Tuesday 25 October 2011

Post Crit


After critiques with the panel i have received some decent feedback and recommended to watch many heist films. One of the biggest crits that stood out for me was that Mike stated that i may find that i cannot convey the story as well as hoped and find that its the excitement from the action of the robbery that out ways the environmental feel of the place. I feel what i have in my head is pretty gripping stuff. Having dynamic things like unsettled smoke and alarms blaring will be enough to hold some tension while the player explores the atmospheric set. I think if i nail the lighting and shape i can pull off a well rounded level. He also hinted at there "being something there" which i aim to prove in the coming weeks.

Other feedback was less insightful, stating my level would consist of basically two boxes. In the coming weeks when i begin to concept and explore designs i aim to prove a well structured layout.




Give me time :D

The plan (Before crits)


After my talk with Chris i felt i should stick to my guns and follow the path of the bank robbery scene. I began looking into places that could provide the adtitional reference i would need like bank vaults and doors etc. After a lot of searching i found several places down in London that were my best bet of getting some solid reference.


The flyer above from what i can gather is an old insight into what the 'Silver Vaults' down in London used to be. Alot of the background of this is very hush hush and is hard to find accurate evidence but from what i have found it looks like this place 'the Silver Vaults', is now a large jewellers situated in old vault rooms. The quality of the products is so high end i am unsure of what i will be able to gather in terms of reference and thats if im allowed in at all. If i am not allowed to take pictures at least i will have first hand experience of some ex-vaults. But like i said there is not much information on any of this so i might have to wrong end of the stick compleatly. Wish me luck.

As well as this there is the more reliable 'Bank of England Museum' which is bound to feature old and new bank assets that i am sure to be able to photograph. Ill be able to pick up a bit of background history there too and the building i believe is an ex-bank or again ex-vault.

The final one is less interesting and is the Hard Rock Cafes: 'The Vault' which is an underground exhibit of rock memorabilia locked in an old vault. Picking through the photos and guitars there is bound to be some reference hidden away down there.

360 view.

These references are pretty weak and unreliable but i will continue looking.

Sunday 16 October 2011

Review



After having a crit with Chris im a little confused as how to advance with this. He says i should maybe look into doing a gallery which i like the sound of and could still include most of the features i wanted in my first idea. But then he went on to suggest doing the local New Walk museum so i would have direct reference with everything i would need. This idea is okay but to me im feeling its lacking the edge of creativity i would get from doing the other two ideas.

As well as this, the gallery idea takes away my idea of 'one large lobby and simple corridors to a safe'. With this new concept i would have to have several gallery rooms which i feel would take away from the initial idea.

I am still undecided on this but as it stands i am still collecting reference and depending on how hard it is to get more bank pictures (especially of the vault) will determine my ultimate outcome. I feel i can get both ideas to work but am still loving the bank scene.

Monday 10 October 2011



I am wanting a grand lobby for my level like found in many old buildings still used as banks. Today i took a trip into town to collect some photographs for reference for creating the lobby.


For the several bank interior shots i asked permission and only took photographs above the head as not to include any people. This is some good starter reference and is already giving me ideas on how things should look.

[Banner image by: Tamas Gaspar]

This is blog will follow the progression of my FMP for 3rd year game art.

Deciding on a final scene fit enough for an FMP was challenging but i had a rough idea of where i was heading. I wanted to do an indoor scene with many detailed smaller assets and grand architectural foundations. A public place or at least a place where many people visit on a daily basis. I also knew i wanted an interesting story to my environment, shown through exploration and discovery of the level. Remaining a still scene, the surroundings would portray an interesting plot from a visual level.

The idea that fixated me the most was a bank robbery. The scene would be littered with debris from where the robbers had entered leading to the vault, sprung and empty. Sirens wiring and distant exterior police sirens blaring this level would be full if excitement and interest even though it will fundamentally be a still piece. I am personally interested in interaction so there will be plenty of things the player can interact with. Maybe lasers to be tripped or metal detectors to beep.

I want the setting to be a still morning with a strong sense of natural sunrise in the lobby. light shafts pouring through the celling where the robbers made their entrance. Dust will still be present in the air allowing for some interesting lighting and effects.

This will be the Next Day.