FMP 015 – Basement Start

Last week was used to iron out what needed to be done for the basement, so technically work on the basement actually started this week!

As I mentioned before, we put together and asset list that we split amongst the two of that we could get straight into. For this week I modelled and texture several tape machines, tapes and tape racks and also a hero asset in the form of a 70s super 8 camera recorder. Modelling assets is my bread and butter, I enjoy doing it and I can also get it done pretty quickly.

Using the concept art the Lewis produced for us, it was very clear that the large assets would need to be modelled first to better shape the room. So, I went with the largest assets first. The tape machine is a simple box shape, the details of this asset lie in the buttons and the switches around the main body of the asset. I knew at the start that this asset would be used several times and placed all around the basement, as this was the case while texturing the asset I took into account how I could create different variations in the most time effective way. This was the same process with the actual tapes. I modelled one standalone tape and several cylinders that varied in lengths to give the illusion of unique texturing.

Completely separate from the assets I mentioned, I wanted to model something fun this week. So, as you know I went with a handheld super 8 camera from the 70s. The importance of this asset is that it’s a key piece in one of the areas we hope to create in the basement but also, it grounds the environment in a specific timeframe that will hopefully help the overall narrative of the environment. With this asset I simply found an already existing camera as reference, textured it as it would be in real life, then began texturing the small subtle details that would make it relevant in the location and how it would be used. For example, this camera is taped up to a make shift tripod to get across the narrative that everything is put together using what would be found in the level.

Finally, once the assets were modelled and textured towards the end of this week I made sure their materials were set up correctly in engine and adjusted any size differences to fit the whitebox of the basement. I will tick off several more assets off the asset list next week.