Ok so where to start....
At the start of this project i was really willing and up for it! The idea of creating a haunted amusement ride was rather interesting while at the same time rather challenging.
I started the project by trying to come up with some ideas and themes for my ride. At the time of the project i had be playing through the game Alan Wake (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Wake) which is a psychological thriller which at parts is rather intense and scary. The game its self is very dark and driven by the stories narrative which made me want to create something with more of a story rather than just a jump out and scream themed ride.
So thinking id rather have a story driven ride i started planing some kind of story i can get across in only a minute. I looked at all the common reasons for a house to be haunted, a murder an untimely death with the resident having unfinished business, a curse placed upon the house the list goes on.
In the end i came up with a story which involved the family living in a manor house out in the woods. They become tormented and eventually devoured by a giant mother snake who became threatened by the family when they moved in.
So to incorporate my story into an amusement ride i wanted to introduce the family that once lived in the house and also have the rider chased by the angry snake.
The digital design.
I had the idea and the vision of what i wanted in my head so it was to to try create this vision in 3ds max. Iv got the basics down for 3ds max although a little rusty for not having used it sins the last term. I feel i started the project rather well although about three weeks in my project films became corrupt and with no backup i had to start from scratch. Learning for this i started making backups of the project files and making sure i was saving regularly.
As last time i still feel that the program its self is very temperamental. Sometimes everything seems to run smoothly and as i wish but other times it will almost bring me to tears with its unwillingness to corporate. I built up the different levels and the different rooms with in my 'Hunted Manor House.' Creating the rooms was fairly easy, using the wall generator it was simple and adding a nice old wallpaper texture it gave a good effect.
Originally i wanted to have a large collection of portrait paintings on the wall, but at the moment i only have the one of the main 'father figure.'
There is still a fair but to do on the ride but sins getting 3ds max at home ill be able to work on it in my spare time which will give me a lot more freedom and time to experiment with different things.
I still have to work on the animation of the snake, the way it moves, brakes through walls and moves in genera. A room full of snake eggs that hatch as the cart goes by needs to be created and the final scene where the cart escapes need to be created. Touch ups on the underground entrance and the berial ground needs to be finished.
So as you can see i still have a fair bit to do but i feel i can have it done by putting some time in over the next few weeks.
Overall i can say that the virtual environments project has been rather stressful and in the end i don't feel i have enjoyed it as much is i was hoping to at the start of the project. If i was to do it again knowing what i do now id make sure i have a clearer time frame allowing me more options to create to scenes and elements.
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