Garden Pond Test

Before I started creating the level, i wanted to have a play around with some different elements, such as the pond, the elevation of the ground and the general look of the house.

(Test render of the garden featuring pond, hill and house.)

In this test I merely wanted to get a better visual representation of the garden, aside from the floor plans and concept art. For the house I'm still deciding how much detail i want it to have. I could either A. Make it a simple cube with textured walls to look like a house, or B. Add a bit more detail, for example have the windows and door frames modelled to add a more realistic feel to it.

(Higher Poly Render of a house with garage and front garden)

The higher poly model looks a lot better but I feel its a bit too high poly for the game level, so I will probably pick somewhere between the two different looks, and try to compromise on certain aspects to retain the look of the high poly model, without being too excessive in the poly count.

Garden Gnome

Here are some images of the character I created for this module.

(Fully modelled character, in a simple light scene to show the details of the character. Untextured at this point)

(Different angled views of the character, textured)

More shall come soon...

Pond Concept Art

(Pond with Mysterious Figure, concept art)

The mysterious figure will be modelled in Maya, nothing too complex, as it will only be seen from above, and will be quite dark in the water. I would also like to include swimming fish in the pond to add some life to it.

The Pond

For the garden level, I've decided to include a pond to add another element to the game play. The pond can be accessed by a series of stepping stoned leading down the hill from the house. The player will be able to walk around the pond, as well as crossing it by jumping on lily pads. I want the level to gradually get eerier as the player progress further away from the house. The forrest on the other side of the pond will be dark and spooky, featuring ominous sounds and maybe a few surprises.

The pond will also feature something quite eerie, as the player crosses the lily pads, they will be able to see into the pond and at the depths (yes its going to be a deep pond) there will be a mysterious figure staring up. I got my inspiration for this from sculptor Antony Gormley who has produced such work as the Angel of the North, Iron Man in Birmingham, and many other human figures cast from his own body.

(Iron: Man, Birmingham, 1993)

I have always been fascinated by Gormley's work, ever since I art in High School. His work, which to some may seem all the same, has produced some fantastic work. There are a couple of his pieces in particular that gave me the idea to add something to the pond.

(Another Place by Antony Gormley)

Another Place is featured at Crosby Beach, and consists of 100 iron sculptures, spread across the beach facing out to sea. The reason I think this piece works so well, is the amount of character the 'iron-men' have, even though they cant move. They seem to be so human like which i think adds to the beauty/eerie-ness. 

Another piece of Gormley's that intrigued me was Sound II which is located in the crypt of Winchester Cathedral. The reason for this location was largely due to the frequent floods in the crypt. 

(Sound II by Antony Gormley, Winchester Cathedral, 1986)

This theme of iron men and water gave me the idea to create a 3D model based on Antony Gormley's work, an Iron Man looking up, which will be placed within the pond. The position will be such that when the character crosses the lily pads and looks into the pond, a dark figure staring back up will be seen. 

Gnome Level Floor Plan and Concepts

Today I designed the floor plans for my level. The character i have made is a gnome, so his natural setting would be in a garden. I've kept the floor plan fairly basic, just so i can get the layout and different areas. 

The different areas I've chosen are to allow for a different feel throughout the level. Around the back of the pond will be an area of bushes and trees, with this i can incorporate some spooky sounds with the dark setting round by the shed. The pond will feature some foliage such as lily pads for the character to be able to cross over to the forest at the back. 

As you may notice the shed and conservatory are missing in this diagram, this is because the purpose of this image is to show the elevation of the level, rather than it being just a flat garden. I want the player to be able to experience different levels of emotion, for example i want them to be scared as they enter the area around the shed and forest. Around the pond I want the player to be able to interact with the level, for example crossing the pond on lily pads, possibly swimming.