Happy holidays every one, hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year! :-)
White Rhinoceros
Modeled using XSI and ZBrush.
The hidden world
Arranged using UDK.
ZBrush
ZBrush Sculpts.
Kitchen
Modeled using Maya and mentalray.
Companion cube
Modeled using Maya and mentalray.
Saturday, 24 December 2011
Saturday, 3 December 2011
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Creating a 3-D model of St George's Building
Creating a 3-D model of St George's Building:
I have finally finished working on the 3-D model of St George's Building, using the 3-D modelling program 'Maya'. To do this, I referred back to my photographs I had taken earlier and split the photographs up into sections that I would have to model, the rest of the building that hadn't been split would be modelled by duplicating another layer.
After splitting up the building into sections of modelling to be made, I used polygon planes and the extrusion tool to shape the planes into St George's Building and eventually finished with the wireframe model below:
I faced many problems whilst modelling St George's Building, mainly relating to the specs of my PC. Unfortunately it finds it hard to cope with the requirements of texturing and modelling, and therefore ends up crashing the program or freezing my screen for hours - proving extremely frustrating for me, and set me back by three days. Despite the model being completed now, I have decided to try and use the Media Lab computers more often now, as they fit Maya's requirements and can handle models such as mine with much more ease.
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| Above: My model of St George's Building, created in Maya. |
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| Above: I created a simple polygon plane and added an Ocean Shader on top of it, in order to mimic the River Wensum. |
Monday, 28 November 2011
Storyboarding the lighting show
Storyboarding the 3-D lighting show:
Today I began to storyboard the 3-D lighting show out as firstly, a draft then created a neat version. This version displayed notes on the actions taking place within the shot, the visual effects, sound effects and any possible dialogue.
I added a light layer of colouring onto the drawings to give myself an idea of what colours would work well in the lighting show, how ever, once I get to the editing stages on the project I suspect that these colouring ideas may change.
My next stages of work for this project, is to begin work on designing the 3-D model and creating some visual effects in video-editing software, such as Sony Vegas and Adobe After Effects.
I have noticed that this project is incredibly short as opposed to other projects we have been set in the past, which has made me realise that the amount of work to be done may not fit perfectly to the set deadline. Therefore, I may need to make cuts on my ideas for this project, for example, I may not be able to model one large building and a hand in Maya in time. Due to time constraints, I have decided to draw out the hands on paper and in Photoshop, rather than model them. I must note that if this project was not hypothetical, and was to actually take place, I would model the hands in Maya.
Saturday, 26 November 2011
Creating and developing ideas for the lighting show
Ideas for the 3-D lighting show:
After carrying out a sufficient amount of research into other 3-D projection mapping light shows, projectors and the NUCA campus, I feel ready to start creating ideas for the lighting show.
Above are some mind-maps I have written, exploring different possibilities for the 3-D projection mapping light show. I had to ensure ideas were realistic, but interesting enough to captivate a viewing audience and make them remember NUCA, in particular the Games Art and Design course.
I have decided to make use of the River Wensum that runs next to St George's Building, and project part of the lighting show into the river.
Of course, this may have created several problems when finding a position for the projector, if sufficient research hadn't been made. How ever, I have found a way to overcome this problem by exploring the area of St George's Building. I noticed that there is a platform lower than the public walkway, that is positioned only inches above the waterline. Placing a projector on this platform would be perfect for the projections that would be used on the river and bottom half of St George's Building.
How ever, if this projector was to be aimed higher, so that the projection would hit the top half of the building, it could possible create distortion as the viewing audience would not be level with where the projector was positioned. Therefore, I have decided to add another projector that would be positioned so that it could project the top half of the projection light show.
During the research stages, I discovered that projectors that emit 20,000 lumens would be best for projecting onto large buildings such as St George's.
The show would start with movement under the water, then suddenly hands would rise quickly out of the water, making water spray everywhere. In the real-world, this effect could made using a high pressure spray cleaning machine, which would be placed in the windows of the building. How ever, virtually, this effect could be made on software.
The hands will then move upwards across the building, trying to get inside of it by knocking on the wall, trying to open windows and bend the columns. After trying to bend a column, the hands break off one of the columns and drops it into the water. This effect would be made using software such as Maya and Adobe After Effects, coupled with a water rippling sound effect and possibly the use of a high pressure spray clean machine to add mist.
The hand then punches the middle of the St George Building wall, thus creating a hole in the wall. The sheer pressure of the hand's punch makes pieces of paper fly out of the building. Each with a picture of students' work on. The hand then proceeds to pick up pieces of paper that have fallen into the river, one at a time. Holding the work up, in order to let the viewing audience see students' pieces. After looking at the piece of work, the hands hang the piece of work up by folding it across the roof of St George's. After showing the audience each piece of work, the hands proceed to break off the decor on top of the building, breaks it into pieces in it's hands and then push the pieces into the broken hole, to fill it up.
Interactivity:
To incorporate interactivity into this lighting show, I have decided that a motion sensor could be placed near the path the audience would walk across. Once a member of the audience would walk past this sensor, movement would be seen in the River, in order to look like the creature is following the audience member. This creature would be the hands later to be seen in the lighting show.
Above: Here are some animations I made to show how movement underneath the river would be made as the viewing audience walked past the sensors. The direction the creature would make, would depend on what direction the audience member walked past the sensor. I made the second animation before I made the final windows on St George's Building, so please ignore them!
4-D Experience:
Despite being expensive, another idea I came up with is the incorporation of the "4-D experience", which has been used at important events and places like the London Eye. After reading many positive reviews praising the 4-D experience, I feel that the use of the 4-D experience in our projection show could reinforce how special NUCA is,as it would add another element to the show that would make the audiences remember us.
I feel that the use of water spraying and wind blowing could be used in shots when the hands raise out of the water. To add another feature that would heap originality onto our show, would be to add smells to different shots by using aroma machines, in order to achieve the 4-D experience. Smells such as the 'sea' or a subtle smell of 'fish' could be used when the hands make their present, in order to reinforce how the hands live in the river. These machines could be placed on the floor of the walkway, aiming up towards the audiences' faces.
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Finding a suitable building to project onto
Finding a suitable building on the NUCA campus:
I decided to walk around the NUCA campus, in order to establish which building has the most interesting architectural features, yet wasn't located in a place that could cause difficulties for crowds gathering (e.g. near a busy road.)
After looking closely at the Media Lab, Duke Street Building and Gunton's Building, St George's Building interested me most, due to it's various amount of different-sized windows, it's location, it's intricacy in architectural features and also because it overlooks the River Wensum. I feel that this building would work well with a 3-D projection mapping show because of these features, combined with it's large, long walls.
Below are some pictures I took of the building, in order to start 3-D modelling the building on Maya.
I decided to walk around the NUCA campus, in order to establish which building has the most interesting architectural features, yet wasn't located in a place that could cause difficulties for crowds gathering (e.g. near a busy road.)
After looking closely at the Media Lab, Duke Street Building and Gunton's Building, St George's Building interested me most, due to it's various amount of different-sized windows, it's location, it's intricacy in architectural features and also because it overlooks the River Wensum. I feel that this building would work well with a 3-D projection mapping show because of these features, combined with it's large, long walls.
Below are some pictures I took of the building, in order to start 3-D modelling the building on Maya.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
A history of visual effects
A history of visual effects:
I decided that I should research the history and progression of visual effects, in order to establish popular effects in the media and what ones could be used in my sequence.
I watched a video on YouTube that showed different clips of visual effects (e.g. green screen chroma keying) that changed technology, the way movies were made and how they made a statement to society.
This research into the history of visual effects has helped me learn the possibilities of augmenting reality in my sequence and how it could advertise, emphasise and draw attention to certain features in a sequence.
I recognised a lot of visual effects in the clips through seeing the clips myself during my childhood/recently, and have learnt how to create various visual effects in Sony Vegas and Adobe After Effects, due to studying Media Studies for four years. How ever, I have decided to re-acquaint myself with tutorials on-line, in order to learn how to combine these effects with 3-d models/2-d photographs.
I decided that I should research the history and progression of visual effects, in order to establish popular effects in the media and what ones could be used in my sequence.
I watched a video on YouTube that showed different clips of visual effects (e.g. green screen chroma keying) that changed technology, the way movies were made and how they made a statement to society.
This research into the history of visual effects has helped me learn the possibilities of augmenting reality in my sequence and how it could advertise, emphasise and draw attention to certain features in a sequence.
I recognised a lot of visual effects in the clips through seeing the clips myself during my childhood/recently, and have learnt how to create various visual effects in Sony Vegas and Adobe After Effects, due to studying Media Studies for four years. How ever, I have decided to re-acquaint myself with tutorials on-line, in order to learn how to combine these effects with 3-d models/2-d photographs.
Monday, 21 November 2011
3-D projections that have been used by companies...
3-D projections that have been used:
Some examples of companies use of projections are below:
Notes about the above video: I believe that the artist's incorporation of the building's architectural structure with the visual effects fascinating. I particularly enjoyed how the artist used explosions and cracks as visual effects (coupled with strong use of sound effects), in order to add drama to the sequence e.g. 0:24-0:31 seconds. Also, the opening of the building (0:46 seconds) added a real sense of 3-D elements to the sequence and I realised that this effect could be used in my own projection. For example, the building could be opened and could show what's inside of the building.
Notes about the above video: The first thing that struck me about this video was the time-lapse at the start of the video, showing the building from early evening to night. I found this personalised the video, as it allowed the audience to gain an insight into the work being done in order to set up the projectors. This video highlighted the artist's use of combining sound effects and music to the lighting of the projection. For instance, fast-pitch sound effects would fit to lighting that flashed quickly to the beat e.g. 0:30 seconds. Also, another effect that stood out well to me in this video, was the way that the building's columns augmented and changed their structure to the music. I feel that this effect could work really well in my sequence, if the building I select has columns, barriers, slabs, etc.
Notes about the video: I loved the artist's use of lighting within this video, and I feel it could work really well in my own projection sequence alongside architectural features such as columns, windows, tiling/slabs on walls or on the floor. I feel the lighting that followed a specific path to highlight the outline of the shoe (0:26-0:40 seconds) worked well in emphasising certain features on the shoe that might be unique selling points of the shoe e.g. the Nike brand logo adds status to the wearer. Therefore, I feel this effect works well in advertising the product incredibly well
Some examples of companies use of projections are below:
Notes about the above video: I believe that the artist's incorporation of the building's architectural structure with the visual effects fascinating. I particularly enjoyed how the artist used explosions and cracks as visual effects (coupled with strong use of sound effects), in order to add drama to the sequence e.g. 0:24-0:31 seconds. Also, the opening of the building (0:46 seconds) added a real sense of 3-D elements to the sequence and I realised that this effect could be used in my own projection. For example, the building could be opened and could show what's inside of the building.
Notes about the above video: The first thing that struck me about this video was the time-lapse at the start of the video, showing the building from early evening to night. I found this personalised the video, as it allowed the audience to gain an insight into the work being done in order to set up the projectors. This video highlighted the artist's use of combining sound effects and music to the lighting of the projection. For instance, fast-pitch sound effects would fit to lighting that flashed quickly to the beat e.g. 0:30 seconds. Also, another effect that stood out well to me in this video, was the way that the building's columns augmented and changed their structure to the music. I feel that this effect could work really well in my sequence, if the building I select has columns, barriers, slabs, etc.
Notes about the video: I loved the artist's use of lighting within this video, and I feel it could work really well in my own projection sequence alongside architectural features such as columns, windows, tiling/slabs on walls or on the floor. I feel the lighting that followed a specific path to highlight the outline of the shoe (0:26-0:40 seconds) worked well in emphasising certain features on the shoe that might be unique selling points of the shoe e.g. the Nike brand logo adds status to the wearer. Therefore, I feel this effect works well in advertising the product incredibly well
Research into the process of 3-D projection mapping
Research into the process of 3-D projection mapping:
http://videomapping.tumblr.com/http://de-war.de/eurekacarpark.html
In order to understand the possibilities and limitations (at this moment of time), I feel that it is incredibly important to research the process of 3-D projection mapping. This research will help allow me to understand what I could use to reach an optimum level of quality for the lighting show and it's efficiency in relation to production and costs.
The projection target I will be using is the wall of St George's Building, and is a flat, arbitrary surface. Therefore, I have to make sure that the projector will be positioned well enough to stop distortion from different viewing angles.
An example of how an image can be distorted from a certain viewing angle, yet perfect from another viewing angle is artist Axel Peemoeller's paintings in the Eureka Car Park, Melbourne.
Whilst researching, I discovered that by rendering the 3-D model of St George's Building from the same viewpoint as a projector would see, the image should fit to the projected surface, rather than distort.
Fortunately, I am projecting onto just one wall surface, rather than having two walls, as this would complicate matters a little more because this would require two render passes.
Sunday, 20 November 2011
A new project begins...
Today was our hand-in day for four projects: Board Game project, Apple Interactive Concept project, Archant's live brief and our Contextual Studies 1,000 word Written Report. To say I am relieved to have handed in these projects is a complete understatement, how ever, much to our surprise, the tutors gave us a new brief to do before our Christmas break.
Mark has informed us that a formalised brief will be posted onto the VLE tomorrow, but to sum up our new project briefly:
We were shown various videos from YouTube that highlighted how companies are starting to use 3-D projections to advertise their products, company, etc.
Our brief is to make our own presentation on a 3-D projection that could be used for NUCA, in terms of advertising the university or the course, within the NUCA grounds - therefore, I will have to inspect various buildings' architecture around NUCA to see which building I would like my projection to be set on.
More blog posts to follow on this brief from tomorrow onwards, the brief seems a little vague at the moment but I am sure that the posting of the formalised brief will solve any confusion.
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| Above: I have outlined key words in the new brief for quick reference when I come back to this post. |
Some examples of companies use of projections are below:
Friday, 18 November 2011
Studio work: Winning and Losing menu screens
When playing the game, the further the player progresses into the level, the more difficult the game becomes. The higher the honey pot gets filled, the quicker the shooter begins to fire, ranging from the shooter firing every three seconds at the start of the game, then shortening down to one second at level three and four.
This means that there are high chances of a build-up of pellets on the display. If the pellets build-up higher than the honeycomb shooter or hits the borders of the hive, the player loses the game.
Also, another way that the player can lose the game is if the comb of honey has been emptied, but the player has failed to fill the honey pot. An example of how this problem could arise is if the player makes the honey spill on the floor rather than position the comb so that the honey lands into the honey pot.
After completing level four, players will be greeted with this window popup. This window congratulates them on winning the game, and offers them to go back to the main menu screen where they can play the game again or try a different, harder mode.
Monday, 14 November 2011
Studio work: Digital form - Pause menu and Options Window
Today I managed to develop the Pause Window and the Options Window of the app on Adobe Photoshop.
I've kept the designs fairly simple, in order to allow any user to understand how to use the app, no matter what age they are.
I have used bright colouring and a bubble-style font, and used a yellow and orange gradient ontop of the text in order to remind the player of the game's main theme - bees and honey. Progress into the app so far seems to be steady and consistent, luckily this week I can focus on the project even more as we have Independent Study Week.
Sunday, 13 November 2011
Studio work: Digital form - Game window development
By using Maya and Adobe Photoshop, I have managed to create the display screen for when the player is playing the game. I rendered Bumblee, the hive, the honey pot and it's surroundings in Maya and then added the hexagonal honeycombs, the gigantic comb, the honey-o-meter and the pause/mute buttons with Photoshop.
I decided that bright colouring would be key in this app, so I stuck with bright colours and added gradients to the buttons, honey-o-meter and the honey for aesthetic purposes.
Friday, 11 November 2011
Studio work: Digital form - Start menu development
After completing the models in Maya, I rendered the scene and opened the file into Photoshop to add the mountains, sky and the character as a separate layer and to add titles in the options box. My next plans is to begin compiling together models needed for the display the player sees when playing the app.
Written Report and Contextual Studies: BA1 P3
NOTE: For an optimum viewing experience, please click on the images to view.
1000 word written report:
We have been set a project to write a report on video games that must be 1000 words long (how ever we are allowed a 10% extra/under word boundary.)
Having touched on this topic of video games during my A-level Media Studies lessons and finding it incredibly interesting, I have decided to choose a 'Society and Culture' theme for my written report.
After creating a mind-map of possible questions, I chose to discuss the effects video games have on society.
Columbine Massacre documentary - sums up what happened:
Do video games make a person violent? - Links to Columbine Massacre
A news report to suggest that video games are not the reason for violent behaviour, mental health issues and a bad home-life are:
This television news broadcast fits well into US General's report that school shootings centre on mental stability and home-life, rather than media exposure.
Video game addiction - is it a good or bad thing?
-------------------------------------------------------
In this lesson, I had to write about certain emotions I get when playing a certain game. I chose to think about a game that I had played longest in my 'gaming history' - the world's most popular free MMORPG "RuneScape".
Our task was to think about the game 'start to finish', different paths you can take, and the emotions you feel whilst taking these pathways.
Start ->
Player has to choose their character design ->
Player has to follow a tutorial on how to play RuneScape ->
- this feature made me excited due to the variety of clothing and character themes e.g. woodcutter, runecrafter, miner, etc.
Your decision what to do ->
a) Quests
- feelings of boredom, due to the quest length e.g. Desert Treasure lasted hours
- feelings of excitement, due to the reward at the end of the quest e.g. dragon piece
b) Combat: PvM or PvP
- feelings of excitement and happiness, due to drop rewards or combat level-ups
- feelings of sadness, anxious, due to the potential loss of your weaponry if you die
c) Skilling
- feelings of boredom, due to the slow experience rates per hour for training skills
- feelings of happiness, due to finding the game fun when levelling-up
->
Leading to the outcome/'end' of the game - desired goal fulfilled, e.g. money goal reached, a level 99/skill cape, or certain total level
- feelings of fulfilment
- feelings of happiness
- feelings of relief
For homework, we were asked to write up these feelings into a paragraph:
As I scrolled through various customisable features - gender, outfits and possible player names, that oh-so-familiar feeling of playing a new game began to set in.
What way should I go?
What path should I take? Quester, PvP, PvM or skilling? All of them?
Each choice I made breathed an air of exhilaration.
Each drop, each level-up, each quest complete bought feelings of fulfillment.
The freedom to roam and choose my own objectives accross a virtual world made each experience different to the last, and for that reason I didn't want to stop playing.
After five years, each time I log into the game, I still feel that same feeling of excitement as I did when I first started playing, many memories ago.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In this lesson, we were introduced to a French individual whose work bought together literary criticism, sociology and philosophy on subjects such as games, namely, Robert Caillois. Caillois' intention was to work towards a systematic classification of games.
Fundamental categories set out by Caillois:
Caillois defines two 'attitudes of play':
Paedia - describes a 'power of improvisation and joy'
Ludus - describes the rule-bound nature of games
Definitions of games:
Agon (a conflict between main characters) - This is a category of competitive games, based on rivalry.
Alea (chance) - These are games of chance. Examples of such games include dominoes and backgammon.
Mimicry (imitation of other people) - Mimicry games only have one rule - the player must 'fascinate the spectator' and not fall into a behaviour that will break the spell.
Ilinx (vertigo) - Games in which the player deliberately brings on a sense of vertigo - where they attempt to momentarily destory the stability of perception and inflict a kind of panic upon the mind.
For homework, we have been asked to write up around 20 lines, arguing against Caillois' statement:
As an avid gamer, one would query upon what evidential basis Robert Caillois holds that would allow him to construe such a notion to suggest that playing games is a waste of time, skill and energy. As there appears to be a wide variety of factors to suggest otherwise.
One can infer that Jane McGonigal's research and recognition of games such as 'World of Warcraft' giving players an incentive to learn the habits of heroes, might infact allow us to harness this game power to solve real-world problems. Therefore, this research reflects how Caillois may have been wrong in making the statement that gaming is a waste of energy.
One can reinforce Caillois' inaccuracy in stating gaming is a waste, through taking note of many industries such as the military, healthcare and scientific exploration's use of "serious games". As it appears apparent that "serious games"' educational purposes constitutes to an essential element of human development through allowing the user to stretch their practices in tactical-decision making. For instance, during the 19th century, the military's use of the video game 'Kriegsspiel' reminds us that playing games is not a waste of skill, but a way of gaining skill instead.
Furthermore, one can argue against Caillois' statement with a quote taken from Confucius - "find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life" - with many job positions opening across the gaming industry, such as players gaining 'Machinima' contracts, 'YouTube' partnerships or becoming play-testers, it is arguable that when combined with Confucius' quote, work can in fact be 'play' and capital can be accrued from playing games.
To conclude, with technological advancements running alongside to social development, Caillois' statement that playing games is a waste is entirely debatable in today's modern society.
1000 word written report:
We have been set a project to write a report on video games that must be 1000 words long (how ever we are allowed a 10% extra/under word boundary.)
Having touched on this topic of video games during my A-level Media Studies lessons and finding it incredibly interesting, I have decided to choose a 'Society and Culture' theme for my written report.
After creating a mind-map of possible questions, I chose to discuss the effects video games have on society.
Columbine Massacre documentary - sums up what happened:
Do video games make a person violent? - Links to Columbine Massacre
One can infer that the notion suggested by in the Anderson and Bush report may hold some accuracy upon analysis of the Columbine Massacre of 1999, in which lawyers stated that had the murderers involvement in extremely violent video games been absent “these murders and this massacre would not have occurred."
A news report to suggest that video games are not the reason for violent behaviour, mental health issues and a bad home-life are:
This television news broadcast fits well into US General's report that school shootings centre on mental stability and home-life, rather than media exposure.
Video game addiction - is it a good or bad thing?
-------------------------------------------------------
In this lesson, I had to write about certain emotions I get when playing a certain game. I chose to think about a game that I had played longest in my 'gaming history' - the world's most popular free MMORPG "RuneScape".
Our task was to think about the game 'start to finish', different paths you can take, and the emotions you feel whilst taking these pathways.
Start ->
Player has to choose their character design ->
Player has to follow a tutorial on how to play RuneScape ->
- this feature made me excited due to the variety of clothing and character themes e.g. woodcutter, runecrafter, miner, etc.
Your decision what to do ->
a) Quests
- feelings of boredom, due to the quest length e.g. Desert Treasure lasted hours
- feelings of excitement, due to the reward at the end of the quest e.g. dragon piece
b) Combat: PvM or PvP
- feelings of excitement and happiness, due to drop rewards or combat level-ups
- feelings of sadness, anxious, due to the potential loss of your weaponry if you die
c) Skilling
- feelings of boredom, due to the slow experience rates per hour for training skills
- feelings of happiness, due to finding the game fun when levelling-up
->
Leading to the outcome/'end' of the game - desired goal fulfilled, e.g. money goal reached, a level 99/skill cape, or certain total level
- feelings of fulfilment
- feelings of happiness
- feelings of relief
For homework, we were asked to write up these feelings into a paragraph:
As I scrolled through various customisable features - gender, outfits and possible player names, that oh-so-familiar feeling of playing a new game began to set in.
What way should I go?
What path should I take? Quester, PvP, PvM or skilling? All of them?
Each choice I made breathed an air of exhilaration.
Each drop, each level-up, each quest complete bought feelings of fulfillment.
The freedom to roam and choose my own objectives accross a virtual world made each experience different to the last, and for that reason I didn't want to stop playing.
After five years, each time I log into the game, I still feel that same feeling of excitement as I did when I first started playing, many memories ago.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In this lesson, we were introduced to a French individual whose work bought together literary criticism, sociology and philosophy on subjects such as games, namely, Robert Caillois. Caillois' intention was to work towards a systematic classification of games.
Fundamental categories set out by Caillois:
Caillois defines two 'attitudes of play':
Paedia - describes a 'power of improvisation and joy'
Ludus - describes the rule-bound nature of games
Definitions of games:
Agon (a conflict between main characters) - This is a category of competitive games, based on rivalry.
Alea (chance) - These are games of chance. Examples of such games include dominoes and backgammon.
Mimicry (imitation of other people) - Mimicry games only have one rule - the player must 'fascinate the spectator' and not fall into a behaviour that will break the spell.
Ilinx (vertigo) - Games in which the player deliberately brings on a sense of vertigo - where they attempt to momentarily destory the stability of perception and inflict a kind of panic upon the mind.
For homework, we have been asked to write up around 20 lines, arguing against Caillois' statement:
As an avid gamer, one would query upon what evidential basis Robert Caillois holds that would allow him to construe such a notion to suggest that playing games is a waste of time, skill and energy. As there appears to be a wide variety of factors to suggest otherwise.
One can infer that Jane McGonigal's research and recognition of games such as 'World of Warcraft' giving players an incentive to learn the habits of heroes, might infact allow us to harness this game power to solve real-world problems. Therefore, this research reflects how Caillois may have been wrong in making the statement that gaming is a waste of energy.
One can reinforce Caillois' inaccuracy in stating gaming is a waste, through taking note of many industries such as the military, healthcare and scientific exploration's use of "serious games". As it appears apparent that "serious games"' educational purposes constitutes to an essential element of human development through allowing the user to stretch their practices in tactical-decision making. For instance, during the 19th century, the military's use of the video game 'Kriegsspiel' reminds us that playing games is not a waste of skill, but a way of gaining skill instead.
Furthermore, one can argue against Caillois' statement with a quote taken from Confucius - "find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life" - with many job positions opening across the gaming industry, such as players gaining 'Machinima' contracts, 'YouTube' partnerships or becoming play-testers, it is arguable that when combined with Confucius' quote, work can in fact be 'play' and capital can be accrued from playing games.
To conclude, with technological advancements running alongside to social development, Caillois' statement that playing games is a waste is entirely debatable in today's modern society.
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Studio work: Digital form - 3-D
Recently, I have been concentrating on creating the digital 3-D models for my game, the Archant project and writing up my 1000 word report for project 3.
After deciding to take a 3-D approach, I have been trying to learn how to use Maya, through use of the books in the library, tutorials on YouTube, along with trial-and-error too.
A particularly interesting book I took out for a loan from the University library was a character modelling book written by digital artists: Jan-Bart Van Beek, Cesar Dacol Jr and Giovanni Nakpil. Reading about their digital art form history truly inspired me to learn more about 3-D modelling and texturing.
I have finally finished modelling parts of my game, and I have made a collage below of the models that I have made during these past couple of weeks. My next plans are to compile the models into a scene that I can use for a menu screen for the app, I'm planning to add effects using Adobe Photoshop.
After deciding to take a 3-D approach, I have been trying to learn how to use Maya, through use of the books in the library, tutorials on YouTube, along with trial-and-error too.
A particularly interesting book I took out for a loan from the University library was a character modelling book written by digital artists: Jan-Bart Van Beek, Cesar Dacol Jr and Giovanni Nakpil. Reading about their digital art form history truly inspired me to learn more about 3-D modelling and texturing.
I have finally finished modelling parts of my game, and I have made a collage below of the models that I have made during these past couple of weeks. My next plans are to compile the models into a scene that I can use for a menu screen for the app, I'm planning to add effects using Adobe Photoshop.
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| I have used textures such as the honey bee's fur from the Maya paint box. |
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