Elements of Game Technology, part one: game engines

One thing the gaming world isn’t necessarily lacking in is the access to a game engine. There’s plenty around, so the ability to find one which specifically suits what you want to create is pretty secure. Personally, I’m not overly savvy with game engines, I love seeing what I have created in engine when compiled into a playable level, but when it comes to learning and navigating the engines controls I’m a bit timid and unsure. Let’s just say when something goes wrong – even the simplest of things - I have no idea what I’m doing. An unselectable 8ft apple core is a rather unsettling thing to be faced with.

As I’ve recently been using it, let’s start with Cryengine. This engine is the officially licensed tool for pretty much all next gen gaming consoles, and remains the only all in one development solution for the PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and WiiU. It has a version of itself that is free for non-commercial production, and 20% of its revenue goes towards indie game production. It’s capable of generating state-of-the-art physics which can be applied to the majority of objects, and making them react in a realistic way to an opposing force without use of an external middleware. It’s also very powerful when it comes to AI, having the ability to use modular sensory systems to handle character behaviours.
 In comparison to other engines I have used, its interface is very easy to get the hang of once shown. The importing of assets is very simple and instinctual, relying on a simple drag-and-drop format into well categorised folders. And once an asset is in engine, graphically it looks pretty damn impressive.
The sandbox makes a levels creation super easy – giving the creator the ability to adjust assets in real time, speeding up production. I personally found the ability to adjust the scale of an asset, as well as the hue of specularity and the asset itself to be incredibly useful – as opposed to going back 3Ds Max to adjust a model having to reexport it, or adjust the colours in a texture sheet,. In addition to this, the similarity between 3Ds Max’s interface and Cryengine makes it very simple to use – especially when it comes to compiling textures to create a material.

Something I cannot find evidence of Cryengine doing, is supporting Android or IOS, this being something that the Unreal Engine does, alongside the Playstation Vita. In addition to this, Unreal Engine can be used to create both  a cinematic experience and more simple games such as side scrollers – this more than likely being the reason as to why it’s suitable for phone and tablet game usage. Once again UDK offers a free education, non-commercial use version. For production use it’s a $19 monthly subscription with a 5% royalty on gross revenue – this being said to be more cost-effective for studios and young developers.

This is just two examples out of a number of game engines, also demonstrating how different engines and be suited for different people depending on what they are producing.

Sources:

http://www.develop-online.net/tools-and-tech/the-top-14-game-engines-unreal-engine-4/0117552
http://cryengine.com/
http://www.develop-online.net/tools-and-tech/the-top-14-game-engines-cryengine-3/0117554
https://www.unrealengine.com/faq

Elements of game design, part six: documentation

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”.

Aims:
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.

Platform:
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.

Genre:
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.

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

Elements of game design, part seven: level design

Level design and environment design are two separate aspects when a game is in development, although are not necessarily held as completely separate elements, as generally the jobs are interchangeable with an individual in the industry. As I touched upon last year, environment design refers to the aesthetics of the assets which are places in the environment – an environment artist will model, texture and on occasion light an environment to create a visually appealing level. Level design refers to the assembly of said environments. In general, a level designer will design gameplay elements, as well as create scripted events and test gameplay – basically, the interaction with the environment artist’s creations. Their job is to create a level, environment or world in which a player can interact with and not get bored – and depending on the game type, avoid replication the mundane tasks of an individual’s everyday life. Then again this is really just a suggestion, as if people can find a game based around mopping and cleaning interesting as long as its blood, guts and in space then who knows.

Viscera Cleanup Detail - The space-station janitor simulator

Generally, what can be classed as good level design can be categorized into fundamental “rules” as it were. Starting with the navigation through a level – this being one of the core interactions a player has with the environment they have been presented. Crap layout can hide visual cues as to where a player has to go – in most cases this comes in the form of a light source, corridors,  colour coded areas such as in mirrors edge, blocked off “you can only go this way” sections, or the way in which the scary monster just went. Good navigation creates a good flow within a games level, with consistent themes throughout a game allowing a more instinctual interaction from a player.

Another suggested “rule” of game level design is the use of environment to tell the story, relying on just the right amount of visual cues to allow the player to immerse themselves and uncover the story for themselves without it being shoved down their throat. Narrative aspects of a level can be done in three ways, explicit – referring to text or speech, implicit – referring to the environmental cues, such as in Bioshock or Fallout 3’s use of notes, and emergent – this being narrated by the player as they travel through the level.

One of the more optional aspects of good level design is the players’ interaction with quests/objectives, and how they are to be fulfilled. In the Elder scrolls series it is a general running design that the character gets to choose their morality, and how certain quests can be ended – this affecting the environment around them in multiple ways. This leads into gameplay – quests and locations of interest should be distinct in their marking, with the option of how a location is interacted with being determined by the player. Doing so allows a game to steer away from repetition, giving some more variety in doing tasks and interaction where the player feels as though they are writing their own story.
The difficulty of a game is a sign of good level design – although maybe not one of the most important ones. I personally know I appreciate it when a game allows myself to select what difficulty I want to approach a game in, allowing me to get the enjoyment I want without unnecessary rage quitting – AKA: Dante’s Inferno. Adjusting the levels of enemies, difficulty of environments and the levelling curve via the adjustment of the difficulty can create a more rewarding experience with a personal feel.

Level design, in reality, wants to create an easy-to-play but not in your face, personalised, interesting and all round awesome experience for a player, showing off the visual environmental designs to their fullest whilst creating flowing, logical interaction with them which both strays from everyday life, but maintains balance in the real world with its understantability and interaction with an individual’s awareness and intuition. They should create emotive responses which fuel gameplay, with levels which highlight specific mechanics within a game.

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DanTaylor/20130929/196791/Ten_Principles_of_Good_Level_Design_Part_1.php
http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DanTaylor/20131006/197209/Ten_Principles_of_Good_Level_Design_Part_2.php
http://www.johnsto.co.uk/design/level_design

Elements of game design, part six: Visual Composition

Visual composition is an aspect that I find personally can be easily over looked when producing images, whether they be from life or an imaginative piece. It’s much easier to go “Hey, that looks alright” then to analyse and consider every aspect of the image. But this is something that’s important, as the composition of a piece can make or break certain aspects of the image, and I personally know is something that I need to actively consider more thoroughly.
The easiest way to approach this topic would be to break up the subject of composition into its’ key elements, so let’s do that. Firstly let’s approach space, referring to the area around and between objects visualised. This will give off the silhouette of an object, and generally the main focus of a piece depending on the intricacy and interaction of an object with its environment.
Generally, the layout of an image can be subjected to the rule of thirds – This is definitely an aspect I need to consider more, as generally the eye is drawn to the centre of an image which can create a somewhat static and uninteresting image. The idea behind the rule of thirds is that a 3x3 grid is drawn, the intersection of the lines of the grid being where the key visual aspects of an image will be situated. Adjusting the balance and symmetry of an image in this way can create a more dynamic piece.

The key aim of any image, whether it be a fine art piece or a design, is to simulate a 3D form in a two dimensional medium. This can generally be done through the use of the basic shapes used to create an image – for example cuboids being used to create the angle of the shoulders. With this, the general way to make something appear as though it has that depth is to show at least 3 faces of an object or shape. If not, 3D form can easily be low.

Values are another way in which depth can be created in composition, applying varying intensity to simulate foreground and background. This is something I have recently just grasped, however still have trouble with incorporating into  my designs due to the observational trickery of “that’s obviously in dark shadow so let’s make it intense” despite it being in the far background. It’s all about artistic judgement, and adjusting what we see to translate in a more effective or visually pleasing way on paper.
Values can also denote materials and textures, adjusting the “specularity” of an object can dictate whether something is shiny or matte, something which can bring life to an image through its application.
An addition element of visual composition is the application of colour. And this will be the last one I touch upon in this post, as this is a super long essay-bearing topic and I’ll save you the eye strain. The use of a large variety of different shades can frankly create a mess, on the verge of cluster-fuck, of visual unappealing proportions. Keeping the hues on a similar scale, but adding a key colour can create a more dynamic and smooth unity within a piece. This can be demonstrated across the years through many fine art masters – for example “Hylas and the Nymphs” by John William Waterhouse, or “Lady Godiva” by John Collier. In addition to this, colours suggest mood, temperatures and can dictate the softness of an image.

Hylas and the Nymphs

Lady Godiva

To sum up what could be an epically long post somewhat cut short, composition is more complex than one could initially suspect – a lot of artistic judgement, adjusting and concepting is needed in order to create the most aesthetically appealing piece – not to mention critically analysing yourself and your approach. A single misjudgment in colours, values or the composition could deteriorate an ideas representation. And that would sort of suck.

Sources:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_space
http://www.hippasus.com/resources/viscomp/RuleThirds.html

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/how-to/from-theory-to-practice/formal-visual-analysis.aspx
http://www.incredibleart.org/files/elements2.htm

Elements of game design, part five: planning and concepting

So I really should crack on with tasks, attempt to vocalise myself whilst I currently under go numerous brain farts and brain dead drooling in a corner.
Any set project, whether it be in the gaming industry or an alternative design occupation, undergoes a series of design processes in order to obtain a well-rounded final outcome. As I can refer more accurately to the projects I have been set over the past year and a quarter, it’ll be easier to pick the process I personally underwent in order to get my final outcome. In my opinion, the initial stage of concepting is possibly one of the most important stages of any brief, and whilst it can be the most time consuming aspect, I have found that a large, well thought out concept for a design – whether it be environment, character or vehicle – will generally produce a more effective final piece. The initial concepts of a design are an aspect which will constantly be referred to throughout a project – being adjusted as they go along, so in reality need to be produced in large batches in next to no time at all.
From my own projects, the process of concepting begins with research, gathering images and ideas from either primary or secondary sources for accurate representations of what the projects brief may be as well as suggesting stylisation and themes.
From here, a large quantity of silhouettes, thumbnails and prep sketches are produced using said research in order to gain the most eye catching form – with any design, an interesting silhouette can make or break its recognisability with an audience. These will then be narrowed down to the most attention-grabbing forms, their interior shapes developed and moving onto stylisation and colour theory application. I personally find that combining and nit-picking at silhouettes & interior detailing can help produce a more well-rounded design – although I find that caution needs to be applied with this approach, as a design can very quickly become over complicated, busy and impractical.

In addition to the initial concepting, the way the files are planned and organised are an essential aspect, as in industry concepts will be shared by multiple artists. Numbering silhouettes, file names and titling layers in photoshop files give ease to adjusting a concept later down the line, as well as ease in locating files and such. Planning out time management is also an important factor when it comes to not only concepting but the overall project itself, as if deadlines are not set and aimed for, a final design may be out of reach – or just take a lot longer to get to. Or, on the other hand, the final could be underdeveloped if not enough time and planning is given to concepting. In order to attempt to avoid this, I’ve given myself more time to focus on the initial concepting stage – as part of me still dislikes silhouettes due to the unreadable nature of the inner workings of a design at the first stage, I understand how important this is to a design and see it as something I can constantly better myself at. In doing so, I will be more of a valuable asset when it comes to the group project later on in the year, as well as demonstrate important abilities to everyday life.
All in all, concepting is more difficult than it may be initially thought. And I’ve used concepting too much in this post. Concepting, concepting, concepting. It’s no longer a word with meaning.

I realise this post may be rather dull due to the lack of images, as well as references, however I was at a bit of a stand still as to how to reference something like this topic. Next post should – hopefully – be more interesting.

Apparently I can be happy with my work.. who knew?
The past two game production products I've been relatively happy with the outcome - and obviously I could always do better, do more, and so on, but a standard I'm content with is quiet nice.
And yes, I may be procrastinating from the visual design vehicle project a bit by writing this blog entry.. but I hate vehicles. And presentations.

So the current project is to design a building which will fit between two provided, fully textured meshes. So I naturally went with my first cliche thought to do a Chinese restaurant.

Well, not really just a Chinese restaurant. Mainly inspired by the scene in the movie "Spirited Away" when Chihiro's parents are turned into pigs - more of an outside buffet idea. Ideally, I wanted to give it an appearance of a converted apartment building - a sure safe way to maintain the brief and make my design fit between the two buildings provided. Basically, taking typical, traditional Chinese shapes and applying them to a store-front styled design, with an open buffet/seating area 

 The one thing I was looking forward to about this project was the amount of baking I would be doing to a lot of the geometry - not necessarily having a strict, low tri budget meant I didn't have to be as strict with certain geometry - for example the roof canopy could actually have geometry and maintain its silhouette somewhat, but I doubt I could have a 10,000 tri asset attached to the scene and explain it somehow.

I even baked a little mooncake. It was a bit pointless, but I couldn't resist.

The final result I'm overall please with the appearance - it conveys what I wanted to, despite the fact I may have been a tad lazy/apprehensive to attempt parallex mapping to create a kitchen scene within the openinn and instead added shutters. I could have used more decals however, to grime up the place - however with the limited texture budget we had I didn't want to include too many details which would be blurry and distorted on the final object.

And so another year begins

Summer could not have gone slower, seriously. Stressful, tiring and lonely – made me remember how much I actually miss having friends and things to do. Sometimes. I probably could have done a blog post or two, but as I don’t necessarily enjoy having a presence on the internet and spouting nonsensical thoughts I found procrastinating in cakes and exercise more worthwhile. I did attempt a group project with some friends, it made me realise how crap my laptop was as in the end 3Ds Max wouldn’t even open on it.. So say hello new desktop – it’s beautiful and I love it. I’ve managed to do some 3D modelling before my laptop went kaput though. I think I improved, although what I produced was worthy of the pits of hell due to her under thought design.

I really need to draw more men.

We’re in week 3 now – coming up to week 4 of the second year, and looking back at the first year I can already see an improvement with my environments. After a huge plateau over summer its quiet nice to acknowledge improvement – not saying that I still don’t need to improve. I do. Majorly. But that’s not the point. I can sort of do perspective now, yay!
             

Values and colour seem to be a bit wish-washy, I can tell undertones in shadows and highlights when looking at something, and I grasp the idea of more distant items having less detail therefore a lower value, but replicating that? It appears I have ups and downs, where sometimes I can get it to somewhat work, and others not so much. It seems to depend somewhat on the subject matter – more organic items I love doing, trains and buildings are boring and too linear. But also time spent on it – thumbnails are meant to be quick but I ended up spending about an hour on some of them from Abbey park. Attempting to avoid doing that for Loughborough train yard and the Guild hall seems to make me want to produce nothing worthwhile.

My 3D has visibly improved, the way I work and think through the appearance of the final outcome – even with something as boring as trash – rather than doing the bare minimum due to wanting to throw myself out of a window from frustration, I’m instantly thinking of ways I can add to the scene. I attempted to give a bin bag a split with stuff falling out, and instantly thought of an environment it could be placed into. I considered two environments instantly, even! That’s new, thinking of possible environments is one thing but multiple ideas is another. Hopefully this thinking maintains itself through the year.

 And whilst I’ve improved and started enjoying environments more, no matter how frustrating the new aspects needed are, I still find myself attracted towards the human form, and characters. It’s still my ambition, unwavering, to be a part of the production line to well-rounded characters who produce some response from a captive audience, whether it be adoration, admiration or hatred.
I feel my life drawing has improved since the first year - however I am too linear still, taking refuge in the definite of "this goes here" rather than suggesting - which could be more worth while on quick 1 and 2 minute gesture drawings.

Week 1

week 3

week 3

The second year is no doubt going to be more stressful – so I’m kicking in and getting on with it. Trying to keep up to date – working through blinding migraines may become a more regular thing but this is what I want to do for a living. It’s time I start making it seem that way.