Some Tileable Texture Progress

These are some tileable textures I have been working on. Some need much more work than others but all were completely hand painted with a 50% opacity layover for some smaller details.

Wood texture for the upper portion of the Orc House.

Wood wall for the lower portion of the Orc's House.

Rock for chimney.

Finished Model

Polys: 2,454
Verts: 3,081

Still have some to go back and delete some edge loops and optimize the model a bit more.

Modeling Progress

Concept Art

I spent a good deal of time playing around with various color schemes and pallets in my head, trying to come up with something that would work for the scene. The main challenge in creating this Orc farmstead was in blending the envisioned dark colored home with this very scenic and warm, peaceful, and rightly colored setting.
Another challenge was making sure that the Orc home did not resemble something that looked too human but at the same time looked relateable, warm and inviting to the player while still believably being a home in which the main protagonist, an Orc, would reside. While a few details in the piece aid in something that hopefully is not too human, I was in the end pleased with the color choices which I hope yielded the result I was aiming for.

Full Design Document

Design Document

Color Concepts

Working on some color concepts. Already have some texture ideas in mind. Thinking a tin or metal roof and wood siding. Tried to throw in some vibrancy variations with some more dull and others with brighter colors. Looking at the bottom right one for now but will definitely work at developing this further.

Finalized Building Turnaround

So as I set out to do in my Project Pitch I will be working on a few large scale environmental assets. For my first one I will be doing a farm house which story-wise will be Karg's home.

 

Some of the details of the house include: A front cellar, dog house, pulley to lift hay and other supplies up to the loft, chimney and chicken coup.

Since the orcs are one of the "civilized" races in the game I wanted to give something that was relate-able but yet still had some "orcish" style to it. So I played with proportions and rough and gave the style some sharp edges to give a bit of harsh tone, which is hopefully a bit muted though the cartoony style and haphazard design of the building.

Game Concept

So you saw a bit of what the character looks like but here is a bit of my game idea/concept and some information about the main character Karg:

The game genre will be an RPG (Role Playing Game) genre, set in an “Other Earth” type environment. I love the standard idea of a fantasy game with the set characters: The steadfast and adaptable kingdoms of the humans, the voracious and war hungry orcs, the noble and magical elves who hold the forest and nature in the highest of regards, and the reclusive and tempered dwarves who cling to their caves and crave riches and wealth. This idea has been used over and over to create some spectacular gameplay and well known storylines; however the basic premise remains too similar. For my story I would like to take the same species I love and give the game a completely new story and face by changing their archetypical roles. The once noble elves will be transformed into a hideously evil cult turned to war and carnage by a dark magic. The humans, courageous but once so frail will be elevated into almost god like creatures who practice magic and watch over the land, The dwarves will have split factions. There will be those who have clung to their underground mines who now face the onslaught of the elves, and some who have caved to their dark magic and those who have learned the ways of magic and the upper worlds and transcended upward to the skies with the help of magic. And finally the once evil and orcs story will be told by the main character and centerpiece of the game, a teenage farm hand who toils with his people in a simple life set far removed from his peoples massive kingdoms and sprawling cities, yet right in the middle of a war that will soon arrive on his doorstep.

This story will be told from the point of view of the main character named Krug. His story will very much follow that of the archetypal hero. While he was not born into unusual circumstances or secret royalty he has an adept mind and enduring spirit and power of will. Unfortunately his job as a farm laborer allows him to show none of his traits. His village on the plains of Trafmador has long been a peaceful place far removed from the strife and wars of the world. It does however have ruins of a once much larger and encompassing orcish civilization which fell long before his time. As the story progresses one night there is a surprise and brutal elven attack on his village. Krog escapes with who of his friends, as his family is killed and his village are destroyed. Before leaving though he barley manages to save an orcish treasure he has discovered in his exploration of the ruins which scatter the plains. With this weapon he and his band of friends set off to fulfill the hero’s journey and revenge their losses and in the process experience an epic adventure which powers the story and as he travels meeting many friends and enemies powers the gameplay to a final climatic end.

As defined in the story the player is seeking revenge for his family and with nothing left to live for now is bitter sweetly freed from his bondage as a simple farm boy and able to set right the oncoming elven hordes. The reward will come in the form of the player’s adventure and experience along the way as he meets the ascended humans and tainted dwarves and fights with his relic sword Vittru to slay the evil elves from lowliest follower to the highest elven sorcerer king. The player will achieve their goal by completing a linear progression story with many side quests and sub stories along the way. When the game starts much is unclear yet the early parts of the story set a basis and in motion the events and reason for the adventure to come. The story is the compelling reason and aspect for the players desire to continue progression; upgrading their character and exploring new lands aid to push them further.

Sketch

Event thought I am working on an environment I just decided to do a little sketch of the stories main character Karg:

Architectural Exploration

I wanted to go for a stylized yet semi realistic fantasy look. Some proportions can be overblown and some elements can have a “cartoony” feel while at the same time all being plausible parts of the whole environment. The orcish village buildings are all made of natural materials including: wood, stone, straw, bits of metal and dirt. The architectural style will be a working contrast of sturdy yet haphazard. Structures will have solid cores yet components that make the buildings look meek or as if they are just barley holding up. The overall feel of the game will be a happy and cheery down to earth outlook with some mystery and deeper intrigue driven by the ancient ruins. The ruins themselves will be mostly non-descript. With the exception of a few partially together statues the vast majority of the ruins will be just that – hollow shells of a once great civilization. They will be over grown and rocky but will still be awe inspiring and revered by the Trafmador’s current denizens. The art style and color of the village structures will be mostly earthy tones and neutral and dark browns and tans. The color will show the simple nature of the village compared with the more vibrant and colorful tones of the world around them. The older ruins will be darker and convey a bit more depth and intrigue.

Details and Story Behind the Environment

The assets I will be focusing on are all from the starting area of the game Krag’s village in the Trafmador Plains. This will be an idyllic setting with rolling hills as far as the eye can see with farms and gardens and animal pens. In the far distance mountains poke above the horizon line. Scattered throughout the planes and Karg’s families and farmstead are ancient ruins and remnants of huge stone monoliths and ancient structures of an ancient orcish civilization. Beautiful blue sky makes for perfect growing conditions and streams and lakes also dot the country side.

Inspiration

As I began this project I had a clear idea in my head of an array of games I have seen and played that I wanted to use as inspiration for the games style. Keeping in mind the RPG story I am aiming for and the stylistic look I had in my head I thought of two MMO games which are currently out that have artistic styles I wanted to emulate and modeling and texturing styles I respect and draw inspiration from. One game in particular was Warhammer Online, developed by Mythic Entertainment. The game has a stylized yet realistic approach I really love and feel like conveys well to a broad age range and audience.

I drew much of my inspiration specifically from two Environmental artists who worked on the Warhammer Online team: Brian Miller (http://www.polycreator.com/) and Simon Burford (http://www.simonburford.com/). I was really impressed with Simon Burfords absolutely beautiful texturing and equally impressed with Brian Miller’s extreme low poly models and also amazing texture work. Another huge inspiration of mine comes from another MMO game World of Warcraft. Akin to Warhammer design processes, Warcraft uses low poly models and creates beautiful textures to create their flowing and powerful environments.

Here are some concept art inspirations pieces from Warhammer Online and a few from the Fable series:

Project Pitch

                As I have learned more about the industry and game design in general I have come to discover I have a passion for creating worlds that previously did not exist. I have a passion for environmental design and all the small development processes that accompany and work to design a unified space and world. My real strong points are my texturing and Photoshop work, through my layouts and colors and developing real and complex materials I feel like I can best showcase my skillset. However I realize that more than texturing is needed to create a great environment so I will also use my apt skills to create computer models focusing on individual assets and large structures to yield the end result of a unified and grand space.

                My end goal for this class will be to create at least three large environmental assets in the form of building or structures that showcase both my modeling and texturing assets. Although the buildings will not necessarily be in a fully encompassing environment the standalone assets will be uniformed through a stylized look and feel that tells the story and showcases the look of an elven village I am after. My audience will be anyone from the ages 12-50 but have a defined target audience from 18-30. By pursuing this audience I will push my skillset to develop something that is both relevant and appealing to a wide age range. Developing something which appeals to all ages both young and old is a challenge that when done correctly can yield a truly timeless game. This may be one of the most challenging and yet rewarding goals I hope to achieve.

                The goal of my game will be an RPG or MMO style production. The environmental assets I am creating would be either quest hubs or rooms the player can go to collect information or further advance the game story. In this sense the interiors of the buildings will also be functioning areas to the extent there will be areas the player can access both in and out.

                The game will be focused in an otherworldly fantasy environment: Humans, orcs, humanoids and other minions which dominate this medieval and “other earth” environment. I specifically will be focusing on designing environmental set pieces for the orcish race.

                Story wise the game will be from the point of view of a young orc who is leaving his “shire-esque” village behind and embarking on a journey to see the world. In this way the starting environment will be very warm and welcoming and feature a homey feel with soothing greens, sunshine and a definite water feature which will all aides in a village and town type feel.

                This project will uphold my personal focus as a designer because it is exactly what I want to do when I graduate. I love the feeling of making multiple concept pieces, refining them each time and working toward an end result. Finding a backstory and creating a cohesive look and feel from the broad picture of architecture and massive structures down to the little details and set pieces. Modeling comes into play to carry on that look and feel, in the absence of color and texture one must focuses completely on the design and look and feel you want to convey to a player. I want to design and create world which do not exist and portray them in a convincing and appealing light. Finally the time comes to texture and bring life to the pieces you have been creating. Through lighting and final details the project will truly come to life and hopefully portray the world I am trying to create.