Realistic 3rd Person Stealth Mod i.n.o. Assistance
polycounter lvl 18
Website: http://www.dreamscapemod.com/
Email: canuck@dreamscapemod.com
Title: Dreamscape: Pin Point Blank
Team: Lucid Thought Productions
Target Aim: 3rd Person Single-Player Half-Life 2 Total Conversion
Looking for: Modelers, Concept Artists, 2D Level Designers, Graphics Artista, Musicians, Sound Effects Guys, PR Representative. (all volunteer positions)
Hey guys, my name is Canuck and I'm the Assistant Lead/Programmer for the Dreamscape modification. The following is a recruitment post.
We are looking for individuals who can help speed up our development. Before I explain my mod, let me try to answer a possible question that might pop up in your mind right now; "Why would I want to help your project?"
There are a few reasons:
1. Unlike many of the mods out there and there are many out there (it's in the hundreds), this modification has taken the time to prepare before beginning development. We are using an organized approach. How? We have decided to complete a several page long design document before officially starting development. That way, when we start development, all team members will know what needs to be done.
We are also using a project management system called dotProject, which greatly simplifies task tracking and other management processes. It is a simple and effective way to manage a modification.
We are serious about this. Many of us are putting our day jobs on the line just to work on this mod. We will complete it and that's all there is to it.
2. I'm assuming that most of you here are aspiring artists, modelers, etc. and I bet that most of you would love to draw, animate or 3d model for a living. Wouldn't that be great?
Well, most employers are looking for people who have worked in some sort of team environment. I can attest to this fact, because when I was interviewed by IBM, over 50% of their questions were related to some team aspect. What did I do? I used my previous modding experience to show that I can not only work well in a team, but that I can lead a team. I got the job.
3. This is a great learning experience. If you want to get into the game industry, modeling for mods is usually the route to go. Game employers want people who can apply their skills to practical situations and since a mod is very close to what a Game Development team goes through, this experience is valuable.
Background Story:
Dreamscape: Pin Point Blank is a single-player 3rd Person shooter based on Valve's Source technology (Half-Life 2). The game has been designed to take into consideration the player's preferred style of play; whether this be stealth, action or a combination of both. At the same time, the design has made sure that the game is fun, addictive and easy to play. Dreamscape has a compelling story set in San Diego, California, where the main character is Virgil the Virgin Coltreese; a former underground crime ring bodyguard previously an accountant. Virgil gets pulled back into his old life by his brother who has gotten into some serious trouble with a drug ring run by Apollo Kardova, a lowly syndicate kingpin. Apollo's son, Angelo, who isnt exactly down to earth, is more worthy of the title of Kingpin, but must wait patiently for his turn. Virgil runs into an old colleague working for the Kardovas; Job Fisk. Job's an old hitman from the ring which he escaped years ago. Job is now working as a Kardova bodyguard. Through Job, Angelo Kardova gives Virgil a chance to rectify his brothers deeds and keep them both alive. He puts Virgil to work, but soon the Kardova family starts crumbling. All hell breaks loose and the jobs dont seem to matter as much as staying alive.
The main purpose of Dreamscape is to create an enjoyable game that players will want to keep coming back to.
Features:
* Realistic depiction of San Diego, California.
* Pin Point System - Accurate Damage model.
* Point Blank System - Close Combat fighting
* Engrossing Storyline.
* Ability to drive clones of real vehicles. - Corvette, Viper, and Mustang
* Extensive single-player campaign that spans 10 large levels.
* Control your sanity level or risk commiting suicide.
* Buy and sell drugs to make a profit. - Buy for cheap, Sell for high. Earn money to buy weapons/ammo.
* Use your profit to buy weapons, armor, or more drugs.
* 20+ weapons including melee weapons.
Timescale
July 2005 - September 2005
Research and Development
October 2005 - Completion
Official Development begins.
Recruitment
* We are looking for a Prop Modeler who can model static objects such as a Lamp, Rock, Tree, etc. You should be experienced with 3Dsmax, XSI, or Maya. We are looking for quality modelers only.
* Weapons Modeler who can model some of the 20+ proposed weapons. The weapons section in our design document is complete. Therefore, your modeling process will be made easier. Again we are looking for good modelers only. An individual who can model props as well as weapons will be preferred.
* Character Modeler. Must be very experienced in modeling and must be willing to learn the HL2 modeling mechanics.
Modelers who can animate and/or texture will be preferred.
* 2D Level Designer. You will draw blueprints for one of the 10 proposed levels. Applicants with some knowledge of architecture are preferred.
* Graphics Artist. You will create in-game art as well as promotional art.
* Texture Artist. You will be creating textures for many of the levels in the game.
Finally, individuals who have experience with the Source engine will be preferred over others.
--==F A Q==--
What is the game?
Dreamscape is a highly story driven single player 3rd person shooter. The game combines a hyper-realistic damage model with some very surreal and interesting gameplay elements. There are no plans for a multi-player version of Dreamscape at this time.
Why create this game?
We feel that the demand for 3D Third Person Shooters on the PC is still really high. Over the past few years, the amount of games that have been released under this genre has been fairly low when compared to the FPS market.
This game will offer many features to the Third Person Shooter genre such as the Pin Point Damage system and the Point Blank System.
We want to create a modification that will be received well by Half-Life 2 community. This is our main goal and the reason we started this mod. And we feel that we can do it, but we need more help. This is where you come in.
What is the main focus?
Our main focus is to develop a game which combines the real and the surreal into an exciting and engrossing single-player experience. We want to use the elements of surprise, realism, strategy, surreal and interaction to our advantage.
Surprise our storyline will contain so many plot twists that you wont know who to believe!
Realism/Strategy The Pin Point damage system will make the player think tactically. Why? Because one shot from the NPC could be fatal. Thus, the user will tend to value his life rather than risk it in a fire fight.
Interaction With the advent of the Point Blank System, users will now have an incredible amount of choice with respect to how they eliminate an NPC. The Buy and sell system also fits into this category.
Surrea - Sanity Levels must be controlled or the player will risk being affected by hallucinations, blurred vision, and other side affects.
Whats different?
The Point Blank System is a unique melee system. Heres an example of one of its features: Once you have a person in a chokehold, you can opt to twist his neck in either the right or left direction. This will done through a simple swipe of the mouse in either the left or right direction. The states, unconsciousness or death, will be determined by the velocity of the swipe.
This game will have no health bar. Player animations will accurately reflect the degree of hurt on the player.
Ok, so what have you done so far?
As said, we are working on the design document. We are using a wiki to add/edit information in the document. As for a rough estimate to the number of pages currently in the document, I would say that we have about 50 pages completed so far.
Currently, we are implementing prototypes for some of the unique features in our mod such as the Point Blank System and Sanity Level. A very early version of the Sanity Level and Radar can be seen here:
http://www.dreamscapemod.com/mod/Other/hud1_large.jpg
http://www.dreamscapemod.com/mod/Other/hud2_large.jpg
http://www.dreamscapemod.com/mod/Other/hud3_large.jpg
We are also busy in the modeling department. The following was modeled and partially textured by our 3D Lead, Mark. This was done today and is still Work in Progress:
Our concept artists are also working very hard. Here's an example of SilverGinja's work. Sprout is one of the main characters in our mod:
If you would like to help, please reply or email me at canuck@dreamscapemod.com
Email: canuck@dreamscapemod.com
Title: Dreamscape: Pin Point Blank
Team: Lucid Thought Productions
Target Aim: 3rd Person Single-Player Half-Life 2 Total Conversion
Looking for: Modelers, Concept Artists, 2D Level Designers, Graphics Artista, Musicians, Sound Effects Guys, PR Representative. (all volunteer positions)
Hey guys, my name is Canuck and I'm the Assistant Lead/Programmer for the Dreamscape modification. The following is a recruitment post.
We are looking for individuals who can help speed up our development. Before I explain my mod, let me try to answer a possible question that might pop up in your mind right now; "Why would I want to help your project?"
There are a few reasons:
1. Unlike many of the mods out there and there are many out there (it's in the hundreds), this modification has taken the time to prepare before beginning development. We are using an organized approach. How? We have decided to complete a several page long design document before officially starting development. That way, when we start development, all team members will know what needs to be done.
We are also using a project management system called dotProject, which greatly simplifies task tracking and other management processes. It is a simple and effective way to manage a modification.
We are serious about this. Many of us are putting our day jobs on the line just to work on this mod. We will complete it and that's all there is to it.
2. I'm assuming that most of you here are aspiring artists, modelers, etc. and I bet that most of you would love to draw, animate or 3d model for a living. Wouldn't that be great?
Well, most employers are looking for people who have worked in some sort of team environment. I can attest to this fact, because when I was interviewed by IBM, over 50% of their questions were related to some team aspect. What did I do? I used my previous modding experience to show that I can not only work well in a team, but that I can lead a team. I got the job.
3. This is a great learning experience. If you want to get into the game industry, modeling for mods is usually the route to go. Game employers want people who can apply their skills to practical situations and since a mod is very close to what a Game Development team goes through, this experience is valuable.
Background Story:
Dreamscape: Pin Point Blank is a single-player 3rd Person shooter based on Valve's Source technology (Half-Life 2). The game has been designed to take into consideration the player's preferred style of play; whether this be stealth, action or a combination of both. At the same time, the design has made sure that the game is fun, addictive and easy to play. Dreamscape has a compelling story set in San Diego, California, where the main character is Virgil the Virgin Coltreese; a former underground crime ring bodyguard previously an accountant. Virgil gets pulled back into his old life by his brother who has gotten into some serious trouble with a drug ring run by Apollo Kardova, a lowly syndicate kingpin. Apollo's son, Angelo, who isnt exactly down to earth, is more worthy of the title of Kingpin, but must wait patiently for his turn. Virgil runs into an old colleague working for the Kardovas; Job Fisk. Job's an old hitman from the ring which he escaped years ago. Job is now working as a Kardova bodyguard. Through Job, Angelo Kardova gives Virgil a chance to rectify his brothers deeds and keep them both alive. He puts Virgil to work, but soon the Kardova family starts crumbling. All hell breaks loose and the jobs dont seem to matter as much as staying alive.
The main purpose of Dreamscape is to create an enjoyable game that players will want to keep coming back to.
Features:
* Realistic depiction of San Diego, California.
* Pin Point System - Accurate Damage model.
* Point Blank System - Close Combat fighting
* Engrossing Storyline.
* Ability to drive clones of real vehicles. - Corvette, Viper, and Mustang
* Extensive single-player campaign that spans 10 large levels.
* Control your sanity level or risk commiting suicide.
* Buy and sell drugs to make a profit. - Buy for cheap, Sell for high. Earn money to buy weapons/ammo.
* Use your profit to buy weapons, armor, or more drugs.
* 20+ weapons including melee weapons.
Timescale
July 2005 - September 2005
Research and Development
October 2005 - Completion
Official Development begins.
Recruitment
* We are looking for a Prop Modeler who can model static objects such as a Lamp, Rock, Tree, etc. You should be experienced with 3Dsmax, XSI, or Maya. We are looking for quality modelers only.
* Weapons Modeler who can model some of the 20+ proposed weapons. The weapons section in our design document is complete. Therefore, your modeling process will be made easier. Again we are looking for good modelers only. An individual who can model props as well as weapons will be preferred.
* Character Modeler. Must be very experienced in modeling and must be willing to learn the HL2 modeling mechanics.
Modelers who can animate and/or texture will be preferred.
* 2D Level Designer. You will draw blueprints for one of the 10 proposed levels. Applicants with some knowledge of architecture are preferred.
* Graphics Artist. You will create in-game art as well as promotional art.
* Texture Artist. You will be creating textures for many of the levels in the game.
Finally, individuals who have experience with the Source engine will be preferred over others.
--==F A Q==--
What is the game?
Dreamscape is a highly story driven single player 3rd person shooter. The game combines a hyper-realistic damage model with some very surreal and interesting gameplay elements. There are no plans for a multi-player version of Dreamscape at this time.
Why create this game?
We feel that the demand for 3D Third Person Shooters on the PC is still really high. Over the past few years, the amount of games that have been released under this genre has been fairly low when compared to the FPS market.
This game will offer many features to the Third Person Shooter genre such as the Pin Point Damage system and the Point Blank System.
We want to create a modification that will be received well by Half-Life 2 community. This is our main goal and the reason we started this mod. And we feel that we can do it, but we need more help. This is where you come in.
What is the main focus?
Our main focus is to develop a game which combines the real and the surreal into an exciting and engrossing single-player experience. We want to use the elements of surprise, realism, strategy, surreal and interaction to our advantage.
Surprise our storyline will contain so many plot twists that you wont know who to believe!
Realism/Strategy The Pin Point damage system will make the player think tactically. Why? Because one shot from the NPC could be fatal. Thus, the user will tend to value his life rather than risk it in a fire fight.
Interaction With the advent of the Point Blank System, users will now have an incredible amount of choice with respect to how they eliminate an NPC. The Buy and sell system also fits into this category.
Surrea - Sanity Levels must be controlled or the player will risk being affected by hallucinations, blurred vision, and other side affects.
Whats different?
The Point Blank System is a unique melee system. Heres an example of one of its features: Once you have a person in a chokehold, you can opt to twist his neck in either the right or left direction. This will done through a simple swipe of the mouse in either the left or right direction. The states, unconsciousness or death, will be determined by the velocity of the swipe.
This game will have no health bar. Player animations will accurately reflect the degree of hurt on the player.
Ok, so what have you done so far?
As said, we are working on the design document. We are using a wiki to add/edit information in the document. As for a rough estimate to the number of pages currently in the document, I would say that we have about 50 pages completed so far.
Currently, we are implementing prototypes for some of the unique features in our mod such as the Point Blank System and Sanity Level. A very early version of the Sanity Level and Radar can be seen here:
http://www.dreamscapemod.com/mod/Other/hud1_large.jpg
http://www.dreamscapemod.com/mod/Other/hud2_large.jpg
http://www.dreamscapemod.com/mod/Other/hud3_large.jpg
We are also busy in the modeling department. The following was modeled and partially textured by our 3D Lead, Mark. This was done today and is still Work in Progress:
Our concept artists are also working very hard. Here's an example of SilverGinja's work. Sprout is one of the main characters in our mod:
If you would like to help, please reply or email me at canuck@dreamscapemod.com
Replies
For the above picture, the eyes are placed way too far apart, the mouth is too low, the chin is too small, and the eyebrows wrap around the head in a rather odd way. This is all due to one problem, the face texture is too large for the model. I assume the texture artist used a photograph and pasted in on as the texture. He needs to scale it down a bit. At the very least, just move the eyes closer together. It kinda freaks me out.
Oh, and just as a piece of advice, as Im sure you know almost all mods are never able to get anywhere near to completion. If I were you, I would suggest that your team focus on creating a small demo, or even just the first level, instead of trying to work on everything at once. You'll be able to focus only on that small portion's art assets, and your goal will seem easily reachable to your team. If youre able to complete that, than you'll have a better chance at moving on to the rest of the game.
Anyways, good luck
Actually, we're not working on everything at once. At this point, we're working on the models, textures and concepts for the game. Our programmers are working on prototypes. 2D Level Designers are working on blueprints. But our main focus is on the design document. I know it sounds like a lot, but dP (dotProject) is a very helpful tool in managing what everyone does. As for mapping, we are holding that off until our blueprints are finished.
But yes, once we start official development we will focus on the first level of the game just like how the original Half-Life was made.
I'm guessing that most of you are already working on your own projects. Or is there something else? Do you want to see more progress made in the mod before helping out?
Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.
Good luck with your mod...
Email: canuck@dreamscapemod.com
Title: Dreamscape: Pin Point Blank
Team: Lucid Thought Productions
Target Aim: Half-Life 2 Total Conversion
Looking for: Graphic Artists, Prop Modelers, Character Modelers, Environment Concept Artists, Mappers. (all are volunteer positions)
Hello everyone. My name is Canuck. I am the assistant lead at Lucid Thought Productions. We are a non-profit organization that aims to create unique and satisfying single-player games. We are working on our first title, Dreamscape: Pin Point Blank, a third-person stealth game based on the Half-Life 2 engine.
Background Story:
Dreamscape: Pin Point Blank is a single-player 3rd Person shooter based on Valve's Source technology (Half-Life 2). The game has been designed to take into consideration the player's preferred style of play; whether this be stealth, action or a combination of both. At the same time, the design has made sure that the game is fun, addictive and easy to play. Dreamscape has a compelling story set in San Diego, California, where the main character is Virgil the Virgin Coltreese; a former underground crime ring bodyguard previously an accountant. Virgil gets pulled back into his old life by his brother who has gotten into some serious trouble with a drug ring run by Apollo Kardova, a lowly syndicate kingpin. Apollo's son, Angelo, who isnt exactly down to earth, is more worthy of the title of Kingpin, but must wait patiently for his turn. Virgil runs into an old colleague working for the Kardovas; Job Fisk. Job's an old hitman from the ring which he escaped years ago. Job is now working as a Kardova bodyguard. Through Job, Angelo Kardova gives Virgil a chance to rectify his brothers deeds and keep them both alive. He puts Virgil to work, but soon the Kardova family starts crumbling. All hell breaks loose and the jobs dont seem to matter as much as staying alive.
Features:
* Pin Point System - Accurate Damage model.
* Point Blank System - Close Combat fighting
* Engrossing Storyline. - Plot twist after plot twist.
* Extensive single-player campaign that spans 10 large levels.
* Control your sanity level or risk commiting suicide.
* Buy and sell drugs to make a profit. - Buy for cheap, Sell for high. Earn money to buy weapons/ammo.
* Use your profit to buy weapons, armor, or more drugs.
* 20+ weapons including melee weapons.
Timescale
July 2005 - September 2005
Research and Development
October 2005 - Completion
Official Development begins.
========R E C R U I T M E N T========
Graphic Artists
* Must have experience in Photoshop and good knowledge of composition
* You will be helping the programmers with respect to the Main Menu and HUD.
Prop Modelers
* You should be able to model real world objects.
* Examples include Moniters, Rocks, Lamps, Statues.
* We prefer 3D Studio Max/XSI modelers who can also texture.
Mappers
* Must have extensive knowledge of the Hammer Editor.
* We prefer candidates who can model there own props.
* Mappers MUST be able to draw or follow existing blueprints.
Character Modelers
* You must be an excellent modeler.
* You must be prepared to show us at least one example of a character model.
Environment Concept Artists
* Draw environment concepts based on the design document text.
We do NOT want slackers. If you're lazy, you will be removed from the team. Simple as that.
Individuals who have experience with the Source engine will be preferred over others.
========M E D I A========
Weapons
A solid range of weapons from an SMG to an axe:
Work In-Progress HUD
1. Bottom Left - Sanity Level
2. Top Left - Pin Point System.
3. Top Right (Red Border) - Red means you are in Point Blank range.
Work In-Progress Characters
One of the thugs:
16 year old Angelo Kardova:
If you would like to help, please reply or email me at canuck@dreamscapemod.com