Project 3
Title: TBD
Group: Alex and Sree
03/28
The first week of developing the project idea started out slow. We have met to discuss the potential narratives for our world and brainstormed different ideas. We have decided on the general structure of the world which consists of 2 scenes connected by a portal. I have sketched this general structure layout.
03/31
I have downloaded a bunch of different low poly asset packs (plants, rocks, etc) for the project file but haven’t yet started populated the scene with them. I have continued looking for visual references for the world’s aesthetic and assets style. I keep collecting images for our mood board (some examples below).
04/03
I wanted to start modeling a few objects for the scene because the low poly assets are all very pointy and edgy, while I wanted World 1 to consist of smooth rounded shapes. However, I have a problem with accessing Maya. My 1-year license has recently expired, and I was not able to renew it because Autodesk was not accepting my school documentation to get a free educational subscription. I am hoping I can get that fixed soon.
04/05
Good news is that I got my Autodesk license back! Submitting a school transcript had worked for me. Bad news is that the program itself does not open at all on my computer and keeps crashing, I will try to reinstall. I am hoping to start modeling assets this weekend. I think the next important step is to finalize the details with Sree. We still do not have an exact storyline for the world except its general structure, and I would like to design characters for both worlds soon.
I have also started to populate the scene with some assets, and so far it is definitely far from I would like World 1 to look like. I think it is more of a draft to see where I want objects to be and how they could look like. As I mentioned earlier, Asset Store downloads are not exactly the style I want (not the smooth geometry as in the examples above). I am generally stuck with what I want to do, and we haven’t met with Sree yet to polish our ideas and decide next steps. I hope next week we will be able to catch up with this project, because lately I have just been really busy finishing up my capstone that is due Tuesday.
04/14
I have played around with modeling rounded geometry and created a new scene to place it on. I think this has potential to fit the style I originally envisioned. However, I do feel stuck a bit with what I am doing 😀
04/21
On my side, I have continued designing World 1. I was able to create more models in Cinema 4D, a few animated characters and adjust materials and lights for a lighter and more pleasant look. I also converted the project file to AR and tested it on my phone. You can see on the video below that it is working well and looking cute. Next step would be to implement interactions with creatures and maybe UI things from the last lab. We are still behind on the schedule, but hoping to keep up. I will also move on to laying out World 2 to stick to our original idea of exploring duality. There, the aesthetics will take an opposite look, colors will be cooler, geometry will be sharp and pointy, etc.
04/28
In the past week, both worlds of our project grew. I have continued polishing the layout design and adding various other effects in World 1 and, finally, created the “opposing” World 2. Although earlier I wanted it to have pointer and sharper geometry, I decided to compromise on that use the same set of models (so that I do not waste time modeling new ones) with a few additional downloaded low poly assets. Similarly to World 1, it is also surrounded by walls in shape of cartoonish mountains with 2D backdrops for an additional artistic touch. The videos at the end of the this entry show updates in layout, design, lighting, navigation, a few animated special effects, etc.
Based on user feedback, World 2 is obviously missing characters as of now but also it needs more contrasting features compared to World 1. So far, the key differences are in the color palette and brightness. The second scene is visibly colder and a little darker (although I could not yet achieve a better night time look). Sadly, I could not perform user testing because the main interactivity feature of our project (the portal) is still in development. On my side, I would also like to add simple interactions with the characters in World 1 (bounce the around with sound effects in response), and populate World 2 with “grumpy” characters that follow the player with their eyes but do not move.
Other next steps for our project include finishing the portal function and adding sound. I believe the latter could help us achieve a better contrast between the worlds.