Are sci fi hallways too overdone?
polycounter lvl 8
Okay, so today I was thinking about what I want my third demo reel piece for school to be.
I have these two so far (not done):
Fantasy Town
-Exterior, modular level
-Hand painted textures
-Cartoony fun style
Killa Kan
-Vehicle (walker/mech)
-Hand painted textures
-Will be rigged, some small animations.
I kind of want to cover my ass and not force myself into the hand painted texture niche (as much as I love it) so my third thing will be a realistic environment.
I have 3 months, and both the things Ive mentioned are about half done
Criteria Ive set for myself for the third one:
-interior
-realistic
-modern/sci fi
I was thinking, seeing as I only have a few months to do this, to do a modular spaceship interior that could use hallway segments. However, I've seen this done a lot before...
If you have any ideas for a scene that would be relatively quick to pull off that isn't super cliche that matches the criteria I set for myself, then please, let me know
My aim is to get a job as an environment artist. Sorry for the long post, and thanks for reading
I have these two so far (not done):
Fantasy Town
-Exterior, modular level
-Hand painted textures
-Cartoony fun style
Killa Kan
-Vehicle (walker/mech)
-Hand painted textures
-Will be rigged, some small animations.
I kind of want to cover my ass and not force myself into the hand painted texture niche (as much as I love it) so my third thing will be a realistic environment.
I have 3 months, and both the things Ive mentioned are about half done
Criteria Ive set for myself for the third one:
-interior
-realistic
-modern/sci fi
I was thinking, seeing as I only have a few months to do this, to do a modular spaceship interior that could use hallway segments. However, I've seen this done a lot before...
If you have any ideas for a scene that would be relatively quick to pull off that isn't super cliche that matches the criteria I set for myself, then please, let me know
My aim is to get a job as an environment artist. Sorry for the long post, and thanks for reading
Replies
airport/starport
hi-tech command and control room
shopping mall (fairly easy plus its a blast to come up with store names)
One of the things games are particulary good at is creating environments designed to be alive, existed within, rather than a passing glance. "Games can be thought of as narrative architecture" -Jenkins.
So it's not what we're looking at but where we're looking. What kind of hallway is it? Where is it? Who needs to travel in it? Environments in games should try to tell a story, even a tiny one.
Basically if you show somebody who has never seen it before and ask them to tell you about it and they go "looks like a sci-fi hallway" then maybe it needs a bit more.
quoted ftw!
Think about details you can add to tell a story - blaster marks. Repairs that have been done. Warning signs. Advertisements and notices (if it's a public area).
Think of the people that may use the corridor and add detail which supports this "story" E.g. a tube corridor in london what's the story? People commuting to / from work, travelling, public transport - what's there? Cameras for security. Locked doors for staff. Signs for commuters, fire alarms, orientation maps, timetables, ads, etc. You can probably translate this idea into sci-fi.
Keep purpose in mind - while people can do great work just with abstract designs (remember the Star Wars Destroyers with little boxes and what not all over), but for places where the player can get closer to the object, it helps if the objects "make sense" and you put some thought into them - what is their purpose? If an item has purpose, it has the potential to tell a story.
Add props that have been "left" by the people using that corridor - this can tell a story. E.g. someone lost something and it's lying on the floor. Or trash lying around. Or the military equipment left behind from a training exercise that's not been stowed yet.
Think about backdrops that enhance the setting or story - maybe your corridor has windows to somewhere. Use that to enhance the feel.
Advertisements, interactive panels, broadcasts, signs are a great way to add story and sci-fi settings often support those methods. As example I often mention the movie Idiocracy, which is one of the best examples of adding background story via details (I wish there were a HDTV version!). Take this movie, stop it somewhere, look around - there's tons of custom ads, notes, billboards, video panels that tell a story. There's lots of details in the background mattes supporting the story of a "stupid world in the future", ranging from huge dirt piles (remains of the great garbage avalanche) to broken down highways, etc.
Actually if you give it some thought, you can make even the most generic corridor interesting by just adding story and props / deco that supports it.
Nothing wrong with a Sci-Fi Hall.
What would be wrong is making a Sci-Fi Hall nobody remembers.
I'd say that the gaming industry in general outwardly exhibits an attitude of idealised innovation and the chase for unique thinking.
people in the future are still quite likely to want to push trolleys around.
If the goal of your portfolio is to make an portfolio that sticks out from the rest then your Sci Fi corridor really has to pop out.
Alternately if you want to go on in a different route, (if you are not a concept artist like me) You could go to websites where concept artists go,find a nice concept of an environment that is small and self contained, ask the concept artist for permission to make it and use it for portfolio purposes. If the artist agrees then make it.
For starters you'll have something different that isn't a sci fi corridor, secondly youll show that you can take someone else s concept and make it in 3d, which is akin to production experience. Third Sci fi corridors are boring and overdone!!
Handpainted is good if you're making a WOW clone. But the two big ones for that have launched and died, respectively.
With next-gen around the corner, handpainted WoW-killers are not where you want to be focusing your efforts - you want to be making things realistic, with high budgets and more complicated shaders than your standard D/N/S (sometimes with gloss!) type materials.
Oh, the layers of irony in this thread and this comment.
You're right about making something different that stands out...Now to design something or find some concept art.
Has anyone happened to come across any interesting modular scene concepts that would stand out? I've scoured Feng Zhu's website but couldnt find anything I really liked/ that didn't seem cliche.
If any of you are concept artists that have a cool scene let me know
PS: I feel bad for replying with this measly post in comparison with all the advice I was given. I read everyone's post and it has all been great advice!
You can do ALLOT with such an area but most just create boring corridors.