This week Lucy and I started working on modeling. During this week’s work, I have learned the most important skill apart from my professional knowledge: team project coordination. We had some great ideas for the game during the previous week and the models’ conception and design. This week our team needed to produce concrete models to showcase our design ideas. This week we are communicating and tweaking as we go along. Although we all have many assignments, we are all trying our best to coordinate our time to complete our collaborative project tasks.
Based on the game design and layout drawings from the previous week, I will start by building a simple scene model. My idea is to build the most basic scene model in the shortest time possible, not to waste and take up task time. I have received some gallery scene images that I can reference.
Our game is a VR game where the player can interact with the posters in the scenario. When I talked to the students about the game, I found out that their design for the game was that they wanted the posters to be displayed on a table. We hope to eventually present an interactive poster built from a 3D model (similar to a full 3D model) in the game.
The result is similar to space where the player can look at the 3D model in a picture frame and interact with the model to complete the game. So my initial design idea was to create a larger space for the gallery scene model to place our 3D models (3D posters) in order to avoid the cramped feeling of the player having to preview a large number of models in a small space.
In the process of making it, I also discovered a lot of situations that I had not considered before. As our models needed to be interactive in the design concept, the posters’ distance also needed to be taken into account. However, like a VR experience game, the layout of the gallery’s scenes also has a key decision on how the audience will experience it. So I created two versions of a simple scene model first to preview the effect first. If not, we’ll have plenty of time to make changes. (The small space inside that is separated separately is used for the 3D poster models)
Version 1：
Version 2：
When I shared the simple scene model with Lucy, I found that we had a few different ideas, and Lucy shared with me the layout she had drawn. In this layout, the posters are hung on the wall, and there are tables on the floor below the posters to place items on it.
So Lucy and I decided to help each other out with the model to discuss how to modify it and conceptualise the subsequent build of the model together.
During our discussion, Lucy shared with me that she didn’t understand at first why I had changed the layout of the model. When she started to build a draft of the scene, she realized that as we had designed the 3D Gallery with a square floor, if the posters were too densely packed or spread out, it would affect the player’s experience. After some discussion and consultation with the group, we opted to build a small Gallery space, and Lucy quickly built a model of the scene, which I will continue to enrich with her version of the scene.
Lucy and I shared the work of Marcin’s artist in Sketchfab. We both felt that the gallery model’s design was very similar to the Gallery we wanted to create. The Gallery is very brightly lit from the ceiling, and the light level in the Gallery is very natural, without making the light feel visually uncomfortable. Our Gallery is not very spacious, and this reference light helps us illuminate the posters and create a sense of space. So Lucy and I decided to create a ceiling light installation in the Gallery.
As the Gallery in our current project is only one room, we decided to create glass in the corners around the house to expand the room’s space and illumination visually. This was my initial design idea for the windows.
Lucy drew me schematics to share her ideas. The edge of the window is not a window but consists of two pieces of glass. I thought this was an interesting idea for her. Without the window frame constraints, the corner would look a little more spacious in terms of perspective. We could also apply the material of rough glass, which would preserve the lighting effect of the light coming into the Gallery from outside and reduce the number of outdoor scenes modeled.
So far, we are all going well, and I have created the first draft to pass on to Lucy to look at the layout of the room and the poster’s placement. I have placed models of the characters in the scenes better to compare the scale of the posters to the scenes.
There was an unexpected little situation between us. Lucy thought this was the final model of the scene, and she told me she was going to help me with some changes. I thought she wanted to adjust the poster’s position or layout, but I didn’t expect her to start working on the final model. As we both worked on the next model handover, she told me that she had already extrude and bevel the model. I realised that we had got the message wrong between us. We both found this very interesting, and we will be more careful next time we communicate to make sure we don’t get the wrong message again.
On the 16th of February, I attended a tutorial with WU students in VR, and the tutor suggested that the scale of the posters in our project scenes be reduced a bit. When the player is experiencing the game, a properly scaled poster model can be easily captured by the player’s view. I added lights and light stands to the scene model and modified the posters’ size and position. The game students wanted us to place a table in front of each poster model to hold some decoration items. Given the space available in the Gallery, Lucy and I suggested that only the main tables that would hold the interactive props be placed first. Other tables can be added or subtracted as we see fit. The table model is currently set in a simple style based on the gallery’s design, and we can adjust it according to the actual needs of the project later on.
Simulation：
Model production planning：
Lucy and I have had a perfect time working together. We have been sharing each other’s knowledge and inspiration as we work together. I use screen sharing in my Discord channel, and it’s convenient because we can see what’s going on directly on each other’s computers. Lucy and I shared how to make shapes that fit the design of the picture quickly. Use [Multi-Cut] to cut out the model’s surface and later select the points of the model to modify. Once you have created a flat surface that fits the design, select [Extrude] to extrude the surface and you’re done.
I also shared some knowledge about Substance Painter with Lucy.
Lucy shared the blend shapes function in Maya, which enables the binding of simple models, the Path editor, which helps to modify the path of images in MAYA with one click, and the AlignTool, which helps us to align posters. Basic functions.
Conclusion:
This week we have been creating and modifying. After we finished the basic scene model, we passed it on to our VR majors. This allowed the VR partners to test the scenes. The gaming students then started testing some game settings, and they also said that they could work on the materials and lighting of the model faster with Unity. I think the team project has helped me break the shackles of my past thinking, Lucy and I have been encouraging each other, and we are always sharing ideas and creative thoughts that we might use in modeling. Next week we will start creating the poster model. Thanks to my partners, we will continue to work on the next projects!