SUMMER PROJECT
Project Outline
I set myself the goal of making a game space where you can explore and briefly interact with objects. I detailed what might go into this task, such as the creation of various assets, learning about and improving my workflow, and finding resources. I revisited my semester 1 project as source material and inspiration for the environment I created.
Train
The train is one of the most important assets for the game I designed. Without it, the player wouldn't be going anywhere after all. I collected reference images, and looked at various old steam engines, as I wanted to go for a more vintage look in my game. I needed various perspectives so that I could understand how the train looked from different angles. I then went on to block in major shapes, such as the cylindrical shape of the engine, and the prism-like barricade at the front, before adding finer details, like the rivets and bands around the train. I even animated the wheels and pistons moving for when the train is in motion (https://www.instagram.com/p/CSCwa_ODbAX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link).
Assets
Alongside the train, I modelled some assets which would go in a forest environment. I created two different trees, with different colour schemes, as well as different flowers, which used randomised colour ranges between two values to get multiple flowers with differing colours. There are also other objects, such as sticks and stumps, and mushrooms and rocks. I intended for there to be basic interaction with these objects, mainly picking them up and storing them in a scrapbook. I also sculpted different kinds of grass, but I realise that I could have just looked into shaders to make more functional and sophisticated looking grass.
Hub World
I created a hub world for the player to explore. Here, the player would choose which environment they want to explore, and the appropriate train would rotate out of the turntable for the player to get on. I also intended for this to be a social experience, where players would be able
Hub World (Cont.)
to see others and what they have been up to in their scrapbooks. There may have even been secrets around for players to find, even placed by others to be found. I only blocked out the different elements in the station though, such as buildings and benches and train tracks. I could have added a lot more little details, like bins and ads, but I have left those for another time.
Unity
I created prefabs of all my assets so that I could make any quick changes to them as I went about adding them into the scene. Most of this ended up becoming a refresher on how to use Unity, though. However, I did enjoy creating the environment and seeing it come to life. I even experimented with using watercolour textures and layering them over the environment. However, they felt a little off, as you could see how thin they are when viewed from the side. So, I reflected, and looked up how I could fix this, and found something called "billboarding", which can keep certain objects always facing the camera. As you can see in the images below, it worked. I also felt that the environment could do with some particle effects, so I added falling leaves and petal flying through the air. However, with the area not enclosed, you could see plainly where the particles were being emitted from. I should have planned and concepted better how this area would look in 3D, so that I could have built up the area a bit more. However, I have enjoyed working on this project, and am proud of how far my modelling skills have come.
