CAGD 470: Video Game Production

Sprint 6

11/09/2024-11/21/2024

This Sprint went by quickly, and I made a significant improvement regarding my absences. I had to miss some classes and meet-ups for health reasons, although I notified my team in time and met when everyone was available. I didn't consider myself useless because of the lack of tasks I had provided based on my progress as an individual. I complete my work on time and perfect it before starting a new one. I double-check my work with both the designer and producer. They both need to agree if my work is complete or needs some adjustments. I even asked the other 3D Artist if it required changes or pointers. This Sprint went well by adding some improvements or fixing some bugs. I'm just so relieved I wasn't considered as a programmer for previous projects because I would likely put the team's progress into a bender.

During kickoff, it was unexpected, so I had to speak one-on-one with the producer about my absence from the whole team. I had more UI/HUD and upgrades with the Grogan attack model. So, I fixed the previous gorgon head as an individual object so the head could be noticeable from the overview so the player could identify the enemy. Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of the Meduas; I had to create another model that specifies the attack mode so the player could identify the attack mechanic relating to the model. For starters, I had to verify with the designer what type of design they wanted for the attack, and by doing so, I started with the concept art, which was an option, not a task. Afterward, I went towards Maya, then Substance Painter, and implemented it into Unity. Lastly, I did some UI/HUD as the menu borders, buttons, and indicators. I had to use some references to Greek patterns and add some floral wreaths, as the Greeks used them to symbolize greatness or victory. I decided not to use any background menus, just the borders and the buttons; when the other Artist was in charge of it, I wanted to make sure it was straightforward to read. The less color, the better. I created a warning or caution sign for the indicators when the enemy approaches. Within the triangular, I just implemented the enemy's approach so the player can be notified beforehand of the enemy enclosing or attacking. Even though I completed the last task for this Sprint, it wasn't processed to complete after the deadline had ended, so it would be moved to the next Sprint. I accomplish my task for the first time without any hiccups or blocks. We need to polish the game and finish the last assignments for the upcoming Sprint before submitting it to itoshi.com as the final build.

Sprint 5

10/25/2024-11/08/2024

I couldn't imagine my team's progress in this game compared to any other for this class. Even though we are a group of five people, we made more progress for both programming and artists to have a physical aspect of the game from just an idea. We, as a team, made our share by dividing our work to make it possible to accomplish the tasks before any current event. The main objective was to focus on the loop mechanics, while the other 3D artist modelers concentrated on creating the characters and the UI/HUD. Within this Sprint, I re-used the same materials but changed the color and emission to identify the different attributes of one single object.

This sprint kickoff was short and fast. Some tasks were on the backlog, waiting to start, especially for the UI/HUD and background, which was the perfect time. The UI/HUD and the background take less time than modeling because my program doesn't crash down or freeze as much as Maya or Painter. To start these tasks, I have to implement all the finished textures into Unity, as with the models, so the programmers can imply that the database within these new visuals will come to life. It began as a routine of ensuring all the materials were correct, in the same file or namespace, and putting them into their folders in Unity and Prefabs.

Since the last Sprint I mentioned about Cerberus, I started with the concept art and ensured it reflected what the designer had foreseen for this particular character. Using the green light, I modeled this character into two different parts. I started with the head, which I did with the head of the snake from the previous character. Later, I did the body, which I had to extract the middle of the body to imply a different method of body within the body. Afterward, I exported it to Painter and imported it into Unity. Lastly, I had to make other texture material for the asteroids for another purpose: collectibles/bullets. For the next upcoming Sprint, I was tasked with more texture materials for the impact of the other characters/enemies by starting with Medusa. I also need to finish the UI/HUD for any other progress I had assigned for the next Sprint. This playtest can help us identify issues or bugs before the final build-up.

Sprint 4

10/14/2024-10/24/2024

What a learning experience I have encountered throughout this semester regarding this game's achievements. In this Sprint, I learned a different method for using a specific texture within Maya without the outside source. I wouldn't consider using Hyper-shade unless it involves rendering in Maya for a particular material, such as glass, to identify a model of the black hole. Relating to the black hole model, I had to use a different method by manipulating the textures in Substance Painter to make them as accurate as possible.

So far, within this Sprint, I haven't encountered any issues besides the general updates for my computer. I also had to download Unity to import the models with their textures and send them to the programmers to apply in the game scene. I am crossing my fingers for any unfortunate encounters, upcoming issues, or problems I might not fix.
This sprint kickoff was short and a continuation of the past tasks. The only new task I was assigned was creating Cerberus as another enemy. In Greek mythology, Cerberus is the monstrous watchdog of the underworld. Importing the models and their material textures into a Unity package is also a small task.

I completed this Sprint by applying all the unfinished models without any materials. I had to find a way to differentiate each asteroid with its unique materials without confusing the player and the designer. The designer wanted a Greek pattern from the pottery, a mixture of rock and pottery. Later, I had to add materials to the Cyclops, which was too dark on the first try, and change it to red. Unfortanly, I had to change the primary color, which was red, because there was a red enemy, so I changed it to orange as the producer recommended. When I switched to the Medusa, I had everything planned by adding serpent skin, the side of the shield pattern with emersion, and the eyes, yet the only issue was the wrong UV. I had to return to Maya and fix it. I was done adding all the textures, and now I had to make the black hole. I had to find references to make the black hole real by the ring being just dust particles without the actual solution showing. The only source I found was for something other than the application I'm used to. I had to play with Hypershader in Maya and the opacity without metal and roughness in Substance Painter. I made it work with five colors: red, blue, purple, white, and multi-color. I started to add the models and textures to Unity. Overall, I want to complete all the models, starting with UI and background art.

Sprint 3

09/30/24-10/13/2024

It was a sprint of learning and growth. I had to limit myself for a few days until I could return and motivate myself to my routine. I had to apply myself by learning new modeling methods with low poly and not extending to high poly. I have been testing different methods in Maya so I can limit myself by not using Zbrush for this type of game art style. By doing so, I faced the time of having Maya crash or freeze on me without realizing it and forgot to save my sense, which I had to re-do the same process from when I opened the file. I wasn't happy but very frustrated, which made me shut down my computer for any future complication with the system. I just started to save every chance I got before any significant changes.

My dedication to the project was unwavering. This Sprint kickoff is divided into two parts. The first part was what we were assigned from the previous Sprint. As one of the artists, I had to continue what I picked as I created the Medusa "spaceship." This was a quick stand-up with the producer of backlog cards that needed to be assigned by the design of the black hole, the border, a sphinx, and the debris to model and texture. I was confused about the sphinx, but I picked the black hole as another new element that requires knowledge. After the second meet-up with the designer, she implies new items or enemies, such as the sphinx, which was in the wrong mythology of the eygpt. I stayed with my choices and started with the concept idea for the Medusa. I followed up with the style guide provided by the designer, but I wanted to know if there were any updates from the previous update. The reference provided was a shield with Medusa or Gorgen's face. I was looking for other references, but besides the shield, it's her body of a serpent. I asked before proceeding to the actual concept art. I mentioned this to the designer and was okay with being a saucer but different from the previous Cyclops. 

The concept I relied on was the shield, the head, and the snakes. I divided my work by focusing on the shield, providing a similarity to an ancient Greek shield, and, when done, adding the glowing texture on the mid edges. The head was confusing at first because it seemed complicated in Maya, although with the internet access, I made some references to how to make the shape by using half of a square and playing around cut edges and vertexes. Just using one side made it easier to mirror a complete headpiece. The "hair" was made from a single curve tool, excluding a circle curb within the origin of the grid because if I hadn't, I would have gotten a problematic result, so I made a simple curve and combined them by creating the hair and body of the serpents. Lastly, the head of a serpent was imaginable, hard from all the curves on the face itself. On my first try, it was blocky and unreliable from the concept art reference, so I had to find an alternative aspect by seeing other creators' models as another source of reference, which helped me understand a better perspective outcome. Overall, having multiple references is a helpful guideline for understanding the process of creating an unknown territory. Unfortunately, I couldn't advance enough to finish another task in time, yet hopefully, I can accomplish it before the next Sprint ends. In the meantime, I will add all the models' textures before proceeding to another model.

Sprint 2

09/16/24-09/29/24

This Sprint was a valuable learning experience for me. I always acknowledge the potential of learning new techniques with the help of others. For starters, I had to verify how to mold a crater without causing errors that may cause Maya to crash previous experience. I also learned and refreshed on Zbrush for a year, and I haven't used it since then. Lastly, I had to teach or find better ways to texture without using Substance Painter, either learning new techniques or using Toolbag. Overall, this Sprint was meant to refresh my mind and teach me new techniques.

Thankfully, I didn't encounter any application issues with Maya. However, I faced a unique challenge when I tried to mold or create a foundation for the first two asteroids. Whenever I tried to open the file, my model would appear as a hairball of mesh for no reason. Despite this, I persevered, correctly reducing the second asteroid by the fourth time, UV-ing before saving the file and closing it to try and see if it would open the right way. It's so funny it only happens within this project file, but from another project, nothing happens even though I haven't done any UV yet. It only happens when I have multiple subdivisions or lousy geometry, but Maya could be better. When I struggled with Maya for the rest of the asteroids, I tried to do it with Zbrush, but I encountered issues by not letting me get a student discount before paying the total price. I can only use the trial by the end of this month; I had to contact the website to figure out why I couldn't activate the discount. Luckily, it was on their end, and now I have full access to any mold build for the other enemies.

Second Verison

First Version

Second Version

First Version

 The kickokickoffshort was created because new tasks were added, and some assigned tasks that weren't completed in the first Sprint were finished. As I mentioned, I had to complete the rest of the asteroids. Still, I made them multiple times before identifying the correct formation. I combined the craters into pottery curves and defined the sharp curves by not letting them be square or a box. At first, I tried to scripture the shape in Maya but had terrible results when trying to UV, so I returned to the drawing board. I used the sphere polygon to create the second asteroid's outer shell, which works by working on the side view, playing with the boolean vertex, and deleting unwanted faces. I did the same thing for the inner part but less extract from the outer shell. I used the third wave tool for the third asteroid but needed help adding edges without messing up the geometry, so I had to start with a square polygon and use the same techniques as the second asteroid. Both asteroids are complete and UV, yet waiting for texture until the end. Later, I started to create and build one of the enemies, the Cyclops. I asked the lead designer what type of ship they considered to have as an enemy and the proportion of the style of a saucer spaceship. I started constructing the concept art and got a green light from the first view. Making the model wasn't as complicated as I imagined; I just used the curve tool and made them turn into polygons without further issues and UV when finishing this task on a whim. 

                      

                      

At this very moment, I'm trying to create and construct another enemy, Medusa. This time, I had to use Zbrush to model the face and the gorgons as separate objects even though they needed to be low-poly. I doubt this can. I hope it works. I hope nothing can affect this process until the sprinting.

Sprint 1

09/03/24-09/15/24

Sprint 1 was a short progress week. I was and still am excited about the possibility of this game's outcome. The design is one of my favorite art aesthetics related to Greek mythology. I oversee this upcoming game's 2D art and modeling as a designer. Even though I am one of the designers, I need to double-check the progress relating to the lead designer. We are waiting for the wireframe and design document so we, the designers, have a clue about the art concept of each little detail—nothing more and nothing less than an orthodox view of the gameplay. Low poly is the main objective, yet most models have to have double sub-smooth for unreasonable shape objects needed for this project. I have faced multiple issues regarding the asteroids I have been assigned to model for sprinting. I tried to minimize the polycount for a low poly, but I was getting numerous ngons. It took me a while to figure out how to construct a single asteroid's crater on a sphere shape. I would also face unclear save file scenes of one asteroid opening up of a white noise mesh. So, I had to save multiple files to stop the outrage of a mesh object and keep the original shape from the last save.

The kickoff was in a kickoff. We still needed to meet up and list what tasks we would be a sign for any upcoming sprints. I just needed to choose some tasks from the backlog and see the 'need' and 'must want' before 'wish.' I voluntarily picked to be a sign with the three asteroids, which became a challenge that I conquered.
As I mentioned, I only completed one of the asteroids with the concept art of all the asteroids to differentiate each individual. All I need to do is finish and texture the rest before starting a new task of modeling one of the enemies. I hope that in upcomSprintrint, I can progress even more than sprinting.