Federico Marchesi: Games Art and Design

Showing posts with label Games Art and Design. Show all posts

Mudbox normals

This is the last bin-bag I made as I had started the other two after a lecture with Lothar when he mentioned to start off in maya and make your own model and then sculpt the detail onto that.

The two bin bags after this were created from a sphere in mudbox.

I created the normals in Mudbox for all three and exported them all as .fbx for use in my scene in Maya.

I started off with a simple cube shape and generated more detail in it by inserting edge loops. I then deformed entire loops and specific edges so I could make the bag shape I wanted. The bow at the top was created by simply extruding 4 faces on each side opposite to each other and repeating the same process of detail creation by adding in edge loops. The only one thing extra I did to that loop was use the interactive split tool to create the inner seem where the bow is at it's thinnest running along the centre from top to bottom.

As you can see, straight away i neglected to keep the original form so the normal map is going to be unaligned.

Ignoring the fact the normal will be un-aligned I'm actually fairly happy with the wrinkles and tight look of this bag.

Although the ripples and wrinkles look kind of silly in this final sculpt, I think they look better when applied to the low poly model as they lose their three dimensional nature so their flaws are less obvious.

Apologies for the golden bin-bag, Mudbox refused to render this properly with default lighting. This is by far my most aggressively wrinkled and dented bag, it looks as though it's had the air sucked out of it similar to when you have fabric or soft items in a bag and squeeze it leaving it looking like this. It's my most interesting of the three bags but doesn't quite make sense considering it's location (outside the home).

Light and colour

The first image is a photo of hikers in the Indian Himalayas.
In this image you can see the snow reflecting light from the sun closer to the sun, and further away it begins to appear less reflective and have much more soft lighting. The colour of the sky is reflected much more strongly in the shadow of the hikers and because of the relative brightness of their dark side and the sky they appear to be silhouettes. The fog in the distant hill range reduces the intensity of the light and darkness that would be apparent if closer. They darkest parts of those hills aren't nearly as dark as the sillhouettes of the hikers and the brightest parts of the fog are just about as bright as the snow to the side of the image not reflecting the suns' bright light at us.
There is very little colour to speak of aside from that of the sky being reflected from the snow. The yellowish orangey tinge on the horizon is not rich in colour, I think this might be the case because this is shot from so high up. Maybe the fact we're above it and seeing the reflected light as opposed to being beneath the fog/clouds where the light would have been scattered through the fog and we wouldn't be able to see the direct sun light. The refracted light would have had to travel further and because we know colours are richer in the shade it's not entirely false for me to assume that those colours would be richer beneath the clouds.

This image is a screenshot from Crysis.
I think the user who took this had custom shaders or ENB mods or was simply using a custom config.
The water is refracted at the edge of the rocks creating the rainbow effect. The water is clearest the closer you are to it and reflects more light from the sky the further away you look (Fresnel effect). The blue hint on the distant objects indicates they are far away because of particulates in the atmosphere which absorb the weakest light frequencies. The weakest frequencies are reds and yellows leaving blues, the longest waves to still be visible. The intensity of the light from those distant objects is much lower as a result of the light having to pass through the atmosphere. The brightest pats of this image are the highlights on the rocks and white froth of the sea. both of which are right next to the viewer. The darkest shadows too are the closest becoming more and more washed out the further from the viewer the shadows are.
The brown of the rock is much richer in the darker, shaded areas of the rock, the same goes for the mossy green to the right of the image.
Underneath the surface of the water there is a caustic effect on the sand.

This painting by George Grie shows sub-surface scattering in the clouds as they do not fully reflect or absorb the light of the moon.
The water fall is lit by bounce-light which is why it has no harch shadows, nor do the huge statues holding the crust of the earth up. The boat however does have a harsh shadow as it is in direct light from the moon.

Notes from the lecture

light can be - Absorbed , reflected , refracted

you can see absorption when objects appear to be a certain colour or black. they absorb all the colours they're not reflecting.

reflected light is simply light that bounces of the object. the light that because of the objects properties is able to proceed in it's course as opposed to being entirely nullified.

refraction is when light is bent, this happens through water or glass or other transparent substances. the substance has a particular make up that channels the light in a specific fashion.
this very property is utilised in 3d glasses you wear to the cinema

frensel effect - how reflective a substance is based on viewer position
water is transparent from above with very little reflection
from next to the surface looking along it you can see reflections much more clearly and see through the water much less.

sub-surface scattering
when an object doesn't fully absorb or reflect light it will pass through it
you can see this effect by shining a torch through your finger tips or your ear using a mirror. the light appears very soft and will glow with intensity relative to the thinness of the substance.

BA 5 Production | Platform and Distribution

Project Leader: Lothar

We'll be creating digital assets. 2D, 3D and integration in a real-time environment.
Continue with previous project or create new game design document over holidays.
I'll be continuing on with the existing game design document and create 3D assets for a street in a slum.
Walk through, block out level (level design), fully playable level (only really feasible for a 2D platformer)
Cryengine, UDK, GameSalad, Stencil
I'll be making a walk-through in Cryengine 3.
We will have no scripting/coding lessons
We're required to produce a video and playable demo if we choose to work on a 2D title
Video and walk-through and the level for 3D
Video of a fly-over and level for level designing

CS - Platform + Distribution
Relationship between the platform and content
Independance of platforms and their exclusive content
We're aiming to have a facebook timeline of the last 2 decades of development in the field
We can look into the hardware and how that's affected the content on each platform which in turn will affect distribution to a degree.
Innovations in game content and the platforms themselves.
We'll need to blog our research

5 minute presentation on holidays' research

MoH Revamp - Influences

One notable game we really liked the look of for the UI was Splinter Cell: Conviction. It's modern, clean and clear cut style is very easy to read and doesn't distract too much from the game.

I was really inspired by Crysis having such varied gameplay with an obviously linear route with plenty of space for attempting new tactics.
This video series by Nanosuitninja clearly demonstrates the variety of tactics you can use in Crysis aswell as a very thorough guide series that explains most of his tactics.

The audio meter from Metal Gear Solid was an essential part of making stealth gameplay with sound as the key mechanic for being spotted possible.

In metal gear the ring surrounding the player vibrates and lifts in the direction of enemy foot-steps or noises. We want a similar effect but only as a signifier for nearby noise, not revealing the location as well without checking the PDA.

The suit itself was inspired by multiple things, the marshal police uniforms featured in Neotokyo as well as a real life prototype for a new soldier suit and clear influence of Crysis can be noted in the piping and general appearance of the helmet. The spinal section looks as though it draws from Dead Space. The overall look is also very similar to

While researching the conflict in south america i talked to a friend who will remain anonymous
here's what he shared with me http://pastebin.com/bCtUJjqd

Colour history lecture

Things I found interesting from this lecture were that you'd have people hired to mix colours for you called colour men. This was way back when painting was something only the rich could afford as the colours were so difficult to produce and that Disney do colour scripting to create specific moods for each and every scene.

This image is just an example of basic scripting with obvious use of colour by Hannes Rall

Some books to look at and research are:

Opticks - written by Isaac Newton the Physicist

Colour: Travels Through The Paint Box - Victoria Finlay

Propp Presentation

Vladimir Propp - Morphology of the folk tale
The functions of dramatis personae - Spheres of action
7 Spheres -
1 The villain
2 Donor
3 Helper
4 Princess/Father
5 Dispatcher
6 Hero
7 False Hero

Propp says there's a privilege of function over the individuality of the character, they're all essentially tools in developing the story.

For our presentation concerning this we need to find a couple of games with strong narratives and analyse them in terms of Propp's list of functions.
We'll compare and contrast the two games in terms of their structure. The breif is as follows:
Consider the world of the game as a dramatis personae.
What spheres of actions would you assign to these two worlds and why?

We (Aaron and myself) chose the Portal universe, both Portal and Portal 2 and Alan Wake for this mini project.

We thoroughly investigated the functions of the two games and found the following:

1 ABSENTATION: A member of a family leaves the security of the home environment. This may be the hero or some other member of the family that the hero will later need to rescue

2 INTERDICTION: 'don't go there', 'don't do this'). The hero is warned against some action

3 VIOLATION of INTERDICTION. The interdiction is violated (villain enters the tale). This generally proves to be a bad move and the villain enters the story, although not necessarily confronting the hero.

4 RECONNAISSANCE: The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance (either villain tries to find the children/jewels etc.; or intended victim questions the villain). The villain (often in disguise) makes an active attempt at seeking information, for example searching for something valuable or trying to actively capture someone. They may speak with a member of the family who innocently divulges information. They may also seek to meet the hero, perhaps knowing already the hero is special in some way.
6 TRICKERY:

7 COMPLICITY: Victim taken in by deception, unwittingly helping the enemy. The trickery of the villain now works and the hero or victim naively acts in a way that helps the villain.

8 VILLAINY or LACK: Villain causes harm/injury to family member (by abduction, theft of magical agent, spoiling crops, plunders in other forms, causes a disappearance, expels someone, casts spell on someone, substitutes child etc., commits murder, imprisons/detains someone, threatens forced marriage, provides nightly torments);
9 MEDIATION: Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched, hears call for help etc./ alternative is that victimized hero is sent away, freed from imprisonment). The hero now discovers the act of villainy or lack, perhaps finding their family or community devastated or caught up in a state of anguish and woe.
10 BEGINNING COUNTER-ACTION: Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action. The hero now decides to act in a way that will resolve the lack, for example finding a needed magical item, rescuing those who are captured or otherwise defeating the villain. This is a defining moment for the hero as this is the decision that sets the course of future actions and by which a previously ordinary person takes on the mantle of heroism.
11 DEPARTURE: Hero leaves home;
12 FIRST FUNCTION OF THE DONOR: Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc., preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor);
13 HERO'S REACTION: Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive, reconciles disputants, performs service, uses adversary's powers against him);
14 RECEIPT OF A MAGICAL AGENT: Hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears, eaten/drunk, help offered by other characters);
15 GUIDANCE: Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search;
16 STRUGGLE: Hero and villain join in direct combat;
18 VICTORY: Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in contest, killed while asleep, banished);
19 LIQUIDATION: Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken, slain person revived, captive freed);
20 RETURN: Hero returns;
21 PURSUIT: Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat, undermine the hero);
22 RESCUE: Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is hidden, hero transforms unrecognisably, hero saved from attempt on his/her life);
23 UNRECOGNIZED ARRIVAL: Hero unrecognized, arrives home or in another country;
25 DIFFICULT TASK: Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks);
26 SOLUTION: Task is resolved;
28 EXPOSURE: False hero or villain is exposed;
30 PUNISHMENT: Villain is punished;

Yellow highlights that the function belongs to that of Alan Wake

Blue highlights that the function belongs to the Portal universe

Purple highlights that the function is shared by both games.

Degree classification and GDD content

Degree classification
25% year 2
75% year 3
Grade calculation

Pitching and Game Design Document

The pitch should have the USPs of the title as well as a few other key points to do with the product. There ought to be a pricing system as well.

Sell sheets should include the main idea, the target market, title, genre, number of players and the platforms it'll be aimed to be released on.

If we've the time we can produce a mini video or story boards to better communicate our vision of the title in a short demonstration.

Audience A - People who understand gaming development

Audience B - Everyone else

The game design document is made in mind for people belonging to audience A and the pitch aswell as sell sheet must work for everyone else as publisher may not be familiar with the technical details of game production.

Gamepitches.com would be a good place to research how we should be doing this.

other notes: summarise the story/plot as well as creating a visual theme for the documents will help bolster the initial impression of the title.

What we need to do:
1 - Create a pitch document for presentation and hand in
2 - Present that pitch
3 - Design Document
4 - Blog research and development
5 - Research document as well as a studio work file
6 - 500 word evaluation of the project

Re-vamping a franchise

For this project we were given a choice of several franchises to develop a game idea that would breath new life into the series.

We chose the Medal of Honour series and have come to the conclusion that a futuristic take on a south american drug war would be an interesting setting for the game to explore.
We will research the weapons, the way the gangs operate and how drugs affect the nation as well as general millitary tactics and un-conventional tactics to spice up the gameplay.

Notes concerning the plot:

Drugs have been developed in such a way that nano-bots/dragon breath-like chemical will inhibit free will leaving addicts slaves to the drug gangs.
They may have a sort of hive-mind ability making their presence even more dangerous as they can quickly and efficiently share information with each other telepathically. With no leadership addicts in the US will merely become susceptable to manipulation. If the drug is to have a nano-bot inside we can also introduce an EMP-like effect that could temporarily disable newer technology. We had discussed the US maybe depending more on electronic weaponry making the fight in the south more difficult.
There is moral ambiguity about the fight as the militia are under the influence of a drug, although they are however guilty of being a drug addict. It's up to the player to decide if they should use deadly force or risk an assailant waking up from a non-deadly shock/round.
The south will be using modified old (conventional) weapons so as to be comparable in force to the US's newer technologies.

Changes from the recent tutorial:

Make the game less futuristic, use existing drugs for similar effects, PCP, dragons breath, cocaine
the combat and feelings we want to produce can be done without the mystical nano-drug. this'll have a broader audience as there will be people who won't want a completely sci-fi shooter.
experiment with new drug concoction that makes addicts more impressionable. america seeks to clamp down as it's citizens become drone-like.
south american addicts are kidnapped and dosed on other drugs to make them better soldiers.
CoD skull finding/ Halo collectible system, contextualised via US gun-tracking scandal. could proide extra score bonus to the level or upgrades or secret ammo cache. slight addition to the existing MoH single player competitive play.

Tribe - tv show
http://www.bbc.co.uk/tribe/tribes/babongo/index.shtml

Kony
http://invisiblechildren.com/about/history/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/tribe/tribes/sanema/index.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/tribe/topics/knowledge.shtml

Joseph Kony’s tactics were—and remain—brutal. He often forced children to kill their parents or siblings with machetes or blunt tools. He abducted girls to be sex slaves for his officers. He brainwashed and indoctrinated the children with his lies and manipulated them with his claim of spiritual powers.
At the height of the conflict in Uganda, children “night commuted.” That is, every evening they would walk miles from their homes to the city centers. There, hundreds of children would sleep in school houses, churches, or bus depots to avoid abduction by the LRA.
Kony and the LRA abducted more than 30,000 children in northern Uganda.

Plot

You play as a Mexican in the US Army
Drug violence spreads to the US
US responds by clamping down the borders and neighboring drug production places in SA
Introduced to the Golden Triangle
Missions work from the border going deeper and deeper into the drug production world
When you get there people are more powerful than before, invigorated by the land and their produce.
This is the heart of drug production, marijuana and opium, it's your goal to secure the area.
The people of this area have been doped up on a special version of PCP the drug leaders developed that will last indefinitely. (much like how the MC of Limitless developed his own version of NZT 48)
Final boss idea - He's fixed himself on the perfect PCP version needing no refreshers. Your goal is to dose him with an imperfect version to bring him back to vulnerability. At this point you can either kill or arrest him.
Choice 1 - You kill him - The knowledge of how he developed the drug and the lab's whereabouts die with him, and it continues to be produced and consumed.
Explore further around the Golden Triangle for clues to the whereabouts of the lab.
Choice 2 - You arrest him - You can interogate him, but you have to keep him dosed all the way back to the US or else he'll return to his improved state.
Fail state for choice 2, you mess up the QTE and he escapes en-route
Win state for choice 2, you keep him dosed and you find out where the lab is, unlocking the extra mission
Lab mission - Guards are all under different PCP effects, some more effective than others.
If you kept him alive you get the chance to do the stealth version of the lab mission, letting yourself into the facility.
If you killed him you can't get in with ease, you need to force your way in, this may alert the guards.

The golden triangle is a perfect setting for a wave-based mode. The area is sought after for it's great fertility.

---------------------

Below are a few links we'll use to make the game seem more realistic, we'll base the weapons on existing weapons in the region as well as the plot that will have some ties to current affairs there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batalh%C3%A3o_de_Opera%C3%A7%C3%B5es_Policiais_Especiais

M16 rifle
M4 carbine
H&K PSG1 sniper rifle
Benelli M3 shotgun
FN P90
IMBEL MD97
H&K MP5 A2 and K
H&K G3
H&K 21
Taurus PT92
IMBEL 9mm
Frag grenades
FN FAL
FN PARAFAL
M1 carbine
weapons used by BOPE

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2004/sep/29/table-top-accelerators-make-progress
might be cool to introduce this as a weapon feature

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phencyclidine
Moderate doses (5–10 mg intranasal, or 0.01–0.02 mg/kg intramuscular or intravenous) will produce analgesia and anesthesia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gunrunner

Project Gunrunner is an operation of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) intended to stem the flow of firearms into Mexico, in an attempt to deprive the Mexican drug cartels of weapons.[1]
In early 2011, the operation became controversial when it was revealed that Operation Fast and Furious and previous probes under Project Gunrunner had allowed guns to "walk" into the hands of Mexican drug cartels since as early as 2006

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATF_gunwalking_scandal
Operation Fast and Furious, by far the largest "gunwalking" probe, monitored the sale of over 2,000 firearms, of which nearly 700 were recovered as of October 20, 2011.[15]A number of straw purchasers have been arrested and indicted; however, as of October 2011, none of the targeted high-level cartel figures have been arrested.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/10/mexico-wide-receiver-reaction-guns-weapons-left-right.html
REPORTING FROM MEXICO CITY -- Mexican politicians and pundits reacted with anger to revelations this week that U.S. agents allowed guns to be smuggled into Mexico under a secret weapons-tracking program that preceded the current focus of controversy, called Operation Fast and Furious.
Commentators from across the political spectrum expressed criticism after The Times revealed this week that a Fast and Furious-style gun program under President George W. Bush allowed guns to "walk" across the border into Mexico during 2006 and 2007.

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/
http://www.blogdelnarco.com/
These two sites have a huge amount of posts concerning the drug violence and corruption in mexico and south america.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/09/20/169179/mexicos-zetas-crime-gang-using.html
MEXICO CITY — Needing to replenish its ranks, Mexico’s brutal Los Zetas crime gang has refined the tactic of springing hundreds of its members in mass jailbreaks. But unlike the Hollywood version, the jailbreaks don’t involve overcoming guards, crawling through dingy tunnels and scattering once outside the fence. Instead, scores of dangerous inmates simply walk or drive out the gates in cahoots with wardens and prison guards.
The jailbreaks, including one this week in which 129 inmates fled a state prison near Piedras Negras, across from Eagle Pass, Texas, lay bare Mexico’s broken penitentiary system, where wardens either bend to organized crime or face death.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/08/21/163000/rumors-of-war-within-mexicos-los.html#storylink=misearch
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s largest crime group, Los Zetas, appears to be splintering into two rival factions locked in occasional open warfare with each other, experts say.
The factions are tussling for control of the central states of Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi and are battling each other in parts of the Yucatan Peninsula.
What sparked the rift is unclear, but signs of the apparent split have come in public banners left at crime scenes, replete with accusations of betrayal and treason between factions led by the two top leaders, Heriberto Lazcano and Miguel Angel Trevino.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/09/27/169904/mexico-nabs-alleged-crime-lord.html
He commanded 400 gunmen and his turf included Zacatecas and Aguascalientes states as well as parts of Guanajuato and Coahuila states, the statement said. At one time, he controlled gang operations in Monterrey, a key industrial hub in northeastern Mexico, it added.
A bitter feud broke out a few months ago between Velazquez, who also is known as “Z-50,” and one of the two top leaders of Los Zetas, Miguel Trevino Morales. It led to a series of tit-for-tat murders in their respective ranks, including a dump of 14 bodies in San Luis Potosi on Aug. 9.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/09/17/168769/mexican-us-relations-improve-in.html
WASHINGTON — Despite ongoing violence south of the border, cooperation between Mexico and the United States has reached unprecedented levels.
Violence in Mexico has claimed more than 35,000 lives since President Felipe Calderon came into office in late 2006. Most of the fighting has been between drug gangs, but the violence has left Mexicans questioning Calderon’s war on drug trafficking.
Poire credited U.S. intelligence with helping Mexico capture the alleged kingpin of the Gulf Cartel, Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez, known as “El Coss.” The State Department had a $5 million reward out for his arrest.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/10/02/170364/central-america-drug-case-vexes.html
MEXICO CITY — It’s become known as the case of the “fake journalists.” And it’s a headache that just won’t go away for Televisa, the Mexican firm that’s the largest mass media company in the Spanish-speaking world.
Six weeks ago, border agents in Nicaragua detained a large crew moving in six news-gathering vans with the Televisa logo, finding more than $9 million in cash and traces of cocaine in the vans. Prosecutors later charged the 18 Mexicans with money laundering, drug trafficking and organized crime.

http://convan.newxip.info/r.php?nin_u=Oi8vd3d3LmFpcnBvd2VyLmF1LmFmLm1pbC9hcGppbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsL2Fwai1zLzIwMDkvM3RyaTA5L2JyYW5kc2VuZy5odG0%3D&nin_b=1&nin_f=norefer
+
http://www.hellonearthblog.com/2011/02/who-hell-are-los-zetas.html
+

general info on Los Zetas

http://borderland-beat-forum.924382.n3.nabble.com/Zetas-Training-and-Tactics-td4029902.html
A selection of detailed responses to tactical questions about gand conduct and combat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_San_Fernando_massacre ctrl F
a man wearing....
please sir...
a driver of one...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heriberto_Lazcano_Lazcano - Z3 - Z40's boss/co partner
Z40 is loyal to Z3 (Heriberto)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Trevi%C3%B1o_Morales - Z40

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2012/09/when-taliban-called-z40-traitor-trevino.html
When banners purportedly signed by Velazquez recently appeared in various cities — accusing rival Miguel Trevino and his followers of being traitors — Trevino reportedly sent steam shovels and earth-moving equipment to smash one of Velasquez’s homes in the Zacatecas city of Fresnillo. The Committee to Protect Journalists took photos:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhenli_Ye_Gon
Zhenli Ye Gon is a Chinese-Mexican businessman accused of trafficking pseudoephedrine or ephedrine precursor chemicals into Mexico from Asia. He is the legal representative of Unimed Pharm Chem México. From 2002-2004, Unimed had been legally authorized by the Mexican government to import thousands of metric tons of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine products into Mexico, as a part of its vast importation business.

He is claimed to be a member of the Sinaloa Cartel, a charge that Mr. Ye Gon, who has no previous criminal record, has denied. He became a citizen of Mexico in 2002.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinaloa_Cartel

The Sinaloa Cartel is associated with the label "Golden Triangle", which refers to the states of Sinaloa, Durango, and Chihuahua. The region is a major producer of Mexican opium and marijuana. According to the U.S. Attorney General, the Sinaloa Cartel is responsible for importing into the United States and distributing nearly 200 tons ofcocaine and large amounts of heroin between 1990 and 2008.

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?156820-Weapons-seized-from-Drug-Cartels-by-Mexico-s-Military-amp-LE-%28updates%29/page51
photos of seized gear
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?156820-Weapons-seized-from-Drug-Cartels-by-Mexico-s-Military-amp-LE-%28updates%29/page42 gang shot in transit - warning graphic images

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2012/07/chapo-isidro-history.html
gang affiliated with los Zetas, they produce much of the opium and marijuana

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2011/09/35-zetas-executed-in-boca-del-rio.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NjRB7fuils
Article about Zeta gang being killed and left in the road, previously bound, gagged and tortured.
Video is of the people who claim to have done it.

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2012/05/mexican-security-forces-seize-32-tons.html
Un-marked container obviously flagging up as suspicious, mexican authorities attempting to determine who has legal responsibility of the huge shipment.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/blogs/crime-and-punishment/australian-illegal-drugs-among-worlds-most-expensive-20110616-1g5ie.html#ixzz28gqPZDxv

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/09/world/americas/mexico-zetas-cartel-boss/index.html
http://borderland-beat-forum.924382.n3.nabble.com/EL-LAZCA-KILLED-td4033402.html;cid=1349809804501-561
http://borderland-beat-forum.924382.n3.nabble.com/file/n4033444/a73.png last image of him alive
http://borderland-beat-forum.924382.n3.nabble.com/file/n4033541/28d143cb6d55a0ffd37eb9a0dabc4283_int470.jpg last image of him ever, he's dead in this
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19880968 - has a great key for drug traffic and gang influence

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2012/10/m-1-sinaloa-cartel-cell-leader-killed.html opposing gang leader (sinaloa gang) died, el M1

Aaron's post

M16 modified
-exhaust capture chamber for more reliable shell expulsion, battery pack for the chamber and ergonomic chin/cheek rest

M4 modified
- similar exhaust mechanism with visibly obvious connection to battery pack, and hand guard attached to the fore-grip, same chin/cheek rest

Getting to grips with this handy brush set from Anthony Jones http://schoolism.com/interview.php?id=78
Andes inspired piece

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?152629-Mexico-deploys-an-additional-5-000-troops-to-Juarez-to-fight-drug-cartels

When making the texture for the backdrop and floor I used the offset filter in photoshop to make the edges blend seemlessly.
For all my other objects I used the Polygon>snapshot tool in maya to create the outline for my texture and then used photoshop effects like.
To create the turntable movie I followed this guide (http://www.jawa9000.com/Technical/turntable/turntable.htm) and then instead of using after effects I used photoshop to compile all the rendered images into a .mov file.

When trying to render a test frame from my scene I came across an error that seems to only happen when using maya software rendering.
Some of my objects had no shaders assigned to them, I'm not entirely sure what this means but apparently it has something to do with when I assigned a material to them. I tried again with maya hardware rendering and I didn't have this problem again.
The only problem now is that I can't seem to get any real shadows to cast properly, I have varying shades on the actual object but the intensity of light behind the object doesn't change at all.

There are white lines that appear on the roots that aren't actually there on the texture, I'm not sure as to what's causing this issue.

CS - The role of robots in eastern/western culture.

Animism plays a key role in how the east has such an accepting policy on robots in their culture, this ancient belief that all objects have a spirit enables them to trust anything be it a robot, person, animal or rock to some degree.
This contrasts with the west's belief that only god can give life, so anything man-made will definitely not inherit any kind of personable features. It will be cold and lifeless, regardless of how well it behaves and how impressive it's disguise, no one will trust it as much as an easterner.
The west researches military applications for robots where as Japan researches much more heavily on the every day application of robots. The west prefer robots to be able to emotionally express themselves effectively where as the east doesn't care so much about whether they can do it realistically but care more about the actions they take and read into those for the emotional intent, despite there being none.

Having talked to people who watch anime quite avidly I rounded down my research into a few animes that feature robots and robotic themes.
I watched the entire series of Time of Eve (Ivu no Jikan) which essentially covers all bases of what he think the east and west represent when it comes to robot culture.
There are characters who don't trust or want anything to do with robots and there are people that absolutely love them and use them for companions. They have their own derogatory term for an android-holic which is Dori Kei. An android-holic will treat an android as though it were another person. Within the show there is a political group who are actively against this kind of behaviour. I think the use of androids in eastern culture is far more acceptable than in the west, because they actively research how to make androids more intelligent and lifelike in behaviour, where as in the west we aren't doing anything of the sort. The furthest we've come with any kind of human-like android application was when Disney created a robotic Einstein.
Within the show there are robots that are quite clearly robots, undisguised with metallic bodies, but there are also much more modern versions that are completely identical to a typical person appearance, the only way you know they're a robot is by the holographic halo above their heads. This plays a key role in the show as they enter places known as grey-zones where they are allowed to turn their halos off and behave as though they are humans to better their understand of us.

This series uses the 3 laws written by Isaac Asimov, that a robot must:

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

These laws have been used in spirit in many productions. I, robot explores these laws in depth from a westerners point of view in a world where they are accepted by the majority. He's right to distrust the robots for the most part but one who has a mind of his own unlike any of the other robots gains the leads trust to overthrow the seemingly evil master computer that controls robots to seek out and destroy the lead as he is seen as a threat.

In both cases the laws were upheld by the robots but they took drastically different actions. One where humans would be locked away for their own good, and the other viewing that as oppression and an infringement of freedom.

No such disaster is present in Time of Eve but it certainly has very strong opinions on either side of the argument as to whether robots can be trusted, concluding with the opposite outcome to i, robot that they can be trusted and the morality circuits function perfectly well.

--Edit--

I'm now using Lee's research for the presentation, giving the research I've done to Aaron to support his part in the presentation.

This is a short clip from Time of Eve I recorded to support one of our points but didn't put in the presentation as it was quite long.

These are the sketches I've made for my metroid styled doorway.

Before these I made a few other sketches of things that I didn't carry forward into this design.

An origami like folding door would have been interesting to animate, but it just looked far too complicated and didn't keep in with the metroid style I had commited to.

The bottom image is of various door designs, I kept trying to think of different ways a door could function.
Bottom left - shutter like design
Bottom middle - swivelling panels that also shift outwards
Right - a magnetic sort of spinning door in the style of these toys

Top - opening shell, dome like for missile resistance.

Architecture research

Architecture I've found interesting in games.

Mirrors edge has some of my favourite architecture, and graphic design for that matter. It's clean, sleek and cool. Vibrant colours contrasting with the incredibly sterile environment are very refreshing breaks from the monotony of the strictly regulated city-scape.
The DLC takes the abstract side of the art works through out the game to an extreme. Entire time trial levels are made from coloured blocks floating in a crisp blue sky. The lack of a real context makes these levels incredibly surreal and some times disorientating.

Hard Reset too is set in a city but a far more grotty one. The whole mood of the game is much darker as a result of the rough weather and midnight setting. The buildings are often partly destroyed or derelict and have a distinctly old fashioned look about them. Nothing in this city is pleasant apart from the digital displays.

The Metroid Prime series have some really quite lovely level design. The ruins look incredibly old and lived in. Specifically I thought that the actual design of most doors was quite cool, but it didn't quite conform to the rest of the feel of the game, at least in my opinion any way. Playing through the games it felt odd that such a ruined place could still have incredibly clean and polished fully functioning electrical doors. I think that some of the other doors like in some of the puzzles actually felt more authentic and fitting to their environment.
I loved how a lot of the environments had glowing blobs and plant life wriggling through all the cracks of the structures. It gave the environment a life of it's own.

Painkiller has some grande buildings with wide expansive spaces to fight off hordes of enemies. The architectural style reminds me of brutalism in some buildings. It's another game with ruins, but these are of arenas and temples that are found in real life, unlike the structures in MP.

This isn't part of the task but I think I'll take some of Gaudi's ideas and try to apply them to my designs. I hope they give it some sort of intrigue and a solid feel. One of my pet peeves is things not seeming to be as strong as they are, so hopefully working with Gaudis principles of using the shapes of nature to produce a structure I can make my door at least look realistically stable.