What is a hero asset Hero Asset?

A hero asset is a key item within an environment, typically a centrepiece used to build an atmosphere and catch the attention of the viewer.

After discussing what constitutes as a hero asset the common description I could find on the subject was an important asset that is at the forefront of the artwork. What a hero asset can be is up to the imagination of the creator and is shown in a variety of different examples and depending on the art filed that is being presented, for example a environment artist would use a throne or monument. Whist a 3D modeller could create a helmet or fridge.

This allows for a range of varied items which are used as shown in the environment that is being portrayed. This makes hero assets basically important assets for a game. This means a higher poly count and purpose within a scene than compared to other assets because its importance for narrative, gameplay and significant impact on a games world. An example of this could be a weapon which would be considered a hero asset. A basic building wouldn't be classed as an asset because its very modular and uninteresting. If a player can walk past it and not take notice it would not be considered a essential item and not be deemed a (hero asset).

From asking others on there opinions on what a hero asset is I received a similar shared response consensus from the people I asked to comment on the topic. From the results I feel enforces my already basic understanding of the subject matter and which serves to add clarity and depth to my insight on this topic. Responses I gained from sources I have contacted include "A hero asset is basically an asset that is important to the game or art piece". "It tends to have more detail in both texture and 3d geometry." - Jake Barnitas at figures 4-5. This explanation of a hero asset from a artists I contacted on Art Station was valuable as it provided a more professional outlook and clarity for the topic and helps to give more insight into more technical aspects of what qualifies as a hero asset, for example the geometry aspect. This is useful knowledge for understanding how a hero asset is a important asset which is used at the centre of a piece. Responses like this enforces this qualifier for a hero asset.

Another response I received was "a hero asset is an important asset that is worth putting in more detail and resolution than the rest of the assets. It's usually something important that doesn't get seen often but when it gets seen it's flashy and should be grabbing the attention of the player." - Erika Moya at Figures 2-3. This response serves to further demonstrate the need for hero assets in a game environment and enforces the importance of it. This is a factor I will incorporate into my planning and development when designing and creating my hero asset for this module. This research has provided more detailed insight into the definition of what a hero asset could be described as and I can use my pre-production phase of this module to experiment and test a variety of options for a hero asset while in keeping with the important factor of making it the centre piece of the environment.

(Update) After deciding upon my hero asset being the horror door concept idea. I wanted to receive some professional responses regarding my final door hero asset, and by using the website on ArtStation.com to collect opinions and thoughts on my final hero asset diorama regarding how it well suits within them and its quality. "If your door is a hero asset for example I would expect it to be the last door to get to the boss and the player needing to interact with it, like taking/putting that crowbar and chain lock themselves" - Erika Moya at Figures 2-3. From these responses it has serves as valuable networking experience and which is a practice that is needed for improvement and self reflection. By receiving feedback from people in the industry and working in similar disciplines to myself it has helped in witnessing a more professional perspective and helps to improve upon communication and networking skills. Which provide more aspects of development to consider within the creation process of the hero asset and which enforces and further develops the workflow and pipeline documented within my reflective journal. if i do not have enough time to implement improves suggested to me from this responses to my hero asset as time constraints are a factor I have to consider within creating and developing my asset. I can use the feedback to contrast and reflect upon my finalised work by the end of this module which will serve useful for evaluating the effeteness of the hero asset and provide future insight which is useful in my continued learning process.

https://www.artstation.com/

In preparation for planning and examining the type of hero asset that I will choose for this module. I wanted to expand my outlook and range of possible ideas that could be used for this project. This lead me to researching and referencing the website Art Station, as it is well known as a professional source for artists from a variety of art fields and would serve as useful research material for my examination of the topic of hero assets and the range of options this subject provides.

This screenshot from Figure 1 illustrates the amount and variety that hero assets can be presented as and through this referencing I believe it provides myself with more insight and possibilities for my asset which allows me more freedom and ranges to explore on this subject. From this image a hero asset can be anything from a camera to an axe which demonstrates and enforces my research and understanding of the basic principles found in this topic and this research has provided myself with a broader expansive outlook which I will use to brainstorm and plan a multitude of ideations, which can be developed and researched until I decide on my final hero asset concept and pursue its development through this modular study block.

Jake Barnitas

https://www.artstation.com/banij

Jake Barnitas is an environment artist working at Bossa studios and is another person I have contacted in relation to the topic of hero assets.

During my research and planning I discovered his work from searching the website Art Station in the hope of building a larger range of reference and themes in which to explore for this topic. This lead me to his portfolio and a piece of his called Short Twig. This hero asset is a useful reference for looking at a professional example of the subject matter and examining factors such as presentation and perspectives. These are aspects to consider when presenting hero assets and highlighting there features and noticeable components for portfolio purposes.

(Update) Although I decided against creating a weapon asset such as this I feel that this artists hero asset serves as a valuable reference for understanding the best way for presenting and illustrating an assets important features and development processes within a professional setting and resource such as Art Station, as this is a important factor in presenting I have incorporated these aspects such as material and textures maps into my into my own presentation sheets. This serves to illustrate my workflow and provide development context behind my hero asset which is useful for presenting to other artist and professionals. Although I did not choose this kind of asset for my project I believe I have learnt a lot of techniques which will help improve my presenting skills and portfolio work as a result of this research and planning stage.

Planning and Brainstorming

In order to further explore my options for my hero asset, I created a spider diagram with the four genre ideas I have explored as a base in preparation for my presentation. By using this process I can better illustrate my idea process for the hero asset in an organised and structured system and I feel it has helped streamline and narrow down my ideas from each genre and makes them easy to follow. Making for an important function for developing ideas and my design process for this assignment.

From this ideation planning I feel that my best approach will be to create a hero asset which can serve to develop and presenting my current skill set and desired future prospects. This will help in my development process and overall quality of my asset considering my time span for completing this project. With these factors to consider I will further research and compare these ideas and choose a hero asset which can incorporate my 3D modelling skills while allowing for freedom in design and aspects such as.

• Colour

• Shape

• Size

• Composition

• Construction

• Screen size

• Narrative/Storytelling

For the early stages of production I created a PowerPoint presentation after my research and planning based on the subject of hero assets. I will use this opportunity to illustrate my ideation and thought process's for my assets concepts to my peers in an aim to gain more insight and feedback on the ideas I have looked at during this process. This will allow myself to then proceed in deciding upon my final my hero asset concept which I will take and develop further. Hearing of my peer's their thoughts and feedback from this exercise has allowed for communication in to the idea process which will be useful for future planning and defining of the chosen concept I choose.

I have researched four different genres and concepts during this planning stage of development so that I could explore and develop ideas for multiple optional hero assets. This will help broaden ideation process and provide reflectional research for my journal when discussing my choices. I have looked at a variety of idea options which include horror, sci-fi and fantasy, which allows for a diverse and expansive range of opportunities for my hero asset to present. Through this process I have created mood boards and diagrams during my research to better explore my choices of each of the four genre ideas which I have used to explain the reasoning behind my decisions, which my peers have provided through there thoughts and opinions on the ideas that I have presented. It is through this process I believe will better improve upon my ideation planning and which has helped bring more focus to my hero assets development and principles I will follow through its progression.

(Update) After hearing my peer's feedback I received lots of valuable insight into their opinions on each of my asset ideas. From this exercise I was able to minimise my options and decide upon my favourite concept which was the (horror door.) From this presentation I have learnt the importance of peer feedback and the value of presenting multiple options as it can allow for wider discussing topics and more chances for deciding upon an idea that reaches a conscious. If I was to do this task again I would have sketched out rough drafts of designs for the ideation concepts and would have broadened my talking points on each idea, which would have allowed my peers to provide more insight and feedback instead of just their initial thought on my idea concepts, which whilst useful were not as in-depth and detailed as to help in my decision making process.

The reasons for favouring the door concept of the others including the tool/weapon idea was I felt that it had more promise narrativity and allowed for more design possibilities as the fountain and superhero ideas would have led to a more conventional and typical designs and I wanted to use this module to explore more unique and interesting themes and genre idea that could be used to present my artistic abilities and interests through my chosen principles and the style that I chose to use which gave these ideas an edge over my other ideation assets.

My Favourite Hero Asset Concepts

1st idea concept

For my first idea concept I wanted to give an object meaning within a world and also give it narrative reasoning for existing. This led me to the idea of taking an item or tool and finding a way to re-use it as a weapon in a game. One of the main references for this is Dead space as the plasma cutter that games the main weapon is narratively a mining tool used by the protagonist which is then re-purposed as a weapon to fight enemies. I feel that this backstory narrative for the game's weapon helps led it a unique and memorable cause for existing in that world and also separates it from other weapons.

This was my first idea for a possible hero asset as I believed it stands out and the aspect of the asset serving as a main factor in the game and to the player which makes it a hero asset to begin with. I will explain my research and hero asset idea to my peers during my presentation so that I can hear their thoughts on this idea and if I should pursue it for this assignment.

(Update) After debating which concept to peruse I alternately chose not to follow up on the weaponized tool concept idea. As I felt more engaged with the horror door concept with its more potential and could serve to give a personality and backstory possibilities contrasted with the weapon concept. Although the tool tuned weapon idea could have led to an interesting designed weapon I believe that having a narrative backstory element to an asset makes it more recognizable and purposeful which is an important factor for any hero asset and for this reason I feel the door premise would be more interesting to peruse and on reflection I believe this comparison and debate has helped in ideation practice and formatting reflecting research which is useful for research and developing a concept through to completion.

2nd idea concept

My second concept idea was to create a door asset using a horror theme for the theme of the hero asset. I believe this idea has potential in creating a foreboding and aesthetically interesting asset which takes a normal stationary object and expands upon it to make a visually interesting idea, which would allow myself to practice and develop my 3D artist skills through the pipeline and workflow of a 3D artist. By using a ordinary object such as a door I have the opportunity to develop it into a more important and interesting asset using the them and concept I have discussed, and by documenting my process through this study block I will present my workflow and design decisions which will serve to present my hero asset in its presentation sheets at the end of this module.

I will also use the design of the door to illustrate the menacing presence that the door will exhibit through its use of colour and features. This will help in the presenting process of my asset and the breakdown of my workflow and pipeline through this module. My goal by the final of this hero asset is to present a asset which is visually distinctive and evokes the reaction of horror that I want to illustrate the the design of the door I have chosen to create.

People of inspiration

People I feel are inspirational to me and hold a special importance in games and by own work. Include people such as artist Masahiro Ito creator of Pyramid head and art director from Silent hill 2 (2001). https://www.konami.com/games/eu/en/products/shhd/

I feel this artist is relevant to this module because of my chosen hero asset and the theme of horror I have chosen to focus on. As the creator of Pyramid Head I feel Masahiro Ito understands the importance of symbolism and how the design can affect the world that his work reside within.

(Update ) Its this important factor I have looked at whilst working on my horror door asset as thinking more methodically is useful for creating an asset that can portray meaning and have more of a purpose within the environment, and its through my research into artists such as Masahiro Ito that I have been able to explore more interesting and narratively focused themes that can help add depth and complexity to my hero asset and how it is viewed by the audience.

Reading Material

I have taken time to expand my knowledge of literature sources for research during this module as to gain a wider range of references regarding the art form of game art and the information available other than just online resources. These consisted of art books that I own and have access to and which keep my knowledge of software and techniques in the games industry fresh and up to date. These books include workflow and pipeline information from a range of job roles in the industry of games and has served to help in my own goals regarding this module and my preferred desired practice of 3D art.

One of these books is called The Swordmaster an educational book which shows tutorials and workflows within software including Maya and Zbrush and illustrates sculpts and breakdown of the pipeline and workflow that is needed to create a game ready character model from all stages of development. Another book I have read is Drawing basics and video game art. I feel This book was valuable in helping my digital artwork knowledge and was also useful in my recent art contributing to my hero asset door as the book breaks down workflows and process's within digital art forms and this has helped in my knowledge of positioning and scaling which are important factors to consider when creating artwork for a hero asset. I have also read the book How To Become A Video Game Artist: The Insider's Guide To Landing A Job In The Gaming World which provided information and insider knowledge of a variety of art practices ranging from concept art to environment 3D art pipelines and its with this more recent book that has allowed for a more detailed breakdown and expansive look into the workflows and practices that can be used to enforce my hero asset project and develop it further for improved quality and professional standards. In one section called Demonstration: The Mine Shaft By Dennis Glowacki. Pages 66 - 68 illustrates the construction of layering and how to build up an environment or diorama. This is valuable information section as it can apply towards the best way to present and annotate the creation of an environment which shows the assets and order in which it is build to create a scene and show the atmosphere and workflow of creating an environment. With this example I have learnt the more professional and simple design of breaking down a workflow which shows the stages of development and process which I will use to enhance and develop my own hero assets production further. This will allow for more detailed annotation and critical writing and produce a more quality diorama environment for the hero asset to exhibit.

From reading these book I feel that I have been successful in advancing my reach of resources for art topics which I can apply to my current practices and work output. This has served in a better understanding towards relevant art fields and pipelines which provides more insight and learning avenues for new processes and techniques which can result more improve artwork regarding my own work, future prospects and process's which have enhanced my overall quality of outcomes.

Bibliography

ArtStation. 2014. Artstation - Explore. [online] Available at: <https://www.artstation.com/> [Accessed 14 December 2020].

ArtStation. n.d. Erika Moya. [online] Available at: <https://www.artstation.com/opponent019> [Accessed 14 December 2020].

artstation.com. 2017. Modular Cabin. [online] Available at: <https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ZWGOX> [Accessed 21 December 2020].

artstation.com. 2019. Short Twig. [online] Available at: <https://www.artstation.com/artwork/0XVev5> [Accessed 21 December 2020].

Studio, S., 2013. Dead Space 3 Plasma Cutter. [online] skylowstudio.com. Available at: <http://skylowstudio.com/dead-space-3-plasma-cutter/> [Accessed 15 December 2020].

Deviantart.com. 2010. Creepy Door By Raphie-Kun On Deviantart. [online] Available at: <https://www.deviantart.com/raphie-kun/art/Creepy-door-173601032> [Accessed 15 December 2020].

ArtStation. n.d. Jake Banitas. [online] Available at: <https://www.artstation.com/banij> [Accessed 14 December 2020].

KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT B.V. 2021. Silent Hill HD Collection | KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT B.V.. [online] Available at: <https://www.konami.com/games/eu/en/products/shhd/> [Accessed 6 January 2021].

En.wikipedia.org. n.d. Visceral Games. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visceral_Games> [Accessed 27 December 2020].

2012. Drawing Basics And Video Game Art. 1st ed. New York: watson guptill.

2013. The SwordmasterIn 3Ds Max AndZbrush. 1st ed. United Kingdom: 3dtotal Publishing.

2013. How To Become A Video Game Artist: The Insider's Guide To Landing A Job In The Gaming World. 1st ed. New York: Watson-Guptill, pp.66 - 68 - Demonstration: The Mine Shaft By Dennis Glowacki.