Unit 7: Freerunner

For this Unit we were asked to create a game location based on a time period we choose for ourselves. Using the research we did for the New york project we began to create a game level based on our chosen period.

Experimenting on unity

The era of piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1500s and died out in the 1830s after the navies of the nations of Western Europe and North America with colonies in the Caribbean began combating pirates. The period during which pirates were most successful was from the 1660s to 1730s.

In the above pictures, you can see my experimental use of unity, I used each of the tools to create the scenes. my two personal favourites is the Icelandic wasteland and the pool of water with the reflections of dirt mountains cascading high above.

I took shots from different perspectives and searched through my various options of material.

Transferring NYC into unity

I added a skybox to create a more realistic atmosphere. I have a backdrop for still images (which I later removed for realistic game play).

I added Fog and Animated materials as well as image effects

Below are some shots in unity in different angles to show off the designs.

Here you can see my water tanks, planks, rooftops and a pipe. The shot shows a city in the background with dim lights for an evening effect.

Here is an overall shot from the front. It displays the windows and billboards and all that the city contains from a distance.

Here you can see the bridge and stairs, ladders and the tiling on roofs. The reason I later removed the backdrop is because in these shots you could see it separate from the sky (no matter how you tweaked it).

Player perspective

This was a shot I took from a ledge that you get too after walking slightly off a roof.

Here are some shots in game mode that I took while walking around and jumping from building to building or step place to step place.

Looking down from a higher building.

More in game shots demonstrating the objects and props I designed and used. Some examples of props are:

- Trash bags and a bin
- Planks

- Water tanks

- Crates

Later I decided to add more buildings so that the view in game mode was more realistic and authentic.

I adjusted and scaled accordingly during this and changed up a few things while creating these new buildings on unity.

While in game mode I also found that the player could not successfully jump up onto the bridge I had made and so I found a solution by making a crate as a stepping tool to get up on this large bridge.

Special Effects and Particle effects

Special effects is the term used for various photographic alterations that create fictitious events or actions that may enhance the film’s assumed reality.

A particle system is a technique in game physics, motion graphics, and computer graphics that uses a large number of very small sprites, 3D models, or other graphic objects to simulate certain kinds of "fuzzy" phenomena, which are otherwise very hard to reproduce with conventional rendering techniques - usually highly

In 1895, Alfred Clark created what is commonly accepted as the first-ever motion picture special effect. While filming a reenactment of the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots, Clark instructed an actor to step up to the block in Mary's costume.

Particle animation is a beautiful concept from motion graphics. Using specialized software, you can simulate the movements of particles depending on the environment — for instance, music rhythm

Clark's effect may seem minor, but it was not only the birth of film special effects, but also stop-motion videos and animations. It's been said that some audience members thought a woman had actually sacrificed her life for the picture.

Modern games that don't use particle effects in some manner feel can quite bland. In essence, particles are small, simple images or meshes that are emitted and then manipulated by a particle system during their lifetime.

Particle emitters are a function of the Sprite Kit framework that allow you to specify a specific point in their display and create images that move and change over time. Using emitters, you can simulate rain, snow, fire, and many other effects in your game.

Particle effects are a type of visual effect.

What’s the Difference Between Special Effects & Visual Effects?

To put it simply, special effects are carried out on set during production, and visual effects are done in post-production. That isn’t to say that the visual effects team isn’t involved in production and the special effects team isn’t involved in post, but the creative decisions made by each team generally pertains to their respective phases in the film-making process.

As I continued to test out my NYC in game mode I made adjustment along the way. Here are some examples:

I made these stairs because the gap between these two buildings was too great. Now in game mode you can walk up these and continue your journey through the rooftops.

These bridges had gaps too large for the player and so I solved the issue in unity using the create tool and made cubes to fill in the gaps, I then used a texture on them so that they could blend in appropriately.

I edited a picture in photoshop by cropping, darkening and rotating, to create an appropriate texture for a tool box.

Using the arrow scroll to the side to view the game mode video.

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Part 2

Research

Era's in history that could be used in games

Bronze Age (c.3000 BC – c.1050 BC) ...
Iron Age (c.1050 BC – c.500 AD) ...
Middle Ages (Europe, 476 – 1453) ...
Early modern period (Europe, 1453 – 1789) ...
Long nineteenth century (1789 – 1914) ...
First and Second World Wars (1914 – 1945)
Cold War (1945 – 1991)
Post-Cold War / Postmodernity (1991 – present)

Above are some Egyptian pyramids

To the side you can see sandbags, the inspiration was trenches, I got the idea from the cold war.

Creating an ncloth in maya

After repeated fails I went to experiment with other forms of ncloths to get the hang of it before coming back to this ncloth project.

Eventually I created my first ncloth and I went very well, you can see the results below in a 4 second video taken in QuickTime player.

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Evaluation

The goal of the project was to choose a time period and a place based on it to create a game level using the research we did for our New York project. Originally I created the trenches and even created run down warehouses, unfortunately this work was lost due to a malfunction in both unity and my laptop when it refused to register the file and so I began a new project. The time period for my new project was 1660s to 1730s, the golden era of pirates during which many occupied islands where they'd establish their own republic with their own governors. My favourite part of this project was unquestionably researching the topic I have chosen as well as using Maya to create buildings based off the time era and location. It was intriguing to find out about the side not often covered by media about piracy, which was that they actually had their own republic and land to call their own for an approximately 11 or more years.

I believe the most successful part of the project was the models I have created based off the research I've done on this topic. It was quite easy to find people's different interpretations of how the islands and buildings were to look as many online, mobile and console games have covered the topic over the years.

The main problem I have encountered while working on this unit was finding the right textures that would go with the setting. If I was to repeat this unit I would have definitely started off my research earlier into the project and spend more time modelling.