Timeline
Week 1:
Project introduction
Initial research, searching for a game/company to use the style of.
Picking company/game that I will create my own scene/assets for.
Artstation research, made an account a while back.
Week 2:
Project proposal (Sketch/image with annotations.) / Action plan break down.
Skills sessions.
Week 3:
Christmas //break//
Week 4:
After the first week of the break.
Gather research, adding to it and polishing it.
Complete an action plan to be able to go along with the project.
Week 5-6:
Blocking out my environment, sketching out the environment first, giving a few ideas of the ideas to block out in Maya and visualise the elements needed in the environment.
Week7:
UVing the environment, spending time on the floor etc.
Week 8-9:
Creating the textures for the different assets that I have already created in Maya and maybe pushing them all into the Unreal Engine.
Week 10:
Look over reasearch, add more annotation to existing annotation.
A week for looking over work.
Week 11:
Evaluation week, making the evaluation and finishing off textures if needed.
Research:
There's a few different companies with their own art style, companies such as:
Crotean made Serious Sam, it had varieties of games and maybe even a spin off.
They have a realistic art style, mostly around creatures.
Bethesda made the Elderscrolls with quite a few different versions up to Skyrim, and probably more to come.
They have an extremely realistic art style.
Epic Games/The Coalation made Gears of War.
More realistic but quite fantasy-like art style.
Dean Hall/ Bohemia Interactive Dayz
Realistic, trying to copy real life with the guns, etc. Nothing in the game is fantasy.
2K using the gearbox software to create borderlands 1- pre sequel.
They have a almost cell shaded art style. "Comic style"
2K are a company that create a few games like XCOM, BioShock, Civilization etc..
So this company has many, many different art styles. Borderlands in generally nicely comic styled game.
2K using the gearbox software to create borderlands 1- pre sequel.
They have a almost cell shaded art style. "Comic style"
2K are a company that create a few games like XCOM, BioShock, Civilization etc..
So this company has many, many different art styles. Borderlands in generally nicely comic styled game.
Torchlight 2, Runic Games
Torchlight 2 and Torchlight 1 were both made in OGRE.
Torchlight 2 and Torchlight 1 were both made in OGRE.
Runic Games
Runic Games uses the same art style in each of their games, the newest one being made more polished as the standard of games is rising, this means that the game will be closer up, so that the textures are needed to be better quality. The company artist used Photoshop + 3DS max to create his assets for the game Torchlight. This creates a smart, simplistic and cartoon like art style that the released back in 2012.
What makes their game visually unique?
They make their game visually unique with the randomness of the floor, the tiles that have a dungeon crawler kind of textures on, and the simple features on the characters. On the floors and walls there are visually different types, the walls extremely random and scratches, though it'd be quite hard to replicate. As I'm sure it's randomly generated. The games designers chose this because at the time games like that were very popular, they still are now, just not as much. |
| http://revengeofthefilmnerds.com/2012/05/23/torchlight-2-beta/ (Source) |
What tone, mood, colours, emotions do their games carry?
Runic games' games have very dark colours usually, to emulate the situation you're in, as there are monsters and robots that you have to defeat. The colours are all around the map, greys, blacks, browns, and light blues are usually used, or reds to indicate a flame or spirit of some sort.
Who plays their games?
People interested in adventure, so around 18+ as there is also a lot of blood, spiders, creatures not suitable for the younger audience. The blood on most games makes the age rating go up, as it's needed to. The simplistic style and cartoonish blood might make it go down in age rating though.
Who are the artists?
There is only one known artist that I could find who made the image down below with all the textures. Matthew Tinari is the only artist I could find, he is a 3D artist and it seems like he has worked on everything for this game. The amazing textures and models down below show that he spent a lot of time on this game and made the textures for the other people in Runic games to create the rest. The textures are high quality for the game it's going in, but it's a bit far away so the textures aren't what you are focusing on.
The artists work how they like, starting mostly in Photoshop, after modelling the area.
Top down style games.
What software do they use?
They use OGRE to create Torchlight, and must have been bought at the time, as it not long ago was able to be used by the public. The OGRE software is very much like Unreal but seems easier to use, with a bit more features to top it off. OGRE is a graphics rendering engine, so the main software would be 3DS max, which is what we have in the college. The website is http://www.ogre3d.org/ . Runic Games also uses Photoshop, most likely for the textures, as it's quite a good software.What process do they follow?
Runic games starts by making the scenery, adding a texture to it, then testing it in game, as shown in the artists work. They follow the same sort of process throughout all their games, making the/a character, and checking if the environment works.How do they create their style?
They use a very dungeon like style in Photoshop, slowly adding the textures in one by one to test if they work well with the style.
How do they create the tone, mood and emotions?
They use dark lighting and skeletons, other kinds of mobs to create the sad, lonely and depressing mood.
How do they attract the right audience?
They use the blood, childish/cartoon-ish art style to attract younger people, but the mobs and dark places to create the sad mood.How do the artists work?
The artists work how they like, starting mostly in Photoshop, after modelling the area.
How do I use the the software I have to make the style like theirs?
I make the same style in Photoshop to create the textures to look like theirs, and I use Unreal in the same way they use OGRE to create the better visual representation.Quick info on Runic Games:
Top down style games.
The style of the Runic Games are ARPG (Action Role Playing Game.) Which is just like games such as Diablo, Sacred, Titan Quest.
The game is visually stunning due to it’s simplistic, cartoonish style with fun, gameplay elements. As the game is meant for 15+ but without blood it would be a 10+ Meaning it’s not a very gory game without the blood.
The tone of the game changes from, scary to easily and simply calm. But all areas have enemies to build up suspense.
They create their style by having a simple texture and adding slight texture parts, to give it a cartoony look. People 15+ play their game as it’s the age restriction, but it is a slightly old game that gets me to come back to it every now and then, it’s extremely fun.
The artist that created all the material textures.
Games released by Runic Games
Hob (Not released yet):This game follows the same style of Torchlight, but with a new cartoonish style. As games like this are getting more popular, Runic games would jump on the bandwagon to create this. This game look as it's set in a forest with half built buildings etc.
Torchlight 2 (2012):
This game is one of my favourites, it has a cartoonish style, but quite dark and dreary, for more of a fantasy feel.
This game is one of my favourites, it has a cartoonish style, but quite dark and dreary, for more of a fantasy feel.
Runic games uses OGRE which is a software /very/ close to Unreal, but with a bit more features to it's name as it's used by many companies to create games like such.
(sources)
Testing and other research:
We did some importing from low-to high poly in unreal, visually testing how it would work.Video:
A few traps from the game "Orcs Must Die".
This game was made by Robot Entertainment.
I only used this as a way to search traps in games, but the game itself is a defence game for PC/Xbox/PS3-4, the game is a defending game, where you put up traps to defend your base. This game is all about traps and looking through these, I thought of a trap that closed behind you, though these did help me figure out that I wanted something different. This game is only an influential part towards my trap as I used the "Tar trap" idea and changed it into an Acid trap.
Concept for my trap, going to insert 2 sorts of pots on the side of the chest.
I have taken the idea of the chest trap, but added my own twist to it, making the floor come out from underneath them to trap them on the other side, by the platform that would help you across in the middle, goes under the floor to reveal the acid, stopping the scavenger from taking the loot, it then makes it impossible to leave without maybe having a certain item. The trap may work in teaching you a new mechanic, or exposing you to your first harmful trap.
These sketches are a quick start to recreate some I have seen in games or just pop to mind, as they all are the same thing but look a bunch different. This helped me create the design I created down below
The making of...
The start of my trap consisted of moving objects around with the grid to create a room to have the trap in, I left the ceiling open as it's unintended to see in such a game like Torchlight.
This chest was made as a bait. To lure people into opening it. Just as a Mimic would, but this made it so you couldn't escape, forcing to either take your life or stay there for a while.
The chest was first made off as a square, then just expanding the sides to make the bottom part of the chest, the top was the same, but using the side view to easily move the sides to make a curved edge, and the grid to help out as shown above. I didn't want it too curved as the game style is a little choppy, as it was made in a different engine that would purposely do that to make it easier to add more stuff to the game.
As the chest was the main object in the room I decided to model that first, I made one open and one closed. To indicate the way the trap has been activated. As in a game, the person will have to interact with this, and make the trap start.
I then moved on to UVing the chest, It wasn't that difficult, but the opened one was considerably more difficult to make. after making them both, I had copied it over and edited it for the second one as it was supposed to be the same chest.
I then made some sort of gold inside of the chest, just the texture using the B tool (soft selection) then using the vertex and pulling parts up and down to create the effect of a lot of money/coins.
The one problem I had was, that the computer froze while using the bump surface, making me have to redo the UV on one of the chests. I then decided to save after each UV. After doing this I decided that 10 mins was too short, the time changed to 30 mins. As I'd constantly save, then just have to wait when I was doing my work well. "In the zone".
This is the bottom UV, I have made it like this to make it visually easier for me to see. My designs might be messy, but they made it easier for me to texture them. As I'd personally know what to make from this.
I did this for both chests, as they were visually similar.
I textured them both, because they were very similar I decided to use the same texture on both, because they are supposed to be the same thing, in different instances.
Final piece with added extras
With the animated acid set, I had completed my model, simple model with assets quickly made with a few shapes, as Torchlight has futuristic assets.
To make this gif I made a video using VLC media player. And then put it into the "Ezgif.com" website, making the gif with the video from VLC media player.
Wishlist
Higher quality assets around the chest, and more textures.
Evaluation
I have completed my model for the chest and the environment around it in Maya and then testing what it looks like in Unreal. I also researched the audience for this type of game/asset. I chose a chest trap, which would be a great asset to some games that require you to die, so the audience would either be people who like puzzles, or adventure games to be wanting to walk into this place. I used the acid as a guaranteed death trap. So I made my chest in Photoshop first, with a few different ideas, then made the one that I liked the most in Maya. I came up with this idea after looking at a Zelda game, as they have a lot of things that can trap you, this made me spiral out and look at different traps in games, for example Orcs Must Die, it made me take more interest with it, as they all were very unique. I had made a few different UV's than they'd usually be, as I made it visually easier for me, maybe not for others to work on. I had experimented drawing different chests too, maybe ones that don't exist or appeared in the back of my mind.
I worked in the style of Runic Games, a top down view game that's simplistic and a bit cartoon-ish. The software I used was Maya for creating the model, Unreal for making the Maya model more visually appealing and Photoshop for creating the textures. I used UVing mostly in my own way as a technique, pulling all the face apart and stretching them out to how much I want it to. My research made my spider trap into a chest trap and it's more unique idea now. I had to think about what fits best with what game, as the other companies weren't as fit to have a trap like this in their game. Low- to high poly was a new specialist terminology that means, putting a low polygon thing into high quality like Maya to Unreal. The influence for my project was Mimics and the style that Torchlight have, a cartoon-ish style has always been things that I like.They influenced my ideas by making my change my initial style. From Zelda to Torchlight, as torchlight was a bit less realistic. The time I had to make this influenced my design process in making it harder to create in a shorter time, so I took a few shortcuts to get it done in time. In the design phase I changed the colour of the chest to a wooden one, and added a chain to make it more athletically pleasing. This choice made me a take a little longer, but it was worth it, as it didn't take me too long anyway. Maybe around 30mins to one hour. I had the problem of a few crashes, but I solved them by saving every 10-30mins, otherwise most of my work would've been deleted. I am not too happy with the project outcome, only because I feel as I needed more time on it, but I have been struggling with life problems, so some things were rushed. I do however really like the chain I made and I'd love to make more of them, it'd be a fun project. I didn't like the outcome, the setting wasn't the darkness I wanted so it didn't look that good. I feel as I have managed my time not too well, leaving research a little too long. But doing it throughout the project too. This has made me realise how hard it is as a games design artist to create an asset for a game and keep the same style they always have.
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