To start my level off, I would want an armory area which the player would start in so they could choose their weapon of choice before actually entering the arena. If I have enough time, I might actually incorporate a cut scene or area where the player starts in a prison cell before actually getting the gear. This would reference back to what the Elder Scrolls Oblivion 4 did where the player can explore the cells which NPC’s are in before they actually fight. Above, I used the arena from the star wars universe where fighters would compete in an arena surrounded by thousands of spectators. This image reminded of movies like gladiator where Maximus has to fight in the arena against Commudos.
Below is a scene from the movie Gladiator (2000). This image reminded me a lot of the arena from the star wars universe.
I created a piece of concept art that I’m planning to create as my main area for the arena. It is currently surrounded by a mass amount of spectators with a gate in the middle for the combatants to come through. There is also a pit in the middle of the arena which fighters can try and lead their opponent into it through force or mind games. I also created a weapon rack for the area before you actually go into the arena which holds the 3 weapons you can choose from. I’m currently not sure if I want the spectators to be actual people due to technical limitations but I could try and compensate with there being sounds of a crowd but not actual being there.
This is a very basic and early creation for an arena. I’ve used basic techniques learnt in blender such as extruding to form the basic shape and look for an arena. I’m currently planning to change this drastically.
From the research I’ve used above, I would like to add a lot more scenery for my arena instead of just having the basic design that I’ve created and try and include things from the Star Wars and Oblivion arena as I personally like the look of them and would like to have them turn into an actual game asset/idea. I’m planning to create a pit in the middle of the arena which will have the combatants try and avoid throughout fights but could meet either their doom if they’re not careful enough. This would refer to the sarlacc pit from Star Wars Return of the Jedi.
I decided to change the game idea into a model showcase which displays all of my detailed models and textures that I’ve created. The room is based off of the rooms in Skyrim and is littered with props such as tables, torches, barrels, weapon racks and dummies. The walls are textured with a dark cobblestone feel which is a throwback to old school Oblivion rooms/dungeons. I used delphine’s secret room as a reference for what I wanted my area to look like.
Above is the image converted into what I would want the room to look like. There are still more props needed to make the room work and I also want to include a door and windows that will have light shine through onto my weapons.
My game isn’t really set in a specific era but I’ve taken inspiration from eras such as the Middle Ages and The Bronze Era. The reason why I chose these is because I want the aesthetics of the Middle Ages but the traditional arena feeling of The Bronze Era sort of mixed together. The reason why I’ve mixed the eras is due to the weaponry that I’ve considered for the game which involves Katanas, Warhammers and Longswords.
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages (or medieval period) lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. – Wikipedia. (2019). Middle Ages.
For weapons to be used in my game I’ve looked at various weaponry such as blades, axes, hammers and even maces. I’m currently planning to create 3 weapons which is a Katana, Warhammer, Longsword. I’ve chose these because I want there to be some variety as for what the player can use. I’ve also decided that the speed and attack damage of the weaponry can vary depending on what you’ve chosen such as the Katana being a very fast hitting blade but not as strong as the Warhammer which can hit hard but not as fast and the Longsword which is a perfect balance of speed and attack. There is no specific era but almost an alternative time period so the weapons can co-exist.
As the development of the game goes along, I’ll end up adding more weapons to the game but as of now, i’ll currently add images onto my pinterest of what weapons I might add in for the future.
I’ve done a lot more research on weaponry and I’ve looked at the video game Elder Scrolls Skyrim. I’m creating my warhammer and katana from the research on Skyrim. My warhammer is based off the Champion’s Cudgel warhammer with a few slightly changed details. My warhammer is currently untextured and I need to create a texture in Substance Painter or Photoshop.
I created a draft sword from research of long swords. I looked at various swords online and also looked at Jon Snow’s Long claw sword from Game of Thrones. The longsword design is very basic and is tough to make unique, I plan to create a unique looking sword that can be used in the game and can be viewed in the model section. The textures will be done in Substance Painter or Photoshop.
I’ve decided to look at games that use arenas in them such as games like Oblivion and Chivalry Medieval Warfare. I particularly like these two games and the settings for the arenas is exactly what I want to aim for.
I firstly looked at the tutorial level for Chivalry Medieval Warfare as I remember playing it when it first came out and the setting stuck with me. I liked the environment and this would be what I would want to aim for which is an outside setting surrounded by grass, trees and various props encased in fences and torches. The setting is currently undecided but i’m almost certain that I’ll make it medieval. I’m still not too sure if I want my game to be low-poly or semi realistic looking. I think that a low-poly take would be unique as I’ve currently not seen any games that fall under the category.
I also looked at the Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion to get inspiration for an arena setting as I remember vividly doing the quest line for the arena. The whole design for the arena is a little different to the level in Chivalry, but i’m still deciding what to choose because both are good designs but the traditional look with the spectators watching and the spikes everywhere would be pretty cool. I think the pit in the middle of the arena is a very cool addition and I would like to have my own take on it where the unsuspecting victim could be attacked into it. Below shows an image from the arena in Oblivion and is sort of what I want to aim for considering aesthetics for my arena. I’m still not too sure if i’ll include any spectators.
We started on project 4 and started coming up with ideas and concepts for what project 4 should be. I came up with 2 ideas that I could possibly use. I did some research on the games The Forest and Life Is Strange to get possible ideas for my environment.
Tuesday 5th March 2019 –
I decided what my game should be about and chose to create a melee arena fighting based around the Middle Ages with a twist of The Bronze Age. I did research on the era’s itself and also looked at environments for arenas and looked at the games Oblivion and Chivalry Medieval Warfare. I also did some research on weapons from the era including a Katana, Warhammer, and a Long sword.
Thursday 7th March 2019 –
I’m currently planning to start doing some modelling for my weapons and I’ve also done some more research on the whole look and feel of arenas. I’ve looked towards Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion as there is a arena in the main city area. I am planning to get a lot of inspiration and ideas from the arena in Oblivion.
Week 1:
Monday 11th March 2019 –
I did some more research onto arenas to get a better feel for what I would want my level to look like. I looked at an arena from the star wars universe and scenes from the movie Gladiator (2000) and drew myself a piece of concept art that I will later use as the base ground for my arena.
Tuesday 12th March 2019 –
I created a mood board filled with images from the Bronze era, The middle ages, various old weaponry and armour worn by soldiers from those eras. I thought to myself about creating the spectators for my arena as it isn’t a small area so creating a bunch of moving people wouldn’t work due to hardware and design limitations. I’ve decided that I might use an old technique that the FIFA series used to use where the crowds were in fact 2D instead of actual models that they use today. I would have it so the 2D sprites would constantly face the player so you couldn’t see that it was 2D. I created an arena that is very basic in design and want to work of the base of it and improve it drastically.
Thursday 14th March 2019 –
I did small research on arenas again to try and improve my mock up model and to see how it would look as a full scale level.
Week 2:
Monday 18th March 2019 –
I created a basic sword as the first weapon of the three I’m planning to texture and model for my arena game. I used research from a long sword to create a sword similar to one like it.
Tuesday 19th March 2019 –
After creating the long sword, I’m now planning to create the Katana and Warhammer models within this week and to also do the textures for all three weapons in Substance Painter.
I created a google form survey so I could better understand what could be changed or added and to also see if people like what I’m trying to create.
Week 3:
Monday 25th March 2019 –
I created my draft warhammer model that I’m going to use for my game. I used research based on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and looked at warhammers that were used in the game.
Tuesday 26th March 2019 –
I started crafting my katana model in blender and formed the blade from a reference image of a real katana sword. I need to now finish the handle and hilt to complete my sword and i’ll texture it in Substance painter.
Thursday 28th March 2019 –
I started looking at Mixamo to see the available animations so I can decide whether to create a rig. I’m planning to do research on gladiators and their helmets that they used into battle.
Week 4:
Monday 1st April 2019 –
I finished off my katana model and did some research on main menus. I’m currently planning to look at different lighting techniques as I want to create a main menu like final fantasy 7’s but with a dynamic lighting that shines onto the helmet which I’m currently doing concept art for.
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Tuesday 2nd April 2019 –
I created a basic texture for my katana which has a purple blade. It is temporary and I created it in photoshop. I plan to create the proper texture in Substance Painter.
Thursday 4th April 2019 –
I’m currently planning to model a helmet based off of the gladiator helmet used in the movie gladiator which is also popularised by rapper MF DOOM who I listen to. I like the style of the helmet and looks very advanced for the time period it is set in.
Week 5:
Tuesday 23rd April 2019 –
I created some props for my area including a medieval style table with a dark wooden that I made in substance painter. I’m currently planning to create other various props such as Hay bales, A bullseye target, Barrels, and a weapon rack.
Thursday 25th April 2019 –
I’m planning to play Skyrim and to look at various areas such as Dragon reach to explore the personal quarters below the main area as thats the inspiration I’m using to form my own rooms with props. I’m going to be taking screenshots of different rooms and I’m going to decide what props would be necessary.
Week 6:
Monday 29th April 2019 –
I’ve started forming my room with textures and I’ve also started creating textures for the walls and table used against the wall. I’m currently creating a medieval styled torch which will light the room and be placed on multiple walls. I’ve created my textures in substance painter.
I also decided to change the project focus to instead be a model showcase rather than the arena game idea which would take a lot longer than expected. I’m still keeping the theme and ideas to form my own highly detailed models to demonstrate in my level.
Tuesday 30th April 2019 –
My room is coming together and is almost filled with props and lighting. I currently plan to create a door and windows too add more of an effect. I’ve looked at medieval windows and doors to help inspire me to design one.
Thursday 2nd May 2019 –
Currently, this is how my level looks. I plan to add a lot more props to improve the atmospheric feel to it and also add a door and windows which light could shine through to improve the detail. I would want the lighting to shine on the props that I’ve put a lot of effort and detail in. I was thinking of an idea to have stained medieval glass with various colours on and to then have it ray cast light into the room but I’m not too sure if I’ll go through with it.
I also plan to texture my Warhammer and my Longsword in substance painter within next week. Once I’ve done the weapons and the other props, I’ll start to do the coding so that the weapons can be held and can be placed into the weapon racks.
Week 7:
Tuesday 7th May 2019 –
I designed a dummy prop based off the one in Skyrim as I really like the look of it. I also included a bucket which is supposed to be the helmet of the dummy. I also included a target in the middle which I painted with substance painter which is what I used to create the texture.
I’m currently planning to create a chest prop within the rest of the day. I’ve also created a medieval door which I’ve modelled but currently need to texture in substance painter and then I can import it into my project.
Thursday 9th May 2019 –
I’m planning to play Skyrim and to explore in various rooms and houses to look for inspiration for what to add. I’ve currently looked at Delphine’s secret room in Riverwood and in the previous day I said I was going to make a chest prop which I still need to do. I’m going to screenshot different rooms from Skyrim and take some key objects fit for the era.
Week 8:
Monday 13th May 2019 –
I decided to create a door for the room as it looked like that there was no way in or no way out. I’m planning to create a small metal grate on the side of one on my walls so I can have some volumetric lighting shine in the room onto my props.
Tuesday 14th May 2019 –
I created the metal grate and placed it on the ceiling and used a volumetric lighting unity package called Aura which helps with volumetric lighting. I’ve only placed a temporary light source from the ceiling and looks very good except it is quite bright and needs some more work done to it. The lighting also uses up a lot of resources from the computers and I need to find a way to make it more optimised for use on basic pc’s
Week 9:
Monday 20th May 2019 –
I encountered an issue with lighting coming through my vent and tried many options to fix it but couldn’t do it. I was silly enough to not realise that I was using the wrong light type and will provide a before and after. As you can see, the lighting is coming through and projecting onto the top of the walls. I later fixed this.
Tuesday 21st May 2019 –
I looked at this video and formed my own hand which i’ll be using to hold the weapons for my game. I made a not so detailed version of the hand and i’m quite pleased with it. I’ve rigged up the hand and I’m now ready to do my swinging sword animation with it which i’ll be doing over the weekend.
Thursday 23rd May 2019 –
I added some volumetric lighting into my level through a metal grate which projects the light coming from the sky into the room and has a nice lighting effect which I think looks good. I used an external asset called Aura to achieve this and I did look online to see if there was another way to achieve this effect.
Week 10:
Monday 3rd June 2019 –
I’ve rigged my hand and created a basic swinging animation. I’ve also touched up on some of the lighting.
A 3D walking sim where the world around you evolves and has cut scenes that show changes such as things like weather. This would almost be like an tech demo.
A thriller/horror shooter where you’re stranded in a forest with a pistol and only 3 bullets (don’t ask why) and a crazed man/monster. You’re given 3 bullets because maybe one shot in the chest isn’t enough. You won’t instantly be chased by the entity, but instead stalked until you make it far enough to progress? I would want dynamic weather so whenever you press play, the weather might be bright and sunny or even dark and wet. This would add tension and almost give the surroundings a menacing look to them because you wouldn’t be able to see as well. Maybe you’re a detective/police officer that is investigating the disappearance of a little girl/boy and you want answers.
Instead of it being a police officer, I have another idea where it could be a soldier that has awoken after an attack due to unknown forces that raided the forest you’re currently in. You’ve been contacted by another group of soldiers that are doing an emergency call out to the local area alerting anyone nearby to evacuate the area. You’ve awoken and you can’t remember the mission details but, as you progress you begin to learn the events that took place. Possibly include the fact that the soldier might have PTSD and might have hallucinations seeing random things. But the thing is, how can you tell what is real?
I’ve come up with an idea to do a melee arena first person game. I want there to be an a fenced area similar to the tutorial level of Chivalry Medieval Warfare where you start off in an open field with various props scattered around. I plan to have 1v1 combat battles with AI that isn’t too difficult. I also want their to be 3 options for weapons such as a Katana which is fast attacking but not very strong, a Warhammer which is incredibly strong but very slow for attacking and a Longsword which is in the middle. Depending on what sword you chose, your movement speed could be increased or decreased due to the weight. I want a weapon rack before you enter the arena which is in a room before you enter the arena. I’ve decided to change my idea into a model showcase instead of having it as an actual game as I don’t have enough time for all the ideas and features that I want to implement. This means that I can focus on making the models and textures so they look very detailed and not basic.
Bibliography:
The Forest 2014, video game, digital download, PC, Endnight Games Ltd
Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion 2006, video game, digital download, PC, Bethesda
Chivalry Medieval Warfare 2012, video game, digital download, PC, Tom Banner Studios
To start my level off, I would want an armory area which the player would start in so they could choose their weapon of choice before actually entering the arena. If I have enough time, I might actually incorporate a cut scene or area where the player starts in a prison cell before actually getting the gear. This would reference back to what the Elder Scrolls Oblivion 4 did where the player can explore the cells which NPC’s are in before they actually fight. Above, I used the arena from the star wars universe where fighters would compete in an arena surrounded by thousands of spectators. This image reminded of movies like gladiator where Maximus has to fight in the arena against Commudos.
Luca's Blog 