"Whoosh" gif

I made this gif to demonstrate the use of assets whizzing past the screen to simulate speed. The speed of the camera is constant, however the objects differ in distance from the camera, and density of objects. I found that when the objects are closer to the camera, your speed seems higher. Also, the more objects in close succession passing by will enhance the illusion.

Year 2 - Project 1 - Games As Art

Dear Esther - This way, please.

A Look At Narration

Dear Esther - Follow the light.

Looking at "games" like Dear Esther, you are faced with a world to explore, and a narrative to complete. There are no other game-play elements after walking, and turning a flashlight on or off. You, the "player", are led through a story simply through suggestion. You cannot die, or lose. Merely get bored and never complete the novel.
   It's not what I would deem a game. Dear Esther is a story, with a slideshow of gorgeous scenery after gorgeous scenery. You cannot alter the story by taking a more rebellious path. You have no heads up display, or true objective. Only the power of suggestion.
   Not calling it a game is not, however, an insult. It's just healthier for a consumer to know what to expect. When you call something a game, you imply many things about the product. Things that Dear Esther does not have.

   Upon listening to a full one hour walk-through of the novel, with no commentary, I came to enjoy the poetic writing of each chunk of narration. The metaphors of kidney stones and islands were striking. When my attention flitted back and forth from my sketchbook to the video, I gazed upon some truly beautiful scenery. Where the lighting was bleak and grey, it fit the tone of the story - and the atmosphere of England, generally. But then to be contrasted by the phosphorescent caves, covered in stalactites that created interesting breaks in dark and light. All tied together by the glassy reflections in the shallow water.
   The screenshots I picked (above) from the start of the novel display some of the ways the environment lures the "player" through the narrative. The rocks (top) that have cascaded down the shallow cliff-face provide a safe walkway to the shore. And the distant red blinking light of a tower (bottom), only just visible over the rocks, serves as a constant suggestion as to where the "player" is to finish their journey. To make it more alluring, that's even where the sky breaks, letting through a biblical beam of light to guide your attention.
   These practices interest me. For example, in your common action-adventure game, you are given waypoints to lead you to your next progressive point in the game's narrative. If you were to strip that away and only use these suggestive techniques, would the player be able to comprehend where to go - even whilst fighting the malicious AI? Or is this a strategy that can only be adopted by something like Dear Esther, where your attention is nearly never taken away from the environment?

The Walking Dead - Telltale Games

   Contrary to Dear Esther's one-track narrative, this (above) is a section of a choice tree from Telltale's The Walking Dead. Where you cannot interact with Dear Esther's narration at all, with The Walking Dead, it's pretty much the only element of game-play to the "game". Does it make it a game? Not to me, no. It's an interactive novel, telling stories in ways unbeknownst to the public. You get to pick and choose characters that you like or dislike (to an extent), axing and saving as you please. After that, you get to compare your choices with your friends. These are novelties that countless authors haven't yet cashed in on.
   Presenting your fiction through the 3D medium allows a new way to experience your story. For Dear Esther, it puts a reader in a far more clear cut vision of the writer's imagination. A more concise realisation of how the words should make you feel. For Telltale, it's to give the reader freedom of choice.

Year 2 - Induction

Brainstorm

Getting back in to the swing of drawing - it had been a while

Induction

Over the summer we were set the task of developing a character that resides in a post-apocalyptic world.
  I spent some time coming up with a way for the world to end. I brainstormed for a while until I snapped to the world losing the arms-race with bacteria. With that, I created a human male, tore off limbs - lost in an explosion - and replaced them with cool exoskeleton-esque appendages. I did this with gameplay in mind. I wanted a character that was justified to move very quickly and fall from great heights, since I enjoy good movement in video games (with a history of arena shooters - Quake, Shootmania: Storm, CoD4 Promod, Loadout).

  The first task given to us upon returning to college this September was to draw up an orthographic of our character. This was something I needed more practice at, so was glad to be given the opportunity. I felt like it went alright, but taught me how difficult it is to stay accurate and true to an organic design when looking at it from different angles.

Some design thought in to the look of the prosthetic limbs

  Using these orthos as references, we sculpted our designs with clay. First with air-dry stuff, which demanded you to work quickly - something I wasn't prepared for - as it went hard and became unusable within 15 minutes. Then, with some more expensive clay that gave you much more time to work with. With both attempts, I felt myself falling in to the same traps of making the facial features too small. Resulting in a baby-faced/non-human looking thing. I would love more practice with the media, though. I did enjoy physically creating something.

Orthographic of male lead character

  The next week brought Mudbox upon us. With the news of a 3D sculpt, I fancied a change of design. I grew wary of my boring, regular looking male bust. So, I quickly threw together a new orthographic of a stranger, more grotesque looking character.



   Happy with that, I sunk my teeth in to Mudbox. I enjoyed working with it a lot more than physical clay, since the virtual tool-set was a nice crutch for my limited skill. And working with tablets allowed me to utilise my traditional drawing skill.
  The exercises over the induction period have provided excellent opportunity to revive my work ethic, learn about form - particularly human, and how important it is to work from references.

Doodling more interesting shapes

   I am slowly learning that I need to increase the size of my sketches. Filling the page of a sketchbook will feel better without so much negative space.

Orthographic of Mudbox creature

Here are some progressive screenshots of my work in Mudbox (below).

Save file 2 - cutting jagged lines

Save file 5 - refining shapes and seems

Save file 8 - adding teeth

Jar Jar Binks vs Admiral Ackbar + a meth addiction

The John Wilkes Booth

Okay, so it's more of a classroom than a booth, but our lessons with Mr Wilkes have been enjoyable. With a more technical air to the atmosphere, each session feels like a work-out for our drawing hands. The first task was a reminder of perspective, a necessary exercise. Secondly, we had some still life drawings to do. A test of how well we can interpret what is in front of us, and then show on paper. Our mark-making techniques were strained.

   However, my rebellious side shined through during the second task, as I grew tired of drawing the goat skull sat in front of me. I turned my POV (the back) of the goat's skull in to a hideous creature instead. With Mr Wilkes' permission, of course.