I discovered an aspect that I would like to incorporate into my virtual room when I was playing the new Resident Evil Demo. I found that when a light shone through a window into the dusty house it created light rays that were visible to the player.

Volumetric Light will add immersion and depth to a scene as it adds real world physic based properties.

 

The image above highlights the volumetric light from Resident evil that I thought it had been done really well.

 

Science Fiction use’s lots of ambient light as it is an interesting way of creating a unique and also visually pleasing scene.  The image below highlight a few examples where Volumetric Light being is being used within a similar design style:

I plan on using Volumetric light to create an atmosphere that is engaging to look at and is responsive to the environment around it. Volumetric Light can also be used on computer screens so that they project light back into the room. I think by ambient lighting it will give my project an added extra that will take my project to a professional standard.

I was tasked with typing up my lighting pitch and turning it into a official project proposal that can be used to assign tutors and keep my self on track throughout this semester.

Below is the first revision of my proposal:

What is the intended idea/concept of the project?

The brief premise of this project is to create a virtual space that represents the sci-fi genre linking to the models made last semester. I plan to create a sci-fi cyberpunk office / operating base for the protagonist who would use the models from media project one to carry out missions. The narrative of this project features a protagonist who is searching around said apartment as he is trying to piece his life together after suffering amnesia. As he interacts with items around the room various aspects of his past is discovered. I would also like to optimise this virtual space for VR to further increase involvement.

Describe the intended audience:

I am targeting industry professionals. This is because the potential outcome of this project can be used to reinforce my professional portfolio, which could lead to important work possibilities. 

My intended audience is video game enthusiasts and industry professionals. This is because the projects intended purpose is to promote and build a character biography for a sci-fi cyber punk video game.

My other audience is Industry professionals as I plan on adding this to my portfolio to further increase my potential for work placements.

How will this project extend your creative and technical skills?

This project will test my skills in 3D modelling skills, as I will be tasked with creating models on a much larger scale than I have been used to. In addition to this I will be learning how to use unreal engine to create a virtual space that players can interact with. I feel that learning these skills is the next step to continuing on from last semesters project.

Outline how the practical work will be carried out and the time-scales involved for each task. (If working in a group, please also indicate the division of labour):

Work will be carried out as an individual and the timescales for this project will be in a staged process. The first phase is research and prototype development. Once this has been carried out and a basic concept has been developed. I will move on to modelling and constructing the virtual space. This phase will take the longest as modelling and texturing all the individual assets will take a while.

What other work (by animators, designers, film-makers, writers, digital media producers, etc.) is relevant to your project? (This work may either be relevant for its conceptual, inspirational or technical similarity):

• Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Demo (Video Game)
• Total Recall (Film)
• Deus Ex (video game series)
• Design influence:
• Cyber-punk
• Sci-fi future
•  

List at least two critical texts that are relevant to your conceptual intentions:

• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Novel by Philip K. Dick
• Blade runner – Ridley Scott

Any other information not covered previously:

Everything has been covered in all the sections

I pitched my Initial proposal today to my tutors and class. The pitch went down better than I expected. I also received valuable constructive feedback on ways  I could improve my proposal.

The main points of feedback that I received were that my project needed a narrative or a purpose as to why the player was in the room. Someone suggested that the playable character is the antagonist himself and that the character has suffered amnesia and is piecing together his parts of his life through interacting with various items in the room.

I find this method of approach to be very interesting as it is a modern take on the typical text is written as character biographies.

Most video games feature a block of text as a means of providing characters with a backstory. Personally, I think a virtual space that can be interacted with is a much more engaging way of providing backstory for fictional characters. I feel that character bio’s and backstories help a game develop and further engage the users into the narrative.

The key points that were said that needed to be covered in the lighting pitch are as follows:

Summarise  the concept into a paragraph

The brief premise of this project is to create a virtual space that represents the sci-fi genre linking to the models made last semester. I plan to create a sci-fi garage / operating base for the protagonist who would have used the models from media project one. I plan to add a few interactive items that when selected will provide bits of backstory on the character. I would also like the ability to optimise this space for use within Virtual Reality.

Who your concept is targeting & how it will meet/expectations

I am targeting industry professionals. This is because the potential outcome of this project can be used to reinforce my professional portfolio which could lead to important work possibilities.

How is the concept will push your creativity and technical ability

This project will build upon the skills learnt during last semester’s project in 3D modelling and texture painting to produce an asset pack for use within film. I feel that creating a virtual space will push my skills not only technically but creatively as well. This is because I would be creating and producing models on the mass scale to then fit together in Unreal engine to create the virtual space.

How is this concept pushing the subject area it belongs to

I plan on using the project to start building a backstory of a character for use within future projects by allowing users to walk around the antagonist’s sci-fi futuristic operating base/garage.  I plan way down the line to use this character to start building the world with additional characters.

Would collaboration with a student outside of Digital benefit the development of the concept

no, as all work can be realistically produced by an individual.

I was drawn towards video gaming this semester as I currently have a keen interest in this area and would like to learn more about the industry for the potential to work in said industry. I began by looking into Resident Evils 7’s demo they released and found a couple of stills from the game, that I would use to build my idea.

The reason I decided to choose this demo was because I like the fact that it is a virtual space with its high attention to detail that makes it an interesting environment to have a look around. In addition to this, I like how the light reacts with its environment. For example, in the images, it shows the paths of light cutting through the dust and dirt in the air. Giving the environment a cinematic feel.

Stills from Resident Evil 7’s Demo: 

 

I don’t want to follow the abandoned house theme as I feel that this has been overdone to many times and has become too much of a cliche. In addition in keeping with media project 1, I plan on continuing the Sci-fi genre into this semester’s project. As this way, I am able to follow the whole production cycle right to the end outcome.

Another reason why this is an interesting project to undertake is the ability to create a virtual space that people can look round.