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>

...

...I got no time what-so-ever to write here right now. Not with research this, research that, production diary this, self reflect that, slides this, slides that, and a TED-length talk looming over my head like an axe. I don't know why I thought challenging my weakness will be fun. I hate public speaking more than I hate dentist visits. And I really hate dentist visits.

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.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

I got that game right when it came out, along with Mass Effect 3. Since then I've been playing (and replaying) the entire ME series, and never installed Amalur until last week. For the 1 week I have left until school start, I spent about 3 days playing Amalur with minimal sleep, when I should've been researching. I wouldn't call those days "wasted", though. Sadly I can't finish the game now, and have to put it away. The environment it has was unexpectedly breathtaking - especially the foresty areas that you start out in (after the initial short dungeon crawl). It's kind of what I want to do for the Master Project - lush, full of life, huge and explore-able. I wish I'd palyed this sooner. And luckily I have now. It would help the Master Project as, at least, inspiration.

I knew about Amalur when it was being developed, and I knew the studio was back in Baltimore area. But back then all I saw were combat footages, and while the fancy kill-moves intrigued me, it wasn't like "That's so cool I gotta play those awesome moves!". They didn't advertise the environment much. So I went back to look up the developer and the studio, and they're both gone. Makes me real sad.

It also makes me think about when developer and studios come and go like dust in the wind, where would I go, and what can I take with me from one studio to the next. That is, assuming I ever get hired by them. Is it really going to be concept art? The things I'll need to do to improve both speed and creativity to become a good concept artist seemed like an impossible and painful K2. And I've known that for many years. Being the coward that I am, I ran from the mountain instead of charging in. Mostly because it's K2. But I never managed to completely give up concept-arting all these years. The K2 won't leave the viewport, even after running away for so long.

No matter. Right now I have a presentation to prepare for, CAPT, and PI to worry about.