Task 1 - Formative Computing for Games.

The Programmers Role;

A programmer is a person who writes computer software, there are many names for people in this nature of work; programmer, computer programmer, developer, coder or software engineer. These  people will often work in primary programming languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, Lisp, Python ect… a programmer can be a person who specialises in one area of programming or can be a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software.

Programmers in the Games industry are very passionate when it comes to games, whether it’s free to play on a mobile/ tablet device or it’s on a console or computer, they’re always up for a challenge. Programmers help shape the game using rapid development processes and maximise the games potential using established analytics.

.           The key duties of a programmer in the games industry are to actively participate in code and feature design as without understanding the ideas that other employees in the business are coming up with, the programmer might not understand how to visualise problems and outcomes as clearly as they company would like. Visualisation is a big part of how programmers think, not in the same way an artist visualises things however they often sit down and create small flow charts to help them get a basic idea of the code they will start writing. Working with designers and artists can often help a programmer with implementing desired features in which he has not come up with, in the games industry this is often a trial and error period in which the artists and programmers go back and forth ensuring that they are creating exactly what they want.

Programmers are often asked to program game systems, tools and user interfaces to certain specifications, so being able to stick imagination and logic together, however there are loads of different programming areas such as; Game Engine, Physics Engine, Graphics Engine, Artificial Intelligence, Sound, Gameplay, Scripter, User Interface, Network ,Games Tools, Porting, Technology and Generalist Programmer, each of these would still be expected to report to a Team Lead when creating features as you as a programmer would not have the authority to approve such items.

Programmers who work in the industry will often have a good understanding of programming principles such as D.R.Y (Don’t repeat yourself.), K.I.S.S (Keep it simple stupid.), or Do the simplest thing that could possibly work, these will often make a programmer more efficient in the workplace which will make them better in the long run. Programmers will often be willing to learn new technologies and open minded to the changes that haven’t happened yet but will inevitably happen.  Being a programmer is an iterative process and being open minded often helps when you know that the code you’ve written is probably wrong; this is a skill that all programmers have acquired over time.

Daily Duties of Computer Programmers:

• Writing software programs in a variety of computer code languages, including C++, JavaScript, and HTML
• Updating and expanding present programs to be more current with the latest technological advancements
• Utilizing code libraries as collections of independent code lines to simplify the writing of computer programs
• Debugging codes, evaluating the effectiveness of programs, and fixing any errors
• Building computer-assisted software engineering (CASE) resources to automate the writing of computer codes
• Designing mobile applications, systems interfaces, and computer operating systems
• Training users or computer operators on how a new program functions

Computer Programmer Job Description
In most cases, computer programmers can be found working in office settings within the computer systems design and related services industry. Some computer programmers who are experts in a specific concentrated area may also find employment as consultants for outside firms and travel frequently between various work locations. Since writing code can be completed from basically anywhere, many computer programmers also telecommute.

(http://www.access2knowledge.org)

Overall programmers are very driven and motivated individuals that will have strong communication abilities, good attention to detail and are often if in the games industry are passionate about games, great team players.

Game of Thrones me 6

What I've created using Autodesk's Mudbox for the first time ever.

     

 4230936 Polygons vs 9,968 Triangles  (10,000 is the limit.) 

      

    

 I've used one PNG texture map which i believe i could have optimised a lot better as when i scaled the model down to less than 10,000 triangles i realised that i had unwrapped the underside of the characters hair (the black frog shape) which did not need to be done.

Ive used up another PNG texture map for Normals, which help the model define parts i've had to leave off from the high poly version. one example of this working really nicely for me is; On the high poly version the chest piece has a pattern worked onto it, however i could not keep this when taking the model down through its layers. This normal map has allowed me to take the detail from the high poly and stick it on the 10,000 triangle version of myself.

Game of Thrones Me 5

Playing with Mudbox.

(I have never used Mudbox before this project)

 Save 5 compared with save 9. probably a good 3-4 hours of time here.

 Again save 5 with save 9.

 Hopefully I will have something that still looks like a human by the end of this.

Game of Thrones Me 4

03.02.14

Before my model goes into Mudbox 2014.

Current triangle count. is 4,956
Leaving me with just over 5000 triangles to play with once the model comes back out of Mudbox.
Putting this model in Mudbox will allow me to take my triangle count to crazy lengths for detail and then use the detail in my soon to come textures.

After using Turbo Smooth the models triangle count goes up to 19,936 tris. This is the kind of end result I would like to match when coming out of Mudbox, but without  going over my 10,000 triangle budget.

Game of Thrones Me 3

(13.01.13)

Technical requirements for whole character model.

You will be assisted in gathering a collection of photographs of yourself to complete the task, however sourcing other reference is highly advised.

·         Scale: Centimetres.  All models must be built using this scale. one unit = one centimetre. Using a real world measurement makes it easier to match and check scales of objects, e.g. a head is around 30cm tall.

·         Polygon Count: 10,000 triangles.  Be careful you are counting triangles and not quads. “Polygon” is often used to describe both quads and triangles, which is confusing.  Your budget is 10,000 triangles, (make sure you use the ‘count triangles’ option in the Max Polygon Counter.) Remember you are creating a non-player character, these tend to be much lower than the playable ones. To give an idea of polycount used in games today see here.

·         Texture Space: 3 RGB texture @ 2048x2048 pixels square. Save as .png. You will need to produce one diffuse (colour), one normal, and one specular texture map only. 

·         Efficient use of Polygon budget: Polygons should be distributed intelligently through your model so there is greater polygon density in areas with more detail. This must not be done at the expense of making other areas of the model look too simple or ‘choppy’.

Reference pictures of myself for modelling task ahead. (these shots aren't meant to look glamorous.)

                                          

Because I am pregnant in these pictures I feel that it would be easier if I model the character pregnant.

(Update... 20.01.14)

Currently this is what the underlying models body looks like, however after looking at it close there are triangles which don't actually need to be there. This model is going into  Mudbox 2014, and will only be a posed for show character. No rigging, no animation.

(Update 27.01.14)

Currently the character is still below the triangle count and has lots of room for improvement, i eventually got rid of the legs on this model because they took up unnecessary triangles from my budget. Simply because this model would never be a main character in a game, the legs aren't necessary however if it was a main character i may have kept the legs up until the knee joint. This would still allow for good rigging and animations.

Game of Thrones Me.2

Issue Date (02.11.13)

Brief.

A new 3rd person game of the award winning TV series Game of Thrones is being planned. A vital part of making an immersive game is detailed and unique non-player characters (NPCs).  Walk down any street or play any AAA game and really study how different each person you pass looks. 

For this exercise you will be required to model and texture a NPC based on photo reference of yourself to a fixed set of technical requirements.  The model must look accurate to the collected reference as well as showing good appreciation of the final aesthetic, proportion, colour, silhouette and detail density.  The mesh must be well laid out with good clean flow lines in the geometry and exhibit efficient use of texture space. It must fit seamlessly with characters from the TV series; therefore costume design and some background information on your character are needed.  

(Upload pictures of your Sketchbook here Michelle!) Left it at home. :(

+ Some images that have helped me with finding who i want my character to be like.

I came to the conclusion I would like to do myself in a high garden/ Margaery Tyrell style.

However to understand what I am going to be making with 3DsMax I have been issued a task to write a 1000 word essay on topology as part of the brief.

The deadline is 13/01/2014

Game Of Thrones Me 1

(27/09/2013) - Before Brief Started.
So I'm modelling my own head D:!      

Sorry for the really bad quality photo's... They where taken on a mobile device!!

 Here is my Low poly model with topology visible at just under 2000 triangles.

Yes I used turbo smooth here but its just to make it look better :)

With a basic texture (not final) just to add a tad more human to the model :)

 Next I shall create some better photo realistic textures, some good AO and Normal maps to create the high definition finish on the low resolution model!

I shall also in the near future create my body to fit my head onto!

Kwalee Like Boats.

In Game “Chunky Style” Mobile Friendly Boat Concept Generation.

In this task I must research concept and produce a boat in a a "Chunky" & "Friendly" style while still keeping some realism. This boat should be between 300 Triangle and 500 Triangles, to be used in IOS and Android devices.
The textures should be at 256x256 and no larger.

Where I got the "Chunky style" reference from.
I mainly used games with similar styles  for reference as I know most of them are aimed at the a market which is really wide ranged. While some of these games are popular abroad they are also popular in places like America and England.

-Tear Away.

- Monster Life.

-Wind Waker.

- FarmVille. (texture style not model style)

-Viva Pinata. (Tad more realistic than others but still vibrant and chunky)



Each of these games have thier similarities and are all pretty popular games (Except Tear Away which is a newer release) all of which are aimed really at a global market thus the names ring bells in anyones ears.

Each of these games have vibrant colour qualities and interesting/ unique styles  in art, making them more interesting and appealing to look at for long periods of time.

With my boat for Kwalee I would like to incorporate the interesting and unique with a vibrant colour palette into my work. Hopefully by doing this I can result in a piece that is appealing to look at and interesting to the person who is playing the game, no matter who they are.



General Boat Shape Research. 

Using general internet research I found boats and boat shapes that I wouldn’t mind using as reference, I wish I lived near a harbour so that my research could’ve been more in depth. However while looking through the shapes and styles of regular fishing boats I came to the conclusion that I didn't really like the shapes or styles of normal boats, as they have too much of a realistic nature about them. Not out of the blue and crazy like models in the game references.

So I took to finding the accessories which make a fihsing boat e.g Nets, Cranes, Buoys, Life preserver cirlces. etc... Then I made silhouettes of boat shapes and added the fishing boat accessories.
  

Here I scribbled a few really light ideas and i’m sure you can’t see them very well as I stupidly did them in a blue animator pencil. Moving on!

From the Internet research I decided to “de-clutter” some of the boats i’d found, and get the basic feel for the vessel so I could see what accessories are needed or not on the fishing boat.

Here are a few Charcoal scribbles “Squiggles” in which try to depict a “chunky”  type of style.

These next couple of drawings are a tad more depth into what type of fishing boat I would actually like to do. (Still Idea Generation.)

A boat design that I quite like

 This is a colour idea for the boat above. using Photo Shop I have created an idea for the visuals in colour and in design for the boat I will eventually create.

Looking from a modelling perspective with a limit of 300-500 triangles I feel that a boat with a sail may be rather unfriendly; Modelling wise and Animation wise it could arise problems for a mobile and tablet game.





 

Above is the water colour picture I am currently finishing of the boat I have selected and would like to proceed into making. With accessories :)

After this watercolour piece I am going to do an orthographic piece for this particular boat  (modelling material)  so that if needed I will have an accurate representation of the boat drawn and then hopefully a just as accurate 3D model. ( The boat may be viewed upside down so that is why there is a bottom part to teh ship)



While Texturing i happend to encounter an error when not paying attention to how I saved the texture.
While resizing the 512x512 PSD I flattened the layers to transport the texture to a different file and fogot to unflatten the 512x512 PSD document.

However having backed up files i was able to retrieve a earlier version of the 512x512 document and have managed to salvage eveything but the floor and, small light and crane  layers.

I have named the files in the PSD with (Affected By Flattened PSD) so when Kwalee get my PSD they know that some things are non-modifiable.

For submission I have been asked to hand in 3 256x256 texture files for the boat. This is what they look like with 256x256 textures on them. The Marlin Monroe I feel has been a fun task!

Just for a laugh I decided to make this image below... :D makes me laugh every time I look at it ! just thoughs i'd share.

Here is my link for my model on Sketchfab, Please take a look! (Please be aware, there are some old models on there!)

https://sketchfab.com/show/62758b870d3f48708c53ed9f4c2b0d7d

Evaluation.

For this task I was asked to create a boat between 300-500 triangles, with chunky topology, using a 512x512 diffuse PSD with Ambient Occlusion, to then re-size and make 256x256 with 2 other coloured variants plus Normal and Specular maps. Just to mention I should have a good enough texture to use just the Diffuse if there are any performance issues.

I feel that I have managed this task well and have been able to stick to a timed schedule for this project.

However I think that I were to do this task again there would be less problems.

1-     I flattened my final texture PSD by accident and had to go back in time to retrieve a closely finished document. This is a mistake I have learnt from and am sorry for the fact there are some things on the boat you can’t edit without re-drawing.

If I had the chance to do this project again or a project like this, I would take into consideration more than a couple saves on my PSD document and should save numerous folders with all of the PSD’s inside of it (the last being the finished product)

    2- My UVW unwrapping skills aren't the best and have caused a problem in my design further down the line. This problem is that the UVW's that make up the 'Man shelter' have been made symmetrical, this made me come to the problem of do I have 2 doors (one on either side) or no doors.

I opted for no doors as I remembered that the boat is going to be viewed from a high point at the rear of the boat, thus meaning people may not notice. 

If I was to do this again I would make sure that I took more care in the unwrapping process and would have made room for the sides to be non-symmetrical with 1 door on the side of the boat with the step.

    3- I feel that I have lacked in providing my research as I seem to have left a lot of it in my brain and not in a document for all too see. However the research that I think really matters has been included in this blog post.

If I was to do this project again I would make sure to put more care into keeping the research that I have come across and not just leave it on the computer screen or in my head. I feel that being the individual I am when working on my own projects I forget to get all my research together, and working on this was so much fun that I forgot to put in all the influences and research.

All in all I have made many mistakes during this project and have made a  boat which falls within the limitations. So hopefully I have done somewhat of what they expect and will achieve some positive criticism on Monday the 18th of November 2013, when Kwalee come back in to evaluate our boats!

Thank you for reading my blog post!

Kind regards,

Chelle.