14/04 - Update

Last week when we had the discussion session with the lecturers, we were told that everything was going along quite smoothly. However, I did get a bit of feedback regarding the initial rose bed print on the plate. 

Initial Design

The lecturers mentioned that the black lineart was slightly harsh in comparison to designs on different existing plates. After looking around, I realised that other plates usually lacked a black outline and usually looked as if they were stenciled on the plate. If they did have a lineart, they were usually a darker shade of the design's colour, rather than having it as an actual black outline. 

Different plate designs for a small mood board ><

I ended up using the original design and altered certain aspects of the print.

Changing the lineart from black to white by erasing them entirely so it comes out with transparent lines, rather than actual white lineart in case we didn't use a white plate.

Removed the lineart entirely from roses to accent the shadows of the roses to define the actual shape. It also gave a blurred appearance which caused a softer look.

Repainted the entire print without lineart with an airbrush for a stenciled effect. I personally feel this looks more like a design that would be found on a plate but I would have to discuss this with my group members. There are less shadows, with the only ones being seen on the leaves with a darker shade of green. 

From these three simple changes, I decided to test them by roughly adding them to the screenshots of the plate model before creating any more variations. This was to ensure that it actually looked presentable as a design on the plate.

I had an initial discussion with Jerwin and he seemed to think that the design looked fine on the plate which is a plus ><

I actually understand what the lecturers meant regarding the black lineart: I feel even though it is small, it creates a harsh contrast with the white plate and accentuates the roses a bit too much. 

Interactive Narrative - Week 7

During the first "story" of the game "The Wolf Among Us", I noticed that the level included a wide variety of narrative elements to help convey the beginning of the story, as well as getting the player involved with the narrative.

The first level is designed in a way that allows the player to experience all the different game mechanics during the unfolding of the initial narrative.

When the beginning unfolds, the player is only told of Bigby's position as the Sheriff of Fabletown and straight away, they will encounter Toad: a fellow resident who is lacking financially to buy glamours for his family. The game then immediately provides dialogue choices for the player and this game mechanic is one of the few deciding factors towards the player's non-linear gameplay for a rather linear narrative. Soon afterwards, the player is introduced to the "point and click" mechanic which will be crucial to the progression of the narrative when discovering clues in the future. Along with this, a fight with the Woodsman allows the player to experience quick time events which mainly occur during conflict. Within the first few minutes, the game already has introduced the player to the different mechanics within the game and along with the cutscenes, the game shows the initial catalyst to the entire narrative: the mysterious death of a female fable Faith. Game designers Eric Zimmerman and Katie Salen state that,
"A game is a narrative system in which the narrative experience of the player arises out of the functioning of the game as a whole." (2003)
The gameplay itself can also be seen as a test regarding the player's morales, as the moral choices made are the main factors impacting the player's narrative experience. The game does a good job in introducing these mechanics while also playing out the story itself: there is no tutorial level implemented within the game as you go to save Faith from the Woodsman during their first violent encounter.

Another narrative element the player is introduced to within the opening of the first level is the interaction with Bigby. I personally find Bigby interesting in the sense that he includes qualities of both a "character" and an "avatar", while leaning more towards the former. Bigby can be classified as a character because the player can acknowledge the fact that Bigby has his own thought process and personality within his own universe. However, Bigby also can be viewed as an avatar for the player in the sense that he is an extension of the player's consciousness. Jessica Aldred's article states,
"Any productive analysis of video game player-characters must acknowledge this duality, and the constantly shifting relationship players experience with their character as a result, osillating between identifying with the characters as an extension of self, and relating to it as a separate, fictional entity. Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman (2004) have termed this fluctuation state the "double-consciousness" of play." (2013)
I feel that the term "double-consciousness" identifies Bigby's role regarding how he interacts with the player. During gameplay, the way he acts without player input follows his own character, whereas areas of player input, such as when exploring areas for narrative progression, are decisions made by the player. It could be said that the game giving the player an option to open Prince Lawrence's closet is a part of Bigby's character, while actually deciding to open it is up to the decision of the player. Giving this kind of protagonist to the player opens up their experience to a deeper level, as it grants the player access to actually feeling as if their decisions are a deciding factor for how the narrative plays out.

"The Wolf Among Us" is a game that incorporates many different narrative elements such as the game mechanics within the level design, and the element of "double-consciousness" regarding the player's interaction with Bigby as a character, and as an avatar. These elements are clearly portrayed in the first level and are used to unravel the first chapter towards the initial linear storyline through the non-linear gameplay. Clever use of these elements allows the game to successfully capture the player's attention into wanting to embrace their role as the protagonist and take part within the story this fictional world wishes to tell.

Resources
Telltale Games. (Developer). (2013). The Wolf Among Us [Video Game]. United States: Telltale Games

E. Zimmerman, K. Salen. (Game Designers). (2003). Rules of Play [Book]. United States: MIT Press

Aldred, J. (Author). (2013). Characters from: The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies [eBook]. Routledge
Retrieved: Retrived: http://animation.onlearn.co.nz/pluginfile.php/2711/mod_resource/content/0/Characters.pdf

07/04 - Update

Our group met up today to get the filming out of the way >< (Thank you Mikayla and Michelle Zhen for letting us film at the apartment!)
Throughout the day, I helped around with adjusting minor details within the storyboard and acting to make it appear more natural. As the director, I was also the person who decided whether some shots were good enough or not, along with my group members.
Jerwin's friend gave us advice regarding how we can bounce light off different surfaces, so at some point, I was adjusting the paper we were bouncing the light source off to direct it towards the desired area.
..Mikayla and I was also tasked with taking numerous photos of the work environment ><

Bouncing the light off paper~

...We forgot we had a tripod

Jonathan filming

Prepped food :D

Men, use your muscles

We decided that the wall threw off the white balance with how blank it was.
...This was also a chance to add character to Michelle Zhen's character.

Took photo of the lighting within the fridge: good idea for the title screen concept

An orange tinted light was added to the bottom of the fridge. It was casting
shadows on the sponge (butter) but that can be fixed when we add the plate
and through matte painting.

Everyone! Get in here!

Initial light test while Mikayla was preparing the "food"
From this, we knew that the scene wasn't bright enough and created too much contrast.

Hello to our actress ><

Acting with a slight over the shoulder + high angle shot

The lighting for the fridge was great for setting up a romantic atmosphere
around Butter inside the fridge.

Pointing the light directly at the scene created too many harsh shadows
so we had to bounce them off walls too.

Michelle getting reading for filming

Jonathan checking again :D

Lights

(Photos from Mikayla and Myself :3)
Everyone was pitching in ideas during the filming so it ended nicely. Just have to go through and select the footage we want in the final piece.
Lighting was a problem initially because the apartment was quite dark. Problem solved: Jerwin's friend provided us with multiple lamps with a yellow light. This was able to produce a rather romantic atmosphere for the lighting which we can complete with a pink filter during the editing stage.
...Time for us to get ready for editing! ><



Regarding the plate:
I ended up modelling the roses that sit on the plate.

The middle...

Adding the first few petals

Second layer

I will say that I am a bit glad it didn't turn out as something....that doesn't look like a flower OTL However, I'm not entirely sure if it's the look I'm going for so I intend to ask what the group members think about it. Adjustments must be made depending on how we decide to texture the plate.

Little stand added

I also made a rough addition to the plate to see how it would look with it. (It isn't connected to the actual plate yet). I actually think it looks a lot better than having it as a flat plate.

I also just added the roses onto the plate to see how it looks so far. The base of the plate also had colours altered because I wasn't too sure of having just a white plate. (A sort of colour test?) This was because the fridge itself is white and I wanted the plate to have even the slightest difference in colour to not blend in with the background.

I personally think the purple shade would create more contrast with the yellow butter but I'm going to need to get the opinions of others. I also have to remember that the rose bed will be in the center of the plate...

ONWARDS TO NEXT UPDATE! ><

03/04 Update

Colouring Done

I was able to get the rose bed coloured today :D I wanted there to be shading, but not in excessive amounts so it would only be to the extent of accentuating Butter's presence, rather than overpowering him.

On top of that...I should probably update another about the plate. >.>;
Progress shots of the plate modelling!

One half done >.>;

I initially used duplicate special to mirror the geometry

I hadn't connected the vertices yet so I went ahead and did so.
But...

..#@%!@#%!@%
I was greeted by new faces and disappearing vertices?;;

...No worries however! A fellow classmate came to my assistance! T_T;

I was told to use the mirror geometry tool in the mesh tab instead

Mirrored twice and done!

For now, I added a white blinn for the texture to get a better idea
 of what it looks like so far

Smoothed out

Haven't added the bottom yet ><

From this, I noticed I really need to brush up on Maya and go back to and try remember everything we learned last year: I have to model roses T_T;;;;