Game Design MA

Ue4 setup For the project, I used UE4 to create my environment scene. The reason why I have used this program is that I find the process easy enough to achieve and present my outcomes. From modelling to texturing, importing into UE4, the process is easy enough. This is because you do not have to spend too much time to set up your props.  I was able in my process, to have a fast turn around from software to software. This saved me a lot of time creating the final scene and achieving the end goal. 

Lighting  I have used lighting within my project to achieve an authentic and realistic setting from the perspective of the player. Looking at the references by artists, I have focused on recreating these ideas. I have done research on how to maximise lighting in UE4 without overcrowding the scene. I felt that this is the best route to follow. The first thing was the lighting points, in this case, they were the fixtures. After this, I placed some subtle lights down the walls and looked at the overall environment to see if I was gaining maximum realism. Making sure that my placement of these lights was as realistic as possible.  I spent time finding a tutorial online, which showed me some new pointers on how to use lighting in various different ways to what I originally intended. This was useful in maximising the realism of the environment scene. 

Rigging Alongside the animations, I have used rigging in Maya. Rather than just using the more simplistic animations, rigging allows me to create more realistic movements. For example, chains and belts. I have gained knowledge of how to use pully belts as a rig effectively, as well as creating smooth transitions for the pully belt moving around the wheels. I felt it best to prioritise this transition as it would effectively create a juddered game experience for the player if it was not smooth.  I found that while doing this process, I found it easy enough to grasp the main concept of it, however further on into the more complex issues, I found it more difficult to grasp.   It has been a slow learning experience as there are so many options for adjustments within the rigging process. 

Animation   In the project, I have aimed to use moving parts as a focal point. I have used Maya to achieve the movement. The reason why I have chosen to incorporate movement is to create a more immersive experience for the player. I am hoping that these animations really bring together the scene which I am working on, however, I have hit a few issues within the process. although the general process of animation was simple enough the grasp, I had hit a few problems when applying it. The importing of a single animation would cause no issues, however, when a second animation was imported from UE4, this would cause one or both to break. This has been difficult to fix but I am hopeful that the outcome is effective from the player perspective.

Texturing Up to this point, I used Substance Painter to achieve the texturing in my project. The reason why I used substance painter is that I have found that it has a simpler work-flow which works for me to get the best outcome. Another reason why I used substance painter is that I wanted my project to be as realistic as possible, something which I have struggled to gain in other programmes such as Adobe Photoshop (Hand Painting). Screenshot displaying the editing process within Substance Painter This is an in-game image from the game ' The Order:1886'. This displays the effect and the texturing style I am striving for within my own work. This style sticks to the steampunk idea as well as the realistic style I am wanting to achieve. All of which are in the aim to complete an immersive game experience.

Maya modelling Throughout the project I have been using Maya to model all my assets. I have also use ideas created by artists as inspiration for this. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/v86vv https://www.artstation.com/artwork/OPQnk The process that I have taken has been to draw out sketches of the environment which I want to create. To achieve this, I did research to make sure at all of my ideas were in the same aesthetic. The reason that I did all this was to keep all my work as close to contexts as possible and to have the same theme as ‘steampunk’.

Environments Through the process of researching and designing the environment, I first started by looking at a similar scenes which featured the steampunk style. Below are some examples of the work I looked at, https://www.artst a tion.com/artwork / XwRrn https://www.artstation.com/artwork/EVGWn8 The pictures above are some examples of artists work. I have used these to help me along as it gives me insight into the gaming industry and more specifically what they are currently creating at the moment, following on I will attempt to use some of these sources to influence and inspire my own work. I have found environments through my research, examples which can be seen in games such as ‘the order’ and ‘Guns of Icarus Alliance’. These games fit into a very similar genre and aesthetic as how I want to take my project. Taking note on how these levels and the environment are made and the layout of the room. I have been separating these environ