To explore different applications of scripting and animating 3D characters in games in regards to helping to build a personality for the character and making it's actions as well as the environment believable.
This may include things like having the character look at you when you talk to it, instead of facing the opposite direction, small movements triggered by certain events, such as boredom
Purpose and intent:
My main focus is on immersion, immersion being defined as
"noting or pertaining to digital technology or images that deeply involve one's senses and may create an altered mental state"
As I see it there are 2 aspects of this that I feel lacking in current animation and video games. Realism, in it's most obvious form this can be put down to "how good do the graphics look". To an extent this can be ascribed to the current limitations of computing power. However, I think the details of facial expression and how characters move and behave are most relevant. For example you can often see a bland expressionless face on characters in game as they talk to you, something that is considered paramount within film to convey emotion. This would cover more of the animation aspect of realism.
The 2nd part of realism is interaction of the player with the environment, this can mean anything from being able to pick up a rock and throw it, to believable interaction with players in the story, this can be posed as "how can your actions effect the environment". Often I find this very limiting within video games. This is less to do specifically with animation and more so scripting and knowledge of how people wish to interact within their environment.
With this idea in mind, realism is the direction I wish to progress in. Learning how to implement a character with animation in to a playable video game would be the best way to start.
Target audience:
My target audience is me. Honestly I am not aware of how much of a market there is for this as most people that play video games seem content with the current style of challenges + bits of a story cobbled together, however I believe there is a substantial number of people that have no interest in playing traditional video games but would find a story in the style of a game (without the combat/challenges) appealing. I think the target audience has potential to include a much wider range of ages than typical games already do, I would need to research this in order to know. Perhaps it is the case that only people that presently play video games would be interested in playing a game entirely for the story, and so as consequence by not including challenges with game dynamics I would be just limiting my audience. More likely I think there is at the very least a niche market of dedicated gamers that would be interested in this, however I only base this reasoning off the reaction from friends and myself.
Which medium:
Pc, 3D animation software, Autodesk Maya , Unreal Development Kit editor
Which platform:
The final outcome will be a playable game on the pc with modelled characters that are animated, sounds and an environment that is intractable with the user.
Project strategies:
Focus my time on learning new software and integrating my animation in to a game environment, do lots of tests to see what works and what does not. I don't want to spend too much time on things like character development or the story as this is not the focus of the subject, so these things can be largely borrowed from existing ideas that work well.
Personal learning outcomes:
To broaden my knowledge of different 3D software and increase my skill set to include a good foundational knowledge of how to create a 3D game environment. Also to learn through analysis of existing games what techniques are effective in creating an immersive environment.
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