em3dproject

[em3dproject]

Final Level Design

This is the final product after being remade. Decorations were added to make the house feel more detailed and lights were added where either a lamp of a ceiling light was added. Overall, I am happy with what I managed to create, however, I would've loved to add the burglary elements.

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The Corruption and Restoration of my Project

Due to a crash at home on my laptop, my Unreal file for this project was corrupted and no longer usable along with the assets made from the previous day including the living room furniture models and some decoration models for the house. I also lost the main level for this project, meaning the layout and grey boxing was gone. Attempts to restore this project allowed me to keep most of my older models made from the week prior however my jewellery box for my separate project was also lost.

So that I still had a level by the end of the day, I began work on recreating the layout minus the grey boxing so that I would have a basic level. This meant following the floorplan a bit more loosely as I was using cubes that were not on the same grid as the previous grey boxing.

Because of the lack of time to fix this issue, I only managed to recreate the ground floor, meaning I had to change the floor plan a little to fit a bedroom in so that the assets I did manage to keep would be able to be used.

I then followed this up by recreating my kitchen from before as similarly as possible. I started with the kitchen again to help myself gain confidence after losing my progress and gain a sense of familiarity with the new, slightly-less concrete scale that came from a lack of a grid.

I followed this up with making a laundry room as this was another part I had managed to get done prior to the corruption.

I then began on the bedroom as the assets for the bedroom were the last ones to not be ruined.

For the living room, I have had to remake the sofa and armchair that had been lost. I decided against remaking the table and instead stretching the side table from before instead to save time. I did the same with the dining table.

A lot of other things for this project such as the wallpapers, floors and windows were also corrupted and could not be used.

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Creating Decoration Pieces for My Level

To help decorate my level, I plan on creating sets of items to place around the house.

The first thing I want to create is a lamp to put around the house. I started by using a cube that I scaled the top face down to make look like a lampshade. I bevelled the sides of the lampshade to make it feel softer.

The stand was created using a cube bevelled at the sides similar to the table stand. Another larger, flatter cube was used to create the base.

Next, I created a book set to add to the bookshelves. To keep things simple, These books are all just coloured cuboids as only the spines and sides would be seen when on the shelves so the opening of the books didn't matter.

The next set I wanted to make was for items to go on tables, including the expensive items I want to use as items of interest. This includes an open book, an ink pot and quill, a ring box and stacks of coins.

The open book is just a cuboid with a smaller cuboid on top to create pages. One half of the pages is taller than the other, using the extrude tool and the bevel tool to make it appear like the book is open with one side having a lot more pages.

The ink pot started with a bevelled cube that I use the multi-cut tool on to create a lip on the top. I then used a smaller cube to cut out a bit in the top of the pot to look like its open but full of ink, The quill began with one thin cuboid as the spine of the feather. I then added a thinner cube which I made thicker at the top to create the actual feather part of the quill.

The ring box used two identical cubes to create an open box combined with a smaller cube to cut out the lid. A bevelled cube was used to create the padding to hold the ring. The ring itself was created using a taurus that had its divisions turned down to make it much less complex. The jewel was created in a similar way to the lampshade from before, using a bevelled cube with a small bottom face rather than top.

Each stack of coins used a cylinder with the vertical divisions turned down to 8 and the horizontal divisions up to 5 for each coin. Different stacks are different sizes as I plan to have them each worth different amounts in game.

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Creating Bedroom Furniture in Maya

The next room I want to focus on is the first bedroom as this is the room that will have my jewellery box in, making this room important to get done.

The first thing I did was look for inspiration so that I could get a better idea of what I wanted to add furniture wise. The main thing I really wanted to add was the canopy bed so I decided to model that first.

I began by using a cube to create the bedframe, multi-cutting and extruding the legs out from underneath much like the chair we made at the beginning of this project.

Next was adding the headboard and footboard. To do this, I can extrude the faces created by the previous multi-cutting, using the multi-cut tool again on the boards and bevelling them to create a rounded look.

Then I used another cube to make the mattress, making it slightly smaller than the bedframe to fit neatly in when combined together.

The next part I needed to create was the canopy itself which I started by creating the four poles to hold the canopy up. This was done by creating one pole using a cube and duplicating and moving them into each corner.

The main canopy was then created by using a cube the same width and length of the bed frame and adding it to the top of the four posts. To give it a bit more detailing, I also enlarged the top face of the canopy to create a more unique shape.

Next was the pillows and cover. Each pillow is the same bevelled cuboid that has been resized to create smaller and more square decorative pillows (lots of Victorian style beds use decorative pillows so I wanted to use them as well). The cover was then created using a flattened cube that has been extrudes at the sides to mimic the sides of the duvet cover falling over the sides of the bed.

I then textured this bed using a floral pattern I found and a darker version of the wood texture I have been using on previous assets. The decorative pillows use just base colours so that they stand out from the main pillows and bed cover.

The next piece of furniture I wanted to create was a side table. This was done using a flattened cube which has had the vertical edges bevelled using 2 segments to create a semi-round shape.

Next was the stand which uses two cubes. The first cube is made taller and bevelled on the vertical edges to create a pole while the second cube has a bottom edge pulled out to create one foot. The second cube is then duplicated 3 times, each time being rotated 90 degrees to create the feet of the table. The top edges of the feet are then bevelled to round them out so that it fits along with the rest of the table.

Next was a shelf. I wanted to create a bookshelf as I associate the Victorian era with a lot of popular novels. I also wanted to make this bookshelf simple enough so that it could be repeated several times together to create one larger shelf without looking strange. This was done by using a large cuboid that was tall enough to reach the level's ceiling so that the connection between shelves would look clean.

I then gave the cuboid 5 segments with one for each shelf slot. I then used cubes to cut out each shelf, using the subdivisions as a guide. Both the table and the bookshelf use the same fully wood texture.

The next bit of furniture I wanted to create was a corner chair, one that would fit the comfy reading vibe that I wanted from the bedroom. I started with a cube to create the seat, bevelling it to look more like a pillow. I also used a flatter cube below it to create a bottom of the actual chair.

Next was using cubes to create the backing of the chair, I'm creating a rounded chair because I was using my own chair as a reference. I then target melded the cubes together and bevelled the top and bottom for a softer look.

I then created one chair leg by thinning the bottom of a cube and duplicating it for each corner.

I've textured the chair using a dark green colour for the body to match the rest of the room (the green bed + green wallpaper) and the legs are textured using the same wood as everything else.

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Importing and Using Seamless Wallpapers in Unreal

To import my wallpaper textures into Unreal, I first need to export each one as a PNG from Photoshop. This is done by making the layer the wallpaper is on visible and using the Quick Export option.

Next, I created a new folder for wallpapers and imported all three images in as textures. These can then be turned into materials.

To make applying these wallpapers easier, I have made it so that the texture uses world alignment to make sure that the pattern is aligned even when on different objects.

By making it so that the X,Y and Z axis are all using world alignment, every face of the object using the pattern will have the same ability to join up with other objects.

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Texturing Wallpaper

For the house to feel like a house, I need to add wallpaper to each room that both fits with the style of my game as well as the Victorian theme that I want in my level.

Kitchen:

In the references I have been using previously, most wallpapers I have seen have been mostly muted colours, some with intricate detailing and others with wood paneling. I want to add at least one if not both of these features to my kitchen wallpaper.

Pattern-wise, I want it to be very detailed as most Victorian patterns tend to be more on the intricate side with patterns such as:

For colour palettes there are two main themes with Victorian kitchens; pastels and muted tones. I prefer the idea of using muted tones rather than pastels so I plan on deciding on a colour palette using muted tones.

These 3 colours were what stuck out to me in Coolors. I plan on making a palette using each one as a main one to see which one I prefer.

Using this colour palette along with the pattern below, I plan on creating a wallpaper for my kitchen.

The end result is this wallpaper:

Next was the dark green colour palette:

While I said I prefer muted tones, I also wanted to do one pastel version just to see if it would work better.

I plan on using both the red and green variations in my level but leaving out the yellow variation as I don't believe it would fit in with the planned furniture I'm creating.

[em3dproject]

Weird Weapon in Games

Despite not planning on using weapons in my game, researching unique weapons is a good way to come up with ideas for interesting tools that could be used in this project or in a future one.

Red Faction: Armageddon - Mr. Toots:

Mr. Toots is an end game weapon as he can only be obtained after finishing the initial storyline. Mr. Toots, design-wise, is a white unicorn with purple hair and a rainbow horn. The way he works as a gun, implied by his name, is by firing rainbows from his butt that will explode enemies into rainbows and butterflies. The hilarity of Mr. Toots isn't from the design itself, but the combination of his design compared to the rest of the game. Red Faction itself is quite a dark looking game, with muted tones and grungy visuals. This makes Mr. Toots stand out even more than in a more colourful shooter.

Saint's Row IV: The Dubstep Gun:

The Dubstep Gun in Saint's Row is designed to resemble a DJ board with a vinyl player attached to the side. The gun itself fires sound waves alongside making nearby cars and pedestrians dance. When fully upgraded, the gun can be quite powerful. The gun comes with several skins, each one changing which song the gun plays, making it so, if the gun is being used for long periods of time, the skin can be changed to make the sound less repetitive.

Ratchet and Clank: Groovitron:

The Groovitron is a reoccurring weapon that shows up in the Ratchet and Clank series. In terms of use, the Groovitron works by compelling enemies to dance until it expires. Because there are many different Ratchet and Clank games, there are several versions of the Groovitron such as the Groovitron Glove and Mine. The Groovitron itself is a small silver disco ball with a gold variant while the glove is a red and silver glove with the silver replaced with gold if the glove is a Groovibomb glove.

Team Fortress 2: Mutated Milk:

TF2's Mutated Milk is one of the most unique weapons for as far as designs go. The Mutated Milk features a bread creature suspended in a jar of milk. The monster itself, when thrown at an enemy, latches on to them for 10 seconds. This is purely cosmetic and doesn't actually do any damage. The bread monsters can be stacked if several direct hits occur and, if crit boosted, the bread monster will be drastically larger. The bread monster is designed to have one large toothy mouth at one end of the loaf while its body is covered in mold and a couple more teeth/spikes.

Gears of War 3: The Cluckshot:

The Cluckshot is an Easter egg weapon found in two places in Gears of War 3, being Act 1 Chapter 1 and Act 4 Chapters 1-3. Out of all of the weapons on this list, The Cluckshot is the most discrete, looking like a mostly normal gun before being fired. Upon firing The Cluckshot, a chicken will be shot out and explode in a mess of feathers and blood on the first surface it hits. The main silliness of the Easter egg comes from the delivery of it during Act 4 where a pirate chicken drops it off in a small airplane.

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Creating a Coin Particle

Because our main task is to create a form of chest/container, we are making a coin particle as a default particle to use in the container's opening animation.

The first step is to create a directional burst system asset rather than the omnidirectional one from before. We then change the render from a sprite renderer to a mesh renderer. This allows us to use 3D meshes as a particle rather than just the default 2D sprite.

We can then select our mesh by adding an element to the meshes tab and, for this example, selecting a cylinder.

We can then make the coins golden by overriding the material. We first tick Enable Material Override before adding an array element and selecting the gold material from the basic Unreal materials.

Next is changing the size of the cylinders to make them actually resemble coins. We do this in the mesh attributes tab where we make the scale mod non-uniform. This is so that we can change each value separately without each of them scaling off of each other. I'm going to set my coins to be 0.2 for both their width and length but their depth will be 0.02 to make them thinner and more coin-shaped.

The next part is adding a spin to the coins to make it more visually appealing. Currently the coins are just shooting up and out all facing the same one direction.

To fix this we can use a random range vector in the rotational velocity tab. This can be tweaked to give the coins a maximum and minimum amount of spin in all 3 directions.

We can then add collision to the coins so that, when they hit a surface in game, they will bounce off of the surface rather than going through it.

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Making a Particle System

To create visuals such as rain, dust and fog (all things I want to try for my game) I need to learn how to create particles.

To begin, we need to create a Niagra System asset. The Niagra System is the name of the current Unreal particle system.

After selecting the Niagra System, we can now choose what type of particle effect we want.

For this test we want to choose the Omnidirectional Burst. Once selected we will be shown a blueprint similar to how materials are made.

The main ways we change the particle is in the OmnidirectionalBurst node. Things like 'Particle Spawn' show us all of the options that the 3 ticked boxes have below it.

This lets us change the colour, speed and what shape all of the particles spawn in. For our particle (creating snow as a test) we will need to change the colour to white, the shape to a large cube and speed to have a relatively large range.

We also need to change the loop behaviour to infinite so that the particle won't end.

'Spawn Burst Instantaneous' can be used to increase the amount of particles being spawned in a time, this can be high or low depending on how much snow we want.

Other smaller parts include gravity and scales that can change how the particles react after being spawned in. Turning off gravity will make them go in every direction and stop falling, scale colour and scale sprite size both create ranges that each particle can have for both their colour and their size. One which we added specifically was curl noise force, which can be used to add noise to the particles, making it move more like it is in the wind.

In terms of adding the particle to the game, we want to add this to the player. The reason being is that we can use the particle effect once and have it follow the player to give the illusion of the snow rather than spawning in a lot of instances of the particle, causing lag. To add to the player, just add the Niagra System component and select the right effect in the details bar on the right. Make sure its connected to the player/the collision capsule and not the camera or anything else in the player blueprint.

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Making a Cutscene

To make a cut scene, we can use the level sequence cinematic.

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Landscaping

One important tool for creating a world is the landscaping tool. This blog is for how to set the landscaping tool up.

First is creating a material to use for the landscape painting.

This material uses the "Landscape Layer Blend" node so that we have multiple colours to paint with.

The different colours are created by adding array elements, one for each colour.

Next is creating the colour for each layer. This is done by using 3 + LMB to add a Constant3Vector to pick each colour.

By connecting each vector to the layer, it assigns that colour to that layer. This is then connected to the base colour of the material and applied.

Now we enter Landscape mode and create a landscape to build on.

This landscape can then be sculpted.

These tools allow us to add height or remove it from the landscape in order to create hills, lakes, rivers etc.

Now to paint the landscape, we need to add our palette material. This is done by finding our landscape in the outliner on the right and adding the material to the landscape material.

This will cause the landscape to go dark until we sort out the layer information. By clicking the plus sign by each layer, we can select whether the layer should have weighted distribution (places quicker in areas with the colour already there) or not.

The first layer with info added will cover the whole landscape.

We can then paint onto the landscape.

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Creating my Jewelry Box in Maya

Now that I have an idea of what I want my jewelry box to look like, I can make it in Maya while editing small parts to make them look better in 3D.

I began my jewelry box with a cube scaled to be wider than it is taller.

I then beveled the four vertical edges to create the octagonal shape I want for my box.

I then duplicated the box using Ctrl + D and halved the height to create the lid and then further beveled the top edges of the lid to soften the edge.

Next was adding a little more to the original design. Because I wanted this jewelry box to feel more expensive, I used the multi-cut tool to create new faces on the box and lid and extruding them by 0.1 to create some depth.

Next was creating the plaque with the secret compartment. This is the reason why I've left cutting out the inside of the box until now. I first started with a cube that I stretched and beveled into a suitable shape.

I followed this up by adding another cube to the back of the plaque to be the drawer.

Next was using another cube that was slightly smaller than the first to cut out the inside of the drawer.

Now I can cut out the main compartment to the box, making sure it doesn't cut into the secret drawer. This uses a slightly smaller octagonal shape to create a hole that matches the outside.

I then added a keyhole for when the player uses the key to open the secret compartment. I plan on having the jewelry box at an angle wherever it may be, meaning that the keyhole will still be visible despite being on the side.

After looking at more references, I decided that my music box was a little too simple. The main thing I wanted to add was a figurine that would be spinning in the open box. Now, because of both my 10,000 tri limit and the stylisation of my game currently, I want to avoid creating a figurine that is too detailed. I plan on making a similar version of the bottom left image.

My ballerina started with a cube that I beveled to create the head followed by duplicating and stretching that cube to add hair.

I then used another beveled cuboid to create the body, multi-cutting halfway to create a waistline.

Next I added four thinner beveled cuboids to create limbs as well as a beveled and raised plane to create a tutu.

I then gave her a stage in the music box.

Next I wanted to add a section that made it clear that it was a jewelry box and not just a music box. Rings are often held upright by tightly packed cushions such as the photo below. This is what I want to add to make its purpose obvious.

I started with cubes that were beveled once across two edges. This made a row of cushions that looked sharp.

Despite wanting the poly count low, I decided to add more bevels because I felt that they needed to be smoother so that what they were was clear.

Next was adding the extra depth to the lid. I did this because I want to add a motif/image to the lid and having it raised both makes it easier to add to the UV and makes it cleaner on the model.

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Making a Container

For this project we need to create some form of container for our levels. For me, I have two main ideas that I want to explore.

My first idea was a jewelry box. My level is based is on the Victorian era, using a Victorian style house as the setting. A jewelry box matches this perfectly as they're often intricate and fancy much like the designs of the Victorian era. I also feel like they fit with the horror theme pretty well as the type of jewelry box I want to make would also be a music box which, if put into context, can sound extremely creepy. This use of music can also help hint at where the box is and guide the player towards it.

My second idea was a birdcage. Birdcages are another intricate item, with a lot of them having intricate stands as well as detailing in the hangers. Birds were kept in the Victorian Era, with ravens becoming very popular, so a birdcage also fits in with my setting. A good way to make the players go to find it would be by having a dropping sound play from where it is, implying it fell down without actually animating it.

I plan on using option 1, the jewelry box. This is because I feel like it makes more sense to have an item inside of it. While the birdcage is pretty and unique, it doesn't make much sense to put a key item inside of it, meaning players are less likely to check it even when they have the key for it.

Iterations:

Because there are so many different variations of jewelry box designs, I wanted to sketch a few to see which ones I preferred. I started with 4 different main types I kept seeing. Out of the four, I disliked the circular version most as its both small and basic, two things that don't fit the theme I want. I also disliked the one on stands as the shape felt off; I particularly couldn't get the lid to work which is a big part of the animation process. Both of the shapes I did like were quite boxy. In the end I chose the bottom right as the base because I really liked the idea of including a pattern on the top of the lid.

The final idea I came up with is shown below. I chose to use an octagonal shape so that it had a more luxury feel as opposed to a simple box. I also decided against using a basic drawer, instead having a plaque that has a hidden compartment behind it just as a way to make the item inside feel more important. For the design on top I had two favourites: two birds mid flight and a portrait of a lady (potential homeowner?). I like the idea of using the two bird motif as its a way to keep my other idea (birdcage) somewhat in the game. I also think that the lady motif could be a good way to hint at the owner of the home. Both motifs are relatively common images from the time as both show up a lot as pendants and as book covers.

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Making Kitchen Assets

For my kitchen to actually look like a kitchen, I need to create some assets to replace my grey box placeholders.

I started with a cube in Maya that I scaled to 6.

I then used the multi-cut tool to cut a line at 90% and 10%.

Using these new faces, I extruded and beveled a small edge at the top and bottom of the front of my counter.

I then used this as a base for all of my other counters, adding things like cabinets, drawers and a sink. Both the cabinet and drawers used a cube stretched into the shape of the drawer/door as well as a cube that was beveled for the handle.

The sink what a little more complicated, using a cube that was extruded and beveled to create a curved tap. It then was cut to have a larger section on the end.

The handles were made using a beveled cube to connect them to the counter top and two smaller, slightly less beveled cubes as the parts that are actually turned.

The sink was made using a beveled cube that cut into the counter top.

two cylinders were used to create a plug in the sink as well as the overflow hole in the back of the sink.

The sink ended up looking like this.

Each of these were then textured using Photoshop using stock photos

End result:

After adding these to my game, I continued to make more assets to fill in where I had previously grey boxed. Next was making the corner cabinet that connected the bottom counters to the wall cabinets. For this I started with the same size cube as the counters and added a cuboid on top of that. This cuboid is double the height of the cube and will have a bevel used on one vertical edge to create the diagonal cupboard.

I then textured it using the same wood texture for the body, marble texture for the counter part and the gold for the handles.

Next was the wall cabinets which used the same cube as before but cut in half pm the Z axis to make them thinner. Cupboards were then added and textured.

After adding these, I realised that the wall cabinets could use something to break them up a bit. To do this, I created a mini version of a wall cabinet with one cupboard door to help break up the wall of cabinets.

Once this was done, I created a fireplace type of stove similar to the one in my mood board. This fireplace is 2 blocks wide and 3 blocks high, making it the biggest asset for the kitchen. I used a cube with the two top edges beveled to carve a hole into the front of the fireplace. I then used a beveled cuboid to create a sort of hole for where the chimney would've been prior to it being converted to a stove.

This is now the main body of my kitchen which I will add detail to after I have finished the other rooms.

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Grey boxing the Interior

Kitchen:

I decided to start with the kitchen when deciding on the interior because it was the room I had a few solid ideas for.

A lot of older kitchens include some form of table or island in the centre which is something I want to use in my design. This is because it both fits with my house and creates a more enclosed space which is something that I want for my horror type level as it makes it feel harder to escape.

My first blocking is very simple with an island in the centre of the room and a counter with overhead cabinets around the back wall. I like having the island as the centrepiece as it makes the space a lot more cramped however I don't like how simple the rest is.

My second idea is a bit more open with an island/table only on the right hand side rather than the centre. I added a fireplace behind the island like in one of my inspiration photos because I think that it could both be an interesting set piece as well as a way to practice using particle effects. I also added more overhead cabinets on the left to cramp the space.

The third blocking is a combination of the two previous ones with the bits I liked from each part. I've moved the island back to the centre to close off the kitchen area and have moved the fireplace to the right hand side. I've also kept the overhead cabinets but added a corner cabinet as well to take up more room and make the separation of the fireplace from the main counter more clear.

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Greyboxing my Level

So that I can edit my level layout to better fit my game as well as get a sense of scale for my level compared to the player character.

Exterior:

To begin, I traced the floor plan I wanted to use. I did this by scaling a sprite of the floor plan image to the size of my cubes (I'm using 50 size cubes rather than the default 100 because I found that 3 50 cubes is the perfect door width).

I then built this up so that I had the walls ready, adding ceilings to the rooms that were only one level tall.

Next I added all of the floors as well as the porches that would be seen outside.

I then used the same method to create the first floor of the house.

I then added the first floor to the ground floor and added lights so that it would be able to be seen in game.

I then added a ceiling.

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Audio Design: Game Soundscapes and Player Experience