Masters Year Final Project - Introduction: (29th May)
- Ryan Harlee Jones
- May 29, 2018
- 3 min read
What is this and upcoming posts about?
Since my last set of blog posts, I have been studying at Sheffield Hallam university on the MA Games Design course. Although the title is labelled as design, I have been working on projects focused on Environment Art. The weekly posts I will be making on this blog labelled with the Masters Year Final Project title will be following the process on this module.
What is your project about?
The project I'm working on is a continuation of one of the modules earlier in the year which is not documented on my blog. My goal was to create three small but detailed dioramas which all had the shape of a slice of pie chart. This way they could all be presented back to back, and available to view by "turning" the pie chart around. Although, the major quirk of my project was that the environments created were designed by listening to music tracks. What I mean by this, is that I chose a selection of music tracks that i listened to and then mind mapped the kind of things the melody made me think of. Using this as reference, I then attempted to create an environment designed via my imagination with the influence of music. Once the three environments are completed, they will all be placed into a single trailer edit which I plan to blend between the three environments being displayed with the relevant music layered on top. This project focuses on creating and finishing the second environment portion.
Fig 01. Diorama Designs (Jones, 2018)
What do you plan to accomplish in your project?
During the time of this project, I plan to create environment diorama two, out of the full set of three. The third environment was originally also a goal, although I have done some self reflection, and decided that focusing on one portion like I did with the last project is more efficient. Although the first environment was accomplished, there were a wide range of things that were not finished, or textures that were barely detailed. As much as I would like to push for two environments, I can't assume that I have improved enough to accomplish two environments without them both suffering for my over ambition. The environment will have the same style as the one before it, a stylised, saturated art style similar to games such as Sea of Thieves or Overwatch. A stand alone trailer for the second environment will also be accomplished to make sure that it can be displayed standalone during the time of creating the third portion of the project as a whole.
Fig 02. Personal Website (Blizzard, 2016)
Fig 03. Personal Website (Rare, 2018)
Why have you chosen an environment?
I have chosen an environment again because of my discipline. Most of my work created in the past has been environment art based, and I want to make sure to keep a consistent portfolio and gain a job in the industry which I specialise in. I also find that I'm a bit of a jack of all trades, and can accomplish different types of tasks given to me. Although, I wouldn't say that I excel in any particular area, and as a personal goal I would like to be more than just average at a specific area. So another environment like the ones before will help me to improve and truly specialise in the area I want to.
Fig 04. Personal Website (Jones, 2018)
What can we expect from future posts?
Future posts on the project will be structured in a way that displays the amount of hours worked that week throughout the individual days, and then a rundown of what tasks were accomplished on the different days. If I feel as though a more in depth discussion about a creation process or research is warranted or interesting, I'll make sure to go into more depth in a separate paragraph. I want to make sure to eliminate some of the filler text / waffle that I might place in the posts, and to do that, I'm going to make sure to break down the whole week very quickly at the start of the post so the important stuff has been noted, this then allows me to delve into more detail with areas I want without having to worry about filling marking criteria etc.
- Ryan Harlee Jones
References:
Blizzard (2016) Blizzardworld In-game Screenshot [PNG Image]. Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/search?biw=1920&bih=900&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=m0kNW434GY34gQbLib3IBg&q=overwatch&oq=overwatch&gs_l=img.3..35i39k1j0l9.186532.187542.0.187751.9.9.0.0.0.0.91.596.9.9.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.9.593...0i67k1.0.XoRHjdKQ3E0#imgrc=3xuojbg1Ol70_M:
Rare (2018) Sea of Thieves In-game Screenshot [JPEG Image]. Available at:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sea+of+thieves&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiz0faB-KrbAhVKIcAKHegmD2gQ_AUIDSgE&biw=1920&bih=900#imgrc=O65jcFjS7zruNM:
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