I have also followed a turorial that was set on normal maps. These are also refered too as bump maps as they show the detail of a high poly model but espically low poly. I found these maps difficult at first I as i didnt realise that all of the edge you wish to see must ethier be on an angle or at least champhered.
"render of the normal map I created on texture from the tutrorial"
"the normal map i created from a high poly model I quickly created"
I have followed a tutorial that we were given on how to add a ambient occlusion map to a head. This gives the model a bit more depth and adds area's of shading were their needs to be according to the model.
"This is the ambient occlusion map that I created"
We had a guest lecture from OJ of white paper games about hand painted texturing techniques. He gave us a model to texture of a axe and a sheild using the techniques he had shown us. I painted the texture all on one layer in photoshop, this was different to how I usually work but the end the result is much quicker and louser but overall looks nicer. After texturing the axe and sheild I decided to add a cartoony look to the model by rendering black lines around the edges of the model, This made the model stand out and look more unique. To add a little more depth I added a royality free texture over my uv and used blending options and changing the opacity to make it fit a little nicer.
I set with createing a plinth to display my models. For the design of my plinth i looked at few sources of insperation including the hell raiser puzzle box, tim burton artwork and even the green latern logo, rom these I developed a unique yet simple model plinth. The plinth had to be animated and contain visable cogs in its rotation. I also experimented with camera angles and lighting against a curved backdrop.
There are some
solid gameplay mechanics with The Witcher 2 but some of them work and others are
a little flawed. The combat system works especially well giving the player
simple attack commands of heavy and simple attacks and signs, which work like
spells. They are also able to craft certain items that can help them throughout
the course of a battle.
The main
mechanic that I noticed this with was the crafting mechanics, the player has to
craft their potions, bombs and traps before every battle yet different bombs
and traps do different things and different potions give the player different
conditions. However the player is in forced into battle, as they are at certain
points in the game, they do not have time to prepare their items. Most of the
time these instances are sprung upon on the player unaware and are incredibly
difficult to overcome and the last check point is the start of the battle
itself.
Isolating
this problem, there should be way for the player to craft their items in these
circumstances. The crafting process takes too long to complete during a fight
though, so the other option is to give the player a chance to escape and gather
their barring before re-entering the fight.
"Youtube video showing how the signs already in the game work"