Pre-Production
Horror Research
Within the horror genre, there are also other genres. Some of those are: Stalker/Slasher horror, thriller/action-adventure horror, psychological horror, suspense paranormal horror, torture horror, exploitation horror, splatter horror, science fiction horror, monster/creature horror, vampire Horror.
Within the horror genre, there are also other genres. Some of those are: Stalker/Slasher horror, thriller/action-adventure horror, psychological horror, suspense paranormal horror, torture horror, exploitation horror, splatter horror, science fiction horror, monster/creature horror, vampire Horror.
The four main would be: Supernatural, Slasher, Splatter and
Exploitation.
Supernatural Horror would include films like, The Exorcist, The Omen and
Poltergeist.
These are the types of films that are based around ghosts and demons of
the like; these are usually very hostile and usually have a very monotone
colour scheme for the main environment. When colour of different varients is
added this usually means that it is important to the project at hand. Like the
underworld in given areas are usually red.
Slasher Horror would include films like, Halloween, Psycho and Friday
the 13th.
Slasher usually includes things like talking and such, where a person
will follow a group or a single person until the end of the film, in group ones
there is usually a focus on one of the characters, this is the person that
usually survives at the end of the films.
These are usually based on extreme human behaviour, exaggerating certain types of behaviour in a sinister way
These are usually based on extreme human behaviour, exaggerating certain types of behaviour in a sinister way
Splatter Horror would include films like Hostel, The Devil’s Rejects and
Saw.
Splatter Horror is the type of horror with a lot of blood, making it
gorier than other types of horror. This is more to do with the shock value of a
scene. Occasionally there will be a little suspense, however from the lead up
you can probably tell what is going to happen.
These are usually rather monotone within the colour pallet unless they are trying to draw the eye to something. An example could be a machine with neon lights, this probably signifies that it is important. Another thing that is more coloured compared to the rest of the environment would be that of the blood.
These are usually rather monotone within the colour pallet unless they are trying to draw the eye to something. An example could be a machine with neon lights, this probably signifies that it is important. Another thing that is more coloured compared to the rest of the environment would be that of the blood.
Exploitation Horror would include films like, I Spit on Your Grave and Cannibal Holocaust.
These are films that may feature suggestive or explicit sex, sensational
violence, drug use, nudity and many other things.
The creators of these types of films generally use things that are big in the moment, like vampires and werewolves and things, ’exploiting’ the fan-dom, and many others, by making short, cheap movies, just because they know that people will pay to see them because it has become a fashion.
Pre-Production
Initial Sketches
The creators of these types of films generally use things that are big in the moment, like vampires and werewolves and things, ’exploiting’ the fan-dom, and many others, by making short, cheap movies, just because they know that people will pay to see them because it has become a fashion.
Pre-Production
Initial Sketches
In the creation of my level, I drew a number of initial sketches, some
were relevant and others not so much.
Some of the first drawings that I did were just to get me into the horror creation mode, so that I knew what type of style to do my drawings in. Some of them are of outside environments; this is superfluous to the level that I am going to create. However this is where the idea of my level started, because, this has lead be in to the direction of where my level should be based.
Some of the first drawings that I did were just to get me into the horror creation mode, so that I knew what type of style to do my drawings in. Some of them are of outside environments; this is superfluous to the level that I am going to create. However this is where the idea of my level started, because, this has lead be in to the direction of where my level should be based.
For the phobias initial sketches you can see that I did a basic
thumbnail for them all. Not all of them are clear cut, and some were just difficult
to think of what to draw for in that little thumbnail, so this is where I
picked what one of the phobias I was going to focus on for my level.
The phobia that I went with was that of the fear of Dolls.
Pre-Production
Detailed Concepts
Then I went into the thinking of what materials I was going to use.
Watercolour,
This is one of my favourite mediums to work with. Watercolours, when used right, can give some really good effects.
In the area that I used this in was when I was drawing a section of the ‘little girls room’ When doing this, you can see what it was that I was going for, the only thing that didn't really work out was the blood in the scene.
In this little snap shot you can see some of the furniture, this is also
mainly pink, making it more vibrant.
The watercolours allowed me to make a distinct definition between the
different surfaces, making it clear what was what.
The only thing that I really find difficult is the task of trying to make blood marks in the actual level.
The only thing that I really find difficult is the task of trying to make blood marks in the actual level.
The watercolours allowed me to make a distinct definition between the
different surfaces, making it clear what was what.
The only thing that I really find difficult is the task of trying to make blood marks in the actual level.
The only thing that I really find difficult is the task of trying to make blood marks in the actual level.
Copic alcohol markers,
Copic markers I found are rather good, if you have full control over
them, they are supposed to be able to blend into one another, however I have
yet to get this trick with the pens down. These markers allow for some error,
when working with the lighter shades which is good.
Copic markers are good if the subject using the material knows what they are doing. This can make great artistic work, however, for it to be truly remarkable one must be able to control the ink, using either the flat end or the tip to make the ink either flow together or stand against it, making a slight shadow. This takes skill to be able to use fluidly, but one could obtain this basic effect by trying to mimic techniques, it may not turn out as well as one could hope, but it may turn out better than can be expected if the subject has yet to use them otherwise, and this is the first time approaching this medium.
The area that I used copic markers was the hallway and the landing.
Copic markers are good if the subject using the material knows what they are doing. This can make great artistic work, however, for it to be truly remarkable one must be able to control the ink, using either the flat end or the tip to make the ink either flow together or stand against it, making a slight shadow. This takes skill to be able to use fluidly, but one could obtain this basic effect by trying to mimic techniques, it may not turn out as well as one could hope, but it may turn out better than can be expected if the subject has yet to use them otherwise, and this is the first time approaching this medium.
The area that I used copic markers was the hallway and the landing.
The copic markers that I used only cover the grey scale of the colour spectrum.
Charcoal,
Charcoal was a pretty good medium to use, since I have never worked with
it before this point.
Charcoal is very fiddly, if you touch the charcoal after it has been laid down on the paper, the area touched will lighten. So when doing this, you have to be very careful.
This is a material that takes a great level of skill to make a rather well done and well defined piece of art, this is because there is less control over this medium, unless you are well practiced. Most people when using charcoal tend to smudge there work and not intentionally, however some people have beginners luck and can use it to a certain level that does not look disastrous.
For this medium I did the corner of the little girls room, I could get the dark and creepy vibe with the charcoal.
Charcoal is very fiddly, if you touch the charcoal after it has been laid down on the paper, the area touched will lighten. So when doing this, you have to be very careful.
This is a material that takes a great level of skill to make a rather well done and well defined piece of art, this is because there is less control over this medium, unless you are well practiced. Most people when using charcoal tend to smudge there work and not intentionally, however some people have beginners luck and can use it to a certain level that does not look disastrous.
For this medium I did the corner of the little girls room, I could get the dark and creepy vibe with the charcoal.
Pencil,
This is a very work intensive medium, the pencil give a great look to areas, but the shading and lighting isn't always right, and also the lighter areas usually get smudged and ruined by the darker areas because of the pencil that has smudged onto my hands.
However this needs little skill to be able to control in its basic use, for this all you need to do for a basic drawing, is know how to use a pencil lightly and hard-handed this is to make the light and dark shades. This is really if there is only one pencil though, usually when an artist is using pencil to accomplish a piece of art, they usually use a variety of different pencils that differentiate within the hardness of lead.
Pencil, when in the darker areas, tends to have a shine to it, and this is not really what I wanted for my final concepts.
Pre-Production
Final Concepts
Charcoal
For this I did the corner of the little girls room by the vent.
I used this medium because I wanted to get across the darkness that filled the room. This is the place that leads to the main horror aspect of the level.
So to me this had to be the creepiest of all the bed rooms.
Charcoal gives a great effect with the darkness, making it more foreboding in the character of the room.
For this I did the corner of the little girls room by the vent.
I used this medium because I wanted to get across the darkness that filled the room. This is the place that leads to the main horror aspect of the level.
So to me this had to be the creepiest of all the bed rooms.
Charcoal gives a great effect with the darkness, making it more foreboding in the character of the room.
Using this medium was hard, but well worth it with the result that was
obtained.
After the actual creation of the drawing and using charcoal, the work had to be sprayed to make sure that the charcoal had less potential to smudge when the work was closed.
Copic Markers
After the actual creation of the drawing and using charcoal, the work had to be sprayed to make sure that the charcoal had less potential to smudge when the work was closed.
Copic Markers
These where used yet again for the hall and landing.
I used these because the grey scale works rather well for the perspective of the drawing, further back, the grey gets darker.
Also when looking into the rooms in the images you can see that they are slightly darker, showing that they are going in and are a different part of the image.
The perspective to this image is off though, and that is a thing about the art that I didn't like about it. This sets the whole image wrong to me. If I was to redo this I would make sure that the stairs were correct in the perspective, because that is to me where it goes wrong.
Also the darker bits in the image, like the foot and hand prints, they will be difficult to put into the actual level, also the area that this is in the level, is darker than in the concept, so players wouldn't really be able to see the foot and hand prints.
Photoshop (This image is on Blogger)
I used these because the grey scale works rather well for the perspective of the drawing, further back, the grey gets darker.
Also when looking into the rooms in the images you can see that they are slightly darker, showing that they are going in and are a different part of the image.
The perspective to this image is off though, and that is a thing about the art that I didn't like about it. This sets the whole image wrong to me. If I was to redo this I would make sure that the stairs were correct in the perspective, because that is to me where it goes wrong.
Also the darker bits in the image, like the foot and hand prints, they will be difficult to put into the actual level, also the area that this is in the level, is darker than in the concept, so players wouldn't really be able to see the foot and hand prints.
Photoshop (This image is on Blogger)
Toy-World is the main horror aspect of my level, making it an
important part. Within Photoshop i started to create a snapshot view.
This took a bit of time to create, this is due to the different elements within the drawing.
For each element of the drawing, there was a different layer. This was so I could easily go back on myself if needed and tweak something within a specific layer.
This is also good for when
you might need to do over and behind segments, this will make it so that if you
are working behind one layer, you cannot accidental affect the layer above,
because they are not directly linked.
With this picture as a whole, I am not entirely happy with the outcome that has occurred. To me this does not look like it would be up to professional standards, this is because the line work within the drawing is a sketchy rather than crisp.
Also another thing about this art piece I am not completely happy with is that the texture of the objects does not match that to the image that I had in mind. However, I think that I obtained the closes, possible, to what I was imagining them to be like.
Pre-Production
Layouts
Basic Layouts
There are a number of different layouts that I looked into for my level.
Number one would be a hallway, cleaning cupboard and the little girls room.
Number two is a hallway, bathroom, parents room, teen room, storage room and little girls room.
Number three has the parents room, bathroom, teen room and little girls room.
Number four has stairs, hallway, parents room, teen room and little girls room.
Number five has a hallway, parents room, stairs, landing, teen room, little girls room and toy-world.
Explanation
The overall explanation for these is that I was going for a house theme
for my horror level. I wanted my level to transverse though a house, starting
at the bottom of some stairs.
All of the layouts are different in the position of rooms and also the added extra rooms. I mismatched what I was going to do with the rooms as you can see from the layouts, I have three rooms that I was going definitely going to use, from beginning to end, they are the parents room, teen room and little girls room.
Evaluation
All of the layouts are different in the position of rooms and also the added extra rooms. I mismatched what I was going to do with the rooms as you can see from the layouts, I have three rooms that I was going definitely going to use, from beginning to end, they are the parents room, teen room and little girls room.
Evaluation
Overall evaluation of these is that they are all pretty boring and
similar together, it would also be hard to show the actual horror bit of the
level, with it just being mainly rooms, I had some ideas, but none of them
really grabbed me.
Looking at most of these level layouts, I think that they are pretty small and also boring and there is not a lot that I would be able to do with them to make them more exciting.
I have written out the explanation for these levels shortly because in themselves, there is not a lot to talk about, that is not already self explanatory, without making the person reading this look like a simpleton, by pointing about all the small assets to be in the rooms, like, beds and such, so i did not want to get bogged down, trying to identify what would be in each room, in each layout, things like that are shown within the sketchbook, where I have drew the layouts and annotated them.
Final Layout
The layout that I have decided to go with is layout five and the section below this tells you why I chose this particular layout from the rest of the ideas that I came up with.
Explanation
Looking at most of these level layouts, I think that they are pretty small and also boring and there is not a lot that I would be able to do with them to make them more exciting.
I have written out the explanation for these levels shortly because in themselves, there is not a lot to talk about, that is not already self explanatory, without making the person reading this look like a simpleton, by pointing about all the small assets to be in the rooms, like, beds and such, so i did not want to get bogged down, trying to identify what would be in each room, in each layout, things like that are shown within the sketchbook, where I have drew the layouts and annotated them.
Final Layout
The layout that I have decided to go with is layout five and the section below this tells you why I chose this particular layout from the rest of the ideas that I came up with.
Explanation
I am going to create a level that starts off in the hallway and then off
that hallway there is a room that comes off it and this is for the parents.
After that is the stairs and then there is the landing, after this there is two
rooms the teens room and also the little girls room. The little girls room is
slightly further back than the teens room.
In the little girls room there is a vent that leads into another room, this is a huge room compared to that of the other rooms.
This room is going to be called toy-world, and as soon as you land in toy world, you cannot get out of it, and you have to transverse the level and make an escape.
Evaluation
In the little girls room there is a vent that leads into another room, this is a huge room compared to that of the other rooms.
This room is going to be called toy-world, and as soon as you land in toy world, you cannot get out of it, and you have to transverse the level and make an escape.
Evaluation
With more time, I would of liked to able to make some more assets for the level and make them more visually interesting.
------------------------
Production
Create Assets
Here are the names of the models that are going to be put into my level everything that was put into my level was created by me in Maya, except for the actual layout of the environment-the rooms, vents and hallway/landing.
The thing that I did not do for these assets was to create custom collision messes, this is because the software, UDK, comes with it's own function for creating collision meshes. This however, was not ideal for all of the assets in the environment. This is because the default for the collision is that it just creates a block around the model, this can be altered, but still it does not always give the desired results. There is also the Sphere default in which the collision takes the shape of a ball, this did come in handy for some of my assets. This, in some cases, was not what I would of wanted, like, the teddy, this I wanted to have a bit more free form in the collision, so that they player could interact with it, by jumping up and down and such.
However, even with that being said and done, most of my objects did not need custom collision meshes. Most of my objects are in basic shapes, or would be to large to interact with anyway. So the default collision was a quick step in the creation of my environment.
Another thing that was quite time consuming, but had to be done for each of the assets, if i wanted them to look good, was UV unwrapping. This is hard and labour intensive and this is one of the things that took the longest to do when creating the models. However it was worthwhile, when the end result is that the textures on the model fit smoothly, with the least amount of seems possible.
Alphabet Blocks
Books
 |
| Open Book |
 |
| Closed Book |
Chest of Draws
Wardrobe
 |
| Boys Wardrobe |
 |
| Girls Wardrobe |
 |
| Parents Wardrobe |
Bed
Lamp
Teddy
Rubix Cube
Paint
Pencil
Shelf
Doll
Marbles
Beads
Butterfly
Clown Photo Frame
Duck
Night Light
Toy Box
Music Box
Spinning Top
Sippy Cup
Production
Layout Assets
Clown Photo Frame
Duck
Night Light
Toy Box
Music Box
Spinning Top
Sippy Cup
Production
Layout Assets
Some of the assets are going to be used multiple times within the level,
this is mostly going to happen in the bedrooms, like the beds and the chest of
draws and things this is because it would be too time consuming to make custom furniture, that fundamentally looks the same and then have to UV unwrap them, just to make some minor changes. So i did the simplest thing that I could and made it a rather generic colour, so it would not look out of place in any of the rooms. This makes it easier for me to get onto some of the more time invested assets that I shall have to create, like the Teddy and the Doll
Most of the assets that I have created however, are going to be placed
in the ToyWorld of my level, this is because this is going to be the most
visually intensive section of the environment. This is because the rest of the 'House' is just supposed to create tension, and ToyWorld is to be the main horror aspect of the game.
Production
Import Assets
Production
Import Assets
Within my level, I have had to import my
assets into my work, this had been a bit trial and error with the texturing of
the assets since some of them didn't go to plan.
Also the assets did not import into UDK with smoothing groups so some of the models look a bit more block-y than they should. This means that when I next make a level, I shall endeavor to make sure that my assets that are imported into the level are selected to have the smoothing groups when they are exported.
Also the assets did not import into UDK with smoothing groups so some of the models look a bit more block-y than they should. This means that when I next make a level, I shall endeavor to make sure that my assets that are imported into the level are selected to have the smoothing groups when they are exported.
Materials
Materials are rather simple to create if all of the textures are there and are ready to be imported into the material application. This is so that the materials can be manipulated easier, like adding in normal’s for example. This is to make it so that the creation of the materials is a lot more pliable, as though on some things you would like there to be a pit more detail that might not be on other things, also in the creation of a Material, you can look into different things that can be applied to them, like you can make some materials glow by applying other textures and also you can add constants and other things.
Production
Light Level
The light within my level is pretty varied, as can be seen, I have tried to make it so that the important areas are more brightly lit as to show that it is an area of interest to the player, making them head into that direction with as little hints as possible.
I have also tried to keep my level quite dark, this is because it is a horror level so I want it to have a quite foreboding atmosphere to it.
The lighting for this level is rather important to the fact that it is there to show important areas as well as escape roots within the level.
Production
Kismet Level
 |
| This is a snap shot of the Kismet used within my level. |
However it has been used. One thing that it has been used for is the character, and that I have put a ‘God Toggle’ on it, this is so that if the player accidentally falls out of the vent from the child’s room they shall not die from the height that they have just fallen.
There is also the slowing down of the default character speed, I have done this because I wanted there to be a bigger anticipation build up, and that cannot really happen when you are able to run everywhere.
In this there is also a trigger set up on the stairs in the level that makes the character walk slower while going up them, this is so that the character is not walking along the floor and then suddenly running up the stairs. This would ruin the slow going effect of the game and could ruin anticipation.
Another thing that I used this for was to create a Sound Cue within the game, the sound that I had was of carnival music and I wanted to be able to create a tog-able sound within the level. This is supposed to imitate that of music coming from a music box. These are going to be ambient sounds.
Other sounds that I also had in there are triggered by touching them.
Also in the Kismet, I made it so that the character is holding weapons, this is so that the player can interact with some of the assets within the game, that have been converted to KA actors. As you can see within the image on the left, there is a highlighted item within the Kismet, this is what is controlling the allowance of the weapons within my level.
Another thing that I have added into the game is that there is also a trigger at the end that disables the players movement, this is to show that there is a clear end to the level, this is because the player may otherwise think that this is a dead-end and try to carry on the game, when in fact there is nothing else they could really do, if they have already found the exit.
Post-Production
Feedback from Level Testing
Copies of my received Feedback
Name: Alex Smith
Was it an easy layout to figure out?
Yes, definitely.
How was the visual aspect of the game/was the lighting in the game good or bad?
It was really good, nice textures that didn't repeat, lighting guided me without seeming like an obvious pointer. The rooms were well lit to highlight the evil doll.
Was there anything in there that the level could do with or without?
Nothing really wrong with the level at all and nothing I could think of to put in myself.
Did you enjoy playing the Level?
Best one I have played so far.
Was it fun to play and why?
Yes, when I dropped down into the huge room with the massive teddy, books etc. I was impressed (I actually went “woah”).
Was the level too long, too short or just right?
Was it an easy layout to figure out?
Yes, definitely.
How was the visual aspect of the game/was the lighting in the game good or bad?
It was really good, nice textures that didn't repeat, lighting guided me without seeming like an obvious pointer. The rooms were well lit to highlight the evil doll.
Was there anything in there that the level could do with or without?
Nothing really wrong with the level at all and nothing I could think of to put in myself.
Did you enjoy playing the Level?
Best one I have played so far.
Was it fun to play and why?
Yes, when I dropped down into the huge room with the massive teddy, books etc. I was impressed (I actually went “woah”).
Was the level too long, too short or just right?
There was no problem with the length of the level as I was
too engrossed in playing it, I wouldn't mind more though.
Were you still
engaged at the end of the game?
Yes!
Was the theme of the game easy to figure out?
Fear of dolls?
Where you engaged in the theme of the game?
Definitely, you couldn't escape it.
Yes!
Was the theme of the game easy to figure out?
Fear of dolls?
Where you engaged in the theme of the game?
Definitely, you couldn't escape it.
Name: Daniel
Kelly
Was it an easy layout to figure out?
Yes and no as it there are multiple rooms and it was possible to miss the where to go.
How was the visual aspect of the game/was the lighting in the game good or bad?
The lighting was brilliant and did the job it was supposed to do
Was there anything in there that the level could do with or without?
Could be longer
Did you enjoy playing the Level?
Yes as it kept me checking behind my back
Was it fun to play and why?
Yes because the level had music and sound which made more engaging.
Was the level too long, too short or just right?
Could be a bit longer
Was it an easy layout to figure out?
Yes and no as it there are multiple rooms and it was possible to miss the where to go.
How was the visual aspect of the game/was the lighting in the game good or bad?
The lighting was brilliant and did the job it was supposed to do
Was there anything in there that the level could do with or without?
Could be longer
Did you enjoy playing the Level?
Yes as it kept me checking behind my back
Was it fun to play and why?
Yes because the level had music and sound which made more engaging.
Was the level too long, too short or just right?
Could be a bit longer
Were you still
engaged at the end of the game?
Yes
Was the theme of the game easy to figure out?
At a guess phobia of children?
Where you engaged in the theme of the game?
I’ll be seeing it in my nightmares
Yes
Was the theme of the game easy to figure out?
At a guess phobia of children?
Where you engaged in the theme of the game?
I’ll be seeing it in my nightmares
Name: Joshua
Dolman
Was it an easy layout to figure out?
The layout was mostly intuitive, the exit from the final room was relatively hidden and difficult to find but I think that was the intention.
How was the visual aspect of the game/was the lighting in the game good or bad?
Lighting was mostly good, maybe a little too dark on the shelf in the big room, it was hard to see what I was actually standing on. Otherwise, very well done.
Was there anything in there that the level could do with or without?
Not really, it was a very concise experience.
Did you enjoy playing the Level?
Was it an easy layout to figure out?
The layout was mostly intuitive, the exit from the final room was relatively hidden and difficult to find but I think that was the intention.
How was the visual aspect of the game/was the lighting in the game good or bad?
Lighting was mostly good, maybe a little too dark on the shelf in the big room, it was hard to see what I was actually standing on. Otherwise, very well done.
Was there anything in there that the level could do with or without?
Not really, it was a very concise experience.
Did you enjoy playing the Level?
No, it was too scary.
Was it fun to play and why?
No, because it was scary. It was engaging though, the sounds especially, but also the visuals contributed to the tense atmosphere.
What did you think of the length of the level?
It was a little short but it had good variety.
Was it fun to play and why?
No, because it was scary. It was engaging though, the sounds especially, but also the visuals contributed to the tense atmosphere.
What did you think of the length of the level?
It was a little short but it had good variety.
Were you still
engaged at the end of the game?
Mostly. Stuck in a giant room with big toys was creepy for a while but the effect wore off after a while.
What was the theme of the game? Was it easy to figure out?
Fear of toys…? Or children…? Something along those lines. It was easy to come to those conclusions, yes, but I don’t know if they are right ones.
Where you engaged in the theme of the game?
It wasn't something that engaged me overly much. The level sold the idea, but I wasn’t engaged by the idea in the first place.
Mostly. Stuck in a giant room with big toys was creepy for a while but the effect wore off after a while.
What was the theme of the game? Was it easy to figure out?
Fear of toys…? Or children…? Something along those lines. It was easy to come to those conclusions, yes, but I don’t know if they are right ones.
Where you engaged in the theme of the game?
It wasn't something that engaged me overly much. The level sold the idea, but I wasn’t engaged by the idea in the first place.
Name: Tim
Was it an easy layout to figure out?
Was it an easy layout to figure out?
It was relatively easy to navigate but I could see some people getting confused in the giant room.
How was the visual aspect of the game/was the lighting in the game good or bad?
It all looked pretty good and the lighting was dark enough to be spooky but not overwhelming.
Was there anything in there that the level could do with or without?
Not really
Did you enjoy playing the Level?
Yes, except for that one doll..
Was it fun to play and why?
Yes because it was quite intense with the sounds and leads you along well
Was the level too long, too short or just right?
It was maybe a little too short
Were you still
engaged at the end of the game?
Yes
Was the theme of the game easy to figure out?
Not to begin with but once I was dropped into the big room it was quite clear
Where you engaged in the theme of the game?
Yes, especially because of the music
Name: Joshua smith
Was it an easy layout to figure out?
Was it an easy layout to figure out?
Not really the use of light and sound worked really well
How was the visual aspect of the game/was the lighting in the game good or bad?
lighting was good sound and mood of the game was generally good
Was there anything in there that the level could do with or without?
more dolls but that’s about it really
Did you enjoy playing the Level?
How was the visual aspect of the game/was the lighting in the game good or bad?
lighting was good sound and mood of the game was generally good
Was there anything in there that the level could do with or without?
more dolls but that’s about it really
Did you enjoy playing the Level?
yes the feel of the game was good mood and lighting worked hand in hand
Was it fun to play and why?
yes it was trying to find your way and expecting a jump scare is always good
Was the level too long, too short or just right?
it was jussst right
Were you still
engaged at the end of the game?
not really the games room made me feel disconnect
Was the theme of the game easy to figure out?
yes
Where you engaged in the theme of the game?
no not really
not really the games room made me feel disconnect
Was the theme of the game easy to figure out?
yes
Where you engaged in the theme of the game?
no not really
Name: Robert
Was it an easy layout to figure out?
Was it an easy layout to figure out?
Pretty easy, most of the time I knew where I was going
How was the visual aspect of the game/was the lighting in the game good or bad?
The lighting work well with the level, the assets made for the game look nice, it look coolJ
Was there anything in there that the level could do with or without?
Maybe remove the guns, but otherwise a nothing else
Did you enjoy playing the Level?
I liked the level.
Was it fun to play and why?
I was unsettled at the music in the background, but exploring and giant room was pretty cool to do
Was the level too long, too short or just right?
I feel the level length was fine, gave you time to explore the house
Were you still engaged
at the end of the game?
I was say so
Was the theme of the game easy to figure out?
It was dolls right? Or like demented children toys
Where you engaged in the theme of the game?
Yeah pretty cool level, and quite engaging
What other people thought of my level:
From what I have received in feed back from the people who have played my level and also from people from outside college, my level was put together well.
People have commented on the sounds within the level a lot, my guess, is that this is because sounds are a part of this level from the start.
Another thing that people have mentioned that they like is the assets. They like the detail in there builds and also they like the textures on them.
Another thing that people have mentioned that they like is the assets. They like the detail in there builds and also they like the textures on them.
What people thought I needed to change/improve:
As seen from above, the level that I created was not long enough for some of the people playing the game.
The theme ideas that people came up with for this was pretty varied and the ones that did get it, I do not know whether or not they new before hand what it was. There is no way for me to know for certain but the majority of the people playing didn't get the theme correct.
Most of the people in the game didn't think that anything needed to be added to the environment. Something that was pointed out though was that there could of been a little bit more lighting just as you come out of the 'vent' and into 'toy-world' so that you could see the shelf that you were standing on. Also that the weapons at the start should be taken away.
As seen from above, the level that I created was not long enough for some of the people playing the game.
The theme ideas that people came up with for this was pretty varied and the ones that did get it, I do not know whether or not they new before hand what it was. There is no way for me to know for certain but the majority of the people playing didn't get the theme correct.
Most of the people in the game didn't think that anything needed to be added to the environment. Something that was pointed out though was that there could of been a little bit more lighting just as you come out of the 'vent' and into 'toy-world' so that you could see the shelf that you were standing on. Also that the weapons at the start should be taken away.
What I plan to do to improve my level based off testing:
Based off the testing that has happened, I would like to make the level longer, however that would take a bit more time, and would be a lot more skill intensive rather than what improving already existing things would be.
I would also like to figure out a way to make it so that the character can interact with the KA actors, with out all the weapons, this is because they are rather distracting and personally i think that they take away some of the atmosphere that I have created.
A bit more lighting in different areas shall also be added to make some assets a bit more visible.
I would also like to figure out a way to make it so that the character can interact with the KA actors, with out all the weapons, this is because they are rather distracting and personally i think that they take away some of the atmosphere that I have created.
A bit more lighting in different areas shall also be added to make some assets a bit more visible.
Evaluation
What went well:
I think that with this level, that the lighting and sound in the end product was rather good. This is because I was looking to get a feeling between anticipation and dread.
This I feel within a horror environment can only really be done though the atmosphere, so to me, it was really important that I got this balance right. Personally, I feel as though I have achieved this goal.
Another thing I feel that went well was the asset creation, even though the assets did export with the smoothing groups, which would of made them look a lot nicer I feel, no one notice that they weren't smoothed out, other than my tutor. So this is something that I am proud of, because all of the assets (apart from, the weapons and sounds) were created by me. I feel like this level has been heavily influenced by my own personal touch.
I also really like the layout of the level. This is because, when going through it, you feel as though its a normal house. The vent is obvious that it is going to take you to the main horror aspect, but I feel as though I made up for that but making a drop at the end of the vent rather than it just opening up into a bigger room that you just walk into from the vent.
What did I find difficult:
I found it difficult to use the Kismet system of UDK - this is probably rather simple and self explanatory, but I cannot just wrap my head around how it works fundamentally.
This to me just seems rather difficult to use, this is why nothing much as really happened in the Kismet section.
This is a problem that I would like to solve, this is because I have seen what Kismet is able to produce within games, like object interaction and things.
Did I encounter any problems:
I had a problem at one point with the building of light within my game, it could take up to an hour for it to even get half way though the light building process.
Also the height and size of assets within the level was something that I had to look out for.
Some of the textures that I had for the level would not work properly.
Another thing was the collision on some of the assets within the game.
How did I overcome them:
The way that I solved this was to make 'toy-world' smaller than I originally had it. To start with this was a massive room, it is still rather huge now when it is played. I made this smaller and I also made the assets in 'toy-world' smaller as well. This greatly improved the light building time.
I used a static mesh that was already in UDK to used as a size guide for human height, this is what I used to build most of the rooms and also to size the assets in 'toy-world' this is because I wanted them big but I still wanted to be able to see what the models looked like and that they were not to high above eye level.
One of the textures for an asset that I created would not work properly for some reason, and this should of been simple, since all i was making was a Photo Frame, I had no problems with the others, just that one and the Toy Box. I had to make a new Photo Frame and for the Toy Box all i had to do was make a new texture and that was rather simple.
I haven't rectified this problem, I think that as it is now, it is a little less noticeable.
What would I change if I did the project again:
If I was to make my level again I would make the level longer, this is because peers and I agree that this level environment is rather short. I would like to make it more intense subtly rather than just a big obvious room, this would work into me making the level longer.
I would like to use more of the Kismet features within my game, making it more visually interesting, though moving objects and such.
If I was to make it again, I would try out a more interesting lay out rather than just making a house layout. I would like to do a number of different rooms that are all connected and link together, rather than linked by a hall way.
I would spend a little more time of the physics of objects so that when touched by the character they would roll. This would make it more interesting rather than most of it being static.
I would make the collision within Maya when making the model itself.
If I was to make it again, I might also try to add a cut scene into my level, to show some interesting juxtaposition. This is because the cut scene would be light and good, while the actual level would be dark and bad and as seen from the research that I compiled, the film 'Sinister' uses his quite well with the 'home-movies', and this is the kind of effect that if I made this again, I would try to obtain.
No comments:
Post a Comment