Another significant portion of the project is the design and animation. While I had initially sought to design every model in the project, I had to change the scope to allow for the significant changes in the length of my system development.
I first began with SPUD and ADOS, preparing their models for transfer over to the final project. Designs remained mostly unchanged between the pre-production and production phases, with slight alterations to texture maps and removal of cords, to be replaced by dynamic cords in Unreal Engine where necessary.
ADOS, ready for transfer
Once the designs of SPUD and ADOS were finalised, I created a basic rig for SPUD for animation. This rig was only required to have basic functionality, with movement of legs and the neck, so I kept the rig relatively simple. SPUD was designed as a robot dog, which meant that animations should resemble that of a dog, but be stiff enough to still give the impression that they are a robot. I used a reference of a dog walking (Sophoria Academy, 2023) and jumping (Dogs Community 2018), taking note of their organic movements, and simplifying them to ensure that the movements seemed organic enough to be friendly, but not so organic that they seem alive. I allowed myself some slight grace with the movement of the body to allow for more expressive movement, as I had found that abiding strictly by the materials that the character is made of resulted in a clunky and lifeless movement.
SPUD’s walk animation
SPUD’s Start Jump Animation
After designing SPUD, ADOS could be easily transferred to the game. ADOS does not have any required animations, so after some tweaks to the pre-production material, ADOS was inserted into the files.
Next came the objects. I needed to prioritise objects that the player interacted with, so I created basic models of each, transferred to Mudbox for texturing, and then transferred into Unreal Engine for implementation into the scene. I did have some issues with bump maps, as they did not transfer correctly and would cause issues at UV seams. I tried my best to fix this issue, both through re-exporting and recreating textures, but I found the best solution to be adjusting the materials in Unreal Engine to get a more desired look. This worked in most cases, except for ADOS’ mouse hands, which required bump maps being removed entirely. I believe this is an issue with my computer while exporting the bump maps, which I had attempted to rectify to no avail.
Tennis ball model and texture
Box model and texture
Button model and texture
Once the static meshes had been completed, it was time to create a logo for the game. I went through a few iterations before landing on the final design. The initial design concept revolved around the idea of having ADOS’ shape, using the compass where it is on his design, using SPUD’s colours of blue and orange to compliment, but on implementation, feedback stated that the colours didn’t match the room and should be some shade of blue to match the aesthetic, and that the letters were too close to the outside of the logo, to which I adjusted by making the entire logo share SPUD’s colours rather than ADOS’. This lead to a more complete feeling scene.
Old Design vs New Design
reflection, I wish that I had the opportunity to create better models for the project. While I can appreciate the models that are in the final game and testers said that the models looked good, having the stylistic difference between the downloaded assets and the created assets was definitely jarring. In future, creation of a fuller range of assets should be prioritised slightly more than what I had time for in this project.
References:
Dogs Community 2018, BEST OF DOG HIGH JUMP, online video, Viewed 10 October 2024 < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9938v4NYl7U>
Sophoria Academy 2023, Dog Walk Cycle – Animation Reference, online video, Viewed 10 October 2024 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji7uis-tFqw>
Mitchell Eastment 