Week 10, Semester 2

This week I spent time modelling more assets for my environment, as well as texturing my Hut with the techinques taught through a PDF tutorial in 3DS MAX. I also began constructing a basic watch tower and a small hovel.

Later on in the week I began constructing temples which are noted in my blueprint. The design for these buildings will heavily reflect upon the famous Mayan temples. Below are several references images I will use for my design.

Earlier this week I posted a model of a log, here is the final product, textured and ready to be imported.

Week 9, Semester 2

This week I began constructing assets in 3DS MAX for my tropical environment. Assets include wooden tribal structures (Where noted on my blueprint), logs, vines, huts and other various elements related to Papua New Guinea.


Hut_Clay_Render

 

Log_Clay_Render

 

 

Week 8, Semester 2.

This week I continued working on my environment, adjusting the terrain to look more like a natural landscape, using the reference images I sourced from various books from PNG Mining texts.
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.

Below are many images of structures constructed by the native peopl of Papua New Guinea. Many of the assets that I will construct in 3DSMAX will be based upon these nomadic builings.

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.