A LITTLE MORE PROFESSIONAL

Wit the scanning session not going to plan. I thought it about time I went back to my model and got a bit more professional with it. I mean the original photo I took are very rough and do not really show the detail I put into it. Also with it being my first time using sculpy I was a little over eager with the baking times. Therefore I wanted to paint the model with and all over base coat, so it would not only photograph better, but also so It help it look a little more professional. I have to say, painting the model with an over coat was a lot more work then I expected, what with all the nooks and crannies!

On these photos I felt like I needed to show the Tip Rat with some sort of weapon. So I opted for what I originally used to bridge the hand open, a scalpel. I think all in all the Tip rat and the scalpel match quite well. Though in hind sight, knowing the way the scanning went, I wish I had had another go at making the original gun free hand, but I guess that's what you learn from projects like this.

FARO scans

Since my last post I have attended two laser scanning sessions, held down at the university. I must say I held a lot of hope for these sessions and was rather excited to see what they could do, after all these sessions were the main reason I sculpted my Tip Rat model in sculpey. Unfortunately, neither sessions were really what I was hoping for. The first session was a bit of a waste as bad communication between teachers and Faro the company doing the scans, resulted in the wrong type of laser arm being brought down to uni. After the disappointment of the first session I was really looking forward to the second session being all that I had hoped. Sadly, this wasn't that much better than the first. Again, the set up and communication was a bit of a mess. The laser arm was set up on an old rickety table and this instability was causing the laser to blur its scans. Therefore my Tip Rat model was scanned, but not fully and not to the standard I was really hoping to achieve. I was really quite disappointed with the hole affair. I needed to have my model fully scanned and given back to me, so I could then hopefully build and model the missing weapon in Maya. I was really hoping to combine the two methods together and to gain from the experience. Instead all I learnt was what the potential of these laser arms are, informative, but not what I was lead to believe would take place!

(I still don't have any information as to when I will receive the scans that took place? I will upload them here when I get them, if I get them, that is.)

Keeping the style

Another character sheet of a basic Tip Rat known as a Barrel Rat for he use of this double barrelled shotgun.

Captain Mac?

Having had a few weeks off from drawing, digital painting and basically doing anything creative what so ever. I now feel back on track (creatively) and have gone straight into designing Mac. Mac is the guy responsible for the guidance and teachings of our main character. He is an ex-Sargent who was left to rot on this planet after refusing to follow the order to wipe out a friendly and unarmed race. He found our main character at a crash site and has cared and raised the boy in the best way he knew. Hence the young lad being super efficient in handling fire arms and tactical.. warfare.

My drawing style has real loosend up on this piece. But it's something I'm happy with, so much so, that I want to re-do the work I've already done to match this loose pen and ink style.

(MAC is just a working title for now!)

Welcome to Sculpy!

I've had two blocks of super sculpey just sitting on my desk for way to long now, so I thought it about time I used them for something! This is my first time using sculpy and I've learnt quite a bit from the experience. As you can tell from the pictures (I learnt a lot about the correct baking times) Due to me over baking the model at different stages I'm now going to have to give it an acrylic base coat, just so it all looks neat and tidy. You'll notice I haven't made the gun for this fella. There is no excuse for this other than it was way to hard to make from sculpey alone. Therefore I'm waiting until we go back to Uni so I can ask the advice of Dave Jones.

From toe to ear, this little fella stands 8cm tall

Tip Rat Rifle (Mk1)

Moving on from characters and setting. I thought I'd start developing the type of weapons used by these little dirty scavengers. I had already designed this rifle from my earlier illustration. I do however, want to make this project look as polished as I can and therefore I thought I'd show it off in a more viewable and function able fashion.

Character sheet (re-edit)

Having been un happy with the idea and placement of the gas bottle on the Ratz handmade shot gun. I decided to replace it and whilst at it add the colour tones and styling to the Rat that I had original intended. Here is the updated version.

Dump Planet-character sheet-

Quick mock up of a character sheet for another type of Tip Rat. This time focusing on how I could add armour and add a different type of gun.

(looking back at this piece I realize I must re-design this shot gun. I don't like the position of the gas bottle)

Dump Planet -character and environment concept-

Being happy with the both the initial idea and look of these Tip Ratz. I then wanted to create something that would combine both the rat and its environment.

The above piece was that concept.

Dump Planet -concept stage-

With the first location in place and a rough over view of the story. I can now start with the fun part. (adding characters...woo woo, all aboard the 12.15 to Creative Ville)

Having thought of the setting and of the type action that would be taking place there. I was hit with the idea of rats, who would not only be akin to the environment of rubbish and waste, but they would also look rather friggin cool, carrying big guns.

Having thought the idea through. I decided that there weaponry should be made up of different items which have been collected from around this Dump planet. I still however wanted them to look realistic, in terms of there functionality, which in practice, was quite difficult to pull off.

The above sketch's are of such ideas.

Clash Of The Titans

As the title of this blog suggests, I thought me and Adam may well disagree about how we wanted this project to go. Thankfully, it never came to hand bag's at dawn. Instead we quickly talked about what our personal goals were for this brief and how we wanted to achieve them. Realizing we were on the same page as one another, we then started re-working the initial story. Within the first hour of discussions we had ripped open the first story draft and it was now being spread across a much wider scope. We figured the more we stretched the story and the more epic we could make it, would in turn, allow us more freedom in the design of characters and environments. Also, with the influx of a wide range of settings and characters it would also allow myself and Adams drawing styles not to clash. We could work on different races or settings and when our work came together it would then hopefully sit cohesively together.

Before I give you a quick run down of the now revamped story, I must say that it is still not set in stone. Myself and Adam have enough scope with the story telling, that if we need to make changes within its development, then it wont become a problem for us to do that. (we basically had so many ideas that we feel we have a safety story net!)

A rough overview of the story and events (rough!)

(# indicates that the design of such character or its race is not yet final)

( also planets names have not been decided as of yet)

1. A small ship carrying a female# who is deeply skilled in the art of computer hacking and computer building, is being chased through hyper-space by 3 bounty hunters#. She is finally shot down over the planet (A) Planet A is a very small planet that basically exists as intergalactic dumping ground. It is not marked upon any space coordinates maps as the Galactic Federation turn a blind eye to it, for the votes of its corporate owners. When her ship finally crashes into a towering mound of rubbish and she realizes her pursuers have landed nearby to check on her demise, she thinks her time is finally up. Then in the nick of time our hero (thats you) and his robotic# side kick come to the rescue (this would be the first time it brakes from cut scene to real time) You defend this girl# from all but one of the bounty hunters# who escapes for now. On closer inspection the boy is shocked to the core. Not only is the girl alive, but she is of his race, something that the boy boy has never seen before! He and the robot quickly gather her up and flee the scene as they know the noise and explosions will have not gone unheard by the merciless Tip Ratz.

2. The pair arrive back at there hidden camp and and show there find to ?. (?) he is an ex military commander who was exiled on planet (A) as punishment for refusing to follow the orders to massacre a unarmed tribe of aliens# by his corrupt commander in chief. ? had found the boy 13 years ago at a crash site over on the west side of the planet. Both his parents were killed and so, he has raised him ever since on this ever hostile waste land. Therefore the boy has been highly trained in tactical warfare by (?) and was taught but was also naturally gifted within the skills of mechanical engineering. (?) helps heal the girl. Once back to full strength the girl then explains why she was being chased.

3. The girl tells of how her (and the boys) home planet has been overtaken by a brute alien race. Who are using the captive people as slaves to mine there own planet for its internal power source which is (#). With her highly efficient computer skills she was forced to work for there weapons division. When the opportunity arose, she fled in search of reaching help for her people. The boy is angered to learn that his kind is being held prisoner and with his trusty

sidekick vows to help her in her quest. (?) quickly reminds the boy that there is no escape from this waste land, unless the girl could hack one of the many garbage tubes which are cast down by the (illegal) dump ships that pass over head? With a few collected parts from her broken ship the girl swears she will be able to hack an access into the tubes. The 4 of them, then pack up and head off into the dangerously occupied drop off section, this is the main territory of the Tip Ratz.

Thinking Time

Upon receiving the brief I was almost immediately struck with the idea of having a 3rd person shooter game, which would be as much about killing and destruction as it would strategy and protection. With these foundations in place I was then sighted with this image (sketched out above) of a young tough and scruffy looking boy who was accompanied with this oddly styled robot. They would be having this heated discussion with each other, whilst behind them way back in the distance there would be a mass of huge fires and a pathway of destruction.

(the following was my rough idea)

You play as this robot who's sole purpose in life is the protection of this 12year old boy. Great, but why are you protecting him and how could I balance that out within a game design?

With that question in mind, I through around this idea. The boy's farther is the greatest mechanical/computer engineer on the planet. Only problem being, he lives on planet which is on the verge of being taken over by another race. Therefore a wipe out of the boys home town (and most of the planet) ensues. The boy luckily managers to escape near death. But he is at loss to prevent the taking of his farther, who's skills and secretive (to his son) involvement in the military's weapon's program have made him a prime captive target for this new alien power. The boy, battered and bruised is now left both parent less and homeless. A few days later the boy is gathering together a collection of food and tool's (his skills in mechanical/computer engineering are that of an experienced professional) when he accidently activates a secret doorway within his farther's workshop. It is here that he finds out about his farther's military work and with this revelation he then starts to realize that his father my still be alive!

No sooner has the boys mind turned to thoughts of rescue when his eyes are enticed by a reflective curve of light. He peers into the darkened corner of the room, there beneath the hazy shadows, stands an eight foot tall robot. He slowly drifts toward it, half in amazement and half in wonder. His intrigue is answered first when he notices the blue prints plastered around the surrounding walls. This is no ordinary service command robot, this looks to be a prototype of a fully fledged fighting machine.

Anyway, there you have it, the boy puts the finishing touches to his farther's work (all be it, with the creative changes that a boy of that age would) and the two go off through the now desolated world looking for his farther and in the mean time helping those that they can along the way.

What I liked about this type of idea was that the story would enable the player to watch the characters grow both as individuals and also as a team. Also having this juxtaposition of character types in bedded within a story line like this, would allow the use of strategy and team work to be added into what would normally be, just all out shooting! I mean, yes I'd want plenty of explosions, gun fire and general death! But I'd want to also try and add the real sense of emotions that come with being somebody's protector. Because at the start of this game it's simply a case that if the boy dies, you simply shut down. But, by the end of the game his death to you would be much worse than that.

With this story and the characters in place I really felt I had something that I wanted to work with. But, this project is based around group work. So I'd have to wait till the following week and see what ideas Adam had and then take it from there. I was a little apprehensive about this, as I've never really worked with anyone else before and I was quite happy about my own ideas. But this is something I have to quickly get used to if I want to work within a games company.

Ah! Step One

Roll up, roll up and welcome one and all to L.A creative workshop. If you are wondering what the hell is this L.A business all about, then I will tell you. L.A is just short for Lee and Adam, I know, I know, It's not the most creative title ever made, but, it's the best that my pre-caffeined brain could think of. So back off people!

This Blog is hopefully going to show you a clear development process of how both myself (Lee Stevenson) and Adam W, work together through our (Game On!) brief. This brief has been given to us as part of our BA(Hons) Digital Arts For Computer Games course which we are studying at Glyndwr University. (sorry I don't know Adams full surname. But I like to think the W, stands for West. That way I feel like I'm working along side the original Batman!)

Both myself and Adam will be using this one Blog page. It may come across that I write the majority of this (waffle). But this is only because I have constant access to the internet.