GUI #10 -- Cover Art

I had some spare time, so decided to go over the art a little. I think Luthers version is great, but I decided to put it on an actual box cover. Even though it is for steam, I am using something called a backup disc box, which can be used to install the game via disc to steam.

Here is the front and back of the cover art. I used a picture Luther designed for the front cover, and I used various images Luther also designed for the game.

These are all the layers I used to make the cover art.

Here is the final design for the cover art. I changed some of the text on the back cover and I also added our group logo to various spots on the cover box.

Miscellaneous Assets

Miscellaneous Assets in this post includes small objects created and used in the game.

Chair created for the office space; generic shader applied as texture wasn't needed. The overall shape was constrained by the concept art, fitting in with the cartoony, skewed effect the game is utilising. I like the process in creating this asset, but would wish to texture it next time.

Ceiling support. Generic texture applied in-engine, basic geometry, utilising edge loops and transform constraints to create overall shape.

Desk Created as to the concept artists spec, with a working lamp placed on the top surface. This allowed me to explore Mayas' built in light tool, find the best combination of light and placement for export.

Door created using basic polygon shapes, with an extrusion on the front face to create the window. The handle was created as a separate mesh and combined with the door mesh.

Lamp was created as to uniformly light the scene, using the edge loop tool and transform constraints to create the overall shape. The faces where the glass would be was extracted as to allow another material to be applied, making the appearance of transparent glass, allowing a light source to be placed inside of the mesh.  

Both the floor plane and the windows were textured using hand painted .psd files. The creation of a texture tile made the application of the material onto a mesh appear more refined. Hand painting the texture in photoshop took its time, but I am pleased with the result, and I can reuse the texture for a later date.

The smelting pot was constructed using a basic cylinder polygon object, with the transform constraints creating the scale and shape. Edge looping and extruding the top faces allowed the object to become a container. Unwrapping the UV maps and importing them into Photoshop allowed the hand painting of the texture maps, these were then applied to the mesh. I enjoyed the texturing of this model, and I am pleased with the end result.

The light strip was created to initially light the scene from above. It was then decided that this asset would not be used, and became obsolete.

Generator

The Generator asset plays a key role in the game, acting as a puzzle, upon which the player must complete to continue their progress in the game.

They Grey-boxing of the generator follows closely to the concept art presented, and incorporates buttons, a cog, and some handles. The concept defines the generator to be skewed and stylized in design, with 2 pipes extruding from the top and the right side.

 After some liaising with our concept artist, it was decided that the pipes protruding from the generator should be modelled in a more stylized way. In addition to this, it was decided that the top pipe will have to feature a longer pipe, as to allow the generator to fit, according to the prototype, in the scene. 

As my first asset created for the game, I had to re-learn most of the basic tools in Maya. Next time I try to recreate an asset in Maya, I would like to spend a little more time learning the tool set, as this will allow me to become more familiar and comfortable with modelling. I am, however, pleased with the result in terms of a first attempt.

GUI #9 -- Group Logo

Here, I created a simple logo for my group work. Its a simple text layer, then I added a rectangle in the middle, with a line coming out the top to resemble dynamite. I added a slight fire to the end of the dynamite to make it look like the logo is about to explode. I also added the blog link underneath.

GUI #8 -- On Screen

This is how the GUI looks on screen. It may look like it takes over the screen, but the player will not have all of it open at once. This is just to show the placement of the GUI. I think everyone is happy with it, and it fits the style of the game. I tried to stick with the dark purple/blue colors. I would have done animation, but Jem decided not to add it, as it started to break the game and we were running out of time, so she made the decision to not have animation and worry more about getting the game done on time. This was a good choice, since the GUI is not as important as getting a finished game for the deadline. Having still GUI would be better than having animation, but no game.

Key Maker

Upon receiving the concept work, the key maker design for the winter submission began with modelling from a single cube polygon. Edge loops and manipulation of the edges of the polygon grafted the overall dimensions of the machine, with the parameters set by the concept work.

The side features of the machine were created as separate mesh objects to aid in easy texturing, with the bulk of the texturing being hand painted; fitting with the direction of the game build.

As you can see from the reference material, the overall smoothness and seams of the texture are not perfect, but for the direction of the build, they are adequate. As this was one of my first attempts relearning the texturing process, I have learnt that polishing the UV mapping, and getting the UV seams right the first time saves a lot of hassle further along the pipeline.

Asset building: Cabinet

The concept art made the creation of an in game cabinet furniture asset. As this was a integral part of the game, the finished asset had to be textured.
Greyboxing the initial mesh involved edge looping a cube, use of transform controls for size and scale, and extrusion of several surfaces.




Small parts of the cabinet, such as the shelves and the door handles, were created separately as to allow a smooth topology for texturing.
The UV mapping was optimised as to allow easy texturing. The textures for this mesh were hand painted to fit in with the general feel and look of the end game. I found that I have enjoyed painting the textures by hand, as they give a good result. The only problem, I find, is that hand painting textures takes a lot of time, which in turn, teaches me that the modelling side of asset building is not intensive, and that I should spend more time working out the texture.

Golden Key

A golden key was commissioned via the concept art for the group game. After loading and the reviewing the concept art in Autodesk Maya, I found the best approach (in my limited skillset, so far!) was to use the quad draw function. I drew out the basic shape of the edge of the key, and created edge loops to maintain the basic geometry of the key when extruded.


The use of the extrusion tool allowed the key to form as a mesh, with the crease tool maintaining any hard edges defining the keys shape.


Smoothing the key created a even topology, and the application of a generic material shader bypassed the need for texture mapping. The specular value for the material was adjusted as to create the look of a shiny metal.

This particular asset I am pleased with, this is due to me getting to use the quad draw function more, allowing me to expand my skills with this tool. In turn, the finished result looks better than I expected.

Asset Building: Wooden Box and Barrel

An asset required for the team build was that of a wooden box; industrial in design, fitting to the concept art presented.

Simple greybox modelling began with a cube polygon, inserting an edge loop around all six sides. The side faces are then extruded as to create the raised edges of the wooden box.

Taking the greybox, unwrapping the UVs allowed texturing of the box. This particular object, being a simple mesh, was easy to unwrap and to define the texture seams. Modelling this object allowed me to take a little time, and learn as much of the uv editing tool as I could.

Hand painting the texture as a tile allowed for easy reproduction over the uv.
This texture is then applied to the low poly mesh in the material editor. I am pleased with the result of this asset, the texture and seams of the uv has turned out better than I expected. I would, however, like to next time explore the possibilities of bump mapping the mesh to create some finer textures.

The barrel asset was constructed using a similar technique, with the texture applied being a generic shader. I did not have time to texture this asset in the end, so the addition of a generic shader does not give the asset any justice.

Cutscenes

A selection of line work pieces for the games opening cut scene showing Lavander’s arrival at the factory as well the introduction of the ghost girl. 

The line art was handled by me while the colouring was done by Heather. After I was able to add the text bubbles to scenes. The reason I used different text bubbles was to further convey the emotions from the character.

GUI Items

Below are a series of expressions that would accompany in game on screen dialogue by Lavander during game play. I wanted her usual mood to be a mixture between determination and at the same time annoyance. This was to coincide with overall feelings at the situation; she is in the factory largely against her will and has no interest in the task she is there for. At the same time however only through getting to the ghost can she leave and feels in a way challenged by it.   

The inventory system is represented by a picture of Lavenders' navy blue belt satchel which she carries most of her personal effects. The satchel would have a number of slots around it which held the items she was in possession of. 

 This symbol was to be placed on the final door of the games level. As such it was made with special ornate design and made gold so as to attract the players attention through a glimmer. The the design of the lock was made similar to the key, thus making both the items' purpose in game clear and concise.