Unity and Cinema 4D

Just a quick update, recently I have been building terrain, 3D models, particle systems, light, joints, bones, figures and I've even tried my hand at coding scripts.

Hence the lack of updates on my blog. scripts seem to be the most difficult thing so far. I am also having trouble importing materials with the models that I have built in Cinema 4D.

However working through tutorials has helped me to get a greater understanding of both Unity and Cinema 4D.

Map of the game level

This is a sketch of the map of my game level!

Game Engine

Through using Unity I have worked on a map of my world for which Magni can move around in. He will start with minimum armor and gradually collect enough weaponry and armor to move onto the next stage.

The level that I will be creating will be a staging level and you will leave it by entering a portal. Minimal threats will be within this staging area but nothing too threatening.

The game will work like an RPG and with that there will be no levels to complete, however your character will level. Once your character has reached level one you will be able to use the portal to move on to the real game area.

In the staging area you will play Magni however after the staging area you can play as your own character from one of the nine worlds.

The staging area will show you how to work the controls, navigate the area and how to use your items.

The choice of characters will be split into factions and you can choose a character from either side.

The Åésir (gods) will lead one faction and The Jøtnar (giants) will lead the opposing faction

Within the gods faction will be The Vanir, The Ålfar (elves) & The Ice Elements of Niflheim

Within the giants faction will be The Dead of Hel, The Svartålfar (black elves) & The Fire Elements of Muspellheim.

The Humans of Midgard are split and can choose either side as their destiny is unknown as their world is the only one of the nine worlds to survive Ragnarøk.

Central Characters

Major Players

Móði and Magni - The sons of Thor and Jarnsaxa and the main protagonists in the game. They will inheirit their father's hammer Mjollnir after Ragnarok.

Loki - The sly, trickster god. Son of two giants. Also known as the Sly One, the Trickster, the Shape Changer and the Sky Traveller. He has become increasingly more evil. He is responsible for the death of Balder (son if Odin) and he is bound until Ragnarok.

Odin/Habard - God of poetry, battle and death. Chief god of the Aesir. Also known as the "all-father", the "terrible one", "one-eyed" and "father of battle". He will visit the brothers and help them in their quests.

Þrúðr (aka Thrud) - Daughter of Thor, brother to Magni and Modi. Promised to the dwarf Alvis. She is also one of the Valkyries. She will appear and heal the brothers when they are weak after or during battle.

Freyr - Important god of the Vanir. Son of Njord and brother of Freyja. Freyr was highly associated with agriculture, weather and, as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals".

Freyja - Main goddess of the Vanir (fertility gods). Daughter of Njord and sister of Freyr. In the Eddas, Freyja is portrayed as a goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, Blonde, blue-eyed, and beautiful, Freyja is described as the fairest of all goddesses, and people prayed to her for happiness in love.

Side Characters

Thor - God of Sky, thunder and fertility. Associated with law and order in Asgard and guardian of the gods. Son of Odin and Earth, husband of Sif and father of Þrúðr, Móði and Magni . Also known as the "thunder god" and "charioteer". Thor will not feature much as he will be leading the Aesir into war.

Freyr and Freyja

Freyr (sometimes anglicized Frey, from *frawjaz "lord"^[1]) is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was highly associated with agriculture, weather and, as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals". Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house.

Freyja (sometimes anglicized as Freya), is a major goddess in Norse Paganism, a subset of Germanic Paganism. Because the documented source of this religious tradition, the Norse Mythology, was transmitted and altered by Christian medieval historians, the actual role, pagan practices, and worship of the goddess are uncertain.

In the Eddas, Freyja is portrayed as a goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, Blonde, blue-eyed, and beautiful, Freyja is described as the fairest of all goddesses, and people prayed to her for happiness in love. She was also called on to assist childbirths and prayed to for good seasons.

Freyja was also associated with war, battle, death, magic, prophecy, and wealth. She is cited as receiving half of the dead lost in battle in her hall Fólkvangr, whereas Odin would receive the other half at Valhalla. The origin of Seid was ascribed to Freyja.

Jötunn

A 'Jotun' (sometimes spelled Jotunn or Jötunn, pronounced /ˈjoʊtən/, /ˈjoʊtʊn/, /ˈjɔːtʊn/, or [ˈjøːtun]^[1][2]), is a giant in Norse mythology, a member of a race of nature spirits with superhuman strength, described as sometimes standing in opposition to the races of the tribes of the Æsir and Vanir, although they frequently mingle with or intermarry with these. Their otherworldly homeland is Jötunheimr, one of the nine worlds of Norse cosmology, separated from Midgard, the world of humans, by high mountains or dense forests. Other place names are also associated with them, including Niflheimr, Utgarðr and Járnviðr. In some legends and myths they are described as having the same height as humans.

Móði and Magni

Móði (anglicized Módi or Mooi) and Magni are the sons of Thor. Their names mean "Angry" and "Strong," respectively. Rudolf Simek states that, along with Thor's daughter Þrúðr ("Strength"), they embody their father's features. Móði and Magni's descent from Thor is attested by the kennings "Móði's father" (faðir Móða, in Hymiskviða,) and "Magni's father" (faðir Magna, in Þórsdrápa and Hárbarðsljóð, 53). Snorri Sturluson confirms it (Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál,). According to Skáldskaparmál Magni is the son of Thor and the Jötunn Járnsaxa.

Æsir–Vanir War

The 'Æsir–Vanir War' was a war that occurred between the Æsir and the Vanir, two groups of gods. The war ultimately resulted in the unification of the two tribes into a single tribe of gods. The war is an important event in the canon, and the implications of the war and the potential historicity surrounding the accounts of the war are a matter of an amount of scholarly debate and discourse.

The Nine Worlds

Asgard, world of the Æsir.
Vanaheimr, world of the Vanir.
Midgard, world of humans.
Muspellheim, world of the primordial element of fire.
Niflheim, world of the primordial element of ice
Svartálfaheim, world of the Svartálfar (black elves).
Álfheimr, world of the Álfar (elves).
Hel, underground world of the dead.
Jötunheimr, world of the jötnar.

Þrúðr & The Valkyries

Þrúðr (Old Norse "strength"),sometimes anglicized as Thrúd or Thrud, is a daughter of the major god Thor in Norse mythology. Þrúðr is also the name of one of the valkyries who serve ale to the einherjar in Valhalla (Grímnismál). The two may or may not be the same figure.

A Valkyrie (Old Norse valkyrja "chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who decide who will die in battle. The valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin, where the deceased warriors become einherjar. There, when the einherjar are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens, and sometimes connected to swans.

Vanir

This is an example of an Vanir!

The 'Vanir' (singular Vanr) are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods (the other being the Æsir) and are associated with the location Vanaheimr. After the Æsir–Vanir War, the Vanir became a subgroup of the Æsir and subsequently, while the Vanir retain original group association in the mythology, they are also referred to as Æsir.

Loki

Loki (or Loke) is a god or jötunn (or both). Loki's relation with the gods varies by source. Loki assists the gods, and sometimes causes problems for them. Loki is a shape shifter and in separate incidents he appears in the form of a salmon and a mare. Loki's positive relations with the gods ends with his role in engineering the death of the god Balder. Loki is eventually bound by the gods with the entrails of one of his sons. A serpent drips venom from above him that his wife Sigyn collects into a bowl. However, Sigyn must empty the bowl when it is full, and the venom that drips in the mean time causes Loki to writhe in pain. During the events of Ragnarök, Loki is foretold to fight against the gods among the forces of the jötnar. There, he will encounter the god Heimdallr and the two will slay each other.

Aesir

Example of the Aesir (A group of warrior gods led by Odin who inhabit Asgard.).

In Old Norse, áss (or ǫ́ss, ás, plural æsir, feminine ásynja, feminine plural ásynjur) is the term denoting a member of the principal groups of gods of the pantheon of Norse paganism. They include many of the major figures, such as Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. They are one of the two groups of gods, the other being the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two are described as having waged war against one another in the Æsir-Vanir War‎, resulting in the unification of the two into a single tribe of gods.

Basic Plot (Narative)

The story will be about the events leading to Ragnarök and how the twin son's of Thor; Magni and Modi will try to prevent Ragnarök from taking place.

Magni and Modi are the twin sons of the god Thor and Giantess Jarnsaxa so as the are demi gods they will be supported by the gods and giants alike.

They will be visited by various gods (Aesir and Vanir), giants (Jotunn) and in particularly Habard The Ferryman (Odin in Disguise) and their sister Þrúðr (or Thrud as she is sometimes known)
throughout the game to which they will lend advice.

Loki who is bound for eternity for being responsible for the murder of Odin's first son 'Balder the wise and gentle' will begin a war. In an effort to free himself from his bounds Loki will convince the giants to seek a war against the gods and cause the destruction of the nine worlds which will allow him to escape.

Magni and Modi will venture across Asgard and the other seven worlds seeking out Loki and to try and prevent him from destroying the nine worlds. At the same time Thor will be leading the Aesir into war against the giants.

Magni and Modi will be gifted items such as weapons and armor throughout the game from various gods and giants.

Valknut Symbol Triquetra

The 'Valknut Symbol Triquetra' is the equivalent of The Crucifix in the Christian religion or The Star of David in Judaism.

It is very interesting that it shows a trinity.

Magni and Modi

Say goodbye to Archie and say hello to Magni and Modi the twin sons of Thor.

Ragnarök

Prepare for Ragnarök!!!

Or ræɡnərɒk as it is pronouced in old Norse;

The final destiny of the gods! Ragnarök is a series of major events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures, the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water. Afterward, the world resurfaces anew and fertile, the surviving gods meet, and the world is repopulated by two human survivors. Ragnarök is an important event in the Norse canon, and has been the subject of scholarly discourse and theory.

My game will be Ragnarök and the events that lead up to it.

'Fylliz fiǫrvi
feigra manna,
rýðr ragna siǫt
rauðom dreyra.
Svǫrt verða sólskin
of sumor eptir,
veðr ǫll válynd
Vitoð ér enn, eða hvat?'

More to follow .....

Digital Archie

A few digital representations of Archie!

Games Design Concept: Part 5

Just a few examples of how 'Archie' will
look in sketch form.



I wanted to try a few different styles and expressions until I figured out what I wanted the 'Hero' will look like.

Once I have decided I will then draw him fully and work out his clothing.

Games Design Concept: Part 4

Games Research

Final Fantasy

Games Research

The Legend of Zelda

Games Research

World of Warcraft: Blood Elf

Paladin
Mage

Games Analysis Part 2

Games Analysis

Games Design Concept: Part 3

These are the basic concepts for the two male elves, 'Archie the Paladin' and the 'Warlock' who I am yet to name.

The two female characters will be a 'Mage' and a 'Rogue'.

Games Design Concept: Part 2

Games Design Concept

Hello,

This is the first of many posts on this blog. I should start by telling you why i am doing this, so here goes;

I will create a series of blogs for University starting with this one. I am studying 'Interactive Media Design' at Northumbria University. My name is Steve Myers and I am a 27 year old mature student.

This blog is to be used to keep a diary of my progress on my 'Games Design' project. So the reader will know step by step how I did the project. I have already began by producing sketches to which I will upload later today.

My concept is going to be a 2D plat former/ shoot 'em up/ hack & slash game. I will try to either make a demo or a one level game. The game will be a one player with a choice of four characters, all elves. They will be two male and two female, each will have their own fighting style and own weapons. Only one character will be playable for the demo though.

The one playable character will be 'Archie' a young 'Paladin' who wields a 'Mighty Hammer of Justice' and a 'Shield of Many Uses', his 'Power Attack' will be a 'Ground Pounding Smash' which will kill many demons in one go.

The secondary characters will be based on a 'Warlock', a 'Mage' and a 'Rogue' to which the sexes, names and weapons will need to be assigned.

The premise will be an 'Elf' who has to stop 'Demons' from invading his world through 'Portals', the elf will use it's 'Weapon' to attack the demons and use it's 'Shield' or 'Force Field' to defend itself from demon attack. The Elf will collect 'Fruit' to help to regain health and bottles of 'Super Juice' so it can unleash it's 'Power Attack' upon his foes! Ideally at the end of the level the elf will fight a 'Boss' character who will be harder to defeat than the other demons.

I will post more later, thanks for reading!
Steve Myers