After a few nights of going to sleep at 03:00am I finally completed my 3D Project- Simon Says, putting it onto OneDrive early Friday (26th October) morning.

I thoroughly enjoyed creating my Simon says game despite it being a bit stressful to say the least. I actually started the project wanting to create a creepy elevator visual experience, however quickly realizing that I had bit of a bit more than I could chew resorted to my back up plan of Simon Says.

Creating the Simon Says game was actually a lot harder than I anticipated. The scripting side of the game was extremely difficult for someone of my level.  I found a youtube tutorial which I followed to show me the scripting, I changed the code a bit to better fit in with my project however it was mostly not my code. However, I did try and make sure I was understanding what I was typing, so that I could fix the code myself if I encountered issues. Once the project was complete, I understood at the very least roughly what the different functions within my code were doing.

Throughout the process of creating the Simon Says game the initial idea changed and warped to overcome the different issues which I encountered within production. An example would be that early on I was only going to have 3 clickable “Artifacts” and they would be activatable through corresponding coloured buttons. The player would also have been playing through 1st person perspective which is completely different to the final games isometric view. However, I realised that I should try keep my game as simple as possible as not to over complicate it. So I decided to remove some of my intended features, as this was my first project and there would be a lot more opportunities  to be more experimental and ambitious in later projects when I would have the necessary skills to realistically achieve those ambitions.

In terms of the 3D modelling within my game it was also kept very simple and low poly. I started off wanting to create more complicated models such as a Mannequin and a Engraved skull, however I found that Modelling these items was taking too long because I was struggling to use certain tools such as spline. I then decided to give my game a low poly look, kind of like a older PS2 game. I created more low poly artifacts and placed various simple but good looking objects such as a bookshelf into the scene.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process of creating the game, and I feel I have come out of it more experienced in both Unity and 3DS Max. Although the code mostly wasn’t all mine, I still feel I have come a long in understanding C#, and I feel a lot more confident in writing code.

Project Description

Students will develop a simple interactive visualisation using simple primitive-based low-poly modelling. Students will be tasked with the thematic development of an interactive visualisation based on the concepts of movement and animation through scripting.

My Idea

I actually have 2 ideas, the first is the main one and is more ambitious and the other is more basic and is sort of a back up.

Idea 1: The Elevator

This idea is supposed to be a creepy, chill inducing visual game. The player is in a lift and cannot move however can look around and interact with objects in the lift such as the buttons.

The player chooses a floor then the lift takes them there, each floor has a different visual, some of which can harm the player if the lift is still there at a certain point.

It is a older style lift with a cage for the door and is run down with broken glass and a damaged interior.

Initial Idea Sketch

Initial Idea Sketch Interior Wall

Each floor is different-

3rd floor will have approaching darkness with lights turning off in a sequence and a increasing audio queue once reaching the player it kills them (black screen and restart). Will try to achieve this with a IF statement, so it only activates if player is on the floor and resets once they are no longer watching.

2nd floor will be the mannequin hall. There will be a flickering light in this hall, when the player cannot see the mannequins they will move closer, if they reach the player the player is killed and given black screen and restart.

1st floor will be floating objects hall. There will be multiple 3D modeled pieces of furniture floating about like there is no gravity, and a light mist if possible. The player is in no danger on this floor.

Initial Idea Sketch of halls

Mannequin to be 3D modeled

Idea 2: Memory Game

This idea is my “back up” idea, it has simple button interactions and makes use of a first person controller. The player is faced with 4 pillars, 3 have cubs orbits on top of them and one has three buttons. A cube will pulse and make a sound, the player must then copy that by pressing the button associated with that cube. The sequences will get longer by 1 each time, and your score is counted live on the wall.

If possible I would look to incorporate a scoreboard that keeps track of everyone’s scores, the player will be asked to input a username at the start of the game.

Project Description

Students will develop a simple 2D scroller in the form of a game or environment for exploration. Students will develop a Python-based 2D scroller (Side or Top-Down) along with its accompanying photoshop assets portfolio. Students will be task with the development of basic interaction code (i.e. movement, rotation, collision) for the manipulation of 2D assets and the design of point of interest (i.e. 2D composition) in the environment.

My Idea

I am looking to create a simple horizontal scroller, were players must avoid obstacles. If the edge of the screen catches the player they receive a game over.

Players must jump gaps and over obstacles, such as tree stumps and rocks, if character falls into gap a game over is received.

If I have the time I would also add collectibles which continually add different colours to the background as they are collected by the player.

In terms of aesthetics I took inspiration from the game Limbo by Playdead. The dark, gloomy levels give the game a creepy, unsettling feel which I look to portray within my own game.

I started by completing some basic tonal sketches of various 2D environments.

Mist Factory

Tree and Bridge (unfinished)

Large Forest Background

Old ruins and Creepy Tree

Within the game the player will travel through different backgrounds and environments, which will seamlessly connect with each other and then loop once the cycle has been completed.

The edge of the screen will be a mist of darkness, this gives the player a visual to illustrate the danger of the edge of the screen.

As mentioned previously, as the background is gonna be extremely dark, I thought about implementing a collectable. This collectable would add individual colours to the background until all were collected and the background was no longer black.

In keeping with the unsettling theme of the aesthetics, I decided to make the player’s character a string puppet. It will look like a basic mannequin, however the movement of the mannequin will suggest the user of the string puppet is a child. This will be conveyed by the harsh up and down movements with forward motion and the careless upward jerk for the jump.

Character Design 2

Character Design 1

All 3 pieces that i chose to talk about are of 3D environments. These set a standard which I one day look to meet or exceed.

Wild West Enviroment

https://80.lv/articles/creating-a-wild-west-environment-with-ue4-speedtree/

I particularly liked this scene mainly because I felt it captured the idea of what Red Dead Redemption 2 will be trying to portray.

The  artist portrays the contrast between the native American’s one with nature/ circle of life ideals and the industrialisation of America. The scene is comprised of 2 halfs, the side  with the oil pipe which is slightly gloomy and is dead/ dying. The artist deliberately lights the scene to convey how the industrialisation of America killed the Native Americans way of life and destroyed their land.

The other half shows a native american camp surrounded by light and greenery. This gives that part of the scene a more lively vibrant feel. I believe the artist did this to illustrate the unity the native americans had with nature, and how they cared for their land.

As I said, I liked this scene as I felt it told a story/ narrative, which is why I found the scene interesting.

In my future works I would look to implement and arrange my scene in such a way that it leads the onlooker’s eye, and tells a story. It is something I may find difficult at first and I very much believe that static scenes can tell great stories.

Ominous Tree

https://80.lv/articles/creating-an-ominous-scene-in-ue4-ilya-ivanov/

This scene gave me the creeps, and I chose it because it reminded me of the Evil tree the 3 crones ask Geralt to kill in The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt.

As with the wild west scene/ environment, I feel the artist has created a story within the scene. Honestly not 100% sure what story this scene is telling. Perhaps the tree is chained because it moves (like the one in Harry Potter), and has killed people in the past which would explain the blood within the scene.

The scenes use of various objects such as the bone chimes on the tree add a horror element, and further adds to the story telling. Gives the idea that someone put them on the tree so it can be heard when it moves.

The tree is centered to the the scene, and is done expertly. The way the artist has created the tree almost as though its reaching out to grab someone.

In my own future works I would start to mess around with making different trees, for different environments. Also again expert use of layout to tell a story within a static scene. Something I definitely will look more carefully at, so I can start can start to implement such narratives into my own scenes.

Shadowy Forest in UE4

https://80.lv/articles/creating-a-shadowy-forest-in-ue4/

Although this particular forest scene is extremely dark it does show off the power of strong lighting. Due to the dark scene any lighting introduced would have to be expertly placed as it could result in the scene looking off by being too bright or dark. I believe the artist deliberately chose a dark scene to challenge their lighting ability, to create a scene that feels authentic to a real life forest.

The artist does a great job of balancing colour within the scene. The scene is dark enough that it gives the scene a almost moody look without making anything so dark it cannot be seen.

I also liked how the artist arranged the scene so there is no clear focal but instead I found my eye flowing with the worn path within the scene. This gives the idea of a game environment, where the environment directs a player to a objective.

The artist mentions his use of 3D scanning and vertex painting (to create the moss). This helped create a photo realistic forest and is something I would want to explore in a project of my own once I become more proficient with 3D software.

This scene made me realise the importance and power of shaders in creating a great looking scene.