Caricatures

Some quick sketches of each other caricature style.

Storytelling Environment

Ice Material with Tessellation and Reflections

So I've been stuck for the longest time on getting this icy material to look right and get things looking nice..

So I ended up making to vertex paint hard ice on interchangeable textures and even add icicles!

Not pictured above are regular set up for lerping textures-- using A for non-icy sections, B for the corresponding iced over stuff, and the alpha on the red channel for vertex painting. I have the icicles exclusively on the blue channel with the options of changing the length and amount of icicles as well as an option for using face normals to make them jut out instead of just a down vector.

Could still probably use some work but it worked pretty well on my hero asset.

Pitch Black - Trailer

Here's a little something we've been working on for game design. We had to pitch a game with a short trailer we created using existing UDK assets (minus the puzzle section).

An interrupted introduction

I've been reading this book on writing and designing for games. This book offers practical discussions, methods,  and solutions of how to integrate game design and story so that they work together. This is something that I find particularly challenging, so I'll be going over some exercises to help me focus and narrow down ideas for prepro.

Action Item (Alpha) - Play a game

"Within the next day, make time to sit down and play a game, preferably a console title. Give yourself at least a half hour. When you are done, write a brief summary of the experience."

Boss Character Renders

These are the 7 silhouettes I picked for refinement. 

Anatomy can be pushed further, but here it is!

So far, I think I'm going with the undead sea unicorn for design lock.

Intel Workshop

So this Saturday, my brother Eddy came down with Cooksey to give a talk and a workshop in behalf of Intel. We got through some basics on using Processing by learning how to make interactive cubes that continuously change color and rotate. They also expand and shrink back down to original size whenever the user clicks on them.

Silhouettes - Boss Character

Exploratory silhouettes for my Boss character. Also playing around with the Lasso Tool for most of them.

Sephirot Trailer

Trailer for game in collaboration with Noa Belfer.

You play as an Esper with the ability to see brief flashes of the future. Your visions allow you to see the infected cores that plague the Sephirot-- the Tree of Life.

Storytelling progress...

Still heavily a work in progress. The ferris wheel keeps messing me up...

I need to rework teh buildings and stray from regular, new yorkesqued buildings. Also need to push my composition a bit more.

COMP Redesign

The cleaner look wasn't cutting it, so I went with a more grungy look for now. I'd like to update it and try to pull off the cleaner look anyway.

Before and After: Update

Went back and fixed up my jobox a bit for vertex painting. 

Modular Kit Update

I wasn't really satisfied with the finished product for my mod kit, so I went back to fix some things-- namely textures. I feel it's a tad more appealing now-- but the barrels are still kind of dark.

Sephirot Layout

Came out with this idea for the Sephirot layout. Essentially, the roots kind of circle around the tree, spiraling downwards in a sort of spider-web fashion. The blue lines correspond to roots the player can walk on, and red are roots that are so corroded they'd disappear if a player tried to walk on them. The green circles show the correct path down to the center. I have yet to figure out exactly at which locations the platforms with the obstacles would be but I like this idea so far.

Gotta love gridlines.

WIP - Headset

Now able to fit an actual head. Also smoother. Need to move on to the lowpoly pronto.

Disco Church Inferno

Trailer done to sort of explain the story and introduce the mechanics of my toy pitch.



Still needs some adjustments. Can hopefully get those done by next class and resubmit.

WIP - Headset

Currently working on modeling the headset I designed in DFA. Need to fix the cables and tigthen up some things on the earpiece still, but it's getting there.

COMP Redesign

Had to use an object and redesign it to fit a specific world. I chose to use my HTC G2 with Google and make it into a COMP headset for the Megaten universe. I'm pretty happy with it.

Design Lab

Final rendering for the DesignLab project in DFA.

Jobox + Vertex Paint

Completed jobox model with vertex painting to show a clean version that can get corroded and filthy. Made two materials using eight 256x256 textures each.

Toy Pitches

Pitch 1 - Magnetic Field

Concept Statement: "Use the invisible forces to push your way through to the top."

Setting/Mood: Dark, grimy, messy. A closed space with a lot of objects to use and break through walls and the like.

Brief Backstory/Ideas: You remember nothing of how you got here, and the more you try to recall it, the more your head feels like it'll split open. You reach out your hand and the objects around the room fly around you, opposite forces working together and creating a spark. You make a fist and the objects stop their frantic spinning to lash out at the rest of the room, breaking through the debris blocking your way. Determined, you use your new-found powers to seek a way out.

Obstacle Ideas: Objects you can only break after gathering a specific item. Perhaps making it so that you can toggle the sort of objects you want to rotate around you? Or maybe that would be shooting myself in the foot. It would be neat if I could make it so that things spun faster around you the longer they were on you.

Quick Video of Mechanics:



By pressing the assigned key, "F", you can enable and disable the force field around the player. This attracts KActors all over the place, yeehaw!

Bonus death sequence video because I am actually 9 years old.



Pitch 2 - Falling platforms and switches

Concept Statement: "Race to the finish!"

Setting/Mood: Dark, grimy, messy. A closed space with a lot of objects to use and break through walls and the like.

Brief Backstory/Ideas: Hop over falling platforms, picking up cargo and bringing it to the the switch.

Obstacle Ideas: Timed? Multiple cargo corresponding to different switches? Different paths can be taken to reach different switches.

Quick Video of Mechanics:


Pitch 3 - Lit Up Sound Pad

Concept Statement: "Remember the Tune, Escape the Room"

Setting/Mood: Dark techno dungeon style

Brief Backstory/Ideas: At the start of the level, certain plates will light up. The player must then re-create the correct pattern to unlock the door and escape the room.

Obstacle Ideas: Certain plates light up in a set formation to confuse the player.

Quick Video of Mechanics:

3D WIP

Brought what I had into UDK just to double check the snapping. Went back and adjusted a pivot point on the standing support part of the shelves. Started playing with some constructs...

Also changed up the barrel so that it resembles a 55 gallon drum more.

Trading up the smaller shelf pieces in favor of a palette and a (soon to be) saran wrapped box.

Played around with some more constructs

I'm going to need another piece for trim...

Will post rough uv tries in a bit--

EDIT: UDK continues to give me a weird graph error and it won't save my maps....

It also says I'm importing....old versions of FBX?

Gotta remake constructs, thanks UDK.

REAL TALK: THIS MESSAGE IS THE LITERAL BANE OF MY EXISTENCE SINCE AGES AGO and I do not know how I keep summoning it. 

Silhouettes and scribbles

Constructs and texture updates

Happily made some constructs that actually stayed this time around. 

Started out with some decked-out shelves...

...then moved on to making a small warehouse, using the pieces for the shelves as wall and ceiling parts...

Ah, I did also go back to soften the edges on the barrels and spent far too long re-arranging my UV space from one 1024 to four 512 with tileable space....is this worth it? I just don't know.

Game Mechanics Dump

1. Time-based thing in which the player runs up a set of spiraling platforms while the platforms are falling down into the abyss
2. A puzzle in which you have to get from one end of the room to another via moving platforms. You have to not only decipher the pattern, but also shoot different switches (crystals?) that change the direction of differently colored platforms. (i.e. Blue platforms have a set pattern. Red platforms change via switch)
3. Magnetic force field that shields you from damage by keeping you surrounded by nearby objects.
4. Going down a long corridor in which both the ceiling and floor close in on you. Timing and pattern searching is key.
5. Stepping on different panels that let out different sounds. A certain pattern must be played to open the door. The correct pattern is played right after entering the room.
6. A game in which you have to run around a robot/totem/something that spins around with beams the player has to avoid. The rotation changes direction and speed depending on the damage the robot thing has sustained. You're on floating platforms too, aha.
   
7.  Block-pushing puzzle because those are fun
8. Puzzles that force you to turn back time to complete
9. Physics puzzle game? 
10. Light up torches in a certain pattern to open the door.
11. Extinguish the torches in reverse of that to get a treasure chest, ka-ching.
12. Go through a forest...There is a certain path you have to follow. Players are lead with hints about the phases of the moon. I.E. the moon has to be on a specific phase to go through. If you don't, you get reset back to the beginning of the forest.
13. Water levels that rise and fall controlled via switches
14. Library laid out like a labyrinth with shifting bookcases that are triggered by levers
15. Or library with several different heights and ladders that you can push around.
16. Rotating walls/bookcases
17. Switch-Bridge Puzzles inn which switches  are turned on and off,  causing bridges between islands of passable tiles to appear and dissapear. You have to find the correct combination of switches to unlock a path to the exit.
18. Teleporting puzzles that test your memory along with trial and error
19. Conveyor belt styled puzzles were you have to ride on the right path to find goodies and the exit
20. Passcode doors with the password pieces hidden
21. Ice puzzles where you keep sliding until you hit an object and you have to seek a way out.
22. Tile puzzles where you have to step on all the tiles ONCE to get through the exit.
23. Rube Goldberg....?

Modularity Testing

Got some feedback on my current progress. Here's what we've got thus far:

your modularity is very solid.
The pieces match and you have a half size for making new things.

What I don't understand is why the racks have such small shelf like wood planks. if a shelf/rack in real life would need a full shelf no?

The kit itself is very good though. clean pieces.
i've made some pretty cool constructs :]
-Luis F. Gutierrez

Very modular
The only problem i have is that the two fences have nubs sticking out at the bottom which could cause problems for the modular kit. Just
saw them of and pow they've become more modular.
 The kit over all is fantastic
-gabriel gomez

Final Hero Assets

Here are the final shots for my character and vehicle assets:

Game Analysis (Game Mechanics): Dangan Ronpa

My attention's being caught by a game that seems to be a mix of Battle Royal and the Ace Attorney series. This is Dangan Ronpa: Academy of Hope and High School Students of Despair!

This is a game described by the publisher as a "High-Speed Mystery Action Adventure", which translates to us as a murder mystery visual novel with more of an emphasis on faster gameplay.

WARNING: SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

Attract Video - Final

Attract Trailer - Rough Edit

1st take on the attract trailer
Some shots are too long still-- need more cuts matching on the music.
Will update once the final is ready.

Moonbot Project

I've been working on a project for Moonbot Studios...and while I can't give much away (other than it's an educational app for kids), I've got a few images to show:

App Icon

Rigging WIP

Still working on my character rig made to fit the UDK skeleton

I'm not exempt from making my character dance

Reference: Attract Trailers

First up, Devil May Cry 4:



Here we get to see some bits of gameplay and a lot of cutscenes. Enjoyable trademark music amps up the atmosphere along with some general idea of the world, what the story is about, very brief glimpse at different characters and what you'll be doing for the game (namely kicking demon booty). You also get to see a lot of really flashy moves that you can do in-game as well as some of the weapons you'll be getting.



This attract trailer shows cars spinning out at times as well as scenery. Mostly focused on the cars, but still shows nice mixed shots.



...as a bonus, this DMC HD Collection trailer shows a nice mix of the different games together-- which could be used for putting together different levels and the like; with defining music for different tracks



aaaaand this Silent Hill one shows a lot of really nice gameplay (and I really like this song)

Particle Systems: Falling Leaves

I've been looking at the default UDK leaf particle system to make my own for the racing game. I had previously attempted to make particles for falling leaves, but I am still not entirely satisfied with it-- so I went ahead and looked for more reference.

Cherry blossoms blizzard - they fall way faster at 3:35 - 4 minutes in

Ideally, I'd like to make something everyone can use, so I looked at these for general reference as well:

While there is no specific tutorial on falling leaves, I believe that Eat3d's Creating Dust Particles tutorial should help me out in making more believable particles.