DMUGA Week 10 - Style Matrix Hand-In + FMP Prep!
The style matrix has been a very enjoyable but slightly stressful experience for me (The usual then!). I liked the process because we were able to choose which projects we did in terms of environments. characters, props etc. I think I chose wisely because each one served its own purpose in aiding me to become more employable as an environment artist; I hoped I would gain certain valuable skills from doing them and at the same time hopefully demonstrating these skills to show my versatility as a games artist in general.
The HCV shows technical modelling ability, realistic texturing, and the ability to follow any reference given to me as close as is possible - good attention to detail. Behind the Door shows slightly more imaginative thinking, composition & lighting ability, and my ability to put together a small environment as a proof of concept. Finally, the shop front outcome shows even more imagination, colour theory/hand-painting ability, and whether or not I can make a visually pleasing cartoon styled environment with lots of character. These aspect combined hopefully demonstrate my versatility and consistent standard of work I am currently achieving.
These 3 images are key shots of the outcomes I produced during the style matrix:
My favourite project was the behind the door one because I loved the process I went through to make the environment, and it was in my opinion my best outcome from the style matrix. I learnt a lot from doing all 3, but this one had the added bonuses of actually turing out how I kind of imagined in my head, and being the most enjoyable one as a whole.
Summary of the Style Matrix:
I did fairly well in terms of my own personal goals and standards, but as always, there's always areas to improve upon or things I could have added to make the outcomes that much better. On example is the shop interior - I originally wanted to have one, but after doing the block-out for it, personal stress & the thought of spreading my texture sheets, triangles and effort into both areas, just made me decide to focus on the exterior for a compromise on my well-being and quality of the final outcome.
Overall, it was a good 9 weeks of experience, I learnt a lot during the process, and I certainly feel better prepared for the FMP process in terms of quality, speed, and general pipeline that is required in order to be successful. In terms of planning and organisation, my team and I will need to do the following:
- Initial rough guide
- Chunking the weeks to breakd down & reflect the general pipeline/processes
- Discussing our 'wish-list' i.e. gameplay, sounds, level dynamics, stretch goal etc.
- Asset list with grouped texture sizes, tri limits and estimated times of completion
- Job assignments & meetings x2 weekly
- Set the group deadline 2-3 weeks earlier to compensate for disruptions/crisis', and final polish/organisation
FMP Planning:
Now the first half of my final year has passed, I've only got the biggest part left to tackle... The FMP. These words have been in the back of my mind since half way through my second year and I still haven't yet got an idea yet considered of being 'the one' for definite! My team and I have been having meetings over the past month to come up with the 'perfect' idea and so far have these:
- Fascist/Communist occupied pacific island with active volcano
- Cliffside Bali/Hindu temple ruins with fantasy/ethereal atmosphere
- Gothic cathedral combined with Japanese culture/architecture - Snowy
- Nazi + Japanese occupied New York (alternative history, year 2200), horror noir
- Parody haunted mansion
- Floating market, telling a story through journey
- Native American cities in the next ice age
- Day of the dead
These ones really appeal to me:
Gothic Cathedral
Cliffside Bali Temple
After refining our choices to just 2-3 ideas, we had a chat with our tutor Chris, and everything was up in the air again, so we're back to square one! This coming week is the week that we have to have a solidified idea we're all happy with... No pressure then! I'm hoping it'll all be OK in the end and we'll pull through with an idea that everyone is pleased with.
