3D Class – Week 1
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This is my post about the screenshot analysis and the temp level that we did during the first week of 3D class. It’s a tiny bit more than 1000 words long (we were supposed to write 750-1000 words), but I just had too much to say…I hope it’s okay anyway! PART I: Screenshot analysis
In this first image there’s a tilted perspective which makes the composition a bit unstable, but in return gives it a feeling of action. The main focus is the character stepping on Batman. Not only do many of the lines in the image (the roofs on the buildings in the background for example) point at the character, but there’s also dramatic side-lighting and a blurred background which makes the character pop out. The monochromatic colour scheme (with the exception of some red details on the clothes and the pale red light coming from behind Batman) along with the low key values creates a very dramatic scene, and the small red touches gives it a feel of danger and fear.
In this second image the main focus is the statue, not only because it’s placed right at the center of the image, but also because there are many lines in the environment leading towards it. There’s also a lot of empty space around it, which makes its silhouette pop out more than most of the other elements of the image. The values are very high key, and along with the bright and vibrant colours it gives off a pleasant and warm feeling. Unlike the first screenshot, the perspective line is not tilted which gives the composition a stable and calm feeling. Since this place in the game (Bioshock Infinite) is supposed to be a kind of utopia in the sky, these colours and values are very well chosen and manage to capture the feeling of “the perfect place to be”.
The main focus in the third image is the building, and compositional-wise it’s very well planned. The contour lines of the boat point towards it, and the lever of the rudder points toward the house and a staircase, which is where the boat probably is headed and where it will be docked. The lines of houses around it also points at it, the bird is headed toward the house and points toward the ornament on the house’s roof. From there, the viewer’s eye is lead down to the rest of the building by its contour lines. Colour wise and value wise I would say that it’s a pretty earthy colour scheme with mid key values. They create a mysterious and dark environment, and capture the feeling of a foggy industrial town very well. Extra note: One great detail that creates even more focus and some storytelling into the image is that the house is the only house in the image where you can see light in the windows. It makes it even more clear that the house is important and that the player probably are on their way to visit it.
Just like with most of the aforementioned screenshots, the colour scheme in the fourth image is pretty much monochromatic with the exception of some reds. I would say that the red, just like in the batman screenshot invokes a feeling of danger, but it also adds to the environment, making the background looking rusty and uninviting. This image kind of has two focuses, which feels a bit similar to images created with the focus on negative vs. positive space. My focus constantly seems to shift from the character in the front to the monster in the back while looking at the image. And since they are placed the way they are, with one overlapping the other, it’s difficult to not see the other character even when trying to focus on just one of them. I would probably say that the monster is the most important part of the picture though, since most of the lines in the image lead to it, but also because it creates a story for the picture. If it hadn’t been there, it would just have been a character standing alone in a tunnel and the danger in the situation wouldn’t have been as evident as it is now. – – – Part II – Temp level
During Wednesday’s lesson we had to do a temp level for a game while being inspired by a keyword. I picked Journey since it was the only game I had some kind of idea of when it comes to the visuals, and the keyword I picked was “Solitude” since it was the one that I thought would fit the feeling of the game the best.
I first started out creating a desert with sand dunes and some mountains, so it would be less flat and “boring”. I then realized that I should try to have some kind of story behind the level, so I created a building to represent a temple and placed some objects in the sand around it. I made some pillars that I placed so that they would create some interesting angles and point towards the temple, and some slightly rugged stone blocks lying half buried in the sand. I thought that it would create an idea in the mind of the viewer that this place has been something bigger than it is now, and that it has been abandoned for some reason.
Even though it wasn’t obligatory, I created a small object to represent the player character (the dark red object) so that I could more easily show the difference in dimensions between the environment and the character, and also portray the feeling of a “a small person in a big world” which, in a way, is related to the feeling of solitude. When I showed my level to two other students they both got the game and the keyword right. (Although I don’t think it was that difficult to guess the game since I had the player object in my screenshots…) I thought both of the other students’ temp levels were really cool and well made. They both had planned and placed objects very carefully in their levels, which led the eye through the environment in a pleasant way. One of them had actually made their whole level monochromatic and used values to make some of the objects to stand out more than the others, which looked really great and was a smart way to create focus. The other one had made some really nice objects like an abandoned house, and also told the story behind the environment and the relation between the different objects in the scene while we discussed the screenshots. It was really interesting to hear their thoughts about their levels, and thinking about what stories you can tell with just an environment is really amazing and inspiring.  |
