NC State Performance Based Measurement
Game Art & Design
Greyboxing - Turtle Angler
Greyboxing was definitely significantly more difficult and tedious than I had been expecting. I ended up replacing just about everything except for the terrain itself, including the stores, docks, trees, and boats. I started out by trying to find replacements for these objects online, which worked fairly well for the trees and boat. I decided to use several types of trees to add a bit of variety, and randomly rotated them to make it all look more natural. Unfortunately, I was unable to find replacements for the docks and stalls that fit the style I'm going for, and I had to model them myself with the simple blender selection mode tools. Greyboxing helped me fully realize the style I'm aiming for, which will mostly avoid 'textures' within materials by just using mixes of basic colors for a simple, yet vibrant look.
Asset Creation - Turtle Angler
These are a few assets I'm planning on using in Turtle Angler. The fish was modelled by me while the boat and fishing rod were found on SketchFab. The fish wasn't too terrible to make, but I did have to effectively relearn 3ds Max, as it had been quite a while since I had used it. I started with a sphere and turned it into an editable poly, then manipulated vertices in order to shape it into a fish. I attempted to add some textures, but the texture editor was fairly convoluted and I did not find the time to figure it all out.
The purpose of all 3 assets in the game are quite simple. The fish is one of the many fish that will be catchable within the game. The boat will be one of the boats that you can purchase in order to go out farther into the lake. The fishing rod will be usable to catch some of the fish within the game, and there will be other rods as well. I tried to get some similar styles for the objects, fairly bright and not realistic.
The purpose of all 3 assets in the game are quite simple. The fish is one of the many fish that will be catchable within the game. The boat will be one of the boats that you can purchase in order to go out farther into the lake. The fishing rod will be usable to catch some of the fish within the game, and there will be other rods as well. I tried to get some similar styles for the objects, fairly bright and not realistic.
Game Design Schedule - Turtle Angler
Whiteboxing - Turtle Angler
Converting my level design into a whitebox was a little bit of a struggle. I started out by making the terrain. I began with a cube and used modeling tools in order to form the lake in the middle of the map. I used that as a scale for the rest of it. I then extended it on every side several times over, increasing the height with each expansion, to create the 'basin' shape I had been going for. It was mostly just a tedious process. The other objects were fairly easy to create, as I could just manipulate cubes in order to make each one, and then duplicate groups around the map where I needed them. This used some of the skills in the first assignment I did in UE. since that introduced me to some of the modeling tools I used. Next, I need to replace some assets with more refined ones in order to create a greybox, and potentially change some proportions.
Level Design - Turtle Angler
This is a design for the main map of Turtle Angler, a fairly simple fishing game. It revolves around the lake in the center of the map, as that's where the player will be spending most of their time. The lake is split up into divisions that the player will be able to access with different types of boats, and the player can return to a town in order to sell fish or upgrade their equipment. Each division of the lake will have different kinds of fish for the player to find, and these fish will may for more. This effectively creates a loop for the player to catch fish to upgrade their equipment, enabling them to catch more valuable fish to upgrade their equipment further. To win, the player needs to catch the Leviathan within the middle division, which makes upgrading your equipment even more of a priority for the player.
Game Design Document - Turtle Angler
Game Pitch - Dungeon Architect
Other Game Concepts
Turtle Angler
Genre - Simulation
Target Audience - Designed for most children or young adults
Artstyle/Mood - Cute, bright, & saturated
General Overview - You play as a turtle with a knack for fishing, catching fish to earn money and fill out your fishing index, and you can use money for different sorts of upgrades to your fishing rod or boat.
Target Audience - Designed for most children or young adults
Artstyle/Mood - Cute, bright, & saturated
General Overview - You play as a turtle with a knack for fishing, catching fish to earn money and fill out your fishing index, and you can use money for different sorts of upgrades to your fishing rod or boat.
Game Aesthetics
Mood Board - Dungeon Architect
Reflection
For this mood board, I looked for fairly specific and similar reference images. I chose a lot of blue-hued dungeon scenes, since I thought that it would be an appealing atmosphere for Dungeon Architect. I chose similar color choices for monsters to make them fit in, as shown by the skeletons and slime, although that may be changed. I also wanted to make sure all the dungeons had a somewhat softer feel to them, with a lot of beveled edges and such. In terms of textures, I looked for some that would fit the dungeon theme as well as keep the colors consistent. For my color schemes, I included the blues, as well as throwing in some contrasting colors that some of my references used quite well. I had a few ideas for fonts. Georgia is a fairly simple font that would fit the atmosphere well enough while maintaining readability. I'm planning on the story of the game revolving around working for a corporation, so Verdana fit fairly well as a 'corporate' font. Pixelo was an option if I decided to go for the pixel art route, although that's unlikely.
Character Design - Goblorb - Dungeon Architect
These images show the process of designing a character, in this case being Goblorb. Goblorb is a fairly common monster that is found in countless dungeons, and presents no real danger to an experienced fighter. That being said, they're fairly active and quick. I tried to incorporate their mostly harmless nature into their design by making them almost entirely round. This gives them a less threatening appearance, especially with the somewhat stubby hands. I did give them sharp teeth though, just to show that they're capable of dealing at least a small amount of damage. I also included their hyperactive traits into their design by giving them wide open eyes with some bags underneath, along with a smile. Since they are effectively just variations of goblins, I included stereotypical goblin features such as the long nose, sharp ears, and pointed boots. They fit in as a cheap and weak monster to defend your dungeon with if you don't have much cash on hand.
The thumbnail was very simple and didn't give them any sort of personality. I had to make quite a few thumbnails, so this was understandable. The rough sketch was the largest jump in their character, giving them their personality and some additional details, like the small tuft of 'hair'. The orthographic sketches were mostly just adding onto this with some additional details, without any changes in personality or overall feel. These included the additional fur on the boots, as well as making them pointed. It was mostly just to refine the design and make sure it would be reasonable for a 3D space.
The thumbnail was very simple and didn't give them any sort of personality. I had to make quite a few thumbnails, so this was understandable. The rough sketch was the largest jump in their character, giving them their personality and some additional details, like the small tuft of 'hair'. The orthographic sketches were mostly just adding onto this with some additional details, without any changes in personality or overall feel. These included the additional fur on the boots, as well as making them pointed. It was mostly just to refine the design and make sure it would be reasonable for a 3D space.
Storyline - Dungeon Architect
It's nearing the end of the 17th century. You graduated around a year ago with a Master's Degree in Architecture from a prestigious university. However, almost no company or corporation within 50 miles is willing to hire you, due to there not being any legal consequences or regulations for creating unsafe structures. When your savings have almost run out, you hear a knock on your door. You open it to be met with an agent from Labyrinth Inc., which has found a large vein of gold in the nearby sacred mountain. They want you to lead a project to design a dungeon capable of defending this mine from nearby villages and towns that wouldn't be happy with the company defiling their sacred grounds. While you find this all pretty morally reprehensible, you're gonna have to pay off your educational debts somehow. You agree to this deal, and the agent immediately takes you to the worksite (after you sign the NDA, of course.)
Reflection
This story is mostly an explanation as to why you would be working for an objectively evil corporation. I didn't want to make the player's values line up with the company, but I still needed to give them a motive to work for them. It also serves as a main introduction into the game as a whole. The rest of the game most likely wouldn't have major plot twists or major story points, as past the beginning it's mostly a sandbox experience for the player. Since the player will mostly just be managing their dungeon and not relations with other characters, I don't want them to have to bother too much with the story as a whole, although there will definitely be some amount of other characters introduced.