Destructible Stunt: Bridge Bombs

For my race level, there is a bridge that is destroyed by a team of Apache helicopters. While the end result is not exactly going to look like this, the concept is generally the same.

Vehicle: 1972 Winnebago Brave

Here are some final beauty shots of my vehicle project this semester, a 1972 Winnebago Brave, modeled in Maya 2015. Later on in the semester this vehicle will be implemented into a racing game being constructed by all of the sophomore classes.

(Click on the images to view them in full resolution)

In these shots the model has been implemented into Unreal Engine 4, with 6 different materials applied, 3 being tiling 'generic' materials for the metal and rubber, one 1:1 painted texture for the body, a simple cloudy texture for the windows, and a customizable license plate, which I plan in the future, when we begin implementing the cars into our race game, to make a randomly selected material chosen each time the vehicle spawns.

Concept Work: Song of the Ten Thousand Year Tapestry

I've been thinking about what I want to do for thesis, and since I had a little bit of free time I thought I'd whip up some early stuff so I remember what the ideas were. Admittedly it's quite early to be thinking about, but I would like to build up ideas while I have the time to think.

Song of the Ten Thousand Year Tapestry is a fairytale adventure set in the Dark Ages. A tailor's son tries to save his family treasure, a magic self-weaving tapestry that depicts his family's past, present, and future, from an evil king (a fairytale version of William the Bastard) seeking to abuse it for his own purposes.

Historically, I was heavily influenced by the Bayeux Tapestry depiction of the Battle of Hastings as well as the kingdoms of the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons. In media I drew influences from the movie Dragonheart, and games like the Banner Saga, Legend of Zelda (Both the early concept art of Katsuya Terada and the cel-shaded world of Windwaker), and Broken Age. In a way, this idea is a blending together of many of my favorite things, put into one of my favorite (but criminally under-explored) historical periods, the early Dark Ages of the 8th-10th centuries, a period where the Normans, Byzantines, Vikings, and Saxons all thrived and created much of what would become the classic Middle Ages.

While very Zelda-esque in appearance, 10KT would play much more like a classic adventure game, focusing on the problem-solving, critical thinking, and using the environment over swordplay and violence. Being a simple tailor, you are massively outclassed by the Norman knights who obstruct your path and can only very rarely try to fight them directly. You will soon throw away your sword altogether in favor of a magic needle.

While I am still working out the details on how specifically I would want it to look, there are a few elements I have set. There is very little red, that color being reserved exclusively for the bright Tapestry and important elements relating to it. Environments and characters have exaggerated proportion and a saturated, painted illustration appearance, with duller colors being associated with dangerous things like the Normans, mundane weaponry, and certain architectural elements. Friendlier characters are brighter, cooler shades.

I hope to explore this concept further as the semester goes on, as well as into the summer, along with other possibilities for thesis. I can certainly say right now that I am very excited about this and, if I learn the sufficient skills, I plan to experiment with it in Unreal to further refine my designs.

Fort Mexizona Story Board

Here is a quick, simple story board of my racetrack design for Fort Mexizona, walking you through all 4 laps of the race and highlighting any important stunt details.

The majority of the stunts are helicopter and/or explosion based. This is an important element of the design process.

Racing Level Concept: Fort Mexizona

 

My racing level was adapted from one of my earlier ideas in the last semester, Fort Mexizona, a nuclear armed military base in the vague southwestern United States region. In the distant future of 1999, World War 3 is on the horizon, and it's only a matter of time before those nukes start flying free! But perhaps the catalyst will not be some world power, but a band of misfit street racers with no regard for anything but speed...

Much of the level is rocky terrain and dirt roads, bristling with military buildings, barbed wire, guard towers, and other various military/Arizona decor. There is a brief section where you leave the road to drive on top of a stationary train on a suspended bridge, and as the race progresses the military base starts to actively attack the racers and the track itself in an attempt to stop them.

The track contains numerous stunts, and there is an ambient atmosphere of chaos as artillery fires, helicopters maneuver around, and planes bomb the road. There is seldom a time when something is not firing or exploding near the racers. On the 2nd lap, bombers begin attacking the spiral section of the track. Tanks create impassable barricades on the 3rd lap, forcing the players into the railroad/minefield route for the last 2 laps of the race. On the 4th and final lap, a squadron of attack helicopters destroys the railroad out from under the racers in a massive fireball.

Array Lights Video Demo

In Programming we've been starting to cover arrays, in this case using them to create a highly adjustable system of moving lights.

Admittedly I've had some difficulties fully comprehending this, although with what we walked through in class I was able to tinker a bit and make this spaceship taking off. Hopefully as the semester progresses I'll be able to understand it better but for now, flashing lights are cool.