(Final) Week 6: Finishing Details
For this last week, I tried to push the boundaries of my skills and refine some details to wrap up a cohesive game style/content package.
The first step of this also involved learning a new skill: sculpting in Blender.
Character Models:
Since the environment and game assets had been modified and applied to different levels, logically the last addition to the asset library would be the monster…
First I referred back to my initial concept sketches and decided to model three different versions (realism, slight-cartoon, and stylized) to explore what details and which depth of contrast would fit best with the environment and rendering style of the game.
To achieve this, I watched several online tutorials and spent additional time exploring the blender sculpting workspace. I found this process both satisfying and creatively stimulating. I believe this is a skill I will be revisiting and hopefully thoroughly developing in the future.
All three models had their pros and cons…
The most anatomically correct/realistic model provided an almost too human look that would fit the simple environment, but lacked deep contrast. This might make the shapes “wash out” in the game renderings.
The slightly cartoony model had much geometric contrast, and felt unique in a way that might surprise and unnerve a player, but might clash with the simplistic feel of a library interior.
Lastly the most stylized option had the greatest depth of contrast and feels not totally impossible anatomically but too strange to be human. Yet, it is the most structurally detailed and requires more polygons than the previous option.
Rendering and Final Style Testing:
Moving forward, I decided to do the final mockups using the stylized model.
First I painted and shaded the model, then added in test lighting (multiple iterations), and finally rendered a final “screen test” of what the prototype game would look like.
And so all the contextualizing pieces are done.
I had set out to challenge myself to create a completed packet of designs, assets, environmental models, and mockups to conceptualize and prototype this idea… and I did!
All of these blog updates show my progression through this project; learning and exploring. And beyond these posts, I have assembled a library of this work (including all the files created) that provides a complete visual concept.
Applying my skills and learning new ones has been invaluable to me, and I think it’s fitting that it ends here, with one more new modeling process to continue to explore.
Summer 2024 Design Challenge