Building a World - Part II

Weekly Blog Entry Research & Project Updates (5)

This week I continued modeling. The focus for this week was the Mausoleum rooms that serve as sharp contrast to the rest of the Museum Hall. Due to scheduling, I actually had a little more time than usual to work on this, which was great! I had worried about sticking to my schedule with this particular task (I figured if anything would need more time, it would be this), and while I did have to make some concessions in the name of more efficient and less time-consuming modeling, I am able to call this leg of the modeling process a success!

I am still on track to complete the Museum Hall models next week and proceed to modeling the birds right after. Pieces showcased here are modeled/UV unwrapped (as was the case with the hallways from last week). There is also some test lighting in some images and wireframes to get an idea of what is smoothed, and what isn’t.

As you view the images below, make note of the concessions I took for the sake of a streamlined modeling process.

• Despite it being in the initial bubble diagram, there are no windows in the tomb rooms (born out of necessity, this helps sharply contrast the slick, traditional look of the halls and modern spaces, with the almost medieval look and feel of the giant mausoleum spaces – there are singular skylights for every room highlighted in a previous blog post conceptualizing the layout of the space).

• There are potential entrances/exits for all four cardinal directions (they won’t all be used in each copy of the room, that’s why there are planes to block unused exits).

• The centerpiece of the room is different for every variant (a stone slab in Room 1, a cage for the Side Room, and the pedestal for the dove/the giant slab to project an image for Room 3.

• The room itself is low poly (sharp angles, comprised of many different shapes to sell the contrast between this and the sleeker, streamlined designs of the halls, Foyer, and Room 2).

The Slab below is the centerpiece for Room 1.

Below is the giant slab and pedestal for Dove in Room 3.

A Blocked Exit.

How the hallways and Mausoleum are designed to easily snap together.

Below is the cage, the centerpiece for Side Room.

Skylight for all tombs as seen below.

It's a tomb space, so there are a few slabs (coffins) embedded in the walls.

Whole view, normals are reversed as players will never see outside.

Below is the original Bubble Diagram for reference regarding where these will go (this model will be used for Room 1, Side Room, and Room 3).

To repeat from last week - rooms have not yet been textured/given unique material. Pieces have not yet been given lighting (this is saved for the phase of the project after I am done modeling the Origami Style Birds).

I now move forward to the modeling of the Foyer and Room 2 (slicker, modern spaces to serve as contrast, alongside the hallways, for the Mausoleum Spaces). Will be heavily influenced by previous blog entry “A Memorial Tomb” breaking down what the interior of the space was conceptualized as looking like.

Tentative Project Schedule

• Week 6 (This Week): Model Museum Space

• 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.