3D Game Development Project: Prelude

COMP352 - Final Group Project

INTRO/CHAPTER 1

The aim of this project is to create and design a video game that can be published on PC, preferably 3-D over a 13 week course period. The whole project was done through Unity, a 3-D game engine, which the final product was also built and published upon. Since it was a tight schedule, we decided to keep it simple while captivating and thought of making a 3-D survival horror game. It consists of 3 dungeon-themed levels, where fiendish ghouls lurk throughout them as the player tries to find the 'mystic mirror' in each in order to escape. 

TEAM MEMBERS: 
1. Swapnil (Programming/Scripting)
2. Sid (Sound Effects)
3. Chen (Assistant Artist/Quality Control)
4. Dexter (Main/Lead Environment Artist)

*Simple Game Menu*

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 PART 1

The idea of making a horror game was influenced by playing a fair bit of horror games such as Dead Island, Dying Light, Amnesia, Metro 2033 Redux etc. and also watching horror movies and hence it was where I got my inspiration of designing a world for a horror game. I closely studied and visualized the atmosphere of enclosed places such as bedrooms, corridors, offices, libraries etc. and focused on their color tones, ambiance, object selections/placements (e.g. furniture, computers, table lamps/lights etc), spacing, and volume of certain objects (e.g. entities, creatures etc).

I will be switching between NON-play mode (editing phase) and play mode (testing phase). 

*Note: ALL done in Unity Game Engine*

Here are some of  the very early stages of the designing phase: 

Design Prototype 1: Bedroom

NON-play mode:

1.  The above picture depicts a fairly straightforward bedroom design. The bedroom includes a bed, 2 bedside tables and a table lamp, a balcony, a chest of 3 drawers, a large mirror and a wardrobe. I've also included curtains in front of the balcony. Most of the objects were obtained from the assets store in Unity. 

Play mode:

PLAYER PERSPECTIVE 1

1. This is how it looks like in play mode. I decided to incorporate monochromatic colors in which this case black and white/grey to give off a eerie and sinister vibe to the player. This atmosphere is accompanied by heavy rain and thunder sound effect in the background provided by my other member. Being the lead environment artist, I try to put myself in the player's perspective to see if it fits the scenario. If I as a player don't find it scary, other players won't find it scary. Despite being only in a small space, it was enough for my group members to give praises for my efforts, a couple stating that there is that 'element of surprise' and 'the sound effects just sent chills down my spine'.

PLAYER PERSPECTIVE 2

1. This is the perspective from the balcony. 

PLAYER PERSPECTIVE 3

1. A prototype of the 'mystic mirror'. If the player walks 'through' the mirror, it will 'teleport' the player to another map. The impression of the 'mirror' comes from horror movies where often strange occurrences happen when a character(s) in the movie gets involved with a mirror. So I blended in elements from games and movies into one area and see how they can fuse together to create a suspenseful environment.  

PART 2

Design Prototype 2: Living Room

NON-play mode:

1. This is my second design draft, a scene of a modern living room, fairly simple and straightforward.  

1. Here's a closer view of the objects. It includes a dining table, couches, a TV, wall paintings, chairs etc. This perspective comes from the mirror. 

Play mode:

PLAYER PERSPECTIVE 1

1. In play mode, again I applied the grey scale colors to keep its consistency throughout the whole image. If you've noticed in non-play mode, the colors on almost every object are dark-colored so I feel like they do blend in with the monochrome colors.  I also changed the mirror design to make it look more stylish and modernized to fit with the vibe of the room. The feedback from this design wasn't as great as the first design as it didn't really 'scare' my group members. 

 PLAYER PERSPECTIVE 2

PART 3

Design Prototype 3: Parlour

NON-play mode:

1.  In my third design draft, I recycled the layout and floor space from my second design and replaced the whole scene with different color themes and furniture. I thought to myself to improve the spookiness of this level, I replaced the floor with a more ghastly dark grey color, with blood effect splattered on the floor. In addition, I've also changed the walls to make it look more 'tattered' and 'worn down' accompanied with dreary paintings and incorporated a wolf head for extra tension. Others include old and dull looking couches and tables, messy couches and flipped chairs and a medieval bookshelf. 

1.  This is from eye level perspective, also from the mirror's perspective.  

Play mode:

PLAYER PERSPECTIVE 1

1.  With the changes applied and altered from the previous design, the feedback of this was much better. The response was they felt more 'suffocated' and 'panicky' as compared to the second design. 

PLAYER PERSPECTIVE 2

1. As a result, I have decided to use this prototype as a reference design to assist me in creating my levels as I advance forward with the project. However I decided to be more ambitious in my world creation and came up with a plan to combine these features together in a larger scale...

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 2......