The Third Dimension

After a summer lost in the uncharted wilds of Nyköping, I have finally returned to school to start studying again. This time, I will venture into the third dimension, learning to work in 3ds Max.

Our first assignment using the software was to make a mock-up environment that could fit into a game of our choice (we picked ‘Journey’). We would then chose a key word (in our case ‘solitude’) from a list, and try to somehow use that word to inspire our creation.

Even though I have actually never played the game, I know ‘Journey’ is already all about solitude. Even if you ignore how you play the game, the whole dessert setting really get you a long way in saying ‘dude, you’re all alone’. We put scattered the slopes with pieces of a ruined old temple, sending the message that this place was probably once filled with people, though not any more. We made the temple in three pieces, standing separated from each other. The idea was that this was once a great place of community, but was disbanded a long time ago, and the people have gone their own paths. This was to further convey the feeling of abandonment and good times turned bad.

When I actually started building the environment, I found myself struggling intensely, trying to tame the alien software. I unknowingly locked my viewport to a static camera, accidentally deformed a wall of the building, made some of the modeling options disappear, and could never find the tools I needed. By the time we had about fifteen minutes left, I had just finished one of the three building pieces. Luckily I had managed to learn how to deal with the software by that time, so I managed to throw out the two other pieces, along with some pillars to mark an entrance, trying to signify that the ruins belong to a single building.

When showing the screenshots to other groups, they could guess both the game and key word right away. However, it’s not really that unexpected, the mock-up didn’t stride very far from what ‘Journey’ looks like, and I think most people would pair ‘Journey’ with ‘solitude’.

There was one of the other groups’ screenshots that I found quite nice. They had also chosen the word solitude, and had placed a small building on the edge of a peninsula, stretching into a lake. I think the composition  of the water surrounding the house  made it look lonesome. I also think the choice of putting the house on a peninsula instead of an island gave it a calmer feeling, having the water approach from all sides would have made it feel more cramped and stressful.

All in all, I think this assignment went well. I might have struggled a lot, and the finished piece didn’t look much like my sketch, but it was the very first time I’ve used 3ds Max, and I really learned a lot, so hopefully things will go a lot smother in future 3D assignments.

Following is a summary of our screenshot analysis’s made during class:

 Batman:

Pretty much all lines, including the camera is angled in this shot, which gives the picture a feeling of movement and action. There are also few objects in the picture, allowing the viewer to easily focus on the two characters without any distractions, which further indicates that the picture is taken from an action scene.

The standing character is the primary focus in the picture, this is indicated by the spotlight illuminating his armor. He is also the most clearly visible character, and wear the only bright visible colors in the picture, to make us look his way.

The background does also have some interesting details; there are some lines coming in from the right, ending abruptly as it hits the wall to the left, conveying a feeling of impact.

Bioshock Infinite:

We found this one a bit more challenging. This picture is a lot steadier than the previous one, it’s horizontal and a bit more symmetrical. It’s very bright and have few contrasts making it feel safe and calm. However, the picture also get some life from the statue, flying city parts and funicular railway, making it seem spectacular and dramatic.

I believe what they really wanted to say with this scene was how glorious the city is. I think what really makes this picture pop is the statue in the center which sort of binds everything together, making it look structured and powerful.

Dishonored:

This picture is colorless, yet bright, making it feel somewhat melancholy. It uses mostly  horizontal lines, making it calm, yet has the towering buildings forming a canyon. The canyon makes foreboding path into the city, which the the boat is heading towards.

All in all, the picture transmits a foreboding feeling provided mainly by the two tall buildings  marking the path into the city.

Penumbra:

Similar to the ‘Batman’ picture, this one is dark, and it’s only strong color is red. the close walls on all sides provide a cramped claustrophobic feeling. The teeth in the background, framing the character also transmits a feeling of danger. Finally, the red light provides heavy contrasts and hard shadows, supplying a moody frightful lightning.

There’s one element that we found clashing with the rest of the picture; the character in the middle has a proud stature, and  stands firmly in the middle of the picture, seeming somewhat out of place in the overall fear themed picture. My only idea is that they wanted to tell the viewers that the character is on an important mission and doesn’t back away from evil surrounding him.

To sum it up, the picture transmits an ominous feeling, particularly thank to the lightning and worn looking wall textures. However, the character in the middle looks a bit too bad-ass.