Texture Mapping

Texture mapping is like the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae. A model is never complete without it's colors, designs, and texture and even though a three dimensional object may already look impressive with just it's mold, but it will never be truly perfect without knowing if it's smooth, shiny, rough, colorless, or colorful. Texture mapping is what gives an object its true character. To be honest, creating texture it probably the easiest part in creating a three-dimensional model and video games in general. This is where traditional hand drawing and realism is being tested.

The purpose of this project was to create a design/texture map for the unwrap UV’s(the image on the bottom left) The model for this project was a simple robot and it was up to me to decide what kind I wanted it to be. My final thought was to create three designs; a cute bear inspired by san-x’s character Rilakkuma, a plain plum, and teal color based on Danelectro’s vintage pedals. At first I just gave it’s basic colors and paste in some simple decals, but there was something about the outcome that I didn’t like. The robots looked glossy and brand new. Everybody loved it, but to me it just looked like something everybody has already done. Every model looked like it just came out fresh out of the factory. I wanted something different so instead of brand new robots, I created texture maps that made the robots looked old. In Photoshop I added moss, scratches, and dirt to make it seem like the robots has been through rain, fighting, and hard work. On the edges I made it looked like paint were chipping off. Making the robots looked used and instead of new made it more realistic rather that just a 3D model. I’m glad I decided to through this path, because I really fell in love with the outcome.

Games At The Small Screen

Many video game developers have made millions and millions of money through making apps for smart phones and tablets. Some of these successful games are Angry Birds, Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, and Fruit Ninja. The sudden boom of app games begun when Apple gave the opportunity of creating apps for a living. Most independent video game developers (Indie developers) took advantage of this and decided to make games that are made for the small screen. This choice was a smart one, because unlike Xbox games or PlayStation games, apps range from 99 cents to 3 dollars. In other words, it is cheap and affordable. Plus, buying a system for the app is not necessary, because everybody already has cellphones and tablets. So, there's no reason not to buy the apps, but these aren't the only reasons indie developers chose to make apps over PC games or console games. Creating an app is easy to make, especially when programs like GameSalad exists.

The video above is a rough run through of a video game app made through GameSalad. The app is called Jump Jump And Away, which is about a girl with magical powers who helps her animal friends get down safely. The objective of the game is too jump on the platforms, avoid touching the dark clouds, collect as much animals as possible, and get to the top. This game was made in just a few months with the help of Adobe Photoshop, GameSalad, and a hard working team. My team and I decided to create an app for this project for the same reasons why indie developers choose to create apps; It is easy and quick to make and apps has been very popular for the past few years. Jump Jump And Away is actually a part of our game app series called, Project Anti Extinction. We wanted to spread the awareness of animals in danger to children from four years old and above. The outcome was such a huge success that professional game designers and judges at a panel were impress that they wanted to share it to others.

Platform Video Game

Limbo, Braid, Slender, Super Meat Boy, and Fez. All these games have one thing in common and that one thing changed the gaming community forever. Independent video games or indie games for short got their nickname through their creators, which are independent game developers. A lot of these game designers usually work with a small group and sometimes with just one or two people. Most of these developers usually begin pitching their ideas at Kickstarter, which is known for the largest funding platform for projects such as animations, films, and of course, games. Once, the indie developers’ reach their goal for funds, they begin creating their game. Their budget would be very low, not unlike big video game developers that have been in the field for years. So, these indie developers would tend to create a type of game that is easy and fast to make. Majority of these games are platform games, because they are easy to program, design, and render. The biggest advantage of platform games are most of the design are 2D art and the reason why indie developers choose to go this route is because, 3D art takes a lot of designing, preparing, and rendering. Deadlines aren’t really a problem when it comes to indie games, but the budget won’t be enough for such a big project.

The video above is an example of what a platform game would look like. The project was to create an animation that resembled to the style of Limbo, a popular black and white game. The art in Limbo are all silhouettes and the project’s goal was to create that same exact look. The game that I created is called Prey And Pray and it is about giant mutated insects that chose humans as their prey. All the art, except for the running character, is original and was created in Adobe Photoshop CC and I animated everything in Adobe After Effects CC. I used the principles of background design to my knowledge to create the illusion of atmospheric perspective. The images at front are darker than what is behind it to create that effect of the mountains being further away. I also made the mountains at the back move slower to create that realistic feel. Overall, I am happy with the outcome, I thought that it looked a lot like Limbo and I hope to create something as great someday.

Low Poly Model

It's important for video game designers to learn how to create beautiful models with a acceptable amount of Polycounts. This skill is very important to know, learn, and obtain, because it has a huge effect to the video game. Polycounts are the amount of numbers found in a three-dimensional digital object. So, if a model has a large amount of polycounts the slower and worse the game will run, so the lower polycount the better. Game designers typically assign poly counts to every 3-D model depending on its design. If a complex character is being created the assigned polycount tend to be around 30,000, but if the model has a simple design then the polycount should be around 1,000. 

This project was about practicing my modeling skills with lowpoly counts. The first thing that comes to mind was the number 1,000. That is the amount of polycount that my model could have. The second thought that came to mind was, "What object could I model that would be appropriate for this project?" So, I thought of a guitar pedal, due to its simple shape. It's important to keep the shape in mind, because the more curves it has the more polycount it will have to use. So round objects would not be a good choice to model for this project.  

The guitar pedal that I have model has approximately 964 polycount. If you look on the upper right hand corner of the image, the polycount of my guitar pedal should appear next to the word faces and since, the model has less than 1,000 polycount that means I have succeeded my goal. Assigning a polycount to every model will surely help all video game designers and if all goes through according to plan then the game itself should be successful. 

My Voice

I am an artist that tells stories through the art of video game design. I do a heavy amount of brainstorming, drawing, pitching, writing, designing, coding, three-dimensional modeling, texture mapping, presenting, and loving. Creating video games is not a job, but a career; A career that pushed me to my limit and to the right artistic path.

I invested my life in video games for over fourteen years and had been designing and creating video games for more than six years. Through all these years of being involve with video games, I had not only been successfully entertained, but I had also encountered many experiences, such as finding a new way to extend my talent in art, encountering opportunities for work, learning how to properly communicate with others, and finding myself in a place where I have never thought people could be in.

Since childhood, I have always excelled in art. I started it out with pencil and paper, but it was later in life did I found out that art in general is where my talent was. I picked up a paintbrush and the final outcome would give me a shock, because I never knew I was a good painter. I did not even know that I was a painter. So, I moved on with other types of media like markers, color pencils, and pens. Then I found different forms of art like sculpting and molding, until I ran out of ideas on what I could do next. I truly believed that I did it all, but then I found the wonderful art of making video games.

For the longest time I thought my talent in art helped me succeed in video game creating, but in reality making video games helped me excel in all different kind of art. Video games is not just about coding and designing, it actually involves other medias like audio and animations. For independent developers, everything they make has to be original. For my first years of being a video game designer, I had to create my own music on Mac’s GarageBand, master animating in Adobe Flash, use a large variety of game engines such as GameSalad, Unity, and BlueJay, and study programming languages like C++ and Java. All these years of experience I became fluent with the basic game making essentials like Photoshop, Maya, and Unity, but I am also flexible and can use other programs. These are the reasons why I decided to pursue the career of a video game designer. To see the other type of arts the world has to offer.

I fell in love with the complexity of creating video games, because no matter how small and easy a step was, I knew it was all very important. From brainstorming to game testing, I admired every bit of it, especially those little things like character naming. Majority of people think that game designer just throw in a pretty name and give it to a random character, but that is not the case. Video game designers are like parents. Everything we create is like our children. We create them, we work hard on giving birth to them, we nurture them and we love them. Like every great parent a video game designer take their time into giving their creation a name. Everybody in this world was given a name that has meaning, just like video game characters. Even though the gamers and viewers would never notice the tiny significance of the characters’, it is those little things that give us, game designers the joy of creating something.

As a game designer, I have become a very patient person. All video games, with the exceptions of indie games, usually take years to make. Creating a solid idea and design takes months to complete and the rest would take years. Sometimes the team would be a head of schedule and sometimes we would fall behind, but that is an easy fix. A few adjustments just needed to be changed. There would even be times when the deadline was yesterday, but years of being a video game designer prepared me to create good quality games in a short amount of time.

Some of those who are not involved with the gaming industry may think that creating video games are all about fun and games. Yes, it is fun and it literally is a game, but making these video games are hard work, especially when you are working with a team. I had worked with different kinds of people. Some of them just naturally complimented the way I worked and there have been times when I had to work with people who were lazy, out of control, and just was not a pleasure to work with. Fortunately, I like the challenge and through all those challenges I have made it alive and with a bonus of better communication skills. Working with a different team every project made me a better leader and a better worker. I learned how to lead a group of lazy procrastinators to create a high quality project in just a short time, I learned how to work with a messy and unorganized environment, and ever since then, each project was a challenging delight.

Through all these years of creating beautiful games, the best part was not doing what I love, but finding myself in other people. Every game designer feels like there is a piece of themselves in the games they make, but whenever I watch people fall in love with the games I make, I can not help, but find a piece of myself in them. The way the gamers smile and get excited reminds me of how I would smile and get excited about every little outcome that has come from the games I have made. Before I was a creator I was just a fan. I would love playing video games and I would even go to conventions and dress up like the characters I play and love. Now, I am both. I am not just the gamer anymore. I am now the game creator and that is why I do what I do. I stress over how tall or how short a character should be. I would sweat over the colors of a level design. I would even dream about different titles for my games. I do all these hard work, just so I could see myself in others.

Being a video game designer made me become a better artist in all fields. At first I thought I was just a designer who could draw well, but in the end I was actually someone greater. I made my ideas alive through three-dimensional modeling. The pictures in my head would move, because of what I can do and I have discovered that these ideas in my head are different pieces of different versions of me. I am that creepy murderous little girl I imagine from time to time, but I am also that sweet ice cream garden I dream from time to time. I create myself through the arts of video game design. And that is what my career is truly all about.