Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Assets

I'm going to preface this post with A 3D modeler I am not, there not that that is out of the way, I've been working on some assets for Miskatonic University because open empty halls and rooms are well, boring. I've starting to grasp 3D Studio Max a bit more confidently than I had in the past but I'm still working with very basic primitive shapes and minor modifications to them. Textures in 3DSM are starting to come along but I still run into issues with UDK not wanting to import them correctly, I think I've finally figured a way around it which has worked once, I've had other methods work once for me and never again in the past however so it still remains to be seen how well this method holds up. Below are some of the few things that I've modeled so far.

A nice dark imposing desk

Curious about what's behind the door?

Trying to keep a 1920s feel to all of the assets, found a few locker types this one seemed the most flexible.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Miskatonic University Update 2

So it has been a little over two weeks since my last update, got to start keeping this thing updated a bit more, which may have become a bit easier now. On the one side of things loosing a job is never easy on anyone, but it gives me time to work on my portfolio and money isn't terrible at the moment. So I've been busy working on Miskatonic and running around some other back burner ideas in my head. I think I've finally gotten the normal map issue with the textures sorted out. I started using a program called Normalx (Thanks for pointing me in this direction Jeremiah) and it seems not only to do a much better job than the nvidia plugin I was using but it is a lot more straight forward as well.

So without further ado some updated Miskatonic University shots.
Front entrance, not completely happy with that concrete texture.
I think I need something lighter here
Looking in the front door.
A look down the first floor corridor.
Second floor, just some work lights in place.
A look down into the library from the third floor balcony.

Over view shot. Still missing some floors and the clocktower.






Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Small Update, Large Rant


So a quick update on the Miskatonic University project, I ran into a bit of a wall in designing the second floor of the University. I knew that I wanted to add a library and some science labs but trying to figure out how to lay it out and how the layout would affect the third story's floor plan was giving me some issues. So taking a suggestion from my girlfriend I created a mock up of the University in, of all places, The Sims 3 and was able to work quickly and try a few different floor plans out until I found one I liked. While this probably wasn't the approach that is the most typical in a situation like this it did allow me to design quickly and see results of ideas rapidly it seemed to work well. So hopefully I'll have more of the University laid out tonight with some more screen shots as things start to fall into place.

If you're just here for design insights, now is probably a good place to stop reading. While the following will be regarding the gaming industry and gaming culture it does not pertain to design.

Look, I know you're safe and secure behind your screen and your anonymity and that's fine, that's one of the wonders of the internet, it gives everyone a voice. But too many male gamers and males in general use their anonymity for saying disgusting things towards women that they either may know or just pick at random because they can. When did having a screen and the internet between you and the person that you're talking to on the other end of it give you an excuse to act like a misogynistic asshat? I'd say you're a grown man and that you should know better but clearly by your actions you're not and you don't. So let me spell this out for you, treat people like they’re person and not a piece of meat. Just because you have the security blanket of the internet around you doesn't give you a reason or excuse to act like some frat house drunk jackass. My parent taught me to respect human beings as human beings no matter their race, gender, sexual preference or what breakfast cereal they eat in the mornings.

The gaming community is especially bad about this, along with treating women terribly; the bigoted speech that comes through on games is insane. There's a reason I don't play a lot of FPS's online and when I do I have the voice chat muted or when I play an MMO I create custom chat channels that usually avoid the public channels. It’s because not only do I not want to hear the torrent of hate speech that comes out of most of the chat but it’s also because it makes me uncomfortable. I don't fall into any of the categories that should be offended by this speech, I'm a straight white male, but the fact that the words that I would never in my life even think to say are thrown around so easily and freely makes me no longer want to associate myself with a game where that kind of speech is rampant.

I'm not here to point fingers at a cause of this, it could be societal, it could be bad parenting, it could be just a screwed up individual, but the fact remains that nowhere is it acceptable. The gaming industry in the past has, and in some cases still does, employ "booth babes" women who have no problem with guys drooling over them. But as we move away from the idea that games are for children and towards being a multi-billion dollar industry that wants to take itself as seriously as the film industry, it is time to move away from childish things. It is time to let your game sell itself and not need some skimpily clad woman to stand by your game to get attention for what you've been doing. If you need that sort of marketing it seems to me that maybe it’s time to go back and rework your game until it can sell itself.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Bioshock Review or We all make choices in life...


Underneath the amazing atmosphere, beautifully detailed graphics, immersive sounds and enveloping storyline,BioShock is a game about choices: the choices made by the characters in the creation and downfall of Rapture; the choices presented to the player that pull at your heartstrings and moral compass; and the choices of weapons and plasmids. How each of these choices affects the player and the world around him is one of BioShock’s greatest assets. BioShock starts with Andrew Ryan, the creator of Rapture, which is a city located at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, away from the oppression of governments and religion. Built to be a Randian utopia, Ryan recruited the greatest artists and scientists to reside in Rapture. Unrestrained by the censors and ethics that would have faced these minds on the surface, Ryan encouraged them to create and discover. From these creations and discoveries, two things were found that would lead to Rapture’s eventual downfall: Adam and Plasmids.1190610346-25819 Adam is a mutagen harvested from a previously unknown species of sea slug, which has the ability to regenerate damaged tissue as well as rewrite the human genome. However, it was discovered that Adam could be produced en masse by implanting the slugs in the stomachs of young girls, who become critical in BioShock. As the game unfolds, the player finds himself presented with the choice to harvest and kill the young girls, known as Little Sisters, to receive a large sum of Adam, or save the young girls, by using a plasmid to displace the sea slugs, resulting in a reduced amount of Adam. This is the critical choice with which the player is presented throughout BioShock. Along with Adam, the other discovery in Rapture was plasmids. Plasmids are the way the player is able to rewrite the character’s genetic code and have abilities, such as telekinesis, pyrokinesis and the ability to freeze enemies. While these plasmids and abilities do add to the choices given to the player during their time in Rapture, I found that most of them became unnecessary, and I found myself using the same plasmids over and over, only really using three of the five slots I was given.1190610346-25813 All but a handful of the remaining inhabitants of Rapture fall under the category of “splicers,” people who, due to withdraw from Adam, have become mentally unstable and violent. These are the main enemies that the player faces through the journey in Rapture; however, I cannot help but feel that splicers were added to BioShock as an afterthought. There are only five different variations of splicers within Rapture, each of which can be beaten with what essentially is the same strategy. The challenge against the splicers at first is enough to keep the gameplay and fights challenging, but after several of the higher plasmids are obtained, I found the fights to be little more than general annoyances between pieces of the entangled storyline BioShock’s story is one that has spanned many generations and has plot twists that are usually reserved for major summer blockbusters. Not all is well in Andrew Ryan’s utopia at the bottom of the sea. As the thinkers and artists recruited to live in Rapture enjoyed the spoils of their discoveries and creations, there were those among them who had to keep Rapture running through the day-to-day activities and were not happy watching the elites enjoy the finer things in life, while they lived in the lower, leaking levels of the city. Among the lower class rose one who would lead them against Andrew Ryan and his elitist followers.1190610346-25818 Frank Fontaine, a businessman and mobster, led a revolt against Ryan. However, Fontaine’s motivations were anything but pure, as he sought to control and manipulate the lower class, as well as run a smuggling ring that brought in forbidden items, such as religious material. As Fontaine began to gather support, it was reported throughout Rapture that he was killed, and Ryan took over all of Fontaine’s assets, including the plasmid industry. After several months, a new leader of the lower class rose against Ryan — Atlas. Crowned as the new leader of the lower class, Atlas led a revolt against Ryan on New Year’s Eve 1959, with Adam-infused followers. As Ryan began to fight back against Atlas, he began to employ splicers of his own, and as we enter Rapture, the city is still in shambles from the ensuing fights. There is one other main character in BioShock that is a key player in the game that I found to be one of the most compelling and convincing. That character is Rapture, the city itself. BioShock could take place anywhere really, but it is clear with every detail of the city — from the way the water flows in and around it, to the contemporarily accurate ads displayed throughout the city — That Rapture creaks and breathes with life and almost a mind of its own. There are times playing BioShock that, because of the sites and sounds of Rapture and the amazing detail in which it’s presented, I found myself with chills. All in all, everything about BioShock, from the story to the lovingly crafted city, creates an amazing environment and atmosphere of a dream gone terribly wrong. The combat at times leaves a bit to be desired, but it is well worth drudging through the uninspired combat just to have the twists and turns of Rapture unfold before you.

This review first appeared on Gamersinfo.net on March 1st 2010 as a review I wrote for a school project.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Miskatonic University Update 1

I've done a bit of work on Miskatonic University recently and figured I was far enough along to show a few in progress images. It isn't anything major yet but the first floor is laid out and I've begun experimenting with some over all textures, I'm happy with the floor texture the red brick texture needs some work, the normal mapping is giving me some strange black outlines. Anyhow on to the images!

Shot from inside looking down the main hall.

Shot from outside looking up the front steps

Overall aerial shot

First floor layout