From the start of the project, all I’ve been doing while researching is imagining the various possibilities of this future, what it could be, art and architecture styles, are there loads of plants, no plants, how would the politics of the country affect it, etc. and finally after designing it all, it was time to make it, this is by far my favourite part, and I’ve really enjoyed learning more about 3DS max, the software i used to create the project’s models. I decided on a repeatable structures system, i designed several base buildings with various small variations in the designs to make it all a bit more interesting, since this was the future, i expected there would be a huge mash of different old and new styles in the skyline of London, especially with the setting of a post-revolution London with greater influences from the cultures inside the country and abroad, and a almost step back into the American 1950’s interpretation of the future, with simplified art deco buildings and a huge amount of idealism, that influence was used in parts, to recognise and show this future as a bright one that, although has had turbulent times, has come out as a better, near-perfect society, and this’d be mirrored by the architecture, the lighting in the scenes especially (i was going to use a technique where all the bad and evil ships would be duller shades of the same colours in the scenes, to show a difference and a contrast between the two. I was even going to have enemies in the later levels that would challenge even this, to really make the audience think about who is an isn’t the bad guy.
The first model was to be a simple building, about 5 stories high with various variations on the patterns. i achieved most of the curves using the tool called “chamfer”, allowing me to choose the depth or the curve as well as how many segments i could use. the windows i found to be difficult, i created a gridline pattern on the model, and cut out the windows, but on the corners i had to readjust them to get a nice, even finish on the window sill. each doorway has small steps going into the street, accept on type which featured an overhang cut into the building with supporting pillars, the last model i made used a small “street café” style with small fencing and an overhanging shade over the dining area, this was also my first use of the Boolean tool in the engine, I always struggle with Booleans, because half the time they delete the project, and the other half the like to create all sorts of funky and strange problems that i have to deal with further down the road.
The next building was based solely off my workplace, with a few additions, i got inspiration from just looking around Callington, and i noticed a building, the one i worked in, the design, the shapes, it looks a little outdated, which is what i wanted, and as inspiration goes, i felt it was quite good. When i built it in the engine, i curved some of the windows in a way to make them look like they’ve been updated over years even though the rest looked much older, i even added a large aerial on one of the designs, even though you can’t see it in the screenshots, in the final model, they’re there, I’m really happy with the outcome too, i think it fits in perfectly and it was fairly easy to achieve due to the size of the designs.
The third building i built was something of an experiment, i didn’t even know if it’d work. It was the first of the larger buildings, and in fact, since i haven’t finished making all the models yet, this particular building is the largest building in the game, or, at least the tallest. i found this one challenging as it was the first building to incorporate a curvaceous design, and also had some odd and interesting parts and assets. This design was a small nod to my Cornish heritage, specifically the Cornish mining heritage found in my home town and across the whole county, the entire building is based off an engine house, with a large aerial filling the space of the chimney stack, this design also would have trees in the gap at the top of the building under the roofing, most of the buildings here incorporate some form of nature into their design, but i wasn’t able to display this due to the lack of knowledge of the game engine and the lack of time.
The fourth building i’m very proud of, it’s based off a true London building, it’s not ridiculously common, but it’s very beautiful, and probably the one i enjoyed making the most. I found the base structure fairly easy to construct since it was made from a cuboid initially and the moulded using the various tools the modelling programme gives me, it’s also a fairly nice-to-repeat pattern that fits in well to the London Skyline, especially along the river Thames.
The 5th building i made was another echo of the past, this time a Victorian-style warehouse. This building i based off the Youth club in Callington, since it was build around that time, but i also combined it with some photos on google, the end result being this, if i do say so myself, Smashing piece or architecture that illustrates the design just as i had in my head, it really fits into the skyline and makes it a little more lively, the character it adds alone really picks up the scene and makes it truly unique, that is, not meaning to pat my own back or anything.
(Sidenote, apologies for the window on the side of the screen, my home computer has two monitors)
The last building i made was the Houses of Parliament, also known as the palace of Westminster, I really enjoyed creating this model, it was challenging, and that’s something i love, in total, it took me five hours to create, and the most challenging part i found was attaching all of the parts together at the end of the project using the Boolean operators, mainly because half the time they wouldn’t work together properly and would just cause errors for me to fix later or make the model disappear. The model itself isn’t a fully accurate, nor is it completely detailed, I made it by eye, judging proportions based off models of the real thing on Google Maps, and pictures on Google, I could’ve downloaded the picture and placed it in the modelling studio, but instead decided, since i didn’t know how to do that, to just build it off images on the internet (and also the time constraint, learning how to place an image in the game studio could’ve taken a lot longer, i know now it’s incredibly easy, but when i was making this, i didn’t know). the model was less detailed to save time, and also part of the style, the game was meant to be simple colours and designs with simpler shapes and dynamic lighting to offset it, i did intend to texture all the buildings, but found UV mapping (a method used to create a skin you place over the model, containing the texture) was extremely difficult to do, so i stuck with making the models and creating the scene.
Aside from the models, the only other model i had time to make was the Swift, the main ship you fly around in the game, in the lowest of the screenshots above you can see the finished models flying around the scene, the plan was to create an almost 1950s style plane with some sci-fi elements to it, the plane was also designed to fly in space in the lore of the game, a small nod to Doctor who (Season 5: Victory of the Daleks), these planes were supposed to be playable, functioning sprites in game, but since i ran out of time, halfway through coding, i put them in the scene in the game in still positions to simulate them flying around. They also contained a small grill at the front which has turbine blades under them, of which were supposed to spin, but after many attempts (all of which time consuming), i left them still and moved onto the next project. i’m still happy with the quality of them, and plan to add small weapon pods each side of the aircraft.
GregSkiiArt 