Unit- 67 and 68

Task-2
Harry Dawson
The stimulus
In this task I have been asked to develop a 3D environment to fit into a game
that has been released in the past 5 years. I must then animate this
environment, whether this is an animated camera showing the environment, or
having animated aspects in the environment such as wind, water, or anything
else. In order to do this successfully, I will be looking to make this environment to
the best of my ability, as it must fit well into the chosen game. This means in
order to please the client, I must analyse many things, such as visual style,
polygon count, and file sizes in order to ensure the chosen game engine could
play it, as well as making it suit the chosen themes and visuals of the rest of the
game. Throughout this document, I will be showing my preproduction portfolio
which will contain my initial ideas, legal and ethical considerations and
specifications such as what audience to aim at.
Plausible games to consider
To begin this task, I must obviously choose a game of which the environment will
be set in. To determine this, I will look at a varied amount of games that have
been produced in the last five years that I have knowledge about, as this will
help understand the style and atmosphere of the game. So to establish what
game I will use, I will devise a mood board detailing different games available.
Game Mood Board- Past five year games that I may consider
[Mood Board provided]
Which Game to Choose
From this list of games, have come up three that I may consider doing. These
three I have singled out for multiple reasons, each of which I will talk about
below. This will highlight the benefits of using that specific game, and why I think
it should be considered for this project.
The legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Of all the legend of Zelda games, Twilight Princess is considered the most
realistic in visual terms. It is because of this that I believe this game would be
suited to this project, as it will allow a large amount of creativity, as it is a
fantasy game, but it will also allow me to show off my modelling skills as it will
need to look detailed as well. Whereas an alternative Zelda game such as The
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker would be less suited, as that game takes on a
more cartoony look, with cell shading. This games scenery therefore takes a
more basic and simple look to it, which I believe would not portray my skills in as
good a light, as I would be restricted by that theme. So this is why I am
considering Twilight Princess for this project. In addition to this, the game has

been and still is a popular game, of which many ages play it. I think that because
it is a Legend of Zelda, it caters to the younger fan base, but also because this is
the most mature Zelda game in the series, it also attracts older gamers, so the
game has a large audience. It has also been recorded that it was the best selling
Legend of Zelda game to date, and as of march 2001, it had sold 5.82 million
copies on the Wii, and 1.22 million copies on the Gamecube. I believe these
figures back up my statement that there is a large target audience out there for
this game. While this game was initially released in 2005, it has had multiple re
releases on different platforms and versions, the latest of which was in 2011,
which puts it within the 5 year range.
Halo ODST
My second game I was considering is Halo: ODST. I thought this would be a good
game to create a new environment for, as it has interesting, yet quite simplistic
layouts and scenery. The whole game is based in a futuristic earth, and has the
player free roam throughout a city. This free roam feature is unlike any other
Halo game, making it not only unique, but also making it a good game for a new
environment which the players can explore. This aspect would give me the ability
to come up with interesting environment designs, and as the game is based on
earth, it will make sticking to a theme a lot easier, e.g.. Cityscapes. Also, as this
is a Halo game, a FPS where the player is thrown into combat against aliens, it
makes the environments even more interesting and adaptable, as the game
contains a combination of human and alien aspects to it. This makes each piece
of scenery unique with human a compilation of human structures, alien
structures, and details like battle wounds given to the environments, such as
craters, damaged foundations, fires, and rubble. These small details that fit into
this game could combine to make very interesting environments for the player to
both explore and look at. As the game is a FPS, it also means the player has
more visibility of the places around them, meaning more detail can be put into
the environments which the players will be able to see and analyse. The game is
also a very popular Halo game within the series, and the lack of a multiplayer
built within it, unlike most other Halo games, means that the story is played
through a lot more than other Halo titles, making the environments a lot more
remember able and emphasised as the game is played a lot more without the
distraction of multiplayer. The game has had many high reviews, and has been
given many title such as the best FPS of year in its initial release in 2009. The
game is rated 16 which means that the game is gritty. This means that
environments aren't restricted by mature contents such as blood. This is good as
the game is set during wart times, and to be able to include more mature
content means that the environments can look a lot more realistic.
Star Wars- The Old Republic
My final consideration is the popular MMORPG based in the star wars universe. I
am considering this game for a number of reasons. Firstly, the game is, like
motioned above, an online role playing game. And this genre of gaming always
hosts hundreds of different locations, made for the players to explore. The Old

Republic is no exception, which hosts hundreds of places on many different

planets, each with their individual themes and flares. This therefore means that
what is expected within the game to fit the genre can be essentially anything,
making it the most adaptable game out of the three I have chosen. The freedom
to create different kinds of environments yet still fitting into the game is vast,
which would make the creative process a whole lot easier and effective. In
addition to this, as the game is a Role playing game set I the past yet also with a
futuristic theme, it makes almost any idea or concept plausible. This game
feature free roam elements, much like many online RPGs, which means that the
player is free to explore any environment they are in. this means that the
environment in the game can be both large and open for the player to explore
every nook and cranny, as well as smaller quest specific places, aimed at guiding
the player to the right place. This once again makes the environments vary
greatly on where the player is in the game. Being an online game means
however, that while the environment scan be vast, the overall detail of the
textures and polys are of a lower standard to those games that are based on
consoles. This is both good and bad, as it means that it would be in theory easier
and quicker to model, however, it would also mean that in the end the results
would not look as good. As the game is Massively Multiplayer, it means that the
game is very popular, and now that the game has been made a purchase once
game, more and more people are beginning to play. This means that the
audience is once again large, and as it is based in the starwars universe, a series
that attracts children and adults alike, it means that many people, old and
young, will be playing it. This does restrict the designs somewhat, as
environments cant be too graphic/ mature, but it also means that there will
always be people who would like the environments created.
The game I have chosen:
I have decided to choose Halo ODST for this project. While it does not give the
most freedom in designs, it is also not restricted, as the age rating of being a
sixteen means that it can include a wide variety of aspects. In addition to this, I
believe that choosing a first person shooter will make the layout design go a lot
more smoothly, as it is easier to plot where things should be to fit the first person
view. Thirdly, I am familiar with the visual themes of the game, as like I have
mentioned, it is earth based. This will involve human made structures, which has
a less organic look to it, making the modelling process easier, making it more
suited to my skill level. Because the game was released for the Xbox 360, it has
a good game engine which can render things quickly, because of this, it means
the games graphics look good, which means I am less restricted by polygon
count, file sizes etc. whereas the other options were more restricted, one being
online exclusive, and the other being a GameCube import.
Visual Style
[Visual Style Provided]
Visual style explanation

So as I can see from the compilation of concepts and gameplay images on the
visual style mood board, I can begin to see a theme occurring. This is the theme
of a futuristic, metal like city. As the whole game is based in this city, it is clear
that a lot of thought was put into the atmosphere and architecture of the city.
The buildings mainly consist of box like shaped, making a futuristic yet also
industrial combination. The images depict the city as somewhat dirty, as it is
based during a war that has sprung out in the city, as such, the city is deserted
of civilians. This further reflects in the state of the buildings and scenery, as
there is smoke emerging from most the structures. This is something I should
consider when designing my environment, as it means that if I have any human
architecture present, it should not be clean and undamaged. Furthermore, the
mood board also shows that the human like aspects are still present, despite it
being futuristic. Aspects such as roads and sidewalks, which still retain
resemblance to roads we have presently. However they do have a more metal
like appearance, reflecting the lights scattered around to emphasise the
loneliness of the city. I think its important to be able to capture the mood that is
already present in the game, as it will help the new environment blend in more
seamlessly. As the main materials used in the city is metal, the main colour
schemes tend to be dark and industrial. This means it mainly consists of greys
and whites, aside from the alien vehicles presents in some, which are a more
organic shape with a brighter colour scheme of purple. The last thing that I
should consider is the layout of the lighting. Throughout the game, the city is
often seen in the darkness, as such, there is need for lighting, and this is done by
small lights scattered across the city in forms of wall lights, as well as futuristic
signs that emit light. These things should be considered if my final concept will
feature human architecture, as well as if it will be based at night or at day.
First ideas Mind Map
[Mind Map Provided]
Ideas: 2D Overhead Plan and Depth
[Overhead view of the map]
Ideas: 3D Perspective outline
[Perspective concept provided]
Here is a 2D overhead map out of the environment I have come up with. I have
annotated the diagram with points of interest, such as what objects are present,
and where enemies would spawn during the gameplay. These things needed to
be considered when creating the design in order to ensure the map was laid out
fairly to make the gameplay more enjoyable and possible. It also helped
determine where certain objects should be placed, such as cover points for the
player to hide behind and vantage points for the player to exploit. I have also
colour to the diagram with shading that depicts the depth of the map, dark blue
symbolising high areas, and light blue depicting low/ ground levels. It also states
on the map that the darkest blue shows where the out of bound limits are,

presenting the places where the player should no be able to go during gameplay.
This helps distinguish what is scenery, as well as making the final creation phase
easier, as I will be able to see where the environment doesnt need textures as
during gameplay the player will not be able to see it. This is a good method to
lower file sizes and render times.
The setting I am trying to establish in this environment is that of small canyon,
with a make shift base at the bottom. But to make it fit into the games themes
of war, the concept behind it is that it was originally a lake, with a highway to the
city built over it, but an alien plasma round impacted the lake, creating the large
crater located to the right side of the map, and thus evaporating the water. To
further keep the setting in a war like atmosphere, I made the highway bridge
destroyed partially, making the middle accessible as cover as it has crumbled to
the ground. This serves as both aesthetics, as well as giving the player some
cover from the enemy opposite. As the environment was originally a lake, I have
large pipes to the bottom of the canyon, where water would be extracted. These
pipes will serve as an entrance and exit to the map, where both the player and
the enemy can enter and exit, providing an entry point to he map, as well as a
plausible enemy spawn. This also helps guide the player, giving them a clear
direction, and presenting a clear understanding of where the enemy is, and
where they need to go. I designed the map with space in mind. As I wanted to
create a large opening for a large scale fire fight to take place. Not only is this
done to fit in with the games genre and style, but also to exploit the games
most popular feature, fire fight mode, which was a new addition to the Halo
game franchise.
The Animation
For this environment, I have given thought to what would fit into this
environment. And through looking at the visual aspects found already in the
game, I can see a few aspects that could be animated in the environment that
fits the themes throughout the game. Firstly, Fire. Fire is a good animation aspect
to include in my environment. And this is because of three main things. The first,
is that fire is visually pleasing, and can be animated with relative ease, while also
adding variation to the environment as whole, as it makes the scene more
interesting. The second aspect, is the fact that fire fits the visual style of the
environment, as many aspects in my designed environment would make sense
to be on fire, for example, the broken bridge, or the large crater. And lastly, fire
would fit well into the setting of the game, as it is after all, set in a war zone, and
adding fire to the scene would help emphasise this theme of war, while also
representing the theme of danger in the environment, as there is too much
danger around to put them out, as well as the fact that the war is still waging on.
The next animation I would like to add to the environment is swinging wires
dangling from the broken bridge. I think that having an animated swinging wire
hanging from the broken highway will add more realism and depth to the
environment, as it will make it seem more interactive, as apposed to having a
completely still environment, which would look boring, and a lot less realistic. By

including wires in the scenery, and having them move, I think that it will attract
the players attention to the bridge, as it will catch their attention, and by doing
so, it will intrigue the player to explore more, and make the bridge fit in a lot
better, instead of just being a pointless piece of scenery. In addition to this, I
think that once again, by including moving elements to the scene will make the
scene fit into the game more, as other environment present in the game do have
moving elements in them, to promote realism and invest the player into the
game more.
Finally, I plan on adding an animated camera to the scene, in order to showcase
the environment to the client. This camera will fly through the environment,
highlighting the main details of the scene, and offering alternative perspectives
to show off the environment.
I may also add miscellaneous animation components, such as fire on the
highway, or rain falling from the sky to create a more visual environment.
Animation Storyboards
[Wire Storyboard provided]
[Camera Position Storyboard]
[Animation component location map provided]
Legal and Ethical considerations
Throughout the designing stage, I have tried to ensure there is no material
present that could offend anyone. This is referring to gender, race, religion and
sexuality. This was not difficult to avoid when developing environment concepts,
as there are clear aspects that often offend people, and knowing them mezans I
can avoid such material in the designs. Because of this, I have avoided using
recognizable symbols for decoration, such as a religious insignia, as having these
in a game about war could easily spark controversy. Secondly, I have made sure
that there is no graphic scenes within the area. Despite the game being a
sixteen, it is still important to avoid using graphic and mature content, even if it
is set in a war zone. This means that while blood can be present on the textures,
I should not use an excess amount, or have mature themes like disembodied
bodies laying around. Throughout the actual game, despite it being I a war zone,
such scenes cannot be found, as they can easily offend people, and it is the lack
of such themes that keeps the game at an age rating of sixteen, not an eighteen.
To avoid stirring racial offence, I have avoided adding themes that may be
considered racist. This was easy to avoid, as the game is set in a specific place,
which gives me a strong guideline on what to base my environment around. For
example, the whole game is set in New Mombasa, a large city in Africa based
on earth. This means that I have based scenery on human city architecture, and
have used a plausible location that could be found near the city. This means that
it was harder to add any racial intolerance such as adding an environment based
on African shacks for example. Which could start some controversial debates
about fighting in a poor African country. However, another form of racial

intolerance could come from the enemy, who are different alien species. Even
this could offend people, if the opinions of characters within the game were
presented too strongly, encouraging themes such as xenophobia. These themes
could be implemented into the scenery, such as offensive phrases in the form of
graffiti scribbled on walls. It is because of this that I have avoided adding such
details to the environment. Finally, avoiding discrimination against gender and
age. This was avoidable as it is difficult to add things to an environment based
during war that could discriminate against gender or age. If it were object I were
creating, then there could be issues, but as most of the environment consists of
city scape architecture or natural rock formations, there is little things that could
be added to offend people.
As for legal considerations, copyright was the main concern. This is because the
environment is based within an already existing game, it means that I would
need permission to create and add the environment to the game from the initial
producers and creators. However, as this is an example for the clients, as long as
it will not be sold commercially under copyright laws, there should be no
violation to the laws. In addition to copyright, confidentiality also needs to be
considered if this was for the actual company. This would mean ensuring that no
one from the public would be able to see the designs or the finished scene before
an official release of information. Producers release small bits of information
about a production to get people excited about it, and this means reducing the
amount of leaks of information, as it can ruin the advertising campaign or spoil
surprises for the buyer to find out after the release. This just means that I would
have to make sure no information about this project will leak, this would mean
making sure I do not leave the work around carelessly for anyone to see, or to
talk about it to other people not involved in the project.
Specification
So why do I believe this environment appeals to the audience? For starters, I
believe that the appearance is an important aspect. This is because if an
environment doesnt look good and is uninteresting, it usually makes the game
and story less enjoyable as a whole, as the player is not excited about where it
will take them next, and they no longer want to explore these maps. So I tried to
produce an interesting looking place, which then brings me on to the placements
of scenery and objects. The placements in an environment is just as important,
especially in this kind of game, as a first person shooter often relies on the
creativity of weapon placements, enemy spawns, and cover. Especially with the
Halo franchise, which is always hiding things for the player to find, encouraging
the exploration of maps in the game. I think that this environment will appeal to
the audience, especially big Halo fans, as I have tried to create interesting
placements of weapons, some of which are not as obvious as others. And I think
this is only achieved when an environment has interesting aspects that the
player must navigate around, for example, in this case, the destroyed bridge, or
the placements of the rocks. These small things can often determine whether an
environment will be enjoyable to play in. In addition to secret spots, by adding a
variation of locations that the player cannot get to, I believe it adds more

variation to the gameplay, as seen by the highway bridge, which cannot be

reached by the player, but can be reached by enemies. Adding this feature to the
environments gets the players to change the way they play in the environment,
having to adapt their playing style to figure out how to attack the out of reach
enemies. For example, the player might have to scout around the map, looking
for plausible spots for weapons to be hidden in order to find a long range weapon
to take out the enemies out of reach, while also having to navigate through the
best path to get there in order to avoid other combat. I believe that by adding
these concepts to my design will overall increase the options a player can play
through the environment, which will in turn make it more fun and interesting.
This should appeal to the audience as this is what they have come to expect in a
Halo game, especially ODST with its free roam feature. This can also be referred
to the consideration of placement based around the gameplay. As a first-person
game will have hidden spots and vantage points in different places to a game
that is played in an over the head format. This is because the player will find it
easier t o see certain things depending on the viewing system. For example, if
this were an over the head perspective game, I would not have chosen to add a
bridge, as the player would not be able to see under it, which may confuse them
as to where they are on the map, whereas because it is a FP view, I can add
pillars under the bridge for the player to hide behind. The view can also alter the
places where items would be hidden, as if an item were to be hidden behind the
a rock for example, it could be seen easily in the over head view, whereas it is
relatively hidden if in first person view until the player goes around the rock to
find it. Finally, the last thing I think that will appeal to the audience is the story
behind the environment. We have established that the audience that plays Halo
3 ODST enjoys interesting environments, which gives the player a chance to
investigate, search around, and admire. I think that by adding the backstory of a
lake being evaporated by alien weapons will interest this audience, as the story
can be interpreted by the surrounding. e.g.,. The large creator, and the water
pipes at the bottom of the canyon. This kind of story telling is often seen ion the
Halo franchised, and players of the game enjoy looking around their
surroundings in order to grasp what happened before they arrived. Evidence of
this can be seen in the gameplay of this game, where audio logs can be found
throughout the campaign, explaining the story of some unknown character as
they escaped before the player arrived.
As for the animation of the environment, I think that in this environment, the
most suitable animations present should be things like lights glowing on the
bridge, or fires blazing on the ground. Or even sparks of electricity coming out of
the broken architecture. I think this will appeal to the audience as it will make it
fit more within the games atmosphere of a warzone, as well as making the
environment more interactive. Such animation can be regularly found throughout
the game, further proving that that this is what the player has come to expect
and enjoy, as it adds realism as well as aiding the atmosphere of destruction and
hopelessness, as I have mentioned before. So to do the fire, there is a simple fire
creator built into Maya, that I will use, as it is easy, quick and looks mice,
however, this type of fire tends to have a large amount of Polys, which I will need

to keep an eye on to ensure the file sizes do not become too high. Secondly, the
swinging wire I shall animate will be done by using frame by frame animation, I
will set a bone to the wire, and set a key frame in one position, and then set
another key frame in a different position. Maya will then calculate where it should
be in-between and it will result in a realistic swinging motion. The camera I will
animate through the scene will be set on a simple motion path, using the same
principles as the wire animation. I may also include more than one camera,
switching between each one to make quick cuts to see the different parts of the
scene quickly and easily. I should note that the animations required to be 30
seconds long, and I think that having these animation component looping will
still look good, and so it would fit in the game well as games often use looped
animations to keep the file sizes and renders low.
I may face a few constraints in this project when I come to making the
environment animation. It is because of this that I will list them now, in order to
reference them and ensure I avoid them when it comes to making it. The first is
polygon count. If an animation is of an object with a high polygon count, it means
that the render time will be increased, as more processing will be needed to
animate it. It is because of this that the animations need to have the lowest
possible polygon count, but for it to still look good and realistic. It is finding the
right balance between the two that often takes trial and error. The second
constraint I have already mentioned. Render time. Render time needs to be quick
and efficient, this means that the game engine can load them quickly as the
player approaches, while also being able to keep the animation going without
causing the frame rate of the game to drop due to the slow rendering which will
cause lag. This would make the game look worse rather than better, so to avoid
this, I must keep the processing needed to be as low as possible, which can be
done by lowering the detail in texture, polygon count, resolution of the image,
and frame size. Next, is the file type. Different file types compress data
differently, which will consequently make the file sizes bigger or smaller. It is
preferable to pick the file size that compresses the data the best, but also retains
the quality, in order for the file size to be smaller, resulting in quicker loading and
more space for the game memory. Once again, this is something that can be
difficult to get right, as it is the argument of what's too low quality? And what's
the best in-between?
Finally, how does the environment suit the clients? Well, the brief is to create an
environment for a game that could be added to it and fit the genre and graphics
of the game. And I think that through this analysis and development, I have
considered most of the aspects that the clients want. This include the visual
themes, the layout, the interactivity and the overall concept. And I believe that if
I can create this environment with enough skill, it should be able to integrate
with the games setting and themes easily. This goes the same with the animation
section of the task. As long as I work to the guidelines of the games already
present animation frame rates and detail, mine should fit in well with it, and be
ready to animate successfully.