When i was brainstorming for my initial logo idea i needed to figure out how i wanted to lay out the image so that i could begin designing it. I looked at 7 different types of logos and how they’re used. From doing this, i knew that i wanted to incorporate a Pictorial mark (symbol) but combine it along side with the brand.
With the company being heavily related to game development i chose to use imagery symbolic of retro gaming, such as a controller or joystick.
The name i came up with was Insight Development. The definition of Insight “the capacity to gain an accurate and deep understanding of someone or something.” Is quite fitting with what a game development should strive for, that’s the sort reasoning behind the name, not that its really necessary.
When i was looking at images of Joysticks i noticed how some designs are shaped liked the letter I, I took this into mind when i planned out how my logo was to look when i brainstormed it on paint.
Final Outcome:
Overall im please with outcome, it captures what i brainstormed originally and the Joystick logo works well as both a dropped capital, and as a brand logo/mascot.
Color Scheme:
As soon as i began looking at different vector images for Joysticks and controllers i already had a pretty clear understanding of what my main two colors were going to be. In the end i went for a light grey and light red.
The squares on the right was what i had settled with on my original design but after i recreated it i decided to go for a lighter shade of both of these colors and add a black outline on the shapes.
FONT
When i decided to go with the Impact font i was looking for a way to make it bold, so in the end i applied a stroke which was the same color as the font and upped the stroke value until i was happy with the outcome of it.
Although due to the current circumstances the FMP has been cancelled and wouldn’t have any effect on deciding grades i still wanted to put my research to use and practice my modelling skills inside of cinema4D the best i could.
I used concept art from other games such as The Last of Us.
The reason i chose to use these as reference images is because each of them gave me different areas to incorporate into my final room design. For example the image on the bottom right i incorporated the cabinet designs into my own models.
I already had in mind what i wanted to use for my logo but i wasn’t sure what color scheme to go with. I wanted to contrast my logo against the background to emphasize it as a focal point of my design.
Color scheme
As the logo is a flame, orange and red worked perfectly, this together with the grey created the contrast i was looking to achieve.
Experimenting with different fonts
After i was happy with my color scheme and had animated the logo i needed to choose a fitting font.
Firstly went on Dafont.com as i was looking for a modern font, mainly due to the fact that the logo i selected was stream lined and simple. I couldn’t for example use a font like “One Starry Night” as it didn’t match what the logo portrayed what so ever.
After some time i was stuck to choose between either “Blacklisted” or “Impact”. I put both the fonts onto the logo and the better choice became apparent quite quick.
Screenshots taken from the end frame of the logo animation.
I chose the “Blacklisted” font as i preferred the sleek letters and the arrow cutting across the text.
I had very little experience with using After effects before. However prior to this task Id used other video editing software before so the layout of after effects wasn’t too foreign to me and it didn’t take me too long to get used to the different widows id be required to work between.
Understanding the basics of using simulation effects:
I wanted to use the simulation effects to create an animated winter scene. I got an image of a cabin and imported it into after effects.
On the effects tab there was both a rainfall and snowfall effect, i preferred the visuals that i could get out of the rainfall effect so all i had to do next was experiment with the different settings.
It took a lot of trial and error to get the effect i really wanted but in the end i was pleased with the outcome.
Logo creation/animation:
To begin with i selected a basic image from google which i could use as a base for my logo, all i needed was something simple to work with.
I wanted to get a logo with bright colors, so that i could contrast it against a darker background.
After this i then wanted to change the shape of the flame, so i used the pen tool to create a mask, i found this pen tool similar to the one i had used in Cinema4D previously.
I moved the lines around until i was happy with the new change.
Then i needed to animate the logo, i started by changing the opacity values, but i kept it at 100% as it worked better against the grey background. I did the same with the rotation and scale values until i was happy with the outcome.
I wanted to add some text to the logo so that it appeared as a branded image. I chose the word Ember as it has connotations to fire and works well with the flame image i selected.
Due to the recent closure of the college due to the Coronavirus my work will be impacted. However, i still plan on creating my 3D assets, although now ill be building the room(s) inside Cinema4D in order to produce fully rendered images of my environment.
Luckily the computer i have access to at home should allow me to have access to Cinema4D so working from home should run smoothly.
Same blue neon eyes on the robots and character seen on the left, signifying evil?
Bright colours mixed with washed out tones to create a contrast,drawing attention to the text.
Cover being used to tell a story.
Chaotic
Cover 2
Pegi 18, shows intended target audience.
Serious glare, focused
Game title in large font, taking up most of the space
Modern weapons=modern war game
Initials of game’s title in background.
Faded imagery of a burning tower surrounded in ashes and flames.
The first cover i chose is from Borderlands 2,having played all of the Borderlands series i already had an understanding of what its target audience would expect from a looter shooter title, that title being Borderlands 2 in this case. The Borderlands collection as a whole shares a signature hand drawn comic book style textures combined with very thick outlining shaders. This art style is commonly referred to as “cel shaded”. Since the first borderlands title release back in late 2009, to its latest release in 2019 its kept the art style similar throughout.
Progression in art style through out the 3 main games.
The Borderlands series is very bright and colorful, hence why i decided to use one of the Borderlands 2 promotional posters as an example in this unit as i felt it would make for a good comparison to a darker poster or cover.
The game poster uses vibrant colors to highlight key information within the image and to feature game characters (whilst also displaying the fight between good and evil.In my opinion this has been used to foreshadow the battles within the later parts of the story.to the potential new audience. This is very important for a game like Borderlands 2, with it being the second installment in a heavily story driven franchise it is key that new players don’t feel uninvited to play it just because they’re unaware of some of the characters in Borderlands 1 or how the game will build upon Borderlands 1s story. Although these might seem like small details, showing this on the poster is vital so that the game can draw in a new player base, and obviously it worked, Borderlands 2 became the game of the year in 2012, and by 2014 8.5 million copies had been sold – this broke 2k games record in sales.
The other cover is almost a complete opposite to the previous one visually, because of the genre of the game being a realistic first person shooter. The main color choices,consisting mainly of dark blue, grey and black target its male audience predominantly. The character taking up this posters identity is hidden, much like how in the military names and identities are hidden. Both game covers have a character of unknown importance taking up a good majority of the image, these characters are used mainly to draw in attention, with the surrounding text or imagery actually explaining whats going on or giving key information such as release dates, age rating or the game title itself.
Task 2 – Creative Response
Cinematography Worksheet
Cinematography is a term used to describe all aspects of camerawork: shot types, camera positioning, camera movement and framing.
The cinematography choices made within visual media are a key means by which the filmmaker can convey meaning.
Define the following shot types and comment on their impact for the viewer/player
Shot type
Definition and impact on viewer Example and screen shot from a game.
Extreme close-Up
A shot taken of a subject or object at close range that shows the subject or object in greater detail. The shot is tightly framed and is regularly used to frame a character’s face in such a way that it fills the screen. An extreme close up will make a viewer or player enter a character’s personal space, showing a character’s emotions and traits which could otherwise go unnoticed. Using an extreme close up gives the viewer/player no choice but to experience the c current shot.
Close-Up
In the close up shot, a specific feature or part of the subject takes up most of the frame. A close up of a person usually means a close up of their face. A close up of the face allows viewers/players to feel a character’s current emotional state.
Medium Close-Up
A medium close up shot is done when a filmmaker places their camera so that a character is framed from right above their head down to their torso. The shot still allows for a character’s emotions and facial expressions while also keeping some of background in shot. Similarly, to the previous two shot types, it allows the audience to whiteness facial expressions and emotions.
Medium Long Shot
A medium shot is a kind of camera shot in TV and film that shows an actor approximately from the waist up. A medium shot is used to emphasize both the actor and their surroundings by giving them an equal presence on screen. This sort of shot can bring a viewer into a scene with the characters.
Long Shot
A long shot shows the subject from top to bottom, it usually serves as an establishing shot. These shots are taken from head to toe, allowing the scenery to take up most of the frame instead of an actor or game character. Allows an audience to acknowledge their whereabouts in a scene.
Extreme Long Shot (Also called Establishing Shot)
An extreme long shot is similar to a long shot. However, the shot covers a wider area.The shot frames the subject from a distance and focuses on its surroundings.These shots can be used to inform an audience that characters are moving from one location in a scene to another.
Before i began drawing my poster i remembered back to one of my initial FMP ideas, sea monsters. I knew that the sheer size of some of these creatures would work well for a poster as i could mix both close up shots of the creature with some longer ranged shots. I did this to highlight how hopeless mans creations would be in a situation like this.
My next step is to add colour and details.
-Granted im not very good at drawing with a pen and pencil, im happy with the outcome of this piece mainly because i feel like it achieves what i wanted it to. My main reason behind choosing to create an image like this is so it develops the back story for one of my original FMP ideas, the ship being attacked by a large kraken like sea monster is why the character would’ve been stranded on the island, this is of course if i decided to go with this idea.
I tried to recreated this image on Adobe Illustrator, but because it was my first time using the program and the fact that i had to draw with my inaccurate mouse, i just decided to stick with pen and paper.
At the start of last week I began brainstorming my initial 3 ideas to use in my presentation proposal for the following Monday. By Thursday I had the 3 ideas down and had began researching into them. I looked into a variety of areas, ranging from mythical undersea creatures to real life natural disasters and nuclear warfare.
Monday 9th
Yesterday I presented my project proposal, opting to choose my third idea. My third idea is to create a game environment based after nuclear warfare, I will be required to research into multiple key areas such as; Chernobyl, Nagasaki+Hiroshima, games which have explored similar themes to mine, and the aftermath effects a nuclear war would have – a nuclear winter for example.
Tuesday 10th – Monday 16th
I’ve started to conduct the research I need before I can begin creating my project.
Tuesday 17th
I created my first asset, i decided to make a shelving unit and a broken version to along with it.
Development process:
My next steps are to watch tutorials on substance painter and then begin texturing these two shelving units.
Sunday 23rd
Today i started building some of the assets ill require to create the kitchen for my environment. I used reference images/online tutorials to aid my development process.
For the majority of the this week ill be spending my time modelling my assets then ill began experimentation with different textures as i know its going to be something ill struggle getting the hang of.
Wednesday 25th
Once i was happy with how my models were looking, i played around with multiple different colors and textures until i was satisfied with the outcome.
Progression screenshots of asset creation
Before i began modelling i decided that i was aiming for a neat, mass produced sort of planter box, i wanted the asset to seem as though it had been handmade out of wooden scraps.
First, I collected some reference images:
After i collected these i had a clear understanding of the development process id have to undergo. All i had to do was build myself a box manually out of an arrangement of rectangles, as seen here.
This process was pretty straightforward just time-consuming.Then all i had to do with tweak a few minor things then texture it.
COMPUTER ISSUES AT HOME – and how i plan on working around them.
I initially had planned to create my assets inside of Cinema4D and then texture them using substance painter. Last week once i downloaded substance painter, i noticed that my computer at home was struggling heavily as i began learning how to texture my assets. My PC started to lag, to the point where my cursor was lagging when i moved it, this was due to my PC specs being insufficient (mainly RAM restrictions.) To overcome this issue, im now going to texture my assets inside of Cinema4D, using Quixel and textures.com to provide me with the textures.
My plan for this idea is to create a post nuclear war environment, for this ill need to research into various key areas.
Using real life examples for design referencing.
Nagasaki + Hiroshima
Hiroshima
Hiroshima was the city which was the one of the sites to be hit by an atomic bomb on 6th August 1945. This was the first time a nuclear weapon had ever been used; the fireball created by the bomb destroyed 13 square kilometers of the city, and those dead as a result of the fireball numbered up to 180,000.
The impact of the bombing on Hiroshima
Hiroshima was nearby a flat river, with few hills or natural features to limit the blast. The atomic bomb was dropped on the city center, the city center was an area crowded with wooden residential structures and places of business. With these factors meant that the death toll and destruction in Hiroshima was particularly high.
The firestorm caused by the detonation completely destroyed almost 63% of the buildings in Hiroshima and many more were damaged. In total, 92% of the structures in the city were either destroyed or damaged by a blast of fire.
Generally, the estimated amount of deaths caused by the bomb range anywhere between 100,000 and 180,000, this is out of a population of 350,000. Tens of thousands of these deaths happened immediately and many more in the days and months that followed.
Before and After images of Hiroshima.
What is a nuclear fireball?
After a nuclear detonation, the bomb elites a blast of x-rays, which ionize and heat the surrounding air; that hot bubble of gas is known as a fireball. The hot air is buoyant, so it quickly rises and expands.
Nagasaki
Only three days after the first bombing on Hiroshima, a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, killing between 50,000 and 100,000 people.
The impact of the bombing on Nagasaki
Due to the hilly geography of Nagasaki and the bombings focus being away from the city center, the damage from the bombings was limited to Urakami Valley and part of downtown Nagasaki. The center of Nagasaki, the harbor, and the historic district were shielded from the blast by the hills surrounding the river.
Nevertheless, the nuclear bombing did prove devastating, with approximately 22.7% of Nagasaki’s buildings being consumed by flames, but the death toll and over all destruction was a lot less than in Hiroshima. Estimates of casualties from Nagasaki range between 50,000 and 100,000, with many dying instantaneously and others dying afterwards due to burns and radiation.
Effects of a nuclear weapon
Both of these events still resonate to this day and serve as the greatest warning of the devastating effects nuclear weapons have.
As well as the high death toll, those that survived the initial detonated and firestorms quickly became ill with radiation poisoning with symptoms ranging from server burns, hair loss, nausea and bleeding.
When the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the cities were obliterated. By 1950, over 340,000 people had died as a result and generations were poisoned by radiation.
Effects of a nuclear fireball
The fireball after detonation causes significant destruction within seconds or minutes. The delayed effects, such as radioactive fallout and other environmental effects, inflict damage over an extended period ranging from hours to years.
One of the surviving buildings in Hiroshima today, the former Army Clothing Depot is one of the largest of 86 existing structures in the city that survived the atomic bomb, according to Hiroshima government.
As you can see the fireball burn the bricks and melted the door, the overgrowth is pale in color too.Proving the fact that most of the wooden houses in the city center at the time wouldn’t of stood a chance.
Nuclear explosions produce both immediate and delayed destructive effects. Blast, thermal radiation and prompt ionizing radiation cause significant destruction within seconds. The delayed effects, such as radioactive fallout and other environmental effects, inflict damage over an extended period ranging from hours to years.
Nuclear Winter
A nuclear winter would occur when a giant dust/soot cloud caused by a nuclear bomb detonation would block out the sun, casting that area of the world into darkness and plummeting temperatures
The giant thick black soot clouds created by a nuclear bomb detonation would block out all but a fraction of the suns light for a period weeks, casting the world into darkness and plummeting surface temperatures between 11° to 22°.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi’s personal account
Tsutomu Yamaguchi was one of the few survivors of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings during the second world war. Although many people are known to of survived the bombings, Tsutomu Yamaguchi is the only person recognized by the Japanese government to of done so.
Hiroshima Bombing
On the day of the Hiroshima Bombing, he was walking towards the docks when the American bomber dropped the Little Boy atomic bomb near the center of the city, just 3 km away from the harbor. Yamaguchi recalls seeing the aircraft and two small parachutes, before there was a “great flash in the sky, and i was blown over”.He claims that the explosion ruptured his eardrums, blinded him temporarily and left him with serious burns all over the left side of his body.He then crawled to a shelter and, rested, and then set out to find his colleagues.
Nagasaki Bombing
This time when the American bomber dropped the Fat Man over Nagasaki, Yamaguchi was describing the blast in Hiroshima to his supervisor, this time when the atomic bomb detonated, Yamaguchi was unhurt by the explosion.
Concept images for what a nuclear winter might look like
Official definition: “a period of abnormal cold and darkness predicted to follow a nuclear war, caused by a layer of smoke and dust in the atmosphere blocking the sun’s rays.”
Chernobyl Accident 1986
The accident happened to the result of a flawed reactor design that was being operated by inadequately trained personnel. The flawed design was a direct consequence of the isolation caused by the Cold War, resulting in a lack of any safety culture. The steam explosion and fires released at least 100 radioactive elements into the surrounding towns and cities.5% of the radioactive reactor core into the atmosphere. Two Chernobyl plant workers died on the night of the accident, and a further 28 people died within a few weeks as a result of intense radiation poisoning.
Pripyat, home to around 50,000 people and located only 1.8 miles away from Chernobyl, was evacuated. However, this evacuation didn’t occur until 36 hours after the explosion. Many didn’t understand the severity of the disaster and thought they’d only be gone for a few days. They were not allowed to bring many belongings with them, including family pets, due to fear of contamination. Their hasty exit left behind a town hat today seems frozen in time: a doll lying on rusted play equipment, supermarkets taken over my nature and a Ferris wheel halted for good.
In the weeks and months that followed the plant explosion, an estimated 120,000 to 200,000 people in total were evacuated over a region known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, which covers everything within an 18.5 mile radius.
So far there hasn’t been a given explanation for what caused the accident to happen.Just over 4,000 workers and residents were forced to evacuate after the blast, officials said glass doors and windows have all been shaken out of the poorer houses. With most buildings in the area being deemed uninhabitable.
Gunkanjima, Japan’s ‘Battleship Island’
Hashima was abandoned in 1974 and left to the elements. Storms, time, and decay have resulted in collapsed buildings. The tiny island,became a miniature city, with schools and shops, two public pools and more. Once being inhabited by 5200+ people, it was abruptly abandoned due to coal mining operations declining, leaving the island to battle the elements for decades. The concrete apartment blocks have been left to decay for years. Typhoons took their toll and have caused windows to shatter and walls to crumble, waves have smashed buildings and barriers.
When first inhabited seawalls were built in order to provide protection, but more importantly, they granted more land to build on. They also gave the island a new shape, one of a massive battleship. Hence giving it the nickname, battleship island.
Set in the ruins of Moscow inside a winter desert waste land, the player is required to wear a gas mask at almost all times throughout the game as the air has become toxic due to humanity dooming itself via nuclear annihilation. Because of this the world is stuck inside a nuclear winter, hence why humanity is now attempting to survive in the underground metro systems of Russia.
Environment concept art for Metro 2033
Fallout 4
Fallout 4 takes place after the events of the Great War in 2077, a war between the United States and China over natural resources, which needed in a nuclear holocaust.
The reason why im using Fallout 4 as an example for this is due to how Bethesda managed to display the before and after destruction of an atomic bomb. The range of destruction makes the game feel more immersive and is something id like to bring across to my game environment when i built it.
Due to Fallout 4s setting, the architecture is heavily influenced by post-World War II 1950s. Because of this everything inside Fallout 4 feels dated yet futuristic as the game itself is set in 2077 so there has been multiple technical advancements such as the servant robots, met in the first mission of the game before the nuclear attacks were launched.
Post apocalyptic Architecture/Assets
Ill be using these images and many others similar to provide myself with inspiration and ideas for designing/building the rooms i need for house environment .
Post World War II 1950sAmerica
The United States was worlds most advanced and strongest military power.Its economy was booming, and the new cars, suburban houses and other consumer goods were available to more people than ever before.
There was an overwhelming fear of a communist invasion and nuclear warfare with Russia throughout the cold war, this is similar to what Fallout 4 bases its game on.
There were a lot of US propaganda produced during this time, similar to when the US was at war during World War II. The posters were very anti communist and anti nuclear war, seeing as the US had just came out of a war, most of society was heavily against it, not to mention the damage the atomic bombs had caused on when dropped over Japan.
However, not everyone was against another war, in-fact Americans were in support of nuking the east. This was mainly out of fear of American being completely occupied by the Russians.
With my last game environment revolving around an abandoned room in a house, my plan for my FMP is to expand upon this single room and create other assets to develop a kitchen, bathroom or bedroom for example.
My previous game environment.
Abandoned building mood board
Using real life examples for design referencing.
Similarly to last time ill be using images such as these when it comes to planning how to set out of the assets in my environments in order to create the claustrophobic, gritty environment im aiming for.
For example, if i was going to be creating a bedroom environment id be using the image on the bottom left to base my asset design and model references from.
What happened after Chernobyl?
Within a few weeks after the initial steam explosion thirty-one people died, due to radiation and thermal burns. Because of this, homes,businesses and schools where left abandoned, creating ghost towns.
Pripyat city, the “ghost town” has been seen in games throughout the years, most noticeably in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare back in 2007. The mission featuring Pripyat city takes place in 1996, fifteen years before the events of the game and 10 years after the events on Chernobyl, this explains the overgrown and broken down exteriors of all the buildings the player has to creep around. The mission “All Ghillied Up” takes the player across the radiation filled wasteland that Pripyat has become.
Inspiration for creating All Ghilled Up
All Ghilled Up began development during the new wave of Call of Duty 4, the new wave being after they had cut half of the original levels, deciding to start again.They opened the floor for developers to pitch new level ideas. This is where All Ghilled Up came from, the inspiration behind the level started with the use of photographs taken by tourists when visiting Pripyat. When they saw the foliage and the overgrown buildings in the photos of Pripyat they knew they had the perfect opportunity to create a ghille suit stealth sniper mission. To make the mission work the Call of Duty for 4 timeline, the writing team decided to place the mission as a flash back from one of the main characters so that it didn’t require a lead in or lead out, it was just a stand alone mission.
To start off building my knowledge on temples i decided to look at real-life examples of trapped temples which had been discovered by explorers or archaeologists.
There are curses all over the world, yet none are more famous than the mummy’s curse. Inscribed on doorways and statues warning would-be grave-robbers of death by snakes, crocodiles and scorpions. However, the Pharaohs didn’t depend on supernatural protection alone: they also arranged for more mechanical means of defense. The tomb of Amenhotep III appeared to end in a relatively pleasant room, which had a moderate amount of treasure inside that was worth taking.In reality, the false wall on the back hid a passage leading to the remainder of the tomb. But before any of the explorers could even get to the false wall, they needed to deal with a much more deadly trap: a false floor hiding a deadly pit trap. The pit was a 6 meter drop down an empty shaft, making it basically a death sentence for anyone unfortunate enough to fall in.
The false wall has been removed on the right.
The tomb of Qin Shi Huang,(the First Emperor of a unified China).Is labeled the greatest trapped tomb to be discovered to date.Because of his power,he had an incredible amount of resources put into his tombs construction, making it the worlds magnificent and most well guarded tomb. Inside wait the gigantic, Terracotta army,consisting of over 8,000 carved soldiers found in just one section of the necropolis surrounding his tomb. The tomb itself has not been excavated, primarily down to the fear of traps. The first discovered trap, and the one which was most intended to deter thieves is a set of automatic crossbow. Of course, the wood and sinew of crossbows would have long since rotted and deteriorated, some still suggest that they may have made from flexible metal, and that if they’re only pulled into position when they’re triggered, the mechanism just might of survived.
The Qin Emperor was said to have been buried with a two square kilometer map of China, complete with liquid mercury lakes and rivers. Despite the tomb not having been opened yet, explorers are confident that this rumored trap exists, because soil samples from near the tomb are full of massive amounts of mercury, and the concentration of it only grows stronger as you approach his grave.
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