Client Project Update

Having now presented my client project to my group the next stage is to push forward with the project so the deadline is met. here is an update on my council house building and also the notes from my presentation

Presentation Notes

Define project concept

For my project I want to create a level design of the market square the contrast between the older buildings to the modern square. I will be using Autodesk studios 3ds max and Maya, then using unity as my game engine.

So for me the history of Nottingham is what Nottingham loves... This is because it has so much of it just through the buildings in the town centre. I think the market square is a great way to show Nottingham Loves its history because of the architecture in the square, showing a great contrast between modern day (the fountains, tramline) and historic architecture.

I would like to try and show the Old Market Square at different times in the city to give the audience I real idea of what the square is like year round. This will depend on how I meet my deadlines and how quickly I adapt to new software such as Unity and Autodesk’s Maya.

Why is it relevant?

I feel the old market square creates a sense of community and believe the use of space shows this. (Such as the German market, beach and wheel). It seems to be where the community in Nottingham thrives and tends to come together through events such as game city and even protests.

The audience for my project is tourists/ students so basically newcomers to the city. I feel this is important to show off the city as my audience is a big part of the life in Nottingham, I feel the city would benefit from having a level design of the Old Market Square as if the audience was able to experience life in Nottingham through a level would give them in insight into heart of the city. The level would also have to be designed for all ages so parents would be able to control the level also, this is because funding for students tends to come from parents. This wouldn’t count so much for tourists

Sources

History of Nottingham website and image based site Nottingham21

These are purely just for quick references/ research to find the age of buildings if I’m struggling or even just to find more images of the Old Market Square as I work through the project. I’ve also found Nottingham 21 very useful for finding the names of buildings.

3ds max modelling for games

This would be a main source for me as I am trying to create the market square as similar to a game level as possible so the audience can walk around the square but also feel the . I feel it’s a relevant source as I will be using 3ds max for my modelling through this project, but trying to keep my poly count as low as possible

Unity 3.x Game Development Essentials

Unity 3d is a new program I’ll be introducing myself to throughout this client project. Having never used the program I felt as a source it was essential to include this book as I believe there will be a lot of questions I’ll be asking having never used the software.

World of Level Design

Being new to level design also I’ve found this website extremely helpful for this project and also the research project. It contains papers/ forums and tutorials all based around level design, from practioner points of view to individuals at a similar level of knowledge to me. This has really help me understand what programs to use for each stage such as rendering and texturing but also gives tutorials on how to implement level design. The website also gave me free pdf’s ‘Ultimate Level Design Guide’ and ‘How to Create a Map in 11 Days’. Which have proved extremely helpful for design tips, workflow and general advice.

Butterfly Effect

This is my main source for visually planning out my project. Although the animation Butterfly Effect isn’t a game level, the style of animation really reminds me of a game environment, with textures similar to Rockstar Games Grand Theft Auto series. And the use of semi realistic lighting and mapping. Having always loved the style the GTA series fashions I’d love to use these elements in my own project. Such as the simple but realistic texturing and lighting. As I’m looking to create a game level for the Old Market Square I think the Butterfly Effects style of textures and would suit my project as I‘m using a real environment but allowing it to be controlled by the player. I’ve found game level textures to not be as intense compared to film such as World War Z where the CGI is basically the duplicate of landmarks they use.

Prototype

Here is a quick prototype I’ve put together for the presentation. This is just an idea of how my project should look at the end. I’ve used google maps screenshots for the floor and right hand side then an image off image based site Nottingham 21 for the city hall.

Here you can see the modelling taking shape (this has been improved considerably since handing in the presentation). I am hoping that my final game level will be sized exactly like the market square but have a more low poly approach using texturing similar to Butterfly Effect

Keywords

Tourism – so this is one of my keywords because I feel Nottingham needs to branch out and attract more tourists to the city and feel this is the way to do so. Because it allows the player to move around the Market Square without being there would give tourists/students a chance to experience Nottingham without visiting the City. Which brings me to my next keyword…

Navigation – a keyword because the main idea behind my project is to be able to walk around the Market square and really come to life by the players control. This is important through game level designs as indicators help the player guide around the level. Thus being able to walk around the Market Square

History – Keyword because the contrast of history and modernism in the market square can really be shown just through the age of the buildings compared to the shops using them underneath. For example Schuh, Ladbrokes etc. use a nice Victorian building but the building is never glorified because 90% of people wouldn’t look up towards the top and would be concentrated on the shops beneath. I feel my project can really show the player the contrast by allowing personal navigation of the square.

Community – Keyword because my project is trying to push the use of the Old Market Square to be seen as the centre of Nottingham’s Community to outsiders or even residents of the City. This can be shown by all the events that take place there, such as the German Market or Game City.

Time keeping

For this project I’ll be setting myself deadlines for each task I undergo, for example my deadline for the city hall model is next Friday. I feel setting myself personal deadlines will prove helpful it allows me to set out a plan for the whole project so it’s not made up as I go along.

I will also be posting a weekly blog to keep myself updated and also keep a log of the work I’ve already done and what I have left to create, I think this will also be affective to look back on and see what tasks took longer/ less time and maybe why it took longer or less time.

I will be allowing a week leeway at the end of the project so that if any of the tasks I’ve set myself go over the deadline and need more time on the task. I feel this is relevant for this project as having never used Unity or ever transferred models into a game engine this may take more time than expected. Therefore will be able to use the week at the end for any extra/ unmet deadlines to be completed.

Conclusion

So far I feel my project will relate to the audience/ client because of the connection between the player and the game level showing the sense of community The Market Square creates for the public. I feel that the main issue that may arise through this project will be my lack of understanding Unity 3d and also Game Level Design. I believe the project will create issues which I will overcome to improve my skill not just for this project and the research project but also ready for employability at the end of the course.

I believe that my project is capable of winning the competition as I feel showing the sense of community through something interesting such as a Game Level would be quite different to other entries but also fun to use for the audience/ client