Sound Shapes

Soundshapes is an upcoming game for the PS Vita that focuses on music and sound. I find this to be a very interesting concept after playing the iOS game 'Super Brothers: Sword & Sworcery'. The developer demonstrating in the video explains that items in the game are responsible for creating the music. There is no actual background music in the game, instead the player's interaction with the game space generates an immersive soundscape. This works similarly to the 'Sylvan Sprites' sequences in Sword & Sworcery, where the player looks for triggers inside the environment which are layered to create a moving stereo experience. The developer of 'Sound Shapes' also explains that the aim of the game is not to challenge and frustrate the player, but to allow them to experience the musical world. Immersion in gaming is a sort of suspended reality, where the player looses their grasp of time and gets lost in a game world. This is often achieved by making the player concentrate and persist with a challenge for a long period of time. A few smaller developers appear to be taking a different approach to immersion through rich audiovisual experiences. This particular game doesn't demand the players intense concentration, instead it aims to make them become absorbed in this dynamic virtual music world. Music is something that is very universal. It doesn't have to be strictly pinned down to fit one genre, certain sounds provoke certain emotional responses meaning the scope for a game like this is far from niche and restricted. sound is a form of narrative that we can all relate to on a subconscious level, making titles like this along with the Super Brothers' approach highly engaging.

Finished Sound Room

I have finished constructing my Unity game level. There were some minor changes made from the original floor plan. I discovered that neither 'Audacity' or 'Soundtrack Pro' gave me the ability to span out my clips leaving empty space either side of the actual sound clip itself. This meant that if I wanted to loop sounds like I specified in my floor plan, everything would play together when loading the level and then loop immediately. I had little to no control over timings this way, meaning that many of the sounds had to be triggered by the player to avoid the room sounding too busy and chaotic. I made a slight alteration to the script for this taking out the line that terminates the sound when the player leaves the box collider. This was because I didn't like how the sound ended abruptly and I had not intention of having the triggered sounds loop anyway. Here is the script:


function OnTriggerEnter()


{


audio.Play();


}


All of the sounds are now triggered by the player apart from the hum of the boiler, the wind creeping through the gap in the door at the beginning of the level and the subtle drone of the elevator shaft and equipment. 


I am actually quite happy with the finished result. The game space is quite atmospheric and full in sound. I feel that a solid ambience is established by the constant droning of the boiler and maintenance elevator. The triggered sounds then encourage the player to explore the room, listen closely and try and unfold the macabre backstory of the room. I hope that I have achieved my aim of proving sound can create an immersive game space, stressing its importance along side visuals which we consciously notice immediately. This is not to say that subconsciously sound doesn't play a hugely important role in shaping a gaming experience. I hope also that I have managed to create narrative through sound, communicating a ghost story to the player with very little visuals for aid. If I'd have had more time, I would probably of attempted to create some of my own sounds, particularly the groan of the janitor and the footsteps, and likely the dripping water. If I decide to take sound serious as an area of study next year, I must improve my knowledge working with sound editing software. I found a sound clip of footsteps and spent a huge amount of time trying to clean up the clip after applying a noise reduction tool. I experimented with a compressor to cut out the tinny echo that had been created and used the EQ tool also to try and tame some of the high frequencies. I couldn't eliminate the hollow popping so in the end found a different sound clip, also realising I needed the footsteps to be on a metal surface based on my concept art. In the end, I feel my final presentation piece fits in well with a key area of interest which runs through my blog, which is narrative and immersion in game.

Unity Web Player | Finished_Sound_Room_web

Django Unchained

Some teaser shots from Tarantino's latest project were recently released. His latest movie 'Django Unchained' will follow freed slave Jamie Foxx, who teams up with German dentists turned bounty hunter Christoph Waltz to free his wife from an evil plantation owner played be Leonardo DiCaprio.

The first announcement which excites me is that this movie will be Tarantino's first proper western. He claims that he has always been inspired by the spaghetti western genre, particularly the Dollars trilogy, and he has already attempted to pay homage to this style with previous films. 'Kill Bill' was supposed to have had a western feel to it, and 'Inglorious Basterds' attempted to pay homage to the style of Sergio Leone. There is also some interesting trivia behind the film. DiCaprio was originally cast to play the role of 'Hans Landa' in 'Inglorious'. He was dropped however and Tarantino was concerned that the role was unplayable until he came across Christoph Waltz, who ultimately filled the part. Now the two will feature in this latest venture by Tarantino.

I do believe DiCaprio has given some very powerful performances as of late. The characters he portrayed in both 'Inception' and 'Shutter Island' were very engaging and well crafted. It seems he fits the role of a flawed protagonist with a grizzly past well. It will be interesting to see how he approaches playing the sadistic villain Calvin Candie, and alternatively how Waltz will approache the role of the protagonist's helper in comparison to his twisted role as 'The Jew Hunter'.

I look forwards to seeing Tarantino's likely unorthodox take on slavery in the deep south. I'm sure it will be edgy, off the wall and largely historically inaccurate, very much like 'Inglorious.'

News of a Blade Runner Sequel

It has been announced that Hampton Francher who co-wrote the original Blade Runner movie with Ridley Scott, will be working again with Scott on a followup to the 1982 film. Not much has been announced as of yet, but the film will be taking place some time after the original meaning there is a chance that Harrison Ford will re-visit his role of 'Rick Deckard'.


The 1982 original was a very impressive visual and emotional experience, even to this date. Set in a distopian Los Angeles Deckard, a retired blade runner, reluctantly returned to track down and 'retire' (shutdown) a group robots (replicants) who had illegally escaped to earth. The film beard a very bleak neo-noir style, almost all of the scenes taking place in a rainy nighttime setting, with tacky neon lights illuminating the dingy streets. The movie dealt with complex emotional themes, one of the key subjects being genetic engineering. At the end of the film, with the dramatic death of Roy Batty (one of the replicants), the audience felt sympathy for the character, seeing him deliver a moving speech on simply wanting to live and the wasted memories that would be the result of his retirement. It was sad to think that man had created this machine seemingly capable of developing emotions, to simply cast out from society. It is these gripping and thought provoking ideas that I look forward to seeing revisited.

Joe Bonamassa: 'Driving Towards the Daylight' Review

It was merely two years ago when a friend announced excitedly that he had met Joe Bonamassa, an 'amazing blues guitarist.' I was completely unaware of Joe's immense cult status in the blues rock world and of his awesome talent. From being told about Bonamassa, I have developed a deep admiration for his music and was lucky enough to catch him live in Sheffield earlier this year. This was the setting where he announced he would be playing a brand new track live for the first time ever. This was to become the title track of his 13th studio album, 'Driving Towards the Daylight.' I have since been waiting in anticipation, and now I have finally had to chance to check out the new album, I would like to share my experience.

Joe's last studio album 'Dust Bowl' was always going to be a tough one to beat, even match. Joe has shaped his musical career mainly taking the songs of others and crafting his own unique takes on the originals. With 'Dustbowl,' Joe really demonstrated his ability to tell engaging stories through his lyrics and songwriting. It seems that with 'Driving Towards the Daylight,' he has taken a turn back to his roots. The album has a very pure blues feel throughout, containing only three original compositions.


The album begins with an original song titled 'Dislocated Boy.' We are immediately drawn in by Joe's classic rock flare with a hard hitting guitar riff. The style of this piece oozes Dust Bowl, the lyrics which seem to hint to us a story of working class struggle. One of the standout tracks for me is 'Stones in My Passway,' a Robert Johnson cover. Joe's version stays very true to the Mississippi delta blues sound, yet gets you stomping with a heavy 4/4 drumbeat. This track is followed by 'Driving Towards the Daylight.' Joe really shows maturity with this piece. There is at no stage within the song a blistering guitar solo, just a very dynamic and pure sounding composition with a heavy break towards the end of the song.


The album continues to take a venture in to the blues genre with covers by 'Howlin' Wolf' and 'Koko Taylor.' Another piece I would like to talk about towards the end of the album is the third Bonamassa original: 'Heavenly Soul.' In my view this is an interesting new direction which Joe has taken. The song itself bears a flamenco feel, very much like the bluesy spanish fusion style of Santana. The music is complemented by subtle vocal harmonies and a Bonamassa guitar solo of old, showcasing his technical ability and creative ear. This is followed my a dramatic minor blues cover titled 'New Coat of Paint.' This number boasts a fantastic keyboard solo introduction followed by some intense guitar work from Joe. The album closes with a Jimmy Barnes cover titled 'Too Much Ain't Enough Love' featuring the Scottish born Aussie himself on vocals. Jimmy Barnes is a rock vocalist in the band 'Cold Chisel.' He is one of most popular selling solo artists in Australia. With Joe he delivers a powerful album closer with his belting style of singing, complimented by the dynamic playing of Joe and his backing band. Bonamassa often invites guest artists to play on his albums, and his 13th album doesn't break the tradition.


Overall, Joe Bonamassa continues to develop and grow with each album. His songwriting is perhaps underrated as I consider him a great storyteller. On top of this his ability to produce his own unique takes on the songs of others is in my eyes a talent which equals his songwriting abilities. It seems that each of his albums bears a certain theme or feel. When I think of 'Driving Towards the Daylight', I think of a pure blues album fused with the classic rock edge he develop with the supergroup 'Black Country Communion.' I feel that his latest album possibly signifies best his individual style which is the result of an upbringing listening to British classic rock, combined with a passion for the blues.


If I were to rate the album, I personally would have to give 9.5/10

Assassin's Creed 3 Gameplay Trailer

Ubisoft have released a gameplay trailer for their latest instalment of the Assassin's Creed game series. For three games now the story has followed Ezio, the Italian protagonist living in the renaissance period. Assassin's Creed 3 will be taking an exciting leap to the period of the American Revolution. The new protagonist is named Conner Kenway, an English/Mohawk assassin.The trailer offers some exciting insight in to what can be expected from the game, which is set to be released October this year.


One of the significant gameplay features I'm looking forward to, is navigating the harsh wilderness. We see Conner moving through the trees to stalk his targets. On top of this, we seen a confrontation with a bear. Hopefully, we can expect interesting new non human enemies with the introduction of the wilderness. I have also read that the new game will feature a dynamic weather system, where snow can fall thick on the ground making it difficult to travel on the ground. This will likely enhance this rural theme.


There are also a number of interesting new weapons. We see Conner using a bow and arrow, a tomahawk and an interesting new method of hanging a body from a tree whilst descending to the ground. These stylish assassinations always make for fun gameplay elements.


Another theme which runs through the series, is politics and history. We often learn that the Creed have  had a role in shaping history. The protagonist will usually befriend an important historical figure and advise and manipulate their decisions for the benefit of the assassins. We can see Conner talking to important looking army generals, which I'm sure will generate some exciting missions and narrative. Even the whole theme of war and revolution is in keeping with the political theme of the previous games.


No doubt I will be purchasing this new instalment which by the looks of things is going to make a significant move forward from the previous games. I thoroughly enjoyed following Ezio's story, but after spanning three games, I am excited for a change of historical setting. The Assassin's Creed series always has a lot to offer from a narrative perspective, and I'm sure that Conner's story will continue to keep us all enticed.

Modelling the Boiler Room

I have created my Boiler room in Maya and exported the asset in to Unity. The level is simplistic giving very little away to the player. This means that I will really have to try and sell the scene through the sounds I place and tell the narrative of the space through audio visual.

Unity Web Player | Boiler_room_soundless_web

Super Brothers: Sword & Sworcery

For my previous module, I was conducting some research on iOS gaming and came across 'Sword & Sworcery.' What interested me was its apparent focus on sound and narrative, which is an area I have explored during my first year. I decided to purchase the app on my ipod touch and have been playing the game now for a few days. I have not yet completed the game so this post is more of a reflection on my experience so far, and whether it has lived up to the hype in my opinion.

The narrative of the game is fairly light hearted and easy to follow, still, it offers great immersive gameplay. You play as a 'Scythian' who's travels lead to a cave containing a book called the 'Megatome.' When the book is taken the statue which was holding it comes to life and dark clouds spread across the land. There are a few memorable characters in the game. The awoken statue becomes a memorable villain, stalking you through your quest. There is 'girl,' who you meet at the start of your quest along with 'Loggerfella' who opens he gate to access the road to 'Mingi Taw' and assist you on your travels. This is the road which leads you to the Meagtome. There is also the dog 'Dogafella' who is a trusted companion. An omniscient character named 'The Archetype' narrates the story and gives the player hints. Humorously, the Megatome is able to read and store the thoughts of other characters. This feature also unlocks hints to help the story unfold.

After cloud spreads across the land. Girl speaks of 'Sylvan Sprite' sightings. She suggests that perhaps by sending them up in to the sky, the storm could be calmed. At this point I will begin discussing one of the key elements of the game, the sound. Throughout the game, there is a theme of music. The game consists of sessions where the player progresses through the story. The quest is symbolised as being a vinyl record, side A being the main world and side B being the dreamworld which plays a role in the main quest. To awaken the Sprites, the player is taught a song. Each time a sprite is located, the player must enter this song mode, where the sound becomes spacey and soothing. Whilst in this mode, the player must solve puzzles built into the environment to unlock the sprite and then send it up in to the sky. The majority of the puzzles rely on locating points within the area which trigger sounds. The sounds must then be triggered in the correct order, meaning many of the puzzles are combination based. As points are triggered, beautiful melodic choir sounds build up which is an element I found really captivating. Once the sequence is figured out and activated in smooth progression, each trigger creates a musical scale, which results in very soothing harmonies. The game contains many embracing stereo sounds. The music itself is very dynamic and offers as much to the gameplay as the visuals. I often find myself absorbed in the sound, really driving the quest and keeping me keen to venture on further. Here is the harmonious song which plays when summoning the Sylvan Sprites:

I will say a little bit about the gameplay but as the focus of the game seems to be on sound, the interface is very simple. The game is 3rd person side scroller. To navigate, the player simply double taps or holds down where they want the character to move. This seems to be the best approach for iOS games. Instead of tediously trying to move around with an over complicated interface, the player can physically interact with the virtual world and explore it effortlessly. Because of this, the player can simply admire the sound when moving from point A to point B. There is also combat in the game which adds a sense of excitement and diversity. To engage in combat, you must tilt your divice portrait ways to prompt the Scythian to draw their sword. There is a simple block and melee approach to the combat system. The player must generally hold up their shield with the click of an icon to block incoming attacks. Once the enemy tires, the player must then seize the opportunity and hit the sword icon. There are slightly more complex boss like sequences which involve deflecting the enemies trajectory weapons with the sword and also timing a tap of the shield to block special attacks. Some of these sequences correspond with the tempo of the music, emphasising this link with sound and visuals.


In conclusion, what I have enjoyed most so far about the game is the generally dynamic gaming experience. Through sound, there are points where you feel soothed and at ease, and then with a minor score introduced, you suddenly find you are tense with a sense of peril. There are very static moments where time is spend figuring out puzzles, and then there are contrasting moments of excitement when an enemy engages you in combat. There is a maintained link between visuals and sound, you almost feel like as the player you have a role in the music. This is an ideal approach for a platform which in my view requires a uniquely simply interface, and also specialises in music and sound.

Revisiting a Very Early Post

I believe it was the first independent post I made for the PPP module. I had just began the course, and had recently read an article paying homage to John Carpenter's 'The Thing,' and the use of animatronics in the up and coming prequel. I had an interest in game concept art, a loose interest in gaming itself and was a keen watcher of films. Still, despite being on a digital course, I had purist views towards films and their contents. I raised the possibility that focus on narrative and new approaches were replacing VFX in film. However, at the end of my first academic year, I have a new found enthusiasm for digital processes in film and an understanding that VFX is in as high demand as ever.

I'm sure the video I am mentioning has been posted in other blogs as our tutors shared it with us. Still, I would like to bring up Stargate Studios, who are a postproduction company. Through their backlot showreel, I now understand that when I am looking at a scene, wether it be in film or even television dramas, there is a likely possibility that some percentage of the set has been created in post production. The greenscreening has replaced large intricate sets which I imagine costed time and money. Even if not extravagant and over the top, set makeing it seems has been digitalised. Through visiting the companies website, I even found that they did work for a show which I am a fan of: The television adaptation of 'The Walking Dead.'

As you can see from a video, even ignoring the impressively gruesome effects, we see the studio has helped save time and resources with simple things such as hiring extras as zombies. Through digital post production, hordes of zombies can be multiplied and dropped in to scenes. 

Looking at the extravagant side of things, the recent film '2012' really went all out with VFX. although in my opinion, the film was simply an over produced hollywood throwaway, it gives evidence of the market for VFX in modern cinema (it was the fifth highest grossing film of 2009). Despite the movie not being to my taste, it has to be said that some of the VFX were impressive:

You see through the initial concerns of the team and the achievement of the end result, post production companies are perhaps still well in demand and striving to take VFX further and further.


In conclusion, I am still somewhat concerned when modern films place too much emphasis on VFX. At the end of the day however, computer animation is just another tool for a film maker to communicate their vision. There are just some things that cannot be achieved with puppets and sets alone. Although computer generated effects are not always realistic, neither are traditional stop motion methods for example. It is this new attitude that has allowed me to come to terms with George Lucas's 'Star Wars' re-releases. Some of the new VFX heavy scenes were possibly intended in the originals. The smooth camera flight through Mos Eisley (the pirate city located in Tatooine), would not have been achievable in the late 70s. Now modern technology has enabled lucas to go back and share even more accurately his vision. Most importantly, beneath the new computer effects there still lies a gripping story, showing both narrative and VFX can work hand in hand.

Boiler Room Floor Plan

I have produced a floor plan which shows how sound will be placed around the room. I want this ghosts presence to really be felt, therefore I have included footsteps and some kind of vocal indication (groan, scream). There are also sounds to really help create the boiler room setting such as banging pipes, the humming boiler itself and dripping sounds. The next step for me now is to create a very simplistic environment in Maya to be exported into Unity. The blocking out phase in Unity isn't necessary as the level itself will be very simple anyway, and also, the sound is the most important element here. A quick maya mockup should be enough and then I am on with placing the sounds:

Boiler Room Scenography Proposal

I have filled out the scenography brief for my boiler room sound environment. I have clearly established that the player is exploring a 1980s still active boiler room in the modern day. This explains why sounds would still be being created. Also I have written a backstory explaining the macabre feel of the environment. Although I had the vision in my mind of two elevators side by side which is generally the case. As the boiler is out of access to civilian hotel visitors, there would only be one maintenance lift needed to grant the maintenance staff entrance. Bellow is the scene description:

Project Title : The Boiler Room

Broad Audience : Mature

Mood / Atmosphere : Tense, scary, peculiar sounds, macabre

Scene Description

The main aim will be to produce an environment which tells the narrative through sound. The player will navigate through an old boiler room with maintenance lift at the rear and a large central boiler. Copper pipes will run through the room, creating banging sounds and releasing bursts of steam. The scene will also have a damp atmosphere, with dripping sounds where the pipes are leaking. The boiler itself will give a deep mechanical hum. The player will also be able to hear the ghost that inhabits the space. The player will explore the space during daytime, although this will not really affect the dark enclosed atmosphere.

Time of Day :            Daytime                                               INTERIOR

Explanation / Backstory of Scene :

The location will be a functioning hotel boiler room. This means the space will still be rich with sound. Because of peculiar occurrences, staff generally avoid the boiler room, meaning the interior is rusted and deprived of maintenance. This also means the room has been generally unchanged since the 1980s when a horrific accident took place. Set in the modern day, the player is investigating this boiler room as part of plumbing contract. There are rumours that one of the old caretakers was involved in an accident with the large central boiler which was swept under the carpet by the hotel owners to avoid bad publicity. Staff who have descended in to the boiler have spoke of strange sounds and faint voices. The voices are those of the old caretaker who still haunts the space.

Initial Boiler Room Concept

I have produced a piece art which at the minute loosely captures the idea of my level. This can be be used as further visual reference when refining my ideas to ensure that I manage to stay true to my original aim. To refine my idea, firstly I will need to delve more in depth in to the back story of the room. Perhaps filling the scenography brief we used for our last module would be helpful. This would also give me the opportunity to revisit and hopefully solve one of the problems I highlighted with the game level module. This was the fact that my level description was too brief, causing me to become confused and uncertain regarding some of my development. This time around, I will aim to ensure I am certain about my goals and how I want the game level to be interpreted by the player. I will also need to produce a floor plan to show the layout of my level. If I had more time, I would possibly consider drawing up some elevations to give an exact picture of the scale of my environment. For the purpose of this small project which focuses on sound and narrative, a basic floor plan should be sufficient. Here is my initial concept:

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition

On may 9th, the xbox 360 edition of Minecraft became available from the Xbox Live Market Place. Already, it has sold more than a million copies. I recently joined an online session with a friend to check out the new release. 


Unfortunately, the current version for the Xbox is slightly outdated. All of the awesome features that came with the 1.8 Adventure Update are currently absent, meaning that the terrain is less diverse and the whole look of the game is not quite as rich. With the latest PC version, we had new 'Mobs' (enemies) such as the Endermen, who only became hostile once direct eye contact had been made (the cusor passing over the body). We also had varied scenery such as NPC villages and abandoned mine shafts. Also, the lighting was improved upon with the adventure pack, particularly noticeable with placed torches and also dramatic sunsets. Overall, the game was really starting to feel epic in scope. Another concern is with the new bugs that have arisen. There are many glitches in the gameplay which result in lost items and even crashing. This is understandable, as this new version is sill classed as the beta release meaning bugs are expected at this stage.


the new platform does offer some advantages. One of the main improvements on gameplay is crafting. Instead of having to memorise crafting combinations or searching for them on the net, the interface is much more efficient. Incase you are unaware of what exactly crafting is, it is the ability to combine items to create new items. This is an essential part of the game as certain 'blocks' require different tools to be mined. When the player goes into crafting mode with the Xbox edition, they are given a menu containing items that can be crafted. If the player lacks the required items to combine, the menu highlights what the player needs to collect to create the new item. This makes crafting much easier, particular for the new Xbox users who are playing Minecraft for the first time. Another advantage is the multiplayer mode, Split-screen has now been enabled, and on top of this, players using split-screen mode can still connect with their friends online. The version also allows up to 8 to connect with each other. Another advantage I noticed immediately was how fast I was able to connect with my friend. When connecting with a PC, servers often start to lag and time out. Bigs aside, the whole experience was generally smoother and more responsive.


In conclusion, it will be interesting to see how the Xbox 360 edition of Minecraft progresses. Although much of the content is behind in comparison to the PC version, the Xbox platform in my view offers a generally much more refined online experience. The ability to drop in and out of sessions with players from your list of friends defeats the problem of hosting servers on the PC version and connecting through separate chat programmes. I personally am looking forward to the next upgrade. I have heard that the team do eventually plan to release the Adventure Update.

Boiler Room Moodboard

To begin the design process of my boiler room, I gathered visual resources in the form of a moodboard. I want to show that I have understood the importance of planning before actually creating my game environment. A moodboard is an ideal starting point as it offers visual reference which informs your designs. I plan to take my gathered imagery and produce a piece of concept art which visually communicates my vision. I can refer back to this when my Unity room is complete and consider whether I have successfully captured the scene with sound:

Narrative Through Sound

As we are nearing the end of our first academic year, I have been considering possible ideas to draw a close to the personal and professional practice module. As part of our brief, we must produce a presentation using an appropriate form of media. Reflecting on my 'PPP' posts, my main interests lie in narrative and immersive gameplay. I am currently playing the game 'Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery' which I discovered when undergoing research for my game art essentials module. The game relies heavily on rich stereo sounds to create a gripping audiovisual experience. To show my understanding of new practices emerging in game, I wish to produce a Unity level which relies on audio to set the scene. I want to emphasize the importance of emerging the player in to a rich environment in modern gaming. There is this connection with film where game visual and audio narrative is becoming equally as important. For my game level, I plan to decide on a setting and go through the concept process. I will create concept art to capture the intended mood of my environment, along with a floor plan. The level itself will be minimalistic, the focus being almost entirely on sound. Hopefully, despite a lack of visuals, the player will be able to imagine the setting and become immersed in the level. My initial idea is to create a creepy boiler room. In my mind I am picturing the station of the 'Tower of Terror' ride at Disneyland florida. You queue through the boiler room at ground level before being seated in the the elevator in which the ride takes place. The eeriness of the disused boiler room really builds suspense, which I hope to capture in my level.

A New Form of Haptic Feedback

A team at the University of Utah are developing a game controller which takes haptic feedback to the next level. Modern controllers currently vibrate to add an extra sensory level to the whole gaming experience. The new controller developed generates this sense of feedback through small moving parts built in to the joysticks, felt by the thumbs. Some examples were used, one being the feeling of recoil when a gun is fired in game. Instead of the controller simply vibrating, the small parts within the joysticks could jolt back and forth. The team have also produced a fishing game to demonstrate the use for the unique controller. The joysticks moving to signal the direction which a hooked fish is pulling on the line.

It will be interesting to see if this new form of haptic feedback is introduced by some of the leading console companies such as Sony and Microsoft. It is interesting to see this market for immersive gaming experiences. There is a constant emphasis on engaging the players senses and pulling them in to the virtual game worlds created. As well as the player aiming to complete set objectives as a form of entertainment, games companies are striving for their games to be rich immersive experiences. What is fascinating about gaming is that the player is given control. Film does not offer this level of interaction. This is likely why developers see it important to utilise this hands on interaction with the use of haptic feedback, and why the team in Utah have seen a market for their new controller concept.

Super 8 Review

Being a fan of the 'LOST' television series, I was keen to check out J. J. Abrams' latest Science fiction feature. 'Super 8' is movie which follows a young group of friends filming a low budget movie to be entered in a film festival. When shooting a scene at midnight in the local train station, the group witness a horrific train crash. The crash is the result of a car driving on to the tracks, which turns out to have been steered by an old school teacher who warns the young teenagers never to speak of the incident. The teens notice hundreds of peculiar looking cubes have been scattered from the cargo, and the military soon arrive to remove these strange objects from the scene. Following the incident, electrical equipment begins to vanish as well as local people. It seems that a beastly alien is responsible for these disappearances. We later find out from the protagonist 'Joe', who is a model train collector, that the carriages of the train belonged to the airforce, and from the school teacher 'Dr.Woodward,' that this violent creature is simply misunderstood. The crash turns out to have been an attempt by Woodward to free the creature from captivity and interrogation. The peculiar cubes are alien material from the creatures's craft which it wishes to rebuild and leave for home. The Military will not allow this to happen, wishing to hold the creature and learn more about its technologies. Because of the hostile experiences with our race, the alien has been forced to see us as enemies. This knowledge has been gained through a telepathic connection with Dr. Woodward, which happens when contact is made with the Alien. This same phenomenon later subdues the creature, when it makes contact with the innocent Joe. From the materials it has collected, the alien eventually reconstructs its ship and leaves earth.


When reviewing films, I always like to discuss the underlined themes as I believe this is essential in connecting with the story. We have a clear romantic plot line with main character Joe and the popular girl Alice, who stars in the zombie flick the boys are creating. Alice sees through Joe's shy exterior and sympathises with the loss of his mother in a gruesome industrial accident. Joe and his Father 'Deputy Jack Lamb,' mourn Joe's mothers death, which is a heart felt theme throughout. Through this theme of loss and mourning, we also receive the lesson of forgiveness. We learn that Alice's father 'Louis Dainard' was drunk on the day of the accident, meaning Joe's mother had to fill in for his shift. This causes Deputy Jack to resent the man. Later the two men head back in to their home town to rescue their children, who have headed back in to the evacuated town to rescue their friend Alice. At point Jack forgives Dainard and acknowledges that the whole incident was just an unfortunate accident. This theme of forgiveness and understanding carries on over to the creature's scenario, where it learns that not all humans are hostile.


Another strong theme is of home movie production and the creative ventures of bright enthusiastic young minds. Significantly, the movie is set in 1979, where the movie takes its title from the super 8 film format which the boys shoot their zombie flick on. Perhaps Abrams is paying homage to his earlier years of finding alternate forms of creative entertainment. Today, it seems we live in a lazy generation where everything is presented in front of us via the internet. We can watch video content on demand and listen to an enormous playlist of albums on 'Spotify.' We can record live television, on top of having access to hundreds of channels. We socialise with our friends via online networking sites whilst sharing our activities, what we have watched online, what music we are listening to. Super 8 shares with us a simpler time of utilising the human imagination as oppose to sitting at a computer and having ideas fed to us online. I am reminded of the documentary 'Zombie Girl: The Movie,' which documents a young canadian girl attempting to create a feature length zombie movie titled 'Pathogen.' Although what you are shown of the end result is in parts amateurish, the project generated lots of buzz as the girl showed creative promise for the future. Perhaps Abrams shared this fascination with film production in his youth. At the end of 'Super 8,' we are shown the finished zombie flick as the credits run.


Overall, the film wasn't really what I expected. From what I remember of the trailer, I imagined more of a supernatural epic as oppose to a monster feature. Also, from my experience with 'LOST' I was expecting richer and more unexpected character developments. Although there was some substance to help relate to the protagonist and the people close to him, there was nothing really original within the plot. We had the quiet quiet kid falling for the popular girl, the quiet kid suffering some sort of trauma making him shy and misunderstood. I was reminded of Peter Parker of the Spiderman franchise and the loss of his beloved Uncle Ben, as well as his relationship with Mary Jane.


Overall, I would give the film 6 out of 10.

Finishing Touches in Unity

I have made some final touches to my Unity level. Firstly, I have tweaked the terrain tool to ensure all of the fallen logs rest on the top of the crater. With the knowledge of freezing transformations, in future I will be able to scale my models up perfectly so the terrain will not be effected. I also added the sound of a bear breathing deeply to the central pod. I tweaked this sound in Soundtrack pro, bringing down the pitch and also adding some distortion to make the sound more gritty as if coming from a larger creature. The final small touch to complete my level was to add a particle emitter. Using the snowflake material, I gave the emitter a very large projection area with very subtle results. The aim was to produce small spores floating in the air. here is my final web level:

Unity Web Player | Finished_Level

Animating my Tentacles Using the Joint Tool

After speaking to Matt about having trouble getting my animation in to Unity, I was reminded that Unity only recognizes joint animations. I hand keyed selected faces which is bad practice and the same as using deformers which are also not recognized in Unity. This is because I was manipulating components instead  the objects themselves. Another thing which caused problems was that I had completely forgotten about the 'freeze transformations' tool which also resulted in my scaling being off when importing in to unity.

I attempted to animate three of the tentacles. Matt started me off with a nice rig which appeared like a pair of tweezers. Each tentacle contains a top layer of joints which the weight painting influencing just the top of the tentacles. These were the joints which I could rotate and translate to create the pulsating motions. The bottom lear influences the bottom of the object meaning the tentacle stays grounded. These three rigs are parented with a central joint meaning they become a complete rig. Here is a shot of the rig.

I baked this animation and exported the FBX file. Unfortunately, although the animations now worked in Unity, the upper halves of the tentacles would not stay attached to the logs. This is an error I can't get my head around. Matt posed the theory that perhaps there is influence at the top of the objects. I did flood out each joint black when weight painting, but perhaps there is influence form somewhere else. Reflecting on what could have gone wrong, perhaps I would have benefited from having the tentacles be one object so  that I could better track the influence of the joints. With the deadline very close, having backed animations in my Unity level will have to be something I explore in the future. I do however feel I have taken some positives from the experience. I am now aware that animating with joints and handles is important if animated objects are required in Unity. Also, although I have been using the delete history tool as I go along, the freeze transformations tool is equally as important when trying to keep everything organized and ready to be exported. Here is a level containing the flawed animations:

Unity Web Player | Joint_Animation

Further Development and Responding to Feedback (part two)

Responding to the suggestion of animating the tentacles in my level, I have been working in Maya to produce a sort of inhale exhale animation. I kept it simple, selecting the desired faces of my model and expanding them  where required. The animation itself is subtle but I believe if I could get it to work in Unity it would really bring my organic UFO to life. Unfortunately I am still having trouble with the animation. I have tried baking the animation, even though this should not required with key frame animations as far as I am aware. The animation is attaching itself to the UFO asset but does not work in the game. I have referred back to our Maya tutor Matt's tutorial on our Moodle page yet have still had no success. According to the tutorial everything that is required appears to have been imported in to Unity, so my theory is that a simple command is possibly unchecked. Until I discuss the problem with Matt, here is a playblast of one of the tentacles in Maya:

Another experiment I attempted which proved too ambitious was to produce a custom skybox. An earlier experiment of placing a forest of pine trees outside the crater caused the game to rapidly drop frame rate and crash. Although I tried to be efficient with my models using one sided leaf planes with the appropriate shader, the sheer amount of individual meshes causes lag. To tackle this, I wanted to refer back to my original piece of concept art which showed a moody green fog creeping through the small number of trees in the image. Even after applying heavy green fog in the render settings, there was no blocking out the overcast skybox. Doing quick research I gathered that a sky box (like a regular cube) consists of four even sides. Launching in to the process, I created a seamless image to be broken to in to 6 images all 512 by 512 pixels (the size shown on the screenshots of a webpage). I manipulated a sky texture, blurring it heavily and colorising to create this green mist illusion. The textures in Unity then have to be set to 'clamped' instead of tiled, which I assume is to make them function as single materials when applied to an object as oppose to repeating textures. The custom skybox is created by placing a material with the skybox shader set. This shader requires you to place the 6 images in the correct order. Here is the image which resulted in my 6 individual textures:

As much as I tried to visualise how these images would slot together I couldn't get a seamless skybox. After some time trying to locate the problem, I realised that for the box to slot together seamlessly some sides would obviously need to be rotated. Perhaps if I had of began the process with the cube in mind, I could have laid my textures out in a box net for better visualisation. as I had already spent a considerable amount of time trying to create the skybox, I decided I would apply just one seamless texture to all of the 6 sides. Reflecting on the process, it seems like such an obvious mistake and now I understand the concept of the skybox, I would definitely be interested in returning to making my own custom one. For the purpose of creating a green haze however, I created this seamless image:

I combined this a fog and a subtle green ambient light to get around the issue of the trees, whilst adding to the mood of the scene. I believe that there is now an illusion of thick mist past the first line of trees. This justifies the absence of a full forest stretching into the distance.

Even with the heavy green mist, I am still staying of clear of my level fitting the horror genre. The fallen carrier is still a dying beast, therefore the birds in the distance are not disturbed by its presence. The two dimensional sound of birds chirping enforces this. There is still a sense of tranquility allowing the player to reflect the crash site and explore the surroundings. To add a sense interaction which really brings the player in to the virtual space, a squelching sound is triggered when the controller passes over each tentacle. This Unity level shows the stage which I am currently at with my level:

Unity Web Player | Skybox_and_Sound

« created with Unity »

I am happy with how my level has progressed up to this point. With the inclusion of moss and the creature crawling up the fallen trees, you get the feeling the ship has been there a while working its way in to the environment. This is perhaps something I should have established in the scenography brief.

Further Development and Responding to Feedback (part one)

Since our crit I have been hard at work finishing all of the texturing and mapping so I will try and gather my thoughts and post about my recent activities. First of all, I produced the textures for my tentacles. For the skin, I used this time a closeup starfish image:

In the Hue and Saturation settings I colorised this skin and applied it to my tentacle UV templates. This meant that I had all of the basic textures for my assets. The next step was to produce both the specular Targa files and the bump maps. For the the specular maps of the log and rock assets I created two images, one being the original, one being a white image on a black backdrop representing the areas which reflect light. I generally crated these images by pixel selecting the moss layer and filling the selection in white on a new layer. Sometimes however, the selected moss was too patchy so the gaussian blur filter was required. Bellow is an example which hopefully illustrates the process I am describing:

With a jpeg of the original image loaded, on the channels menu I created a new alpha channel. The above image was then pasted into this channel and the image was then saved as a 32 bit Targa file. Creating the bump map channels for the Logs and rocks was fairly simple. With the specular psd file open, I copied the white specular layer. This time, the white acts as a signifier that an area is covered in moss therefore more even and less bumpy. I applied this layer over a desaturated original image. To apply this in Unity, the object shader must be set to specular bump. Two separate textures are required, the first being the Targa file to give the specular shine and then the normal map. I set my bump map texture type to normal map, and told unity to create an alpha map from the grayscale. I also added a green tint through the main and specular colour settings, and adjusted both the shininess and the bumpiness of the normal map to make it more subtle.

The pod and tentacles used a simlar method, althogh this time I created the specular highlights by simply desaturating and then adjusting the levels of the original image, and the bump map image by simply desaturating it. This was adequate for these assets as I am aiming for my craft to appear slimy all over. After importing the assets into unity and applying the specular bump maps however, I found the specular highlights weren't harsh enough meaning the image didn't have that wet exaggerated shine. To alter this, I simply went back to the specular highlight image and made the levels harsher, bringing out the white in the desaturated image. Obviously I then had to recreate the Targa files but the results appear much more glossy which is what I was originally aiming for. Here is an example of the harsh specular map I created for the pod:

I also felt the ground was looking a bit bare, so after referring back to my concept artwork I decided I would produce a purple and orange floor texture to try and create the effect of tiny rootlike vines spreading from the pod. I began with this image:

I spent time using the clone stamp and healing brush tool to create a very busy looking texture. I then made this repeatable using the offset filter method shown in an earlier blog post. After colourising this image a similar purple to the pod, I duplicated it and made the new layer orange. I played around with the transparency of this layer along with a none destructive layer mask to achieve a nice balance. I also offset this layer by rotating it to create an even busier looking texture. Here is the result:

I also created a moss texture using the same image that I applied to my moss covered assets. This was an attempt to make the moss a theme that runs more consistently throughout the level. This seem more realistic as to have reach the assets, the moss would have had to spread along the ground. To further the consistency of the moss, I also applied the moss texture to my original pine tree asset along with specular bump mapping. My directional light now also casts shadows, bellow is a fully mapped out game level:

Unity Web Player | Terrain_Textured

« created with Unity »

Putting Sound in to Practice

I have already discussed the importance of sound in previous posts and how it can add as much to a game environment as physical assets. During a recent tutorial we visited this idea os creating a game space using  mainly just audio visuals. We explored various different ways of applying sound in Unity to create a game level with depth and interactivity. Bellow is the game level:

title>Unity Web Player | Sound_Room_lvl

« created with Unity »


The first sound we tried applying was a 2D audio track. This means that the sound was not being transmitted by an object, but acting as being added in post production over the top of everything. After testing this, our focus soon turned to 3D sounds and how to bring the space to life. Central to the map there is a low hum resembling possibly a large boiler or cooling tank. By simply applying the 3D looping sound to an un-rendered cube, the sound plays constantly. The sound also 'plays on awake' meaning that in begins the moment the player spawns in the map. The fan represented by a floating cube shares the same function, playing a looping sound to add depth to the environment. We were also made aware of the 3D settings, where the distance from which the sound can be heard is changed. There are different off settings and a line indicating the players distance from the source. This is convenient when  testing the settings in real time whilst playing the level. In this particular test I didn't alter the 3D settings, however, the ability to do so is useful to be aware of. A couple of the sound applications offered a very basic introduction to scripting. The cube on the ground emits a sound when the player clicks on it with the cursor. The script for this is:

function OnMouseDown()

{

audio.Play();

}




function OnMouseUp()

{

audio.Stop();

}

The sound attached to the object must not be set to play on awake so that the sound only activates once the player clicks on the object. Behind the box at the corner of the map there is another un-rendered cube which emits a steam hiss when the player enters the space. The code for this is:

function OnTriggerEnter()

{

audio.Play();

}




function OnTriggerExit()

{

audio.Stop();

}

With this, the mesh collider must be set to 'is trigger.' From experience this means the player no longer collides with the object so it is a good idea to have a separate invisible emitter if there is a visible object meant to be emitting the sound. The final application of sound we looked at was to have a sound play when an object collides with something. For this we applied a 'rigid body' from the component>Physics menu. This applies gravity to the object. To enable the player to interact with the object, the 'drag rigid body' script found in found in the components>scripts menu must be applied to the first person controller. The script to emit a sound on collision is:

function OnCollisionEnter()

{

audio.Play();

}

again the sound must not play on awake or loop. 

From the just the application of sound alone, you can almost envision this industrial mechanical environment. This enforces some of the points made in my Bioshock post. By taking away all of the visual qualities, I almost feel that sound is able to create the setting equally as well. Surely combining the two with equal thought and effort would result in a very well enforced vision.

Bioshock 2: Lead Environment Artist

It is interesting to consider how what we what are currently aiming towards, which is an understanding of the game development process from concept art to creating playable game spaces, is used in the professional industry. I found this video which gives an inside look in to the job of the 'lead environment artist' for the game 'Bioshock 2':


The video description states that there was a 'close working relationship between the art and design teams' within process of creating the video game. We see this through the constant reference to conceptual art throughout the interview. vast and intricate game spaces are followed up by rough sketched out floor plans, which to me emphasises the importance of planning before diving in to building a virtual game environment. Hogarth de la Plante, the lead environment designer in the video explains how his team's role is to contsruct any assets that aren't character animation based and place them in the game world. However, he mentions the importance of constantly referring back to the level designers to ensure that the space is not only stunning visually but also playable as a game level. These are the kinds of things we must consider; how will the player move around our environments? It seems that in modern gaming, the general approach is to produce an immersive cinematic experience. There is likely a considered balance between allowing freedom to the player and confusing the player with too many options. Even though at our level, there are no enemies or tactical decisions required from player, our levels must be  both aesthetically pleasing yet fun and easy to navigate around. 


We see that a strong theme has been established. The design team know that emphasis is required on the rapid production rate of sea coral. This gives a very bright colourful almost alien approach, placing importance on lighting and texturing. We see a constant sense that this once beautiful world has plummeted in to darkness, as if the design team have considered this marvellous pristine city and torn it down. This is a theme that has carried over from the first game of the series, showing how the art direction has stayed focused yet developed with the introduction of colourful sea life.


From what I have seen, the main focus of the video 'Ryan Amusements,' strongly considers how the player interacts with the game world. I heard a quote somewhere once before which brought up the idea that as children we constantly step in to other people's shoes. This sense of play still translates in gaming in later years, and the decision to include a children's amusement park perhaps resurfaces this sense of exploration we experience as children. The player explores the surface through the eyes of Andrew Ryan who sees the outside world as a sinister place, a view he wishes to instil in the minds of his young and impressional inhabitants. It appears there is the ability to press buttons which fires up animatronic sequences. These dummies can be broken apart and used as weapons to fight off enemies. The chicken wire/ paper mache dog displays a fantastic level of detail. This, along with the great level interaction within the game space itself shows the amount of consideration that has gone in to the space.


What I really enjoyed about this video is that it solely focused on the game space. With the objective based gameplay and enemy interaction out of the picture, you can really admire the intricate amount of detail that has gone in to the environment. I am also starting to see past some of the subtle illusion that sell the level design. The normal maps which add depth the textures, the attempts to keep the polygon count down to maintain a smooth frame rate (you can see this clearly two minutes in to the video when Plante points out the underwater environment outside of the glass dome roof. The circular arc of the dome appears quiet jagged, jet gets away with it embedded in the overall beauty of the game space). I am also starting to realise this balance in game design and how it differs from film and animation. Like film, it must offer a strong visual experience yet also has to allow the player to enjoy the space as a game level. Unlike general 3D modelling and animation, there is this balance between visuals and efficiency. I was never truly aware of this compromise between detail and smooth gameplay, and the amount of clever trickery used to produce a seemingly realistic environment. I certainly am gaining a new found respect for processes required in video game production.

Constructing my Game Level (part two)

Here is my game level containing the assets I constructed in Maya.

Unity Web Player | Terrain_2

« created with Unity »

Notice that the ship is positioned straight as oppose to tilted. I liked how the model looked upright and believe that I would have had difficulty achieving a tilt whilst having the tentacles grounded. As the carrier is supposed to be living, perhaps having it tilted would make it appear dead and lifeless, instead, we can imagine the pod is made of more flexible matter and has been able to stabilise itself after impact. This level was also test played by peers in a final crit. From the crit I gained some helpful suggestions. I did consider leaving the tentacles unmapped to save time. It was suggested however that textures on the tentacles would benefit the model greatly as a whole. Another interesting idea was to have the tentacles somehow animated. This is an idea that I will definitely be considering to signify that my space craft is living. Two important elements I still must consider are both sound design and bump/specular mapping. The mapping will add more depth and realism to my assets, and I have already talked about the importance of sound on a previous post looking at 'iOS gaming.'

Constructing my Game Level (part one)

After the initial concept art stage, I felt I was prepared enough to begin modelling my game level and assets. Perhaps unorthodoxly, I decided I would begin by modelling a pine tree asset utilising the UV mapping skills learned previously. I gathered inspiration in the form of moodboards to give an idea of assets I could use to immerse the player into my forest scene:

To build my Pine tree asset, I created a simple stump begging with a cylinder containing eight subdivisions to keep the polygon count down. Using the transpose tool I created the tree trunk, slightly twisting and scaling the faces to give a more natural organic look. As the bottom surface of the tree will be grounded, the face was not needed. The same went for the top face which will be too high for the player to see. This meant that cutting the edges and rolling out my UV planar map was made much easier, similarly to the tree we created as an example with our Maya tutor. Bellow is the UV texture made with the healing brush tool to create a seamless bark texture:

For the leaves and branches, I created flat transparent PNG images to be applied to polygon planes and snapped to my tree trunk. I painted these assets using my graphics tablet taking reference from the above tree moodboard. Here are the assets:

Next, I began to consider my game level space. The first plan of action was to create a rough floor plan highlighting the shape of my environment and how the space will be used:

I wanted the show the main body of the UFO as a centre piece for my level. The original plan was to have the vine-like tentacles growing out from the ship and creeping up the trees at the side of the map. Considering this idea more carefully, if a ship was to crash though a pine forest to the forest floor, there would be no solid standing trees within the crater. When entering unity I replaced the upright trees with fallen logs to sell the idea of a crash site more accurately. Also in the original you can see some ideas for rock assets containing moss, inspired by some of the moss covered images on my moodboards.

Using the terrain tool in Unity, I created the large crater. The steep banking also acts as a barrier keeping the player from climbing out the game space. I also applied some basic texturing to the terrain. After doing so, I began blocking out assets to fill out the space. I received some helpful feedback from the person working beside me. He suggest perhaps the crater would not be perfectly rounded and there would be some kind of trail from where the UFO had first made impact (this of course is dependant on the angle of entry, however if the ship was to make vertical impact, the surrounding trees would more likely be blown outwards, emptying the game space and eliminating the fallen logs which help show that the ship is slowly trying to consume the environment. This angle of entry allowed me to design a sort of starting point for the player meaning that the ship is not instantly in full view. This adds to the experience of the game level as the player now must pass through a natural log entrance, revealing the UFO. It was also suggested that perhaps I have the ship tilted as it would be unlikely for the craft to land upright. I also brought the number of tentacles down to just four for a more symmetrical and balanced layout. I added a few of my pine tree assets to see how they looked in Unity. The fallen logs are cylindrical came shapes with per-existing unity textures applied. Here is the original blocked out level:

Unity Web Player | Terrain

« created with Unity »

The next asset I produced was the main pod for my UFO. As I plan for this asset to be the main focus of level, I used the smooth tool to get establish a more elegant shape, also matching my concept art. I also used a similar method of unfolding my UV planar projection which made the process much easier. The texture of the pod was taken from an image I found of an octopus. I simply clone stamped the texture and again used the healing brush tool to make my texture as seamless as possible:

The original model.

As you can see, the texture also consists of a subtle shadow layer to add depth and make the three segments pop out.

As I had already created my game space with the terrain editor in Unity. I needed to be able to work with the terrain in maya so that I could mould all my assets to the contours of the game level. Fortunately, there was a script available online. This enabled me to create the majority of my assets on to the terrain:

The Log and tree assets proved more tricky to texture. I had to take multiple projections and sew edges together to produce the UV maps. Bellow is an example showing the small rock asset with a log resting on top:

Rock UV texture

Log UV texture. For the moss I used a source texture image and used the clone stamp and healing brush tool on a dedicated layed. Also notice I found a stump image for the ends of the logs.