IM RADSemester 2: Workbook, The Environment

CONTENTSSynopsis + Treatment Pg 1

Concept R&D Pg 2

Style Sheets Pg 3 Layouts Pg 4

Sketches Pg 5-6 Textures Pg 7

Modelling Pg 8-10

Scenario Pg 11

Unity Pg 12

Animations Pg 13

SYNOPSIS + TREATMENT1

The environment will allow my user to view and explore an open world environment. The environment will be initially linear with a pathway set out for the user, which he should follow, followed with an open environment. The environment is split into 3 different areas, each one housing either the past, present or future. The past and present will be initially housed in the same “environment” with the environ-ment changing through time, while the future environment will be much more open to exploration due to not knowing what the future holds. The environment will represent the evolution of Jon from a child to a teenager and his possible future self. I will be trying to put through his personality, thoughts, passions and ideas within the environment to try and explain Jon.

The environment I will be creating will be based on Jon Saunders., based on ethnographic research I have collected. The environment (unity world) will be divided up into 3 areas, past, present future. The reason for me doing this is me wanting to show the user how Jon’s intrests, taste, thinking etc has developed and could develop as he grows. The environment itself then will accompany a shape to show this off, with it starting of crowded (due to Jon not be-ing able to explore out much as a child, and then get more and more open till the future. The main item in my environment will be the 2 storey building holding the “past and present”. The “past” is the smallest of the 3 areas, due to him being kept very much at home, as a child. Within the environment, there will be his hopes for the future, items which he kept dear at the time, that inspired him (songs/movies etc) with the build-ing being very much inspired by his likes/dislikes at the time.The “present” is a slightly bigger environment due to his parents being more lenient with him, and Jon being more prone to explore. This environment is very much like him now, much more open space, some of his favourite items, certain pieces which inspire him (posters etc), and items which tell you the sort of person he is.The “future” is essentially the outside beyond the building. The environment itself divides itself into 2 areas, one being the “city” one the “beach” two sort of futures, Jon would be looking forward too. Both areas, will have ar-rows poiting to them as animations, the city being a number of buildings with “street chatter” circulating, while the beach being quite simply sand and stones at the edge of the sea. The idea will be developed as my sketches, and design come along.

SYNOPSIS

TREATMENT

CONCEPT R&D2This was my initial sketch for main environment

I would be creating in Unity. The environment is quite clearly split into 3 areas, a main middle ground and two areas which branch of away from eachother and the middle. This was essentially to create the distinction between the “past, present and future”. I would most likely be looking at a grass texture overlaying the entire area, and then adding textures on top occording to the area.

This was the second sketch I did for the Unity en-vironment leading from the first. I liked the initial idea of splitting up the environment and went with this but wanted to make it more obvious that it was split. Therefore I added two mountain ranges, which stop the viewer seeing the end of both split of endings (for the future). This makes sure the user explores the past and present, instead of stray-ing to the future environment. Im looking at using a dark grass texture as a main ground, then brick for one future and sand for the other. The moun-tain rangers wont be too overpowering but they will be big enough to seperate the building (past/present) from the rest of the environment. Also the inclusion of trees will help create a more confined feel to the building, to reduce freedom and choice for the user to where to go.

This is the final layout of my Unity environment. There will be mountain ranges to give this environment the initial feel of detachment. There will be trees blocking any pathway but that to the main building. Once the user has gotten to the end of the building, he will be free to go to where he wants, be it to the “beach” or the “city”. The city will include a range of buildings that will create a confined city space, while the beach will be open and peacefull, all of this supported by sound effects etc.

STYLE SHEETS3

This is a stylesheet of Jon’s social side. The images show his style in clothing (fairly casual constantly, bold colours). This definetly shows of his personality a fair bait, a person who is very social and thinks highly of his friends, makes sure he has people he can trust always around him. The fact that he likes to go out, shows he likes space, and the fact that their are pictures of him at giggs show his intrest in music. This sheet shows me to concentrate, on areas driven by music and social access to show Jon’s nature.

I decided to make a stylesheet of the area where Jon lives, since I believe its quite important to know where a person decided to live (fair enough their isnt much choice when at university). The area he lives seems fairly quite, not too bussy, which shows he likes to keep around a small group of people, and travel to go out (likes to spend time alone). The area is pretty rich in architecture, which definetly puts through why he likes art and design, with also being close to a park, with him being a keen infusiast in sport and competition.

These are 2 images of Jon’s university room, the reason for me chosing this room rather then his normal house room, was me wanting to know what he finds important enough to take with him. It shows the majority of what he has is to do his work, to enjoy his gaming and movies. He definetly values his few pieces of tech above most things (pc/mac/ipod) which al-low him to do his work and have a pass time, but besides that he just has anything thats essentiall to living a bed and some books. Intrestingly he also has a number of posters and books to do with some of his favorite artists, to inspire him.

I had a look at a number of “modern” designs, due to the ethnographic research I had collected about Jon and what I already knew about him to an extent. Knowing that Jon likes clean, in your face design, I had a look at a number of items. I wanted the design of the house to be very simple (square/rec-tangular etc), but with a modern twist. The items within the “present” environment I want to look stylish, mostly single colour and to have a theme running throughout to make the “environment” seem as a whole, which would essentially fit Jon’s taste.

These are 2 Images of football stadiums one being of Spur’s ground and the other of Old Trafford (his other favorite). The reason for these images is due to Jon’s proud support of Spurs. I want to incorpo-rate something to do with Spurs into the environ-ment be it through imagery or items, and this is a good start when looking at colour schemes and ideas.

LAYOUTS4

The above layout is that of the top floor of the building which represents the “past”. Both floors have the exact same structural layout, with the top floor being smaller, to give the feel of less confinement. The past environment is much emptier then that of the present, which goes with what was said in my ethnographic research, with the lack of money, gifts and making sure Jon was studying. The items are well spread out and spacious. The layout is easy to navigate with the hallway conjoining both rooms. Each room has a running theme, which links to trends, feelings etc that Jon had at the time.

This is the bottom floor “present” layout. The bottom floor is larger, more open and spacious than the top floor, due to Jon being more open, being given more privlidges and spreading his “wings” more so. The rooms are the same but, the items differ, due to the evolution of personality, taste, preferences etc. There layout is slightly more ordered this time, but the floor has got an open feel, with their being a load of space. Items ordered and much more specific this time to him.

The 2 images below are the final layouts for my past and present environments done in 3ds max. The one on the left being the present and the one on the right the past. As is evident in the present theres much more going on, but still very open, while in the past theirs less so. Also the way the colour schemes complement eachother and blend in is shown also.

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This is the first of two sheets of sketches for the objects I will be making. Each object is also accompanied with a few colours which I am thinking about using with the item itself.Firstly starting from the left clockwise there is a chair. The chair will be used for the past environment, with a very basic shape, due to the time period, and the sort of life Jon was living at the time.The next three items are desks, all meant for a different time period. The first is for the present, The idea being having a wooden base and a glass top, to give it that modern take on a desk. The second is a simple wooden desk, nothing fancy. The last being a desk for the future, with this I tried to make it different, thinking that the legs will be black, and the main attraction of the desk, with the mid-dle being greyish. Then we have a oldschool 90’s tv, going to be aiming for a plastic feel, it will be showing some sort of show relevent to Jon.Then we have a radio which I’m planning to use more than once, to show Jon’s taste in music, and music he finds dear to him.The next 2 items are lamps one, the first being for the present the next for the past. The present one, I tried to do something cool, and funky using purple and possibly chrome? on a curved body(fits in with the load of floral I plan on using. The other lamp is once again very curvatious, sorta inspired by the “lava lamps” of the day but just simply done in silver or something.Then we have a simple photo frame., to house any imagery to do with Jon and a football due to his intrest in the sport.Lastly we have a modern tv, which will have a fairly shiny texture, and again playing a relevent video to Jon.

SKETCHES

SKETCHES 26

Starting left to right, we have the sofa which will be used for the present. Im thinking cream, possibly leather in colour, and its fairly big and definetly a modern take on design, its the sort of sofa I expect to see in a club, which fits in well with Jon liking friends around.The second sofa is smaller, and much more classic in design. I want to do this in floral, and a wooden base.The next item is a bed for the present environment. Its big, spacious and most likely done out of black wood, with a floral design. The next is a hanging cabinet which will house an item or two.Then a set of speakers, which will be big and beastly, to show Jon’s insane intrest in music and fit in with the colour scheme of the tv.Then we have a monitor, I decided to base it on a monitor Jon currently owns, and thinking of using a dark grey for the colour.Then we have an ipod which will most likely be white in colour, one item Jon doesnt leave without, I will try to make this model fairly detailed since this is one of the more important items to Jon.The last sketch, is a double bed, meant for the past environment. Its a double bed, due to the fact that Jon used to have a number of relatives stay with him, and have his space crowded, with the top cover most likely being floral, while the bottom I was thinking of a Spurs cover.Throughout all the sketches, I tried to keep a colour scheme going throughout each environment so its pleasing aesthetically and makes sense.

TEXTURES7

This is a selection of textures I have considered for the creation of the environment. Not all of these have been used (vast majority have) but all are here due to me thinking of seriously using them. There are a number of building textures, high rises, estates, modern/old, all of which I had considered, deciding to chose the highrise tex-tures, due to them giving more of the “big city” vibe.Then there is a selection of “wallpa-per” textures which I looked at using not only for walls, but to texture furniture and other items. All of the design are floral, due to that design style being hugely liked by Jon and being inspired by his Mom. The rest of these textures are gener-ally for the floor, and wooden furni-ture, with a range of modern, to old wood, dark wood to light so there is a huge range to chose from. Textures though will only cover a part of my designs, with me having to mix colours and highlights for the rest of my items to get the desired colours and styles (be it plastic or metal etc) I want.

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MODELLING

This is a frame holiding a piece by Arsthanea for the present environment. I chose this piece due to the colours being very bold, and imagery in it (bird reminds me of freedom and escape).

This is Jon’s bed for the present environ-ment. The colour scheme and design of the bed is simple and modern, with the design on it being floral, due to having significant relation to Jon.

This is a model of Jon’s F1 car given to him by his grandad which passed away. This is one of the few sentemental items jon holds dear, and it changes presence between past/present with the way the item is treated and kept.

This is another frame, this time holidng a set of photos, showing Jon with his friends, a friendly reminder to him, of fun and happiness when alone and stressed.

A model of a football, done to show one of Jon’s pass times which he loves. The design is meant to just look clean and simple and easy to recognise hence the colour scheme.

This is a model of an ipod, which Jon always keeps on him. It’s very important to him, due to it housing his massive music collection and also being able to keep in touch with his friends through apps. I decided to chose white as the colour, due to that being the one he owns.

This is a model of a tv, for the present envi-ronment. The colours are there to keep in with the room, the tv will be actually playing a video in it significant to John.

This is a lamp for the present environment, its there mainly for aesthetical merit, to show Jon’s taste in design and interior design.

This is a double bed for the “past” environ-ment. The design of it is again very asthetically driven, the covers being one of his parents choice and the other showing his support to Spurs and the passion he had as a child for them.

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MODELLING 2

This is a table that will be included in the “city future” environment. Its to show Jon’s success in getting into the design field, within the big city.

This is a pc monitor, one of Jon’s most loved and used items. There will be an image related to Jon on the screen.

This is a tv model for the past environ-ment. Its one of the bigger, older tv’s from the 90’s which will be playing an anima-tion related to Jon.

This is a seat used in the past environment, for Jon’s school desk. It’s a really sim-ple design, but asthetically fits in with the room and the 90’s tech.

This is a mini cuboard, with the “old” wooden texture. It will hold a significant item or 2 on top.

This is the tv hand/cuboard for the “social room” in the past environment. Its again tex-tured in older styled wood, it will house the tv.

This is a mini cuboard used for the present environment, again hous-ing a significant item on top. This time textured in a more aestheti-cally pleasing wood.

This is the study desk for the present environ-ment. Its a wooden base with glass on top, to give it that modern look. Will be housing a monitor and possibly one more item. Showing Jon’s design intrests.

This radio will feature within the past and pre-sent environment. Another sentimental item, which he uses regularely to listen to music to, different music will play occording to the envi-ronmnet.

This is a lamp for the past environ-ment, its the mod-ern take of design during the 90s, textured in silver.

MODELLING 3

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This is the sofa for the “past environment”. It has quite a sleek finish to it, including the floral designs which are favoured by Jon and his mum. Sofa is fairly sized, due to lack of social interaction then.

Speakers for the present environment, styled in black wood to make them styl-ish, big and powerfull to show Jon’s love for music.

A hanging cabinet, styled in black wood, which will be used to house a trophy.

Study desk for the past environ-ment, fairlycommon design, textured in old wood, fairly big to show Jon growing into work and design.

Frame holding Banksy piece.

This is the sofa for the present environment. Its bigger, more spacious and more straight to the point in design compared to the “past” sofa, due to change in style, taste and in freedom.

Frame holding a piece by William Morris. This is a section of the models used for the “city” future environment. Houses which will give the feel of a city, that feel of bussy and a lot going on.

Frame holding a piece by William Morris.

Frame holding Bansky self portrait.

SCENARIO

11The user will be dropped in a secluded area of the environment right outside the building housing the past and present environment. The user will be surrouned by a number of trees on 2 sides and a mountain range behind him forcing him to go the only way he can which is up the stairs into the past environment...

Entering the past environment, the user is greeted by a short hallway, with a number of of images on the wall in frames, giving the indication of interest in art. Then the user reaches the main hallway, seeing an open passage to either the bedroom or “social” room, with also a staircase near. Thinking logically the user would explore the top floor first, deciding to go the bedroom first (due to most europeans wanting to go left to right).

Entering the bedroom the user is greeted with a fairly spacious area. Noticing a double bed, and a radio on top of a caibnet. The radio playing a song close to Jon’s heart “earth song”. Then going to the desk seeing the car his grandad gave him.

Leaving the bedroom the user enters the social room, being instatly greeted by artwork on the walls. Then seeing a tv on top of the cabinet, playing a show (dragonball z) which Jon spent a lot of his childhood watching, from the sofa across the room.

Leaving that room, the user goes down the stairs and once again see’s a number of pieces of art on the wall, now more in tune with Jon’s current interest. Deciding once again to enter the bedroom first we see a different one to the one before. Much more well furnished, and styled, with items being more organised. The double bed is now a single and larger bed, covered in floral covers, and the walls them selves in a floral design, showing the growing confidence Jon has. Then we have the car given by his grandad as a child, but with a missing wheel due to misuse and age. The ipod lying on a cabinet, and the radio still there this time playing “you me at six - rescue me” possibly stating Jon’s want for more freedom. Theres a bigger work desk, with a much more modern design, and a cabinet storing a trophy Jon has won for weightlifting reminding him that he can succeed at anything.

Leaving the bedroom the user enters the “social” room, where he is this time welcomed by a set of photos with Jon and friends. The tv, is playing a tottenham hotspurs game, while the sofa has gotten bigger, more modern, and with an open end design to allow for much more social interaction. In the corner a football bouncing up and down showing how large Jon’s passion for football is.

Leaving through the door in the social room, the user is greeted by sunshine, and a large clifface, with an arrow on each side pointing in a direction...

LEFT - deciding to go left the user slowly reaches a brick path, getting more and more clear, till he reaches a mini city, an area with a load of buildings. The buildings cover the entire skyline and are very close together, with street chatter being heard everywhere. In the middle their is a workdesk and a set of materials/tools waiting for the user, (showing Jon has reached a design career path).

RIGHT - deciding to go right, the user is met by a sandy path getting clearer and clearer. The user reaches a “beach” on the edge of a clifface, with a number of palm trees, creating a calm and relaxed scene, being able to hear the wa-ter hit the cliffs. The user has reached a calm and relaxed future.

UNITY

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This is a selection of screenshots taken of my unity environment from very early stages to the final thing. As you can see from the first screenshot I kept quite close to the initial sketch I did of my environment, raising up the terrain a fair bit to be able to model more freely. Then I went onto adding a grass texture, a pretty rough one using fairly used grass, and adding a set of cliffs/mountains on the side to block of the environment. Then I went onto texturing the two areas of the environment which split, one with an oldschool roman brick, and the other with sand, having both spread out slightly with lowered opacity to create a gradual path, (both eventually also having ar-rows point direction). I had also added a cliff face to corner off the two arms which split off. I then went on to add a number of buildings in the “city” future, while adding a palm tree or two on the sand environment, and doing a cliff drop to give it a more realistic look. I had also added a rock texture to the top of certain cliff ’s for realism. Then I went onto placing the main building near the main clifface, and cornering it off with trees, to prevent the user wanting to stray away. I decided to use a clear day skybox, since I wanted a fairly open and bright scene and outlook, although made sure the building is initially in shadow to give more of a claustrophobic feel, with not so much space.

ANIMATIONS

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This is the first tv animation I will be including within the environment. The animation is fairly simple to do with simply overlaying a video, but the outcome is very useful to the environment. The video is that of Dragonball Z, the one thing that constantly springs to mind when Jon talks about his childhood. Its something he watched often, and aparently tried to be like with saying, he found calm in the show, and the characters self control, helped him keep any anger under wraps. Which I guess is quite evident now with him doing well in weightlifting.

This is an animation of a football which is located in the present envi-ronment. This animation was much tougher to get the desired effect. Its essentially a bouncing ball, but I had to increase the size as it went up and down in the air occording to the bounce and speed. I chose to animate this item due to Jon’s vast intrest in football and his passionate support in Spurs.

These are two different arrows using a very similar animation sequence both meant for the future en-vironment. One arrow is textured in sand the other in brick and both pointing directions to a certain future. Both animations move back and forth left to right and back, just to make sure the user goes the right way, to their “destiny”. I think this sort of animation will come in use, with the environment it shows direction and does allow the user to stray, also aestheticall it will fit in due to the textures relating to the environment.

This is the second tv animation this time located in the present. This time the video is of, tottneham hotspurs and more specifically Bale (a player Jon idelises). It’s being shown and used, due to the satisfaction Jon gets from watching and enjoying this sort of thing but also the specific clip I chose, shows determination, grit and skill, something that inspires and Jon relates to and shows of his personality.

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