Methods (group)

KRISTA:

Working out the lymph node environment and character interactions from a game manual perspective. I will be taking Advanced New Media classes on Fridays to become better acquainted with designing interactive applications, basic programming language, and hosting documents on the web.

Mid term goals: Create a storyboard for the game manual. This will include visual images, text, and an idea of the flow of the end product.

End of term goals: Create an interactive game manual. This will include visual images, 2D animations, and text. Write a paper that addresses one of my research questions (see individual proposal), or discusses a major challenge I faced in design and production.

Long term goals (after April): Interface the interactive game manual with a 3D game environment (lymph node city). Training for this may include completing Unity tutorials, and learning to render using Autodesk Maya.

GEOFF:

To design and create 3D characters to interact and function within a biological 3D environment. I will be learning Maya through my offered courses. I will explore character rigging and interaction mechanisms in depth.

(A resource, out of many of possibilities, to consider is "Maya 2008 character Modeling & Animation: Principle and Practices". In the table of contents, they break down character rigging into the following chapter topics: basic rigging and modeling, path animation and dynamics, biped character modeling, biped character rigging, motion animation. Each of these chapters include tutorials. Please see below how I intend to use this resource.)

First 6 weeks: I will be supplementing what I learn in my Maya class by following tutorials on how to model and rig a simple model. The complexity of this model (small number of joints versus full human character) will be discussed and determined.

Mid-term goals: Create a set of character designs for the game. This will include conceptual sketches of the characters, their motions, appearances and morphology. Currently, the intention is to create three archetypes of role-playing games: melee, long rang, support. (Also, provided I have time, in writing or in sketches I hope to address how they may potential interact with their surroundings, weapons, other characters.) I intend to be familiar enough with Maya to begin studying biped character modeling.

Last 6 weeks: I will again be supplementing my Maya skills with tutorials on biped modeling and rigging. Emotion and behavioural styles will not be emphasized in the scope of this course.

End-of-term goals: To animate a basic walk cycle with simple motions of one of the characters designed for midterm. The character will be driven by basic keys to move in a simple 3D environment. Paper addressing research questions posed in proposal.

Long-term goals (after April): Details to movement such as bounce, emotion. To create more realistic walk-cycle for presentation. Have the character interact properly with envisioned 3D lymph node environment.

WENSI

Method:

Design and model/render the lymph node environment.

For the designing part of my project, these are the books that I will use:

1. Luke Ahearn “ 3D game environments: create professional 3D game worlds” 2008 (Main textbook)

2. Ernest Adams “Fundamentals of Game Design, 2nd Ed” 2009, Chapter 4: Game Words ( Elective reference)

3.David MaCrthy, Ste Curran, Simon Byron “The art of producing games” 2005. (Elective reference)

For modeling/rendering part of my project, I will learn to model the lymph node world in Maya Course MSc2016H, also I will use these following books:

1. Michael Ingrassia “Maya for Games: Modeling and Texturing Techniques with Maya and Mudbox” 2008 (Main textbook)

2. Luke Ahearn “ 3D Game Taxtures: Create Professional Game Art Using Photoshop” 2009 (Elective reference)

3. Lightmapping in Maya: (Elective reference)

http://unity3d.com/support/resources/tutorials/lightmapping-in-maya

4. Building Scene: (Elective reference)

http://unity3d.com/support/documentation/Manual/Building%20Scenes.html

First 6 weeks: I will focus on studying how to design the game world from the textbook. Meanwhile, I will learn to model 3D game world through Maya Course MSc2016H

Mid-term goal: To create the basic sketch of the map of whole lymph node world. To complete several comprehensive sketches for various individual parts of the map.

Last 6 weeks: To further gain Maya modeling skill for creating the game world and to learn texture techniques. To start bringing objects from Maya to Unity, and to organize the game’s environment.

End of term goal: Base on the comprehensive sketches, I will finish modeling and start to apply texture on the parts of the game world that has been sketched in detail in the first 6 weeks. In addition, I will bring those objects from Maya and finish setting up a small part of the 3D environment that allows characters to move around.

Long term goal: To design other parts of the lymph node world, to create comprehensive sketches for those parts, and then to eventually build up the whole 3D lymph node game world.