Week 7, Semester 2

Week 7

This week we went through the procedures of using a terrain package which we imported into unity. We spent the lesson learning how to use its tools, which involved generating landscapes from a list of specific settings. After getting comfortable with this terrain package, I began incorporating what we had learned with the blueprint of my level. Below is my progress so far. 

I selected a combination of various palm and bamboo trees to paint across the terrain. Being a tropical island, these types of trees are relevant to the environment. Tall, thick rain forest trees have also been placed in areas around the central points of the island, furthest from the coast line. PNG hosts many trees across its mainland, including Acacia Auriculiformis and Alstonia Scholaris, commonly known as Blackboard tree, which are represented by the larger, thicker trees mention earlier which have been placed around the more central areas of the island.

                       Alstonia Scholaris                       Acacia Auriculiformis

A mixture of ferns, weeds and grass were also chosen, again, emphasizing the tropical look of the environment, as well as avoiding repetition of grass blades across planes and hills.

Week 6, Semester 2

Week 6

This week we began importing our blueprint into 3DS Max via a texture applied to a plane. Once the blueprint was imported, I began constructing the various buildings and temples throughout my design, blocking in the basic layout. To ensure everything was to scale, we converted the measurements across the 3DS MAX grid to centimeters  We also constructed a small cylinder at 180cm on the y axis, representing the average height for a human, and then scaled the rest of the map in relation to the size of the cylinder. 

Below is my level at its early stages, simple mountains formed with a basic path that illustrates the flow of the level and where the player will be travelling.

Week 5, Semester 2

During class we looked at creating asset lists for our environments, including lists for terrain and audio assets, for example crates, trees, rocks, ambiance tracks and musical elements. Considering my environment will be a range of dense jungles, gorges, valleys and mountains, my asset list varied quite a bit. 

Here are my asset lists. These lists were generated from looking at reference images of Papua New Guinea, as my environment will heavily reflect on the geography of this island.


Asset list:


High Priority:

Temples.
Huts.
Large bamboo structures.
Village port.
Boats.
Dense jungles.


Medium Priority:

Boulders.
Torches.
Roads.
Campfires.
Large tropical trees.


Low Priority:

Rocks.
Fallen bamboo, trees and decaying logs.
Ruins.
Remains.
Coconuts.
Fruits.
Coral.
Campfire fuel (Broken wood and sticks.)
Ferns.
Weeds.
Grass.


Texture List:

Path mud
Path dirt hard / soft
Wood
Shrubbery.
Thick grass.


Music List:

Musical elements.
Tracks.
Effects and patterns.
Tribal/world cultural music.


Ambiance List:

Fire
Torch
Waterfall
Fireflies
Bugs, rainforest ambiance.
Wind, canyon, trees, structure.

This week I also began creating rough blueprint thumbnails for my environment and its level. I want to cover as much of the diversity in terrain as possible throughout this level, as the harsh landscape is responsible for separating the tribes who inhabit the island. A crucial element to my story is the communication barriers between each tribe, and by covering all the extremes of the geography in my level, the conflict between tribes will be easier to understand.

After drawing four thumbnails I settled with the last sketch I created (below). I felt that this thumbnail best represented the harsh terrain in Papua New Guinea, as well as creating enough space and diversity of terrain throughout the level objectives. 

Final: 

Final Draft:

Thumbnails:

Level objectives identified through blueprints:

1.       Defeat cannibal patrol.

2.       Ambush cannibal camp.

3.       Seize and control Urdula’s temple.

4.       Destroy fake temple and seize control of port.

5.       Get to Urdulas’ main temple and defend.

Design Process

Game Idea & Central Theme

Reference images for my environment:

Below are many scenic images of Papua new Guinea, these will be used as reference material for my environment.

Culture:

Papua New Guinea hosts more than a thousand different cultural groups, which means their methods of expressing their culture differ in terms of dance, music, weaponry, costumes and architecture.  My fictional race will represent the wide diversity of cultures in Papua New Guinea, divided by the number of different tribes.

Game Genre/Idea:

1.       The player will control one of three characters of a fictional tribe based of the past and current tribes of Papua New Guinea. A strange epidemic has distorted the islands inhabitants’ sanity, turning these people to cannibalism. The player’s objective is to survive the cannibalistic tribes and bring the island back to its previous serenity. As the player progresses through the game and its story, the culprits behind the epidemic are revealed to be a large western organization. The player and its companions naturally resist their attempt at flushing out the tribes and eventually defeating the organization.

2.        The player will control one of three characters of a fictional tribe based of the past and current tribes of Papua New Guinea. A strange epidemic has distorted the islands inhabitants’ sanity, turning these people to cannibalism. The player’s objective is to survive the cannibalistic tribes and bring the island back to its previous serenity. As the player progresses through the game and its story, the culprits behind the epidemic are revealed to be in fact a God once worshiped by the island, forgotten by lack and change of faith. The player must then restore faith in this forgotten God.

After comparing these two ideas, I have decided to go with the Second paragraph.

Theme:

Having faith in what you believe in and remaining loyal are the central themes to this story. The three main characters featured in this game come from the Old Tribe. These people are firm believers of the elder god, the true creator of the island which they inhabit.

Synopsis:

The inhabitants of the island have become cannibalistic, due to lack of faith and disbelief in the true god of the island. The player and its companions must restore faith and save the island. 

Setting:

The central theme for this game will be based on the cultures and lifestyle of Papua New Guinea. This game will predominately feature a tribal, nomadic theme, reflecting upon the people of PNG, distorted with supernatural elements and fantasy. 

The island will be covered in harsh geography such as dense jungles, extremely tall, steep mountains, canyons, deep valleys and broad rivers. With the current religious situation relating back to the storyline, many of the local villages and camps will abandoned.

Context:

Restless tropical island populated by recently turned cannibalistic tribes.  Lack of faith, as well as misguided faith has offended the islands God Urdula, and has dealt punishment through turning the islands inhabitants insane. 

Backstory:

Urdula, a minor God, took on the task of creating a race to worship his Greatness, all in good faith to please his superiors.  For centuries the island Urdula created had been at peace, hosting a wide range of tribes, all devoted to his religion. As the years went by, local tribes drifted off into their own seperate beliefs, creating new Gods in order to replace Urdula, individualizing their tribes. This was encouraged by rivalry, and the disticnt lack of communication across the people who inhabit the island due to its harsh terrain. Urdula, shocked by how quickly his religion was discarded, decided to destroy the island and its people, turning many of the tribes into vicious cannables.  

Pemise:

You play as one of three characters, Voodoo Muaja, Brute Daijam or Hunter Shejara, each posesing a very specific skill set. The neighbouring tribes of your island have been corrupted, turned into cannabals by the local God Urdula. You and your companions seek to restore peace to the island by bringing back faith in the local God.

Storytelling:

When:
This game will be set during the 14th and 15th centuries in a fictional world very similar to earth in terms of geography, land to water mass ratio.

Where:
Set on a tropical remote island inhabited by barbarous tribes, vicious animals and a landscape which hinders communication amongst the different people.

Who:
Three characters, Voodoo Muaja, Brute Daijam and Hunter Shejara who all come from the same tribe of this remote island.

Why:
This fictional island is heavily based upon Papua New Guinea, just north of Australia. This game will be featured in a fictional island similar to Papua new Guinea, as my game is going to take place in a nomadic, tribal environment.

Reference images for my characters:

Character Descriptions:

Three heavily contrasting characters, imitating three major stereotypes from our current era:

Character 1. (Male)

Voodoo Muaja, a ‘voodoo’ geek, drawing inspiration from modern societies stereotypical tech-geeks.  This character will be well educated with their local medicines and medicinal practices, as well as other hexes and charms. 

Character 2. (Male)

Brute Daijam will be a complete contrast to Muaja. This character will lack intelligence, however this set back will be compensated for his extreme expertise in combat. Daijam represents todays ‘jocks’, in a vague sense.

Character 3. (Female)

Hunter Shejara will provide another contrast to the previous characters. Shejara will be a charming, resourceful, agile character with a sarcastic sense of humour and outlook on their world.

All three characters however will share a common personal trait, being loyalty and faithfulness. These two qualities link back to my central theme of having faith and being loyal to the right people. As these three characters are the only ones who express this quality, it is their goal to bring everyone around them to the same position.