Pre-Alpha Presentation

·         Moodboard Inspirations

I began looking for inspiration looking at post apocalyptic concept art, however I noticed these where very grungy and too wrecked, I had to find the right balance between sci-fi and post apocalyptic, I looked further into where the concept was from and found it has been used in a game called Defiance. A smaller version of the crater tavern but the right style I am aiming for which will help. 

·         Asset List Breakdown

I broke down the whole scene and made a big list of assets, there are around 30 altogether, and many of these are duplicated and reused in places but quite a lot of unique models are in there, going back to why I chose this scene, it was because I wanted to work on some generic props that are usually created in games all the time such as tables, monitors, payphones, ceiling fans, barriers, something that shows I can create these kind of assets well, but have a small scene within this for a good portfolio piece. 

Here is an example of my asset plan, I have used the list of assets above but expanded on it, trying to estimate how long they may take, this not only allows me to keep track of my progress but also I can use this as a check list and see if I need to modify the times at a later stage.

The Plan

At this stage I have create a weekly plan, I have estimated how long each job should take for example modelling, UV mapping and light mapping should take around 3-4 weeks while texturing should take 3 weeks with 2 weeks polishing. 

Hopefully I can stick to this and I have estimated it correctly, if not I will modify it at a later stage and try keep up with all the tasks needed to complete the scene to a good standard. 

Challenges Ahead

There are many challenges ahead but here are some that I will highlight, firstly the transition between indoor and outdoor lighting may be a bit tricky, I have never done this before I usually stick to complete indoor or outdoor scenes, however I feel I can pull this off and have good composition in my scene. Another challenge for me will be animating in UDK, I have worked on a few things here and there, the ceiling fans rotating shouldn't be a problem but if I want to expand on that, animating the monitors or adding some sort of wind in my scene then I will need to research in that area.

What I need to look into

Looking at my scene I have identified a few dynamic elements I could add in to make it more interesting, firstly I want the fans to rotate, I also want the monitors to be animated and that is something I need to look into, other elements I have been thinking about are the paper flags to be swaying as well as the bulbs on the outside. In addition to this I feel adding music to a scene can capture the atmosphere you want, so either adding relevant background music or having some sort of music playing that sounds like it is coming from the speakers or even both. 

As much as I want to create the whole tavern I am not sure if I can pull it off to a good standard in time, so I will focus on the interior scene and create scenery such as trees, rocks, terrain surrounding the back which is viewable. However if I have time I would like to extend the tavern itself. 

Looking further into the terrain, I want to create the river that looks like is it flowing at the side and the bridge, I have been looking into the UDK terrain editor and vertex painting for this and should have something to show soon. 

The interior of the tavern is almost completely blocked out, the only thing missing are the paper flags, my next step is to break it down into an asset list and also identifying exactly what I want on the outside. 

Chosen concept and breakdown

This module is based on advanced 3D rendering, and the focus of the next 12 weeks is to create a 3D scene and cinematic based on a concept. But not only to create a scene but to look further into methods and process when creating environments and this is what the blog is for.

I have chosen a concept based on a futuristic styled diner created by Hethe Srodawa, there are several concepts on this piece but I want to focus on the interior of the diner itself rather than the exterior.
The reason I have chosen this concept is because it has a unique style, you see many futuristic concepts out there that are very similar in some way or another but I like how this has a bit of colour in and it draws you eyes to the little details in the scene.

Here are the two interior concepts I will be working off;

After some searching I have found the exterior concepts for this piece, I would like to expand and do the whole scene however I feel it may be too much of a task with two other modules which include environments along with this. So instead I will focus on the concepts above while taking reference from the exterior concept to build around the back of the diner. 
The idea is to use the large rocks and trees to surround the back of the diner to make you feel that you are at the back of the building rather than at the entrance which the concept shows. I like the idea of using the metal bridge and valley surrounding the back which could give some dynamic movement to the scene  with the water, along with the monitors playing a video and ceiling fans moving. In addition to this to make the environment more believable I feel adding custom music to sound like it's coming from the speakers will help.

The problem I have come across is how I will create a cinematic on this very closed-in scene, which will have to be 30 seconds to a minute long. For the cinematic, I'm thinking of basing on the players perspective starting from the door entrance, but I will produce a storyboard at a later stage. Another problem I have come across is the playable area, it is quite closed-in so there is not much room for movement like a real game would have, having said that I will continue with it.

Here is a list of things I need to consider;

• Mix of indoor and outdoor lighting
• Not very modular, many unique assets
• Outside terrain 
• Water shader 
• Foliage

I have now broke the scene down identifying the assets needed and now I have a much better understanding of what is needed and if this project is realistic in the time given.

Here are the prop items

Here are the walls and floors