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To be honest I found this project a little overwhelming, and I always tend to make too much work for myself anyway. I knew from the start that I didn’t want to do anything too “gamey” or obvious. I think the main reason I’m not much of a gamer (apart from being poor and a short attention span) is because the main games market seems to follow the same formula over and over again (lets kill things!!). I find virtually killing things as amusing as the next person but I really wanted to try to stretch the brief, and see what else is possible. So I created a little world to explore, with no real story or character to identify with.
It shows in my feed back from my crit / exhibition. It’s positive but a bit confused. I think some people didn’t really know what to do, which was just wander around and click things and see what happens. One person commented they couldn’t see how my branch / tree was an island, which is fair enough as I really tried to push what the idea of an island was. I think a simple help page or a quick intro at the start might have cleared up the confusion.
I think the sound design and animation have worked well, even though I would have liked to have experimented more with both. The idea for the tibetan singing bowls came from a discussion during one of the tutorials where people suggested that I use koto or other kinds of eastern sounds, unfortunately all I could find that really suited my game were the singing bowls, and a couple of tingshaw mp3s. Which I think work really well, I love how the sounds build up as you move along the branch and reverberate.
My original idea for the visuals was to have three or four different modes for viewing the world, starting from a barren branch where you could make the flowers bloom in either 3d, vector or wireframe modes. I decided to abandon this though and just do the 3d version as I was already getting sick of using flash at this point, I’m using the excuse that this is a demo version! Another thing I’ve let myself get out of doing because this is a demo are the animations for the flowers on the other half of the tree, once again I was getting sick of flash.
But I did make myself (kinda) work out how to use context free, which is a little program that makes images from maths. One of the flowers spurts out a branch / growth / pretty thing when you click it, which was an animation I made in context free. I still don’t really understand how to use it, my maths skills are appalling, and I was already learning action script at the time, so I was a bit overwhelmed on the scripting side of things.
Overall I’m really happy with how this has turned out, I’m just going to stay away from Maya and Flash for a while. Well, maybe not Maya.
Showing posts with label mechanical organics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mechanical organics. Show all posts
7.3.07
28.2.07
27.2.07
faffing
in context free.
i'm hoping to use animations of these in my flash game thingy. i want the do be visual representations / reactions to the sounds that happen.
found some great sounds of tibetan singing bowls. and if your bored here's a virtual shamisen. hours of fun making twangy noises.
24.2.07
hmmm...
crazy cameras.
crazy mofo camera
not so crazy, but still a bit wobbly
not that crazy really, but does swerve off into the wrong direction at one point.
maya also has something against frame 043, for some strange reason it renders a blank frame.
ugh!
i've also been playing around with context free but it confuses me a bit... because it involves maths... i'm crap at maths.
but holy mother of crap.
crazy mofo camera
not so crazy, but still a bit wobbly
not that crazy really, but does swerve off into the wrong direction at one point.
maya also has something against frame 043, for some strange reason it renders a blank frame.
ugh!
i've also been playing around with context free but it confuses me a bit... because it involves maths... i'm crap at maths.
but holy mother of crap.
20.2.07
she don't use cheese
camera setup / frame labeling:
or in english:
control panel ideas:
i think i might make it slightly transparent, so if it does go over part of a branch or flower it will still be visible underneath.
or in english:
control panel ideas:
i think i might make it slightly transparent, so if it does go over part of a branch or flower it will still be visible underneath.
she don't use jelly
faffing in flash...
faff 1
a quick little beta thing which shows how the user will be able to navigate around the branch (a whole tree is a bit much methinks). At the moment it's in a similar style to those powerpoint presentations we did ages ago; invisible buttons to navigate around still images. for the final finished thing i would like to use animation to show movement from one part of the branch to another, at the moment it seems a bit disjointed as the camera angle changes. i just need to figure out how to make working motion paths in maya.
the interface isn't too developed in this little thing. the invisible buttons will probably be the same in the finished thing, but to go back there's a little button in the top left hand corner. although it works fine it seems a bit too simple, i'm thinking of creating a little control bar with various different buttons including "back". i want the environment to be viewed in different ways: 3d render, vector and wireframe, so these controls will be included in the control bar.
things i've animated:
seed animation 1
seed animation 2
i swear they're different.
one of the sections of the game will let you face away from the tree and see these seeds falling. you can then interact with them, drag them around and make them fall apart.
for my sound design i want to have wierd disjointed plinky plonky stuff. sigur ros / bjork-ish.
the sound of an out of tune guitar string being plucked when you click a flower and make it implode.
some flowers that play different piano notes when you click their petals, giving you the oppurtunity to make a little ditty.
wierd rustly noises. maybe something sounding like a synthesizer dying. white noise when you go into wireframe mode. wine glasses being played / smashed. beads.
i need to play in garageband.
faff 1
a quick little beta thing which shows how the user will be able to navigate around the branch (a whole tree is a bit much methinks). At the moment it's in a similar style to those powerpoint presentations we did ages ago; invisible buttons to navigate around still images. for the final finished thing i would like to use animation to show movement from one part of the branch to another, at the moment it seems a bit disjointed as the camera angle changes. i just need to figure out how to make working motion paths in maya.
the interface isn't too developed in this little thing. the invisible buttons will probably be the same in the finished thing, but to go back there's a little button in the top left hand corner. although it works fine it seems a bit too simple, i'm thinking of creating a little control bar with various different buttons including "back". i want the environment to be viewed in different ways: 3d render, vector and wireframe, so these controls will be included in the control bar.
things i've animated:
seed animation 1
seed animation 2
i swear they're different.
one of the sections of the game will let you face away from the tree and see these seeds falling. you can then interact with them, drag them around and make them fall apart.
for my sound design i want to have wierd disjointed plinky plonky stuff. sigur ros / bjork-ish.
the sound of an out of tune guitar string being plucked when you click a flower and make it implode.
some flowers that play different piano notes when you click their petals, giving you the oppurtunity to make a little ditty.
wierd rustly noises. maybe something sounding like a synthesizer dying. white noise when you go into wireframe mode. wine glasses being played / smashed. beads.
i need to play in garageband.
14.2.07
12.2.07
8.2.07
tweedle dee
watching this never ceases to amuse me.
anyhoo...
a nice orderly list of all the different interactions i'm thinking of using in my game eco system world thing. yeah.
- change the colour of petals by clicking on them
- change from wireframe to full pretty 3d render / vector colour (make it look like ink)
- affect the falling of seeds, drag them around, follow the mouse
- make flowers poof out seeds
- make some things implode, the odd seed or flower implosion
- click the petals to make music?
- click seeds to make flowers grow?
i would really like to do something encorporating the ideas of the game of life, but since i'm only just starting to learn action script really (even though it seems very easy so far) and my math skills are terrible i don't want to do anything that will confuse me too much. i might come back to it later. this is a nice game where mushrooms grow according to the rules of the game of life. it's fun.
also loads of fun:
dendron - make lichen grow
meshy - interactive cats cradle
space hopper SO MUCH FUN
and my personal favourite...
floccus
all by gavin levin, you can find more fun things at flong.com
interesting pages from "creative code" by John Maeda (good book, go buy it!)...
anyhoo...
a nice orderly list of all the different interactions i'm thinking of using in my game eco system world thing. yeah.
- change the colour of petals by clicking on them
- change from wireframe to full pretty 3d render / vector colour (make it look like ink)
- affect the falling of seeds, drag them around, follow the mouse
- make flowers poof out seeds
- make some things implode, the odd seed or flower implosion
- click the petals to make music?
- click seeds to make flowers grow?
i would really like to do something encorporating the ideas of the game of life, but since i'm only just starting to learn action script really (even though it seems very easy so far) and my math skills are terrible i don't want to do anything that will confuse me too much. i might come back to it later. this is a nice game where mushrooms grow according to the rules of the game of life. it's fun.
also loads of fun:
dendron - make lichen grow
meshy - interactive cats cradle
space hopper SO MUCH FUN
and my personal favourite...
floccus
all by gavin levin, you can find more fun things at flong.com
interesting pages from "creative code" by John Maeda (good book, go buy it!)...
7.2.07
love hate relationship with maya
AGH.
i'm sitting in the computer room all on my lonesome making seeds and seedlings in maya and nibbling on peanut m+ms and am very much getting miffed with how i can't figure out how to import textures with transparancies. rah.
also, i can't figure out how to render in wireframe mode, which is something i want to possibly use... rah rah rah. so far i've just been converting screen grabs to b+w to make some nice stuff to use on my website.
i think i'm going to use photoshop and flash to make everything look more nice and textured, cos i want there to be lots of lovely texture dammit. i want to use graphite rubbings of leaves and stuff scanned in and made all colourful, but alas the park near me is a bit too well maintained. luckily i'm going home in a few days and there's loads of dead leaves around there.
i like how i have flash at home. it's good.
i think i'm going to have to create the environment in flash, i'm just getting too frustrated with maya! i don't have enough time to faff around with it enough to get something i'm happy with, so i'm just going to use it to create the smaller elements (flowers and seeds and stuff), although i might attempt to make a branch in maya tommorow.
hmm... damn my brain having ideas above my abilities... well i don't think my idea would be that hard to do, it's just maya is being annoying.
i'm sitting in the computer room all on my lonesome making seeds and seedlings in maya and nibbling on peanut m+ms and am very much getting miffed with how i can't figure out how to import textures with transparancies. rah.
also, i can't figure out how to render in wireframe mode, which is something i want to possibly use... rah rah rah. so far i've just been converting screen grabs to b+w to make some nice stuff to use on my website.
i think i'm going to use photoshop and flash to make everything look more nice and textured, cos i want there to be lots of lovely texture dammit. i want to use graphite rubbings of leaves and stuff scanned in and made all colourful, but alas the park near me is a bit too well maintained. luckily i'm going home in a few days and there's loads of dead leaves around there.
i like how i have flash at home. it's good.
i think i'm going to have to create the environment in flash, i'm just getting too frustrated with maya! i don't have enough time to faff around with it enough to get something i'm happy with, so i'm just going to use it to create the smaller elements (flowers and seeds and stuff), although i might attempt to make a branch in maya tommorow.
hmm... damn my brain having ideas above my abilities... well i don't think my idea would be that hard to do, it's just maya is being annoying.
6.2.07
3.2.07
1.2.07
today...
hmm... making my own textures might be an idea. colours look a bit naff.
may or may not use this model in my final piece, just trying to remember how to do things in maya. :)
optimism
1st feb - 4th feb
initial ideas - pre vis
faff in maya
photos of trees etc
5th feb - 11th feb
continue faffing in maya
animate things
12th feb - 18th feb
reading week
break into college to do work
faff around in SL while at home to hide from the fact i'm screwed.
19th feb - 20th feb
cry.
initial ideas - pre vis
faff in maya
photos of trees etc
5th feb - 11th feb
continue faffing in maya
animate things
12th feb - 18th feb
reading week
break into college to do work
faff around in SL while at home to hide from the fact i'm screwed.
19th feb - 20th feb
cry.
31.1.07
22.1.07
numbakulla...
is an adventure game inside second life, where you can't fly around or use the camera to cheat (grrrr...). "Numbakulla belongs to Moopf Murray, who kindly allowed the Pot Healer team to build and develop the sim as an immersive game of exploration and puzzles." - Numbakulla info card in SL.
The backstory (or what i've been able to find out so far) is of a ship caught in a storm and crashing into an island, which is quite a strange place really. You wander around the island clicking everything you see and collecting objects, keys, lamps, spanners, and i'm pretty sure i'm supposed to be finding bits of pottery.
view from the skyship, which kinda makes up for not being able to fly around.
interesting textures on the lilypads.
for this tree they've applied leaf textures onto spheres, which i think works really well, may swipe this idea.
there are some fun interactive things to play with there, like these steel drums, which make playing the game more fun. i found myself getting a bit frustrated about not finding things in all the rooms i was looking in, so i spent some time jamming.
just pretty...
little pod rooms and huge flowers...
The backstory (or what i've been able to find out so far) is of a ship caught in a storm and crashing into an island, which is quite a strange place really. You wander around the island clicking everything you see and collecting objects, keys, lamps, spanners, and i'm pretty sure i'm supposed to be finding bits of pottery.
view from the skyship, which kinda makes up for not being able to fly around.
interesting textures on the lilypads.
for this tree they've applied leaf textures onto spheres, which i think works really well, may swipe this idea.
there are some fun interactive things to play with there, like these steel drums, which make playing the game more fun. i found myself getting a bit frustrated about not finding things in all the rooms i was looking in, so i spent some time jamming.
just pretty...
little pod rooms and huge flowers...
my eyes are going funny...
i have spent alot of time "researching" in second life. Trying to get an idea of how to recreate organic environments in 3d, and possible ways of interacting with the environment.
amazingly cool things at svarga!!! go there....go... Svarga is an island in second life with it's own eco system, which visitors can explore and interact with the local wildlife.
birdies!! they fly around during the day time (you can tell what time of day it is by the sundials spotted around the place, forcing the sun doesn't affect the environment) and they eat seed that you can buy for L$1.
i like feeding the birds... they eat it up quickly though.
"If I was to turn off the clouds the whole system would die in about six hours, turn off the bees and [the plants stop] growing, because nothing gets pollinated. And it's the transfer of pollen that signals the plants to drop seeds. The seeds blow in the wind, and if they land on good ground according to different rules for each species, they grow when they receive rain water from the clouds. It's all interdependent." - Laukosargas Svarog (creator of svarga)
a plant that goes "poooff" and little seedy things come out.
a field of blue bells which bloom as soon as you land in the field, which is a really nice effect.
there are some really interesting plant structures there too, and i couldn't help myself getting all arty taking photos. Spirals seem to be a really popular element when trying to recreate organic forms in SL.
FUNGI!!!
and more spirals and things in a really large plant thing.
there are a lot of flowers around the place, some of which are really quite pretty.
"It's very sensitive to very small changes, like if a gene emerges which gives a plant an extra seed in its lifetime, that can cause huge growth in its locale. And the opposite of course, one less causes thinning growth. I've also seen the same color become a dominant gene so all the meadow cup plants became blue once. Simple things like that emerge quite often." Laukosargas Svarog (creator of svarga)
mmmm.... virtual photography...
more info on svarga
amazingly cool things at svarga!!! go there....go... Svarga is an island in second life with it's own eco system, which visitors can explore and interact with the local wildlife.
birdies!! they fly around during the day time (you can tell what time of day it is by the sundials spotted around the place, forcing the sun doesn't affect the environment) and they eat seed that you can buy for L$1.
i like feeding the birds... they eat it up quickly though.
"If I was to turn off the clouds the whole system would die in about six hours, turn off the bees and [the plants stop] growing, because nothing gets pollinated. And it's the transfer of pollen that signals the plants to drop seeds. The seeds blow in the wind, and if they land on good ground according to different rules for each species, they grow when they receive rain water from the clouds. It's all interdependent." - Laukosargas Svarog (creator of svarga)
a plant that goes "poooff" and little seedy things come out.
a field of blue bells which bloom as soon as you land in the field, which is a really nice effect.
there are some really interesting plant structures there too, and i couldn't help myself getting all arty taking photos. Spirals seem to be a really popular element when trying to recreate organic forms in SL.
FUNGI!!!
and more spirals and things in a really large plant thing.
there are a lot of flowers around the place, some of which are really quite pretty.
"It's very sensitive to very small changes, like if a gene emerges which gives a plant an extra seed in its lifetime, that can cause huge growth in its locale. And the opposite of course, one less causes thinning growth. I've also seen the same color become a dominant gene so all the meadow cup plants became blue once. Simple things like that emerge quite often." Laukosargas Svarog (creator of svarga)
mmmm.... virtual photography...
more info on svarga
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