Vision talk

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DestinedToDie
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Vision talk

Post by DestinedToDie »

I had a private message conversation that I really think should be public, so I'm redirecting it here. There was the question of what kind of vision I have for the Example Suite and how we might match the high expectations people have in light of having Morrowind as a comparison. I do not think that we should even try to replicate Morrowind, as we will inevitably fail in comparison to the nostalgia of the original game and the decades of effort put into some mods that already extend Morrowind. We can't just have some generic world and expect people to be impressed.

I imagined a low-dark-fantasy sort of world. Have you ever seen Army of Darkness movie? Played Soul Reaver? Read Berserk? Maybe a subtle lovecraft theme added in there.

The first location is inspired by Army of Darkness with the addition of a small village outside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhKkB7HjhW4 My plan for it was for the player to arrive and go through a lovecraftian storyline to discover that most of the habitants have come under the influence of a cult that worships an Elder God-like who wants to transform mankind into some sort of undead abominations, similar to Deadites from Evil Dead. https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jdM34uGNcs4/ ... s%2B17.jpg

In this sense, I basically want to play out one of those black n white Lovecraftian movies in video game form. This is not to say I want to copy Lovecraft lore 1 to 1 (I actually know little about it), but more along the lines of wanting to create our own flavor of the situation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd5gWGfnK5M

Additionally, I want to take inspiration from a game called Darkwood for how I'd level design the Deadwood surrounding the fort and village. https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/slokero ... iginal.jpg I'll explain further if there is interest on working on it, though you can get the best idea if you should decide to try playing it.

In regards to the theme of Deadwood, I kind of want to give it the cursed feeling of Berserk, where evil spirits are out to get you if you dare stray from the path. One of the best memories I have reading the manga was evil spirits being drawn towards Guts in a forest and manifesting as skeletons to take him down. http://i10.mangapanda.com/berserk/1/berserk-1555448.jpg This is eerily similar to how Army of Darkness handled skeletons, excuse the funny music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewJ-Zdbt5BA
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psi29a
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Re: Vision talk

Post by psi29a »

That was my idea as well, he ES was to demo OpenMW, not be a full fledged game... though it could be in time.

I like the direction.
etherflows
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Re: Vision talk

Post by etherflows »

Quite a few good influences here. Could be quite atmospheric. What time period? i.e Modern-day, 1920's or further back?

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DestinedToDie
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Re: Vision talk

Post by DestinedToDie »

If you look at Army of Darkness (Hollywoodish medieval), then that's basically the time period I think we're going with.
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DestinedToDie
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Re: Vision talk

Post by DestinedToDie »

To be honest, I envision a postapocalyptic time in uncertain future, where the order of the world has stagnated in such a way that people are still living in medieval-like conditions. In this sense, the world appears medieval on the surface, but truly is not. The way in which all the trees are dead and the land has gone grey from age is a hint towards that, as well as a reference to the black n white theme of some Lovecraft movies.
etherflows
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Re: Vision talk

Post by etherflows »

I love graphics and textures so making the world dead is unappealing to me.
Can we make the flora diseased, rotting, dying!
Fungi and lichen, low-light effervescent, polyp-like growth,choking vines,etc. might also darken the mood.
Color can still be muted and light sources can be transient.

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DestinedToDie
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Re: Vision talk

Post by DestinedToDie »

That sounds good to me.
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DestinedToDie
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Re: Vision talk

Post by DestinedToDie »

So what are your thoughts currently? You seem interested in designing Deadwood. Can you make the models in addition to texture? Should I write another in-depth thread about the level design in Darkwood so we can share our opinions on it and what we'd wish to appropriate into the Example Suite? After we have a conclusive vision, I'd let you loose to work on it.

Probably an important question... are you familiar with the asset pipeline? It's not too hellish in terms of static objects if you get familiar with it, but people hate .nif. :)
etherflows
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Re: Vision talk

Post by etherflows »

I am a programmer so I presume I'll adjust to the asset pipeline.
Regarding graphics in 2d I am fairly nifty. I haven't written a mod, though I've added, mods to all TES 3,4 & 5. I have used Unity3d and XNA (old Xbox language) implementing my own amateur graphics and models with minimal bones.

3d is a weakness though I can use Blender3d and will become dedicated if you need.
I actually want to do 3d, yet presumed I might not meet expectations.
My advice is test me out - suggest me to make a multi-part 3d asset and set a due date [ not yesterday ;) ]

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DestinedToDie
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Re: Vision talk

Post by DestinedToDie »

etherflows wrote: 24 Feb 2018, 18:36My advice is test me out - suggest me to make a multi-part 3d asset and set a due date [ not yesterday ;) ]
Alright. Let's start with something really simple. I'm not sure what your skills are, so how would you feel about making a ruined house (landmark) for the Deadwood area? You can use this as a reference, in case you don't have an idea of what you want it to look like. https://www.bahamas.com/sites/default/f ... k=qJS1DCQy Mostly I'm just checking to see if you know how to make it without excess polygons as well as know how to UV-map objects like these. I'll have a look at the .blend file once you're done.

Should you have any questions, I am mostly available on Discord where we can talk more directly. https://discord.gg/r58DfkH
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