brick wall - One asset

This wall has lots of bricks of which 6 different types that make up the wall. The various bricks use different textures and normal maps while still being contained within one texture file.

Above is the second brick I made, I prefer this one more, I will eventually transfer it's normal map to some other bricks in the scene.

Starting to UV map

I've started using a method that has allowed me to be far more flexible when it comes to modelling + UV mapping. I've been making the model of the base environment while disregarding how large the surface area is. Of course the larger the surface area, the lower the resolution will be (lower texel).
What I'm using is the "extract" tool, which allows me to chop up my model so it becomes smaller and more manageable. This means that the base model which includes walls, floors doors and roofs can be chopped up into separate models to be textured and exported separately.

high poly baking

Current modelling progress

Clocktown screenshots

      

     

These are some of the many screenshots I've taken of Clocktown. I'm debating on whether to remake south or west Clock town. South is defiantly more iconic and has more interesting buildings, but it's considerably larger and will require more work. I think taking on South Clocktown might be a bit to ambitious, but I'm willing to focus on specific elements to get it completed in the time I have. West clock town does have some neat features, but it's just an alleyway with stores and overhead roofing. North and east clock town don't interest me in any way. North only has cliff faces and grass while east is very bare without many features.

(Above) A screenshot of Nintendo's 3DS remake of Majora's mask. All the work I'll do will have no reference to this version. I feel that the upgrades made to the game are not enough to warrant it a "next gen" upgrade. the visuals aren't to dissimilar to the original. 

Daniel Libeskind and lebbeus woods

I've been looking at architects that make less "conventional" looking buildings and one of them in particular stuck out to me. Daniel Libeskind is an architect that uses lots of sharp shapes and striking forms to create very "unique" looking buildings.

The buildings he designs have an eccentric look to them, with sharp irregular angles. I think these shapes would look great in a recreation of clock-town. With the right context I feel that these shapes would prove intimidating.

The second architect I look at was lebbeus woods. A section of his work named "WALLS OF CHANGE" displays very primitive looking buildings that are structural sound, yet have sharp edges, and generally a more interesting form.

I really like the wood like scaffolding in his work. I feel It would look great in clock-town, especially on the tops of the buildings. It will defiantly give more complexity to the very square buildings.



http://www.zaha-hadid.com/ 





http://libeskind.com/





http://lebbeuswoods.net/

A look at clocktown

Research into shapes, and their meanings

Circles 

There is no beginning or end, often represent the moon or sun, and eternity. This is often why they are used on clocks. This will almost certainly be the shape I use on the clock tower.

Because they are less common in design they work well to attract attention, provide emphasis, and set things apart. (having the clock set apart and with a lot of emphasis will be ideal.

Squares and rectangles

A very stable shape, used most of the time for architectural shapes to develop buildings. They represent security and strength from all corners. I'm in two minds in whether to use much squares as Clock-Town isn't really in a secure state as the towns existence is limited, yet I partially want to use squares and rectangles because the idea that the citizens are secure or "trapped" in this future less world is quite a dark and twisted premise. possible tall rectangular walls will be a great way to represent a feeling of secure entrapment. 

Triangles

Triangles when orientated on their points are very unstable and abstract. they often represent aggression due to their pointed top. they can be a strong lawful symbol when they are in a regular form, when irregular their shape suggests something more negative. Triangles can be used to convey a certain direction, so they can be used cleverly in video games to help players make intuitive decisions. I can see myself using a lot of triangle shapes for the houses in the 3D scene.

Crosses

Crosses represent spirituality and healing. The cross can also convey transition, balance, unity, hope and life. I really want to use crosses, but I don't want to make it a dominant feature otherwise I fear I could be suggesting a very religious theme or Christianity. 

Spirals

Spiral forms are often very confusing and hypnotising. Because of this they are pretty intimidating. they are mystical shapes, for this reason I might use this shape to highlight some of the oddities in the scene.

Double spirals can be used to symbolize opposing forces.

Colour Palette: Majora's Mask

There is a distinct use of colour in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, the games primary colour is purple, It's by far the most abundant colour in the game, the box art title/start screen uses a purple font, and the antagonist is mostly purple.

Other dominant colours include different shades of red, yellow, green, and black. All these colours can represent something negative, and the combination of them all creates a very unique and sinister setting for a video game. I discovered that the colour combinations depended on the time of day within the game world. In the daytime, Termina has less of a looming sense of gloominess. Instead the palette transforms into a wash of creams, browns and blues. The cream colours in particular represent acceptance and tolerance, this makes sense as the threat is not visible to the citizens or the player.


The meanings of colours, and what different colours represent
http://www.eaglespiritministry.com/works/colorch.htm
http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html

Overview: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask Is the second in the series of 3D Zelda games. The game Is centred around a young boy named Link, the hero of time. Link has stumbled into Clock-Town, a town located in the strange land of Termina. Already some of the games dark scenes have been played out, Link has been cursed by the mask, and Links Horse Epona is believed to have been killed by the Skull Kid. Only when the player looks up for the first time in Clock-Town is it apparent that the true threat to the game is the moon, which has a demonic face, and is on a collision course with Termina.


                  

The game has a very strong undertone, throughout Majora's Mask the player will encounter characters who are coming to their senses, and are just now realising the severity of the problem in hand. All the characters are well developed and their opinion and attitude will differ compared to other NPCs. The games undertone really begins to show as the moon gets closer to Clock-Town day by day, their outlook will change, and their emotions and responses will wildly vary depending on the time left before impact. At first citizens will be in denial and wont accept their time is coming to the end. Many citizens can be seen preparing for a carnival, without the slightest concern of the looming lump of demonic rock. later in the 3 day cycle, the NPCs will start to display signs of anger, as they have finally come to their senses, and simply not happy about their impending doom. Later on NPCs show signs of bargaining and depression as they are becoming desperate, and will start taking drastic measures to keep themselves alive, or at least from being aware of their future. on the final night, before the moons collision there is a sense of acceptance (mostly) between the NPCs. They are accepting their fate, and know their is nothing that can be done. This may just seem like rapid mood swings shared between the characters, but it actually signifies the 5 stages of grief, a series of emotions that is experienced by people unfortunate enough to be losing their life of the life of somebody they know and love. It's a real occurrence and it's very well implemented into the game. It's this underlying theme that gives Majora's mask it's unique reputation of being "the weird one". Yet because of these trends seen throughout the game, its regarded as one of the best games within the series.

NOTE: The environment and playable area in Majora's Mask reflects the themes seen within the game. The land of Termina strongly contrasts with the land of Hyrule.

Article of the stages of grief 
http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-5-stages-of-loss-and-grief/000617

Themes in motion: Majora's Mask

This article from ZeldaInformer goes over the depth of the underlying messages within the game.
http://www.zeldainformer.com/news/themes_in_motion_majoras_mask_and_the_five_stages_of_grief#.VQiOgY6sWSo

information on Grief and loss
http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-5-stages-of-loss-and-grief/000617

Proposal

I intend to recreate a scene/level/starting zone from the renowned and acclaimed game “The legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” from the year 2000. (N64/PS1) I will recreate it in 3D, bringing assets and textures up to modern standards. The goal is to have the re-envisioned game recreate the emotions and senses to a higher level then what where experienced by players in the original. The reason behind this project is to achieve the visual messages that the game may not have been able to achieve due to the limitations of the N64 system. The game deals with the 5 stages of grief: denial and isolation, anger, depression and acceptance. I will look at what works and what doesn't. I’ll do what’s necessary to get the message across more effectively.  

The scene to be recreated will be the tutorial/starting area from the game (clock town), it will be the first zone that the player will experience game play in. This is the area that the player will be most familiar with and will most likely contain their most prominent memories. The assets will be created in Maya and imported into UE3/UE4. The textures will be created in Photoshop, crazybump and Xnormal. I will display my work via screenshots and with a walk-through/walk around video.

I will look into remakes and the lengths to which developers go to recreate a game that appeases fans and new audiences. This involves looking at techniques which games developers use to up-res, remodel and re-envision game environments, while keeping the core theme. This will require analysis into the texture work, lighting and composition/form of the scene. I’ll use screenshots, in game reference and hopefully original models in software to help construct assets.

EDIT: The idea is not to recreate the environment to produce higher fidelity, but to create a playable space that evokes the feelings of grief that far outweighs that of the original.

First ideas

Bringing back the original feeling players felt when playing their favourite games, by remaking the game (just a scene/one environment) that captures the original feel.

Explore the notion of nostalgia, and the fine balance that needs to be made to make fans happy while modernising the game environment.

WHY – To recreate the feelings of adventure and awe that players first felt when they stepped into the game. (Example Clocktown Legend of Zelda: Majora's mask). 

+ allow new players to feel it without nostalgia factor.

What makes a remake authentic?

Remake and re-master

Is the underlying message getting across

Look at games (majoras mask) that had a serious under tone/ message (acceptance/death etc) and look how they tried to express this in the visuals. (IF THEY COULDN'T DO IT HOW CAN I DO IT) or how can I do this better. Old games find it hard to express something visually with the limitations of hardware

IDEAS

I want to look into remakes of games, and the revitalisation process that goes into turning old models and concepts into modern assets for the current generation of gaming. 

WHY?...

Because 2013-2015 has been a period where remakes of games have really become popular. It coincides with the release of the new consoles. With the increased power, it's allowed developers to go back to classic games and make them look modern.

I'll be looking at decisions and design practices that development teams make to recreate old games for the new gen.

GOAL

Make a scene from an old game while sticking true to the original games core theme.