tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439941893980599296.post6067563858958529468..comments2023-09-24T07:49:19.084-04:00Comments on Games By Design Has Moved!: Massive Content Generation Techniques In A Valley Without WindChristopher M. Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16719365007524426389noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439941893980599296.post-24709259578344078172011-02-13T10:43:14.100-05:002011-02-13T10:43:14.100-05:007rigger -- Sure, that's no problem.7rigger -- Sure, that's no problem.Christopher M. Parkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16719365007524426389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439941893980599296.post-13286540207678567752011-02-13T09:17:13.370-05:002011-02-13T09:17:13.370-05:00I am studying computer arts at Abertay University ...I am studying computer arts at Abertay University in Scotland, and we are assigned with creating a blog to show influence.<br /><br />Would it be ok to link back to your blog and use images on my blog?7riggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14885792062196577514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439941893980599296.post-19546592297760294252011-02-12T16:40:59.710-05:002011-02-12T16:40:59.710-05:00I have but one bit of advice, and it is this: Add ...I have but one bit of advice, and it is this: Add depth perception to the world.<br />At present, everything has the same general color depth to it. You can't tell what objects are in the foreground or the background, and there's no isometric feel to fool the eyes. Nothing stands out, and it feels flat.<br /><br />Maybe that's what you're going for, but I would nonetheless recommend at least trying out various forms of y-position-based fog to give the illusion of an actual space, and to separate out, say, a tall green tree from the green grasses around it.Christopher M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439941893980599296.post-17555335537340341152011-02-12T16:33:39.709-05:002011-02-12T16:33:39.709-05:00"of World of Warcraft: they had very low-poly..."of World of Warcraft: they had very low-polygon models with <b>incredibly textures </b>on them, and not only did that help with their minimum "<br /><br />You accidentally a word. =D<br /><br />Looks great!Tankor Smashnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439941893980599296.post-26295742661389586302011-02-11T18:14:27.528-05:002011-02-11T18:14:27.528-05:00Hmm, that's really odd. I reset your password...Hmm, that's really odd. I reset your password and sent you an email. Hopefully that will solve it, but if not let's finish solving it via email instead of this. Thanks!Christopher M. Parkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16719365007524426389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439941893980599296.post-74696405199607545432011-02-11T17:55:53.597-05:002011-02-11T17:55:53.597-05:00Well, I keep my passwords in KeyPass so I definite...Well, I keep my passwords in KeyPass so I definitely have the right one.<br />When I tried to login and failed, I reset the password but then when I tried to login I got redirected back to reset password screen.<br />I've tried it twice more to make sure that I haven't botched anything, the same thing happened and now I temporarily locked my account. ;)mlaskushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04654430978155870903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439941893980599296.post-55085911985859788302011-02-11T17:19:16.360-05:002011-02-11T17:19:16.360-05:00mlaskus -- Generally the forums are a lot easier f...mlaskus -- Generally the forums are a lot easier for me to keep track of. I checked out your account and all seems to be well... so perhaps you just forgot the password? Not sure, but we don't have a timeout on user accounts. If you need help with a reset, just let me know.Christopher M. Parkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16719365007524426389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439941893980599296.post-58076051334422506462011-02-11T17:08:23.128-05:002011-02-11T17:08:23.128-05:00Strangely, I can't seem to login on the forum ...Strangely, I can't seem to login on the forum right now. I haven't been active there for quite a while so I guess my account got deactivated.<br /><br />I have re-watched the video and I have a few suggestions, where do you prefer to receive such feedback? I know you are reading and responding to people's posts in a bunch of places but I would prefer to use the one that's most convenient to you.mlaskushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04654430978155870903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439941893980599296.post-33804438917134319212011-02-11T13:02:06.945-05:002011-02-11T13:02:06.945-05:00EmperorPenguin -- Also thanks, and glad it's c...EmperorPenguin -- Also thanks, and glad it's coming along to the point that others can appreciate what I was seeing in my mind's eye last week. Much preferred to what happened last time. ;)<br /><br />In terms of the "A Valley Without Wind" as the title, that actually gets into one of the core mechanics of the game that we haven't talked about in TOO much depth. But basically, it's a very windy sort of world, with things moving in the wind and breezes all over the place outside, but even moreso with windstorms cropping up on the overworld map, and causing you to get lost and into really dangerous circumstances. I think one of the recent interviews talked about that in a bit more depth.<br /><br />Those windstorms are a key mechanic of the game, and one of the reasons that overworld travel is so dangerous. As you explore around, you can make for safe travel between areas by erecting wind shelters to let you not get lost if you're on that sort of tile when the windstorm comes up. To fully explain that you'd have to see the overworld and such, but that's the general idea.<br /><br />Anyway, so thematically "A Valley Without Wind" refers to a state of peace and safety which is really lacking in the world of this game. But as you explore around and help to improve the world, you actually are able to create pockets -- valleys, even, if you want to be poetic about it -- that have relative peace and safety.<br /><br />So the title is a thematic thing referring to the way characters WISH the world was, rather than the way the world actually is. :)Christopher M. Parkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16719365007524426389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439941893980599296.post-10818706252971486672011-02-11T12:56:35.650-05:002011-02-11T12:56:35.650-05:007rigger -- Thanks a lot! Also glad it's usefu...7rigger -- Thanks a lot! Also glad it's useful, and that you like the effects. :)Christopher M. Parkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16719365007524426389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439941893980599296.post-68914342844357515642011-02-11T12:56:12.803-05:002011-02-11T12:56:12.803-05:00mlaskus -- Thanks, I'm glad it's been real...mlaskus -- Thanks, I'm glad it's been really helpful. :)<br /><br />In terms of the 3D characters, they are being rendered to 2D sprites and post-processed, etc. That's why the number of frames is particularly important there, as each one is a different image texture in the traditional 2D manner.<br /><br />That aspect is actually one of the bigger limiting factors in many respects -- fully-3D models is why a lot of more recent games are able to have more expressive characters in the first place -- but it's freeing in others. With doing the 2D sprites, we can have much more detailed, interesting prerenderings for the characters. On the flip side, doing them prerendered means that there is a severe limit on the number of animations we can include. Everything is a tradeoff.<br /><br />As to why I start them off as 3D in the first place, it's for a few reasons:<br /><br />1. I'm much better as a 3D artist than a 2D one.<br /><br />2. It's way, way faster, because you model once, then pose and render 39 times. As opposed to drawing six times (standing x3, walking x3), and then having 33 more frames that are modified by hand to look correct.<br /><br />3. I'm able to use prefab props for clothing, etc, and to then combine and alter those in custom ways. And with the characters, doing their face design in Poser is just second to none in terms of the ability to rapidly create new and interesting people. I haven't gotten into the Hair Room yet with Poser (part of why I started with Darrell and the robot, since both are bald), but I've heard good things.<br /><br /><br />In all, it's a mixture of mixing my particular skillset with the sort of visual result I'm going for, and doing so with the least amount of creation time and runtime RAM/CPU/GPU cost possible. With any project, given the team and the design goals, the specific pipeline that makes the most sense is going to vary widely. It's taken me since about mid-December to really perfect the pipeline that works the best for me, and that included a lot of research into new programs and tools that I wasn't familiar with. So it's always something that kind of evolves, and has to be figured out on an artist by artist (and game by game) basis. :)Christopher M. Parkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16719365007524426389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439941893980599296.post-85913310593425008822011-02-11T11:19:26.310-05:002011-02-11T11:19:26.310-05:00I'm definitely a gameplay over graphics guy so...I'm definitely a gameplay over graphics guy so I was already hooked on the idea of AVWW, but man, what a remarkable visual improvement from just a week ago!! That's seriously some fantastic work, I can really see the "Painterly" look you've described, and I think it looks great.<br /><br />So, this is actually a serious question even though it sounds like I'm playing word games, but I have a question as far as things "Moving in the breeze", etc, given that the title of the game is "A Valley Without Wind". Is the title poetic or literal, i.e. there isn't any wind? If so, how are things blowing around? Trivial I know, but I've just been curious.<br /><br />Note: as should be obvious, I know very little about the game world / lore.<br /><br />:DEmperorPenguinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06390013149785385359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439941893980599296.post-59556523500076253792011-02-11T08:09:47.789-05:002011-02-11T08:09:47.789-05:00Oops, I commented on the wrong post :p
The wind e...Oops, I commented on the wrong post :p<br /><br />The wind effects on the trees look amazing and I'm eager to see what else you can add. <br /><br />Thanks as well for sharing all the information about your art pipeline, it is very helpful for people like me who want to create games too :)7riggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14885792062196577514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439941893980599296.post-70660052737946348492011-02-11T04:43:11.018-05:002011-02-11T04:43:11.018-05:00"Perhaps I shouldn't be revealing the tri..."Perhaps I shouldn't be revealing the tricks of the trade as we're using them"<br /><br />No, please, keep doing that. I have learnt a lot from your posts.<br /><br />The AVWW looks great now, I can't wait to try it.<br /><br />I have a technical question if you don't mind. Why have you decided on using 3D characters? It seems to me that 2D sprites would allow for a lot more flexibility, especially in randomization of their look.mlaskushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04654430978155870903noreply@blogger.com