CriticalReport

ALCHEMISTSHOLLOW

JoseffGriffiths

1307415

2

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 3

VISIONSTATEMENT 3

TECHNICALDISCUSSION 4

PIPELINE 4

CHALLENGES 5-6

IMPORTINGASSETISSUE 5

ASSETSOURCINGISSUE 5

TEXTURINGISSUES 5-6

LIGHTINGISSUES 6

MILESTONES 7

ORIGINALMILESTONESCHEDULE 8-9

REVISEDMILESTONESCHEDULE 10-11

ACHIEVEMENTS 12

LEVELDESIGN 12

EMISSIVE/PULSINGMATERIALS 12

VIDEOMATERIAL 13

ASSETCREATION 13

INFUTURE 13

VISUALREPRESENTATIONOFPROJECTFLOW 14

ORIGINALCHART 14

REVISEDCHART 14

BIBLIOGRAPHY 15

3

INTRODUCTION

ThisreportcontainsacriticalanalysisofthedevelopmentprocessesfortheUE4level‘AlchemistsHollow’,it’saleveldesignedwiththeintentionofcapturingtheessenceofacyberpunkbar.Thereportwilldetaileveryaspectofdevelopmentinatransparentfashion,everyaspectwillbeanalysedanddiscussedinanappropriatemanner.(PresentationofartefactcanbefoundonMoodle)

Theterm“Cyberpunkoriginatedin1983whenBruceBethkecoinedthetermbynaminghisshortstoryso,unbeknownsttoBrucethetermwouldstillbeusedtoday(BruceBethke,2010).ItquicklypickeduptractionandwasappropriatedtothefamousworksofWilliamGibsonmostnotably‘Neuromancer’,consideredgroundbreakingand“thearchetypalcyberpunkwork”(LawrencePerson,1999).Thisnovel“becamethefirstnoveltowinthetriplecrown-Hugo,Nebula,andPhilipK.Dickawards-and,intheprocess,virtuallysingle-handedlylaunchedthecyberpunkmovement”(LarryMcCaffery,2000).AlthoughmanyconsiderWilliamGibsonthefatherofcyberpunkothersargueagainstthisasmanyofthetraitthatareuniquelyconnectedtocyberpunkcaninfactbefoundinthepreviousworksofmultipleauthors.ManyofthepeoplewhoarguethispointrefertotheworksofPhilipK.Dick,WilliamSBorroughs,J.G.Ballardandafewothers(PaulBrians,1994),oneofthemainpointsusedtosupporttheircaseisthefactthatmanyofPhilipK.Dick’shaverecurringthemesthatincludeAI(ArtificialIntelligence),theblurringoflinesbetweenobjectivereality&subjectiverealityandsocialcollapse(PaulBrians,1994).Eventhemovie‘BladeRunner’directedbyRidelyScottreleasedin1982(KevinStriker,2001)wasbasedonthethePhilipKDicknovel‘DoAndroidsDreamofElectricSheep?’(arguablythefirstcyberpunkstory)wasreleasedbefore‘Neuromancer’waseverwritten.

TherehavebeenvariousincarnationsofcyberpunkgamesovertheyearsbutitallbeganwiththeRPG(Role-PlayingGame)‘Cyberpunk2020’madebyR.TalsorianGames(Travire,2006),thisparticulargamewasdesignedwithWilliamGibson’swritingsinmindandthereforemanyofthesettingsresembledhisworks(Travire,2006).Thereweremanysimilargamesalthough‘Cyberpunk2020’stoodoutasthemostbelovedofthebunch.Asvideogameconsolesdevelopmentadvancedsodidthegames,fromthiscamethebirthofthemoderncyberpunkgamesthatweareallfamiliarwith,introducingsuchfranchisesas‘MetalGear’,‘SystemShock’and‘DeusEx’,withthelatterbeingtheonethatismostassociatedwithcyberpunk.When‘DeusEx’wasreleasedin2000(Steam,2000)tocriticalacclaimmostplayerhadnothingbutgreatthingtosaybutitwasinalatersequel‘DeusEx:HumanRevolution’thatreceivedthegreatestreceptionfromcyberpunkfanswitharcadesaying“DeusExwelcomesyouintoitshugecyberpunkworld”(AdamVolk,2011).FromthenEwido’shavecontinuedtodevelopandexpandthisworldofcyberpunkandaresoonreleasingtheirnewestincarnation‘DeusEx:MankindDivided’whichlookslikethemostimmersivecyberpunkworldwe’veeverseeninagame(SachaRamtohul,2016).

VISIONSTATEMENT

Intheproposaldocumentthevisionstatementwasoutlinedasso“Setinafuturisticcyberpunkesqueuniverse,thisUE4levelwillallowyoutoenteraclubandexploreallofitscontents.Aimedtodisplaythevastcontrastbetweenthehightechlowlifeaspectofsociety,basicallyahighlyfuturisticdystopia.Thebarwillshowcaseasmuchdetailaspossibletotrulyshowthegrungyunderworldthatresidesinthedepthsofasuperfuturecity.”.AsthedevelopmentprocesswentonItriedtoadheretothevisionstatementsoutline,occasionallythisbecamehardtofulfilasthereisonlysomuchthatyoucandotodisplaythelowlifeaspectthatissoimportanttothecyberpunkaspect.ThisproblemarosewhenIrealisedthatonlyusingobjectsplacedthroughoutthebartohintatthelowlifeaspectsofsocietycouldbetooobscureformany.OtherthanthisIbelievethatthelevelfullyexploreseveryaspectofthevisionstatement,eventhoughsomeaspectswouldtakealittlemorethoughttoascertaintheirtruemeaning.

4

TECHNICALDISCUSSION

PIPELINE

ASSETCREATION

ProgramsUsed:Maya2016

CreatedAll3Dmodels(BuildingPieces&Props),unwrappedModels.

TEXTURING

ProgramsUsed:PhotoshopCS6/CrazyBump/UE4MaterialEditor

CreatedtexturesusingPhotoshopandimagessourcedfromtheinternetSOURCE.Creatednormal,ambientocclusion,displacement&specularmapsusingCrazyBump.CreatedEmissiveandvideomaterialsusingUE4s‘MaterialEditor’.

LEVELDESIGN

ProgramsUsed:UE4V4.9.2/4.11.2

Builtlevelusingtheassetscreatedtomeettheaspectsdescribedinthevisionstatement.Addedlightingandparticleeffectstocreatethedesiredatmosphere.

ProgramsUsed VersionUsed

UE4 V4.9.2/V4.11.2

Maya 2016

CrazyBump BT2

Photoshop CS6

PremierPro CS6

5

CHALLENGES

IMPORTINGASSETSISSUE

Oncealloftheassetswerecreatedtheyneededimporting,inordertodothis,Ihadtoexporteachassetasa‘FBX’file.AfterrepeatingthisprocessforeveryassettheywerereadyforimportingintotheUE4project,thisiswheretheproblemarose.AfterselectingtheassetsthatneededtobeimportedandimportingthemUE4wouldcrashduringtheimportingprocess.UE4crashingisacommonproblem,Irepeatedtheprocessmultipletimesbuthadnosuccess.UpondoingsomeresearchIdiscoveredthatthiswasacommonissuewiththeversionofUE4Iwasusing(V4.9.2).TheonlywaytoovercomethisissuewastouseanewestversionofUE4(V4.11.2),onceIupdatedandmigratedtheprojecttoa4.11.2versionallassetsimportedwithnoissues.

ASSETSOURCINGISSUE

DuetothefactthatIamnotatruegamesartistmyplanwastocreatethecentrepiecesneededtoconveythelevelinthewaydescribedinthevisionstatementandthensourcepropassetsfromtheinternet.WhilstsearchingforfreelicenseassetsonlineIquicklydiscoveredthatmostoftheassetsavailablewereinappropriateforthelevelthatIwascreating,thisleftmewithmuchmoremodellingtodothanIhadpreviouslyanticipated.Inordertoovercomethisissue,IhadtocreatemuchmoreassetsthanIhadoriginallyplannedon,thiswouldprovetobeverytimeconsuming.InordertoconservetimeandimproveefficiencyIdecidedthatcreatingmodularassetswouldallowmetocreateafullandexpansiveenvironmentwhilstkeepingmodellingtimetoaminimum.

TEXTURINGISSUES

DuetothehighvolumeofassetscreatedIagainendeduphavingtospendmoretimetexturing,havingtodothiswouldmeanthatIwouldhavemuchlesstimetospendonactuallydesigningtheleveloncealltexturesandassetswereimportedintotheproject.Inordertosolvethistimeissue,IdecidedtousedCrazyBumptocreatemultipletexturemaps(normal,ambientocclusion,displacement&specular).ThisallowedmetoonlyhavetocreatealbedomapsinPhotoshopforeachtexturebeforeimportingthosemapsintoCrazyBumpchangingthesettingstomeetsthoserequiredandgeneratingeveryothermapneededtocreateafulltexture.

6

AnotherissuethatarosewhencreatingmaterialscamefromUE4,onceallthetextureswerecreatedandhadbeenimportedintoUE4Ihadtothencreate‘Materials’foreachtexture.TodothisIwouldhavetouseUE4s‘MaterialEditor’,whenIopenedupthe‘MaterialEditor’Iwasgivenamasssumoferrorsinthemessagelogstatingthattherewasa“MaterialCompilationError”.Thisshouldnothappenastherewasnothinginthenewmaterialsothereshouldnotbeanissue,Idecidedtoinvestigatethisissue,soIopenedupamaterialthatwasintheprojects‘StarterContent’onlytohavethesameerrormessages.ThiswasproblematicasIcouldnotcreatethematerialsnecessarytotextureeachassetwithinthelevel.Idecidedtoresearchthiserroronline,aftercopioushoursI’dhadnosuccess.IthenpostedaquestionontheUE4forumregardingtheerrorandwhatIcoulddotofixtheissue,afteraweekofnotbeingabletoworkonthelevelduetotheissueanemployeeofUnrealansweredmyquestion.TheresponseletmeknowthatthenewestversionofUE4onOSXnolongerusedUE4ownmetalcompliersandinsteadusedXcodes,allIwouldhavetodoisinstallXcodeandthenrecompileallmaterials.Thefixworkedgreatbutthisissuecostmealargechunkofdevelopmenttime.

LIGHTINGISSUES

Aftercreatingthelevel,Ineededtoaddlighting,Iwantedtocreateadark,dirty,lowbrowatmosphere.Idecidedonredspotlightsthatwouldhighlightcertainareasofthelevel,thisiswheretheproblemsstarted.OnceIhadplacedthespotlightswhereIwantedthemIbuiltthelevelanddiscoveredthatduetotheemissivelightsonsomeofthepropswithinthelevelthelightingcreatedstrangepattersoncertaintextures.AfterspendingalargeamountoftimerefiningthepositionofeachspotlightImanagedtogetthelightingperfect.

7

MILESTONES

ForthisprojectItriedtosticktothemilestonescheduleasmuchaspossible,duringthedevelopmentprocesstheissuesdiscussedabovecausedmetohavetorevisetheschedule.ForthemostpartImanagedtosticktotheschedulesalthoughweeks4,5&6causedmethemostproblemswhichsetmeback,butwithhardworkImanagedtopulltheprojectbackintoamanageabletimeframe.

8

ORIGINALMILESTONESCHEDULE

MILESTONE1-PROJECTPLAN(14FEBRUARY2016-WEEKTHREE/FOUR)

CompletedTasksforMilestone1:

• VisionStatementforDeliverable• RiskAssessmentonTechnicalChallenges• ProjectedAssetList• MilestoneSchedule

TechnicalIssueswithTask:

MILESTONE2-PAPERDESIGNS(19FEBRUARY2016-WEEKFOUR)

CompletedTasksforMilestone2:

• AssetConceptDesigns• LevelConceptDesigns

TechnicalIssueswithTask:

MILESTONE3-ASSETCREATIONI(26FEBRUARY2016-WEEKFIVE)

Completedtasksformilestone3:

• 35%ofGameAssetsModelled• Blocked-outLevel

TechnicalIssueswithTask:

MILESTONE4-ASSETCREATIONII(4MARCH2016-WEEKSIX)

CompletedTasksforMilestone4:

• 70%ofGameAssetsModelled• 50%ofTexturesCreated• Blocked-outLevelTested

TechnicalIssueswithTask:

MILESTONE5-ALPHA(18MARCH2016-WEEKEIGHT)

CompletedTasksforMilestone5:

• AlphaVersionoftheGame• AllAssetsModelled&Textured

• AllGame-criticalAssetsWithinthePlayableLevel

TechnicalIssueswithTask:

MILESTONE6-BETA(15APRIL2016-WEEKTEN)

9

CompletedTasksforMilestone6:

• BetaVersionoftheGame• AllContentComplete(PossiblyNotDebugged)• VideoSegmentsBasedUponGameMaterials(forShow-reel)Constructed

TechnicalIssueswithTask:

MILESTONE7-MASTER(29APRIL2016-WEEKTWELVE)

CompletedTasksforMilestone7:

• Master/GoldVersionoftheGame• ProjectReport• Show-reelSegment

TechnicalIssueswithTask:

10

REVISEDMILESTONESCHEDULE

MILESTONE1-PROJECTPLAN(14FEBRUARY2016-WEEKTHREE/FOUR)

CompletedTasksforMilestone1:

• VisionStatementforDeliverable• RiskAssessmentonTechnicalChallenges• ProjectedAssetList• MilestoneSchedule

TechnicalIssueswithTask:N/A

MILESTONE2-PAPERDESIGNS(19FEBRUARY2016-WEEKFOUR)

CompletedTasksforMilestone2:

• AssetConceptDesigns• LevelConceptDesigns

TechnicalIssueswithTask:N/A

MILESTONE3-ASSETCREATIONI(26FEBRUARY2016-WEEKFIVE)

Completedtasksformilestone3:

• 35%ofGameAssetsModelled/Sourced• Blocked-outLevel

TechnicalIssueswithTask:

• Theamountofassetswasunderestimated,inordertogetthedesiredaestheticstocreatethedesiredatmosphereinthelevelIwillhavetorevisethemilestoneschedule.

MILESTONE4-ASSETCREATIONII(4MARCH2016-WEEKSIX)

CompletedTasksforMilestone4:

• 70%ofGameAssetsModelled/Sourced• Blocked-outLevelTested

TechnicalIssueswithTask:

• NotechnicalissuesbutpersonalissueshavestoppedmefromcompletingasmuchworkasI’dlikedtohavedone.

MILESTONE5–AssetCreationIII(18MARCH2016-WEEKEIGHT)

CompletedTasksforMilestone5:

• AllAssetsModelled/Sourced• AllGame-criticalAssetsImported

• 30%ofTexturesCreated

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TechnicalIssueswithTask:

• UE4importingissue.

MILESTONE6-ALPHA(25MARCH2016-WEEKNINE)

CompletedTasksforMilestone6:

• AlphaVersionoftheGame• 100%ofTexturesCreated

• AllGame-criticalAssetsWithinthePlayableLevel

TechnicalIssueswithTask:

• Texturestimeconsumingduetovolume.• UE4materialcompilationerror.

MILESTONE7-BETA(15APRIL2016-WEEKTEN)

CompletedTasksforMilestone7:

• BetaVersionoftheGame• AllContentComplete(PossiblyNotDebugged)• VideoSegmentsBasedUponGameMaterials(forShow-reel)Constructed

TechnicalIssueswithTask:

• Lightingissue.

MILESTONE8-MASTER(29APRIL2016-WEEKTWELVE)

CompletedTasksforMilestone8:

• Master/GoldVersionoftheGame• ProjectReport• Show-reelSegment

TechnicalIssueswithTask:N/A

12

ACHIEVEMENTS

LEVELDESIGN

Iwaspleasedwithhowwellthisaspectofthedevelopmentprocesswent,duetothatIhadtocreatealloftheassets,allofthelevelpieceseasilysnappedtothepositionthatIwantedtheminwithnoissuewithoverlappingobjects.Thisallowedtheleveldesignprocesstobecompletedquicklyandefficientlywithminimalornoissues.

EMISSIVE/PULSINGMATERIALS

Idecidedtocreateemissivematerialsforneonsignsandotherpropsinthelevel,IexpectedthistobealongandcomplicatedprocessbuttomysurpriseIfoundthatbyusingafewparameters,constantvariablesandsomemathinthe‘MaterialEditor’IcouldcreatethedesiredeffectandeasilytweakthemwheneverIneeded.

13

VIDEOMATERIAL

Intheleveltherearemultipledisplays/monitors,fortheseIwantedtohavethemdisplaystaticasthoughtheyhadbeenhackedorthattheirmaincontrolsystemhadanissue.Idecidedtocreateamaterialthatfitthispurpose,Ididthisbyusingasimplestatictextureandthenusingthe‘MaterialEditors’’pannersystemtoquicklypanintheX&Ycoordinatestocreateamovementeffect.Ithenaddedanemissiveglowtothematerialtoreplicatethesmallglowdisplaysgiveoff.IfoundthisprocesstobeasimpleyeteffectivewaytocreatethelookIdesired.

ASSETCREATION

AlthoughcreatingassetswasanarduousprocessIfoundthatbycreatingmodularassetsIcouldlessentheamountoftimespentmodelling.IalsofoundthatmymodellingskillsdrasticallyimprovedasIcouldquicklyandefficientlycreatecomplexassetsthatwouldnormallytakemelargeperiodsoftimetocreate.

INFUTURE

LookingbackatthedevelopmentprocessIhaveseenvariousareasthatcouldbeimproveduponinfutureendeavours.Firstly,Iwouldconcentrateonasmallerscaleenvironment,bychoosingalargerenvironmentIcouldn'tachievetheoveralldetailthatIwouldhavelikedto,smallerscaleenvironmentswouldalsoallowmetoshowoffmoreofmyskills.IsaythisduetothatmanyoftheminutedetailsthatIplaceintheenvironmentarerarelyseenduetothegrandscaleofthelevelthereforehavingasmallermoreconcentratedenvironmentwouldallowuserstoseemoreofthelittledetailsthatmakealevelinterestingandspecial.Itwouldalsomeanthatthelevelwouldfitthetimescaleinamuchmoreefficientmanner,whichwouldultimatelyleavemoretimetorefinethelevel.SecondlyIwouldpickathemethatwaslessdependentontheusertodiscovertheworldsoverarchingthemeofdisplayingthehigh-tech,low-lifecontrastintheworld.Thiscomesdowntothefactthatmanyusersmightnotnoticethesmalldetailsthatindicatethatthelivesofthepeoplewithintheworldarelessthanreputablealthoughtheylivewithinahyperadvancedtechnologyladenedworld.

14

VISUALREPRESENTATIONOFPROJECTFLOW

BeforethestartoftheprojectIcreatedaGanttchartthatsummarisedallofthetasksthatneededtobecompletedoverthecourseofdevelopmentproblemsarosethereforethechartneededupdatinginordertodisplaythecurrentsituationcorrectly.AscanbeseenwhencomparingbothchartsmoretaskswerepushedbackonmorewerecreatedthecloserIgottotheendofdevelopment.

ORIGINALCHART

REVISEDCHART

15

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Seph.(2012).WhatisCyberpunk?.Available:http://www.cyberpunkforums.com/viewtopic.php?id=361.Lastaccessed12thFeb2016.

BruceBethke.(2010).TheEtymologyof"Cyberpunk".Available:http://www.brucebethke.com/articles/re_cp.html.Lastaccessed12thFeb2016.

LawrencePerson.(1999).NotesTowardaPostcyberpunkManifesto.Available:http://slashdot.org/story/99/10/08/2123255/notes-toward-a-postcyberpunk-manifesto.Lastaccessed12thFeb2016.

LarryMcCaffery.(2000).AnInterviewwithWilliamGibson.Available:http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/gibson_interview.html.Lastaccessed13thFeb2016.

KevinStriker.(2001).BladeRunner.Available:http://bladerunner.wikia.com/wiki/Blade_Runner.Lastaccessed13thFeb2016.

PaulBrians.(1994).StudyGuideforWilliamGibson:Neuromancer(1984).Available:http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/science_fiction/neuromancer.html.Lastaccessed20April2016.

Travire.(2006).ReviewofCyberpunk2020.Available:https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12305.phtml.Lastaccessed20April2016.

Steam.(2000).DeusEx:GameoftheYearEdition.Available:http://store.steampowered.com/app/6910/.Lastaccessed20April2016.

AdamVolk.(2011).ArcadeReview:DeusExwelcomesyouintoitshugecyberpunkworld.Available:http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/arcade-review-deus-ex-welcomes-you-into-its-huge-cyberpunk-world.Lastaccessed20April2016.

SachaRamtohul.(2016).10WaysDeusEx:MankindDividedEnhancestheActionRPG.Available:http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/04/28/10-ways-deus-ex-mankind-divided-enhances-the-action-rpg/.Lastaccessed28April2016.