WC Progress: Wk 1 - 4

WK 4:

Beginning of the week have started modeling the policeman.

• Our theme is destruction or destruction derby.
• My milestone is have 3 pedestrians and 3 LODs modeled, UVUnwrapped, Rigged, and basic walk cycle animated, along with their LOD counterparts.

WK 3:

Manipulated the pedestrian man (easier to do it this way if required to interchange parts, for the same number of verts in joining limbs) to create a large obese man. Was set a milestone that in 3 weeks time I'll have 3 pedestrians modeled, UVUnwrapped, Rigged, and basic walk cycle animated, along with their LOD counterparts.

Found out this weekend that, the rest of the team member want to go back to the original idea of limb dismemberment. Confused as to how we shall go this, for disconnecting joints may result in deformations of the mesh in dismemberment and when animating. Dom and I came up with a conclusion to solve this:

(Limb-severing overview) 

• Separating the mesh at particular joints of the body.

• Making sure that each piece was perfectly placed together. 
• At connect vertices between the 2 meshes, have their paint weights set to 100% at that point.
• When required to separated, that limb's mesh will be disabled (invisible) and replaced with a object duplicate set exactly equal that will move around the scene as substitute.

 (Result of two meshes, one skeleton, with joining edges at 100% weight at limb joint)

The granny shall be the first in the implementation of this technique, spent the weekend creating her and a LOD, severing at points planned, and UV Unwrapping. 

• Granny Normal - 991 polys / 1956 tris.
• Granny LOD - 648 polys / 1270 tris.

(granny - normal sev) 

 (granny - LOD Sev)

Hopefully finish rigging her next week so that Dom can test this theory out.

WK 2:

Spent the week on the construction of the first pedestrian man. For the designs they want, I find it hard to model it low poly knowing that if that is the case, then the effectiveness of the models will highly rely on awesome texturing (which in most cases when it comes to modeling for games it is so).

• Pedestrian Man 1 - polys / tris. 
  

 (Details - cyberpunk elements originally wanted on boots, etc.)

Submitted it Friday as due request by Dom. Didn't unwrap it for even because I wanted it tested within the game in multiples for performance reasons. Receive an email from Dom saying he wants it majorly downsized, AND, be interchangeable (example hats, hair, glasses, etc). These points would have been best told at the beginning of the week and not before the model had been made, and prototype due. 

• Pedestrian Man (Downsize) - 932 polys / 1854 tris.
• Pedestrian Man (LOD) - 503 polys / 1008 tris.

 (Pedestrian Man (Downsize) / Pedestrian Man (LOD))

WK 1:

So, as I have been, I'm in charge of the 3D modeling, UV Unwrapping, Rigging, and Animation of all characters in the game. Pedestrians, policeman, and drivers. This week was the first steps in concept sketches / character model sheets for the Policeman since we have most of the designs for the rest. A front and side view was designed, along with a basic planned structure for the skeleton and the wireframe of the mesh.

 (Normal - Pose, Front and Side)

 (Skeleton - Pose, Front and Side)

(Wireframe - Pose, Front and Side)

Game Concept - Vertitude Rumball

•  Vertical Pinball Puzzle/Race game.

• 3^rd Person, diagonal view drop, 

•  iPhone Console.

• What appeals about the game?   

• Is fasted paced, multipath race to which the goal is to reach the bottom of the track as fast as possible.
• Stylized level and awesome music, eg. like Audiosurf with a racing element to it. 
• Keeps player captivated in the momentum of the game.

• Idea derived from various fun quirks in games such as: 

•    Mario Kart 64’s Rainbow Road LVL:

• where the player enjoys the challenge of trying to jump over the rail and shortcut the level. 

• Sonic the Hedgehog Adventure Battle 2:

• Multiplayer rail systen where the character can grind on rails and jump the lvl to shortcut onto other rails. 
• In game lvls where sonic speeds around circular circuits. 
• The bumpers and power bars.

•  Multiple tracks/ways to make it to the finish.

• Various LVL aspects: 

• There are multiple paths that can be taken.
•  takes aspects of a pinball game, ball chamber tubes, levers hit to reveal more paths, pendulum obstacle effects, bumpers, etc.
• freefall drops from one part of the level to the other. 
• various aspects that can speed up and slow down the player depending.

•   Simple design aspects: 

• No character modeling, rigging or animating required, its just a ball, the main of the modeling is the level itself.

• Functionality: 

• Like a pinball machine you can roll/control the marble from side to side (with iPhone), or bump the machine to quickly change the marble’s course of direction (tap the screen on left or right).

Dream Pinball (PC)

F Zero X (N64)