I was contemplating this entry for a while – using it to
somewhat organise my thoughts on next year’s final major project. My
documentation isn’t too fantastic granted, so it’s something I need to improve
on as it is important and used throughout the entirety of a project – being used
to report on progress, present ideas, concepts, organise thoughts as well as to
be there to constantly refer back on to progress or revaluate ideas. In
addition to this, documentation of a project will outline specifications and
limitations to assets that would be designed – stating tri count, texture
limits and the frame rate a level will run at.
As I’m not entirely certain as to what I want to do for my final major project – there’s a huge variety of themes, genres and stylisations I could apply to the project to make it more interesting, I feel that more contemplation is needed than a single blog entry on how I would personally go about organising and allocating my time to the project. In addition to this, as I ideally would like to do characters, I would be overlooking certain aspects which apply to entire levels of environment-based projects. So instead I’m going to outline the possibilities for the group project that has just began – in which the idea is to produce an exploration/vague narrative based level, somewhat in the style of the game “Dear Esther”.
As I’m not entirely certain as to what I want to do for my final major project – there’s a huge variety of themes, genres and stylisations I could apply to the project to make it more interesting, I feel that more contemplation is needed than a single blog entry on how I would personally go about organising and allocating my time to the project. In addition to this, as I ideally would like to do characters, I would be overlooking certain aspects which apply to entire levels of environment-based projects. So instead I’m going to outline the possibilities for the group project that has just began – in which the idea is to produce an exploration/vague narrative based level, somewhat in the style of the game “Dear Esther”.
Aims:
High quality realistic textures
Accurate, logical topology and flow lines to all geometry
Interesting silhouettes
effective mood portrayal through colour palette and lighting.
High quality realistic textures
Accurate, logical topology and flow lines to all geometry
Interesting silhouettes
effective mood portrayal through colour palette and lighting.
Software:
For this I would be using 3Ds Max, ZBrush, Photoshop, and any additional normal map generating programs.
For this I would be using 3Ds Max, ZBrush, Photoshop, and any additional normal map generating programs.
Platform:
PC, current generation consoles
PC, current generation consoles
Audience:
For this I would aim for an audience of 16+, this meaning I could include some more mature themes, yet as the games genre is more exploration there would be no need for profanity, nudity or gory/violent themes. The game genre itself would rely on the maturity of the player, and appreciation of aesthetics and subtle narrative rather than action and explosions.
For this I would aim for an audience of 16+, this meaning I could include some more mature themes, yet as the games genre is more exploration there would be no need for profanity, nudity or gory/violent themes. The game genre itself would rely on the maturity of the player, and appreciation of aesthetics and subtle narrative rather than action and explosions.
Genre:
As stated before, an exploration, narrative-base.
As stated before, an exploration, narrative-base.
Technical Specs:
The environment would be required to meet the frame rate of current generation consoles as a minimum in order for the game to be portable with minimal lagging issues. This appears to be around a minimum of 30FPS, ranging up to 60FPS at 1080p for the Xbox One and PS4. In order to make sure I meet this, I would be logical with where I allocated tris, giving key assets a priority with about 1000 tris for environment props with full texture mapping. A vehicle would have up to about 7000 tris. A level with minimal characters would in theory allow them to have about 8000 – 1200 tris, with full texture maps. A minimum of 2000 tris being the lowest, mainly intended for LODs.
The environment would be required to meet the frame rate of current generation consoles as a minimum in order for the game to be portable with minimal lagging issues. This appears to be around a minimum of 30FPS, ranging up to 60FPS at 1080p for the Xbox One and PS4. In order to make sure I meet this, I would be logical with where I allocated tris, giving key assets a priority with about 1000 tris for environment props with full texture mapping. A vehicle would have up to about 7000 tris. A level with minimal characters would in theory allow them to have about 8000 – 1200 tris, with full texture maps. A minimum of 2000 tris being the lowest, mainly intended for LODs.
Texture maps:
For an environment I would be able to use multiple tillable textures, limiting them at 512x512 as a maximum. For more detailed texture sheets, such as if I were to include a character or a heavily detailed object that would be seen close up, I would perhaps use a 1024x1024 as a maximum – for example for a main character, however in minimal amounts as to keep the frame rate at its optimal
For an environment I would be able to use multiple tillable textures, limiting them at 512x512 as a maximum. For more detailed texture sheets, such as if I were to include a character or a heavily detailed object that would be seen close up, I would perhaps use a 1024x1024 as a maximum – for example for a main character, however in minimal amounts as to keep the frame rate at its optimal
