Full Title: Game 3004 Final Major Project - Final Renders and Evaluation (Week 18) (08/05/2023)
After some work and polish here are the final renders; my project summary can be found at the bottom.
Final Renders)
Short Video - “A Teenager in Love”)
Asset Zoo and Wireframe Video)
Summary and Critical Evaluation)
Overall I must say that this has been the most enjoyable project to date. It started off a bit rocky considering I took some time to come around to the diner concept. There have been many hardships and problems along the way especially around lighting and my textures. However I feel I have gathered a greater understanding and appreciation for lighting in the engine alongside the creation of modular kits. I ended up making 1 more room than I initially intended to in regards to the storage area and even a short film detailing a short but sweet narrative of a “teenager in love”. However to answer the big questions:
Have I met my brief?
In summary yes, with even a few stretchgoals met regarding the jukebox, animations and sound design. However one aspect of my goals was to have modular walls be availablein the final modular kit set to use, which I did originally have in project. But ultimately chose to merge into one as to reduce lighting issues.
What could I work on to improve the diner?
I still believe I can push for further detail on my textures to make for more believable and worn results. Especially with decals focused on wall/furniture wear rather than stians/dirt. I could also redo the higher poly version of the sofas as to sculpt more believable leather material and proportions.
What would I do differently should I restart the project?
I would definitely experiment with adapting the structure of the diner to be less like the classic cart stretch design. Whilst originally this cart layout did prove useful on the railway, it does limit the space for more legroom and further interesting seating arrangements. This could also increase space in the kitchen/toilets as the overall building wouldn’t be limited in its width.
What are my overall closing thoughts?
I definitely didn't expect to explore filmmaking as much initially at the start but this project has definitely inspired me to look further into editing and creating short clips of my scenes to a more narrative standpoint. My greatest challenge has had to have been the front of the house section since originally it was going to be so much more neon pink and blue teals. However with my peer feedback and growing understanding of designing more better composed scenes I strangely enjoyed decluttering the diner and scaling everything back to a more vintage destaurated warm reds. I end up overscoping or overusing my assets to the degree where it can become noisy and muddled so taking that step back to ensure that the true focal point shines through alongside making my render more cinematic with the film settings; truly changed my scenes for the better. And taught me a great deal along the way.
Lighting wise I believe this is my strongest level to date. And I definitely want to explore further venturing into Unreal Engine 5 with this project or other softwares to really dive into simulations/modularity on an unparalleled scale such as Houdini to push the limits of my models to the extreme.
I do want to also close off on a formal thank you to all my peers in class who helped give invaluable feedback and advice on how to tackle certain issues: looking at you Barry that lighting tutorial was a game changer. And many more friends and lecturers who helped out tremendously. I would not have gotten here without them and their support. Stay tuned to this blog for more cool works to come!