Habboi's Blog of Video Games and Everything Awesome

Eurogamer Expo 2011

2011-09-25T13:54:00.005+01:00

Hey all,

It has been a while since I last updated this blog. The truth is I was concentrating on my career in games and didn't have time to write large topics. I had some interesting ones planned out like how the games industry needs support in this country and I may revisit that someday but for now I'd like to open up with a post about my day at Eurogamer Expo 2011 that I visited yesterday.

First of all it was a fantastic day. I got to experience pretty much all of the anticipated AAA games that I wanted to experience. I also got to see a preview of Hitman Absolution which was incredibly epic and very cinematic. After seeing it in action I'm definitely sold.

You can view a leak of it here but I would personally wait until an official version is released.

So back to the show, the first game I tried was of course, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. We had 20 minutes to go anywhere we wanted to and experiment with the combat. I started off as a Khajiit and we were given iron armour, a bow, sword and a fireball spell which is actually more like a wide spread flamethrower.

The demo takes place in the exact same area that has been shown in official trailers so I took it upon myself to explore places that hadn't been shown yet. Obviously with 20 minutes I had to hurry so I followed the path down to Riverwood and quickly carried on and took a different direction from there out into a wide open field.

There I saw giants next to a large open bonfire and beyond that was a small stone tower. I noticed a wooden fort that was even closer to I went there first and saw a man wearing the exact same iron armour as me with the inverted horns. He pulled out his sword and slowly approached me so I pulled out my sword and backed away slowly.

I didn't test this but I believe that had I left the area he would have left me alone but since it was a demo I decided to be silly and go on a mass killing spree. I soon found out that the fireball spell is "very effective."

While fighting them the music playing in the background was over the top epic. It was such a small battle but just like classic Elder Scrolls, the music is always loud. After killing the remaining men and women I headed back towards the stone tower where I saw people in robes. I talked to one of them and I believe they said they were daedra (black eyes) and that they were part of some religious cult. I didn't talk for long because I was curious what was inside the tower.

Nothing much to my surprise. It was exactly the same as the one shown in the trailers where the player fought a dragon. I quickly went downstairs as I heard the words "5 minutes left" and to my surprise there was a wooden door just outside the tower. I went inside and was greeted with the loading screen.

The loading screen is black with fog rising from the bottom accompanied by the player model on the left which can be rotated with the analog stick or a weapon or armour with a description about it on the right. The loading times were surprisingly long as it took a good 20 seconds just to load a tavern that I entered in Riverwood. However this is a preview build and it was running on the Xbox 360 so there were a few times where the framerate dipped.

Back to the dungeon, inside I was greeted by men and women in iron armour who attacked me on sight. A quick flamethrower spell to the face and a slash here and there and they were swiftly dealt with. I saw some cell doors on either side of the corridor and a "money bag" which I could pick up. At the end of the corridor was a semi naked man who suddenly went nuts and shot lighting bolts at me. He was no match for me and unfortunately the demo ended there.

Overall I got a good taste and I am eagerly looking forward to the game. The combat was certainly improved as each slice of the sword made the camera stagger and the sound effects were gruesome. I swear, when I killed one NPC, the sound effects as it imitated a finishing kill were some of the nastiest sounds I've heard in a game.

Other games that I tried were Counter Strike Global Offence, Mass Effect 3, Dark Souls, Battlefield 3 and many indie games.

Counter Strike was just the same old game with a makeover. It was terrible playing with a controller so if you do get it I strongly suggest a version that lets you use a keyboard and mouse.

Mass Effect 3 was the same as 2 but a little prettier. That's all I can really say.

Dark Souls, the spiritual successor to Demon's Souls is literally the same game only with some minor changes and an increase in difficulty.

Battlefield 3 was interesting and it certainly felt realistic but since the demo only allowed us to walk around a small city with no vehicles I was disappointed.

The indie games were certainly "different" to AAA games as expected. There was a curious game where you had to rotate hearts on a wheel and figure out how to make them all face upright. There was another where you had to defend earth by building tower defenses out in space and shoot off invading aliens and comets. You have to see it to really understand it because it was all over the place and very addicting. Finally my favourite indie game was called "Greedy Bankers" on the Ipad and it featured a square grid battlefield where the objective is to form large rectangles or squares by dragging small coloured gems with your fingers. The fun part about it is that it's a two player game that is shared on the same screen so you can steal gems from each others side and it becomes really competitive and funny. Definitely my highlight of the day besides Skyrim.

Finally I never had the chance to see this "3D" technology that was introduced a while back so it was a pleasant surprise to see it being showcased at the Expo. First of all I tried the 3DS and the game running on it was The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D and sadly I didn't like the 3D effect. I adjusted the slider up and down and I found that it was most effective when it was near the off part. I could see how it worked though as the fountain in the market stood out compared to the background but it hurt my eyes quite badly.

The next 3D I tried was the Sony PS3 one with glasses. This was a lot better and for the first few minutes it just seemed like the character model stood out more but suddenly this black fly flew from the corner of my eye and I slapped the air trying to get rid of it. The people who were sitting behind me laughed at my confusion. Of course it wasn't really a fly, it was a black dust particle that was brought out of the screen and into my face. I must admit it was quite effective. Another effect that popped out was a small waterfall that I passed under and it felt like I was about to get drenched. Quite funny.

I really enjoyed the expo and I will hopefully go again next year provided there are some top games to enjoy. I wanted to try SWTOR but the lines were too long and it closed early for some reason just when the queues were starting to get short.

Canvas Mod Announced

2011-06-15T12:11:00.002+01:00

I was asked very nicely to spread the word of this mod so here it is:

"After months of hard work, we here at Bloom are excited to officially announce the existence of our current project CANVAS. To go with this announcement, we have prepared a short press release to explain exactly what CANVAS is, and what you can expect to find when we release.

To complement this announcement, we have also launched our official website (http://www.canvasgame.com), on which you can find a slew of information about the mod, as well as screenshots, videos and wallpapers.

We have also created a short teaser trailer introducing some of the characters and environments you will experience in-game, which can be found below.

INTRODUCTION

CANVAS is a single-player total conversion modification for Half-Life 2: Episode 2. It hopes to provide a unique action/adventure experience based upon the versatile Source engine.

SETTING

In the world of CANVAS, psychics exist, and live openly alongside humans. Their existence has been noted throughout history, and while their powers are still feared by non-psychics, their culture has pervaded countries across the globe.

Seeking to centralise their cultural heritage, groups of psychics banded together to build enormous underground galleries. In these galleries are housed the greatest works of 'psychic' art – paintings that allow the viewer to psychically enter the paintings, and experience the artist's intent first-hand. Run by an unusual being known as the Curator, the Acanthus gallery is by far the most prestigious of these institutions, housing the largest collection of psychic art and literature in the world.

STORYLINE

Milena Desmaris is unhappy in her life. Having been left with her father after her mother passed away, she found herself neglected as her father buried himself in his work. Her only true friend and companion, Borden, is a teddy bear brought to life with her psychic powers.

However, when Milena's father seemingly goes missing, everything changes. Suddenly, Milena and Borden find themselves on an adventure, and while trying to find out what happened to her father, and why, they will explore locations and experience things beyond anything they could have imagined.

KEY FEATURES

Single-Player Campaign – Take Milena and Borden through a unique adventure as they investigate the disappearance of Milena's father.
Psychic Abilities – Utilise Milena's psychic abilities to overcome obstacles, puzzles and enemies.
Control Borden – Take direct control of Milena's furry companion in order to reach difficult locations, and use his own psychic powers.
Enter Paintings – Leave the real world behind as Milena enters paintings and explores entire new worlds.

CANVAS – a Half-Life 2: Episode 2 modification.

Website: http://www.canvasgame.com/
ModDB: http://www.moddb.com/mods/canvas
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Canvas/232883643394493
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/canvasmod
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/CanvasMod"

It looks really surreal and I love the trailer music. I look forward to its release.

Luminesca - A Game by Matt Glanville

2011-03-24T15:33:00.002Z

An old friend of mine from university is working on a new game and the least I can do is help support it and spread the word. I studied alongside Matt for three years and he always had imaginative game ideas. This is one of them.

Check out his development blog @

http://luminesca.blogspot.com/

Pipe Shrine Sewer Scene - UDK Final

2011-03-17T22:45:00.001Z

I am calling this finished as there isn't much more I can do to improve it. It came out pretty well and looks a lot better in motion. I uploaded a video here so you can see what I mean.

Pipe Shrine Sewer Scene - UDK 02

2011-02-23T00:02:00.000Z

More progress on the sewer scene. I've changed the design slightly to a Storm Overflow System. This makes more sense design wise and saves me having to redesign completely.

Textures are all temporary at the moment and most of it isn't UV mapped properly. I also added caustics which obviously looks better in motion.

Pipe Shrine Sewer Scene - UDK

2011-02-07T00:25:00.000Z

While applying for jobs I've started a new UDK project to improve certain skills such as Z-Brush, lighting, composition and modular modelling.

This is my progress so far. It's still early days and I've already received lots of feedback.

You can follow my progress on: http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80495

New Life Timelapse Video

2011-01-18T23:56:00.002Z

I was able to create a timelapse video of my latest work today. You can view it below.

Hope you enjoy it.

New Life Scientific Corridor Complete

2011-01-14T20:59:00.008Z

So I've finally finished this little scene and boy did it take a while. I learnt so much and I believe I have improved my workflow and understanding of UDK.

The story of this scene is set using the props seen around room. It's set in the near future and a corporation known as New Life has developed portal technology however they felt it was too dangerous and cancelled the project.

The scientist in charge of the machine wouldn't take no for an answer so he broke into the building and brought his partner with him. As he activated the machine something went wrong and this scene shows the current status of the building just before it is about to be destroyed by an explosion caused by the machine.

From what we can see there's a large wire which connects the portal machine to the building power supply in the basement. There's a clipboard, pen and a cup on the sofa which suggests someone was sitting there, perhaps the assistant. There's also a wet stain which suggests this person got up in a hurry.

The computer terminal on the ceiling is normally used for showing the company slideshows however the scientist has connected the main computer mainframe to the machine in order to power it up. Doing so means it shows all the messages that are shown in the main room and as we can see there is a "problem" with the portal machine.

Finally, outside we can see that New Life is a powerful organisation as they have flags and billboards all over the city.

To be honest, I wanted to do more and I had some sketches for the portal machine but I pushed my PC to the limit in order to get this scene rendered out and I am quite satisfied with the final result. It far exceeds anything I've created so far and it will be a challenge to beat it.

The scene was created in UDK (Copyright Epic Games) and the skydome was created by Remus and full details can be found here: http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=603122

Portfolio Scene 09 - Nearing the end :D

2010-12-13T22:11:00.001Z

I'm nearing the end of this scene and only have the light model at the back to UV and texture. I used UDK's tiledshot command to take a screenshot 4 times the size of my screen and then compressed it to create false AA.

I ran into a problem like so many others where the vignette post process overlay wasn't enlarging to fit the large screenshot. This caused a nasty tiling effect and I am unable to fix it so I added the vignette using Photoshop and the original gradient map.

Overall I'm pleased with where this has gone but the sofa's are bothering me. UDK is adding shadows to the cushions like it should but they're low res even though I set the density to 1024. I keep running out of memory if I make it any higher so I might have to accept it as yet another PC limit problem. If only I didn't get Vista...

Portfolio Scene 08

2010-12-11T17:23:00.002Z

I took the advice of a commenter below and scaled the sofa's down and scaled the door up.

I also experimented with some water shaders for the water cooler which came out pretty well. I first used a seperate model made using a pill shape and placed it inside the glass but the renderer kept making it vanish if I looked up at a certain height.

So I attached the model in Max and gave it a seperate material ID which fixed the problem.

Now to make the clipboard.

Portfolio Scene 07

2010-12-06T20:46:00.000Z

It has been a week now and I've updated the scene to the point that I had originally planned. Seeing the scene with everything in place, I feel I need to add one last thing. That "thing" is a water dispenser in-betweem the sofa's.

Oh and I also want to break up the cloning of the sofa's by placing something on them. Maybe a stain or a clipboard with some notes.

Other than that I want to revisit some of the materials and see if I can improve them. The buildings for example and I also want to experiment with some light rays coming from the lights behind the central computer. I'm afraid it might not work though because attention is already guided towards the computer and cable. I don't want to overdo it.

But hey, that's what being an artist is all about. You try stuff out and if it doesn't look right then you remove it.

Portfolio Scene 06

2010-11-25T23:08:00.000Z

What a month this has been. My PC went on the fritz over and over until Dell finally sorted it out by replacing the GFX, Motherboard and Harddrive. During each visit I must had reinstalled the service packs and installed my usual programs three times. Oh well, it's stable now and I am able to work on my scene again.

So here's an update since the last one. I've mainly been tweaking the lighting again. I like to watch videos on YouTube of games that contain art I admire. One of these is Assassin's Creed 2 which funny enough is the same game this scene is based on. Anyway I usually print screen a bunch of stills and use the colour picker to get a sense of the colours they used for creating mood. Quite often than not it doesn't always work so well but it gives me an insight into colour theory and helps me realise that my original settings aren't all that bad.

Nothing and I mean nothing seems to beat the colour settings I have for my sunlight. I've tried all manner of tones and shades but I always come back to this slightly orange colour. In the past the orange was too strong so this time I desaturated the brick textures by .6 which took away that effect.

I also tweaked AO yet again as Epic have finally included SSAO2 which is meant to be the be all of Ambient Occlusion. Sadly I thought it was too weak so I adjusted the settings slightly to give some of the pillars a shadow around their edges. Fog was also adjusted so that it was further away, allowing the buildings to stand out more. The skydome was rotated to make the view behind the buildings a little more interesting.

Finally I added a real-time vignette that comes with UDK and tweaked the material so that it wasn't so intense.

I plan to add a billboard outside, texture the remaining props, sort out the UV for the main wall on the right and I'll throw it out to the public for feedback. It's very common to stare at something or read something over and over and not see the problems so a fresh set of eyes is always the best way to improve your work.

My long awaited Assassin's Creed Review

2010-11-23T15:13:00.001Z

I haven't shown you any progress on my scene lately but that's on hold for the moment as I had issues with my PC and the release of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood took up the rest of my time. I bet you were expecting a review of AC1? I know I promised that years ago but I honestly don't think anyone would read that now. So I'm making up for my false promise by reviewing Ubisoft's latest game: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

Now I'm a big fan of the AC series because it combines many great factors that all add up to a fascinating game. Not only do you get to visit the past in a futuristic machine but you also get to see a re-imagining of the present day which appears to be a bit more advanced than our present.

So ACB follows on from Assassin's Creed 2 exactly from the point it ended and continues the story of Ezio Auditore. I would like to add that the developers only spent a year making this game which is an impressive feat considering how big and detailed the game is however I have some negative points that I think could have been addressed had they spent more time on it.

First of all I felt that Rome was still too small even though they said it is three times bigger than Florence. That is a minor issue I know but I would have liked just a few more places to explore. In fact I wish they had included more underground tunnels as it was always fun discovering them and looking for treasure.

Speaking of underground tunnels, the Romulus Tombs which are basically the same as the Assassin Tombs from AC2 were also a big disappointment. I appreciate that they tried to tie a story to these tombs but the thing I loved about the ones in AC2 was the lack of a story and NPC's. Why? Because it created a powerful atmosphere and allowed me to appreciate the work that went into creating those landmarks. Instead ACB quite often forces me to either rush through them in 8 minutes, concentrate on not losing any health or cause great frustration due to unforgiving jumps. Oh and don't get me started on the "Good, if I fall I can use this to get back up." line that Ezio kept saying every two minutes.

Overall though, again, I can appreciate the whole tie in with the Romans but I honestly get enough combat and story outside in the open world. I looked forward to the tombs because they are a way to relax and enjoy the sights. Instead I'm running through a church while rain and thunder (which reminds me of God of War 3 for some reason) falls down on me and I am left no time to appreciate the art.

Once you get the Romulus armour from completing these tombs, you may be disappointed. I know I keep saying this but I like how it ties in with the Romans but the overall design, in my opinion, doesn't fit in with the assassin look. I think it was one of those moments where the design team and the art team were split on connecting it with the story of the Romans and making it aesthetically pleasing to fans of the AC series. At least it's not required unlike the armour of Altair from AC2.

Another issue I had with the game was the stress it sometimes created. Funny enough I came across Ubisoft's job page and they have videos of developers talking about their experiences and what the jobs involve. One of the developers then talks about their design philosophy and how games can't always be happy, there must be times of great stress. I'm sorry but I strongly disagree with that statement to some degree. While we all like a challenge I have to state that there's "stress" and then there's "STRESS".

For example I was running after a target in one of the Romulus tunnels when the automatic jumping decided to make me miss a pole and fall in the water. Now, my target is getting further and further away and the game is yelling at me to "hurry up" while at the same time I'm being hit with stones from nearby NPC's causing me to fail my full synchronization. You could argue that's all my fault but I must note that even the review on Game Trailers bashes the automatic jumping which causes quite a few miss-jumps. So really Ubisoft probably could have tweaked that if they had more time to test it but it's really just a minor issue and I just laughed it off.

So my next issue is the AI. It's still as dumb as ever and here is an example. I was doing that task where you have to follow the man who is giving Borgia soldiers Roman costumes for a play. I walked up to the guards and summoned my assassin's while he was standing right next to them. I think any normal person would suspect something and I believe the AI is something that Ubisoft needs to improve in their next game.

Continuing on from AI, I will admit that they are much cleverer when fighting. Grabbing you from behind and attacking you while you're countering all adds up to a really intense fight scenario. So good job there Ubisoft! The combat is also so much better now that you are rewarded for attacking first.

Now onto some positives. Going back a little, the opening really pulled me in. Not just the opening with Ezio but the present day section as well. Quite honestly the very first parts as Desmond were my overall favourite part of the entire game as sad as that is to write. I'm a big sci-fi nerd and I love exploring so going through the caves of Monteriggioni and seeing all the technology set up in Altair's tomb really excited me. Makes me think Ubisoft should work on a separate series with game play similar to that opening section. I'm getting Uncharted 2 vibes just thinking about it. Oh on a final note the dialogue between Desmond, Lucy and the rest of the gang is top notch and very funny.

My second favourite part in the game was when you had to infiltrate the Borgia Castello. I literally said out loud to myself "This is why I love the AC series. Reminds me of Splinter Cell and makes me 'feel' like an assassin." My hope is that Ubisoft reads this and includes more infiltrating and sneaking.

Next positive is the music which is the most important factor for me when deciding if a game is "good" or "great". Jesper Kyd has once again created some of the most atmospheric songs I have ever heard in a videogame. If Ubisoft ever want to keep creating great games they must keep him! I also like the usual inclusion of Acre Underworld from Assassin's Creed 1. The first time I heard it was in the abandoned church (Romulus Tomb) and it really, really made the environment feel eerie. I literally had my hand ready on my sword because I was seriously expecting someone to jump out and attack me. My favourite song overall though was the one that is played when you're in the present. It's mysterious but also has moments of sadness and that's just how good of a composer Jesper is. So a big hand to Jesper Kyd, may he keep on creating great ambience.

The voice acting was very good as expected and I want to praise the voice of Cesare Borgia, Andreas Apergis. His voice suited the villain and really made me hate him as an antagonist. His last words were very chilling...

Improving Rome using money was a nice touch and maybe it was just me but I didn't see any difference afterwards. I think the actual lighting was brighter and more vibrant and there were more NPC's than before but overall I don't think it had that big of an impact on me than I was expecting. What is also very strange is how expensive the landmarks were and yet they don't give any real benefit once purchased. I was saving up my money to buy the bigger landmarks because I thought it would benefit me more. You know? "Spend money to make money". So really, buying the landmarks are pointless and are only there for "completionists".

The flash back moments in the game were a nice touch and I especially connected with the one scene where Ezio had to carry the bodies of his family. That was a touching moment so good job Ubi. I also liked the ability of accessing emails in the present as it was a missed feature from AC1.

VR training was also a welcome addition as it adds one more task to the list. I spent a good half hour completing them all for the Raiden outfit because I was curious what it looked like and whether Ubi modelled it or were given the assets by Konami. Still not sure about that...

So now on to the main factor which is the new addition of hiring assassin brothers / sisters to join your cause. Honestly, it felt tacked on, as if it was a last minute idea. What I would have liked to have experienced was the ability to join them on their missions outside of Rome and it would have been nice if they had more life in them. Instead, they are just tools for the player to obtain. One other thing that someone else mentioned was the fact that you can customise them but as soon as they reach the rank of assassin you lose that ability. Quite strange since it's like allowing the player to use any weapon for 50% of the game and then only letting them use the hidden blade.

Finally, the ending. I won't spoil anything but you may get hints from just reading what I have to say. If I recall, Ubisoft said we, the fans, would like the ending. When I read that I was expecting some sort of real closure to Ezio's life but instead it left it more open than ever. At the start of the game, Desmond sees an old Ezio caused by the bleeding effect. When I first saw that I was excited because it started conjuring up ideas in my head that we'd get to see an old Ezio dying in his death bed. I even went as far as to believe that the pyramid painted on the wall was a hint at the next time period for AC3. Boy was I wrong.

Overall I was disappointed by the ending. It was too cryptic and my struggle through the Animus to reach the end felt pointless. I went through all that for answers and all I got were questions. This is a debatable subject however because I'm sure a lot of people like mysteries and are no doubt debating about it on forums all over the world. I just can't accept it because I was expecting real solid answers and a closed book to Ezio's life.

Oh and was I the only one who thought, maybe, Mario was still alive? The opening and the ending were different from each other by a few words. Also was I just being dumb when I thought the Piece of Eden was under their feet back in Monteriggioni?

So on a final note; I believe that a year wasn't enough for Ubisoft to finish this game. If they had just one more year, imagine what they could have improved. I would like to see more of Desmond, perhaps 50/50 and I hope the ending for the next game isn't so cryptic.

P.S. You probably think I missed the multiplayer but the truth is I haven't played it yet. I only played the beta and I thought it was pretty good. Reminded me of "The Ship". And yes, I have heard of the issue involving the developers of The Ship and Ubisoft.

Portfolio Scene Update Number Five

2010-10-19T23:00:00.002+01:00

I need to be more consistant with my blog titles but whatever, here's some progress.

Although it might not seem like much I spent a lot of time watching video tutorials on creating nice looking materials. I also added in a load of new props that are not in this picture.

1. There's a ton of errors I left in this picture. The texture on the wall to the right is the old one and needs re-uving.

2. The pillars are using the new wall material but is missing the white concrete on the top. The texture scale is also inconsistant with the wall behind it.

3. The vent above isn't lightmapped properly which has caused weird shadows, same with the large wire on the floor. (They aren't textured).

I also updated the window glass so that the background is more refracted. Finally the curves on the wall to the right were an experiment which I'm replacing.

Anyway it looks so much better thanks to the material tutorials. Look forward to more updates in the future.

Portfolio Update 03 / 04

2010-10-04T22:59:00.000+01:00

Tweaked lighting, added light ray models, placed some simple prop shapes such as the vent and fan. There is also a sofa and plant pot out of view. Overall I am pleased with the results so far.

Portfolio Lighting

2010-10-01T16:46:00.000+01:00

I wanted to draw attention to my lighting which I believe has taken up most of my time. It goes back to when I first used UDK and learnt about lightmass and a volumebrush entity.

In my first test I ignored the volume because it kept giving me extremely bright results but I knew I had to figure out why in this next piece because the massive space was causing my PC's memory to overload and quit.

As expected my second scene also rendered out super bright so I tweaked a lot of settings in the lights properties and realised that it was concentrating more within the volume rather than taking the outside world into account thus resulting in brighter renders.

So now that I've figured that out I've also noticed some of my very early tweaks have also made it quite orange. I have since changed this and constantly edit it whenever I place a new prop in.

I believe this is not the best way to do things and should leave lighting until the end. However back when I first started this piece I decided to keep the light angle and colour the same until I had most of the level fleshed out. This is because I wasn't sure whether the angle would light the level accordingly.

So while I believe lighting is an art and should be a phase near the end I still can't help but tweak it every now and then to inspire my vision. Looking at the pictures below really opened my eyes and worked well as a good motivation to continue. Maybe it was the music by "Fat Jon" or the fact it's raining and grey outside but seeing that skydome light up the distant buildings really spoke to me.

Future Scene Progress 02

2010-09-26T19:01:00.002+01:00

Did some minor changes today regarding the skydome texture and replacing the floor BSP with a mesh version.

The strange thing is that the mesh floor changes the colour of the light cast from the source. For an example see the pictures below.

I also lowered the city which blocked most of the skydome and it now makes the main scene feel more epic as it is the highest point.

Future Scene Progress 01

2010-09-25T23:00:00.004+01:00

(Too orange? It's great to compare new with old to see the actual changes.)

As promised here's a new update picture of my portfolio scene. I failed to mention last time that this is the hall that connects the main room and wasn't meant to be the focus of the scene but I am spontaneous and believe this will benefit me later when I work on the big room.

So today I tweaked the lighting as my memory was running low and I decided to learn how to use a "Lightmass Importance Volume" which tells the compiler where to focus its attention rather than doing the entire map. The reason why I didn't use it in the past was because it kept exporting extremely ugly results. I later discovered it was because the settings I was using were fine when it was rendering the whole space but they were too much when concentrated on a single area.

It was an easy fix and it looks a lot better. I also converted all of the wooden support beams to meshes as lightmass loves them and produces some very nice lightmaps.

Finally I delved back into experimenting with glass and learnt how to use a scenecubemaprenderer to capture the level around it and export a cubemap. Sadly it didn't show very well and actually made the glass look orange so I changed it to some sky blue cubemap for now. I quickly tried to import a custom skydome texture by a member of UDK called Remus but had trouble and will try properly tomorrow.

Oh and the windows haven't been touched yet. It's all temporary. Remember it's still very early as I'll be adding vents and continually tweaking settings.

Thanks for reading.

I'm back and have lots to say...

2010-09-24T01:31:00.001+01:00

For those that actually read my blog and absorb what I have to say you'll be happy to know I'm back and will hopefully continue updating more often.

First of all the reason I haven't updated the blog since July is because it takes a lot of effort to write topics of interest and for the last few months I've been working on some projects to boost my portfolio.

The first of these projects is an Iphone game based on one of my student pieces that I made whilst at university. I don't own a mac and my coding is the worst the world has ever seen so my good friend Dan decided to jump on the wagon and help out. The best thing about remaking one of my old games is that I don't have to work from scratch and am able to improve the formula based on the feedback I got from the original director game.

I can't show any pictures yet as it is still too early and I fear outsiders may steal ideas or graphics. My hope is that this game will count towards my professional page on my portfolio and earning some money on the side is always nice.

It's also good to know that a lot of people who I barely know are already interested in it such as my hairdresser or people where my mother works so it might make me a million pounds after all.

The next project I'm working on is a portfolio scene made in the Unreal engine to improve my skills and demonstrate that I can create indoor scenes as well as outdoor. It's still very early in development and it looks different everyday but it's been fun so far and I've learnt a lot about post production effects such as ambient occlusion and using lightmass technology properly.

I have a long way to go before it will be complete but I believe it will really benefit me in the future.

Finally I was amazed to find out that AVGN (Angry Video Game Nerd) has recently posted that he may one day create a movie based on his character. From what he has revealed it sounds like I'll really enjoy it and I'd be truly amazed if it made it to the big screen although I somehow doubt that'll happen (sorry James). I wish him luck and hope it succeeds.

Full details can be read here:

http://www.cinemassacre.com/2010/09/23/future-plans-avgn-the-movie/

Right, thanks for reading. I'll be sure to keep up-to-date with my portfolio progress as Naughty Dog studios said a good games designer posts his progress on a blog.

My University Degree is Over...

2010-07-07T08:31:00.004+01:00

And I got...

AWARD: Bachelor of Arts Honours Computer Games Design (Story Development) - First Class

Oh yeah!

E3 2010 - My Thoughts

2010-06-16T20:21:00.005+01:00

It's that time again folks, E3, where the top game development companies show off their exciting new games for us gamers to ogle over.

I watched two out of the three shows yesterday and I have to say there were some nice, unexpected revelations but I don't think it tops last year's event. I want to discuss my thoughts as a gamer and developer on what was shown to us.

I didn't watch the Microsoft one as I do not own an Xbox 360 but I was curious about the new Kinex controller which was previously titled "Project Natal". From what I have seen it looks like it does what was described last year but there seems to be a slight delay (half a second) between the gamer and the avatar in the game. Everyone knows it will not replace the classic controller but it does look strong against the Nintendo Wii and I'm sure many casual gamers will love it.

Nintendo's show was alright but a lot of their games didn't interest me and the game I was looking forward to, Zelda, actually disappointed me. To be honest the visual style immediately put me off as it looked like a mixed child of Twilight Princess and Wind Waker. I'll admit it is starting to grow on me but the level that was shown in the demo looked bland and I hope it was made just for the sake of showcasing the game.

You might be interested to know that the art style was inspired by Impressionism. You can read up about it here:

http://kotaku.com/5564603/zelda-skyward-sword-is-inspired-bydead-french-painters

It'll be interesting to see how good the 3D on the new 3DS looks. To be able to simulate 3D without the use of glasses could be useful in the future for products like TV's.

I was surprised when they announced they were releasing a remake of Goldeneye as I honestly didn't think it was going to happen since the rights were split between two companies. I believe it will be overhyped and not well received as the gamers that loved the original have grown up and have been spoilt with more advanced shooters.

Also to my surprise, they announced a new Donkey Kong which is meant to be a remake of the original "Donkey Kong: Country". I didn't like what I saw sadly and I didn't like the fact they called it a remake when the style and gameplay are clearly different. Still it was nice to hear the original songs updated.

Finally I watched the Sony show and it was by far the best out of the three. For one thing they had the best games to show us and on a couple of occasions they even made me laugh as they brought on Kevin Butler who said an amazing speech about gamers. You really have to watch it.

http://www.co-optimus.com/article/4108/e3-2010-kevin-butler-says-everyone-should-game-together.html

They also showcased their new controller, the Playstation Move, which to me looks the best out of the three motion controllers available to us. For one thing it's nice to be able to hold something and it looks like it has the same response as the Wii Motion Plus which means it is much better since it's made for a more powerful platform. When they showed a spokesperson playing Tiger Woods golf with it I immediately thought of my cousin who was amazed by the Wii golf game. Imagine his face when he sees the same motion technology applied to a more realistic game. I think it'll sell well from the price they have shown us (£49.99) and I hope game companies make good use of it.

But by far the best part was when Portal 2 came on. Honestly I knew it would be at E3 despite an email going around that said they had cancelled but I wasn't expecting it in the Sony show since Valve love the PC platform. It looks amazing and I am sure they've developed a new engine because there are some impressive effects that I doubt could have been implemented with a little extra code.

Overall it was pretty good and I look forward to the rest of the footage released in the next few days. I am eager for more Star Wars: The Old Republic footage.

(Image Source: http://playstationlifestyle.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/e3-2009.jpg - Date Accessed: 16 June 2010)

Scout Hat Update

2010-06-02T20:10:00.003+01:00

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73289

That is all.

My Portfolio - Part One

2010-05-23T22:11:00.001+01:00

With my university life over and my graduation drawing near I've been trying to design a portfolio website in order to obtain a job in the games industry. As I am writing this I do not have much content to go on the website but I still need a site ready for the future.

Unfortunately my programming skills are horrible therefore I managed to hire a friend who goes by the alias "Surfa". He has been kind enough to give up his free time and code the website and it is nearly ready however there are still some pages that need to be designed so I thought I'd share some pictures with you.

Here is how the front page should look:

Link

And here is how it is looking so far:

Link

As you can see there are still some tweaks needed before it can be called finished and depending on your browser you may have seen a different font on the banner. That is because it is a new feature that only the newer versions can read. So I strongly suggest you update your Firefox or your Opera etc.

Now Surfa hasn't touched the site in a while so I designed the personal page today and I was going to put all my work on one page. However I felt it would be overkill therefore I've decided I'll have a "splash" page containing just pictures and links. The links will take the user to another page containing more information about each piece of work.

Here is what the information page will look like:

Link

Anyway I hope you find this interesting to follow. I look forward to seeing the finished product and I give my thanks to Surfa for making it so far.

Survival Tips for Aspiring Game Students

2010-05-19T21:54:00.001+01:00

I came across a featured article today by Michael Prinke who shares his experiences on how to get in the games industry. I found it very easy to read and it's a real motivation booster as it almost makes it seem like getting into the industry is simple as long as you follow his steps.

You can read it here: Link

I also switched to the dark side today and joined Twitter however someone took my username "Habboi" and hasn't even posted a single tweet. Therefore I've gone with my older name "Sir Habboi" which originated from a friend many years ago who asked that I called him a certain name I cannot remember in return for calling me "Sir". The name stuck for a few years but I eventually went back to the plain "Habboi" because I tend to get bored of the same thing after a while.

Speaking of which the name "Habboi" originally came from Habbo Hotel which is a popular 2D social flash website where you control an avatar and go around chatting to strangers and so forth. I was very young when I first joined, possibly thirteen, and I needed an alias to join the site. That is when my mother walked past and suggested the name Habboy but for some reason I suggested it with an "I" possibly because I was into Eminem back them.

So there you have it, the origin of my username. Not very exciting right?

Finally I want to share some pictures of the final wolf game that our team will be submitting tomorrow. Most of the content you will see belongs to me however credit goes to Matt "Crowbarska" Glanville for creating the height maps for the terrains and then developing the work I did on the tutorial level into something truly amazing. Credit also goes to the author of the bear model as I lacked time to make my own so I downloaded it for free and heavily modified it so that it had eyes and less polygons. I also fixed some weird smoothing groups caused by floating vertices by welding them together. Finally I posed the wolves in the Unity editor to make these photos and was heavily inspired by the new game Red Dead Redemption which had similar camera angles in some of their pictures.

(Note these pictures were taken in the Unity Editor therefore there is no anti-aliasing and textures are not as hi-res)

Big credit to the team members that helped develop this game.

Fast Forward Game Design

2010-05-12T15:04:00.001+01:00

I wanted to go more in-depth with my interface design process for the wolf game below however I was quite happy with how it looked. I performed one minor edit on the gem stones to reflect the season of each the level. Here is spring:

'Green reflects Spring'

Summer is yellow, Autumn is red and Winter was going to be white however I felt blue stood out more whereas white felt more like a neutral colour.

But I digress, the main reason for this post is to share some pictures of a board game I developed for my university module in which I had to design a paper prototype of a computer game for the Indian games market.

My research showed that the Indian market loved their racing games therefore I went down that route and developed a racing game prototype with an original twist or so I thought. The idea was that the player in last place would receive the option to set off one of four traps in order to give him the chance to overtake the leading racer.

Unfortunately near the end of development I discovered that a new racing game called Split Second had a similar mechanic. Of course it does not matter as my game isn't actually going to be sold but it goes to show how difficult it is for developers to come up with new and original ideas.

I love games that try something new because it gives me a fresh experience which can be very fun. It's such a shame that most developers are sticking to what is safe (First Person Shooter Games) and they really should branch out and support smaller developers who are creating some really unique games.

Anyway I hope the board game pictures interest some readers because it was really fun to make and especially fun to test with my fellow students.