb9RgN_/s1600/Soldier.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNOqXqPDPMTA5tyjB1B5SlCIAnvZe2_B5voD3t38T0sYaaXDn6bbqMRnWM6ZusqDADNDmNY_b1-0olPHv7soDDwjp6MMpbjJqqLaRsnRLXUI4FC8-LWr-3LNsftlBlIXmXowG6Kb9RgN_/s400/Soldier.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455284034863117458" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCzWA5TJRY9nrustnRMXz6J2sXcBdHyu8POVI2WEGPp6-Qtp94vIeAU_oPmsKPmh78tnDO3-5Yc9gm3e3u9Sr88ZLgwK541_uHeoHBrXQ0BHFFqXeWv3613k7wTHo19d2_Si4vX1HvKCrC/s1600/Worker.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCzWA5TJRY9nrustnRMXz6J2sXcBdHyu8POVI2WEGPp6-Qtp94vIeAU_oPmsKPmh78tnDO3-5Yc9gm3e3u9Sr88ZLgwK541_uHeoHBrXQ0BHFFqXeWv3613k7wTHo19d2_Si4vX1HvKCrC/s400/Worker.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455284043773101602" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_QkER-T8yVo_UyUeUW7S1IQZK_xhyVukYjx7ylq0vXhbj0HI1tY9uECaRZQv5ykU_sSi3NYoYbLzs7rmHoCfbZ2_kX-g3XO_HX53GjMBvL_L5BwPkCAJTLML9IZpgJaNQ_CTwBM6emVqA/s1600/Generic+ant.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_QkER-T8yVo_UyUeUW7S1IQZK_xhyVukYjx7ylq0vXhbj0HI1tY9uECaRZQv5ykU_sSi3NYoYbLzs7rmHoCfbZ2_kX-g3XO_HX53GjMBvL_L5BwPkCAJTLML9IZpgJaNQ_CTwBM6emVqA/s400/Generic+ant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455283830866043698" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGydPKLim0dGJYjLFcx7upeOUJA10JYcCLPkxzvA_3VC1lnk-rYB7RG36_V2TECz4K1VXVELlKYGB73JcyNKh-F_8A6MlFKW9NdiCeaakEzal5qhsDv-QsoJH9HRaHObpMwAa7WhXPCy6K/s1600/Dark+Ant.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGydPKLim0dGJYjLFcx7upeOUJA10JYcCLPkxzvA_3VC1lnk-rYB7RG36_V2TECz4K1VXVELlKYGB73JcyNKh-F_8A6MlFKW9NdiCeaakEzal5qhsDv-QsoJH9HRaHObpMwAa7WhXPCy6K/s400/Dark+Ant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455283812288649458" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIPpQLdlRVO87SXK-GlMDqY1LPKU1ICLY5tZr5SNwaSqHiUidmf-baQzlFR916V8sIq6X7ha_Tgygv-lSP64fcG7BPpH0wgCdptk55vwL1tbXWM4KLUlYLFCtBLDbJv-ElwwQpQUF3I03q/s1600/Arms.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIPpQLdlRVO87SXK-GlMDqY1LPKU1ICLY5tZr5SNwaSqHiUidmf-baQzlFR916V8sIq6X7ha_Tgygv-lSP64fcG7BPpH0wgCdptk55vwL1tbXWM4KLUlYLFCtBLDbJv-ElwwQpQUF3I03q/s400/Arms.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455283809469459122" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cTekkxVFO7Rz-XwYmR2mxunJ7nEdPY1cUKLCS4_MSsLMU_BnpHTtZZ6YtGCk0kQ8C7A5ixaN4u99J5fkQLsEoO9xohmXiHCxGS4y04QmK-Pjj_9BcIJ5oAjS-Sdj2OqAiQItClMk8u2r/s1600/Dark+Arms.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cTekkxVFO7Rz-XwYmR2mxunJ7nEdPY1cUKLCS4_MSsLMU_BnpHTtZZ6YtGCk0kQ8C7A5ixaN4u99J5fkQLsEoO9xohmXiHCxGS4y04QmK-Pjj_9BcIJ5oAjS-Sdj2OqAiQItClMk8u2r/s400/Dark+Arms.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455283822654437170" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPb4-AnNubi-Cjh5GIgOTdIyiPbcYw1v68glHv-fV2ZdsJ-OyFL3fcv1J9XMD5kxU9X_T2zsosVKqU25G03jct-VPVzRt12hW_M20yjSYe626aEjjidAbB3qlDap0BqUNexNaXXDjDY-9R/s1600/Harry.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPb4-AnNubi-Cjh5GIgOTdIyiPbcYw1v68glHv-fV2ZdsJ-OyFL3fcv1J9XMD5kxU9X_T2zsosVKqU25G03jct-VPVzRt12hW_M20yjSYe626aEjjidAbB3qlDap0BqUNexNaXXDjDY-9R/s400/Harry.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455283835513289522" border="0" /></a><br />Hopefully I will be able to create the last bee soon (the Queen Bee and Queen Ant are being left out of this project but will stay in the final game). Once I have turnarounds of all the models, the next step is to create mock-up environments to showcase and compare the low poly models to the renders as possible solutions for the iPhone.<br /></div><br /></div>2/3/10 - I spent time creating enemies that would not have their back set of limbs culled in Unity; this involved duplicating all the flat faces. The enemies were then skinned, animated and put in the engine. There is still a slight problem with some missing faces on Arms, which I will have to look into since according to 3DS Max they are neither missing, nor facing the wrong way.<br /><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxodI4YO8q3rYjqO7gt8002XCRDUV0MjSydM-DnI0h1LZWgcDi-HST1kfoL-J7Pkxcth93cGM5Xkz7ZzWv81w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Abi also pointed out that I had put Harry's arms the wrong way round *facepalm* so I fixed that and re-posed him. His rocket arms are now the front set, as was intended. I might try a different pose, such as moving the switch hands forward so that they're more visible, but this is what I decided on today.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNTnvjaAvOqDuo6M7tawfDcOOtki0I1j6MyGKic0Wl4ouGldmJNpLR4QoIQqqsvzZ13MsIkFe6c3Cwt5S0qBZpXBEk_cRQ81gLMm-_WfLQ561IUVacBLWe2nSYuRNgFudBbj_EBCyN3qk/s1600/Harry.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNTnvjaAvOqDuo6M7tawfDcOOtki0I1j6MyGKic0Wl4ouGldmJNpLR4QoIQqqsvzZ13MsIkFe6c3Cwt5S0qBZpXBEk_cRQ81gLMm-_WfLQ561IUVacBLWe2nSYuRNgFudBbj_EBCyN3qk/s400/Harry.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455600904896076034" border="0" /></a>Actually, here is an alternative pose. 3DS Max was still open and I couldn't resist.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZYjXaxprtCk0RUW9Sy0ly_X4FOS1uq_YNFu_uprQUGJ8tELAFueCXqD66mbezmHGPIZlLtkiyBz3hk6jgG8glKXzvJngqOcqjRTjH32rDmmxmNkYfcYo7hgyMnel5eaUdTgPh8dDnpXk/s1600/Harry2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZYjXaxprtCk0RUW9Sy0ly_X4FOS1uq_YNFu_uprQUGJ8tELAFueCXqD66mbezmHGPIZlLtkiyBz3hk6jgG8glKXzvJngqOcqjRTjH32rDmmxmNkYfcYo7hgyMnel5eaUdTgPh8dDnpXk/s400/Harry2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455643542248306530" border="0" /></a><br />4/3/10 - Today I commenced rendering character turnarounds and writing some more of chapter 5 of the dissertation. Rendering is time consuming and slows down the computer, so sadly I have not been able to get much else done, but I hope to get all the character renders done by the end of the day.Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-92106282795945052112010-03-22T08:48:00.000-07:002010-03-26T08:47:36.044-07:00Week 10<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMb5cQxNJAgURHai5n_5eJFn75RfCmBd5Z4C-JaR6BRt-8TN8HOCUWR1ADq5qgKrePCa2bVHqj_MGD-jr1KxYN0UQCh7qhjc11fvuKslmyl9S3K8xStCYEORNEK6F07SEH_vCLdT6R56R0/s1600/Ant+textured.jpg"><br /></a>22/3/10 - I started drafting chapter 4 of the dissertation. So far, the original structure seems to work so this chapter will consist of 3 subchapters:<br /><br />4.1 Introduction<br />4.2 How the platform affects game design<br />4.3 The importance of visuals in the context of game design<br /><br />I found that a case study of <span style="font-style: italic;">Resident Evil: the Umbrella Chronicles</span> came in particularly useful for chapter 4.2, as the game has clearly been tailored specifically for the Wii platform and its audience. It's a perfect example of the platform having a major influence on game design, especially considering that <span style="font-style: italic;">Umbrella Chronicles</span> is part of a well known franchise.<br /><br />With the jet plane ant model approved at mid poly level, I proceeded to UV unwrap him and add a very basic texture. See below!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNl03ZoSj9QMh_IzwEYqiB7wiDePeioYvRwuZaiPy6DFoYmEvboVZQlgcRI2Rjx7nGCxSGiZy74rY66E-xwBw3cxTLm1EvWvDScotda273tz7cboBKBRjqKAIITg77Y3mcEfy-iE49Zqu/s1600-h/Harry+mid.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNl03ZoSj9QMh_IzwEYqiB7wiDePeioYvRwuZaiPy6DFoYmEvboVZQlgcRI2Rjx7nGCxSGiZy74rY66E-xwBw3cxTLm1EvWvDScotda273tz7cboBKBRjqKAIITg77Y3mcEfy-iE49Zqu/s400/Harry+mid.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451505363614430162" border="0" /></a><br />The next step is to smooth the model and perhaps add some more fine details, before rigging in preparation for posing.<br /><br />23/3/10 - I smoothed out the jet plane ant in 3DS Max (not ZBrush). Smoothing wreaks havoc with the UV co-ordinates, and it is made so much worse if you smooth in ZBrush too. There are still some fixes to be made with the UVs, hence the model below is untextured; I also added some extra details which will need to be assigned co-ordinates.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4gRMPaQQp1X-mhfxm98FBf12iFJ7dyrplIIthRNgeZiA3jS9I857x2LmcQWXbM1KIJ3KgSMZWWXpICd9v6B8jUFVz06qgQJ4LiJZgQYlExM5JekFHLgX9u4NhFe_qH3vplDvrAQUfuOr/s1600-h/HarryHigh1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4gRMPaQQp1X-mhfxm98FBf12iFJ7dyrplIIthRNgeZiA3jS9I857x2LmcQWXbM1KIJ3KgSMZWWXpICd9v6B8jUFVz06qgQJ4LiJZgQYlExM5JekFHLgX9u4NhFe_qH3vplDvrAQUfuOr/s400/HarryHigh1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451932094521817682" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuwU25oXWhlBCOsSTaQDA-sNLerAFN4MPxDlBDbZ0SQDkS149-rpjpcOuV4Q1_SdUlOZ2anvSkZlobNdV13oEwViVB9M2g6P_Ypr3mvj2g0vCsBwfWcG9uM2oEVdL-KKlI6R7p8_Kac9j/s1600-h/HarryHigh2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuwU25oXWhlBCOsSTaQDA-sNLerAFN4MPxDlBDbZ0SQDkS149-rpjpcOuV4Q1_SdUlOZ2anvSkZlobNdV13oEwViVB9M2g6P_Ypr3mvj2g0vCsBwfWcG9uM2oEVdL-KKlI6R7p8_Kac9j/s400/HarryHigh2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451932103739538610" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Look at all those rockets!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">24/3/10 - I finished Chapter 4 of the draft dissertation and drew out a texture map for the high-poly jet plane enemy after fixing some of his UV co-ordinates. There are still some tweaks to be made, so I will not show a progress shot for the time being; there are more important things to be getting on with, such as texturing the other enemies and building a rig for this one.<br /><br />25/3/10 - Today was spent rigging the jet plane enemy and drawing textures for all the high poly enemies we have so far. I did the texturing for practice really, since it is one of my weak areas. It also means that Abi doesn't have to texture any of the models if these ones are satisfactory.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLsgq2MRwS5Bf9QYxxQPXwpSZ7UH67b2Jgg5DKBw9CWo5kpve3-QQrkyjYweLQPSV1nBCQf_fBm_e8TmDjqC-ftxHtEsF_STA60BhdXt3o1VfpId0o8Y4Yu8ZWyoxDflzJ1pA1_41G4cx/s1600/DarkAnt+texture.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLsgq2MRwS5Bf9QYxxQPXwpSZ7UH67b2Jgg5DKBw9CWo5kpve3-QQrkyjYweLQPSV1nBCQf_fBm_e8TmDjqC-ftxHtEsF_STA60BhdXt3o1VfpId0o8Y4Yu8ZWyoxDflzJ1pA1_41G4cx/s400/DarkAnt+texture.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452635519811927506" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMb5cQxNJAgURHai5n_5eJFn75RfCmBd5Z4C-JaR6BRt-8TN8HOCUWR1ADq5qgKrePCa2bVHqj_MGD-jr1KxYN0UQCh7qhjc11fvuKslmyl9S3K8xStCYEORNEK6F07SEH_vCLdT6R56R0/s1600/Ant+textured.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMb5cQxNJAgURHai5n_5eJFn75RfCmBd5Z4C-JaR6BRt-8TN8HOCUWR1ADq5qgKrePCa2bVHqj_MGD-jr1KxYN0UQCh7qhjc11fvuKslmyl9S3K8xStCYEORNEK6F07SEH_vCLdT6R56R0/s400/Ant+textured.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452635528145115058" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_wIT3VENifVPUlgXLHdeVBdaKVDJe73N3EP2Sn1TceX1NJ_malCuqdZCXIBsZ-YrGILniJ9dR3ZKqAUY_9Q6jkKK9FkL55hV2uSYDy6GRuzejzOCZTBLaB1tfFkg0AM6GC1FB_rSL_T-/s1600/Dark+Arms+textured.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_wIT3VENifVPUlgXLHdeVBdaKVDJe73N3EP2Sn1TceX1NJ_malCuqdZCXIBsZ-YrGILniJ9dR3ZKqAUY_9Q6jkKK9FkL55hV2uSYDy6GRuzejzOCZTBLaB1tfFkg0AM6GC1FB_rSL_T-/s400/Dark+Arms+textured.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452625635929226066" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHMqj1LdGw8ehOI3cM0oDAxR_WwYoiQqf6wUFaQQyRIc4NISMKlUU413Uwi1twZ3AxabT6T5HwMtz-Xia-6vMm_ZXpr531TGeCfIh_PZ1uG4CUwg4iVy_7EiliFdU22J60Y2y6MAmOHV-/s1600/Arms+textured.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHMqj1LdGw8ehOI3cM0oDAxR_WwYoiQqf6wUFaQQyRIc4NISMKlUU413Uwi1twZ3AxabT6T5HwMtz-Xia-6vMm_ZXpr531TGeCfIh_PZ1uG4CUwg4iVy_7EiliFdU22J60Y2y6MAmOHV-/s400/Arms+textured.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452625634008555282" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMkvqsSBjK7jVhXxiufVN9BS36HCReuwc25ih1Vqvi7YvQnvZedhdZj0z5VNNc9ILLpc1SUpuqV6ZjUsaH2O3w6MletuA9DOrxDaOma6RecCbWsOE3RfD7NK5rkGLjpY1C_-aduRYIayi/s1600/Harry+textured.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMkvqsSBjK7jVhXxiufVN9BS36HCReuwc25ih1Vqvi7YvQnvZedhdZj0z5VNNc9ILLpc1SUpuqV6ZjUsaH2O3w6MletuA9DOrxDaOma6RecCbWsOE3RfD7NK5rkGLjpY1C_-aduRYIayi/s400/Harry+textured.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452625626791131298" border="0" /></a><br />These ants are asking for hugs because I'm going to leave posing them for near the end of the project, when I will put together nice little videos of character turnarounds.<br /><br />26/3/10 - I worked with Unity some more and managed to get animated models working. It is really simple to import, separate and play the animations! Here is a quick video capture of animated enemies:<br /><br /><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwbOz_W04CYCsMDSINGGj-0lKU7bdXMKRk4XcxLC81E9ESx3h4SJKrcUBHCQ5d875v5nJYfx0CelwM5UCxrGg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">There are some issues with backface culling, which I shall look into however it might just mean that I have to make some of the planes double sided. Removing culling from the shader did not seem to work, however I will keep trying.<br /></div></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-75225743393825059892010-03-15T14:01:00.000-07:002010-03-22T02:24:36.718-07:00Week 9<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbOsQD7MXs2VkHkTkTNsCsBe6HTJB86vQiwcJTKS1Jdm9B9hYJsAHDa9RT3A_85bdfgnua_2molSlBUqAMjVdsy9O_sVh3t80xovB7-mVDrJ72hjyzdALjoHt0A8izKy21me3i5ugJm5b/s1600-h/Worker+plinth.jpg"><br /></a>15/3/10 - I started the week by completing the jet plane ant and UV unwrapping him. I also assigned a very basic texture.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYtQXgQQLtCiQZnVzGtio4RBSLN3YLoJ8RJxvJKb_JE6kReiPm8KvkVGhquGZZpn8mJ56CiRoZZ_FVu9FUe3HXvM0HEZzUotFoGjAvKzFPpNRWnZWM2wbIXi-ia8OT1SEHvN43OhAsUVce/s1600-h/HarryLowColouredSide.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 148px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYtQXgQQLtCiQZnVzGtio4RBSLN3YLoJ8RJxvJKb_JE6kReiPm8KvkVGhquGZZpn8mJ56CiRoZZ_FVu9FUe3HXvM0HEZzUotFoGjAvKzFPpNRWnZWM2wbIXi-ia8OT1SEHvN43OhAsUVce/s400/HarryLowColouredSide.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449235032885617794" border="0" /></a><br /></div>I then proceeded to work on chapter 3 of the dissertation; again I broke it down into smaller pieces, so the chapter now reads as such:<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />3.o Popularity of game franchises and handheld platforms</span><br /><br />3.1 Introduction<br />3.2 Growth of the casual market<br />3.3 Success of portable platforms<br />3.4 The situation with game franchises<br /><br />Chapter 3 originally only had two subchapters, but I decided to give the introduction its own heading and discuss the casual market separately from the recent success of portable platforms - even though the two are inevitably linked.<br /><br />16/3/10 and 17/3/10 - I completed chapter 3 of the dissertation and started modelling the mid-poly version of the jet plane ant, which can be seen below. The body is complete but his accessories have yet to be added.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGOCGgg2cPaKndiR0S-WSldyPSTncKGm-Ud9k6_vr3wQMQW5C1dNpk_qKG3I4JtYaoqhist-rpTarbpzbhOecJespnby-FawMVzkJeOMHpy9NG1C2JVMJNrS7zP9KemTio5ltQ6Q5AMSX4/s1600-h/HarryMidPersp2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 333px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGOCGgg2cPaKndiR0S-WSldyPSTncKGm-Ud9k6_vr3wQMQW5C1dNpk_qKG3I4JtYaoqhist-rpTarbpzbhOecJespnby-FawMVzkJeOMHpy9NG1C2JVMJNrS7zP9KemTio5ltQ6Q5AMSX4/s400/HarryMidPersp2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449730893749994578" border="0" /></a><br />18/3/10 - Following the critique session I was able to continue with the work as planned; I also acquired a free version of Unity, which means I can run tech demos with the team's game project and test the assets myself. I worked on the jet plane accessories and hope to start fixing and UV mapping the mid-poly model this weekend.<br /><br />19/3/10 - Success!! The problem that had been plaguing us concerning asset integration from 3DS Max to Unity was finally resolved! I got to grips with the basics of Unity this development Friday and was able to fix a horrible rotation problem that was causing the bees to fly on their backs. Now they face the right way, and I know how to implement them myself.<br /><br />I also imported the static enemies that I have built so far, and made a litte video capture which shows the 3D swarming motion with the static assets in-game. Our three programmers Hazel McKendrick, Ian Copland and Kieran McGrory are responsible for the scene setup and swarming bees.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzxfA8TkqWEdwfFwHTM8cLPlWAR0bzCnuNHqwVvkKojpe5yxcJyy5Gz6wokY9ak0zrspZqa4B1CCf5cie6SOQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Very basic tech demo to show 3D swarming.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I'm pleased to have become acquainted with Unity; I can offer support in a technical art role, which will save the programmers' time considerably. I can also continue to run my own tech demoes now, which is a huge bonus for the personal project.<br /><br />20/3/10 and 21/3/10 - I spent most of the weekend setting up my own portfolio website, but was also able to devote some time to creating a plinth and lighting scheme for character turnarounds, as well as drawing my own texture for the high poly Worker bee.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbOsQD7MXs2VkHkTkTNsCsBe6HTJB86vQiwcJTKS1Jdm9B9hYJsAHDa9RT3A_85bdfgnua_2molSlBUqAMjVdsy9O_sVh3t80xovB7-mVDrJ72hjyzdALjoHt0A8izKy21me3i5ugJm5b/s1600-h/Worker+plinth.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbOsQD7MXs2VkHkTkTNsCsBe6HTJB86vQiwcJTKS1Jdm9B9hYJsAHDa9RT3A_85bdfgnua_2molSlBUqAMjVdsy9O_sVh3t80xovB7-mVDrJ72hjyzdALjoHt0A8izKy21me3i5ugJm5b/s400/Worker+plinth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451386614053563778" border="0" /></a><br /></div></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-1131766210235369922010-03-09T12:56:00.000-08:002010-03-18T02:34:28.996-07:00Week 8<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicM6jtQhm4AueauFX3jGceOAysdqNyNB8h2MeaNiWytdlHNLhs3lVoVeQCk34u8_Pok2RWlOfZ84Cu6JoAETmSdfYe1R1encmbBABzEcJeecV0laQD9cLbo0b_AnQltZ-qJSmHYcXABPjQ/s1600-h/DarkArmsSmooth.jpg"><br /></a>8/3/10 - My essay structure was approved on Monday, which leaves me free to start writing a draft. The chapters are as follows:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1.0 Introduction</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2.0 Graphical capabilities of current gaming platforms</span><br />2.1 Gaming platforms from current and previous generations<br />2.2 The iPhone's capabilities in relation to gaming<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3.0 Popularity of game franchises and handheld platforms</span><br />3.1 Key factors in the success of casual games and portable platforms<br />3.2 Successful game franchises<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4.0 Game design and visuals in relation to platform</span><br />4.1 How the platform affects game design<br />4.2 The importance of visuals in the context of game design<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5.0 Adapting game art for a portable platform</span><br />5.1 Low detail 3D models<br />5.2 2D renders of high detail 3D models<br />5.3 Pure 2D art assets<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6.0 Conclusion</span><br /><br />Aside from this, I worked on generating UV maps for all the ants I had modelled so far - this was very difficult in the cases of the high poly models which had been smoothed in ZBrush, as some of the original mapping co-ordinates had been overwritten.<br /><br />9/3/10 - On Tuesday I finished off the remaining UV maps and sent them to Abi for texturing, as well as creating rigs for the low poly ants (which have changed somewhat from their original formats). See below:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6tyXiBFce0AFlqw5ejESo7VM95cOn82U-Q7-oFGWnqDFQ3HNEC5iXQnWowxA-irtnXzSg0JH23eMzx-Wp7fF-hU1mES7LbwnlqnDC8syO0KB4FEfEH89ZEeoaURHjS0Fx_yI0ySsD3db/s1600-h/AntLow2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 157px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6tyXiBFce0AFlqw5ejESo7VM95cOn82U-Q7-oFGWnqDFQ3HNEC5iXQnWowxA-irtnXzSg0JH23eMzx-Wp7fF-hU1mES7LbwnlqnDC8syO0KB4FEfEH89ZEeoaURHjS0Fx_yI0ySsD3db/s400/AntLow2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446760046094520514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">The generic ant and Dark version in low detail models - around 200 triangles each </span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi62HLaFtD1Q97bl2SPwgLKeGOZ7Bd8mZf5fEYqTKY4nQaSSLzgkJhPQV759_yJMteF8LMzGgXDakjGeF_vCLi2DQvB1jnr2molusSgP-_Nfkumyfedg4Vgep_OB0pHHX8DoSaH-fs4G257/s1600-h/ArmsLow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 93px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi62HLaFtD1Q97bl2SPwgLKeGOZ7Bd8mZf5fEYqTKY4nQaSSLzgkJhPQV759_yJMteF8LMzGgXDakjGeF_vCLi2DQvB1jnr2molusSgP-_Nfkumyfedg4Vgep_OB0pHHX8DoSaH-fs4G257/s400/ArmsLow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446760056786770098" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">The heavy ant and Dark version in low detail models - around 200 triangles each</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">These models now have their arms and legs separate from the bodies, which saves polygons. We reasoned that the ants will probably move in a 2D fashion and as such the 'cardboard' arms and legs shouldn't be too obvious.<br /><br />This method is an alternative to the original idea, which was to use simple planes for the arms and legs and draw the detail on; the idea was abandoned since overuse of alphas is discouraged in iPhone development. Fully 3D ants, no matter how optimised, still reached polygon counts far too high to be feasible.<br /><br />These models have been UV unwrapped and rigged; I hope to try one of them in the engine on Friday to make sure there are no pressing problems. At this stage our approach to the 3D ants is very experimental and it would be good to know which method works best.<br /><br />10/3/10 - I started writing the dissertation proper and almost completed chapter 2; already the structure has changed slightly, since 2.1 ended up being huge. I broke it down so chapter 2 is now as follows:<br /><br />2.1 - Introduction<br />2.2 - The history of gaming platforms<br />2.3 - Innovation and new directions<br />2.4 - The iPhone's capabilities in relation to gaming<br /><br />I intend to finish the chapter by the end of this week, and perhaps make a start on chapter 3.<br /><br />11/3/10 - The low poly ant models are now fully rigged, as are the high poly heavy and Dark heavy. The next step is to try some animations in the engine tomorrow, before commencing the low poly model of the jet plane ant. Once he has been modelled, that will be our main roster of enemies ready. Although many of the high detail models are ready to be posed, I am going to leave this for the time being as it is less important than putting assets in the game.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCVMAbouonA1GTLX81re6Bcnz_Bwh50DpKBzaFb0z3jilR0qWIDYDcY4UsP6KzkPAMuq1ruwZQTjXDMZvYVUK6b-RNW-Ie8wSqtCv_BVrQSBX2Gk-60JXJyDHIdIPfLB6M23JQ94F9l2ha/s1600-h/Arms+smooth.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCVMAbouonA1GTLX81re6Bcnz_Bwh50DpKBzaFb0z3jilR0qWIDYDcY4UsP6KzkPAMuq1ruwZQTjXDMZvYVUK6b-RNW-Ie8wSqtCv_BVrQSBX2Gk-60JXJyDHIdIPfLB6M23JQ94F9l2ha/s400/Arms+smooth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449903995480465362" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicM6jtQhm4AueauFX3jGceOAysdqNyNB8h2MeaNiWytdlHNLhs3lVoVeQCk34u8_Pok2RWlOfZ84Cu6JoAETmSdfYe1R1encmbBABzEcJeecV0laQD9cLbo0b_AnQltZ-qJSmHYcXABPjQ/s1600-h/DarkArmsSmooth.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 291px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicM6jtQhm4AueauFX3jGceOAysdqNyNB8h2MeaNiWytdlHNLhs3lVoVeQCk34u8_Pok2RWlOfZ84Cu6JoAETmSdfYe1R1encmbBABzEcJeecV0laQD9cLbo0b_AnQltZ-qJSmHYcXABPjQ/s400/DarkArmsSmooth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449904002402710626" border="0" /></a><br />12/3/10 - I made a start on the low-poly jet plane ant, but as group we did not make much progress since the Unity licenses ran out and there were various interruptions.<br /><br />14/3/10 - Today I continued with the low poly jet plane ant, who is now very nearly finished.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcHwojZgHR9YWJT9AFy97COvBdmzzHExhserXLDwnoqvyIfwCkHH5qFgaiy-xWMazoJ3i148QpwZ7bnu_GB5Nwmc_pXQ68WBARW7m4gca2bDnk8uy6zX5p7L17bjo39A05zDjnlcbk95R/s1600-h/HarryLowPerspective.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcHwojZgHR9YWJT9AFy97COvBdmzzHExhserXLDwnoqvyIfwCkHH5qFgaiy-xWMazoJ3i148QpwZ7bnu_GB5Nwmc_pXQ68WBARW7m4gca2bDnk8uy6zX5p7L17bjo39A05zDjnlcbk95R/s400/HarryLowPerspective.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448617748955537522" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCaKhr3_slisQpa4xG9ujMnYnLjpGLc2KVz5Z49SJ-Q0LGt_Z_Qat_9lY_yZxTo8rm2UgDMGTRwx6poxVVgyfnjQlwwUiBdCHfEH1Y51aEJD_F-cTnEpjV_ZANHromEdwUY5syX2IbEiji/s1600-h/HarryLowPerspective.jpg"><br /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Perspective view - like the other ants, his limbs (and accessories) are flat.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRqSzbP1DxPuLWnfSNkj1eo6sy0x-DzaG0E4-SVa10pVMQ8G949gZZ4_sseZUJbLVfRbQCa2DFvZAB_jpU5odyJparIYOjzpa4C1U2_dDeNT9zPktJgQGEFrnb-ZfaGgUuyUIaTgtOXxu7/s1600-h/HarryLowSide.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 173px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRqSzbP1DxPuLWnfSNkj1eo6sy0x-DzaG0E4-SVa10pVMQ8G949gZZ4_sseZUJbLVfRbQCa2DFvZAB_jpU5odyJparIYOjzpa4C1U2_dDeNT9zPktJgQGEFrnb-ZfaGgUuyUIaTgtOXxu7/s400/HarryLowSide.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448617752543456098" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Q8Np-u67qdp4IdtGX5cp5FQTHkt_J_ALmWcIf4B_yxA7OkL8ExL-Owe4S34_eYyV0sVGiGP7U1GywuFdx9kz21KA4pT3aV9YEpjNXSQgBGEvuN81p4-2Ok9u_3dWjf5N-iaMgEJkxfAd/s1600-h/HarryLowSide.jpg"><br /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Side view. This is how he will look in-game.</span><br /></div><br />At the moment I'm not sure whether this model needs arms, but everything else is complete and can be UV unwrapped.<br /></div></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-64735522584533233272010-03-02T10:25:00.000-08:002010-03-07T16:29:06.941-08:00Week 71/3/10 - Monday was mostly taken up with meetings; at the show reel group meeting we brainstormed and came up with some ideas for transitions between clips. I created a document with the information we have obtained so far concerning students' work for the show reel; unfortunately the list is still only half complete at this stage.<br /><br />2/3/10 - Today I wrote an in-depth plan for the dissertation, with the proper layout including table of contents, abstract, declaration etc. Each chapter has been planned out with notes and I've roughly split the word count across each section.<br /><br />I also made some changes to the heavy ant model after receiving a detailed model guide from Abi. Here is how he looks now:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRxnsHg3et6XYk_thfteeR0VFDta7e_y-9YU5DkfXrGnVEjbxum3u-j3Q_URMMQ8CqLJUtXck6kCX3sd_4em00IFty3JZXZKW0NVkSbDYSNVeKPBjWyevGhIb4NU8avF8KGZQmle6YH_KH/s1600-h/ArmsFront.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRxnsHg3et6XYk_thfteeR0VFDta7e_y-9YU5DkfXrGnVEjbxum3u-j3Q_URMMQ8CqLJUtXck6kCX3sd_4em00IFty3JZXZKW0NVkSbDYSNVeKPBjWyevGhIb4NU8avF8KGZQmle6YH_KH/s400/ArmsFront.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444105915540118450" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVN9ssgmZrq2p-TyKpSAjgdGllRM-TbLZwpI4cjMWPh497dPeSHw_pQMV3fD0DQe6N2cb3oRabnikWb_ZFpsyR-FssZNg_udYOphuj1ZrHqP6-HrwQqey0shS1lLwLaLWkvkOaRKFV0ZCV/s1600-h/ArmsSide.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVN9ssgmZrq2p-TyKpSAjgdGllRM-TbLZwpI4cjMWPh497dPeSHw_pQMV3fD0DQe6N2cb3oRabnikWb_ZFpsyR-FssZNg_udYOphuj1ZrHqP6-HrwQqey0shS1lLwLaLWkvkOaRKFV0ZCV/s400/ArmsSide.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444105935671523154" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43GU6eNQAjOuXy9hDeqnbZ0JjGBvn0TuEMIB4O5mAZhBmLgeLisveichBFN4rrlAxaUrWGU7Xt-07wDj9vQ9m-UIj6ZY7unWunS57Dyc-Lv5vCoPTZ0ByH0JM2uMnkWkfoTfS65nYeIwx/s1600-h/ArmsTop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43GU6eNQAjOuXy9hDeqnbZ0JjGBvn0TuEMIB4O5mAZhBmLgeLisveichBFN4rrlAxaUrWGU7Xt-07wDj9vQ9m-UIj6ZY7unWunS57Dyc-Lv5vCoPTZ0ByH0JM2uMnkWkfoTfS65nYeIwx/s400/ArmsTop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444105931711437234" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNb4i9DoAIsSAs9AZ2zOjsMNsAOFa_eEv5FuFz2vC3H8wVlWfUyeX6TtAHp-cfUFiQHfGNXXx9t2ZMJRcCeYA1v7I5q5CmVELf5FgGAwLsOkWu24ApSYRhyphenhyphenasapeACHl8UZQww-C2775ub/s1600-h/ArmsPersp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNb4i9DoAIsSAs9AZ2zOjsMNsAOFa_eEv5FuFz2vC3H8wVlWfUyeX6TtAHp-cfUFiQHfGNXXx9t2ZMJRcCeYA1v7I5q5CmVELf5FgGAwLsOkWu24ApSYRhyphenhyphenasapeACHl8UZQww-C2775ub/s400/ArmsPersp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444105929801570786" border="0" /></a>I think he has much more personality now. Once this initial model has been tweaked and approved, it will be UV unwrapped and taken into ZBrush for smoothing.<br /><br />4/3/10 - Today I worked with my Professional Practice group on a show reel for the Grad show fundraiser and collated the data for everybody who will be submitting something for the final show reel. I also UV unwrapped the heavy ant, who will soon be ready for detailing, and optimised the generic ant so that he is now just over 500 triangles.<br /><br />I also experimented with rendering using Ambient Occlusion; the result can be seen below.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6CpPnTBhan70qGJ9g4zaDhXTUXuU90bxSdx0nb3ks0qo_tjW8f8x2EVNWq1mlZQUv0NdBg-c5QVuKPGdLWm3JXVh4OAu685VCA68_5hiqNDYuRrvBKejs82NyZUqZGa4hLcj9uT_xz5L/s1600-h/Arms+AC.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6CpPnTBhan70qGJ9g4zaDhXTUXuU90bxSdx0nb3ks0qo_tjW8f8x2EVNWq1mlZQUv0NdBg-c5QVuKPGdLWm3JXVh4OAu685VCA68_5hiqNDYuRrvBKejs82NyZUqZGa4hLcj9uT_xz5L/s400/Arms+AC.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444901398679312722" border="0" /> </a>I'm tempted to try baking Ambient Occlusion to the texture map and use it to aid my texturing, since at the moment my abilities in that area are not very strong. It's also useful to look at ways of rendeing characters nicely, as good setting really can make such a difference.<br /><br />5/3/10 - Today was our development day, so I spent time further optimising the ant model and I also used baked ambient occlusion to create detailed textures for the small ant and the soldier.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ZtFCWm6KsnZzWl38sVsmyiW5ZIV0ksot1pWTiGTwVt5THKm8ahQ6lb9SQASgcL6IU6X8Dmes1oHu1wgmVfNf2ewONjmzv9nFvRQV9A95EhuaXjV9pw3VR-wtnBdmFIT8DFtBqiVT9ekE/s1600-h/Low+soldier+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 360px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ZtFCWm6KsnZzWl38sVsmyiW5ZIV0ksot1pWTiGTwVt5THKm8ahQ6lb9SQASgcL6IU6X8Dmes1oHu1wgmVfNf2ewONjmzv9nFvRQV9A95EhuaXjV9pw3VR-wtnBdmFIT8DFtBqiVT9ekE/s400/Low+soldier+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445306999563635810" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5TU8DZ86OC7FQwFu8RJEWeYYHhulbnxuEPkNsil-CIb_Eg6Cnyo_ES83f0XL7pIUx-10ZHQ9C8Pi4AC2B90u6NShZH1fctNiqRFYvZWBWOTcjhDQJ71uv3nDuYaVyu4n1ABboM7CWTtOG/s1600-h/Low+Ant.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 353px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5TU8DZ86OC7FQwFu8RJEWeYYHhulbnxuEPkNsil-CIb_Eg6Cnyo_ES83f0XL7pIUx-10ZHQ9C8Pi4AC2B90u6NShZH1fctNiqRFYvZWBWOTcjhDQJ71uv3nDuYaVyu4n1ABboM7CWTtOG/s400/Low+Ant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445307473445709826" border="0" /></a><br />Baking ambient occlusion has added some nice detail to these otherwise simple textures, and I think it looks quite nice. Hopefully it'll still make a difference at a small size.<br /><br />6/3/10 and 7/3/10 - I spent the weekend adding detail to the heavy ant, creating the dark version and building a heavy skeleton. The original heavy ant is rigged, but the dark heavy isn't at the moment. I also created and textured a low poly version of the dark generic ant. Below are the dark heavy ant and low poly dark generic ant.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv5NzQlZBs9xRMlQ81VqElBCCc3AOsbvli-E1kYlbUgEPwcLdfisstbd1cbXMFaF2alDY_EZrLhUUDAAFs1woO8KDu6Y4W9hXxEdddVYUL-IBnFMBxL7E_9rG-CHa6-8e8AhoENZtRx-t7/s1600-h/Low+spiky.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv5NzQlZBs9xRMlQ81VqElBCCc3AOsbvli-E1kYlbUgEPwcLdfisstbd1cbXMFaF2alDY_EZrLhUUDAAFs1woO8KDu6Y4W9hXxEdddVYUL-IBnFMBxL7E_9rG-CHa6-8e8AhoENZtRx-t7/s400/Low+spiky.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446052164019920834" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The dark ant is instantly recognisable by his bright colours and spikes on his limbs.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfC5gEZH1Yjs0fLsUoxrNSSgNVoLDZ_PivA2FhDAWEA75wqld2pIGXnhXtjD7Le9TxCTfjRocFaaL0oi0kq0vHXIJkOR5Nt-ecW8Da-RM5bKoTlgQwiPd43wqzhhElOpRGg_tzEohwazaz/s1600-h/Dark+Arms.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfC5gEZH1Yjs0fLsUoxrNSSgNVoLDZ_PivA2FhDAWEA75wqld2pIGXnhXtjD7Le9TxCTfjRocFaaL0oi0kq0vHXIJkOR5Nt-ecW8Da-RM5bKoTlgQwiPd43wqzhhElOpRGg_tzEohwazaz/s400/Dark+Arms.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446052649677200018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Dark heavy is also recognisable by his spikes and will have the same bright colours.</span><br /></div><br />I drew up a list of tasks concerning character creation, since this will be the largest part of my project; I'm keeping tabs on which characters have been created, and whether their low and high poly versions have been textured and rigged. Low poly models have priority since they will be in the final game, and at this point I am still unsure if all the characters will be ready for submission.Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-30480072715134629242010-02-22T03:24:00.001-08:002010-02-27T05:29:39.170-08:00Week 622/2/10 - After discussions with Abi about the 3D bees, she suggested an alternative method to animation with bones. Because of the iPhone's constraints on 3D (low polygon and bone limit), I was keeping each bee to a sensible restriction of 5 bones; unfortunately this meant that the arms could not bend, which is problematic for the worker bee.<br /><br />The other method we could try is to make static models of the bees in various poses, swapping them in at the right moment (for example, a soldier bee might have an idle stance and an attack stance). I need to check with the programmers if this is feasible, as I am not sure if swapping would increase the draw count or even work with swarming; but it is a very good alternative to animation if it works. Below are some views of two soldier bee poses I made based on the concept art:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUo0A7cwVfOWEfdpOsEdGXhk2Lc1Q2gPO8Z6wYbYHZBNsIDajuYaX5IZwSrMhve74OTVupP5dCkV7cyryqF9Ou5g-rIyx3KbmzkrU8_TyZKWLtijSBU4_InqQ8rXD5z1d2zkxu3yQYDxO/s1600-h/Little+soldiers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 54px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUo0A7cwVfOWEfdpOsEdGXhk2Lc1Q2gPO8Z6wYbYHZBNsIDajuYaX5IZwSrMhve74OTVupP5dCkV7cyryqF9Ou5g-rIyx3KbmzkrU8_TyZKWLtijSBU4_InqQ8rXD5z1d2zkxu3yQYDxO/s400/Little+soldiers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441028256475269938" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Views of the soldier in different static stances</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Hopefully we will be able to test how well it works to swap these models for each other in Unity.<br /><br />23/2/10 - I spent today refining my case studies in the hope of starting the dissertation this weekend. I also set up a scene in 3DS Max to show turnarounds of my high-poly characters; I managed to render the ant and the worker bee. The video can be seen below:<br /><br /><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwM4rGZORlk_AyEPHqyGVWtEOVCiaMg4rQk7dqhtF1hf80dYR8KXVcq2l-YZzsx4Xk5yQ98a4ScidbBheH-vg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I will probably look into good lighting techniques for turnarounds, since these models are backlit quite brightly. The 360 angle does a lot for the ant as it's nice to see the full extent of his pose.<br /><br />24/2/10 - Wednesday was mostly devoted to working with the other members of the show reel group, collecting information from the master questionaire. We don't have everybody's information yet, so we cannot start on a storyboard until we have gathered it all.<br /><br />25/2/10 - I started modelling the heavy ant enemy. I hope to make good progress with it over the next few days; tomorrow is development day so I might complete the first iteration of the model by the end of the day.<br /><br />26/2/10 - I was able to spend Friday completing the first stage of the heavy ant model. I wish to work on the model some more this weekend. Here are some progress shots of the model so far:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4yCLOfERIiie6Z133-sgXOUUtQnhS7mfBox4-7PLfaw39fPoORZjKYOt-11rax37Fz92R02iEanumoNiH9QP7deXMYJrGlbxLesfhRNJFXo1ND9qhxMtrowwGWHOA4zZckVlj2SQ9zYki/s1600-h/Arms2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 329px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4yCLOfERIiie6Z133-sgXOUUtQnhS7mfBox4-7PLfaw39fPoORZjKYOt-11rax37Fz92R02iEanumoNiH9QP7deXMYJrGlbxLesfhRNJFXo1ND9qhxMtrowwGWHOA4zZckVlj2SQ9zYki/s400/Arms2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442703116911799250" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodiOh6bLLDLrEbBRwG4KIlpHrp5JUR3QfqMIImEY8Xfq4l5Vi5pSWclOUDnjxRp8cicHX2mTOz-nGsktmaI0EiRC4D7Iz_nUEhDDT4IDstnTKK1aZwo_E3RBZ0AESCxui4MMRTRbclYxt/s1600-h/Arms1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodiOh6bLLDLrEbBRwG4KIlpHrp5JUR3QfqMIImEY8Xfq4l5Vi5pSWclOUDnjxRp8cicHX2mTOz-nGsktmaI0EiRC4D7Iz_nUEhDDT4IDstnTKK1aZwo_E3RBZ0AESCxui4MMRTRbclYxt/s400/Arms1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442703112795114818" border="0" /></a><br />The model will likely require some refining as I was only going on a concept picture, but hopefully it is along the right lines. Once this has been approved, I will proceed to take the model into ZBrush for smoothing.<br /><br />27 /2 /10 - This morning I optimised a generic ant to just under 700 triangles. This is in case we opt for 3D characters; we're concerned that 3D bees versus rendered enemies would be inconsistent. Of course it would, so that leaves us with pure renders or low poly 3D. We've yet to come to a decision on this since we still don't know what the limits are for this particular project. In any case I am aiming for around 500 triangles per character, so the ant might need to be reduced a bit more.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholpNJoR4aZ8idZMCUGtgQFDUAoQ91QUx43wEPQOfXYl4xyeG3gRa4fBlxwqVE2hBM8dXlvVzwZPTLyWCDE1_I7D_n7S1AbV4C1Nm3K4-ayaUcUKUCHFtzfD9j3_52KYt1Ut5Mb_AwmhK_/s1600-h/Ant-low.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 338px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholpNJoR4aZ8idZMCUGtgQFDUAoQ91QUx43wEPQOfXYl4xyeG3gRa4fBlxwqVE2hBM8dXlvVzwZPTLyWCDE1_I7D_n7S1AbV4C1Nm3K4-ayaUcUKUCHFtzfD9j3_52KYt1Ut5Mb_AwmhK_/s400/Ant-low.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442912491815341314" border="0" /></a>In order to get this character anywhere near the polygon limit, his arms, legs and antenna have had to be reduced to flat shapes with no volume. This shouldn't be a problem if the ants do not move in 3D.<br /></div></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-62963183117894570482010-02-15T02:42:00.000-08:002010-02-21T12:02:01.340-08:00Week 515/2/10 - I started with some more research into iPhone games that use 3D; I found a very good example in <span style="font-style: italic;">Castle of Magic</span> by Gameloft. As is evident from the screenshots below, <span style="font-style: italic;">Castle of Magic</span> is a very attractive game which uses 3D environments and characters to complement its 2D side-scrolling action.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYc38WmMYUUsBsZua1XyrH538tVMU5Y_SXpShIA0LYKivrU9G2fUBAIotpQs_FCL0Eymv15csGSPsYQ4aBUjTlW7uAJreVjoNV-LEaj5SEt5Q7Y5TrREI2tcHozDdRrf1zuFxSXPMESztS/s1600-h/castle-of-magic-2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYc38WmMYUUsBsZua1XyrH538tVMU5Y_SXpShIA0LYKivrU9G2fUBAIotpQs_FCL0Eymv15csGSPsYQ4aBUjTlW7uAJreVjoNV-LEaj5SEt5Q7Y5TrREI2tcHozDdRrf1zuFxSXPMESztS/s400/castle-of-magic-2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438420544245469234" border="0" /></a>http://toucharcade.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/castle-of-magic-2.png<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7MHoRUyGmrWG50KbIRLe15ulkh2p0FpvV4iCHkpotzzUI7cR_pFJA0kQCpRpvolZcr-mCf2C_usarcPpi1s5cgBZ5MOyFZxXJEjUVAvM9YRIdqL6PIOYNixwDtzmw-V7U0UonFWXcz5iY/s1600-h/castle-of-magic-4.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7MHoRUyGmrWG50KbIRLe15ulkh2p0FpvV4iCHkpotzzUI7cR_pFJA0kQCpRpvolZcr-mCf2C_usarcPpi1s5cgBZ5MOyFZxXJEjUVAvM9YRIdqL6PIOYNixwDtzmw-V7U0UonFWXcz5iY/s400/castle-of-magic-4.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438420546547008338" border="0" /></a>http://toucharcade.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/castle-of-magic-4.png<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Castle of Magic</span> has a wonderful colour scheme and the models appear to have very detailed textures, something that we can use to our advantage. The whole team has been looking at this game for inspiration to see what is possible on the iPhone; however, some reviews have mentioned slowdown issues (most probably related to the art) and have suggested that the game should not be played on older versions of the iPhone.<br /><br />Graphical capabilities are also heavily dependant on the engine that was used to build the game - it is likely that Gameloft wrote their own engine as they are quite a large developer. We have to make do with what Unity offers; personally I think that the only 3D we will manage (if any) is for the bees or props.<br /><br />16/2/10 - Below are optimised models of the soldier and worker bees. They both weigh in at just under 500 triangles, which I think is as low as they can be before sacrificing major details. I also drew some simple textures for them based on the colours in the concept art. They have been rigged, although they are not posed in these pictures; they each have five bones.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5xh3f0L4OXmlt9R-z6muwYumGbxBZ-njnOHNkuwO5zFOLLIaz8HLypnWm1GlSVPJSQqy4zWM4U2bWF1ieeb9tW2OV5P7ZDUIJ_kKSnrCWIOJ63zbqG1unAbFG48fUQZZbI7uUrsUANJej/s1600-h/Low+soldier.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 384px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5xh3f0L4OXmlt9R-z6muwYumGbxBZ-njnOHNkuwO5zFOLLIaz8HLypnWm1GlSVPJSQqy4zWM4U2bWF1ieeb9tW2OV5P7ZDUIJ_kKSnrCWIOJ63zbqG1unAbFG48fUQZZbI7uUrsUANJej/s400/Low+soldier.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438500325536860098" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Low poly soldier</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj25igaV3VjI534js1Rch9sbSMtr4oA1ueZBSyugFErtakMDImkInW44bUIWPt-V7DsO0SiHwLdbtWzxn9xFHIZCt1j3KgFLr91YZbWmgyL5h3psPkJWkjMFZ2M_g_r1QLrSE-GWlCURQcZ/s1600-h/Low+worker.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj25igaV3VjI534js1Rch9sbSMtr4oA1ueZBSyugFErtakMDImkInW44bUIWPt-V7DsO0SiHwLdbtWzxn9xFHIZCt1j3KgFLr91YZbWmgyL5h3psPkJWkjMFZ2M_g_r1QLrSE-GWlCURQcZ/s400/Low+worker.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438500325772501730" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Low poly worker</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">These models are extremely simple and far less attractive than their detailed counterparts; however they should look fine on a small screen. Hopefully we can run tests this week to see how many polygons Unity can handle.<br /><br />17/2/10 - Wednesday is our designated day for the grad show meeting, so most of this day was spent discussing the showreel. We agreed that we would draw a storyboard next week, once everyone has filled in a form with their information; we need this in order to make a start. The forms will provide us with information such as how many clips we need to show, the number of students on each course and how many pieces of work there will be from each media type.<br /><br />18/2/10 - After a chat with Abi I proceeded to add some 2D layers to my environment; the results can be seen below. It is more or less the same, but there are now obstacles in the mid and foreground as well. I did this to see if it would add some depth to put the enemies on different planes.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCf1QrIexgGXkm8oQ0ONlQ1BV7yKSfNvO0AepFkuh1ItBNMLFygEod9sSWEFNIao2pQODMbIGXzFhqv2NaxvrLjDSd4k5OU1bFuI5IfCnzv3NoEqmbv20gmcJ3LxGm43Tn-jF0fYw3cGE/s1600-h/iPhone+-+3+Layers3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCf1QrIexgGXkm8oQ0ONlQ1BV7yKSfNvO0AepFkuh1ItBNMLFygEod9sSWEFNIao2pQODMbIGXzFhqv2NaxvrLjDSd4k5OU1bFuI5IfCnzv3NoEqmbv20gmcJ3LxGm43Tn-jF0fYw3cGE/s400/iPhone+-+3+Layers3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439590216082915842" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Rendered bees and ants with an orthographic perspective.</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIOF0IkoyZQEKSoZ1k0wFQQSIv1Ugf8gF-rIfWWcQhYtUqQgZCeo_K7qvcNphHUZvytgakGUK79Kp5xtIj5y2EfoNbDTkNIw9fewDEETHKbXnrvkc1clY3bU-bDA-7wetoWx6KCl8wx98X/s1600-h/iPhone+-+3+Layers2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIOF0IkoyZQEKSoZ1k0wFQQSIv1Ugf8gF-rIfWWcQhYtUqQgZCeo_K7qvcNphHUZvytgakGUK79Kp5xtIj5y2EfoNbDTkNIw9fewDEETHKbXnrvkc1clY3bU-bDA-7wetoWx6KCl8wx98X/s400/iPhone+-+3+Layers2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439590212268824082" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Modeled bees and rendered ants with an orthographic perspective.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYpi-FANN6Igoy-xIUJArCo6n1dS93EPYbprsWxGLbYsQGq9hd7QEzLRu9DmGPvHBKQCDhI_PDZ1OLcrCtKTWBBu3MKPMIjxq1wvmJoaBSoDV7Hpp1c3riaXMM5daV8SomKwsKWaQ-Bwn/s1600-h/iPhone+-+3+Layers4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYpi-FANN6Igoy-xIUJArCo6n1dS93EPYbprsWxGLbYsQGq9hd7QEzLRu9DmGPvHBKQCDhI_PDZ1OLcrCtKTWBBu3MKPMIjxq1wvmJoaBSoDV7Hpp1c3riaXMM5daV8SomKwsKWaQ-Bwn/s400/iPhone+-+3+Layers4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439590220785521730" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Rendered bees and ants with a vanishing perspective.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlg0nYt8pQMdG4AmAOQ-oOlSrwRZLhPNLU6JOYIn5lzjmmRb0Mz-_7sU1ed08CmRmeqbAcIpFeaYZXHbskMHersU6MVKN3vvF8HNAmrX2mr0gaCtAIypRCdssEkxEzHwHcddnOclHq0_UV/s1600-h/iPhone+-+3+Layers1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlg0nYt8pQMdG4AmAOQ-oOlSrwRZLhPNLU6JOYIn5lzjmmRb0Mz-_7sU1ed08CmRmeqbAcIpFeaYZXHbskMHersU6MVKN3vvF8HNAmrX2mr0gaCtAIypRCdssEkxEzHwHcddnOclHq0_UV/s400/iPhone+-+3+Layers1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439590200078454258" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Modeled bees and rendered ants with a vanishing perspective.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">From looking at these screen tests, the extra layers really add some depth. There are a couple of issues with the alpha showing outlines, but this is due to 3DS Max being awkward with transparancy and I am sure it won't happen in the game. The 3D bees against rendered ants look more natural in the perspective shot, but I am still not sure if they blend well.<br /><br />My favourite image is probably the one of the rendered bees and ants with the perspective; the difference in size looks really good in my opinion. Hopefully we will be able to show these to Tag at the meeting on Friday and get their opinion on this.<br /><br />19/2/10 - We spent most of the day developing before the meeting at 4.30. We managed to put some 3D bees and an ant render in, although there was a small problem with the direction the bees were facing.<br /><br />20/2/10 and 21/2/10 - I made an animation for the soldier and worker bees - I hope to test these animations in the engine next week. Below are the videos; I only made idle animations in the time being. This is because we may need to make changes to the skeletons if there are problems with Unity.<br /><br /><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwQA48L8UjOYApD_oqx0FdtyXHsfAufSWOic6w0zTS6bMhaKRk3XYewjtEbq72cWDAWhvujwsuRcI1xfBfEOA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Soldier animation</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyrD7C-9pPG3quK01zqK2-Iji6ZSlsRLNNKtcoeRZtCk3AElm0Q7vH32D3WGerti86SdKcz7A9JKva7GDOL5Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Worker animation</span><br /></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-27433285189964533732010-02-08T12:00:00.000-08:002010-02-15T04:34:17.176-08:00Week 48/2/10 - I optimised the soldier and worker bees to an extent, but did not go too far with it since we still do not have a solidified polygon limit. I do not want to make the models too low-detail. I also started preparing my PowerPoint slides for the pitch session on Thursday.<br /><br />9/2/10 - I finished smoothing the worker bee after deciding that it would make sense to have a high detail and low detail version of the characters anyway; part of the investigation is about experimenting with art methods afterall. I then rendered my posed models using some settings and lights that Abi's boyfriend had showed me. Results below!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI9x2TX6-vYP3QAF38GfcNQpTUE4oFBrNKVmIyS_DJqSTZiKNWkWGlIuXeYaHGTrENgpEUd8KNS_v1hHsVhOjDwlfCThd6Jindj3f18DqVtHRO9S-lr4EAcR04yDzywu1828Z9KzkNYvP6/s1600-h/Ant+renderFront.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI9x2TX6-vYP3QAF38GfcNQpTUE4oFBrNKVmIyS_DJqSTZiKNWkWGlIuXeYaHGTrENgpEUd8KNS_v1hHsVhOjDwlfCThd6Jindj3f18DqVtHRO9S-lr4EAcR04yDzywu1828Z9KzkNYvP6/s400/Ant+renderFront.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436362038190223490" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Ant in attack pose</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-0pom3c4Vme0DdfbJ1vl3_cQ2dVIwCVjGyY0lMqb4Ju23DSfcswFni0tuRYSAC7XMfUFoOi65tiz8dI-qb_pg1s7nGpZI3jAazSXD8a-p9N3V_yNAR8U-SZ9lUdtsUyZZrr7ezh6cQwr/s1600-h/Soldier+render.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 379px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-0pom3c4Vme0DdfbJ1vl3_cQ2dVIwCVjGyY0lMqb4Ju23DSfcswFni0tuRYSAC7XMfUFoOi65tiz8dI-qb_pg1s7nGpZI3jAazSXD8a-p9N3V_yNAR8U-SZ9lUdtsUyZZrr7ezh6cQwr/s400/Soldier+render.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436362047435830866" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Soldier in attack pose</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dfjaOlIHWPoZjkYNigvQNmjozpXgEFnJc9wjEbdTz708U4AB__oA1OxlknCgvzvDnv0XRwhOQpr-k4n3AH6chbGF-wGzyF7A1Kx_Zd36oDSJWs4lwagA0Zs9S_sFjU_c4KrHU1n_mAk7/s1600-h/Worker+render.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 381px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dfjaOlIHWPoZjkYNigvQNmjozpXgEFnJc9wjEbdTz708U4AB__oA1OxlknCgvzvDnv0XRwhOQpr-k4n3AH6chbGF-wGzyF7A1Kx_Zd36oDSJWs4lwagA0Zs9S_sFjU_c4KrHU1n_mAk7/s400/Worker+render.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436362041012242434" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Worker in cool pose</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The first two poses are taken from Abi's concepts and are similar to how they might be rendered for use in the game; the third was just for fun, to test the skin.<br /><br />This render setup involved a sky light, three directional lights and a glossy material. I am very grateful for being shown this setup as it makes the models look great!<br /><br />10/2/10 - This morning I did some research on polygon and bone limits for Unity iPhone - the limits seem to be very low but I'll have to wait and see how the programmers' stress tests go. I plan to have a low-detail version of each character I create, even if they will not be used. I think it's a good idea to have models that are theoretically suitable for development if the game were in full 3D, since this is part of my investigation. Hopefully at the end I will be able to compare the renders, the models and Abi's drawings in context.<br /><br />Below is another render of the worker bee. I posed him again to make sure that the skin on the arms was deforming properly, and assigned a matte material to see how it would look.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGmq9LCdW4nxC7uCPbAzu3yQ8riUGDImak6YxPneMrrT5rQtZFaKD_A0xdwwvqVnbNT6d2L1e4Z8tKQkHOvG4gZj8Gq4q0_Z116d7y9a-psvzb0bxPRvMDPvRdvyLEythdUbGdUKET5qh/s1600-h/Worker+matte+render.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGmq9LCdW4nxC7uCPbAzu3yQ8riUGDImak6YxPneMrrT5rQtZFaKD_A0xdwwvqVnbNT6d2L1e4Z8tKQkHOvG4gZj8Gq4q0_Z116d7y9a-psvzb0bxPRvMDPvRdvyLEythdUbGdUKET5qh/s400/Worker+matte+render.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436570820460167186" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">'Ready for business' pose</span><br /></div><br /><br />11/2/10 - Following my pitch presentation and supervisor meeting, I was comfortable with the idea of creating theoretical low poly models of each character for the sake of comparison. My aim is to submit mockup gameplay videos: one with the rendered assets and one with the 3D assets.<br /><br />I conducted some research into iPhone games which use 3D assets; Touch Arcade and Pocket Gamer are two useful websites which feature articles and media concerning iPhone games. I looked at GTA: Chinatown Wars in particular because there was an article which compared the game on PSP, DS and iPhone. Interestingly, the iPhone version was deemed the most graphically attractive. The article can be found at:<br /><br />http://toucharcade.com/2010/01/20/grand-theft-auto-chinatown-wars-iphone-3gs-nintendo-ds-and-sony-psp-go-comparison/<br /><br />Unfortunately, looking at other iPhone games for use of 3D does not seem to be particularly useful; the polygon limit on screen is heavily dependent on several factors, including the use of animation, physics and the number of models. This means that I still cannot guess at how many polygons or bones are feasible in a model - however I have started optimising the generic ant anyway. My guess is that the polygon limit will be very low, as will the bone and animation limit.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOcZBYjEla-lAcFfMy7xNt_ffgXF7AoVaPDPUNBp5Ztw7oKkU8rBXocbjjqCFd-ZoiD3Ga9jiB9eeeilfElzQqGxWfRwLdXc5vlQgNiEBXczU6g1egn4pXQ2gX8CyLU9npkbJL5eDT2_0/s1600-h/Ant-low.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 327px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOcZBYjEla-lAcFfMy7xNt_ffgXF7AoVaPDPUNBp5Ztw7oKkU8rBXocbjjqCFd-ZoiD3Ga9jiB9eeeilfElzQqGxWfRwLdXc5vlQgNiEBXczU6g1egn4pXQ2gX8CyLU9npkbJL5eDT2_0/s400/Ant-low.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437371460857922514" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Low-poly ant is still over 800 triangles - ideally he should probaby have even less.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">12/2/10 - At the moment I am unsure what would be feasible for our game as far as 3D is concerned; I have no idea what our approach would be if we used full 3D. Given the nature of our game, there will be many characters on screen at any time - the swarm can have as many as seven bees and the generic ants would likely attack in hordes. I am almost certain that animating these models would cause severe slowdown, so perhaps they would not be animated. But this would leave things looking very static, especially the ants since they should be walking.<br /><br />A possibility is to use 3D bees with attractive swarming motion, with 2D rendered ants; this would probably be less strenuous on the iPhone but I'm not sure how good (or bad) it would look. I might run some tests with mockup screens this weekend to see what happens.<br /><br />13/2/10 and 14/2/10 - Over the weekend I set up a scene in 3DS Max with a 2D rendered backdrop; I tested the scene with 2D rendered ants opposite rendered bees, high poly 3D bees and low poly 3D bees. Below are the results.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIswOSjms9xaIP2sWNamET3HTzJ-Tfwkeksgnv-42Ptj3M5hzZ7uoEk_LdKOriYtQREwDmz1DxWtl01JBcOjZwrAX8mY76ChbohCbjH6u7sBqLzzsIha6aQBX6OApJDJ_Rzk-QHGCX3IJC/s1600-h/iPhone+-+renders.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIswOSjms9xaIP2sWNamET3HTzJ-Tfwkeksgnv-42Ptj3M5hzZ7uoEk_LdKOriYtQREwDmz1DxWtl01JBcOjZwrAX8mY76ChbohCbjH6u7sBqLzzsIha6aQBX6OApJDJ_Rzk-QHGCX3IJC/s400/iPhone+-+renders.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438086137740280466" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">High detail renders of ants and bees. This is method 1 - the one we are most likely to use.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxsOHsrMMjQffFwPqWqB-gZdcKF-bXXb52w_r41wmj5DEP8rcjA4o7rGugtUKlAMnwgd_wQpKGmMfOgdklhZ5s9ehIexB0i11FjIn1sC10kyQeahT28d8lGm2LOPj9U3fokOldwqr4jgz/s1600-h/iPhone+-+high+3D.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxsOHsrMMjQffFwPqWqB-gZdcKF-bXXb52w_r41wmj5DEP8rcjA4o7rGugtUKlAMnwgd_wQpKGmMfOgdklhZ5s9ehIexB0i11FjIn1sC10kyQeahT28d8lGm2LOPj9U3fokOldwqr4jgz/s400/iPhone+-+high+3D.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438086139630080306" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Rendered ants and high detail 3D bees. This is not going to be used for the game and serves as a comparison between high poly and low poly 3D on a small screen.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7lIt1HADsvHerVqhKYns9KwExUTHaeXAaopnpkWbmtAjjrQ2AYmVRKLuRXTxtK7U1ctnFz3b8JcwvV95U5JazNSD-EHUMv-oDbwwMk67y-e3rADmaXI2z65NrOhfRU1mTVR9dJZ_txRb/s1600-h/iPhone+-+low+3D.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7lIt1HADsvHerVqhKYns9KwExUTHaeXAaopnpkWbmtAjjrQ2AYmVRKLuRXTxtK7U1ctnFz3b8JcwvV95U5JazNSD-EHUMv-oDbwwMk67y-e3rADmaXI2z65NrOhfRU1mTVR9dJZ_txRb/s400/iPhone+-+low+3D.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438086145977422002" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Low poly 3D bees and rendered ants. This is method 2 and is being looked into. I am not convinced about this method as it is quite jarring, but it will need to be tested in the engine.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><br /></div></div></div></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-16881716316872480402010-02-05T13:06:00.000-08:002010-02-07T07:27:58.243-08:00Week 3Week 3 started with working on a model of the soldier bee which I had previously made; I simply smoothed the model out in Zbrush. This was a useful exercise in discovering how much the texture would deform when a UV mapped model is tweaked. (2/2/10)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkx0uuny0QWt9PqVHNMUwGDdRpJb9yApBLUupBqUvKyABOGudwNwy2pXqNZlpZo_yCmN0LHxECoORJdfIbvsZwiIRyKCYs8NR1M3gEClkLmBlbq5vypJ9K8l0PgcHUOOhEte_2PiCv5Rl/s1600-h/Soldier+smooth.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 333px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkx0uuny0QWt9PqVHNMUwGDdRpJb9yApBLUupBqUvKyABOGudwNwy2pXqNZlpZo_yCmN0LHxECoORJdfIbvsZwiIRyKCYs8NR1M3gEClkLmBlbq5vypJ9K8l0PgcHUOOhEte_2PiCv5Rl/s400/Soldier+smooth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434868948765335058" border="0" /></a>It was good to find out that a skin can be detached from a posed skeleton, replaced and re-attached without any hassle. This is good news if I wish to pose a model *before* adding detail to the mesh. (2/2/10)<br /><br />From this I have come up with an ideal production pipeline for these models:<br /><br />Initial modelling in 3DS Max<br />UV mapping > send map to Abi for texturing<br />Build skeleton and rig model in 3DS Max<br />Add detail to the model in Zbrush<br />Pose high-detail model if this hasn't already been done<br />Set up lights and rendering<br /><br />(3/2/10) I have now sent the UV map for the generic ant to Abi to texture, and have had the smooth soldier approved. I have also added details to the generic ant (he has a spiky blue and red counterpart) and UV mapped those. Here is what the spiky ant looks like:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_CVdk79UXWBOitvF1M_8__L7IftgoYyoFfUR5ww76TwDIFehVQWtqpOZuwmQfsLxUKiZ_sZXmejcC_VtM4EBB1JtKWwtI5l8H1Wm4sVcYf_-YckireqbuVIQnqLQXjSZoiE41lMjiJYoS/s1600-h/Spiky+ant.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 332px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_CVdk79UXWBOitvF1M_8__L7IftgoYyoFfUR5ww76TwDIFehVQWtqpOZuwmQfsLxUKiZ_sZXmejcC_VtM4EBB1JtKWwtI5l8H1Wm4sVcYf_-YckireqbuVIQnqLQXjSZoiE41lMjiJYoS/s400/Spiky+ant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434870070988808258" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">He is rigged and ready to be posed for rendering</span>.<br /></div><br />(3/2/10) I have written some notes concerning the dissertation: structure, chapters etc.<br /><br />(4/2/10) I found a better way to rig and bind models so that there will be much less need for skin weight painting; I used this method to skin the spiky ant. Also re-posed the generic ant to match a position in Abi's concept art and set up some lights for a nice render; this will be put in the game as a placeholder at some point.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybZoNg9w2HbPZZzUvWTL2_-XO5q4-hW82g8HvETyb-_rLio0-PqqPtPJxrDLkKmJVw63aMF5QEMWZv0poMMh1BARF6nU3irCgirtrP3_6FKECDTY9VrRsMNBx0e_degrbpLW70hnAB7aV/s1600-h/Ant+posing.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybZoNg9w2HbPZZzUvWTL2_-XO5q4-hW82g8HvETyb-_rLio0-PqqPtPJxrDLkKmJVw63aMF5QEMWZv0poMMh1BARF6nU3irCgirtrP3_6FKECDTY9VrRsMNBx0e_degrbpLW70hnAB7aV/s400/Ant+posing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434870539539865394" border="0" /></a><br />This model is still rigged the 'old' way; imperfections in the skin will not be noticeable at iPhone size so for the moment this is not a problem. However, I will consider re-skinning this character when it's time to make posters.<br /><br />(5/2/10) After a day developing together as a team, we have become indecisive as to whether the bees should indeed be flat renders; the placeholder assets looked so nice swarming around in Unity, even at a small size. A decision needs to be made soon, because I can't progress with any more bee models until I know what the limitations on polycount and bones are.<br /><br />Unfortunately, if the full 3D method is chosen for the bees it means that my hard work on the soldier and worker bee (see below) will have been for nothing. I think the ants will remain high-detail renders whatever happens, so this isn't so bad.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrHn7d2DHJ1hrFFzh7kHhiHlt7ryTPKGekw3o-96sNlKfIVMq3-KDY9T3jQVwZWz_sxN5ysLC0-th00-EzRAK_GIucS9jgZqWGmqJd2D5VIbOawfV-jqTZDK2RB6fx3Mr5P8Yuf2Ezcuq/s1600-h/Worker+model.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrHn7d2DHJ1hrFFzh7kHhiHlt7ryTPKGekw3o-96sNlKfIVMq3-KDY9T3jQVwZWz_sxN5ysLC0-th00-EzRAK_GIucS9jgZqWGmqJd2D5VIbOawfV-jqTZDK2RB6fx3Mr5P8Yuf2Ezcuq/s400/Worker+model.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434874595011010930" border="0" /></a>This is the worker model - the skeleton has been fully built and the model has been UV mapped. All that was left to do was the smoothing, but this model may never be completed; it is probably too high detail at the moment to be used as an actual 3D asset in the game. I will have to reduce or re-do the model and start the skeleton from scratch as well if the model is to make it into the engine.<br /><br />(7/2/10) I mostly spent the weekend going over my case studies for the dissertation, and taking notes concerning the show reel. Looking at other multimedia show reels and last year's Abertay show reel has given me some ideas as to how this year's show reel could proceed. Progress is still stalled concerning the character modelling.Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-69143303178656556122010-02-05T12:59:00.000-08:002010-02-05T13:05:40.366-08:00Week 2I spent week 2 working on the ant enemy; adding detail in Zbrush, UV mapping and skinning and posing. Below are a couple of progress shots of the ant being detailed:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoRzYAkRLx5VYGKhdF1ZnqlZ1sfq4XCESKSiIyyKEMW80XyQXmEKFfhrt27C-zLCYp3Nb8xMVqXC661MXaorPmfN0VrHyNpN2HI2Cve1KF2ummQv2qQA9bR9duMhPM8VMW8_AJYcHS9fH/s1600-h/Ant+detail.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 116px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoRzYAkRLx5VYGKhdF1ZnqlZ1sfq4XCESKSiIyyKEMW80XyQXmEKFfhrt27C-zLCYp3Nb8xMVqXC661MXaorPmfN0VrHyNpN2HI2Cve1KF2ummQv2qQA9bR9duMhPM8VMW8_AJYcHS9fH/s400/Ant+detail.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434867434161231458" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">At this stage the model had been smoothed to a satisfactory standard, but some fine</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> details still needed to be added. (26/1/10)</span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvz3KYDZxtqjXevlTNv_5C5fESQB9DP7Zvpdz0WD9Qp0zaGhGvAd5T33_CyZpwfnH0yez_JLDo_PW90Rc87YCyRlMx_pEw8w7gR-U9zcVIyENhJWIhmmLnrt8RVPUrpUJb16ME44NhGDhz/s1600-h/Ant+thin+seams.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 348px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvz3KYDZxtqjXevlTNv_5C5fESQB9DP7Zvpdz0WD9Qp0zaGhGvAd5T33_CyZpwfnH0yez_JLDo_PW90Rc87YCyRlMx_pEw8w7gR-U9zcVIyENhJWIhmmLnrt8RVPUrpUJb16ME44NhGDhz/s400/Ant+thin+seams.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434867426728402994" border="0" /></a><br />This version of the model has had the fine details added to his arms, legs and torso. This image was approved, so I proceeded to UV map and rig the model. UV mapping and skin weight painting was rather difficult with such a high-detail model, so I plan to change my workflow for the next model. By the end of week 2 the ant was very close to being complete; a few more skin weights just needed to be painted. (28/1/10)<br /></div><br /></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5835343848963618255.post-86911881706643509652010-02-05T12:48:00.000-08:002010-02-05T12:59:40.864-08:00Week 1Since it was the start of term, we did not achieve very much this week. I met with my project group to discuss a day each week when we could work on the game together, as well as determine which software we needed and whether we could access it yet. We began our first day of development on Friday.<br /><br />The first character I worked on was a generic enemy in the game; following concept art and guides, I was to model, rig and pose him whilst adding extra detail in Zbrush. By the end of the week, the ant model looked like this: (22/1/10)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi62LNJZOZ0T4kNL79vZN9t2uudOSwq7c3zkk1ZJJ4C14aqzbSiffNIKtTanVT9M8YO1J3ae_kx3GD8aWRKaXOPzgDi0DbpJgvbcDanq3hai9PxlC34rO4Gb32dVksFQrKwTSufLe6STUXN/s1600-h/Ant+Week1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi62LNJZOZ0T4kNL79vZN9t2uudOSwq7c3zkk1ZJJ4C14aqzbSiffNIKtTanVT9M8YO1J3ae_kx3GD8aWRKaXOPzgDi0DbpJgvbcDanq3hai9PxlC34rO4Gb32dVksFQrKwTSufLe6STUXN/s400/Ant+Week1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434864971279426770" border="0" /></a>I also spent some time at the weekend experimenting with various methods of cartoon<br />shading in 3DS Max; the results are shown below. (23/1/10)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6e_FJyEv5EdXOWZ02fMCWOSGr4pkk4qdTEmWpdPmDwZdJF0uBI37SaSNAIUSqKEqQ-3RgpnHSQZ_WIJQJP6mDT0XZD875QGZU0_T3zW9F-nrRx1GTriMpjY7merp2sNJboW9-SmGmbgL8/s1600-h/Cell+shaded+ant2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6e_FJyEv5EdXOWZ02fMCWOSGr4pkk4qdTEmWpdPmDwZdJF0uBI37SaSNAIUSqKEqQ-3RgpnHSQZ_WIJQJP6mDT0XZD875QGZU0_T3zW9F-nrRx1GTriMpjY7merp2sNJboW9-SmGmbgL8/s400/Cell+shaded+ant2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434865370239409170" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Ant with toon shading</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4INLH7e4_F0WSzY6u7zYONscMP_PzbkDzoIrrJIQ-jgDzxm4qLpDkqKDudEw34PGRWwr-LmzlhDwsnG0GRl8b0HcmG37tJFguhUkula1D0AeJC-qO4rMAhs9oKNF8XHcRD4yiVnsYulv/s1600-h/Cell+shaded+ant1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4INLH7e4_F0WSzY6u7zYONscMP_PzbkDzoIrrJIQ-jgDzxm4qLpDkqKDudEw34PGRWwr-LmzlhDwsnG0GRl8b0HcmG37tJFguhUkula1D0AeJC-qO4rMAhs9oKNF8XHcRD4yiVnsYulv/s400/Cell+shaded+ant1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434865370256973122" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Ant with outline shading</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzRw0-oTzsVQ3VJNXcbRyUJg1K2sLiE9fl4m3OBjPwREA7GmsKNxWDqNY6Lo2dW3OTUkfg9-4uZ0saapwCVZr6euFwMZ5Y4LlpWpZu_Tbz_BfZXpxZtBUQIqeOm62IpKlWvLiQQYxZA4Q/s1600-h/Cell+shaded+soldier2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzRw0-oTzsVQ3VJNXcbRyUJg1K2sLiE9fl4m3OBjPwREA7GmsKNxWDqNY6Lo2dW3OTUkfg9-4uZ0saapwCVZr6euFwMZ5Y4LlpWpZu_Tbz_BfZXpxZtBUQIqeOm62IpKlWvLiQQYxZA4Q/s400/Cell+shaded+soldier2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434865380636054690" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Soldier bee with toon shading</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi345Ng7LJfvYAXGVzHhY7ENGMUXkl7naOqz-VQMdyTnee4d1wgdvMJlCXGWAPPHvGTvkfVrEa7Kt_Rk0l-av0cZUetB8kE4r7EWT1BYATHPR5QCnD52qNluNwpm4lp7w5yHZYsznSGnCSD/s1600-h/Cell+shaded+soldier1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi345Ng7LJfvYAXGVzHhY7ENGMUXkl7naOqz-VQMdyTnee4d1wgdvMJlCXGWAPPHvGTvkfVrEa7Kt_Rk0l-av0cZUetB8kE4r7EWT1BYATHPR5QCnD52qNluNwpm4lp7w5yHZYsznSGnCSD/s400/Cell+shaded+soldier1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434865378954279538" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Soldier bee with outline shading</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Whilst the cell shading is quite nice, volume and detail are better retained on the textured versions. After presenting these experiments to Abi, the art director, it was decided that we would use the outline shading for our renders rather than the cartoon material. (24/1/10)<br /></div></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08559623830492997464noreply@blogger.com0