Specialization
After finishing the first year of this course, I have decided to specialize in 3D environments as I enjoyed creating my final level for last years final project.
To do this I will need a good understanding of what makes a level good, this includes all forms of lighting, interactivity and a good scale of tense moments to calm where the player is allowed to catch their breath or prepare for a boss fight.
The reason I chose level design is because of the Final Major Project last year, I really enjoyed creating my landscape and creating assets and being able to have to freedom to create my own story within my level, I feel that this would be the area I really shine in and so I’m going to pursue this chosen field.
The skills I would require in this chosen specialization would be:
- A good understanding of Unreal Engine 4 features that I could utilize in my level such as lighting, destructibility, and making complex landscapes.
- Be able to mentally plan around any potential errors I will encounter.
- Work with particle systems to create background effects for my level such as dust glints or sun rays.
Below are some ideas of projects I could create which relates to my chosen field and will further improve my understanding and skills in these sectors.
Idea 1 – Diorama
A few examples of what I feel I could produce are these small 3D Environment Dioramas, I feel that these would highlight my strengths as they are compacted, detailed stages of a level that I could use to represent my work on a smaller but more detailed scale.
These appeal to me because I like to use the space I’m given to create as much detail as I can so using a small canvas will allow me to do this and not cost too much time.
The Dioramas I have selected below represent my preferred art type as I will use a combination of Photoshop and illustrator to create these cartoon themed art styles.
This type of Diorama is external so I have much more flexibility with my environment and can create it as I imagine, as you can see in this one it is based around a small cottage on a river with a small trail of smoke coming from the chimney, I feel like this would be the type of design I will create as it shows that I am capable of creating external environments as well as showing attention to detail around the structure it will be based around.
This Diorama is the most detailed as it’s from the outside looking in, this meant that the creator had to add detail through all of the windows and doors, including floor tiles and the drape hanging off the edge of the Diorama.
I feel that this would be the next step after completing Diorama 2, as using techniques I learn from that I could attempt to create a more detailed piece like this.
To create a scene like this I feel like Unreal Engine 4 Could be a good program to use as I can use photo realistic graphics mixed in with the more cartoon themed look like the above images.
I will use Photoshop and illustrator to help make my textures seamless and with these create a starting point out of 3D assets I will create in Maya and work my way up from there, adding improved textures and refining my models so that I end up with a professional and detailed final product.
An Idea I have at the moment is based from World Of Warcraft and the new expansion, the idea is to create a Diorama of the Pyramid in the new area named Zuldazar –
Idea 2 – Interactive Level
On the other hand if I do not do a Diorama I would like to make some type of interactive single-player level snippet, it would be based on the Last Of Us game because I really like the layout of Naughty Dog’s levels and all of the small techniques they use to lead a character without compromising on immersion, this being through lighting or subtle hints but no HUD indicators.
I really like the overgrown green contrasting to the concrete city and feel like this would be something that I could achieve with my own twist onto it, an idea I am currently looking at would be a mix of the Division and the last of us, so it would be overgrown but based around winter. Both of these are some of my favorite games so I have some ideas and experience of how these levels are crafted and how they guide players.
I would Ideally create this in third person as it allows the player to see more of the level and makes for a more cinematic experience. To create this I will use techniques I learned last year such as my snow particle system and work with lighting to make it look as interesting as possible. My goal would be to always have something going on within the level and ensure that there is always something to look at.
An idea I have for my final level will be based around this scene from The Division,
I really like the winter-wasteland feel as in this game the streets are dangerous and this is represented through the ruins and blood that is left on the ground. The division has such a cool atmosphere to it that if I combined the design of the division with the abandoned feel of The Last Of Us I feel that my level could potentially be very strong and look good.
Using my mini projects I feel that the skills I learn would really benefit me for a smaller, but more detailed level, I will use all my lighting techniques and new modelling tools I have worked with to create the best result that I can.
Mini Projects
To get some more experience to help with these projects I have decided on three mini projects I will complete in order to assist me in my major final project.
The first of which will be to create a smaller, less detailed Diorama so that I get used to setting the scene and experimenting with different types of lighting and textures available, an idea I have for this is just a simple lamppost on an overgrown road with some debris and a crashed car on the road next to it. This would be a small simple project that will give me some experience in creating smaller dioramas. The techniques I learn when making this will give me a better understanding of what I need to do when creating a larger more detailed diorama.
Above is the diorama that I have created based on this description of what I wanted, overall this took about 2 days and I’m not too happy with it, this being because I didn’t know what to do with the ground and so it looks very plain, if I were to re-create this diorama I would probably model some other things such as boxes and trashcans to litter the floor with so it doesn’t look as clean as it does.
My second mini project is to experiment with lighting in unreal engine 4 so that I can get the best visuals for my diorama and other projects that I work on, I would like to test flickering lights, intractable lights and torches that the player interacts with.
This is the code i used to create a flickering light for my lighting demonstration which I can use in my diorama or a Level that I create. This was very simple to learn and can be configured by changing the box under the “time event”. This allows the user to enter a unit at which the light will flicker.
These are the 3 main types of lighting that I will use, a standard point light, flickering lights and a merge of spotlights to get multiple angles. I could also combine the flickering effect with the spotlights to make it even more detailed.
My final mini project would be to work with texturing in Maya, such as using PNG images and trying to apply custom images as textures to my models without them being stretched. I created this lamppost which I used for my diorama but experimented with overgrown moss and rusted down metal and overall I like how it looks. If I were to do this again though I would probably add more moss and grass to the bottom of the lamppost as it looks plain compared to the rest of the model.
As you can see, I re-used this model in my smaller diorama to save time. Overall I am happy with the lamppost but am not happy with the rusted truck as it’s very simple and the texturing wasn’t that great as I ran out of time and had to rush it. I will re-create this car when I am doing my final project if I choose to create a detailed video game level so that it will appear more detailed and hopefully be a representation of my work.
Jake Ling's Game Development Progress Blog. 