Ah, here we are again with the weekly checkup. Seeing as this will be one of the final posts I make before I hiatus on spring break, I might as well talk about the project that's been taking up the majority of my time. As of the past week, I have still been working on an opening cutscene for the game, which is a long and arduous process to say the least. This scene involves the creation of an individual frame for every line that I wrote down in a previous script. Let's just say that I wrote down a good amount... Regardless, this week was a bit slower due to my need to create a number of frames from scratch, as well as find an ideal size for the text. Luckly, the creation of this original frames means that they will serve as templates for future frames, which will make the process faster in the end, if just by a little bit. Seeing as this is the first complete animation that I have to make for the game so far, this was bound to take some time, but I hope to keep the gas on the project so that I don't end up falling behind the work of my teammates With the hope that my teammates stay busy, leaving me the chance to work on this without spending a week corralling, I hope to get the majority of this animation done by the end of the week. Allowing me to tie up loose ends on my own time and move on to animating for the main combat sections. Plan for the week Monday/Tuesday: Animation work Wednesday: Team check-in and planning Thursday/Friday: Animation work
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The appeal of life is its short nature in the grand scheme of constantly shifting events. A tiny blimp in the ever vast and complicated typhoon of the void. Why is that so important? Are we simply a product of circumstance? Fated to exist for but a brief moment after what is a millennium of preparation and experimentation? The Maw in which we exist is a vast laboratory, comprised of nothing but an incomprehensible amount of energy, and an equally incomprehensible amount of nothingness. We float without aim or purpose as the writings of fate drag us all along. Waiting as our concept of time continues to tick without any discernable end in sight. In this Maw, free will is but a myth, and we are subject to the daily occurrences of the void, assuming it is within the realm of reason for our minds and bodies alike. But does reason have a place here? The answer to that is unclear. We try to look forward, to find and define a permanent "end". Is it truly so? This end we speak of refers to the moment that life within our grasp will cease to exist, that along with all activity that The Maw has to offer. This aspect is easier to define in our terms, which saying that alone comes with a level of irony. But what is truly "The End'? How can we ever know if we have not found "The Beginning"? Is this our purpose? To discover what gave us purpose in the first place? So many questions, and so little time. Are they worth answering? Will we be satisfied by the answer? Now that is a good question. The fear presented by these questions is also what leaves them unanswered, which in turn answers them, nonetheless. What is but a fraction of the annals of existence is the foundation in which we build our temporary legacy. Bound to The Maw and at the mercy of our own concepts. To ignore is one answer, to accept is another, and so is to search. Finding purpose gives us purpose, that and the curiosity many have been endowed. In this lies happiness, amidst the almost inherent sadness of The Maw. And there is plenty to go around. For our small ember is to be engulfed by a greater flame. Rip. Freeze. Crunch Rip. Freeze. Crunch Bang 22^9
It's been a few months, so I believe that a game review is in order, so I might as well pick something that I was unable to put down for weeks on end. The Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Now seeing as I'm not that old, I never had the pleasure of playing the original when it came out in 1997, but I've known about its influence not just on the RPG genre, but on gaming and popular culture as a whole my entire life. This behemoth of a game, originally released on three separate discs due to the hardware limitations of the PS1, captured the hearts and minds of millions across the globe and by far becoming the most popular game in Square Enix's library. Hoping to revive and pay ohmage to the incredible success of the original, a remake was announced in 2015, after almost a decade of rumors and speculation that a remake was on the way. The game would not be released until 2020, with the COVID pandemic taking up the majority of the media attention at the time. Let's just say that it went over really, really well... Gameplay/Experience Shifting away from the traditional turn-based battle system, the FFVII Remake instead opts for a free form fighting system, reliant on precise attacks and dodging, mixed with spells and items with the use of a quick menu. This method was first tried in 2015 in Final Fantasy 15, which was met with mixed reviews. It was then adjusted and highly polished for use in this newest remake, and it sure does show. In comparison to the previous attempt back in FFXV, the remake manages to make free form fighting feel fresh and rewarding, with a variety of moves and tactics available to the 4 main playable characters of the game, each of which sporting a list of special weapons and abilities. Unlike FFXV, I went out of my way to complete as many side quests as possible, because not only were they rewarding and manageable, but they were actually fun to complete. Moving on to the environment, we get to one of the selling points of the remake, it's incredible level design. The city of Midgar (the location the entire game takes place in) not only feels massive but is genuinely pleasing to look at. Every corner of the city shines with a level of polish that the developers clearly put years of work into. Despite the fact that missions take you to select areas rather than use a free-roam system, the city itself still feels massive and entertaining everywhere you go. And last but not least, the cast. I've never been one for the typical RPG cast, since they more often than not fill very clique niches and have very predictable personalities. Fortunately, the remake has stuck to the characteristics of the cast characters that captivated so many players with the original release. Characters like Barret, Tifa, and Aerith are some of the greatest and most genuine personalities that I have ever seen in a video game, and every second spent in their presence made the game just that much better. Art Direction/Audio As touched on earlier, the world of Midgar has been expanded to a scale unseen by its previous counterpart and makes up a vast majority of the game's appeal in the realm of art direction. The sheer amount of detail in the environment, regardless of whether or not it is interactable to the player, is staggering. Being able to see into the distance and still make out distinct 3D models shows how technically impressive this game is as a whole. There is eventually a point where the environment turns into 2D images, but the use of some clever camera and wrapping techniques manages to make it look 3D regardless. Audio also takes full advantage of the many incredible soundtracks made in the original game, remaking them as well and adding an extra layer of polish all around. Many classic tracks remain in the game, now modernized with orchestral arrangements and even some entirely new verses. It's quite fair to say that they are just as enjoyable to listen to in their revamped state as they were in the original. Stability/Performance My personal playthrough on the game was done on the PS5, using the performance mode at 60fps. My playthrough took about 35 hours and never ran into a single issue along the way. This is quite impressive considering the sheer amount that the game has to render at all times. Verdict Again, I never had the pleasure of playing the original when it came out, which is not exactly something that I can change, but I can at the very least appreciate the enormous impact it has had on popular culture since then. I can also appreciate the classic story in its new and refreshed state, which I have enjoyed thoroughly from start to finish. Every once in a while, I'll finish a game and just sit in silence and awe. Only one word comes to mind when I describe those games: "Wow". And it is with a great honor that I can say that this is one of those games. 10/10 Image 1 Source: FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE on PC | Square Enix Blog (square-enix-games.com)
Image 2 Source: Final Fantasy VII Remake review | Engadget I'll say it, this week was substantially slower in comparison, but not exactly for entirely negative reasons. This week I spent a substantial amount of time troubleshooting with other members, as well as trying to work out a more efficient system of file management in the future, the latter taking far more time in comparison. Because of this, I wasn't able to focus much on creating actual 2D assets, with the extent of my individual work being the creation of a script for the opening cutscene, which will be my focus in the coming weeks. I spent a lot of time this week managing my team, which is good due to the need to keep everyone on the same page. This time around I plan to spend a little more time on my own personal projects, which are essential if my teammates are to get anywhere. This also includes laying out a clearer roadmap for development, so then each member can operate automatously without oversight. All in all, good progress is still being made, and I plan to ramp up my personal work once again in order to keep up with the pace of the overall group, since they'll ultimately need my work one way or another if they are to make progress as well. These are the plans for the week moving forward. Monday: Tie up loose ends with the whiteboxing process and continue on opening cutscene production. Tuesday: Animation of the opening cutscene. Wednesday: Continued cutscene animation and player sprite animation. Thursday: Player sprite animation and testing in Unity Game Engine. Friday: Transfer of first full player controller over to whiteboxing prototype.
Here we are again with the daily check-in, featuring your friendly-neighborhood team lead! This week in particular served as a continuation of last week, with the creation of a few more sprites and the process of implementing them directly into the Unity engine. This not only provided a few more assets for the final product but helped begin the process of a full team transfer onto a shared file, which will be my focus for this week as well. I also feel that this week was a little slower in comparison, at least in terms of making individual assets. The reason this is the case, however, is because I spent an extra amount of time helping my teammates with various issues, as well as spending more time as the team lead rather than the 2D artists, which is going to happen every once in a while. Regardless, I believe that I am making good progress in both areas. The plan for this week is as follows: Monday: Move entire team onto shared Unity file Tuesday: Continue animation and imports into Unity engine Wednesday: Further animation work Thursday: Implementation of animated sprites with respective player and enemy scripts Friday: Addition of whiteboxing for 3D environment.
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AuthorI have a passion for creating things, and hopefully one day those things will be video games. You can check over on this blog if you wish to see any updates on my work or other subjects. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Durham School of the Arts or Durham Public Schools.
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