boriota1

Industry Event – NYVR/AR Expo

For my industry I went to the New York Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality Exposition. This convention went on for three days and I was able to attend the final day. I talked to several people at their booths and got to see a lot of cool developments the industry is making in VR and AR (though there were significantly more VR booths).

For the VR booths one that stuck out to me were a VR classroom that allowed students to construct molecules in a 3D environment. Another booth was more entertainment based, a new VR bar had opened in Brooklyn and they wanted to show off a bunch of VR games and get the public used to using the equipment.

For the AR there was a set of AR glasses that allowed a person to examine and move through various scans of the human body to try and find illnesses. There was also a AR company that used iPads and paintings to educate people on the forgotten/ignored events that shaped history.

In regards to my own thesis project, this expo mainly made me think about how many ways VR/AR can be used. There were booths focused on medicine, education, social awareness, entertainment, marketing, etc. Since this is still a very new field there’s so many industries trying to figure out how it can help them advance. The VR arcade booth also reinforced how much VR and playing VR game excites people. Everyone wanted to play the wide variety of games and the games with the tightest controls were the most popular.

Prototype 3

For my 3rd prototype I was hoping to make a VR control demo, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to get my hands on a VR headset with hand controllers. This will be something I look at over winter break.

Because of this I instead had my third prototype focus on more technical aspects of the other 2 prototypes.

For my 1st prototype I got more in-depth with what I could do with the models, what programs I could use to incorporate more details. I also focused on making a more coherent UV maps for my 3D models which would make texturing a more streamlined process.

For my 2nd prototype I researched a more customizable alternative to the texturing program I was using. Substance Designer would allow me to totally customize my textures and create unique ones that would fit the style of my project.

Overall I looked up a lot more advanced modeling and texturing techniques I could employ in my own work.

Prototype 2

For my second prototype I focused on making some texture I could use for my scene. While I was able to come up with a few textures I was proud of, I didn’t succeed in my goal of creating stylized textures. These textures came out too hyper-realistic and don’t mesh with the aesthetics of my project. Because of this I’ll need to redo the textures in a program that allows for more customization. I’ll go over this more in my 3rd prototype.

Prototype 1

When working on my first prototype (creating 3D models) I focused on creating an aesthetic style that would come of as cartoonish and retro without being archaic. This resulted in smooth models with minimal complex geometry to muddy their silhouette. The end goal was to make a variety of objects that adhered to this style and I believe I accomplished my goal. The next step with these models would be to finish the rest and do some touch ups. I need to fill a room with a bunch of different models, so that will be something I’ll primarily work on over the winter break.

Research Update 3

This week was all about learning how I would incorporate Visual Effects (vfx) into my game. Going into this project I knew I wanted to incorporate a variety of vfx (smoke, explosions, starbursts, etc.) to make the potion crafting feel visually rewarding. As the player created increasingly difficult potions the vfx would increase in scale to reflect their difficulty.

I found several forum posts from people working in the industry and a GDC conference about their approach/the unique development of stylized vfx. Since my project has a more cartoonish aesthetic I want the vfx to reflect this.

This Game Developer’s Conference on the creation of vfx for the game Gigantic was very insightful, but unfortunately the gifs in the slides don’t play so I can’t visualize the step by step of how they created some of their vfx.

https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024715/Art-Directing-VFX-for-Stylized

One of the developers of Rime held a conference on his experiences creating vfx in Unity for the game, specifically the waterfall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwKQyDZ4ark

An associate of his then took this conference’s material and created guide on how to recreate this same waterfall effect.

https://www.artstation.com/mathroodhuizen/blog/ZEgV/stylized-vfx-in-unity-a-rime-inspired-waterfall-full-breakdown-part-1

Finally, a game developer named Etienne POV created a blog post detailing how they created their stylized vfx. The vfx they break down was one that they entered into a competition Riot Games and won. This was an incredibly helpful resource because this is almost the exact style I’m looking to recreate within my own project.

https://80.lv/articles/creating-stylized-vfx-in-unity/

Her ArtStation has also given me a lot of inspiration and ideas for what I can do myself.

https://www.artstation.com/etiennepov

Prototype Plan

Prototype 1: 3D Models

For my first prototype I’ll be creating various models that I’ll need for my project. In order to do this I’ll be using Maya and Zbrush to sculpt them. My goal is to model unique potion bottles, a cauldron, a large book, and some pots. I think these will be a good variety of items to test the artistic style I want. It’d also be good practice to see which of my initial potion designs translate best to 3D.

Prototype 2: Textures

For my second prototype I’ll be creating various textures for my project. To do this I’ll use Substance Designer and Substance Painter to create and edit the textures. My goal is to make various stylized textures that I can use throughout my scene. This will prototype will take place after the first one because I want to establish the aesthetic of the models before I attach any textures to them.

Prototype 3: Movement in VR

For my third prototype I’ll be creating a simple VR environment the player can walk around in with objects they can pick up. This is my last of the initial prototypes because this will take the most time. I will be using Unity and online tutorials to accomplish this. My goal is for the player to be able to move freely around the room with responsive controls and a good camera. I also want the player to be able to pick up and move objects around the room, possibly with different physics. This room would be rather plain because I want to focus on the controls, camera, and physics of the objects.

Research Update #2

This week I found an incredibly helpful video by game developer Ryan Stevenson who talked at a Game Developer’s Conference on how the team approached creating a style for their newest game Sea of Thieves. The video goes over many different parts of the design/thought process. Ryan emphasizes the importance of research, references, and concept art so you don’t start creating things blind. He also recommends looking at others work not to steal their style but to try to understand why they did things the way they did (how they use lighting and color for example).

He also mentioned that they chose a more stylized aesthetic instead of a realistic one because those are the ones that tend to hold up better. I couldn’t agree more. While realistic and hyper-realistic games are impressive, it wasn’t really until this console generation that the hardware was powerful enough to handle such detailed models. Even then only AAA companies can afford to spend so much money to make these pricy games. Older games that were “realistic” have aged poorly aesthetically and this is something I want to avoid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzppoQTG3m0

Research Update #1

While I wasn’t able to set aside time to find/use a VR headset to test some games, I did learn a lot about how to make a VR game in Unity. Like most things in Unity it’s easy to start, but difficult to polish. Unity has a helpful tutorial that walks you though the basics of VR development with helpful videos, explanations, code, and tips. Unity has many more VR tutorials of increasing difficulty and scope that I’ll need to review/practice on my own to get a feel for how the engine handles things.

I also realized I’ll need to take an in-depth look on how to make effects (smoke, fire, lighting, etc.) in my project and how I’d import them into Unity. I’ll also need to look up a lot of reference on how to use Unity’s physics engine as I have little to no experience with it.

I’ve started compiling a list of the various potions the player can make in the game and thinking about how they can make them. I’ve been researching various mythos on potions, spells, and magic for inspiration. These have lead to me including ingredients I never would of thought of on my own and fun nods I can make to their origin.

Research Plan

Since I’m very familiar with 3D modeling and the software involved, the main focus of my research is going to be on game design and coding. I’m currently in Game Design 1 class and learning the basics of coding in Unity. While I do have a basic knowledge of how to code simple games, this project is more elaborate and requires me to do a lot of research to see how much the Unity engine is capable of. I know it has been used to make several VR games, but I don’t know how different coding for VR is vs. coding for a computer game.

I’ll also have to go through other VR games that have been made, and possibly play them if I can use a headset, to get a feel for how those games feel to play. The controls will be a very important part of my project because I don’t want the player to feel that they aren’t responsive enough or too responsive. It needs to find a nice balance that will most likely result from a lot of trial and error.

Finalized Concept

The Project

My project idea is to create an interactive virtual reality tech demo where the player character can interact with various physics objects in their environment. The setting is in a wizard’s hut filled with strange plants, viles, books, and a cauldron. The focus of this experience is to mix potions in the cauldron in the middle of the room. They would do this by selecting object and pouring/placing them in the cauldron to make various potions with increasing difficulty and powerful effects. There will be a large potion book the player can flip through to see the various potions they’ve made and how they made them.

Last semester in my animation class my final project was a wizard’s room stylized to look like a low poly game similar to late 90s and early 2000s 3D games. While the model in the final project were serviceable, over the course of the past couple of months my skills in 3D modeling and texture work have advanced. Because of this I wanted to revisit that old project in a new light. I really love 3D environmental design and focusing my thesis around it seemed like the obvious choice. This project will also give me a great portfolio piece once it’s complete because I hope to pursue 3D environmental design and texturing as a career.

Why My Project?

There are a lot of VR games and experiences already out there, but I feel very few take advantage of their medium. The goal of my project is to create an immersive environment the player and walk through and interact with in an engaging way. I’ll be focusing on VR headsets that include handheld controllers to help with this immersion. The player will need to physically reach out and grab the objects they want to interact with and maneuver. The experience will be a calming one the players can easily jump in and out of, it’s not meant to have a lot of mechanics. It’s something they’d play to unwind.

I’ve seen a lot of different VR games, from ports of popular console titles to game specifically made for the console. What I feel will separate mine is its overall tone. It’s meant to relieve stress and help the player relax similar to something like Abzu (a game where you gently move through a colorful and scenic ocean) but with the interactivity and VR capabilities of a game like I Expect You To Die (a spy games that has you go through various missions but has time limits and different elements to increase the difficulty of each stage and induce stress).

Style

My project takes a lot of aesthetic influence from 3D games that came out in the late 90s and early 00s. These games had a more cartoonish styles (whether intentional or not) due to the limitations of the hardware at the time. This resulted in characters and environment with sharper edges and clear geometric shapes in their designs. My project won’t actually be low poly like their inspiration, but rather a more modern version of that style. My models will be more details and have cleaner models, but retain that geometric focus and cartoon aesthetic.

From Concept to Prototype

Taking this project from concept to prototype will be a bit of a challenge, but one I’m confident I can complete. My first step would be modeling the different environmental set pieces that will be in the scene using various programs (Maya, Zbrush, Substance Designer) then arranging them into a game engine. I’ll be using Unity for this project because of it’s VR capabilities. Once in Unity I can begin to assemble the scene and fiddle with the physics of the engine. From there I will write and edit code to make it into a proper interactive experience.