I want to demonstrate some advanced particle/weather effects if I get space in my timeline while creating my honours practical project. When I was playing Gears of War 3 with friends during the campaign there is particular part in the final chapter that shows amazing effects with Rain and really setting the mood. This was the biggest thing that stuck with me in this game, the fact that the game was made in the Unreal Engine demonstrates what is possible when creating my own environment in UDK. Below is a link to the video that shows what I am explaining, go to 1:25 to see the level in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXkIWUsOt9Q
November 13th 2001 saw the release of Halo: Combat Evolved from Bungie. This game was a massive hit and was visually amazing for its time. Now, November 13th this year celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the Halo franchise with the remake of the very first Halo game. The game itself will remain the same but updated with new environments from which the player can switch simultaneously from classic Halo to the latest graphics.
This will be amazing to see the comparison and where technology has got to in the last 10 years, for research this will be a clear indicator of the standard that environments are made to today that I can then apply to my own worlds. Below is the link to a walkthrough of a re made maps from Halo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiULVRFIikw
From Bethesda we saw the magnificent world of Morrowind that proved be a huge hit with it's massive open world environments and the freedom to do anything you wanted and tell your own story. Following this there was Oblivion which, too, was a great success but many did complain about the games flow and didn't always feel smooth to play. But releasing in November is the next installment: Skyrim that is raising the bar for immersive environments.
The entire world is not being created in the conventional way of procedural building' but in fact everything you see in the entire world has been built by an artist even with its 150 random dungeons too have all been crafted for a unique experience. Skyrim like its predecessors will be a ginormous world, which, I think will be a great source for research to see the various environments and how they make me feel when travelling through them.
I got the book d'artiste: Matte Painting 2: Digital Artists Masterclass (D'Artiste) from the library and I got loads of amazing images from inspiration to help with my design ideas. Below are some of the images that I thought were useful:
'Chimneys' by Brandon Kachel (p106).
I really liked the composition in this matte painting with the path that leads you straight to the large structure in the background.
'Chinese Village' Raphael Lacoste (p51).
Raphael Lacoste has been now Art director on Videogames and Cinematics (CG) for more than 7 years, he worked at Ubisoft on such licences as Prince of Persia and Assassin's Creed. I love his work because they appear so detailed yet full of character. I really liked this painting because of the simple colour palette but it creates a chilling atmosphere with the contrast of the lights.
'Hall of the Dragon Mist' by Tiberius Hoaghea ( p57).
I really like how your eye is focused into the horizon which then leads your eyes to the structure at the back. I love the vibrant colours, we get the feeling of warmth and calm when looking at this.
'Lights of Nedella' by Amir Salehi (p47).
The silohuette of the dragon caught my attention in this picture which then leads you to the castle below. Also the way the castle is lit gives the structure a mysterious vibe.
(Top image) 'Assassin's Cred: Nothern Kingdom' by Raphael Lacoste.
(Bottom image) 'Mythical China' by Roger Kupelian.
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