Concepts:
Conceptual block out of the train station.
Conceptual block out of building 3.
Documentation:
I organized my files into a nice little folder set-up so that I can hopefully keep everything neat. Didn't take too much time, but I have had to deal with disorganized project folders before, and the time and frustration is just not worth it so I wanted to make sure I got this done and soon.
I also spent a good bit of time working on the documentation and actual production to-do list. I won't post the whole list, but here's a snippet of what I did:
Production:
UDK:
Test out different Heights for
Doors and Windows in UDK
Import Base Meshes to UDK
Block out scene in UDK with Base
Meshes
Import Collision Meshes
Test Collision Meshes
Replace Base Meshes with Final
Meshes in UDK
Regularly test Proportions and
models in UDK
Set up Lighting
Import Textures to UDK
Set up Materials in UDK
Test Materials in UDK
Set Up
Animations in UDK
-Train
Matinee
Beta
Comments
Assets:
Train
Station
Base
Meshes
Uv’s
Textures:
Diffuse
Specular
Normal
AO
Transparency
(if needed)
Collision
Mesh
Retopologized
meshes (if needed)
Final
Mesh
Rendering:
Asset Break down
Sheet
Wireframes
Still
Render in UDK
Final Products:
Capture
Footage of UDK Walkthrough of Level
Still
Renders in UDK
Asset
Break down Sheets
Wireframe
Renders
Process
Break-Down Video
Design
Doc
It's still very far from being perfect, but a lot of what I have left to determine will be based on the results of my research so I can't plan it out until that is done. I don't want to do too much planning before my research is done because a lot of the workflows and over processes I will use are going to be based on what I learn from it. In fact, I began researching today and it is already obvious that I will have to make some major adjustments to the to-do list I put together earlier this week.
I also managed to write-up a preliminary version of the abstract for the time being.
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis project is to create a Stand-Alone Game Environment using modular building techniques that meet and or exceed current industry standard. As a Stand-Alone Game Environment, the final product does not need to include any playable mechanics or require participation from the player. Rather, it is created with the purpose of being an explorable environment that showcases the overall art and assets that make up the environment itself.
The environment itself will be of a worn down train station and boarding zone set in the heart of a once buzzing commerce district of a now aging city. The barely functioning train station is surrounded by decaying apartments and barely-in-business shops. The shops and apartments are separated by the train tracks which lead from a tunnel into the train station itself. Above the tracks just outside of the train station is a bridge that civilians may use to cross over the tracks safely from one side to another. The lower level by the tracks and the upper level bridge are connected by special elevators that civilians may use to traverse the scene.
Other visual elements that the environment will feature are detailed textures with normal, diffuse, specular, glow/ambient, and reflection maps. Models will be low poly to allow for optimization in engine, and in some cases sculpted and retopologized. Some interactive elements may include an elevator taking the player to different sections of the map and possibly a matinee Sequence involving a train coming into or leaving the station.
Overall players can expect to experience a well thought out and stylized custom Game Environment that takes place in a unique urban setting.
I expect it to change over time as I flesh out more and more of the design doc and well as continue my research.
Research:
I spent a little bit of time playing around with Trello.com's project planning tools, but in the end I found that it lacked a lot of features that I just felt like without them it wouldn't really be an effective tool for me. I didn't like how you couldn't have a main board showing all your other boards. You could lable them all to be under the same project, but not being able to seem them all at once was a major problem if you wanted to break down the areas of your project into seperate boards. I tried to do something similar in a board where I just broken down the project into notes, but you are extremely limited in how much you can do with a note. I wanted to be able to take a note and break it down into different sections, but again there really just wasn't a way to do it. I spent about an hour trying to figure out how I could organize it so that it would work, before I decided it just wasn't going to be something I could use effectively.
I watched an incredibly helpful video that my professor showed me on the Autodesk Area website by Sandra Tournmille called, "Insider Tips and Tricks for Creating Game Environment Assets." I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in creating game environments and assets. I'm going to be replanning my overall workflow for this project now because of it.
What was nice about the video was that it was all concepts I had heard of before, but she really goes through and explains what they mean, why they are, and where they play into the production process. Although it was more of a walkthrough to the concepts than an actual tutorial, I found it was really helpful because when watching actual tutorials about the same stuff they don't usually take the time to break things down and explain what they are doing things that way when in relation to everything else that would be going on in a studio. A lot of times in a tutorial, you'll hear "this is important, so do it this way," while the way Sandra does it is, "this is important because the person you pass it onto needs to be able to figure out this from it- which is why it is done this way."
I took about 6 pages of notes from the video, but even so I expect I will be re-watching a lot of it because it really just is that helpful.
I also went over some of my notes from my research on modular building and scale for UDK and updated my standard scale guide for my level. I'm not always reliable when it comes to math and calculating numbers, so to help me save time and move a little quicker, I realized having a chart of general sizes would really be beneficial.
Of course, because I have yet to actually test things out in the engine this is going to be another one of those things that may very well be subject to change.
Time Tracking:
5h 00m: Conceptual Modeling
5h 00m: Conceptual Modeling
1h 00m: Conceptual Modeling
1h 15m: Conceptual Modeling
0h 15m: Rendering
1h 00m: Trello
0h 45m: Production To-Do List
3h 00m: Conceptual Modeling
1h 00m: File Organization
1h 00m: Abstract Write-up
0h 23m: Scale Guide Up-date
1h 00m: Blog Write-up
Total: 20h 38m
5h 00m: Conceptual Modeling
5h 00m: Conceptual Modeling
1h 00m: Conceptual Modeling
1h 15m: Conceptual Modeling
0h 15m: Rendering
1h 00m: Trello
0h 45m: Production To-Do List
3h 00m: Conceptual Modeling
1h 00m: File Organization
1h 00m: Abstract Write-up
0h 23m: Scale Guide Up-date
1h 00m: Blog Write-up
Total: 20h 38m
