Monday, November 26, 2012
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Modular Pieces
For Level Design had to create a level and using 5 modular pieces.
Done in Maya.
Part of the mission was to model five modular pieces. So I’ve built a set of stairs, a gate doorway, a part of a metal fenced gate, a damaged part of the fenced gate and some floor platforms.
The 7 keys are as follows:
Time: From Monday November 19, 2012 to Wednesday November 21, 2012
Tech: Autodesk Maya 2012
Limitations: Recycled some assets.
Requirements: A part of a complex that leads into a gated area that leads into underground. It is realistic horror feel of the mood of the game.
Purpose: A path that leads below ground.
Gameplay: Explore the area a look for clues and/or supplies.
Theme: A part of a mysterious mansion.
Done in Maya.
Two Levels
My two levels consist of an outside gate surrounding some stairs that leads into an underground tunnel or bunker. The inside part of the level is underground where the player comes from above climbing a ladder.Part of the mission was to model five modular pieces. So I’ve built a set of stairs, a gate doorway, a part of a metal fenced gate, a damaged part of the fenced gate and some floor platforms.
The 7 keys are as follows:
Time: From Monday November 19, 2012 to Wednesday November 21, 2012
Tech: Autodesk Maya 2012
Limitations: Recycled some assets.
Requirements: A part of a complex that leads into a gated area that leads into underground. It is realistic horror feel of the mood of the game.
Purpose: A path that leads below ground.
Gameplay: Explore the area a look for clues and/or supplies.
Theme: A part of a mysterious mansion.
 |
| Outside gated area |
 |
| Underground tunnel area |
 |
| Arched entrance door piece |
 |
| Gate piece |
 |
| Damaged gate piece |
 |
| Platform piece |
 |
| Stairs |
4 Room Greybox
For Level Design I had to create a Floor Plan of a 4 room level.
Done in Illustrator.
Done in Illustrator.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Terrain, Natural Landscapes and Lighting
For Level Design class.
It is suggested that designers should try to smooth the terrain and hide the ugly edges as well as place rocks made from separate meshes on top of it. Getting a near perfect looking terrain is almost impossible to do. If a terrain requires it to be very rocky with steep surfaces the best thing to do is to model them separately and add the meshes later.
When texturing a terrain it is important to thing to do is create an effective composition of materials that reflect the theme and look of the level. They should complement each other. Otherwise the look of the level will feel inconsistent and maybe even confuse people. Another important thing is that the texture is painted good to translate effectively what the surface is supposed to look like. A designer can create good color variations that fit well together. But if it is painted bad then is just ruins it. Using multiple variations of a type of texture also helps define area borders with smooth transitions.
When it comes to rocks it is much more effective to model them than to use heightmaps. Otherwise attempting to use heightmaps for rocky terrains is impossible. It will never look good. When it comes to rocky terrains and heightmaps it is better to only use heightmaps on smoother surfaces of the area such as the floor where players will walk on. The type of rock should also reflect the type of environment the level is in. like the design of rocks that have been underwater once will look different in look and texture than mountain rocks that are under the sun all the time. Also the look of rocks can be able to determine if an area of a level is friendly or dangerous. The history of the place also can determine the look of rocks.
Horizons can help make the level area look bigger than it really is. One way designers do this is to make mountains and rocky areas so large and high that players won’t be able to see past them and see what is on the other side. The sky helps enhance this illusion as well. However, simple designs of a blue sky with a sun in the middle can make it looks boring. In order for a sky to look interesting is to have interesting composition in it. This can include clouds to give it a gloomy or rainy look. Lighting is effective as well. The color composition should be interesting too. Like how does a cloudy sky look at dawn when the sun is going down.
Lighting is one of the most important things in the look and feel of a level. An important thing to lighting is that it always has to have a light source. Where is the light coming from? If there’s simply light somewhere and it can’t be determined where the light source is coming from then it can break the illusion and believability of the lit area. A good example of bad lighting is when the light source lights up more of the area than it should. The proportion of the lighting to its light source is important. It has to be believable. You can’t expect a small light bulb in the middle of a long corridor to light the whole corridor equally. The same goes for brightness. If the lighting of an area is brighter than the light source then it ruins it. Or if the light source is brighter than the area it is illuminating.
Terrain, Natural Landscapes and Lighting
When it comes to terrain sometimes what it is used is called heightmaps. Heightmaps are images used to serve or interpret terrains such as mountainous areas and rocky areas. Some advantages to modifying heightmap terrains is that they’re quick to do and texture. Some disadvantages are that sometimes they’re simple to do and require little effort to create larger versions of them, therefore, mistakes can often occur. A heightmap terrain uses same sized polygons which can end up in terrains looking and feeling unnatural. Therefore, it is recommended that heightmaps are left to use for smooth terrains like smooth hills. Also, for more complicated terrains, using noise features on the texture is not recommended because this too leaves an unnatural look and feel to terrain surfaces.It is suggested that designers should try to smooth the terrain and hide the ugly edges as well as place rocks made from separate meshes on top of it. Getting a near perfect looking terrain is almost impossible to do. If a terrain requires it to be very rocky with steep surfaces the best thing to do is to model them separately and add the meshes later.
When texturing a terrain it is important to thing to do is create an effective composition of materials that reflect the theme and look of the level. They should complement each other. Otherwise the look of the level will feel inconsistent and maybe even confuse people. Another important thing is that the texture is painted good to translate effectively what the surface is supposed to look like. A designer can create good color variations that fit well together. But if it is painted bad then is just ruins it. Using multiple variations of a type of texture also helps define area borders with smooth transitions.
When it comes to rocks it is much more effective to model them than to use heightmaps. Otherwise attempting to use heightmaps for rocky terrains is impossible. It will never look good. When it comes to rocky terrains and heightmaps it is better to only use heightmaps on smoother surfaces of the area such as the floor where players will walk on. The type of rock should also reflect the type of environment the level is in. like the design of rocks that have been underwater once will look different in look and texture than mountain rocks that are under the sun all the time. Also the look of rocks can be able to determine if an area of a level is friendly or dangerous. The history of the place also can determine the look of rocks.
Horizons can help make the level area look bigger than it really is. One way designers do this is to make mountains and rocky areas so large and high that players won’t be able to see past them and see what is on the other side. The sky helps enhance this illusion as well. However, simple designs of a blue sky with a sun in the middle can make it looks boring. In order for a sky to look interesting is to have interesting composition in it. This can include clouds to give it a gloomy or rainy look. Lighting is effective as well. The color composition should be interesting too. Like how does a cloudy sky look at dawn when the sun is going down.
Lighting is one of the most important things in the look and feel of a level. An important thing to lighting is that it always has to have a light source. Where is the light coming from? If there’s simply light somewhere and it can’t be determined where the light source is coming from then it can break the illusion and believability of the lit area. A good example of bad lighting is when the light source lights up more of the area than it should. The proportion of the lighting to its light source is important. It has to be believable. You can’t expect a small light bulb in the middle of a long corridor to light the whole corridor equally. The same goes for brightness. If the lighting of an area is brighter than the light source then it ruins it. Or if the light source is brighter than the area it is illuminating.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Eight to Ten Room Level Concept Midterm
For Level Design midterm I had to come up with a level concept of eight to 10 rooms, design a 2D floor plan and use the checklist. Floor plan was done in Illustrator.
The story begins with David came back from a vacation roadtrip and is back in his hometown. He went out of town a couple of days for vacation and is ready to continue his usual life routine. He’s driving into town and he realizes the streets are strangely empty. It was evening but not late enough for the streets to be this empty. He keeps driving and remembers that he is going to put gas in his car. He goes into the usual gas station he always goes to and stops his car at the pump. He goes into the station to pay when he realizes everything is on but no one’s around.
Now David pays full attention and decides to walk around. He discovers that some of the streets are blocked off by debris and in some occasions cars are stacked crashed together making it impossible to pass through. His only option is through a small car junkyard. He realizes no one is around attending the junkyard either. This makes David worry. He finds a knife and arms himself with it just in case. He looks around and decides there is no way out. Then he discovers a back part of the junkyard gated locked and decides there must be a key somewhere. So he goes to the junkyard offices to see if he can find anything. He does. David goes into full panic mode when he crosses the junkyard again to get to the locked gate and discovers creatures in the junkyard. Armed with only his knife he defends himself. He gets passed the creatures and quickly unlocks the gate. He is getting surrounded and cornered by these creatures so he has no choice but to crawl into a manhole sewer inside the gated area. He briefly walks under the streets in the sewer before exiting into an alley.
From here the player descends into the streets trying to find his way around until he gets home or answers on what is going on. He has to zig zag around debris and locked doors along the way he encounters strange creatures that want to kill him.
This game level consists of Map Gameplay. The player starts at a certain location and the map guides him to where he has to go to find his way out to the next part of the level and also guide him/her to key locations to locked doors. The map also dictates at what points in the levels the player will encounter enemies.
The floor plan for this level is considered to be a realistic floor plan. Things and objects in the game are there for a reason whether it is objects to help the players’ health, objects to help them defend themselves against the enemies, as well as object to help them along the way like doors being unlocked by keys.
The level for this game is designed for single-player not multi-player. The floor plan for this wouldn’t be too effective for multi-player. The reason for this is because there are areas in this level that would be useless for multi-player because players can “camp” or cheat by hiding in a certain spot waiting for other players to pass by to kill them. Although this level is for single player there are no dead end paths really.
There are no traps in this particular level. The only threats are enemies and the level of danger that the enemies pose.
The AI consists of creatures roaming around the streets until they spot something they want to kill. For this the player can avoid confrontation with these creatures sometimes if he stays out of site. However, sometimes the player cannot go around some enemies so they have no choice but confront the enemy.
The difficulty of the level is considered by three variations of enemies. The first set of enemies are easy enough to kill with a melee weapon. The second variation of enemies are a little harder but not quite the most difficult. The third set of enemies is the most difficult to deal with. However, by this time the player already has a firearm to defend himself effectively against the most difficult enemies.
The List of 7 keys is Time: there is no time limit in this level. However, the player needs to find the keys to get through the doors in order to proceed to the next part.
The next is Tech. This game looks proper in the Unreal Engine. Preferably three person view.
The Limitations here are the geometry is a bit complex.
The Requirements are an open area of city space where the player can navigate freely but still with some limitations.
The Purpose for the player is to find himself around the city and eventually make it to his destination.
The Gameplay here is exploration adventure and survival.
The Theme is a big town not so much a city.
“Estranged”
My level idea is of a survival/horror adventure video game one-player based and consists of solving puzzle-like situations as well. In some cases the player might have to solve some kind of puzzle in order to continue the journey.The story begins with David came back from a vacation roadtrip and is back in his hometown. He went out of town a couple of days for vacation and is ready to continue his usual life routine. He’s driving into town and he realizes the streets are strangely empty. It was evening but not late enough for the streets to be this empty. He keeps driving and remembers that he is going to put gas in his car. He goes into the usual gas station he always goes to and stops his car at the pump. He goes into the station to pay when he realizes everything is on but no one’s around.
Now David pays full attention and decides to walk around. He discovers that some of the streets are blocked off by debris and in some occasions cars are stacked crashed together making it impossible to pass through. His only option is through a small car junkyard. He realizes no one is around attending the junkyard either. This makes David worry. He finds a knife and arms himself with it just in case. He looks around and decides there is no way out. Then he discovers a back part of the junkyard gated locked and decides there must be a key somewhere. So he goes to the junkyard offices to see if he can find anything. He does. David goes into full panic mode when he crosses the junkyard again to get to the locked gate and discovers creatures in the junkyard. Armed with only his knife he defends himself. He gets passed the creatures and quickly unlocks the gate. He is getting surrounded and cornered by these creatures so he has no choice but to crawl into a manhole sewer inside the gated area. He briefly walks under the streets in the sewer before exiting into an alley.
From here the player descends into the streets trying to find his way around until he gets home or answers on what is going on. He has to zig zag around debris and locked doors along the way he encounters strange creatures that want to kill him.
This game level consists of Map Gameplay. The player starts at a certain location and the map guides him to where he has to go to find his way out to the next part of the level and also guide him/her to key locations to locked doors. The map also dictates at what points in the levels the player will encounter enemies.
The floor plan for this level is considered to be a realistic floor plan. Things and objects in the game are there for a reason whether it is objects to help the players’ health, objects to help them defend themselves against the enemies, as well as object to help them along the way like doors being unlocked by keys.
The level for this game is designed for single-player not multi-player. The floor plan for this wouldn’t be too effective for multi-player. The reason for this is because there are areas in this level that would be useless for multi-player because players can “camp” or cheat by hiding in a certain spot waiting for other players to pass by to kill them. Although this level is for single player there are no dead end paths really.
There are no traps in this particular level. The only threats are enemies and the level of danger that the enemies pose.
The AI consists of creatures roaming around the streets until they spot something they want to kill. For this the player can avoid confrontation with these creatures sometimes if he stays out of site. However, sometimes the player cannot go around some enemies so they have no choice but confront the enemy.
The difficulty of the level is considered by three variations of enemies. The first set of enemies are easy enough to kill with a melee weapon. The second variation of enemies are a little harder but not quite the most difficult. The third set of enemies is the most difficult to deal with. However, by this time the player already has a firearm to defend himself effectively against the most difficult enemies.
The List of 7 keys is Time: there is no time limit in this level. However, the player needs to find the keys to get through the doors in order to proceed to the next part.
The next is Tech. This game looks proper in the Unreal Engine. Preferably three person view.
The Limitations here are the geometry is a bit complex.
The Requirements are an open area of city space where the player can navigate freely but still with some limitations.
The Purpose for the player is to find himself around the city and eventually make it to his destination.
The Gameplay here is exploration adventure and survival.
The Theme is a big town not so much a city.
 |
| Floor plan of "Estranged" level |
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Vertical Alignment and Horizontal Alignment
In-class assignment for Level Design was to find examples of vertical alignment and horizontal alignment in level designs.
Vertical Alignment when used in video games is usually used to construct and/or give the appearance and illusion that things might be very tall. One example is buildings. Composed side by side of each other gives the illusion that these buildings are tall or even taller than they look. The buildings consist on many vertical lines to give this appearance. Games that used outside cityscapes use this. A game example is Batman: Arkham City. The city of this game is known to have very tall buildings. Also, “Vertical elements can emphasize a feeling of coldness…” The tall buildings enforce this as that is exactly what Gotham City is.
The second type of composition in video games is Horizontal Alignment. This is mainly used when constructing indoors sometimes, particularly rooms. But I think it can also apply to huge outside objects. In this case, in Grand Theft Auto IV, an example of horizontal alignment is the bridges in the city of the game. The many horizontal lines used to create the bridges contribute to the theme of the environment. In this case, bridges go well in a city. I don’t think there’s a city in the world without at least one bridge.
Vertical Alignment when used in video games is usually used to construct and/or give the appearance and illusion that things might be very tall. One example is buildings. Composed side by side of each other gives the illusion that these buildings are tall or even taller than they look. The buildings consist on many vertical lines to give this appearance. Games that used outside cityscapes use this. A game example is Batman: Arkham City. The city of this game is known to have very tall buildings. Also, “Vertical elements can emphasize a feeling of coldness…” The tall buildings enforce this as that is exactly what Gotham City is.
 |
| Screenshot of "Batman: Arkham City" |
 |
| Screenshot of "Grand Theft Auto IV" |
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Abstract and Realistic Floor Plans
For Level Design class I had to design two floor plans of two different levels.
For one level I had to design an abstract floor plan and for the other level I had to design a realistic floor plan.
Designed in Illustrator.
The objective for this level is to get past enemies, avoid wall booby traps while collecting points and/or coins along long corridors. Parts of some corridors are missing some floor platform so the player will have to jump over them or else fall and die/lose. The path is pretty much linear with a boss to battle at the end of the level path. Defeat the boss and level is complete.
For one level I had to design an abstract floor plan and for the other level I had to design a realistic floor plan.
Designed in Illustrator.
 |
| Abstract floor plan |
The level here starts outside of a house. The objective here is to find your way into the house by exploring the outside yard. The player will find a key that will unlock the front door. Once inside the player does more exploring throughout the rooms of the house and collects items. The player has to find another key that will unlock a door at the back of the house that leads to stairways that lead to the next floor and/or lower level of the house. The player has to takes these stairs to advance to the next part of the house.
 |
| Realistic floor plan |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)