A lot of thoughts went through my head seeing Capstones this past Friday. I know I need to bring my "A" game to it next year because this is it, this the last thing I will do at the collegiate level and I need to make sure I leave my mark and make a good impression on future employers, if there are any there that night. I discovered a lot of blood, sweat, and tears go into Capstones and you have to give it your all.
I found it helpful because I got to talk to different people who were presenting and it gave me an insightful look into how people approached Capstones. It was a good thing to go and have a look to see what everybody did.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Capstone Interviews
At Capstone Night yesterday, I interviewed three people there. They were Xian Guan, Lawrence Marshall, and Nate Moody. Here is a recap of what they said.
Xian Guan, Character Modeler
1. Why did you choose this for your capstone project?
She wanted to be a character artist, so she decided to model and texture two high detailed characters for her portfolio.
2. What are some of the changes that you had to make between your original idea and what you are presenting today?
She was going to do 3, but didn’t have enough time, so she had to drop one. She was also going to texture the clothes, but ran out of time, so she put a maya procedural texture on instead.
3. What is your opinion of the timeline for your capstone? Was it helpful or a waste of time? Why?
She said it was alright, but she had to overshoot her timeline, so she wouldn’t finish it, but would still get a lot done.
4. If you could change anything about your capstone, what would that be?
She wanted to have a layout made, so she could spend time more correctly and waste less time. If she had a layout, she would of spent more time getting a better pose of the characters for the scene.
5. What advice would you give me in planning for my capstone?
Start now, watch out for scope creep.
Lawrence Marshall, Stereoscopic Scenes
1. Why did you choose this for your capstone project?
I wanted an opportunity to try and use all the different skills I have learned in the master's program.
2. What are some of the changes that you had to make between your original idea and what you are presenting today?
Originally I planned on shooting one 20 second short. Because I used one camera to shoot in stereo, I was very limited in what kinds of shots were possible. I split it into two small videos so that I could cover all the different skills and focus on playing to different strengths.
3. What is your opinion of the timeline for your capstone? Was it helpful or a waste of time? Why?
I never bothered with the timeline. There were a few blind alleys that I went down. Quite a bit of my project involved experimentation and incorporating what I discovered along the way.
4. If you could change anything about your capstone, what would that be?
A stereo rig would have allowed me to do more interesting things.
5. What advice would you give me in planning for my capstone?
Having done capstone as an undergrad where I started two years ahead of time and a grad where I started 9 months out, time is everything. That being said having the vision to work so far ahead requires a lot of thought. It also rules out skills you may pickup in the intervening time period.
Nate Moody, Graphic Novel
1. Why did you choose this for your capstone project?
Expand storytelling skills
2. What are some of the changes that you had to make between your original idea and what you are presenting today?
Not many
3. What is your opinion of the timeline for your capstone? Was it helpful or a waste of time? Why?
It's a guideline and good way to gauge progress
4. If you could change anything about your capstone, what would that be?
More physical things
5. What advice would you give me in planning for my capstone?
Do something you're familiar with
Xian Guan, Character Modeler
1. Why did you choose this for your capstone project?
She wanted to be a character artist, so she decided to model and texture two high detailed characters for her portfolio.
2. What are some of the changes that you had to make between your original idea and what you are presenting today?
She was going to do 3, but didn’t have enough time, so she had to drop one. She was also going to texture the clothes, but ran out of time, so she put a maya procedural texture on instead.
3. What is your opinion of the timeline for your capstone? Was it helpful or a waste of time? Why?
She said it was alright, but she had to overshoot her timeline, so she wouldn’t finish it, but would still get a lot done.
4. If you could change anything about your capstone, what would that be?
She wanted to have a layout made, so she could spend time more correctly and waste less time. If she had a layout, she would of spent more time getting a better pose of the characters for the scene.
5. What advice would you give me in planning for my capstone?
Start now, watch out for scope creep.
Lawrence Marshall, Stereoscopic Scenes
1. Why did you choose this for your capstone project?
I wanted an opportunity to try and use all the different skills I have learned in the master's program.
2. What are some of the changes that you had to make between your original idea and what you are presenting today?
Originally I planned on shooting one 20 second short. Because I used one camera to shoot in stereo, I was very limited in what kinds of shots were possible. I split it into two small videos so that I could cover all the different skills and focus on playing to different strengths.
3. What is your opinion of the timeline for your capstone? Was it helpful or a waste of time? Why?
I never bothered with the timeline. There were a few blind alleys that I went down. Quite a bit of my project involved experimentation and incorporating what I discovered along the way.
4. If you could change anything about your capstone, what would that be?
A stereo rig would have allowed me to do more interesting things.
5. What advice would you give me in planning for my capstone?
Having done capstone as an undergrad where I started two years ahead of time and a grad where I started 9 months out, time is everything. That being said having the vision to work so far ahead requires a lot of thought. It also rules out skills you may pickup in the intervening time period.
Nate Moody, Graphic Novel
1. Why did you choose this for your capstone project?
Expand storytelling skills
2. What are some of the changes that you had to make between your original idea and what you are presenting today?
Not many
3. What is your opinion of the timeline for your capstone? Was it helpful or a waste of time? Why?
It's a guideline and good way to gauge progress
4. If you could change anything about your capstone, what would that be?
More physical things
5. What advice would you give me in planning for my capstone?
Do something you're familiar with
Monday, October 8, 2012
Timeline
My timeline was built around me, putting a month of time to building each portion of the level. I really don't have any time to rest in between each section. The good thing is that the demo reel doesn't need to be made, but I'm doing it for extra practice and it will also be a good way to show detail in some objects.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Peer Capstone Support Group
I am making a video game in 3D using maya, photoshop, and the unreal engine for my capstone or at least attempting to. I know there were people who wanted to make a game for there capstone, but it sounded like most of them were going to be in flash. If there are 3D people or game people, I would love to partner up with them and bounce ideas back and forth.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Look at the big picture outside yourself
I was partnered Luago Kasberg and we shared ideas and what the other person could do to make their ideas better. After listening to him share my idea, I realized that I have to go back to the drawing board and flesh it out more. My idea is a good start, but I gotta put a lot more thought into it and plan out everything before I do anything.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Capstone Ideas Left on the Cutting Room Floor
During the past two years, I've been trying to come up with ideas for my capstone. There were some really good ones that had a great story, but I couldn't really figure out where to take it from there.
The 1st Idea:
This idea came from when I was in my Four Horsemen phase. The main character was a kid who thought he was just an ordinary high school student, everything was going great for him until one night he, his girlfriend were attacked by things that didn't seem human. Turns out his family holds a dark secret that his mother tried to keep him from, the men in his family ran hell and they wanted him to take the mantle of the Grim Reaper. He reluctantly agrees to do it to save the souls of his friend and girlfriend. As he takes jobs from them, he finds out that they were never going to bring them back and he was just being groomed to have his heart and soul taken from him s he could be a loyal servant to the family. So he decides to take the fight to him one by one and steal their power from them. At the end of the game, his mind has become so warped by what has happened and what he has become, an angelic figure has come down to try and stop him from killing his father and taking the crown as the new king of hell. So the player would have a choice to kill their father or to let the figure reset everything back to it was before the faithful night, him and his friend, and girlfriend would be protected from what happens.
The 2nd Idea:
This was game idea I almost took the whole way. The kid is coming home from school with his friends when his hated rival shows up. The rival starts something and they end up fighting, the rival pushes him into the street where he is hit by a car. As he is fading in and out of consciousness, he wakes up to being in another world that is made up of the heroes and villains of the games he plays, but everybody he knows has taken the appearance of his real life friends, family, and other people that he has come in contact with. Everything that happens in his mind affects his body in real life. So the player would have to beat the game to get the main character to wake up. This game was going to be a homage and parody of other arcade games from the 80s and 90s.
The 3rd Idea:
This is the idea that I am currently fleshing out for my capstone. This is going to be a level to a side scrolling game that I want to make. The whole game will encompass ideas and philosophies from past games and current games. The level I am doing is going to be a stealth, rogue like section where you have to sneak around and collect jewels and treasures in the haunted Egyptian temple. When you collect and accidentally open up Pandora's Box, this will be the jumping off point for the game and add a supernatural element when King "Tuttin"hamen will wake from his slumber and try to bring back his kingdom and rule the world, by assembling the "8 Evils of the World", which are the "8 Wonders of the World".
The 1st Idea:
This idea came from when I was in my Four Horsemen phase. The main character was a kid who thought he was just an ordinary high school student, everything was going great for him until one night he, his girlfriend were attacked by things that didn't seem human. Turns out his family holds a dark secret that his mother tried to keep him from, the men in his family ran hell and they wanted him to take the mantle of the Grim Reaper. He reluctantly agrees to do it to save the souls of his friend and girlfriend. As he takes jobs from them, he finds out that they were never going to bring them back and he was just being groomed to have his heart and soul taken from him s he could be a loyal servant to the family. So he decides to take the fight to him one by one and steal their power from them. At the end of the game, his mind has become so warped by what has happened and what he has become, an angelic figure has come down to try and stop him from killing his father and taking the crown as the new king of hell. So the player would have a choice to kill their father or to let the figure reset everything back to it was before the faithful night, him and his friend, and girlfriend would be protected from what happens.
The 2nd Idea:
This was game idea I almost took the whole way. The kid is coming home from school with his friends when his hated rival shows up. The rival starts something and they end up fighting, the rival pushes him into the street where he is hit by a car. As he is fading in and out of consciousness, he wakes up to being in another world that is made up of the heroes and villains of the games he plays, but everybody he knows has taken the appearance of his real life friends, family, and other people that he has come in contact with. Everything that happens in his mind affects his body in real life. So the player would have to beat the game to get the main character to wake up. This game was going to be a homage and parody of other arcade games from the 80s and 90s.
The 3rd Idea:
This is the idea that I am currently fleshing out for my capstone. This is going to be a level to a side scrolling game that I want to make. The whole game will encompass ideas and philosophies from past games and current games. The level I am doing is going to be a stealth, rogue like section where you have to sneak around and collect jewels and treasures in the haunted Egyptian temple. When you collect and accidentally open up Pandora's Box, this will be the jumping off point for the game and add a supernatural element when King "Tuttin"hamen will wake from his slumber and try to bring back his kingdom and rule the world, by assembling the "8 Evils of the World", which are the "8 Wonders of the World".
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
What is a damn"Capstone"?
What is a capstone?
To me, a capstone is a final project that shows off all of your skills that you learned over your time at school. It's also a showcase for companies of what you can do. I feel like it's just a hoop to get through, but it's a necessary evil that you have to go through. A capstone is a "trial by fire" that will show if you can come up with an idea from scratch and finish it. It'll test your resolve and force you to make tough decisions on what you should keep and what gets thrown in the trash. If you can come up with an idea and finish it from start to end, then it will show people that you can get a major task done on time and done right.
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