Building a World - Part I

Weekly Blog Entry Research & Project Updates (4)

This week I began modeling. As predicted from last week, the process, while time-consuming (I have to carefully model for modular use after all), has proven the easier part as compared to the research and conceptualizing I was doing the last few weeks prior.

This first of 3 weeks dedicated to building the Museum Hall itself I went ahead and modeled/UV unwrapped the hallways I will be using in between the rooms of the museum space. The pieces made include…

• Hallway Entrance/Exit – Notice that that the hall begins to “close-in” as you near the entry/exit of a hall, allowing players a moment to transition to a new environment.

• Hallway Straight Line – Notice the indents (Some Birds can be placed there, maybe more lights?), the design of the ceiling (different designs for turns!), the light sources (bearing down, casting shadows all over).

Below is the original Bubble Diagram for reference for the next couple of pieces.

• Hallway Straight Line w/ Bars Variant – Based on Bubble diagram to see into the Side Room.

• Hallway Straight Line w/ Window Variant – Based on Bubble Diagram for moments of natural light (no light source(s) in this hall variant aside from window).

Take note of the different ceiling designs and light source positions for these variants give some variance as a player walks down the halls.

• Hallway 30 Degree Turn

• Hallway 45 Degree Turn

• Hallway 60 Degree Turn

Last two pieces are simpler in design to previous variants, these are for hard turns connecting two straight line hall ways.

• Hallway 90 Degree Turn

• Hallway T-Turn

Pieces have not yet been textured/given unique material. Pieces have not yet been given final lighting (saved for the phase of the project after I am done modeling the Origami Style Birds). It’s likely not all pieces will be used when putting the scene together down the line. That said, I’d rather have to much to work with than not enough. Below are a few of the pieces snapped together, to provide evidence that the pieces fit together.

Despite the focus on modeling, I have not completely backed away from conducting additional research. My discussion with my advisor last week led me to again consider sound for this scene (aside from echoing footsteps). I settled on looking into the sounds of glass (see link), since the main piece, present throughout (the birds) are going to be textured to look as if made of colored glass, I would like the ambient noise to be the buzzing and at times melodic or chaotic sounds you can get by running a wet finger on the top of a wine glass (or other similarly shaped pieces of glass).

Additionally, I found more reference images for mausoleum interiors (see links here, here, here, and here – make note, aside from stone slabs representing coffins, I am only looking at these images for interior wall design purposes, the restrictions of one semester do not allow for more than this to be worked on). This actually works out pretty good for me – I am going to have a few more open holes in my schedule this upcoming week, and, compared to the halls or the Foyer/Room 2, the mausoleum rooms are going to be the most involved (modeling wise – assuming there are no events beyond control that happen of course). I will likely have the time to dedicate to putting in the work to make these spaces that truly feel different compared to the rest of the space that players will explore.

Additional Thing to Consider Moving Forward - Returning to Hallway Models at a later point to add beveling to indent edges (as early as next week, as late as post Modeling Phase - i.e. after modeling the birds).

Tentative Project Schedule

• Week 5 (This Week) – Week 6: Model Museum Space

Week 5: Modular/Unique Pieces for Room 1, Room 3, Side Room (Mausoleum/Tomb Spaces)

Week 6: Modular/Unique Pieces for Foyer, Room 2 (Modern/Sleek Spaces) & Wall Pieces (Optional)

• Week 7 – Week 8: Model Origami Style Birds

• Week 9 – Week 10: Texturing/Polish (Lighting) Museum Space/Birds

• Week 11 – Week 14: Putting Everything Together – Place assets in game engine (Unity); appropriate scaling, duplicating, lighting work, sound work (acoustics in Museum Space and how the glass of the birds plays with that). I give myself 4 weeks – more time than any step earlier - but can easily be pushed to less time if I am behind in the previous steps outlined in the schedule above.