Choosing a font

So I was looking at various font designs today, not only to use for my game but also my pitch. Still not quite sure as of yet which I prefer.

Well that was easier tthen expected!

So I managed to fix my character and all it took a simple change of a few of the character axis'. Now onto the more complex stuff! Oh the joy!

So I managed to get my own custom character into UDK but as you can see there's a few errors, be looking into sorting it from here in.

Third Person Camera

So got my Third person camera working in Unreal, also altered the ground speed and jump height of the character. Camera positioning with more then likely be altered by time I get my own character into Unreal and some other variables will also be changed.

Colour Variations

So I did some colour variations of a couple of the images I've produced into Photoshop to get a more varied look and possible colour ideas I could go for when created the final model in Maya.

More Concepts!

This is a design for some sort of Elegant Leather armour, I am quite fond of the coat design.

This is a design for some sort of Tribal Witch Doctor, this is more fantasy driven so will most likely not make it into the final stages.

I've been toying with the idea of including werewolfs as a possible enemy, but will only be including if I can find the time. This design was during a period of time I couldn't think of a possible armour design so went off on a relatable tangent.

More Photoshop!

Another design idea I'm fond of so I took it into Photoshop. Really pleased with how the sword and armour turned out in this one. This is also my first attempt at the full face and hair. I believe I've done an all right attempt at it but could have been better.

If I were not to use this design I think I would definitely incorporate  the shoulder strapped Two-Handed sword.

Photoshop Round 2!

So I took the Gnome armour into Photoshop as another possible choice for the final character design. I am really pleased with the design of the chest piece in particular and may match this with another piece of concept at tweak them both so that they work together.

For now I just have to finish up the gloves and boots of the character and will then be moving onto Photoshopping other concept designs.

Some More Concept Sketches

Gnome Remembrance Armour

Peasant Adventurer

Further modeling.

I started modeling the base model today, so far the lower half of the body is pretty much complete with minor fixes here and there still needed to be done. Over the next few days I look to have this model complete so that I can start modeling the armour pieces to go round it.

Looking into designing the weapons

Being a medieval based game, swords and other weapons are a major factor of the game. So when designing them, great care should be taken to make sure the 'legendary' weapons are memorable but not only that, they should also be practical as I wish to take a more realistic approach with the action/RPG genre.

Keeping these ideas in mind, I hit Google images looking for inspiration from preexisting  fantasy and practical swords. Below are a couple examples of swords that I believe would be good inspiration for the swords in my own game.



To the left is an image of the sword 'Frostmourne' in the game World of Warcraft. The fantasy design for this sword is to be admired however the practicality is very low as the hilt would prove to be very heavy and require a strong arm to wield it.

This sword is a Chinese martial arts sword that proves to be very practical as it seems well balanced and the added curves help add to the fantasy element.

This sword is your standard medieval sword which means it has a high ratio of practicality but has little to no fantasy element to it. If I were to incorporate this sword into my designs it would be for the standard starter level swords which do little damage.

This sword on the other hand has a very high fantasy ratio with a slightly lower practicality rating. However I am very fond of the blade design, so if I were to take inspiration from this sword it would only be for the blade and would work well as one of the more rarer swords in the game.

Photoshop Complete

 

Finally managed to get the Battle Priest Painting done. Can safely say I'm quite happy with the results, although there a few issues with it that I don't like as much. I think with the help of this I may be able to create an interesting character model for my FMP.

Photoshop Update!

 

So progress has been a little slow on the Battle Priest painting as I've been finding it hard to get everything looking the way I want. I am however happy with the state it is in at this current point in time and get glad to report it is almost finished. Still the rest of the helmet, hand, staff and final details left to go!

The Modeling Begins

Started some modeling work this week, and because I have yet to fully decide on a character design thought I'd model the head first. Using an image I had found from CGTantra (Link: http://www.cgtantra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2966) I was able to construct the basic shape and features of the head and face.

Most of the features are done with only the eyes and lips remaining. There is also a little more work left to do on the shaping of the forehead to get it looking normal.

Trying some Photoshop

Of my initial designs I have decided that I rather like the Battle Priest design and would most likely produce it in Maya for my final major project. With that in mind I have decided to Photoshop the image and get a rough idea of what the colours and visual feel will be like.

Check back later for a more recent image and to see progress so far.

Quick Note

I am currently in the stages of designing a multiple of characters and mythical creatures. Obviously due to the fact I alone am working on this, not all of them will be making into my FMP. For example, I like the idea of including werewolfs into my game, on a day and night cycle with the regular enemy NPC's but due to the time restraints and such, it may be unlikely that I am able to fully model and texture the main enemies for the level and then the werewolf form. Also the transformation scene may also be a pain or too much work.

So this not only a note to myself but to others as well, designs will vary, dragons may appear in the final product as fully flying creatures or they may just appear as stone statues.

Mythical Creatures

The Old Poet, a possible guide or mentor for the player's character

5 Stages of turning into a werewolf

Portrait of one of the last remaining dragons

Designing Continues

Design for a Battle Priest, an NPC who follows the Fallen's Bane and preys for their save passage into Heaven

Various Designs for Armour Pieces

The Fallen's Bane



First Initial Character Design. This is for the NPC Group 'The Fallen's Bane' who are charged with tracking down and eliminating magic users



Premise of my FMP

So to give you general idea of what I am going to do for my major project I shall give a brief description of the story/location/game mechanics and what I aim to have by the end of this.

Brief Description of the Story

The story is simple, you play a character in a medieval setting where magic is outlawed, penalty of death, and mythical creatures are near extinction. Throughout the course of the game you must discover the reasons for humanities take on magic and you must also save the world from an impending doom.

Location

As previously mentioned the game takes place in a medieval setting. The overall look I would like to achieve is that of the rural England back in the medieval time period, with great stone castles, elegant wood buildings and dirty poverty ridden villages. For research into this I shall be looking through books and taking inspiration for my own designs from existing ones. Not only that but I shall also be looking at previous example of work in other media forms such as movies, TV shows and pre-existing video games. Good examples of these would be;

Game of Thrones

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0944947/

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

http://uk.pc.ign.com/objects/143/14345201.html

Game Mechanics

To make my game more unique from the already huge list of medieval based RPG video games I must come up with an interesting new game mechanic that would give this game reason and a place within the market. For this I have decided to take a new look at the way RPGs present their looting and inventory systems.

For the majority, RPGs tend to present their in-game menus by way of lists. Take Oblivion for example, below are two examples of the way Oblivion presents its looting and inventory system.



 Oblivion's Inventory Menu  In both examples you can see that every item in the game is just listed and that leaves the player to have to scroll through an endless list of items that they posses and they must then select that item.  For the inventory system, it is a little harder for items not to be shown in list for. My initial idea for this is when the inventory is brought up the player is shown a 3D render of the character model, and using that they may select various sections on the body, such as shoulders or chest and they can then cycle through there obtained items. However I am currently unsure whether to include this system as I may go for a more realistic approach and get rid of the bag system entirely.



Oblivion's Loot System

 

What I propose to do for my looting system is to do everything by sight. For example when looting a body instead of a menu of text showing up, the camera shifts to show the body lying on the floor and all available items that can be took. To further help the player decipher what can be looted and what can't, each available item can be scrolled through and will be highlighted.





Creation of the blog!

So here we go, my Final Major Project has begun. From this point on I shall be updating this hopefully several times a week with little to major updates on my FMP. All work that I have done for this project will posted for you all to see my progress.