Week 8-10 - Finishing Construction and Unwrapping

Week 8 - Adding the Final Details
This week I had to continue with the final details, mainly the doors and windows. I sketched out some designs for the windows and doors and then modeled each one out. I then duplicated and moved each one around the house. Some front stairs were added as well as back stairs.

The only thing that didn't get done were the two double doors and the windows for the towers. I also didn't like the way the decorative windows looked for the two decor pieces of the roof.

Week 9 - Finishing the House and Starting to Unwrap.

For this week I just had to finish the house. I made the double doors for the top floor, the front doors, and the tower windows. I also redid the decorative windows. 

After that I deleted all duplicate objects and deleted the history from everything to try and clean up the scene, then started unwrapping. I did the first floor, the bottom balcony and the front stairs.

Week 10 - Unwrapping the House

So this past week I spent unwrapping the house. I did the rest of the house itself but didn't do the the details. So the doors, windows, railings, and chimneys still have to be unwrapped. I manged to the scale everything evenly except for the main part of the roof which needs to be bigger. Otherwise its coming along.

And thats it for the class. 

Week 6 & 7 - Building the House

Week 6 - Finishing the Base

So this week I had to finish blocking out the house which was pretty simple. I added the roof which is split into six different pieces, added the towers and their roofs and then because I had extra time I started to add some of the detail, mostly in the front piece of the roof and the trims going around its base. It ended up like this:

Week 7 - Adding the Details

Finally, I started adding the details to the house. I added the chimneys, increased the detail of the front center roof, added the railings and some ornamentation, created the pillars, and started work on the windows. Overall, its starting to look pretty awesome.

Week 4 & 5 - Floor Plans

Week 4 - Floor Plans

So this week was floor plans. Once again, design number two won and I had to make a floor plan for the basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor, and attic. I spent a while researching Victorian houses to make sure i knew what kinds of rooms to put in and where to put them, along the way learning some interesting things. In the end I came up with this:

First a basement room with a secret area for our evil father figure that includes an operating room.

The first floor, with lots of flashy rooms and a service area at the back of the house for servants.

The second floor, which is mainly living quarters for the family and has the only bathroom in the house (which was built in 1886).

And the attic, which has a long creepy hallway that leads to secret room for our evil dad.

So yeah, it was pretty interesting learning about that period in history and about the way they lived in their houses. I tried to be accurate with the house design, but in the end some stuff needed to be tweaked.

Week 5 - Floor Plans Revisited

So my floor plans lacked measurements and the basement wasn't entirely satisfactory, so I had to go back and redo those. I went out and bought a tape measure and used that to help me get a grasp on how big or small things were going to be. Here's what i ended up with:

The secret areas was completely separated from the main area and a cellar room was added.

Added measurements.

Added more measurements and slightly changed the layout.

And added even more measurements.

That's not all I did though. I used an interior design program I have to help me with the measurements and did some dollhouse views for the floors.

Basement

First Floor

Second Floor

Attic

I also had to start modeling it this week too. I started to get the basic shape of the house, just blocking it in at this point.

So there we have it. From pictures to a model, this house is starting to become a reality.

Weeks 2 and 3 - Victorian Houses

Week 02 - Victorian Houses Round 1

So even though this is being put on the same day, I'm doing separate posts just because I'm organized like that i guess. Week 2 had me doing three concepts for the house that will be in the game. The only description I had to go off was Victorian/Forrest Gump so I did some research and finally managed to figure out the characteristics of Victorian architecture, which is a pain in the ass to design. I found myself having to do the roof layout just to understand how the house would be built. So with that i got my three concepts.
My first concept was a more classic/traditional style Victorian house. I noted how these tended to have somewhat complex layouts for the architecture, and designing this proved to be confusing at times.

My second concept was more of a manor style Victorian house, with it having a double balcony/porch thing and the house being mostly symmetrical. I used more extravagant architecture in some areas like the pillars and the decorative molding on the corners.

My third house was more directly influenced by the house from Forrest Gump, at least the pictures of it, as I'v never seen the movie. This house is more of a plantation style Victorian House, with it being less decorative and complex but still having aspects of Victorian architecture such as the double balcony and the bay window.

Well, in the end, design number 2 won which led into last weeks homework.

Week 3 - Victorian Houses Round 2

Last week left me in charge of the house, and I was tasked with creating a house more in the style of my second concept from before with elements taken from one of my classmates first and third house designs. Another classmate came up to me and offered an idea about having two towers which I liked. So in the end i wound up with Four variations of the house. Here's the reference image I used so i could figure out what elements to take from the other concepts.

My first concept has the house in a U shape with the towers at the front. I implemented the roof style from my classmates first concept, and took the window styles from the third and implemented them into all the designs. Also notable is that they all have the double balcony with pillars and a symmetrical layout, just like my second house concept.

My second concept is a slight variation of my second concept from last week, with two circular towers instead of one geometric one and some extrusions on the front and back of the house.

My third concept I feel is more palatial, it feels more like a giant palace. Either way, the main point with this design is that the towers are now at the back of the house instead of the front. I also extended the bottom porch outward to give it more of a traditional Victorian vibe.

And lastly, my fourth concept was centered around the idea of a long, narrow house. The towers are right up front in this design, with a narrow courtyard leading up to the entrance.

We'll see who wins this round. I personally like all of them fairly equally, so it doesn't really matter much to me who wins.

Week 01 - Mood Boards and Concepts

Week 1 of prototyping has us do three mood boards and either game mechanics or concept art. Being assigned to the creative team, I had to do three concepts for the location where our game takes place, on top of three mood boards.
For my mood boards I decided to go with three moods rather than the moods of the locations themselves. My first mood can be described as a place that looks and seems normal but feels off, or unsettling. I immediately thought of Gone Home and the mood that game evoked.
 

My second mood board was a more straight up horror feel similar to games like Amnesia, with dark environments and a use of small amounts of lighting.

My third mood board was more of a gothic horror type feel, similar to the mood of the movie Sleepy Hollow and Van Helsing. I thought this would be a good mood for exterior locations in particular.

Then there were the three concept pieces. My first concept is supposed to bridge going over a small river or stream with a mist/fog covered path leading up to it. I feel this concept has the mood of a quiet, creepy place that has a false sense of tranquility to it. 

My next concept is inspired by small European villages. I mostly took inspiration from the small narrow streets that they are known for.

My third concept is supposed to be a huge tomb for someone, similar to the ones built in the old medieval days for wealthy people. I think the concept ended up looking more like a church though.

And my final concept is a bay/harbor area with a partially sunken ship in the middle. Once again, this is supposed to be a quiet area that has a creepy quality to it.

And that's all. Hooray for my first ever blog post! I'll be putting up my other stuff for the class.