Skybox

Lewis;

I found a tutorial for the creation of Skybox images for the Unreal Engine and started to follow the instructions.

A programme called "Spacescape" by Alex Peterson is a recommended app to use for the creation of a Skybox image. After creating the Skybox you would save the image and it would export around 6 images that would have to be sewn together in Photoshop. In order to do that the Nvidia texture tools had to be downloaded. I attempted to open the Spacescape software but it didn't seem to work. It may be a possibility I'll have to wait for an updated version.

Signs & Rigging, Skinning and Animation Research

Trade Signs

Rigging Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ8fRTlj4o0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTKrNQJDWmw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKTyhTEJbkw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2nJLl7um6k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wueTwEleKKw

Skinning Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyytEiB-1Ug

Maya 2015 Animation (For Beginners)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6jYOjfw9cQ

Plague Research

Latin name of bacteria - Yersinia Pestis.

High fatality rate for centuries. Has wiped out entire civilizations.

First recorded outbreak: 541 A.D. lasted for 200 years.

Known as "The Black Death" in Middle Ages.

Infection usually spread by fleas of rodents as opposed to rodents themselves. Can also be contracted by handling infected material/tissue/liquids.

Three different forms of the Plague in Humans:

1. Bubonic Plague
• Symptoms
• Enlarged Lymph Nodes
• Chills
• Headache
• Fever
• Weakness
2. Sceptecemic Plague (The Black Death)
• Symptoms
• Fever
• Chills
• Weakness
• Abdominal Pain
• Shock
• Tissue Bleeds/Dies causing blackness
3. Pneumonic Plague
• Symptoms
• Chest Pain
• Shortness of Breath
• Coughing
• Fever
• Chills
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea

Plague Doctors

• Kept spices in their masks to ward off the plague, which was believed to be caused by miasma.

• Wore beak masks in conjunction with waxed (water-proof) coats to protect from infection.

• Plague doctors in Scotland carried a long stick with a sharp end to lance victim's boils at a distance. In other areas, canes were used to point out areas that needed attention and to keep people at bay.

• Theories at the time believed that the plague may have been carried by birds, masks were modeled as they were in hope of scaring off birds.

• Most Practicing Plague doctors were not medically trained, and their duties included inspecting people for plague symptoms, quarantining the sick and removing the dead more than actually treating them.

A Poem about Plague Doctors

In 1672, a physician named Dr. Hodges wrote a poem about this rather strange-looking garb. 

That poem is included in Wine: A Scientific Exploration (at page 42):

"As may be seen on picture here,

In Rome the doctors do appear,

When to their patients they are called,

In places by the plague appalled,

Their hats and cloaks, of fashion new,

Are made of oilcloth, dark of hue,

Their caps with glasses are designed,

Their bills with antidotes all lined,

That foulsome air may do no harm,

Nor cause the doctor man alarm,

The staff in hand must serve to show

Their noble trade where'er they go"

Researching 14th century medicine + Boss designs

Back in the 14th century, it was still a common idea that the health of a person was closely linked to their starsign, the movements of the planet, etc.. How a person was treated could be influenced by what star they were born under, and the time they contracted the disease was often compared to astrology charts to help with diagnosis.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Anatomical_Man.jpg

A factor that people at the time thought contributed to the appearance of the Black Death was the coincidental alignment of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars on the 20th of March, 1345. Perhaps we could take some inspiration from this?

http://41.media.tumblr.com/1695ff9c92feac97e171ddc1e0173298/tumblr_n7silcEukQ1soj7s4o2_1280.jpg

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/bloodletting-leech-method-science-source.jpg

The medical implements used in this time period in London are unfortunately still quite primitive, going by what I found.   

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/e9/30/0d/e9300dff871d4745198d3144046fbd17.jpg

Here is a later version of a surgical knife - the only reference image I could find. Perhaps knives could be incorporated into the boss' claws, feathers and other parts of the body.


Additionally, here are some concepts I did for the boss character, mainly figuring out the features the boss could possess.

-Chloe

Mood and Lighting of Environment (Research)

©2013 Fantasy Flight Games - Darek Zabrocki - Deviantart Page

Speed paint from the same artist, Darek Zabrocki, 

inspired by this photo, original photograph by Jaromír Chalabala 

(Research) Incorperating metal/steampunk elements into organic body structures.

Looking at how the Colossi from Shadow of the Colossus incorporate stone into organic structures of their bodies. This idea could be adapted to fit our steampunk idea!

Pudding Lane: Recreating Seventeenth-Century London (Research)

Seventeenth London in 3D  

In early 2013, Crytek, GameCity, and The British Library teamed up to launch a competition that challenged students to create interactive environments using maps from The British Library and Crytek’s CryENGINE 3, a suite of tools used to develop video games. The six of us, final-year students studying Game Art Design at De Montfort University, Leicester, were invited to take part in the competition, titled Off the Map.

The goal was to develop a recreation of the area of London surrounding Pudding Lane in 3D. They chose this specific area because it’s famously where the Great Fire of London started in 1666. London was a large place, even in the seventeenth century. It was overcrowded, dense, and run down. Recreating one street and the surrounding area allowed them to focus their efforts on quality over quantity.

This journal follows the production and creation of the finished piece in great detail. 

This post includes assets, textures, lighting and concept ideas that are extremely useful to our team. We should consider this research as we are also looking to recreate a plausible area to design and execute. 

Credit to the creators,

Joe Dempsey, Daniel Hargreaves, Daniel Peacock, Chelsea Lindsey, Dominic Bell, Luc Fontenoy and Heather Williams

Screengrab showing how lifeless the level looks without any props.

A scene into which props have been incorporated.

Custom Skybox

Research into plague motifs

Some of the most well-known imagery of the plague is that of plague doctors; in particular, their striking beak-shaped masks that were filled with perfumes that were said to help prevent them catching the disease.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Paul_F%C3%BCrst%2C_Der_Doctor_Schnabel_von_Rom_%28Holl%C3%A4nder_version%29.png

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/00/0c/55/000c55815a383f0967b030ec98464d53.jpg

The shape of the mask also calls to mind the image of crows or ravens, two birds that were also regarded as symbols of ill-omen and death in the west. This was due in part to the birds' dark plumage and diet of carrion.

 http://www.animalphotos.me/bird/bird-crow_files/crow3.jpg

http://mikeatkinson.net/images/CarrionCrow06.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Corvus_corax_%28Common_Raven%29%2C_Yosemite_NP%2C_CA%2C_US_-_Diliff.jpg

The bird-like appearance of the plague doctor mask mixed with the negative imagery of crows could create an interesting amalgamation. In addition, both are tied to the imagery of death. The dark plumage of the crows or ravens could create a quite literal personified 'Black Death' if incorporated into the antagonist design. 

Some other animals associated with the plague are rats, known to carry the fleas that spread the disease. 

http://deskofbrian.com/wp-content/uploads/rat-t9784.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/19/article-2235126-03D191EE000005DC-309_634x442.jpg

Rats are also associated with disease, but also uncleanliness, and aren't considered quite as unnerving an omen as crows. However, the flea-infested mangy fur and boils of infected rats could potentially be incorporated into the design. 

-Chloe

Initial research

I've got all the links, I will add them later!!

Using historical reference as an inspiration for designs!

As part of our research I looked into the themes chosen by our team.

•     Large scale boss character
•     Organic design       
•     Steampunk elemnets

Originally I looked at huge mechs and steampunk contraptions that could be designed as a boss character to fight.

I had established a Tumblr account for the group to use as reference to wider sources of inspiration. This is when I found art that had visual links to historical events. These artworks reimagined wars and other scenes that I thought could make a really interesting subject to use.

 I have been struggling with ideas with what topic to draw inspiration from, but found British history to be the best suited. I looked at British wars and the medieval bestiary but I did not think this enough to design a character from.

This evening, I thought of using the Fire of London and the Black Plague as inspiration. I have only just thrown this idea out to my teammates but research is already being made!

- Emily Bruce