I'll be honest. As an artist, documentation is my nightmare. Fortunately if i ever land a job in the industry I'll hopefully have little or no input as to the contents of such documentation. Still, as much as i hate it, i recognise the need to produce documentation whilst on this course. In order to be able to understand and follow that which is outlined i should have experience creating those very reins.
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This will be a small scale project focusing on a specific scene. The scene in question is a market street in Paris. Though small, something with this much detail will still be a challenge. It is also important to portray as much culture as possible.
My personal aim for this project is to portray a realistic environment. A high attention to detail is crucial to achieve a photo realistic finish. There needs to be a special mention of the area where separate objects meet such as where the bottom of a building meets the street. Many games have a very harsh line where scenery objects meet.
This project will be released on the playstation 3. The reason for this being that whilst difficult to develop for, the additional power will allow the realisation of this artistic vision. This is not intended to be a stylised or low res project. The graphical level of detail should be inspired by the likes of uncharted 2.
The genre concerned here is a platformer, so as well as the visual elements, attention needs to be payed to the interactivity of the environment. Walls need to be scalable and as such will need sufficient geometry to do so. The market stalls themselves should be able to be climbed on top of.
This is aimed at the slightly older gamer. Although it is a platformer, the content involved is slightly more mature. The puzzles will require a bit more thought. As a rough estimate anyone between 15 - 40 should enjoy this game.
All concept work will be completed in either photoshop or painter with preliminary work being completed traditional.
3D models will be made in 3ds max with the texturing taking place in photoshop.
Zbrush will aid the making of normal maps, with xnormal being used to bake them.
Specs -
The lead character should not be typically heroic. Stay away from cliches such as tall and muscly. An average figure with a bit of a belly should be aimed for. Due to the lack of classical hero styling special attention must be payed to the outfit and silhouette to make the character iconic. The character will be wearing a waistcoat over a vest top as if it has been added as an attempt to look better dressed. Go for a warm but slightly dulled colour scheme. For the character's face make it interesting by exaggerating some features and creating a strong profile.
Hair should be slicked back and slightly grey.
The final model should be up to 20000 triangles with 2 x 1024 diffuse textures and additional normal and specular maps.
One level of detail will be required at 3000 triangles with one 1024 diffuse map.
This specific NPC should be dressed in an apron over a fitted top with vertical stripes. Many chains should be hanging from their belt. The face should be recognisably french looking.
The triangle count is 8000 triangles for the main model with the level of detail coming in at 2000 triangles. Both should be textured with one 1024 diffuse map. The main model should have additional normal and specular maps.
A few vehicles should be scattered around the environment but this particular one is a three wheeler. The rear is covered in mud so much that you can barely read the number plate. The paint is scraped so much on one side that it looks like its had an accident. Inside it has horrible seat covers - faded spots of purple and yellow. The car should tell a story, inviting questions. It is clearly not your average parked car. Perhaps this one is integral to the main story.
The tri limit for this car will be 9000 triangles and it will be textured with one 1024 diffuse texture and a specular map.
The environment is one street albeit rather long. To make it interesting lots of the buildings have arches and alleyways which add extra explorable space to this scene. The time of the year is festive so hanging above and across the streets are various decorations. The road should begin as tar but transition into cobbles as it gets further along the street. A main gutter should run right along the middle. Half way down the street between market stalls is a statue of french philosopher Jean Paul Satre. The market itself is basically a food market and should be stocked as such.
The tri limit for this whole street scene is 50000 triangles which includes the stalls and their main stock displayed as part of the stall. The maximum number of diffuse textures for this street scene are two 1024 maps. Additionally four 256 x 256 tileable textures can be used mainly for the walls and the floor. The same amount of normal and specular maps can also be used.
The main props in this environment will be cardboard food boxes and trash littered around. A lot of this will be able to be reused. A set of props totalling 2000 triangles should be sufficient to decorate the street. Include bin bags, cardboard boxes, bottles, paper, empty cartons etc.
One 1024 x 1024 diffuse maps should be used for all the textures. The objects are quite small and will not require a normal map but a specual map of the same size can be used.
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Well there you go, that's my attempt. I feel as if it is nowhere near comprehensive enough. But then again i imagine a lot more time would be invested in a proffesional design document. Having said that i did spend a reasonable amount of time trying to envision the whole thing and provide descriptions as well as the technical specifications.
I do think that was a worthwhile exercise just in terms of the scope. Although i have produced design documents for my game production projects they have all been for individual elements such as one character or a prop. Having to consider an entire game and all that it contains really made me appreciate documentation on a whole new level. I think i shall be spending a bit more time on my documentaion in the future if anything just to prepare for the FMP next year.
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