Game Production

This week we had our first session of game production and we were introduced to 3DS Max where we were told that this was going to be used for the rest of our professional journey. I had some experience before on Blender and Maya a little but it was my first time trying out 3DS Max and at first I had a little hard time understanding the way things work because I kept comparing it to the other software's I used like blender, which I find more efficient in creating models and the interface being more modern and user friendly. But if I wanted to adapt to the professional and industry standard software's I had to get adapted to the way 3DS Max works so I went on with the things they thought us. We went over the basics covering navigation, tools, saving, and creating a rudimentary assets. And then we were walked through modelling a table with chairs and some assets on it. I found this session really useful and full of helpful advice to improve our workflow. This session made me realise once again, how important making things is in understanding how things work.

This week we were introduced to the treasure chest project. The lectures were informative and easy to follow along since they walked us through all the steps and helped us along the way when we faced issues. We first worked on the base of the chest, then move on to the lid and then to the handles and legs. We were also told that we could make our own chests if we wanted but since I was not really comfortable with the software I decided to, instead of making my own chest to modify the chest to my concept and that way I would save a ton of time and would be able to follow the demos since it was the same chest. I wanted to make a monster like chest where it would look like a normal treasure chest from the outside but there would be a monster living inside which attack when you get close to it. I was still a bit unsure how to create things and improve my chest so this week was again more of getting used to the software and the tools that we were being thought.

reference images used:

I have started to somewhat understand how to manage things in 3DS Max and started to upgrade my chest in to a monster looking creature. Before I made any changes on my model I started of with a concept sketch to decide on what kind of chest I wanted to create and after I had a design that I was happy with I started adding stuff to my mesh. I have used the soft selection tool to deform the shape of the chest for the mouth of my monster and then added a few teeth. Then I realized that I was a little bit over the tri count budget so I decided to further simplify and change some shapes that where eating a lot of my tri count like the handle and the cylindrical legs. I then went on and changed my shapes into more cube like meshes since cylinders where using a lot of my budget. After a few adjustments I instantly had a lot more tries to work with so I went on and modelled the tongue which I think helped my chest to come together quite a bit. I was starting to really feel that I was getting somewhere. By the way this weeks lectures where all about UV Unwrapping, a completely new concept to me but the theory was fairly simple to grasp.

This week, we delved into the process of exporting texture sheets and importing them into Photoshop. This stage was what I have been waiting for because this is the part where we breath life into our creations. We were also shown how to create alfas and use them to save from budget. I had a few tries with the alfas but could find a way to integrate it to my workflow yet so I didn't want to waste time since I really didn't have a problem with my tri count.

While working on my chest assets, I recognized an opportunity to elevate the visual appeal. The tongue felt somewhat flat, so I decided to infuse the tongue to have a movement to it, making the tongue appear as if it's swinging out of the chest. This change resulted in making some changes with the UV Unwrapping I did, causing a slight delay in my progress. But the extra time invested proved to be a valuable learning experience. I think the tongue not only made the asset more captivating but also provided excellent practice for me on the UV unwrapping techniques I'd recently acquired.

Texturing progress:

Additionally, I began the process of painting textures for the tongue and teeth, which I believed to be a great starting point as these elements are the main focus in my chest. To maintain flexibility, I initially focused on values before introducing any colour. This approach will be especially advantageous in the following weeks, making it easier to adjust colours and values as needed to fine-tune my textures.

In 3DSMax, I started with modelling the props and the island this week, a pivotal moment where my ideas started to take shape. The sand plinth, rocks, and grass were crafted to lay the foundation for the envisioned scene. Unfortunately, time constraints prevented me from delving into the texturing aspect of the plinth and props during this particular week. Nevertheless, I take satisfaction in the substantial progress achieved.

Texturing progress:

This week, I made significant progress in painting the treasure chest, strategically selecting colors to bring my vision to life. Recognizing that the initial palette appeared dull and lacked visual interest, I made deliberate choices to enhance the overall vibrancy. The decision to render the metal in gold and the tongue in purple, as complementary colors, added a captivating dimension to the chest's appearance. This intentional color pairing aimed to create a visually dynamic and intriguing final composition.

To further draw attention to the focal points of the chest namely, the tongue and teeth I employed a thoughtful approach. Opting for white teeth, I incorporated a gradient of pinkish tones to create a gradual and visually captivating transition. This technique not only highlighted the teeth but also contributed to the overall visual appeal of the chest. I think the biggest factor that made my chest look as it is now is the color.

Week Six and seven was all refinements for me and I went over implementing the feedback I got like adding Blood to The Chest since it potreyed a better story than having nothing, and I Went ahead to add the ocean, the surf board, a skull, and a hand print to give more visual clues to the viewer to build something in their mind about what happened. I also wanted to add shark fins using alphas since I wanted to implement the things we learned and try different approaches to improve my understanding in different subjects. I also got help to figure out where things where standing to paint the shadows that was casted by the chest and the props on the island by Johns help. John got me a top down image that shows the places the props intersected with the plinth using substance painter. I also had to down scale my images to the submission sizes to which I was really sad at the beginning and thought it would roughen all the hard work I put in but it still looked really fine after the down scaling and I could say that there were almost no noticeable changes unless you zoomed in it quite a bit. 

Final Unreal Import and Screenshots:

During these two weeks I also Imported my treasure chest in to unreal to get it ready for submission and I was a bit unsure how to presented it. I had an idea of creating clouds to place on the chest using alphas or to surround the chest in a really bright environment with a never ending flat blue plane just like a sea but I then went back on that idea because I wanted to have the background dark to visually direct the eye to the chest and the plinth.