Engine Team Tips 4 Future Students
15 years ago
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thank you
The project launch took place yesterday. Everything went very well. It was a huge success. We would like to thank you all for your hard work and support. Special thanks to Chris for putting together such a fantastic launch all by himself. Thank you Adeline and Lawrence for designing the website and promo video on such short notice. And a very very special thank you to George and the engine team for their hard work and dedication throughout the project. Thank you production and concept teams for all your hard work. Thank you Simon and Katie for being the heart of the whole operation. And a very special thanks to Matt Riley for always supporting us and providing useful feedback. Thank you Jeremy for all your support and for always being there when we needed you. Thank you Chris and Kate for all your support. Thank you Toshi for always checking on us and supporting us. And last but not least thank you Christian for helping us with Maya.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Final Executive Meeting
The first and second levels which were in their final stages of production was presented to the executives. The following feed back was provided by them :
1) Include something on the roof which will keep people more compelled to get up there in the city space.
2) The main ambient sound is too present in a way that it highlights its repetition.
3) Cylinder colours too noisy.
4) Not clear which exits take you where. Colour coordinate exits with space being entered. For example use coloured exits when exiting Black and white (sound space) and entering Colour (Light space) and vise versa.
Simon & Cham.
1) Include something on the roof which will keep people more compelled to get up there in the city space.
2) The main ambient sound is too present in a way that it highlights its repetition.
3) Cylinder colours too noisy.
4) Not clear which exits take you where. Colour coordinate exits with space being entered. For example use coloured exits when exiting Black and white (sound space) and entering Colour (Light space) and vise versa.
Simon & Cham.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Feedback from Zev Langer
Hi All,
Following yesterday's meeting, here's some feedback on how your space is shaping up.
General Layout
Signage for entry/exit points:
At the moment these are not easily identifiable and thus a source for confusion in the space. Decide on a visual signature for entries, portals and transitional spaces, and apply it consistently throughout the space. The user will then be able to orient themselves to these elements within the space, and keeping consistency with your visual signifiers will let you teach the user what to expect as they move around.
Movement experience:
Generally speaking the movement in the sound space seems ok, while the movement in the colour space feels clunky. In both cases I recommend a quick investigation of how physics and gravity volumes (brushes?) can be used to soften the user's motion in the space. If you decide to have the use walking in the coloured space, investigate how changing the surface properties of your environment can minimise the annoying footstep sounds. Using a fluid volume so the player is swimming might be another option.
Teleporter tubes (the things you fall through with the space odyssey textures):
You should try and get as much use as possible from these assets now that you have built them. They can be used as originally designed (to teleport the player around a space) but they also work as a transitional device, taking players between spaces. Decide which of the tubes you prefer for each situation, and set them up to provide a consistent experience, eg - teleporting within the sound space, you go through the line tube, telporting within the color space, you go through the ring tube, teleporting between spaces, you go through the hippie looking tube.
Entry and exit:
Solve how the user starts and ends the experience. If you are going to use the teleporter tubes as described above, you could shoot the player out of a one-way tube into the space, making sure that they start in the same type of tube that is used to transit between spaces. Use 1 way collision to hide the entry point.
Connection beween the sound space and the colour space:
It would help link the spaces together if there was some visual or sonic foreshadowing as you approach the teleports between the 2 spaces. This could be achieved with the texturing of the space, or through the placement of appropriate meshes and sounds
Sound Space
Portals/entries/exits: These are generally too small and hard to locate. Because you are allowing free movement in the Z axis there is a tendency to go above or below them and miss their presence. Widen the openings, particularly in the Z axis. Add some sort of visual element to draw the eye, maintaining consistency across the space (as discussed above).
Sound grid cube: People seem to not move up and down in this area. Try reorienting the grid as a diamond formation, or reshaping the space it sits in to emphasise the Z axis. Add visual elements to draw the eye up and down as you move into the space.
Possiby this area could be expanded, and the nodes placed further apart. This would to place more focus on each indiviual sound as it activates. Also some time might be spent tweaking the scale effect to taste.
Colour space
Differentiation from Sound space: The two spaces are actually quite similar. As a test, try inverting the texture used on the space itself, making the colour space predominantly white. This might heighten the effect of the colours.
Looping corridors: These are potentially dull to explore. Using physics to force the player through at high speed, and decorating them into a visually interesting ride, will improve these greatly. Maybe an experience similar to that of the teleporter tubes, but with a focus on 3 dimensional objects rather than texture detail would be interesting. Maybe these areas cold be replaced with a chain of teleporter tubes.
Rising block area:
This is cool, but it would be good to climb the structures. Try lightening the gravity so the user can jump up each tier.
Priority List
for getting the above into your environment.
Class A - this is stuff without which your design is incomplete, or the space is going to feel broken.
1: Player start and end
2: Teleporter tube linkups
3: 'attract' details for entry/exit/doorways/resize of portals in sound space
Class B - Important, but not a showstopper
1: Looping corridors in Colour space
2: gravity/jumping tweaks in rising block interactive area
3: general adjustments to movement dynamics
Class C - Less critical graphical and audio issues
1: Minimisation of sfx inherited from unreal (footsteps etc)
2: Adjustments to sound grid interactive
3: Visual connection between spaces
Class S - 'suggestions'
1: white colour space
2: polish (incidental audio and visual detail to liven up the space - emitters, sounds, etc.)
Finally, consider the fastest ways to add content to your world - recycle existing assets. Scale, re-orient and re-texture them to lessen the feeling of repetition. place subtle pieces of incidental audio to add mood to a space. With careful staging, It's possible to get a lot of mileage out of few assets.
Hope this is helpful, any questions, just reply to this email and I'll try and get back to you before Monday. Also please forward to Katie.
Cheers,
Zev
Following yesterday's meeting, here's some feedback on how your space is shaping up.
General Layout
Signage for entry/exit points:
At the moment these are not easily identifiable and thus a source for confusion in the space. Decide on a visual signature for entries, portals and transitional spaces, and apply it consistently throughout the space. The user will then be able to orient themselves to these elements within the space, and keeping consistency with your visual signifiers will let you teach the user what to expect as they move around.
Movement experience:
Generally speaking the movement in the sound space seems ok, while the movement in the colour space feels clunky. In both cases I recommend a quick investigation of how physics and gravity volumes (brushes?) can be used to soften the user's motion in the space. If you decide to have the use walking in the coloured space, investigate how changing the surface properties of your environment can minimise the annoying footstep sounds. Using a fluid volume so the player is swimming might be another option.
Teleporter tubes (the things you fall through with the space odyssey textures):
You should try and get as much use as possible from these assets now that you have built them. They can be used as originally designed (to teleport the player around a space) but they also work as a transitional device, taking players between spaces. Decide which of the tubes you prefer for each situation, and set them up to provide a consistent experience, eg - teleporting within the sound space, you go through the line tube, telporting within the color space, you go through the ring tube, teleporting between spaces, you go through the hippie looking tube.
Entry and exit:
Solve how the user starts and ends the experience. If you are going to use the teleporter tubes as described above, you could shoot the player out of a one-way tube into the space, making sure that they start in the same type of tube that is used to transit between spaces. Use 1 way collision to hide the entry point.
Connection beween the sound space and the colour space:
It would help link the spaces together if there was some visual or sonic foreshadowing as you approach the teleports between the 2 spaces. This could be achieved with the texturing of the space, or through the placement of appropriate meshes and sounds
Sound Space
Portals/entries/exits: These are generally too small and hard to locate. Because you are allowing free movement in the Z axis there is a tendency to go above or below them and miss their presence. Widen the openings, particularly in the Z axis. Add some sort of visual element to draw the eye, maintaining consistency across the space (as discussed above).
Sound grid cube: People seem to not move up and down in this area. Try reorienting the grid as a diamond formation, or reshaping the space it sits in to emphasise the Z axis. Add visual elements to draw the eye up and down as you move into the space.
Possiby this area could be expanded, and the nodes placed further apart. This would to place more focus on each indiviual sound as it activates. Also some time might be spent tweaking the scale effect to taste.
Colour space
Differentiation from Sound space: The two spaces are actually quite similar. As a test, try inverting the texture used on the space itself, making the colour space predominantly white. This might heighten the effect of the colours.
Looping corridors: These are potentially dull to explore. Using physics to force the player through at high speed, and decorating them into a visually interesting ride, will improve these greatly. Maybe an experience similar to that of the teleporter tubes, but with a focus on 3 dimensional objects rather than texture detail would be interesting. Maybe these areas cold be replaced with a chain of teleporter tubes.
Rising block area:
This is cool, but it would be good to climb the structures. Try lightening the gravity so the user can jump up each tier.
Priority List
for getting the above into your environment.
Class A - this is stuff without which your design is incomplete, or the space is going to feel broken.
1: Player start and end
2: Teleporter tube linkups
3: 'attract' details for entry/exit/doorways/resize of portals in sound space
Class B - Important, but not a showstopper
1: Looping corridors in Colour space
2: gravity/jumping tweaks in rising block interactive area
3: general adjustments to movement dynamics
Class C - Less critical graphical and audio issues
1: Minimisation of sfx inherited from unreal (footsteps etc)
2: Adjustments to sound grid interactive
3: Visual connection between spaces
Class S - 'suggestions'
1: white colour space
2: polish (incidental audio and visual detail to liven up the space - emitters, sounds, etc.)
Finally, consider the fastest ways to add content to your world - recycle existing assets. Scale, re-orient and re-texture them to lessen the feeling of repetition. place subtle pieces of incidental audio to add mood to a space. With careful staging, It's possible to get a lot of mileage out of few assets.
Hope this is helpful, any questions, just reply to this email and I'll try and get back to you before Monday. Also please forward to Katie.
Cheers,
Zev
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thank You
Hi all,
We would like to thank everyone for their contributions and time dedicated to production of TBM in the past 4 days. Good luck with your pitch preparations.
Have a great weekend!
Simon & Cham.
We would like to thank everyone for their contributions and time dedicated to production of TBM in the past 4 days. Good luck with your pitch preparations.
Have a great weekend!
Simon & Cham.
6.30 - 7.45 pm Meeting with the executive
The following was discussed:
1) Making the game 3rd person.
2) All teleporters in all levels should look the same, they should create a visual code which helps the user identify what it is.
3) The tunnels are a bit dull, try to make the journey through the tunnel interesting.
4) In the second level, make it possible for the user to get on top of the boxes. Increase the delay time. Put a reward above for the user to be motivated to interact with the boxes.
5) Get mileage on the stuff we already have, due to the time factor.
6) 7 minutes might be too long to get through the space, might need to change it to about 4 minutes.
7) The teleporters look great.
Grid in the sound level:
8) Give the user a sense of vertical space as there is no depth in the space.
9) Expand roof to make it cavernous.
10) Change texture to move upwards which will make the user curious to look up.
11) Think of making it a diamond shape instead of a cube.
Start Level of TBM
12) Think of an idea which would get the player into the game easily.
13) Use single sided collision panel to seal the space.
14) Might be able to use the colorful orbs to lead people to the game.
15) Think of shooting the user into the game.
The above were suggestions and comments made by the executives. Zev will e mail a detailed version of the above tomorrow and we can begin making the required changes.
Simon & Cham.
1) Making the game 3rd person.
2) All teleporters in all levels should look the same, they should create a visual code which helps the user identify what it is.
3) The tunnels are a bit dull, try to make the journey through the tunnel interesting.
4) In the second level, make it possible for the user to get on top of the boxes. Increase the delay time. Put a reward above for the user to be motivated to interact with the boxes.
5) Get mileage on the stuff we already have, due to the time factor.
6) 7 minutes might be too long to get through the space, might need to change it to about 4 minutes.
7) The teleporters look great.
Grid in the sound level:
8) Give the user a sense of vertical space as there is no depth in the space.
9) Expand roof to make it cavernous.
10) Change texture to move upwards which will make the user curious to look up.
11) Think of making it a diamond shape instead of a cube.
Start Level of TBM
12) Think of an idea which would get the player into the game easily.
13) Use single sided collision panel to seal the space.
14) Might be able to use the colorful orbs to lead people to the game.
15) Think of shooting the user into the game.
The above were suggestions and comments made by the executives. Zev will e mail a detailed version of the above tomorrow and we can begin making the required changes.
Simon & Cham.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Day 26
Hi all,
The team leads, director and producers had a meeting at 11 am.
The following was discussed :
1) The Color level will not be produced due to the lack of time.
2) The start of the game will be completed by Ben and his team by 6 pm tonight.
11.30 am - 12 noon - Cham met with Chris to discuss the marketing side of TBM.
1) Since we were unable to get any external funding, we will need to collect the amount of $10 from each member of the class in order to organize food for the launch.
2) The security for the launch will have to be organized by us.
3) The design of the TBM website was assigned to Noura.
Simon & Cham.
The team leads, director and producers had a meeting at 11 am.
The following was discussed :
1) The Color level will not be produced due to the lack of time.
2) The start of the game will be completed by Ben and his team by 6 pm tonight.
11.30 am - 12 noon - Cham met with Chris to discuss the marketing side of TBM.
1) Since we were unable to get any external funding, we will need to collect the amount of $10 from each member of the class in order to organize food for the launch.
2) The security for the launch will have to be organized by us.
3) The design of the TBM website was assigned to Noura.
Simon & Cham.
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