Litter

I also made assets that can be littered around the city to create pollution to complete the setting of the game.



I also made assets for the junkie room. 

Final Boss

Here's a screenshot of the final boss of the game which I modeled, textured and rigged. Sam did the animations for this character. I based it off Jonathan's colour tests, particularly the purple one but I changed some of the colours particularly the jacket and made it brown.

Idle Loops

I rigged all of the NPC models and made looping idle animations for each of the NPC builds. I made at least 3 for each. Unfortunately I can't post all of them here as I forgot to backup some of the ones that I did. But here's what I have.

Variant NPCs

Here are the variant NPCs that I modeled including both varied male and female builds.

I've already rigged them as well. I used a really simple rig with FK controls because they are just going to be background characters with loop animations. I'll animate different loops for these characters and get some of my teammates to help out as well. After that I'll do different textures for each build.

NPC Modelling

I've modelled a basic base model for the NPCs that are going to populate the game. The presence of these NPCs would help flesh out the dystopian aspect of the society that the game is set in. I'm going to use this basic model as a base and tweak it to make different variations such as big ones and female ones. I've already UV mapped the basic model so any tweaking should be easy to adjust. After I've modelled all of varied NPCs, I'll have to rig and animate some of them.

NPC Modelling

I also modeled the final boss for this level. Here's a screen capture.

I simplified the character to fit the aesthetic that we have for our game so that it would be consistent. The objective is to make it resemble retro action game characters. I haven't coloured him yet but Jonathan's working on colour testing the character. Below is also my concept drawing for the character.

The group had a unanimous decision to go with the purple one. Jonathan's going to develop it further. 

Character Modelling

I modeled the main character for our game. Here is a screenshot of him.

I combined both Sam's and Jonathan's concept designs while also sticking to the brief. The story involves a stern police detective so I wanted to integrate that into the design by making him look stiff and sturdy. I made the character's techy bits look like analog computers which is the 80s vision of the future. I also made the lights colourful because it's neon. Neon is colourful and is a big part of the 80s tech brief. I designed it to look similar to Daft Punk. The visor is also made to look like police lights. I think it suits the game even though it's colourful. It's a good contrast from the purple scene of the game while still also mixing with the whole 80s vibe. There would be a purple overlay anyways and that would give a purple tint to the colours. Even though he's wearing dark clothing, I don't think it clashes with it. It's just a uniform and also he doesn't need to be very stealthy because he is a police officer. For the hand bits, I designed in a way that the neon lights can be shown to measure how much neon/noir the character has when he extends his arms to collect/project energy. 

Here's a turnaround for the main character. 

Modelling and Texturing

I modeled both of the environment assets that I drew. The door just opens to the side. For the generator, I made two spinning turbines. One is big, one is made up of smaller pieces. They rotate on different directions and the bigger one rotates slowly. 

I UV mapped both of them and applied texture to them to make them look hand drawn. I wanted to make it look like they're from a gritty graphic novel which fits the genre of the game. But I realized that this is too work extensive to do in the time allotted for us to complete the game. It was still fun to try it out though. 

So I just did solid colours on them and they still look cool. It stiill fits the genre and fits the 80s and art deco aspect of our game.

Design Process

These are the thumbnails I started with. I circled the ones I really liked. My objective for the environment assets is to make them with basic shapes because we wanted the assets to be low poly to fit the aesthetic we're going for. Clear silhouettes and edged shapes to reflect art deco. 

This is a coloured concept for the access door. I wanted to make it look 80s. I made a retro sci fi access panel to make it look so. The door would also slide on the side when it opens. The lights are there to indicate that it uses neon energy. 

This the coloured concept for the generator that my teammates picked. I wanted to make it look like a turbine kind of generator wherein the energy circulates kinda like an arc reactor.

Group Project Concept

Story Genre: Dystopian Cyberpunk

The initial idea was Neon-Noir. Neon being the 80s cyberpunk dystopian world and Noir being the style of how the story is going to unfold.

The game will showcase a Cyberpunk narrative set in a dystopian future. It also features film noir elements. The noir elements will be present in the form of lighting, shots and tone to compliment the world that the game it is set in.

Cyberpunk and noir work together really well because cyberpunk narratives reflect the nuclear anxiety of the 60s-80s during the cold war. Nuclear anxiety caused social unrest during that time and this gave rise to neo noir narratives similar to how the post war and depression era gave rise to noir narratives.

Refrences include Robocop, Akira, Bladerunner, Cyber City Oedo 808, Snowpiercer

Story Theme/s: Capitalism, Greed, Corruption, Poverty, Crime, Mystery/Conspiracy, Hierarchy/Caste System, Utopia/Dystopia equilibrium

The themes that the story would be about will reflect in how the world looks rather than explicitly telling the state of the world through NPC interaction. They could exist as micro narrative elements that could tell something about the bigger world without explicitly showing/narrating the things that are going on. These could be clues in the form of posters, ads, or tv-screens.

The film Robocop (1987) did this really well through the satirical news and advertisements that provide exposition for the world that they live in. Often the news hint at the nuclear anxiety that the world is experiencing. The film itself just shows one aspect of the world which is a city in a state of unrest and plagued with crime to which the only solution was....Robocop!

Game Genre: Puzzle, Action

The game features a fictional alternative power source called "Neon" which is central to both the story and the mechanics of the game.

Why is Neon important?

After the war, people suffered the effects of nuclear fallout. But thanks to the advancement in technology, dysfunctional body parts can now be replaced by artificial ones. These artificial body parts have become a common commodity given the state of the world. But the only power source that can power these parts is Neon. Neon not only powers these parts but also reduces the rate of degeneration caused by radiation poisoning.

Neon was at first a radical solution. But the corrupt capitalists and government exploited this power source to keep themselves rich. But through the years, the effect of the fallout declined steadily. The corrupt government needed an alternative so that they could stay on top and keep on controlling the hierarchy of the society.

The level would take place in a shady storage where an alleged stolen crate of neon is being kept which turns out to be a black market den. This would be the level wherein the protagonist first encounters Noir. The protagonist will have to use Noir in order to progress and continue his investigation because some areas can only be accessed by using Noir. Neon and Noir will be used interchangeably to access different sections of this black market den.

Traps may exist in the form of traps set by the leader of the gang as he appears on the screen showing his control over the place. Or they could be environment traps animated as gang members hiding behind walls that the main character has to deactivate. Basically environment traps that are set to look like a shootout.

Setting: 80s vision of the future, New Lodz

New Lodz is a city divided into the upper and lower class. The game level will mostly feature the lower class portion of the city. It is a polluted and cramped space full of man made structures. Features of the well structured upper class areas can be seen throughout these areas to hint of what people hope to accomplish but it is but a hopeless dream in this tired world of theirs.

Aesthetic: Stylized

Music: 80s Synth

References include Kavinsky, Daft Punk, Noir Deco

Character Moodboard:

Style Moodboard:

Unity Level Design Basics

Some material and lighting practice in Unity.

Cubemap Skybox

6 Sided Skybox

Procedural Skybox

Then I tried lighting the stairs I made. I made new stairs too.

Unity Level Design Basics

Another practice in Unity.

Unity Level Design Basics

I built a magical castle with a fancy staircase in Unity. I reckon this exercise is really helpful for getting familiar with the Unity program. I reckon before we get into the nitty, gritty stuff, building levels with simple shapes would be helpful to construct the actual level itself; the path that needs to be taken.

Level Design Thumbnails

These are my thumbnail sketches. My idea about these sketches is that a parasitic plant has grown in a nursery and releases pores that turn humans into zombies. For some reason (probably medication) an attendant wasn't affected by it. He/she now has to battle zombie nurses, doctors and babies.

I coloured one of the sketches I did. 

The purple atmosphere is the indicator of the plant pores in the air. The flowers are the parts releasing the pores. The rattle would be an indicator that a zombie baby is present. Rattles can also be heard to further support their presence.

Games as Hypertext Activities

Exercise #1: Tome

This is the tome I made for a fan-fic about Transformers in a post apocalyptic Earth.
The first one is an in-game mock up of the tome. The second one is the message itself.

Exercise #2: Flavour Text

The Unholy Redemption

Forged from the depths of hell, this weapon is imbued with the most unholy hellfire. This sword was wielded by the Blood Scourge to free himself from his Demon masters, fighting fire with fire.


Exercise #3: Steampunk Item

I also made my steampunk item a cursed weapon. It isn't really steampunk, it's more like post apocalyptic diesel punk but close enough I guess.