Week 8 - 3D Practice - Foliage

I have began the next chapter, in my book, 'Game Environments and Props' by Michael McKinley. This chapter is entitled, 'Foliage'. This chapter goes on to discuss foliage in games such as vines, trees, bushes, plants etc. There are two projects in this chapter, first one being - Creating Ivy, the next one being - Creating a Savannah Tree. I have completed the first project and followed the steps to create some Ivy.

I have never really done any foliage stuff before so this has proved helpful and been interesting for me. My project, most likely, won't have any trees, vines or bushes but there may be the odd plant pot here and there. I will complete the next project very soon whilst all the details are fresh in my mind. As this has been a much longer and time consuming tutorial, I will only be carrying out the projects once through. Another reason for this as it is not a core element of my project.

Creating Ivy

The Steps

This was a simple yet lengthy process. Lengthy because it requires lot's of duplication and careful placement. Here are the rough steps I carried out:

1. Using a reference plane, I used a Create Polygon Tool to draw out half the leaf and then mirrored the created geometry.
2. After this I extruded the main face to add some thickness as well as beveling the edges. After that I used the Split Polygon Tool to help create geometry for the vines.
3. After extruding these vines a little bit I went on to deform the leaf, using Deformers, to help enhance a realistic look to it.
4. It was then time to texture so using the Transfer Maps function I created a Normal and Ambient Occlusion map.
5. After creating these, I went on to create the Vine for the Ivy. This was a simple process of drawing out a curve using the CV Curve Tool.
6. This step was very lengthy - duplicating the leaves and adjusting them slightly all the way down the vine.
7. Then I created a NURBS Primitive Circle that was used to extrude the main geometry of the vine along the curve.
8. From here it was a simple fact of making sure the leaves all were correctly placed and then touching up the textures.

Learning Outcomes

This chapter has taught me a few new things, both in Maya and in Photoshop:

Maya

Texture Maps

Texture Maps - Examples taken from Game Environments and Props by Michael McKinley

There are 3 main texture types:

• Diffuse
• Normal
• Specular

Diffuse Map - This is the texture that contains the main colour information. This is the main map that shows what your object will look like.

Normal Map - This map contains the information that shows how far any part of an objects surface extrudes or intrudes. This helps how lighting affects your object by giving it a good sense of depth in parts.

Specular Map - A specular map contains the surfaces shininess information. Not everything needs a lot of shine but there is shine on most things so this is where this would be used. Most commonly this is used with the Blinn Material. If painted Black it represents no shine and if painted white, it represents shine. Colour can be added to add a hue of shine to the object.

Another map which was focused on highly in this chapter was an Opacity Map. Opacity controls the transparency of a model and this is heavily used for foliage pieces in games. By having a well created opacity map, artists can create the illusion of heavy details (like thousands of leaves).

Transfer Maps Function

The transfer maps function is used to quickly create a number of different maps for you chosen object. This is a highly efficient and easy way to create a source of all the different map types you need. Your Target Mesh  is the mesh you wish to create maps for (Low Poly Mesh) and your Source Mesh is the mesh you wish to create the maps from (High poly Mesh).

Transfer Maps Function

Photoshop

Layer Mask - This is a grayscale image that is associated with a layer in your document. It acts as an opacity map. If the mask layer is painted black then it is invisible, if it's painted white, it's visible.

Bits/Pixel - When you save a document, you are given an option of how you want to save it, 16, 24 or 32 Bits/Pixel. This is determining which channels too save. For a standard image (RGB) you have three channels (Red, Blue, Green) each at 8 bits/pixel, therefore save as 24 bits/pixel. If you use an Alpha Channel then thats another 8 bits/pixel hence, 32 bits/pixel.

Personal Notes

Some of my learning outcomes may surprise you that I honestly was not fully sure on there functions and/or purposes. However this is a learning curve and writing them out like this helps out a lot.

For the end of this weekend I have a few tasks I wish to compelte:

1. Finish Case Study
2. Blog Summary of Case Study
3. Complete Chapter 2 of Foliage
4. Blog Chapter 2 of Foliage

This should all be manageable. Even with this weekend being quite busy I am confident I can achieve all this.

Environmental Storytelling - The Art of Dear Esther

I have gotten to the point in my project where all loose ends have tied up nicely and now it's time to begin the next be chapter - The run up to our 'Research Proposal'. Currently I am not worrying too much about this as it is a fair few weeks away however I have decided to start with some fresh research and practice that is a lot more focused on my project. I have also made a change to my blog styles (which you will notice from this blog forward) in order to improve readability and interest for others in what I am writing and portraying.

The Art of Dear Esther: Building an Environment to tell a story by Robert Briscoe (Lead Artist)

The Art of Dear Esther by Robert Briscoe

Upon my research of environmental storytelling I discovered a slideshow presentation on a game that I have briefly read about in my research called, 'Dear Esther'. Apparently this is a very good story telling game which tells the story through the environment, and with narrative. As this is what my project is highly focusing on, I plan on purchasing and trying out this game in order for a better understanding of storytelling through environment.

The Slideshow

It's unfortunate that there is no video or audio source too this slideshow. This means I have to decipher what  I can merely from the images and the few words that are used with them. From what  I can see, it seems like it would have been a really useful presentation. After a few intorductory slides, I found a few slides that captured my eye. These slides where highlighting the importance of how Impressionism can be very immersive.

Impressionism

Some important features of impressionistic art:

• Mix of the real and surreal 
• Detail and perceived detail 
• Mirrors the story's ambiguous nature 
• Atmospheric 
• Mysterious 
• Immersive 

What was really helpful in this slideshow was the comparison of their art progression. They showed early stages of some scenes and highlighted how it 'looked flat and unconvincing' and not real looking. After showing and explaining the use of impressionism he then showed 'Test 2' - the same scene edited showing that it was softer, had muted lighting, colours and textures. Seeing this change and relationship with impressionistic art has really highlighted the depth in which 3D artists go too in order for a realistic scene.

The Art of Dear Esther by Robert Briscoe (My interpretation)

The Art of Dear Esther by Robert Briscoe (My interpretation)

Importance of Detail

Moving on in the slideshow, Briscoe discusses how realism is not always the most important aspect of 3D environments. It is all about the 'message and experience you portray' through the content. Detail is extremely important as even the slightest change can manipulate how the scene tells the story. By expanding the content in you environment you allow for more detail and therefore more opportunity for the player to imagine what the environments history was. With the player imagining what the environments history was, you help immerse the player into the game which helps create an exciting experience.

The Art of Dear Esther by Robert Briscoe (My interpretation)

Personal Notes

After seeing these slides and trying my best to understand them without them being presented to me, I have concluded that I agree with the importance of detail. With lack of detail comes lack of story, and with this, no one is going to be immersed within the scene and find it believable. It is my duty as a 3D artist to:

1. Create a detailed 3D scene
2. Make the detail consistent with the story
3. Always have an ideal goal within a scene

For my environment I am going too look at horror games and perhaps movies and take note of how they attract the player and lead them through the environment. My next task is to carry out a case study on the game, 'Among The Sleep'. I will start it today and hopefully get it completed and written up, very soon after.

3D Practice - Bathroom Wall

3D Practice - Bathroom Wall

 Carrying on from yesterday, I wanted to carry out the same exercise but create something different. This will help my learning a great deal. I decided to attempt a ceramic style, bathroom wall. I followed roughly the same process as before making slight adjustments here and there. I had a few issues regarding tiling (which I fixed) however this proved too be a successful outcome.

Recently I have had some issues regarding my blog posts. These are issues I alone have felt and really wish to address as, embarrassingly, it is causing me stress. I am wanting my blog to be mroe readable. I feel it is very wordy and wish to make it more interesting for those reading it. From now on I will be doing my posts a little differently. I will incorporate headings in order for an easy overview of a post as well as more bullet points. This should hopefully make my blog more readable for those who just wish to have a quick look at subject areas. I am also looking into tagging which is a feature of blogger I have yet too use.

Hopefully there will be a clear and better change of structure in my blogs too follow.

3D Practice - Brick Wall - Example

Today was my first day getting truly back into 3D. I had bought this book - 'Game Environments and Props' - a while back and now it was time to use it. I was needing a useful refresher into 3D as well as learning efficient modelling and texturing techniques. I had a quick skim through this book and it looks fantastic. Today I began with the first project: 'Creating a Brick Wall'.

The main idea of this project was to create an efficient and detailed looking wall. The finished piece you see above (bottome right) is merely a 2D plane. This is something I have looked to achieve for years. A fantastic looking, tillable, brick wall that has 1 poly face and that's it.

In order to accomplish this I had to create a high resolution wall that would be used to create all the textures needed for the low resolution wall. Even creating the high res mesh was simple to do. Simply creating a couple of different bricks, duplicating them and rotating/slightly changing them, in order for a more random unique wall. Once this was complete I used the 'Transfer Maps' function to create my Normal, Diffuse and Ambient Occlusion map. Editing these in Photoshop allowed me to come out with the result above.

This is something I have been wanting to achieve for a long time. In all fairness though, the texture file used for the brick was one that the writer gave (via CD). So what I want to do is carry out this task again, perhaps make a different type of wall, and make everything my own - textures etc. The only complex feature that happened during this tutorial was using Photoshop, mainly because there was a lot of precision in figures and filters etc which I am not all too familiar with. However, hopefully carrying out this tutorial a second time will help make e more comfortable with such settings.

These are important exercises for me as I am really looking to create a fantastic and more importantly, an efficient environment. This exercise has been vital into giving me insight on how too do so. Next I will carry out this exercise again and generate a professional looking asset and professional looking evaluation. This is so I can go back and see what I learnt and what the techniques used were.

Week 7 - Meeting with Lecturer

Today I was going to begin my 3D practice but before that, there was a few things I needed to clear up. I arranged a meeting with a lecturer along with my coursemate in order to help us out on general 3D issues we were having.

My main issue I was having in previous tutorials was UV Mapping. I found that different tutorials UV mapped differently and this was confusing me. I wanted to find a 'correct' method that I could use and apply to my pieces from now on. I found out that there is no real right way. The direction you take can depend on your personal learning style and, in professional practice, your teams pipeline. He did give me some useful information mentioning the best practices and the most useful for a game pipeline.

He also mentioned a book - which I already have - 3D Game Environments by Luke Ahearn. I have yet to begin looking at this book but it is something I will do in the near future. We also discussed modular design in depth as this is another important aspect I wish to grasp as it is an efficient way too create environments.

We discussed 3D practice and he said that it is ok too make mistakes in your work - thats how you learn. So he mentioned if I ever make a mistake, pause, document it and hopefully try too remember it for next time. It's best too take things slowly and understand your mistakes in order to help improve your skills.

Moodboard - Grand Hotel Interiors

Moodboard - Grand Hotel Interiors

This was a quick moodboard designed to showcase the idea of what my hotel will look like inside. With it used to be a Mental Asylum I have the image of a grand 4/5 star hotel in my mind, similar to the styles above. My next moodboards will be focused on The Clarion Hotel, Sligo, Ireland. This will be the stage where I plan and perhaps design my final environment.

Moodboard - Abandoned Asylums

Moodboard - Abandoned Asylums

I found this website a few years ago that shows abandoned buildings in Britain. I find derelict buildings very interesting and due to their emptiness, I find them effective in creating and horror atmosphere. This moodboard is just too showcase and help create ideas in my head about what my piece could look like.

When it comes too moodboards, I like to begin with open ideas before scoping down too perhaps what my actual project will be. For example, my next moodboard will be just a selection of hotel interiors, which will help suggest a rough idea to the look I wish too create. I will then scope right down and focus on the building I am basing this on. I will create a moodboard of the interior hotel design and if I can find any archive images of what the Asylum used too be, I will definitely be using that.

Link:

http://www.abandoned-britain.com/photos.html

Moodboard - Asylums Now Hotels

Moodboard - Asylums Now Hotels

Here is two examples that I have shown before, Hotel Parq Central and Hotel Vejlefjord. It is important to note that these have been refurbished over the years and yet the overall main design is still just about intact. The next few moodboards I create will be more specific to the building I am going to be looking at. I especially want inside examples of it as I will be creating an indoor environment.

Moodboard - 'Kirkbride' Style Buildings

I am now beginning to carry out some more visual research as well as 3D practice - aspects that have been missing up until now. To begin with, in relation to recent posts, here is a moodboard of Mental Asylums in America with the Kirkbride style:

Moodboard - Kirkbride Style Buildings

As you can see, all these hospitals are very very similar in design and appearance. Throughout my project this is roughly how I have been picturing asylums and even though I am not making a Kirkbride style asylum, the asylum I am going to be basing my environment on is very similar.

The Kirkbride Plan

Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride

Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride was a psychiatrist from Philadelphia who designed and helped develop an architectural system of Mental Asylums. The concept of his plans and designs of treatment within Mental Asylums became know as the 'Kirkbride Plan'.

The idea of Kirkbride's design was to allow a positive atmosphere within a hospital. He felt it was important for patients to have plenty of natural light and be far away from 'hectic energy of urban centers'. With the large land, patients were encouraged to help farm and maintain the grounds as well as partake in chores. This was to encourage a normal lifestyle with help when required. He was a great believer in better treatment of patients and this is why he came up with his design; The Kirkbride Plan.

New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum (1848)

The example above was the first ever Hospital to use 'The Kirkbride Plan'. New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum. The Linear design was designed to help segregate the patients effectively. With the main admissions area in the center, one wing situated male patients whilst the other wing situated female patients. The subdivisions in each of the wings were primarily used  to house patients depending on the symptoms of their illness. As stated above, this design was used to maximize natural light for patients create a more positive lifestyle and with the landscaped farmland, the asylum could become self-sufficient by growing it's own food etc.

As for St. Columbas Lunatic Asylum, Sligo, Ireland, for which my project is based on, the similarities between the architectural style of this building and The Kirkbride Plan are very similar however given that St. Columbas Lunatic Asylum construction began in 1847, the plans and designs must have been designed and developed by the buildings architect, William Deane Butler. I still wanted to post about The Kirkbride Plan as I found it very interesting and the idea of it is very useful for me as I have struggled to find much information on William Deane Butler. I think this may be because he was an independent architect.

Links: 

http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/about/history.html

http://trans-alleghenylunaticasylum.com/main/history3.html

'What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy' by James Paul Gee - Book Review

'What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy' by James Paul Gee

My last post has all the quotes I noted down for this book that I found interesting or useful for my project. However, since my project has changed some of these are not important anymore but there are still some I can relate my project too:

'... I predict that shooting will be less important and talking more important in many games, even shooter games. Even now, many shooting games stress stealth, story, and even social interaction more than they used to.' - p10

'Such teaching and learning is, in my view, a matter of three things:

1. The learner must be enticed to try, even if he or she already has good grounds to be afraid to try.
2. The learner must be enticed to put in lots of effort even if he or she begins with little motivation to do so
3. The learner must achieve some meaningful success when he or she has expended this effort.

There are three principles here because people will not put in effort if they are not even willing to try in a domain; success without effort is not rewarding; and effort with little success is equally unrewarding.' - p61

'a very powerful learning principle, a principle we can call the "amplification of input principle"... they give, for a little input, a lot of output. In a video game, you press some buttons in the real world and a whole interactive virtual world comes to life. Amplification of input is highly motivating for learning.' - p64

'The story line in a video game is a mixture of four things:

1. The game designers' ("author's") choices
2. How you, the player, have caused these choices to unfold in your specific case by order in which you have found things.
3. The actions you as one of the central characters in the story carry out (since in good video games there is a good deal of choice as to what to do, when to do it, and in what order to do it)
4. Your own imaginative projections about the characters, plot, and world of story.' - p81

'Playing a good video game like Deus Ex well requires the player to engage in the following four-step process:

1. The player must probe the virtual world (which involves looking around the current environment, clicking on something, or engaging in a certain action).
2. Based on reflection while probing and afterword, the player must form a hypothesis about what something (a text, object, artifact, event, or action) might mean in a usefully situated way.
3. The player reprobes the world with that hypothesis in mind, seeing what effect he or she gets.
4. The player treats this effect as feedback from the world and accepts or rethinks his or her original hypothesis.' - p90

'A game like Deus Ex has a great many texts inside the virtual world it creates, texts you find along the way, like notes, e-mail, diaries, and messages you have hacked from various computers. These texts help you not only to piece together the ongoing story but to make decisions about actions you will or will not take' - p100

'In video games players soon learn how to "read" the physical environments they are in to gain clues about how to proceed through them. The shapes and contours of the physical environment, and the objects lying around, come to guide the player...in making good guesses about how to proceed.' - p109

'...a point I am trying to make quite generally in this book; Good video games incorporate good learning principles, because otherwise there would be no video games, because too few people would have purchased them.' - p114

As I have mentioned this book - now - is not as important too my project as initally thought, however, I have still managed to find some really nice quotes and information that can help towards my progression of this project.

Useful information it has given me is examples of games that focus on story and environment e.g Half Life 2  and Deus Ex. Many of the quotes noted above have help give an insight into the types of things I need to look into in order to help create a story via the environment in my interactive experience.

This book's main focus was on teaching through games and comparing these techniques with school techniques. Throughout the book Gee stated and explained 36 different learning principles. I am not going to write them all here but here is a few I thought would be useful for my project; Create a 3D environment which, through exploration, tells a story.

10. Amplification of Input Principle

For a little input, learners get a lot of output.

15. Probing Principle

Learning is a cycle of probing the world (doing something); reflecting in and on this action and, on this basis, forming a hypothesis; reprobing the world to test this hypothesis; and then accepting or rethinking the hypothesis.

16. Multiple Routes Principle

There are multiple ways to make progress or move ahead. This allows learners to make choices, rely on their own strengths and styles of learning and problem solving, while also exploring alternative styles.

20. Multimodal Principle

Meaning and knowledge are built up through various modalities (images, texts, symbols, interactions, abstract design, sound, etc.) not just words.

21. "Material Intelligence" Principle

Thinking, problem solving, and knowledge are "stored" in material objects and the environment. This frees learners to engage their minds with other things while combining the results of their own thinking with the knowledge stored in material objects and the environment to achieve yet more powerful effects.

28. Discovery Principle

Overt telling is kept to a well-thought-out minimum, allowing ample opportunity for the learner to experiment and make discoveries.

'What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy' by James Paul Gee - Book Quotes

'What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy' by James Paul Gee

Sadly this book is not as useful too my project as it was at the beginning due to my change of direction, however I still continued with it, highlighting interesting features and noting down interesting expressions.

I am first going to highlight all the quotes and page numbers before writing a short overview of the book and how it has related to my project.

'...you can think about people who kill themselves to set off a bomb, in pursuit of some cause they believe in, as suicide bombers, murderers, terrorists, freedom fighters, heroes, psychotics, or in many other different ways. Different people can read the world differently just as they can read different types of texts differently.' - p2

'...I predict that shooting will be less important and talking more important in many games, even shooter games. Even now, many shooting games stress stealth, story, and even social interaction more than they used to.' - p10

'When people learn to play video games they are learning a new literacy. Of course, this is not the way the word "literacy" is normally used. Traditionally, people think of literacy as the ability to read and write.' - p13

'Three things, then, are involved in active learning: experiencing the world in new ways, forming new affiliations, and preparation for future learning.
This is "active learning." However, such learning is not yet what I call "critical learning." For learning to be critical...The learner needs to learn not only how to understand and produce meanings in a particular semiotic domain that are recognizable to those affiliated with the domain, but, in addition, how to think about the domain at a "meta" level as a complex system of interrelated parts.' - p23

'...video games are potentially particularly good places where people can learn to situate meanings through embodied experiences in a complex domain and meditate on the process.' - p26

'It is important to realize that meanings are no more general - they are just as situated - in lifeworld domains as they are in any other semiotic domain...think of the different situated meanings of the word "light" in everyday interactions in these sentences: Turn the light on. This light isn't giving much light. I can see a far off light. I am just bathing in this light.' - p 37

'In the modern world, we are used to having to face the fact that children, including our own, are specialists when and where we are not. Many children are adept at the semiotic domain of computers - sometimes because they play video games and that interest has led them to learn more about computers - when the adults in the house are intimidated by computers.' - p38

'...thinking about the (internal) design of the game, about the game as a complex system of interrelated parts meant to engage and even manipulate the player in certain ways. This is metalevel thinking, thinking about the game as a system and a designed space, and not just playing within the game moment by moment. Such thinking can open up critique of the game. It can also lead to novel moves and strategies, sometimes ones that the game makers never anticipated. This is what I meant by critical learning and thinking' - p42

'...while some young people will let a superhero first-person shooter character kill "civilians" and not just enemies, a good many others will not, since they feel that it just isn't fitting for such a superperson - that is, the person they are projecting into the world - to do such a thing...Players are projecting an identity onto their virtual character based both on their own values and on what the game has taught them about what such a character should or might be and become' - p58

'Such teaching and learning is, in my view, a matter of three things:

1. The Learner must be enticed to try, even if he or she already has good grounds to be afriad to try.
2. The learner must be enticed to put in lots of effort even if he or she begins with little motivation to do so.
3. The learner must achieve some meaningful success when he or she has expended this effort.

There are three principles here because people will not put in effort if they are not even willing to try in a domain; success without effort is not rewarding; and effort with little success is equally unrewarding.' - p 61

'...a very powerful learning principle, a principle we can call the "amplification of input principle."...they give, for a little input, a lot of output. In a video game, you press some buttons in the real world and a whole interactive virtual world comes to life. Amplification of input is highly motivating for learning.' - p64

'The story line in a video game is a mixture of four things:

1. The game designers' ("author's") choices
2. How you, the player, have caused these choices to unfold in your specific case by order in which you have found things.
3. The actions you as one of the central characters in the story carry out (since in good video games there is a good deal of choice as to what to do, when to do it, and in what order to do it)
4. Your own imaginative projections about the characters, plot, and world of story.' - p81

'Playing a good video game like Deus Ex well requires the player to engage in the following four-step process:

1. The player must probe the virtual world (which involves looking around the current environment, clicking on something, or engaging in a certain action).
2. Based on reflection while probing and afterward, the player must form a hypothesis about what something (a text, object, artifact, event, or action) might mean in a usefully situated way.
3. The player reprobes the world with that hypothesis in mind, seeing what effect he or she gets.
4. The player treats this effect as feedback from the world and accepts or rethinks his or her original hypothesis.' - p90

'A game like Deus Ex has a great many texts inside the virtual world it creates, texts you find along the way, like notes, e-mail, diaries, and messages you have hacked from various computers. These texts help you not only to piece together the ongoing story but to make decisions about actions you will or will not take' - p100

'In video games players soon learn how to "read" the physical environments they are in to gain clues about how to proceed through them. The shapes and contours of the physical environment, and the objects lying around, come to guide the player...in making good guesses about how to proceed.' p109

'...a point I am trying to make quite generally in this book: Good video games incorporate good learning principles, because otherwise there would be no video games, because too few people would have purchased them.' - p114

Personal Development - Reflection on 3D Practice

I have decided that I need to write myself a personal reflection post in order to highlight and fix, issues I have with myself and my development techniques. The reason for this is I have realized similarities between two unfinished tutorials that I have started but do not wish to proceed with and realize that this is a bad habit and needs too be addressed.

The two tutorials I am mentioning (which have been blogged about previously) is the music stage (a few weeks ago) and the Sci-Fi environment (a few days ago). Both of these have been left incomplete due to frustration. I started doing them in the first place in order to refresh my mind of Maya and too hopefully learn a few other useful techniques. Looking back at them I have found too discover the common irritation I have with them causing me too stop mid way and put them aside.

Reason 1

When it comes to online tutorials on Digital Tutors they will often show you how do carry out a task on one object, then expect you to carry out these methods on the other objects in the scene. When it comes to the next tutorial they have already done this (obviously to save time). For example (basing on the stage environment) they showed you how to create basic versions of the guitar and keyboard etc however later on in a tutorial, they have clearly added more detail and done a lot more too their items and have expected  you too do the same.

I understand fully the reason for this. This is to allow you to learn new skills and apply them youself in a sense of 'self learning'. My issue is, when I get stuck and can;t get help, I struggle to figure it out, get frustrated and just don't bother finishing it.

Reason 2

This is in relation to reason 1 but with these tutorials, all I am looking for is some new helpful techniques that I can use and apply to my work and perhaps carry out some tests on. When I am unable to do this due too getting stuck I find it such a waste of time, especially when the tutorials have no relation to what my environment is going too be. This is also why I stop as I do not wish too waste hours on something that is not going too help much.

How I am going to fix this

In order to fix this issue, I have decided to take a step back and leave these two tutorials behind. The frustration developed through them just leaves me at a stand still every time I attempt to sort them. I have some future tasks i wish to carry out (in this order) in order for a more comfortable, efficient approach:

1. Reading Books - I have a few books that I can look into to help understand the general progress of 3D game environments.
2. Speak To Lecturer - Speak to a lecturer in order to help home in on my issue and provide guidance to useful resources
3. 3D Artist - I have recently discovered an artist named Kevin Johnstone who has an extremely interesting presentation slideshow on his website which I want too make use of as it looks exactly like what I am wanting to achieve.

Hopefully after carrying out these three tasks I will feel much more confident about carrying out some 3D work and can make much more progress than I have so far.

In terms of 3D environment I am really wanting to learn efficient modelling techniques such as Modular Design and Deformation. With this two skills I can quickly and easily create various environments which I can test certain aspects on. I am also wanting to learn about creating a story through environment. If I am able to create quick environments then - once I have learnt the techniques - I can test my environments and assess my development much more easily.

3D Environment - Sci-Fi Scene - Practice

Even though this has no relation to my project, it was the only tutorial on Digital Tutors ( http://www.digitaltutors.com/tutorial/1254-Creating-a-Game-Ready-Sci-Fi-Environment-in-Maya#overview )  that I could find relating to environments (That I haven't done yet). It is still useful for my in the mean time as it helps me learn new techniques with Maya. So far I have created the modular sections of the hallway and have begun UV Mapping. I have become a little confused with this however as the technique is different to what I am normally used too. I have decided that I am going to speak to one of my lecturers about this and find out the best method by him. Once I find this out I will continue with UV Mapping and keep doing it the way I was taught. I am aware that different people have different methods but over the past few years I have been doing my best at it but still come across problems. I want to write a step by step guide - from my lecturer - on how to UV Map.

Here is my progress so far:

I have just started to UV Map however the tutorial seems to do something completely different that I have ever done before. It talks about when overlaying UV's (Of the same object in which there is multiple of) that you leave one in the 0-1 UV space and move the rest into the left quadrant. I can see the reasoning (just) but would like too sit down and speak about it with someone who really understands. Hopefully I can have a meeting sometime very soon - discuss this issue and my project generally.

Here is where I am having issues:

Basing my Project on a true story...

So I spent last night thinking about what Hotel/Asylum to base my environment on (see previous post). After careful consideration I have decided to go for; The Clarion Hotel, Sligo, Ireland, formally known as, St. Columbas Lunatic Asylum.

(Image:Riccardo Bonelli)

I have yet to think up a concrete story or even much about my project as a interactive experience but I do have a number of reasons for picking this Hotel/Mental Asylum:

1. Geographical Location - Being situated in Ireland means that it is close enough for my potential audience (students/lecturers/family/friends) situated in the UK to have a sense of wonder and enticement that this place is not too far away. At the same time, given the my main audience will be from Scotland, the location of this hotel is a mystery to them as well. This sense of something being so close yet awkwardly far that you have never and probably won't ever visit means that anything that is said or mentioned in relation to this location could easily be true. This sense of belief is something I can use to my advantage.
2. History - Even though this (when being a mental Asylum) was famous for its introduction into new treatments that meant better care for patients, there was still a time before that where - quite possibly - there was poor conditions and inhumane approaches to the mentally ill. This is the dark history I will look to use in order to create my story - whether it's fact or fiction. I have also yet too look into it's history fully so I may actually find some true story that I can use!
3. Architectural Design - I love the design of the building. This is another reason I have always wanted to do Mental Asylums as there architecture is beautiful and always looks so grand yet dark. Even though I will not be doing an exterior piece it's nice to be able to imagine how it will look - I can maybe convey this using photos within my environment - perhaps a picture of the outside of the building hanging on a wall in the hallway - but even inside will have an interesting design.

I would love to go visit this hotel; it's close enough that it is possible however it would cost a lot of money via travel and accommodation and I would have to find some time I actually have some free time! Who knows, maybe I will get a chance later in the year. For now, I am going to begin gathering visual research of all kinds in order to start my design process. Once I get a more concrete story line, I will email the hotel asking for photos of the grounds and perhaps help in finding archives to what the building used too be.

Hotels That Used To Be Insane Asylums

So I have carried out loads of research and found a really good page that shows 5 different Hotels, that used to be Insane Asylums. What is really good about this page is that it gives 2 American ones, 1 European One, 1 Scottish one and 1 Irish one.

Here's the site:

http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2014/07/5-grand-hotels-that-used-to-be-insane-asylums/

The five hotels it mentions are:

• Jerome Grand Hotel, USA
• Hotel Parq Central, USA
• Hotel Vejlefjord, Denmark
• The Clarion Hotel, Ireland
• Hotel Du Vin, Scotland

Quickly looking at these and since I am basing it on a true story, my mind was wanting to settle on the Irish or Scottish Hotel due to the fact that it is very close to home and perhaps, for my audience, a more exciting experience due to me living and studying in Scotland hence people viewing my final piece are all most likely going to be from around here and even near these hotels...

However I decided to dig deeper into each one in case there was some exciting story I would really want to use.

Jerome Grand Hotel, Arizona, USA

(Image: Jason Schultz)

I did not carry out too much research into this one due too the short description on the website given above. It states that 'Despite not technically being a lunatic asylum, many of its patients were receiving psychiatric treatments for shock.' You see, this hotel used to be known as the United Verde Hospital. It provided care to locals who worked in the mines. Despite there being rumours of haunting etc I was not fully interested in this place as it was not officially a mental asylum. I decided not too waste much more time on looking further into it as I had divulge enough of my time already on research.

Hotel Parq Central, Albuquerque, USA

(Image: Bo Mackison)

I tried my best to research this place but there does not seem to be too much facts or stories I could use for my project. This hotel was a psychiatric facility during the 80's but was closed down by 2010. Even though it was refurbished into a hotel the original exterior architecture remains to be the same as to what it was initially built for; a hospital to treat the employees of 'Atchison, Topkea and Santa Fe Railway company'. There is numerous rumours of 'hauntings' however nothing too concrete and there is not really anything within its past that suggests there could be a horrible history behind it. This is still a possible choice in inspiration for my project however I had a feeling it would end up being either one of the other hotels I am about to discuss.

Hotel Vejlefjord, Comwell Kellers Park, Denmark

(Image: Mint & Ginger)

As for this hotel, I managed to find a fantastic site describing the history of this building:

http://en.hotelvejlefjord.dk/vejlefjord-history/

This hotel is not worried about it's history, in fact, it embraces it. This building was inspired by a young Doctor named, Christian Saugman. He was a tuberculosis patient and after being treated in Germany he was encouraged to start a tuberculosis treatment facility in Denmark. He succeeded with this after finding a beautiful spot, north of the Vejle Fjord. It was officially opened in 1900, then being enlarged in 1915-1916. Saugman was the chief physician from the beginning until he died in 1923. He was known for always looking for the best treatments for the patients. In the 1940s the sanatorium slowly emptied its patients however in 1957 the building received a modernization and became a Neurological Sanatorium. From 1985 'the rehabilitation of persons with brain damages became a new core competence for Vejlefjord. It was not until 2002 that the site was redeveloped and became the grand hotel it is today. Again, there is not much of a dark history here however that is not necessary what I am looking for. As I am creating an entertainment piece I can make the story whatever I wish and simply use the setting as a true location in order for a more real atmospheric interactive experience.

The Clarion Hotel, Sligo, Ireland

(Image: Riccardo Bonelli)

These next two examples are most likely going to be the ones I choose due to the geographical location being close to where I live, study and work. This next hotel is situated in Sligo, Ireland and was, up until 1992, know as 'St Columbas Lunatic Asylum'. St Columbas Lunatic Asylum officially opened in 1855 and by 1883 the hospital introduced radical new treatments which led to abolishing patient restraints where possible. It also knocked down some walls so those patients who were once locked up were allowed to roam and feel free. Due to declining patient numbers and worsening conditions the hospital closed in 1992 and was abandoned for about ten years until it began to be refurbished into a hotel which opened in 2005.

I am tempted to pick this as my environment start point as the hospital has that grand scale about it which is always how I picture these places. It also has a brief dark period before the new treatments were introduced in 1883. There was also suicides which occurred. There may be some scope here for me too develop a creepy back story and implement it into my environment.

Hotel Du Vi, Edinburgh, Scotland

(Image: Sarah Rudston)

With me living in Scotland and studying in Dundee, this hotel in Edinburgh, is definately the closest example  I could find. It was initially, in the 18th Century, a poorhouse or later known as Edinburgh's Bedlam, the city's Mental Asylum. It was notorious for it's poor 'prison-like' conditions. It was built between 1734 and 1743 to house the city's poor however it soon became know as 'Bedlam', Edinburgh's Lunatic Asylum. Famous Poet, Robert Fergusson who influenced the more famous, Robert Burns, He was interned for depression and after falling down some stairs that left him 'insensible', he died in Bedlam October 1774 aged 24. Due to his death and the horrendous conditions at Bedlam his doctor pushed for greater care of mentally disturbed patients and with his determination, a new, higher standard,  asylum was opened in 1813. It later became a science factory during the World Wars and after that, it became Edinburgh's Blood Donation Centre. It stayed like this until 2007 when Hotel Du Vin bought it over.

Again, this is a highly probable setting for me as it is very close to home and this sense of truth helps capture audiences attention. It has great potential for me due to its dark history with poor conditions however I'm slightly put off since it has been several different buildings over the years where as THe Clarion Hotel, Ireland, was a Mental Asylum all the way up until 1992, in which it lay abandoned until being converted into a hotel in 2005. 

I have carried out some very interesting research and before I get myself caught up and lost in it I am going to have to force myself to pick a place now. I am definitely considering the Irish and Scottish Asylum but cannot decided which one. I will have a think about it and should hopefully be decided tomorrow. What might help me is beginning to figure out what my story could be - in each of these places. If I do that I will have a better idea and can then, move on and plan design and create my environment.

Educational Project to an Entertainment Project

So in light of the comments made from my last presentation I decided that it would be a lot more interesting if I based my project on a 'true story'. The reason for this is because my main aim is to entice a user into the experience and immerse them in a real, scary atmosphere. A really useful way of doing this is using an experience that actually happened in order to enhance the realism of the experience. In contrast to this however, I have also diverged from creating a somewhat 'educational' interactive experience to now wanting to create an entertainment piece. There are many reasons for this. One is that it gives me the chance to come up with an interesting story (which I can 'base' on a true story) and this is something I really enjoy doing. From my previous 3D projects I have written stories around my environments. The other annoying trait I have - if it was creating an educational piece - is that I get quite obsessive. I would obsess that everything was correct and accurate which would cause huge delay and aggravation whilst creating my environment. At least taking the entertainment route allows my imagination to take it's course. Again, it has always been in my nature to create an entertainment piece but at the beginning of this project, I did think about doing something educational.

So in light of this I have decided to try and find some true story behind my rough idea - Hotel that used to be an Mental Asylum. Once I find a hotel that has this kind of history I can dig deeper and find a story that I can adapt and make my own. If there is not a story I can find I can at least just use the idea of the 'Mental Asylum that is now a Hotel' and make something up in relation to that. However through rough searching I have found a few actual hotels that used to be mental asylums. At this point I am not sure on their history but at least I have something to work on now.

My task for today is too find this Hotel/Asylum and carry out research on it and some others. Tomorrow I will begin some Maya stuff as this was something I badly needed to start. By the end of the week I also aim to finish the current book I am (still) reading; 'What Video Games Have To Teach About Learning And Literacy'.

These are just a few simple tasks I aim to carry out over the next few days. From this week on I have started to map out my week ahead in in order for maximum work efficiency and in order to help give myself some free time.

My History of 3D Environments - Summary

As you have seen from my previous posts, the agenda I have had for creating 3D environments has always been quite similar and always progressing towards a bigger idea and improvement. Looking back at these I have realized that my intentions are always the same and I am glad to be bringing that too my honours project. The use of atmosphere and story within an environment has always been important too me and I look to excel my knowledge and become an expert in this field.

Again, for this project, I am looking to take it a step further by incorporating a true story too my environment. Over the next few days I will be lookign for inspiration and true stories of how mental asylums were converted to hotels.

My History of 3D Environments - 3rd Year (Part 2) - Misery

Another module that we had in 3rd year entitled; Spatial Constructs. This was a rather interesting module which I thoroughly enjoyed. It involved the lecturer giving us about 12-15 different authors and writers, in which we had to pick something they have wrote and create an environment from it. I went for Stephen King's Misery. This was a lot of fun as I enjoyed the book and the movie. When creating this piece I went into a lot of detail and noting every possible thing I could add to my environment. This was also the first time I got to use UDK which allowed me too actually explore my environment. I loved this. It made it seem more real. For my final piece I created a little video showcasing the environment, and set the tone and kept within the idea of the actual story...

As you can see the quality of my work was way better. I really had to focus on this as in order to transfer objects to UDK you had too make sure they were done correctly without any errors. I also created all the textures myself. In 3rd year I decided it was time to learn and create them myself so was very pleased at that.

I will complete a summary of all my pieces in the next blog as a nice neat overview.

My History of 3D Environments - 3rd Year (Part 1) - Environment from Concept Art

This year we were given a slightly different task that involved us picking one of 3 concept art pieces to analyze and convert to a 3D environment. Even though the was a little out of my comfort zone, it was nice to attempt something different for a change. Noah Bradley's Street Concept:

This was an interesting piece to re-create as it was completely different to anything I have done before and was quite stylized. What I enjoyed about this module was mapping out how and what I wanted in my environment. I was perhaps a little ambitious but I still managed to create a good sized environment. With this environment I really wanted to focus on the look of it. I tried really hard to make it look as good as possible as I was wanting to improve my technical skills in Maya and Photoshop.

As you can see I created quite a large environment focusing on modular design as I know this is important for 3D artists to use effectively. Modular Design is something I definitely plan on using in my project this year as it is an effective and efficient way too create a large environment.

My History of 3D Environments - 2nd Year - Abandoned Country House

In 2nd year, I was really getting into storytelling and narrative through other modules so when it came to the 3D module, instead of just creating an environment (like I did the year before) I wanted to create an environment with meaning - a story of some sort if you will. So Once I thought up a story and created an environment for it that would hopefully convey the story too the viewer.

So the environment was an old abandoned American farmhouse and the story I had in my mind for it was; There was a serial killer on the loose and was using this house to hide and kill his victims. This was a much better piece than the Mental Asylum I created and it also had a story through it which I tried to convey via the environment. Again, this is something I am looking into this year but with a lot more skill and success. - There is sound in this video so make sure your volume is up! (Atmosphere is my focus!)

As you can see, I really made an effort to add story to my piece. This was because I wanted it to have more meaning than just being a plain building. Adding depth and meaning is very important when it comes to making 3D environments. As well as this, I really wanted to add atmosphere hence I added in the music (which I did myself!). I aim to look into this and carrying out this idea towards my final piece.

My History of 3D Environments - 1st Year - Mental Asylum

I thought it would be useful and interesting to post a blog about the 3D environments I have created in the past and explain a little bit about them. Thinking about it now, there is a nice development between each environment which relates to why I want to carry out such things as, atmosphere, storytelling and narrative in my current project.

In first year I had hardly used Maya at all but was still excited for the 3D Environment project. I ended up doing a Mental Asylum Hallway. The reason for only doing a hallway was due too my lack of technical skills back then. However, I did have the idea in mind that each room was different and would show a different aspect of point in time of mental asylums. Of course I never actually did this but I have always wanted too, hence this year, my initial aim was to showcase a historic transformation of Mental Asylums.

My main influence for all this was 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'. I loved the book and the film and have always been fascinated with it. Looking back now and even shortly after creating this piece, I knew that I wanted it too look better. Again it was my first ever environment and I was happy with it although always wanted too expand it. So as you can see from all these years ago, I was already interested in the horror genre and mental asylums and it is nice to see this still in my mind and wanting to be explored further.

Week 5 - Presentation Review

So today we had our first progress presentation. After recent events I was unsure how I would do however I found that I sailed through it very well and with good confidence. I was really pleased at this and because of that, I am even more confident and excited about my idea.

Basically I began introducing what my project aim was and what I want to focus on in this project. I mentioned the rough idea I currently have (very basic as I changed it the other day) and then began to discuss the research I had carried out so far. I discussed basic internet reading, games played/looked into and books read. After that I stated what practical pieces I have done (I admit it's not much at the moment) and finished with what I intended to look at in the near future.

I got some great positive feedback from my lecturers. A brief mention that they got the impression that my question was, 'how to guide a user through an environment'. I myself knew it was something liek this but was thrilled to see they interpreted it this way and were happy with it. Another really insightful idea mentioned (which admittingly I had though of before but never really had a chance to pursue) was to base my idea on a true environment. So find an actual hotel that used to be an asylum and use that to inspire my story and design. Having this 'true story' effect would really enhance my final piece and would entail more interest among people. Also suggested was for me to try incorporate more of a reason for my choice in environment. This, I can easily do.

I really found this a helpful experience. It has helped raise my confidence and guide me towards the right path. I have set myself a few tasks to carry out over the weekend in order to catch up on myself. Nothing to drastic just odds and ends. I want too:

• Blog a history of my 3D environments - explaining my progression and improvement and how I got too where I am today
• Find a true example of my idea - Find (ideally) and example in the UK, USA & Europe and compare
• Moodboards - In order for a more visual approach I'd like to come up with a few moodboards
• Finish book - I would also like to finish the book I'm reading; 'What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy' and blog an in-depth review on it 

Big Change - New Concept

So after a few meetings with lecturers and careful considerations I have ended up changing my project idea. It is still similar to the original one however there have been a few changes. These changes were made primarily due too my scope being too large, the fact I was diverging more into psychology as oppose to art and because I was becoming obsessive with the accuracy I wanted to have in my project.

I took a step back and decided to think carefully about what I wanted too do and what I enjoyed doing. The best way about doing this was taking it in little steps. So too begin with I knew and have always known I want to do 3D Environments:

Step 1: 3D Environments

Next was to figure out, what I enjoy and like about games and 3D environments; atmosphere I have always been a huge fan of atmosphere and truly believe it is a huge part in games, TV and film. I am all about atmosphere so it was clear that this was something I'd enjoy and be passionate about:

Step 2: Atmosphere

Next, again was to figure out what else I like about games and what I'd like to do within my environment. Along with atmosphere I really enjoy story and narrative, in particularly, when you the user/player has to figure it out for yourself, hence environment storytelling. I find this very effective and realistic as in some games it just places you in the world and you have to figure out your purpose and own opinions of the world yourself. (e.g Half Life 2).

Step 3: Storytelling/Narrative

Another idea I had in mind which I think would be really good to show as it would be highly interesting as well as effective as a portfolio piece is too have some sort of historical transformation happening within the environment as you progress through.

Step 4: Historical Transformation

With these four ideas/steps in mind it was time too scope down my project with more specific ideas. Linking the first two I had to come up with some sort of environment and some sort of atmosphere I wish to set. My favourite atmosphere is horror which I feel is sometimes not so well done in games and would love to try and create a truly horror/creepy atmosphere with a psychological horror theme coming to mind.

Step 5: Atmosphere = Psychological Horror

Now I needed to figure out the setting. With the psychological horror theme in mind and thinking about the historical transformation I had a rough idea in my mind of what I wanted. Similar to my last idea - Show a historical transformation of Mental Asylums - I decided to stick roughly to this but take a slightly different (in fact opposite) but more interesting approach. I decided to start of in a Grand Hotel which used to be a Mental Asylum and as you progress through the environment you discover some sort of story and discover the Hotel's (Asylum's) history.

Step 6: Historical Environment Change = Hotel to Mental Asylum

This is as far as I have got but it is definitely more suited to me. In a later post I will show my history of 3D environments and how I have slowly progressed and developed my interests and skills. My next task now is too get some moodboards as visual research and too start thinking up a story that can go with this environment,

I have a presentation today in which I will be showcasing my new idea and hopefully get some useful feedback. I will also be posting this up for you to see but for now, here is another little 'premise' for my 3D interactive experience:

Create a 3D environment which, through exploration, tells a story. Focus will be on creating a psychological horror atmosphere and showcasing a transformation of environment, in this case, Grand Hotel to Mental Asylum. Storyline is highly important too keep the user immersed.

Meeting With Lecturer 02

I never blogged my first meeting with a lecturer as technically I met up with her before the semester began, but all it entailed was me sharing my ideas for the year in order to make sure I had the right idea of 4th year.

So today I met with another lecturer in order to help narrow my ideas down and guide me forward as I felt I was coming to a stand still or block in my research path. Up till now I have been focusing on research, online and in books. I have been concentrating on mental illness in games and education in games. After the meeting today I have found myself taking a slightly different and more appropriate approach towards my project.

Just to remind you, my idea up to this point was along the lines:

To create an interactive experience through a 3D environment showcasing the historic transformation of mental institutes. This will be portrayed through the eyes of someone with a mental health issue to help raise awareness for mental health.

With this aim I wanted to create an accurate and realistic atmosphere to help immerse the user in the environment. I also wanted the user to experience it to the full and not only learn from it, but want to learn from it.

The issue with this idea - which was made apparent in this meeting - was that it is a fairly wide scope and I will end up focusing on topics such as; psychology, criminology and history. The problem with this is that it may just be too distant too art that it is not an effective use of my 4th year honours project in Computer Arts. So with this in mind and writing things down on paper I have found a new area to home in on whilst still have touches of my old idea.

I am now looking into focusing on storytelling through a 3D environment with the environment being a mental institute. I still want to show the historic change that has occurred through the years and with this in mind, I can focus heavily on creating atmosphere, and perhaps some sort of fictional or factual story that entices the user to proceed through the environment.

This is much more suited to me as over the years studying I have always had an extremely keen interest in; 3D environments, horror genre, narrative/storytelling and atmosphere. I am excited to proceed with my project with these changes in mind. Again, in a few weeks, this all may change again. That is what is expected in this field whilst carrying out research however I will proceed as normal and gather more research and see where that takes me. What I also want to begin looking into is a more visual approach to my project such as moodboards, blackouts and some 3D pieces that I can practice and develop with.

So things I need to consider and look into now:

• My Audience
• A Story
• Horror-sub Genres
• Atmospheric mood

Books/Reading to look into:

• First Person: New Media as Story, Performance and Game by Noah Wardrip-fruin, Pat Harrigan
• Game Design as Narrative Architecture by Henry Jenkins
• Chris Crawford

This meeting has proved very helpful and I will be looking to arrange more with the same and different lecturer in order for different perspectives.

Warm Up Complete

So a while ago I began a little project just to get me settled back into Maya. I have decided to finish here as I now feel comfortable again with Maya and wish to start creating items with a bit more purpose to my project.

For my project and development towards the final piece I will be looking at Modular environments, improving my texturing (and modelling) and getting to grips with UDK once again. Last year I used UDK for the first time and I did have some issues to begin with but managed to sort them. As UDK is not my strong point I will need to get practicing it as early as possible.

I have just recently purchased this book; 'Game Environments and Props' by Michael McKinley. I am hoping that it will provide me with plenty of useful exercises in order to improve my skills in Maya. It has a fantastic write up and there is even an extremely positive review for it from a student from last year!