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5.1 - Evaluation
For Research my main focus was on using pinterest boards to gain a large variety of content in the form of images to collect a large amount of thematic specific research so I had a large quantity of second hand research in the areas that I needed to collect and pull ideas out of previously made works and ideas from others. Personally I found this a quick and easy way to gain influence towards visualization of ideas and being able to move forth out of the conceptual stage
It has the advantage of being very broad and allows the easy collection of material and includes their sources allowing for easier prying into details of specific artists or works to find more about specific parts that spark inspiration. At first my use of the boards was minimal and took my own inspiration from personal experiences in games like Halo going for conventional designs rather than pursuing my own.
However later I then found inspiration inside from looking at other works more and found more creative direction and inspiration from looking into other works. Then finding it more useful after taking a large perspective at lots of work to then focus in on the few I found resonated the most on where I wanted to go and allowed not only the help in conceptualizing my ideas but also visualising them whether it be in colour schemes or designs. Finding specific works from the thematic lists allowed me to create the distinct feel or look i want from my designs/ideas.
There was also another use behind collecting large amounts of research material than just grasping at a theme or a direction of work flow. That was giving a good sense of comparison and it kept me umming and arring over how I could improve my work and make it better. For example my 3d model.
I was very conflicted when making it, feeling like the work that I had done wasn't enough and that it wasn't good enough. Too simple. However after looking towards other works in same areas or even in the same subject matter it gave me a good amount of reflection on where i could take my own work to improve it or make alterations, this was inspiring and allowed me to be more creative and come up with even more ideas from where I was stuck and thought I couldn't improve. This includes trying new things like adding a bump map to my textures of my model, or adding a completely new model like a torch.
bump map look:
But to push these areas of research where I was stuck and required more detailed inspiration I couldn't rely on boards or just looking at specific works that inspired me. I also required the input of videos to teach me how I would go around doing or making some of these alterations and to get more of an experts experience on stuff I have no clue about, as I needed to be taught these things to be able to introduce them to my work. It was required for me to use more intricate details from tutorials whether it be from blogs or videos in order to be able to create and pursue ideas such as the bump map as it's something I didn't have much experience in using.
However the main downside of all these research methods was that they mainly focused on my work in the art department as my research towards technical areas was minimal, mainly focusing on previous example work in particular game cycles to create ideas for games rather than focusing on actual code itself as most of my research in the ideas development and final production stage. As I focused on fundamentals of code in research areas than understanding systems and mechanics itself which I learned and did research towards while in the development stage as I would research into blog posts online on how people solved their coding problems and how I can fix my own programming issues by understanding their code and using it to empower my own project and get things working by example and understanding from others, but this is very on the fly and lacks the conviction of understanding what code would be needed behind mechanics fleshed out before development.
Personally when it came to designing the final products I was going to create and use felt very intimate as in specific, as from my large collection of research I would get caught up in an idea from a small selection of works and push the idea and for as much as this gave me a clear vision on direction it lacked creativity and diversity as I would make maybe 1 or 2 sketches or few variations on an idea and then push the sketch to the end before fully feeling whether or not this is what i wanted. This is specifically talking about my character idea generation.
My changes in design only came in my final stages of idea production as id make small changes or change with the colours, lacking any significant difference in design as I'd already set myself on what I wanted to create. However even that would change as I found a new area of inspiration from another piece of art and created a new character design but again the changes to character design were minor in scale and never diverted from my original idea for better or for worse.
All my art followed the same sort of theme when it came to the creative process as I'd find an idea that I liked and I would generally stick to it, like my art for my tileset that came from a stone dungeon look, but having a clear picture did allow me to sort out minor details a lot more like in the colour or art style I wanted. Such as deciding on a pixel drawn style and to have not so dark colours.
So in the end my design methods never altered too much from my sketch to final piece ideas as when I come or came up with my initial ideas it's the same as coming up with final ideas as I didn't explore what I didn't like and instead creating a sketch on what I liked and developed it instead.
A pattern of focusing on one idea rather than designing multiple and creating my designs from specific art inspirations, sketches and photobashes were a focus on exploring the idea to the point where I was happy. It was the same for 3D, tilesets, textures and animations where I would find art and research pieces that gave me a clear vision of where I wanted to go and then I would develop it towards a set piece and develop my work by perfecting it as I was just trying to improve my idea and not change it. Like my 3D model where I would use blocking out to set piece my idea but was unhappy due to its unpolished feel rather than the idea itself, adding other bits like an arm or a torch to the scene to see how i liked the additions to it all.
When it comes to designs and concepts that i came up with and how well I think they tackled things like equality and diversity. You could say I failed in diversity as the designs don't falter much in their original designs other than alterations to character specifics rather than the entire character itself. Like variations in skeleton or virus zombie, they never changed from their original concepts to heavily and just became alterations and variations than diverse designs. The specific designs I came up with did however differ quite largely from each other, being a tentacle monster, a slime, a skeleton and a sort of fungus zombie. What they share in tandem is their uniqueness from each other and that they don't follow under gender or ethnicity. So rather than directly confronting diversity or equality in my character designs I've inadvertently taken a more individual being approach where the skeleton becomes it's own characters. My characters do However lack diversity in their shape in size with having different skeletons that are all the same size and shape. But take on their own role from colour variations that show character through colour, darker for evil and blood stains on the design to show a more menacing look compared to a lighter colour variations to show a more easy going character. As colour can easily create a large difference in character perception.
So even though my character lose in regards to creating a diverse cast in the sense of real world diversity in the human race. They are a diverse cast of monster like creatures, but lack diversity in their individual designs, their are different types of skeleton monsters, not just from my difference in difficulty or gameplay design with weapons and armour but also in heights and sizes which are as important part as a character's design as their colour to convey what type of character it is to the player. An example would be the robots from the action combat game Nier automata, which are no doubt an enemy as they attack you but they have no clear hostility in design which makes sense as you find that some of them are friendly. ( source )
Follow the same character design but change in variation, not unlike my own designs.
When it comes to what I think did and did not work well, I believe most of my development for my final prototypes to go quite well and am happy with the outcome of my work, in some areas more than others. This also shows in the satisfaction I have in my work for as although it makes me happy what I have I'm not satisfied with it's level and want to evolve it to the next stage in all areas. Looking at particulars I was quite happy with my 2D character designs and the use of pixel art, moving through the development process from sketches and variations to 3 separate final creations but for as much as I like the final designs they still feel too same-y and would've like to take more time in created difference in variation with skeletal design and wear like armour and clothing to really separate designs between the characters. Another thing being different angles and have their stills to not be so lifeless and have more pose and lose the stiffness in the creation phase as I never thought about how the character might move or act and the end creations feel a little lifeless, which in this case may work in it's favour but in others not so much (like my original zombie esc designs). That being said I'm happy I also made the creative decision to switch character designs from my original concepts as I was quite unhappy with their look and I could've probably came up with something I was happier with by working on it more but in the end switching design entirely was the right decision in finding something more suited to what I was working with and allowed me to work easier and really bring out the details in my design. In the end the asset which I believe turned out the best was my tilemap as I used the advice and help from a tutorial from an expert giving me large advice in the creation stage and allowed easier workflow and in the end a better end result. I was happy in the creation and final product of my tilemap and the process of making and using it went well even enabling me to create minor variations for varied use. It becomes clear that using a tutorial or advice and methods from experts really does make all the difference in the creation of work and the skills have become very useful. The only issue with it is that I didn't make more different tilemaps to really build an environment. 3D was probably where I struggled the most as I had difficulties in the idea generation stage and felt a lack of inspiration when it came to the creation of the models. However once I started to look at other works and thinking of ways to improve my work and create the set piece or scene I desired I looked into the ways I might be able to achieve it. In the texturing aspects and new areas like bit mapping. I started to draw more and more ideas from the inspiration I took from similar themed/mattered works and was able to pull myself from a creative slump. It worked well as I could apply what I learnt in class to my works and build up my models, however due to taking so long to think of how to improve it I ended up losing time and had too many ideas to pursue and in the end caused me to not be able to fully exploring and finishing the final product I wanted to make, meaning due to lack of time or time management or clearer vision I lacked the ability to fully develop my idea and in turn 3D models to the level that I wanted, leaving me dissatisfied. This was unlike my experience when coding which felt very rewarding as the mechanics I envisioned and planned I was able to put into place, working out the code myself from researching examples and threads online was a great teaching experience in not only understanding the code but giving my self a more efficient work style when it comes to coding. There were some moments where I would try and use completely new things to me and to try things I didn't understand and in turn would lead to bouts of confusion and frustration and could cause lengthy delays and a decline in not only productivity but also creativity. However with having access to teachers and more experienced students to look for help it allowed me to overcome these hurdles I had when it came to the more difficult sections of programming.
This leads me to talk about deadlines. When it came to the deadlines I managed to make them all and finished all my work on time (other than this evaluation), however even if I did get everything done on time my time management was pretty poor and lacked a proper schedule and became more of a crunch on all my work every time an interim deadline came up. If I did miss an interim I always managed to finish the work within a 2 day period to a degree that wasn't rushed and the same quality of the rest of my work as inconsistent quality annoys me. Especially since I believe myself to be a bit of a perfectionist while also being able to procrastinate I take a long time to complete work, thats why I would interims by a few days. But due to procrastination I would cause more problems for myself than fix and without sticking to a proper schedule on my work It would start creating problems for myself later down the line trying to constantly catch up. But always towards finalized deadlines I would fix up work and like I previously said, crunch down on work to get ahead of myself on my old work and current work but this just meant getting on track and catching up to speed. So in the end I feel like I need to stick to a sold schedule more and time/pace my work properly to take the time that I need without lagging behind, procrastinating or getting burnt out.
When It comes to group activities like peer reviews I was quite on the fence about the whole thing as from my experience they did create unnecessary pressure. Being personally delayed or behind in my work meant knowing that someone was going to look at my work and tell me what I already know, that I'm behind. It doesn't work as a wake up call as I was already aware of how behind I was or not however I cannot deny the pressure does add incentive to start working a little faster or harder in finishing stuff at a higher level to make sure I'm not judged as much and have as much work as possible finished in time to show. Where then after deadline I take my time a little more to keep up the quality of the work from the pressure of the peer review. In addition to peer reviews, getting advice, tips or any sort of hint or ideas from others is monumentally useful. It creates all the difference when bouncing ideas between peers or others that have knowledge in the subject and can help you come to conclusions about what path to take your work or how you can improve something. It's something I've learnt to use a lot more in my current projects with getting a lot more feedback or criticism or even simple thought on ideas you have to get some instant feeling or knowledge on how someone else might perceive it. Small feedback goes a long way in how you want to develop ideas and improve your work and I really feel those effects with how I now take on advice or feedback when I pitch ideas. For example the spur that made me start to think about improving my 3D models and textures and how I could make them better was from taking advice from a 3D modelling friend's advice and his thoughts on a technical and idea aspect and how I could look at other's works to get ideas to spur my own work forwards.
For improving my work for the future, other than what I've already said (proper schedule and taking on feedback), I feel more planning might help. Not planning my work in a sense I lay out all the foundations for 1 single focus, but more exploration and have a clear planned idea to not get stuck but keep it flowing to allow a lot more diversity in ideas that come out of the single focus. Like having a clear vision but still allowing freedom of exploring ideas for the vision. Take for example I want to make a protagonist for a game, the character you play as. I want to have a vision of this character, where they are and what game they're going to be in and having this clear vision built from research and inspiration from others and then take all that to the ideas stage where I don't just follow a single idea of whatever I come up with first but test different stuff and really go with what feels best and testing all the waters. Not in the sense of creating more work but work that really feels developed from improvements in ideas. To create the best game character I can or anything else in the same sense. To really understand it and build it up. This comes with planning and acting, putting the effort into building the game and also thinking about it as if it was already here. Really feel and develop things so I'm more than satisfied with the outcome. If you want to talk specifics, the things I want to improve are just taking the good bits from all that worked well and applying them to all aspects of the creative process, schedules, advice, getting help and looking at guides, others work and diversifying my own, looking at all the options, exploring different paths and ways to develop my ideas, getting clear vision and really giving myself the time to work on the aspects of it the best that I can.
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