Masters Project

<p>Technically the Masters Project started with CAPT as its pre-production, and PI as its supplement, as we have been "strongly recommended" to do by our tutors once upon a time (March). <br><br>
Anyway this is just a quick log of what I need to add to the Production Diary hand-in:<ul>
<li>continued concept art for fungi units
<li>read article and tutorial on modular modeling
<li>bought udk modular modeling dvd, damn expensive
<li>laptop's C:\ died, rendering it un-bootable, fucking sad-face.  Lost all programs and games along with hard drive, spend £149 for repair, new hard drive, and some data recovery.
</ul></p>

CAPT individual production journal 4

After deciding that Earth went to waste due to warming and water pollution. I followed up on tutors' suggestions from presentation 1 & 2.

Spent half a day looking up environment artists from various PC game developers whose game I either have played or at least seen being played. Not all of them have individual contact information available. In the end I emailed to 12 artists whose emails worked. So far 4 replied with helpful suggestions and further resources to investigate.

Following up on their suggestions, Dev and I quickly established sets of color themes for the landscape, sky, and structures. Types of plants most likely to be there.

Spent a few days looking through books and online resources on soil types. What general types are there, what are their nutrient attributes, etc. But they all relate to gardening pretty flowers in a healthy world. They don't provide basis for the kind of land and flora design I have in mind for this environment.

Meanwhile also looked at many documentaries on plants and films that had themes of garden or environmentalism. While their ideas and styles are not directly contributing to my design direction, they sort of showed me what I don't want this project to look like.

During this search I came across a book on plant conservation. One of the articles talked about how experimental garden should be designed, and, more importantly, gave a case study on the recovery of alkaline soil through plants. However I did not pursuit that lead further for another day or two.

Also briefly looked at suggestions such as Laputa, BioShock Infinite, etc, but those floating cities are Utopian, pretty, and civilized. At least in appearance and construction. Mine is just a DIY lab of plant conservation and engineering.

Classmates I spoke to about the stuck research suggested looking into desert reclamation, and reclamation of polluted lands. Now I can't remember who suggested them, but Jack suggested one of them. It seemed so obvious and straightforward now, but at the time, for some reason, I did not think of looking straight to pollution and recovery. I blame panic.

Meanwhile I've been gathering reference images for soil types as well as rock formations. Still they don't look to fit together well.

From desert reclamation and pollution restore I came across the phrase "environmental remediation", "soil remediation", and "bioremediation". It turned out there's a whole science field, and a whole bookshelf at the library, on that topic. If only I knew.

I looked up remediation of soil contaminated with heavy metal and oil. Took down species names to look up and base concept art designs off of. Meanwhile, I revisited what kind of pollution the soil might have. Since heavy metal contamination is not visible on surface, I decided to push the oil leak part, and try to incorporate tar. I also looked up documentary photographs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after they were nuked for landscape design of a polluted, war-torn land that came to be abandoned.

Meanwhile, I compiled a color board for a polluted atmosphere, as well as some island shapes that incorporate more of the tar and destroyed building. Further research into bioremediation revealed that many types of plants are used, and not just microscopic fungi, bacteria, and algae. Unfortunately, all those savior plants' appearance are modest with similar looking blossoms. Design-wise that isn't good news, even with mutation and distortion from environmental radiation. I will have to return to the microscopic ones to find better basis for design.

CAPT individual production journal 3

Continuing doing research on soil type, and land restoration. First concept.

It's almost 9pm and haven't gone far in reading. Tried to watch documentary with one eye and read with another. Big mistake. Got a whole of 10 usable lines of data from both. Tears. Have 2 more hours then go home. Must do most concept by this weekend. PI. Rivers of tears.

CAPT individual production journal 2

Concept art stage. Not only just what the plants, lab, land looks like in detail and color, but also how the actual game are we're making will be laid out. How the path of the audience's eye will be guided by what is in the layout. What exactly will this area look like.

Dev and I both agreed warm-color, barren landscape provides a very nice contrast against vegetation. That is, if the vegetation will be mostly green. The thing is neither of us developed and researched a back story before presenting. Now the more I think and read about what this future Earth might be like, the less I'm certain the "plants" we'll be planting will all be green.

I hope Dev won't be upset if I propose too much of a change to the concept art. I'm currently trying to compact-research what this new, barren Earth could look like while still being grounded (pun intended) in some kind of current science knowledge. I definitely want the environmentalism mood to be felt, even if only as an under current.

Just now I've been reminded of possible reference material from the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Gods be with Japan and all the folks affected by those disaster. I don't know how I could've forgotten about the nuclear plant's demise while remaining aware of the earthquake and flood. But now I definitely should look more into what has happened to local flora and fauna other than mutated butterflies that were first reported. This can be done later tonight on computer, however. Right now I need to continue make use of Talbot campus library whilst it's open.

I should probably also say hi to new flat mate when they all hang out in the kitchen again, but... ... damn this social phobia to Hell and back. And to some other places too.

Oh and I have to do PI research at the same time somehow. ... Man this gonna hurt just as bad as Term 2

Current quest: Determine dead Earth climate. Confirmed traits = radiation, worn ozone layer, lack of oxygen, polluted water,

CAPT individual production journal 1

Viewed documentaries on plants, space colonization, and possible ways Earth goes to waste for concept. Did not have concept art prepared for presentation. Presentation was told need to clarify goal, and give tutors sometime definite (and visual) to look at in order for them to give feedback.

Tired of catching up because time spent on this assignment cuts off time for that assignment. Determined to stop situation from repeating. Need to make short term plans. To do that need to understand game pipeline better, as well as game engine Unity (which is needed for PI anyway).

Current "quest": install Unity, run one tutorial on Unity. Create rough concept art and color boards to pitch.

http://www.thiagoklafke.com/modularenvironments.html

search udk and modular modeling keyword.

project pitched

Made and pitched my technical and master project all together (we all did) on time afterall. Figured this is a real chance to do something that I honestly want to see happen, or at least pitch it, instead of just working for other people as I've done constantly for the 6 years since graduating college, I did just that. I thought it was a silly idea, a silly dream of a naive soul that can't sober up. So I was so nervous on that stage, putting a piece of what I truly cared about out there, I couldn't speak fluidly, remember what was on the slide, or which slide I was on. It was a disaster.

Fortunately, tutors gave me practical feedback of what to research more on, what to take a look at, how much of this silly idea would possibly be doable by me. There is a LOT more research to be done, as soon as possible. But at least I wasn't shred to pieces and told go make a new idea.

More surprisingly, I got more suggestion of resources to look at, and voicing of encouragement from fellow classmates. I guess it's not as horrible an idea as I thought it is. Most surprising of all, someone else joined up to do my idea. It is a frightening concept to realize your idea is to be put into action, and you're the one making decisions on how it'll happen. Having never led before, I'm real nervous about screwing up and dragging someone else down with any mistake. Can't have any slacks now.

This program will soon come to an end, and I will face life full on once again. Before that happens I will take buffer provided by the protective school environment, and endure what may come with pursuing an ideal I truly care for.

......

Museum visualization, so far, seems like a lot of craft, and data representation - sometimes not even in detail - and no or scarce art or story. Game trailer and assets have stories, but the looks all feel similar to each other, like nobody wants to try and do something new (other than thatgamecompany). Heritage preservation is definitely government sponsored and not often. ...... Why can't I be content just doing simply game stuff? Stupid. Have to make a decision what I want to be doing 7 years from now.

Focusing down

I want to do something that can be in a game. But I really want to do something natural/botanical science related. But I can't figure out what that might be, for my master project. Perhaps game environment is a way to combine both? Been trying to finish both Scripting and Compositing early so I can focus on this pitch, but that didn't work. Now I have to come up with a pitch today and tomorrow. I was hoping to visit museums when I go back to NYC next week to see what kind of exhibitions they're putting up that involves 3D animation/modeling.

Some museums that might:

• Intrepid
• AMNH
• NYBG
• MoMA
• Bronx Zoo
• ...

Museum visualization <-- that's the key word. Have to put away Scripting and Compositing for now and get this researched.

Man I don't know... what if what I want to do is just a silly waste of time that'll never become anything anyway?

Research for Master Project

Ideally both the work being done for Personal Inquiry and Technical Production will compliment and become elements in your final Master Project. The problem is I'm not sure exactly what I want to do for my Master Project. I have a lot of doubt and hesitation because I have very limited skills so a big learning project for me might be another classmate's weekend exercise. Talking with tutors, they recommended that I just pitch my dream castle, and they'll help me trim it down to something doable but pushing at the same time. In other words, I'll have to trust them, and jump over the side of Grand Canyon. Last time I trusted a mentor it wasn't a happy ending at all, but that was ancient history, I'm old enough to put that behind me.

That said, I always craved games, and felt sparked by the (sort of) wholesome beauty of environments like Fallout 3, Skyrim; and the unique attack animations in DA:O, so I thought I'd like to do game animations. But most importantly I wanted to go into games because I believe if you put the right information into games, they can be a much more powerful teaching tool. I remember learning English and Mediterranean geography from games (the latter probably landed me my first job, who knows). I'm also fascinated by the natural world and animal, and wondered if it was possible to combine the information behind a museum or a documentary into a game that is still interesting to play. Like a good movie that is based in history, it could spark interest and desire to learn in young people. It was said The Gladiator sparked a renewed interest in Roman history. And personally I became interested in a genre I was never interested enough to explore (sci-fi, space, shooter) from just 1 game (serie), Mass Effect. This idea feels like it's probably really unpopular, and nobody will want to play that kind of game without some good action woven into it.

If I'm supposed to do something I'm really interested in, how am I supposed to turn that crazy idea into a physical project? I'm stuck. I'm flipping through 3D magazines and random online journal in the library, hoping to come up with a direction in the next few days. Time is precious in this program. Actually, time is precious, period.