You guys asked for it, and we're finally ready to move on to our next 3D modeling challenge. This time around - based on requests from the community - it will be an environment focused challenge.
However, rather than jump right in to this challenge we're going to present 3 challenge ideas for you to choose from. The winning option will then be fleshed out to a challenge and we'll begin it Friday, August 27th.
There are no prizes for a challenge. This is not a contest. But rather, they are designed to challenge you as an artist, get you out of your comfort zone, and hopefully you'll come out the other end as a better artist. Those who complete their entries will then be added to a vote where the community will choose the winning entry based on final presentation, inspired design, and execution.
The winner will get a custom Polycount Pin for their account that will appear under your posts or avatar.
I have yet to figure out how to add these sorts of things. PM me if you know how to add nick-knacks like this.
This pin will remain on that user account until the next environment focused challenge, where it will then be passed on to the winner of that challenge, and so on.
Character artists - don't fret! The moment this challenge has wrapped up we will be jumping right in to a Character Challenged, designed by Josh Singh.
Please cast your vote on which idea you'd like the challenge to be based around.
- Sidescroller beat-em-up. Create a scene from a sidescrolling beat-em-up. Double Dragon, TMNT, Castle Crashers and Final Fight should be your inspiration.
- Hub environment. Create a hub environment much like Starcraft 2's hub worlds between missions. This hub environment must include the Mission selector, Item Customizer and Group/Party Chooser. All 3 of these can be renamed to something more fitting for your environment, but the essential idea of all 3 must be presented in 1 single hub environment. We'll elaborate more if this one is chosen.
- Recreate a traditional landscape/environment painting, no characters. Search online for your favourite landscape or environment traditional painting and recreate it as a videogame environment. The goal here is to mimic the style, colour palette and feeling of this painting as much as possible. The focus of this painting should be the environment. You will not be tasked with creating people/animals.
The rules & specs for this challenge will be made aware when the challenge starts. Expect this challenge to take 3-5 weeks.
POLL ENDS FRIDAY AUGUST 20th, PST (in the AM)
Replies
#3 does sound the most interesting, but I am a little biased, since I'm currently working on a side scrolling project and it would be nice to do something different, ha.
I guess that's both real time as precomputed for rendering?
Well, I'd wait Monday to see the rules!
I wonder what the "traditional" part in the environment will exactly mean, but i'm hoping to participate in this one mainly to brush up my skills and see where it ends!
#1 is more of a design challenge. The entire piece is up to you to create from scratch, based on obvious inspirations.
#3 is more of a technical challenge. You're recreating someone elses piece of art work OR an interpretation of it. Your technical merit will be hit hard on this one more-so than the others.
So would you rather have your design skills challenged or your technical? Perhaps, then, #2 is a mixture of both.
If we end up with #3 you guys had better do Youtube videos of the environment, I'd love to see how you transitioned a painting to an environment.
GOOEY
As far as the pin goes, perhaps the winner could get a "current winner" pin and then when somebody else wins their pin gets turned into a "past winner" pin or a "winner of competition week/month XX" pin. Just an idea though.
I scanned through the first post for an answer - Might this be open to small teams, at all?
Fucking Battletoads...
I was wondering that as well. My roommate and I were planning on teaming up for this.
Sidescroller beat-em-up based on a classical painting.
Imagine "Starry Night" as a defend-the-city-from-evil-aliens game.
Anyway, if they're running concurrently, I imagine this is going to be the comp I'll be doing. Just so I'm absolutely clear, the objective of the side scrolling challenge is to reconstruct an existing 2d environment, rather than to create your own environment suiable for that kind of game, right?
I was going to vote for #3, and I have a ton of favorite paintings, but they all seem to be focused around people, their interactions, and the powerful emotions coming off of that. so...
Side Scroller sounds interesting though, I'd personally be more interested in re-creating/inventing other 8-bit or 16-bit era game environments rather than a beat-em-up.
I'm going to give it some more thought before casting my vote.
im thinking something battletoads inspired...
2 for me!
This is a challenge, not a restaurant menu.