Demo Day

Demo Day was awesome!

This a play through video:
http://vimeo.com/33377894

-David Woo

Update

Sorry for dropping off the radar. Got crazy busy a with few projects. But here's my update. Test model is built and rigged. Although not required, I was able to put on a temporary texture for the December Demo Day. Designs for the mech are still being revised and this model will be replaced, but its good enough to showcase "proof of concept" and will make the process for the final build much easier. Further, because of this model's modular design, the level designers will implement various parts of the model into the final level.

Weapon Concepts

David, if you can tell me if there's one you like, I will work on fleshing out that concept further for this week. Time: 3 hours.

Scanner issues

I have been encountering some scanning problems, I will scan in the work I did this week as soon as I get it worked out. I worked about 8 hours this week.

sorry!

Weapon Studies

First pass at Iris' weapon.

-David

Soldier Studies

There's are the Soldier concepts. The Art Director will do a final pass on them.

-David

Sniper Studies

Designs for the Sniper. I'll be meeting up with the USC team on Sunday to finalize the Foot Soldier designs. We gotta have a maquette of the basic soldier up an running.

Weekly Assignment - Due Saturday 10-15-11

Ugh.... Sorry for the delay.

• David:
  
• Finalize mech designs:
  
• No really. REALLY finalize them. Got to get modeling. Stop slacking.
  
• Illustrate how the Sniper will transform.
  
• Neta and Anna:
  
• Special Assignment:
• I'm playing with designs for the main character's weapon: A knife/blade
  
• I want a different take on it
• Below is the link for the reference images:
• http://blinkgame.pbworks.com/w/page/46477684/Iris%20Weapon
• Concept ideas for not just a knife, but a COOL sci-fi knife
  
• I want this prop to be a reflection of Iris' character; cold, mechanical, professional, gets the job done, beautiful.
• I know concept art is not your thing, but I'm only looking for a different take on a mundane idea. If all goes well, this will be your prop to model for this project. I'll do my best to turn it in to you guys in a timely manner.
• Again: jpg format no smaller than 1000px by 1000px and resolution no larger than 72ppi and write down your hours.
  

Good luck.

-David

more logos

Some color schemes at the bottom, if we even wanted color.

Logos

Here are some of the logos done up in Illustrator. Time: 4 hours (it took me a while to remember how to use Illustrator again)

Asset List

The asset list for the first level is up:

http://blinkgame.pbworks.com/w/page/46646646/Asset%20List

As mentioned earlier, Ryan and Adad will be teaming up to develop a refined design for this level. We do not have concept artists, so any contributions to the designs will be appreciated (Neta and Anna). We small few are all that stands in the face of this great obstacle. And as such we are tasked with multiple duties that we may not like or are accustomed to. If we are to succeed we must rise to this great challenge and jump beyond ourselves. Exceed our perceived abilities and take down the insurmountable colossus. Good things may come to those who wait, but Greatness is achieved by those who act. To thee I say, FIGHT! Take up thine arms and wacom pens and fight alongside your allies!



....and lemme know how it goes, 'cause I'll be in the back taking a much needed nap.
-_- zzzzzzzzz

Blink Website

The guys at USC have started a website and video blog. Looks like we're gonna have to step up our game to show the internet how awesome we are.

www.blinkthegame.com

http://youtu.be/Nc43ADo6mdw

Heavy Study

Trying to push the bulkiness in the heavy. It was decided at the meeting that the first level will be in the shipping hanger located at the bottom level of the low-orbiting space station. The first waves of machines the player will encounter will be multipurpose heavy bots, lower level foot soldiers, and snipers. I've been doing pencil sketches of the sniper and will be making Photoshop images soon. Further, Ryan and Adad will be teaming up to develop a refined design for this level.
The is a deadline to get as much mockette assets (place holders) in by December in order to showcase proof-of-concept at the USC demo day. Further refinement will continue after this, so this is NOT a release deadline. More like a milestone.
This will mean that I have to hammer out the final designs of the mechs ASAP so that I can create a scale model stand-in for the animators to work with. It'll be a "place holder" but the truth of the matter is that it will probably not change. It'll end up in the game somehow, so I gotta make sure the rig they animate is solid so that they won't have to redo all their work.
The body parts could be boxes, but the scale and proportions HAVE to be locked down soon.

Weekly Assignment - Due Saturday 10-08-11

• David:
  
• Finalize mech designs:
  
• Attend meeting Wednesday and try to develop a cohesive motif
• Identify Heavy, Foot Soldier, and Sniper Class
  
• Neta:
  
• Same as last week:
• Learn and use Illustrator
  
• Use program to explore designs and produce variety
• In addition to the jpeg images, please include the illustrator file
• jpg format no smaller than 1000px by 1000px and resolution no larger than 72ppi
• Anna:
• We are going to develop the asset list on Wednesday (10-05-11). We do not have any concept artists on our team yet. So, the reality of the situation is that if your level of involvement is ONLY prop modeling it will be sometime before we will require your services. So, for this week, I will merely ask, what do you want to do for the project till then?

Blink Story

The updated narrative has been posted on the wiki:

http://blinkgame.pbworks.com/w/page/46366795/High%20Level%20Narrative

Make sure you read it carefully so that your work will reflect the world and the story being told.

-David

Neta Logos

After many crappy 1st, 2nd and 8th drafts, here are some logo designs I think could be pretty fitting.

Props

Time: four hours

Mech Concepts - Heavy

Still got a lot of work to do, but here's some ideas I had for the Heavy Class. Although, some of them may work as a Foot Soldier Class.

-David

Mech Notes

These are my notes based on the direction I was given by the art leads followed by additional directions drawn up by Lindsey Laney.

-David

Weekly Assignment - Due Saturday 10-01-11

• David:
  
• Refine mech development in accordance to the directions from Art Leads:
  
• Draw out shapes and forms
  
• Use various angles to showcase ideas
  
• Identify pistol class from sniper class
  
• Neta:
  
• Continue Logo design for in-game corporation:
• Learn and use Illustrator
  
• Use program to explore designs and produce variety
• Neta and Anna:
• Further prop studies. Take your favorite design and "deconstruct" it:
• If it opens up, draw out how it looks opened AND closed
  
• Draw out how a person would use this prop
• Draw out how big the prop is in relation to the size of an average human
  
• This is an exercise in preparation for prop modeling. When you model out your asset it is ideal that you are aware of how it will be used rather than blindly following a concept that you don't understand. I want you to be able to think two steps ahead and know what you need to model and how you are going to accomplish this rather than getting stuck halfway because the concept did not provide you with enough information. Part of the game is to think on your feet and adapt.
  

Again, please submit your work here in jpg format no smaller than 1000px by 1000px and resolution no larger than 72ppi. Due Saturday 10-01-11.

Also, PLEASE write the time it took you to do this project. Even if you spent 4 hours and did not complete the drawings, at the very least you will have completed the assignment and let me know how much you can accomplish in that time. Good luck, and again, contact me if you have any questions.

Logo Concepts

On the left, some logo designs. My favorite is the one at the very top. On the right are various prop concepts, security cameras/access stations, portable oil canisters, a pump station, and a bunch of random cool looking stuff, that could come in handy. Please please please pick what you like and what you don't, and elaborate. I need your opinions to take the design to a point where all members are satisfied.

Looking forward to some feedback so i can take some of these further.

Prop Concepts

Here are some exploratory concepts of crates/storage containers in three different styles.

Including research, it took four hours. 

Mech Thumbnail Designs - Round 2

Here's my latest rendition of the mech designs.

-David

Logo For In-Game Company

So, I can't begin to work on the logo for the ingame company until I have a name... If I don't get a response by tomorrow, I'll just make up a name and see what works.

Design Driven Narrative

This is my written suggestions for Blink's world development. I just wanted to emphasize that these are merely suggestions that are specifically aimed at giving direction for the game's visual design. I feel it simple gives reason to the games original intentions and yet is still mailable and open ended enough to allow for the perfunctory changes the always happen during any game's development.

Blink - Design Driven Narrative

David Woo

Setting:

1. What’s the same - Futuristic medical facility in space. Purpose for facility is research in cybernetic enhancement.
2. What’s different - Purpose for facility is research in cybernetic enhancement AND teleportation run by government but disguised as a prosthetic research lab.
   
3. Reason -

• This would be an obscenely expensive facility to run. No private investor could afford this as a hobby. Government funding would justify such an elaborate set up. It would justify the need to develop such an expensive weapon (defend country from hostile aggressors).
• It is a secret facility (i.e. disguised) so it would justify why its beautifully designed and aesthetically pleasing. A military hospital is very different from, say, a prosthetic research facility run by M.I.T.
• Additionally, it would justify why there are certain areas the player cannot teleport to. A facility developing this technology would have safety measures to protect its valuable research, but in game speak: guide the player through the levels while still allowing them to roam and explore without accidentally falling off the game grid or prematurely advancing a level.

Antagonist:

1. What’s the same - He wants Iris. He’s an omnipresent being, like a dark cloud looming over you, always watching. His (personally, I would like it to be a her, but whatev’s ^_^ ) presence is known throughout the facility, like clues to a grizzly murder with his fingerprints all over but there’s nothing you can do, ‘cause he’s in control... for now.
2. What’s different - he’s a spy (from an opposing country with better technology, hence the need to spend so much money on this project) disguised as your ally. He appears to be helping you “escape” from this “prison facility” but is in fact trying to steal YOU, Iris - the secret weapon. He has hacked the facility, taken control of the automated service and maintenance robots, and cleared the facility of the HUMAN inhabitants (by trapping and locking them away somewhere).
3. Reason -

• This would justify why there are no other humans in the game. In order to successfully manipulate Iris, he would have to remove all the sentient beings and recognizable faces who could thwart his master plan. It would also justify why the machines are attacking all human targets as most normal humans would run and hide. But Iris isn’t normal now, is she?
• Additionally, this would justify why the robots look humanoid and have their delicate innards exposed and why the facility has more of them instead of actual people. The robots are like automated wardens and nurses; big enough to carry patients (like help them onto their bed) and yet vulnerable enough to be susceptible to melee attacks (a war machine would be bullet proof and have no visible weaknesses).
• Some robots don’t have to look humanoid, like maintenance droids who need to be able to climb up walls and ceilings to change light bulbs and fix air vents. (*Hint, hint. *Wink, wink. *Cough-Licker-from-Resident-Evil-cough.)

Protagonist:

1. What’s the same - Special agent. Professional, driven, kicks ass, acrobatic, victim of circumstance. Her motivation is to get out and blow up base. She is barely coming to understand her powers allowing for progression and development.
2. What’s different - She still thinks this is a evil experiment and must escape, but the reality is that she volunteered for this experiment and is being manipulated by antagonist via mind control collar (or something). She was infiltrated/assimilated at end of her final cybernetic upgrade so she is still not quite familiar with her abilities (even more so now with the mind control device). She comes to after the coup d'état (i.e. in medias res) unaware of the preceding events and under the influence of a controlled amnesia. Think “The Bourne Identity.”
3. Reason -

• This would justify why the character can effectively use the teleportation ability (as opposed to, like, accidentally teleporting herself inside out) and can control her super human strength/acrobatic/combat abilities (ditto, like accidentally crushing her head on the ceiling from jumping too high or ripping her face off when she wipes her nose) BUT still allow for her to discover new abilities and techniques.
• Design wise, this would justify why she has cool looking outfits that look like they were custom designed for her i.e. form fitting but maybe also that teleport with her, as opposed to accidentally reappearing in the nude. (Although in retrospect that sounds kinda cool. *Snicker, snicker ;)
• Also, this justifies why she can access/use cool and interesting weapons. A prison would have a sparse selection or, more than likely, only have weapons that are ineffective against the robotic guards.

Weekly Assignment - Due Saturday 9-24-11

• David:
  
• Further develop mechs:
  
• pistol class
  
• sniper class
  
• include other odd extras
• Quick written summary of my "design driven narrative" (email a.s.a.p.)
  
• Neta:
  
• Logo design for in-game corporation
• Neta and Anna:
• Aesthetic application study:
• Concept three props (1. Crate, 2. Control Panel, 3. Your choice) in three different styles (1. industrial, 2. sci-fi, 3. alien)
  
• use the reference images Ryan posted on the wiki as a starting point
• also use the formexploration study he did
  
• really push the designs to the extreme (its generally easier to pull back than to push)
• Note: be aware that these props will be part of a much larger picture, so the design should complement/accentuate the environment.

Please submit your work here in jpg format no smaller than 1000px by 1000px and resolution no larger than 72ppi. Due Saturday 9-24-11. Good luck and contact me if you have any questions.

Welcome

I'd like to welcome you all to the blog. As mentioned in the description this blog is primarily for the LCAD students to submit their work for the GA400 class. The official site for the Blink wiki is:

http://blinkgame.pbworks.com/w/page/41432174/Home%20Page

That is where official work for the game should be posted so it can be shared and reviewed by the project leads and teammates.