I have just been distracted as of late. Little of things relevant to this blog have been going on as I've been stressing over school. Truth is I have a very difficult time focusing on things that don't interest me. As such, I spend a lot of my time stressing out knowing that I SHOULD be writing a paper about how America is Evil Incarnate and is singularly responsible for destroying the Earth(cause, that's what environmental science is all about, right?) instead of actually WRITING the paper. It's not an excuse, but it is what happens, and while I am doing that I am not doing anything towards game design. Hence the absence of posts. But I assure you that progress is coming! I am feeling renewed motivation. I'll keep you posted.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Video Update - Side Project
I know, I'm bouncing around all over the place. I am gonna start focusing on one project, I promise.
I started toying around with the Face Poser utility from the Source SDK instead of working on Hammer tonight. I made the following in about 2 hours, which is pretty good if you ask me, considering I've never used this program before and have very little experience in this area. Anyways, it's a very brief lip-syncing using a female model from Half-Life 2 (Alyx Vance) and a snippet of an A cappella version of Alizees song 'Fifty/Sixty' (yes, it's French). I recorded it straight out of Face Poser using Fraps, which left an annoying distortion from I'm assuming being logged into Steam, in the bottom right-hand corner. But it's not a big deal. In the future if I do more with this (and I will), I'll use After Effects to crop that out or I'll look into a better recording solution. For now, hope you find it amusing, I'm sure you'll see more in time. I'll keep you posted.
'Pretty sixteen, belle heroine des sixties'.
I started toying around with the Face Poser utility from the Source SDK instead of working on Hammer tonight. I made the following in about 2 hours, which is pretty good if you ask me, considering I've never used this program before and have very little experience in this area. Anyways, it's a very brief lip-syncing using a female model from Half-Life 2 (Alyx Vance) and a snippet of an A cappella version of Alizees song 'Fifty/Sixty' (yes, it's French). I recorded it straight out of Face Poser using Fraps, which left an annoying distortion from I'm assuming being logged into Steam, in the bottom right-hand corner. But it's not a big deal. In the future if I do more with this (and I will), I'll use After Effects to crop that out or I'll look into a better recording solution. For now, hope you find it amusing, I'm sure you'll see more in time. I'll keep you posted.
'Pretty sixteen, belle heroine des sixties'.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Shameless Fanboyism
Anyone who knows me knows I am a big Half-Life series fan. I will gush at the slightest provocation. Probably. I might just dribble a bit, depends on whether I've eaten lunch yet. Anyways...
This post is not about Half-Life.
What this post IS about, is a modification that came out for Half-Life. It's called Natural Selection, and it came out on Halloween in 2002. I was home, on Halloween, waiting to download it. And I did, and played it all night. It was that good.
Anyways, fast-forward 7 years. A couple of the primary developers have formed an independent company called Unknown Worlds Entertainment, and they've been plugging away at a Natural Selection 2 for some time now. They finally launched an official Natural Selection 2 website that the game is up for pre-order on, and a teaser video was released on Kotaku. Check it out!
Aside from being a fan of the original game, one of the reasons I have been watching Unknown Worlds is that they are a brand new and independent company that was formed by two guys with a passion for games(I believe they have 4 full-time employees total). It's a source of hope and inspiration for someone like me, particularly if the game launches well. Here's hoping they receive all the success they deserve.
This post is not about Half-Life.
What this post IS about, is a modification that came out for Half-Life. It's called Natural Selection, and it came out on Halloween in 2002. I was home, on Halloween, waiting to download it. And I did, and played it all night. It was that good.
Anyways, fast-forward 7 years. A couple of the primary developers have formed an independent company called Unknown Worlds Entertainment, and they've been plugging away at a Natural Selection 2 for some time now. They finally launched an official Natural Selection 2 website that the game is up for pre-order on, and a teaser video was released on Kotaku. Check it out!
Aside from being a fan of the original game, one of the reasons I have been watching Unknown Worlds is that they are a brand new and independent company that was formed by two guys with a passion for games(I believe they have 4 full-time employees total). It's a source of hope and inspiration for someone like me, particularly if the game launches well. Here's hoping they receive all the success they deserve.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Explanation
I've been pretty occupied lately either doing work for my Contemporary Culture class, or else worrying about having to do the work for my Contemporary Culture class. The good news though is that tomorrow will be my last class, so I can finally devote more focus to the Hammer editor. That being said, it's come to my attention that some of you might not know what the hell I am talking about on this blog, so I've decided to elaborate a little into this.
If this looks like way too much text and you're really not interested enough, but DO want to know what I am talking about, skip down to the dotted line.
First I will talk about a couple definitions. When a company makes a game, they write a lot of computer code(shocking!). The base of this code can typically be referred to as the game "engine". Companies will often reuse the same engine for multiple games- after all, why reinvent the wheel? Some companies even actively license their engine for use by individuals or other companies. A popular and successful example of this is the Unreal Engine, which is currently in its 3rd generation. Some popular games you might have heard of that were originally built off the same Unreal3 engine code include Gears of War 1&2, Bioshock, Mass Effect, The Wheelman, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 1&2, to name just a few. Back to the point, some companies will even provide the tools they used (or tools similar to the ones they used) for free with their games. These tools, along with access to the game code, allows you to make what is called a "mod" or modification. Pretty self-explanatory, but a mod is new code that modifies the original game in some way, either minute or drastic. For example, you could mod a game in a small way and make the in-game flashlight into a... glowing chocolate bar, if you wanted... for whatever reason... or you could take a game like Unreal Tournament 3 (a fairly realistic-looking, first-person shooter action game) and use the tools in a big way to make it into Care Bear Island Adventure Fun Time.
Now, if a MOD that is as different from the original game as Care Bear Island Adventure Fun Time would be, sounds exactly the same(or sounds like even MORE work) as using the code to make a GAME like Bioshock, you're correct. Really the only difference between an Unreal3 MOD that has all-original content, and an Unreal3 GAME that has all original content, is that the game was licensed to be sold. Trying to sell a mod without purchasing a license will land you a hefty lawsuit.
Now if you're wondering what this has to do with my previous posts, I'll finally get around to that. The game Half-Life 2 comes will full access to the source code and mod tools on the PC. What I am doing is using just one of the provided tools, called the Hammer Editor. The Hammer Editor allows you to construct custom "maps"(some people also refer to these as "boards"), which is the area that your character runs around in when playing the game. These maps can then be accessed in Half-Life 2 utilizing all the original game code.
Note that I said I am not touching the original game code. I am not changing any of the code or (currently) using any custom 3D models, textures, effects or animations. Therefore, what I am doing is NOT considered making a mod. It's just a custom map for the original game. That being said, depending on how involved I get in it, I could turn it into a mod down the road. It would be a lot more work though and right now I want to focus on level design, so we will see what happens.
..............................................................
In super-dummy-talk: I am making new areas to play the game Half-Life 2 in. I get to choose where the walls go and what they look like, the roof (if I want there to be a roof), the tables, the chairs, the guns, the bad guys, the good guys, everything and anything. I also get to add the lights (or leave them out for spooky darkness), and add in neat effects like blood and fire. It's pretty fun, and I have no practical experience with the game tools beyond what I've done in my spare time, so it's a learning experience too.
I hope this helps. I imagine I should have some new stuff to talk about pertaining to the actual project by the weekend. I'll keep you posted.
If this looks like way too much text and you're really not interested enough, but DO want to know what I am talking about, skip down to the dotted line.
First I will talk about a couple definitions. When a company makes a game, they write a lot of computer code(shocking!). The base of this code can typically be referred to as the game "engine". Companies will often reuse the same engine for multiple games- after all, why reinvent the wheel? Some companies even actively license their engine for use by individuals or other companies. A popular and successful example of this is the Unreal Engine, which is currently in its 3rd generation. Some popular games you might have heard of that were originally built off the same Unreal3 engine code include Gears of War 1&2, Bioshock, Mass Effect, The Wheelman, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 1&2, to name just a few. Back to the point, some companies will even provide the tools they used (or tools similar to the ones they used) for free with their games. These tools, along with access to the game code, allows you to make what is called a "mod" or modification. Pretty self-explanatory, but a mod is new code that modifies the original game in some way, either minute or drastic. For example, you could mod a game in a small way and make the in-game flashlight into a... glowing chocolate bar, if you wanted... for whatever reason... or you could take a game like Unreal Tournament 3 (a fairly realistic-looking, first-person shooter action game) and use the tools in a big way to make it into Care Bear Island Adventure Fun Time.
Now, if a MOD that is as different from the original game as Care Bear Island Adventure Fun Time would be, sounds exactly the same(or sounds like even MORE work) as using the code to make a GAME like Bioshock, you're correct. Really the only difference between an Unreal3 MOD that has all-original content, and an Unreal3 GAME that has all original content, is that the game was licensed to be sold. Trying to sell a mod without purchasing a license will land you a hefty lawsuit.
Now if you're wondering what this has to do with my previous posts, I'll finally get around to that. The game Half-Life 2 comes will full access to the source code and mod tools on the PC. What I am doing is using just one of the provided tools, called the Hammer Editor. The Hammer Editor allows you to construct custom "maps"(some people also refer to these as "boards"), which is the area that your character runs around in when playing the game. These maps can then be accessed in Half-Life 2 utilizing all the original game code.
Note that I said I am not touching the original game code. I am not changing any of the code or (currently) using any custom 3D models, textures, effects or animations. Therefore, what I am doing is NOT considered making a mod. It's just a custom map for the original game. That being said, depending on how involved I get in it, I could turn it into a mod down the road. It would be a lot more work though and right now I want to focus on level design, so we will see what happens.
..............................................................
In super-dummy-talk: I am making new areas to play the game Half-Life 2 in. I get to choose where the walls go and what they look like, the roof (if I want there to be a roof), the tables, the chairs, the guns, the bad guys, the good guys, everything and anything. I also get to add the lights (or leave them out for spooky darkness), and add in neat effects like blood and fire. It's pretty fun, and I have no practical experience with the game tools beyond what I've done in my spare time, so it's a learning experience too.
I hope this helps. I imagine I should have some new stuff to talk about pertaining to the actual project by the weekend. I'll keep you posted.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Single Player map/mod
So the multiplayer map is gonna go on hold until I finish this singleplayer map that I've started, because I think I need more practice and functional knowledge of the editor before I attempt to create something that is fun in a multiplayer environment. Plus I like where this idea is going.
The idea for this new project is to make a game that is more puzzle/exploration based than most FPS games tend to be. To compliment this though I am exploring the idea of using a creepy atmosphere. I've only really been working on this a day so far but I thought I'd post some pictures to illustrate the concept.
You start in a sparsely decorated room with wooden walls, dirt floor, and a single bare bulb for illumination. A bare mattress, some food, and a toilet in the corner give the impression you've been living here, probably against your will.
The light hangs directly above the only exit to the room, through which you can spot a similar door at the end of a long dark hall.
Directly outside the door, you find this grisly scene. (In the future, I think I'll turn off the FPS counter in the corner before taking screenshots. Haha.)
The idea for this new project is to make a game that is more puzzle/exploration based than most FPS games tend to be. To compliment this though I am exploring the idea of using a creepy atmosphere. I've only really been working on this a day so far but I thought I'd post some pictures to illustrate the concept.
You start in a sparsely decorated room with wooden walls, dirt floor, and a single bare bulb for illumination. A bare mattress, some food, and a toilet in the corner give the impression you've been living here, probably against your will.
The light hangs directly above the only exit to the room, through which you can spot a similar door at the end of a long dark hall.
Directly outside the door, you find this grisly scene. (In the future, I think I'll turn off the FPS counter in the corner before taking screenshots. Haha.) So right now, the level is in very early stages. I've sort of jumped right into this one with both feet, which anyone will tell you is usually a bad idea when you don't have it planned ahead of time. But I've got it partially mapped out in my head and want to see how it evolves. As I go on, I'll be working on getting the feel and pacing down instead of incorporating details and textures as I have done in these shots. I worked on this first room just to get the idea down, but in the future I won't sit around focusing on beautification until I know the layout is working, but regardless I'll keep you posted.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Map Editing in Source
So lately I have been working in the Source engine from Valve, familiarizing myself with the level editor tool Hammer. Today while I was skipping around one of the default maps, de_dust, I found something I thought was funny:
I found a pile of garbage serving as decoration off in some corner. But upon closer inspection...
Apparently Slurpees and Budweiser are popular with the locals!
de_dust is a Counter-Strike map set in a nondescript middle-eastern town.
I found a pile of garbage serving as decoration off in some corner. But upon closer inspection...
Apparently Slurpees and Budweiser are popular with the locals!Thursday, May 14, 2009
Reboot
I have decided to reboot my blog. I feel like it will serve as a useful tool in the future. Before, I was taking it too seriously and attempting to make commentary that wasn't really necessary. Essentially I was just regurgitating gaming news that could be read elsewhere but with my own opinions tossed on top for seasoning. I think the web has enough of those around. So I'll just use this to focus on what I am doing in my life, as it probably should have been to begin with.
Right now, I am attempting to decide where to focus my efforts. Programming, level design, 3D animation, or 3D modeling? I'm also looking into a website for hosting content, once I have content to host. I'll keep you posted.
Right now, I am attempting to decide where to focus my efforts. Programming, level design, 3D animation, or 3D modeling? I'm also looking into a website for hosting content, once I have content to host. I'll keep you posted.
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