Journal

Day 1

Today I discussed with my partner Samer what we will create for our final major project. We had two different game concepts and were discussing which one will be more suited for a 2D flash game. We weren't doing anything practical yet as we were still planning it out and we are going to do the final planning tomorrow.


Day 2

Today we finished planning and decided what game to do for our final major project. To start we got some A3 paper and done a mind map for the two game concepts we had. Then we chose which concept to use and then went over the concept and fix the parts that would not work in the game. After finishing the planning I started working on my proposal form and plan to finish it tomorrow.

Day 3

Today I continued working on my proposal and to finish it me and my partner need to decide on our time scale. So I hope to finish my proposal within the next few days. Also I have done some research on stickman artists.

Day 4

I researched the illustrator of the cutscenes for metal gear solid peace walker today as the cutscenes I will be working on will be the same style and I find his art style interesting and it inspires me. I like his style of enforcing emotion onto the player using creative and interesting camera angles in shots during every cutscene. He does with all of this game which I think is one of the main reasons for his extensive success in the game industry.

Day 5

Today I planned my time scale for what work my going to be doing over the weeks of this unit and when I need to complete each piece of work. After completing my time scale i was able to complete my proposal and start planning what work i needed to do next. I also done some research on game artists.

Day 6

Today I done some more research on game artists. One of them was Tetsuya Nomura who works for square enix, as a character designer and director on some games, Kingdom hearts being the main one he is a director for. I also went over my proposal a couple of times and edited it before handing it in for assessment. 

Day 7

Today after receiving some feedback on my proposal I made a few changes. Then I just continued on with the research I was doing yesterday for my sketchbook.

Day 8 

Today I done some research on game designers, such as "Hironobu Sakaguchi" who is the designer for final fantasy 7. I also done some quick sketches on stick men body proportions and different stances. 

Day 9

continuing my research from yesterday and I also done a few mask design for the mask suriv will be wearing in the game. 

Day 10

Today I was researching concept artists for my sketchbook. I also  looked at different artists work and there styles for more inspiration. 

Day 11

Today I done some research on interactive comics. An interesting one  I found was Lost Girl written by Navid Khavari and drawn by Tigh walker. Lost Girl is a Interactive Motion Comic that merges elements of traditional print comic books with animation and audio effects, motion comics provide a unique story-telling medium

Day 12

Today I just continued doing my research for my sketchbook. I also done a few background sketches for some level designs that could be used in Don't talk to strangers.   

Day 13

Today I done some research on successful stickman games which are similar to Don't talk to strangers. The one I found most interesting was Tactical Assassin by Simon Hason. Tactical Assassin is also a sniper game just like Don't talk to strangers.  


Day 14

Today I done some more research on stickman artist looking at the individual styles and techniques. I was interested in the different ways artists do shading and express emotions and movement through body proportions and stances. I hope I can apply some of these techniques to my own work. 

Day 15

Today I done some research on video game cutscenes and how they use them to express the narrative well or not to well in different games. A game that I found told the story through the cutscenes well was halo 4. 

Day 16

Today I went out so I did not have time to do much research. Even though I did not do any research I was still able to get some inspiration from looking at the scenery and environment, which got me thinking about how I could do the background in Don't talk to strangers.
Day 17

Today I done some sketches on body proportions and stances in my sketchbook. I done these sketches as practice for different stances that could be used in the game and also to see what style would work well with it.

Day 18 

Today I checked over my Proposal making sure everything was correct and there was no mistakes. Now I don't have to go back to my proposal any more as it is completely finished. After that I continued my research from yesterday 

Day 19

As my cutscenes are going to be frame by frame I decided to do some more research on interactive comics, comics and some manga. First I looked at some interactive comics to see how they do the interactive parts, like what kind of interface they use and how long they give the person to make a choice. Or how long they have to react to press a button or they fail.

Day 20 

Continuing on from yesterday I started looking at different comics to see how the artists show movement in still pictures and how they show the characters emotions through stances. Some of the art work in the comics were amazing and the way all the characters body proportions are the same and don't keep changing is something that has been done very well.

Day 21

Today I researched manga artists and some of there work. What inspired me was how it was all in black and white but you can see what colours would be there as they shaded it so perfectly. As Don't talk to strangers will also be in black and white I will try and try and and do some shading like they use in manga as its incredible. Also the consistency in manga is amazing I just hope i can keep all my body proportions the same in my cutscenes. 


Day 22

Today I done some more research on level design as i will be helping Samer with the level design.  I looked at the work of Chris Cook who designed the levels for Fable the Journey. 
Chris mainly done the environment and lighting for the levels and also the foliage pass.

Day 23

Today I had to do some 3D animation work so I had little time to do any research or sketches. Even thought when I was doing my animation I was thinking about what techniques I could use to draw the backgrounds. 

Day 24

Continuing from yesterday with my animation meaning I had little time to think about my research for my sketch book. So I am planning on finishing my animation as soon as possible so I can get back to my final major project. 

Day 25

Today I done a little bit of research on character designs and level designs before getting back to my 3D animation, which is nearly finished. 

Day 26 

Today finishing finally finishing my 3D animation and getting back to my final major project.
I decided to do some sketches of different styles in my sketch book, which I will then ask Samer which style he prefers and wants in the game.

Day 27

Today I continued my research on level designers and concept artists. I then went back over my diary to make sure I did not accidentally skip a day or two. after checking that I went back to my research. 

Day 28

Today I thought of a level idea that could be used as a side mission if Samer likes it and if we have the time to add side missions. The side mission is about a postman who is going to assassinate some one but you have to assassinate him first. also the player will not no its the postman until he pulls out the knife so they have to keep looking around to see who to shoot.

Day 29

Today I continued on my research as I want to complete it before I start on the character designs. I done some more research on manga artists for background inspiration. A manga i found that inspired me with the backgrounds was Psyren as its back grounds fitted the characters perfectly. 

Day 30

Today I done some research on some anime as anime greatly inspires me. Even though my cutscenes will be frame by frame and not animated I would like it to give the player the same reactions i get from watching some anime when something epic happens. 

Day 31

Today I got the character profile sheets from Samer and we went over each aspect of the characters in detail. For example with general tucker Samer wanted him to always be smoking so I suggested him always having a cigar instead of cigarettes as it suits him more and he will look more like a military officer.

Day 32

Today Samer show me the game menu, well the one he had so far. I gave him my feedback as I thought he could do better, which is what I told him as he wanted my honest opinion. So we spent most of the day seeing what changes could be made to the menu.

Day 34

Today Samer showed me what he had so far for the level designs. I thought they were good except the endings were quite repetitive which I told him and suggested some other ways he could end it or things he could add in which might improve the level.  I think Samer was happy with the feedback I was giving him which is good and i hope he will give me feedback on work as well.

Day 35

Today I finished off my research for my sketchbook and posted it on my blog. I then started going over the character profile sheets again to decide which character to draw first. In the end I went with general tucker as this was the one Samer wanted first.

Day 36

Today I done so character sketches in my sketch book, I mainly done general tucker as Samer wanted him first. So I done various poses and hats general tucker could have. In the end I went with him wearing a beret. I think Samer was happy with what I had for general tucker so far. 

Day 37

Continuing from yesterday with the character designs, I moved on to the drug dealer. It was the same with general tucker I started off by drawing a load of different poses and what he could be wearing or holding. 

Day 38

Today I continued with the drug dealer adding more stances and and items. I also went back to general tucker to add more stances and items as well. I then went over the character sheets deciding if I should add any more or not.

Day 39

Today I started on the boss sketches and added more to the other as well. I also went over the level designs with Samer again to make sure they were perfect and ready to be made.

Day 40

Today I just continued doing my sketches for the characters and receiving feed back off Samer  to help improve them. I also done a few background sketches in my sketch book for some practice.

Day 41

Today I did not do much work as I was having a break from work. Even though I was having a break I was still thinking about how I could draw each character and how to improve my own style.

Day 42

Today I got back to doing my character sketches. I have finally finished most of the characters. I have now finished general tucker the drug dealer and nearly finished the boss. all that is left is the president and suriv, which I don't think will take very long.

Day 43

Today Samer suggested I use illustrator instead of photoshop as its better for drawing backgrounds and stickmen. Even though I don't really like illustrator I thought I should give it a try. After using illustrator I noticed Samer was right and decided to use illustrator for my cutscenes now instead of photoshop.
Day 44

Today I went over the cut scene storyboard with samer. Then I learnt the basics for Adobe Illustrator as this is the software i will be using to draw the cutscenes. I also finished 2 of the backgrounds for level 2 

Day 75 

Today i continued on the cutscenes for dont talk to strangers using illustrator. i also got some feed back on the scenes i have done from samer and was told to add more detail to the backgrounds. Then i went over my scenes to add more detail.