Unit 6
Here is a new build of the game. There are new models with animation and the dead bodies have ragdoll physics. I have also found a programmer who will help me make the game a lot more functional. I have the main character's assets complete, and the dead body. The buildings are still placeholder, but I have the modelling done on the final art assets. They will go in this week. I will continue to work on the look of the game while my programmer friend cleans up my scripts and writes some things that I was struggling with. Enjoy the build. It is coming along, and currently is just silly.
http://3doodle.com/Unity/MCK/Unit5Midpoint/WebPlayer/MKC_Prototype.html
Friday, April 27, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Plague Doc Model Finished & Textured
I finished unwrapping of the plague doctor. I then textured the final model. Below you can see some images of the character and the textures.
Front Three Quarter View - Textured
Back Three Quarter View - Textured
Side View - Textured
Mask Close Up - Textured
Plague Doc UVW Map
I started by unwrapping the character and separating the UV section.
I started by unwrapping the character and separating the UV section.
Base Colors
Then I picked the base colors I wanted the character to have. I colored sections in a way that let things like the mask and the character's hands stand out against the rest of the body.
Occlusion Map
I rendered an occlusion map to help with the shading to be applied with filters in Photoshop.
Shadow Map
I rendered a shadow map to push the shading further and also be applied with filters in Photoshop.
Plague Doc - Final Texture
This is the final result. I could take the texturing further, adding subtle details, but the character will never really be all that close to the camera, so it may make little difference. If needed, I may go back and add more detail if by chance I want to use the model for an up close image to be used on the title screen.
Next to come is rigging and skinning the character. Then I will be animating his cycles.
Next to come is rigging and skinning the character. Then I will be animating his cycles.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
The Prototype
Here is a proof of concept for my SCAD Final Project.
http://3doodle.com/Unity/MCK/Prototype/WebPlayer/MKC_Prototype.html
The game is obviously not perfect but so far it is sort of enjoyable. I have set up the following button mapping for this prototype and USB Controllers do vary, so you may need to test different buttons than what follows:
Run- (Pressed Rapidly)
[SPACEBAR]
USB Controller Button 3
Launch Dead Body-
[Z]
USB Controller Button 2
Let me know what you think of this current setup. It may need to be switched to buttons 1 & 2, as not all USB controllers have multiple buttons. Some that choose to emulate that of old NES controller setup may only have 2 buttons.
Some flaws in the prototype and areas that I am working on fixing and things I have noticed are as follows. Currently you can throw as many bodies as you want. This is fun and funny to do, but is not how the final game will be played. The character will have to start the game and either already have 1 body in their grasp, or there will be a pile of bodies next to the player and the player will have to press a button to grab a body. They will then either be able to throw that body as they wish, or I may make it so they have a limited area that is a toss only zone so they have to toss the bodies then.
The player is only able to run left. In the final build the player will toss the body and then one of two things will happen. The camera will follow the flight of the body and the player will magically be transported back to the pile of bodies during this time, or the camera will always remain on the player and the player will have to run back to the bodies to grab another one.
There is no score. On the scoring I am torn. Part of me wants the score to be based on how far the bodies fly away from the wall you are tossing them over. Another part would like me to focus on just making the game about seeing how many bodies you can get rid of over a certain amount of time. Maybe to pass the lever you have to get rid of 10 bodies in 2 minutes, or you have 2 minutes and you have to get rid of at least 10 bodies, but there is a chance at being allowed to do as many as you are able to do as long as it is more than 10.
The character is sliding at the beginning. I am having trouble fixing this. I had it working until I added in the body tossing mechanics and the character began to slide down the hill again. The easiest thing for me to do is when I make the final art not to make the ground sloped. This is the easiest fix and I don't think there really needs to be a slope. The reason this might be the best solution is that if I make the street sloped and the player has to run back up the slope it might slow them down.
Let me know if you have any problems with the prototype, or let me know what you like and what you don't
http://3doodle.com/Unity/MCK/Prototype/WebPlayer/MKC_Prototype.html
The game is obviously not perfect but so far it is sort of enjoyable. I have set up the following button mapping for this prototype and USB Controllers do vary, so you may need to test different buttons than what follows:
Run- (Pressed Rapidly)
[SPACEBAR]
USB Controller Button 3
Launch Dead Body-
[Z]
USB Controller Button 2
Let me know what you think of this current setup. It may need to be switched to buttons 1 & 2, as not all USB controllers have multiple buttons. Some that choose to emulate that of old NES controller setup may only have 2 buttons.
Some flaws in the prototype and areas that I am working on fixing and things I have noticed are as follows. Currently you can throw as many bodies as you want. This is fun and funny to do, but is not how the final game will be played. The character will have to start the game and either already have 1 body in their grasp, or there will be a pile of bodies next to the player and the player will have to press a button to grab a body. They will then either be able to throw that body as they wish, or I may make it so they have a limited area that is a toss only zone so they have to toss the bodies then.
The player is only able to run left. In the final build the player will toss the body and then one of two things will happen. The camera will follow the flight of the body and the player will magically be transported back to the pile of bodies during this time, or the camera will always remain on the player and the player will have to run back to the bodies to grab another one.
There is no score. On the scoring I am torn. Part of me wants the score to be based on how far the bodies fly away from the wall you are tossing them over. Another part would like me to focus on just making the game about seeing how many bodies you can get rid of over a certain amount of time. Maybe to pass the lever you have to get rid of 10 bodies in 2 minutes, or you have 2 minutes and you have to get rid of at least 10 bodies, but there is a chance at being allowed to do as many as you are able to do as long as it is more than 10.
The character is sliding at the beginning. I am having trouble fixing this. I had it working until I added in the body tossing mechanics and the character began to slide down the hill again. The easiest thing for me to do is when I make the final art not to make the ground sloped. This is the easiest fix and I don't think there really needs to be a slope. The reason this might be the best solution is that if I make the street sloped and the player has to run back up the slope it might slow them down.
Let me know if you have any problems with the prototype, or let me know what you like and what you don't
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Progress Report.
This week I lost internet at my house because my modem final stopped working. It took too long for them to get me one so I drove to a ISP's location and just picked one up. This set my research back a little. Luckily I had a lot of research already done as far as the subject was concerned, but I needed to look up programming info for Unity. I posted one part that I will be using and that bit focuses on Rag Doll Physics. This will be applied to the dead bodies.
I've been continuing to work on the main character and unwrapping the UV's. This is about done. I finished my outline and asset lists so I could create a timeline to follow.
Research for the Ragdoll Physics
Ragdoll Wizard
Unity has a simple wizard that lets you create your own ragdoll in no time. You simply have to drag the different limbs on the respective properties in the wizard. Then select create and Unity will automatically generate all Colliders, Rigidbodies and Joints that make up the Ragdoll for you.
Creating the Character
Ragdolls make use of Skinned Meshes, that is a character mesh rigged up with bones in the 3D modeling application. For this reason, you must build ragdoll characters in a 3D package like Maya or Cinema4D.
When you've created you character and rigged it, save the asset normally in your Project Folder. When you switch to Unity, you'll see the character asset file. Select that file and choose from the menu bar. In the Import Settings dialog, make sure that Generate Meshes is not enabled.
Using the Wizard
It's not possible to make the actual source asset into a ragdoll. This would require modifying the source asset file, and is therefore impossible. You will make an instance of the character asset into a ragdoll, which can then be saved as a Prefab for re-use.
Create an instance of the character by dragging it from the Project View to the Hierarchy View. Expand its Transform Hierarchy by clicking the small arrow to the left of the instance's name in the Hierarchy. Now you are ready to start assigning your ragdoll parts.
Open the Ragdoll Wizard by choosing from the menu bar. You will now see the Wizard itself.
The Ragdoll Wizard
Assigning parts to the wizard should be self-explanatory. Drag the different Transforms of your character instance to the appropriate property on the wizard. This should be especially easy if you created the character asset yourself.
When you are done, click the . Now when you enter Play Mode, you will see your character go limp as a ragdoll.
The final step is to save the setup ragdoll as a Prefab. Choose from the menu bar. You will see a New Prefab appear in the Project View. Rename it to "Ragdoll Prefab". Drag the ragdoll character instance from the Hierarchy on top of the "Ragdoll Prefab". You now have a completely set-up, re-usable ragdoll character to use as much as you like in your game.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Introduction
This is a Development Blog for a game I am creating for my Masters Degree at SCAD. The game is tentatively titled "The Plague of Mary Kings Close".
During the winter of 1644 the black plague was reeking havoc in Edinburgh, Scotland. One place famous for deaths was a poverty area off of the Royal Mile, on a small narrow street, or close, called Mary Kings Close. During this time in Scotland the closer you lived to the street, the poorer, or lower the class you were. The streets were covered in filth. Those who lived higher up would simply throw their waste and filth off their eves, down to the streets below. This meant that the people who lived on the lowest levels would have to traverse through filth and garbage in order to go about their daily lives. This lead to the filth washing down the narrow street to water that surrounded Edinburgh, which also caused illness and death.
The Plague was caused by fleas, and flea bites. At the time they had not known this. The Plague Doctors wore masks that had a protruding beak that was filled with herbs, as they thought the illness could be spread by being inhaled. They would also cover themselves in a thick leather cloak to protect them. This is what actually caused them from getting sick because the fleas could not bite their skin. The dead would have to be hauled away, and the people were then relocated away from the dead and filth which lead to the end of the black plague.
In this game the player’s job is to take the dead, run down to the end of the close and throw the bodies over a wall and away from the water supply. The idea is to get a body, run as fast as possible by repeatedly pressing a button, during a specific point hit a button to start the angle of flight and hitting the same button to stop and select a specific angle and get close enough to the wall that the character will have a good speed, angle of flight and distance from the wall that the body will be tossed high and far enough to clear the wall and water. There may be different levels where a player is given an allotted amount of time and so many bodies to discard of, and as you progress to higher levels the amount of time stays the same, or more time is added to the current time the player has left and more bodies. This will allow for a sense of urgency to try and get done before time runs out, but the player’s score will be based on how far the bodies are, on an average, away from the water source. If the average falls beneath a certain amount or the time runs out, the player will lose.
Setting and Plot-
During the winter of 1644 the black plague was reeking havoc in Edinburgh, Scotland. One place famous for deaths was a poverty area off of the Royal Mile, on a small narrow street, or close, called Mary Kings Close. During this time in Scotland the closer you lived to the street, the poorer, or lower the class you were. The streets were covered in filth. Those who lived higher up would simply throw their waste and filth off their eves, down to the streets below. This meant that the people who lived on the lowest levels would have to traverse through filth and garbage in order to go about their daily lives. This lead to the filth washing down the narrow street to water that surrounded Edinburgh, which also caused illness and death.
The Plague was caused by fleas, and flea bites. At the time they had not known this. The Plague Doctors wore masks that had a protruding beak that was filled with herbs, as they thought the illness could be spread by being inhaled. They would also cover themselves in a thick leather cloak to protect them. This is what actually caused them from getting sick because the fleas could not bite their skin. The dead would have to be hauled away, and the people were then relocated away from the dead and filth which lead to the end of the black plague.
In this game the player’s job is to take the dead, run down to the end of the close and throw the bodies over a wall and away from the water supply. The idea is to get a body, run as fast as possible by repeatedly pressing a button, during a specific point hit a button to start the angle of flight and hitting the same button to stop and select a specific angle and get close enough to the wall that the character will have a good speed, angle of flight and distance from the wall that the body will be tossed high and far enough to clear the wall and water. There may be different levels where a player is given an allotted amount of time and so many bodies to discard of, and as you progress to higher levels the amount of time stays the same, or more time is added to the current time the player has left and more bodies. This will allow for a sense of urgency to try and get done before time runs out, but the player’s score will be based on how far the bodies are, on an average, away from the water source. If the average falls beneath a certain amount or the time runs out, the player will lose.
The Main Character-
The main character is either going to be named Dr. Rae after the famous plague doctor, or will be something made up, like Dr. Bird, Dr. Black or Dr. Crow. Below you can see some references, concept designs and a 3D character renders.Reference Photos-
Sketches-
WIP 3D Character-
The Environment Reference Photos-
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