The last few weeks I’ve been busy at work trying to finish a project that has been in progress well over a year. It’s a Level 4 IMI project, fully interactive simulation, where the user must learn to operate a military vehicle and communicate with his crew. This was our first Level 4 project, so it caught us off guard with it complexity, however the finish results are incredible. With any project, planning is a must, otherwise it will take twice as long to complete and this was the case with this project. The good thing is I did learned how to work more efficiently through planning and the advantages of using XML.
When I returned to my plan for the Nelxon XNA Game Engine Level Designer, I initially decided to develop an interface with Winforms to emulate Autodesk Maya navigation controls to layout my level and design stages but then it dawn on me. Why not just use Maya as the Level Designer then create a Maya plug-in to manage the 3D assets and create XML to layout the scene in XNA. In theory, The Game would read the xml file and dynamically load the level attributes and position assets.
If done correctly, I can create reusable assets to reduce file size and create controls for the assets in XNA. I will show the results in the next few weeks, probably after the completion of the Level 4 project at work. I have to plan out how this is going work…
Finally, after years of waiting any and all game developers that want to use the power and potential of the Unreal Engine 3 to create games, lifelike scenes and fantastic worlds, can download the UDK and use it for free.
UDK (Unreal Development Kit) is the free edition of Unreal Engine 3 complete professional development framework. It has all the tools you need to create an AAA game. It comes with a demo version of Unreal Tournament 3 to use as a starting point for those of looking to develop their own first-person shooter, but this however is not a mod tool. You can make your own games from the ground up and distribute them asstandalone applications, so basically users can now install and run your game without owning a copy of Unreal Tournament 3.
How cool is that?
Unreal Engine 3 has powered dozens of AAA Game titles; Gears of War 1 & 2, Mass Effect 1 & 2, Unreal Tournament 3, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and more. Many game developers always wanted to create their own game with the Unreal Engine 3, can’t wait to see what they will produce.
For those of you wondering, this is the full version of the Unreal Engine 3.
The UDK come with all of the same features and tool integrations of the full commercial version of Unreal Engine 3, without the C++ source code access. The UDK currently only builds windows-only apps, so if you are interested in going cross-platform (Mac, PS3, Xbox 360 or iPhone) or if you plan on selling your game/earning revenue then you will need to purchase a commercial license. The licensing agreement isn’t bad, if you decide to sell your end product or service, you first pay Epic $99 Royalty bearing, then 25% royalty on UDK related revenue after you earned $5,000 (or something like that). Simply said, if you make money, Epic makes money. For more details read the UDK Licensing Info. A good game can basically pay for itself.
The Pros and Cons of the UDK
Pros:
The power of the Unreal Engine 3 to make games, visualizations, and simulations
Distribute your work as a standalone windows application
Free Upgrades and major features additions
Commercial License pricing is reasonable.
Bragging rights for years if you create a kick ass game
Cons:
No source code
Build programs/games only for Windows, Not for Mac, PS3, Xbox 360, or iPhone*
Currently still in Beta, (May have a few bugs that affects your game)
Cannot earn revenue *
Use only for educational and non commercial use*
*Commercial license required
This is really good news for hobbyist and game developers that can’t get their foot in the door at gaming companies. Imagine this, Sending your resume and link to a game you created with the UDK to one of the gaming companies. If you can make a game, that can count as experience. Hell, if you game is popular, and good enough companies more than likely will come to you asking you to work for them and who knows, you may possibly even get funding to create a bigger commercial version of your game.
2010 is really staring to look like an interesting year.
There is an enormous amount of resources and source code for XNA game development available online. Creating a game engine may be easier than I anticipated. Most of the components I need have already been developed and optimized. I need to figure out the best approach to integrating everything into one package. Design wise, I’m still unsure if I should develop an internal GUI or use winforms. After several tests using windows forms (with and XNA Game embedded), there has been lots of slowdown and menu glitches. It’s easier to design interfaces using winforms but it may faster to develop games with an internal GUI. Further testing is required.
So far this is what I have planned for the Nelxon XNA Engine…
Graphical Interfaces:
Content Asset Manager:import & manage models, textures, audio, etc.
Props Sets Builder:create props sets using primitive shapes or from imported assets
Vehicle Builder/Library: import, create & manage vehicles (tests changes in real time)
Level Builder/Library:WYSIWYG Editor to create & manage levels using assets and props sets
Character Builder/Library:import & manage skinned characters (setup textures, bones, etc.)
Animation Library: import/manager animation data to apply to skinned characters
Character Animation Manager:define a list of animations for the each character
Cinematic Editor:Tool to create in-game cut scenes
Scene Manager: manage all the scenes states
GUI Editor: import/position images & define events to create the Game’s GUI in a WYSIWYG
Other Details:
Skinned character animation blending using up to 80 bones
Full Facial Animation and blending (don’t ask how, I’m working on it…)
This is not the full list of the features I have planned, just the ones I plan to develop first. I will post videos and images of my progress in the upcoming weeks as well new implemented features. Also, to eliminate confusion, I’m not developing an engine to distribute or sell commercially, I am creating it so that I can develop games easier and faster based on my work flow. I’m sharing the details about it, in case others are interested in making there own engine.
Update on the Flash Animation news
Pico’s wrath, the animated short I was currently working on has been delayed until Pico Day 2010 on newgrounds. This will allow me to focus more on the XNA Engine and possibly release a game before then. Judging from the list of emails I recently received it seems that visitors and fans are more interested in seeing me make a game.
After finally getting a grasp on the C# Language and the XNA Framework, I realize it may be beneficial to develop my own Game Engine to increase development time. I have experimented with other XNA Game Engines but I feel more comfortable with something I can build, manage and improve myself (instead of having to wait for an update).
This approach has many advantages. With an engine built in-house, I can completely customize it around my work flow, especially since I’m developing indie games by myself. This seems to be a successful solution for many Game Companies that have produce AAA Titles. Uncharted 2, Resident Evil 5, Street Fighter 4, and Tekken 6 are all examples of AAA games created with In-House Game Engines. These are also the type of genres I am interested in producing.
I understand that many developers want to use the Unreal Engine or CryEngine to make a commercial game, (Yes, I do too) but I don’t have funding to buy an engine priced above $750k. Besides, why would I use those engines to design an indie game I’m only selling for $5 that will be less than 150 megs?
However, being a programmer I can develop Tools and Methods that works similar to the Unreal Engine and CryEngine. I don’t have plans of distributing my in-house engine so I can design it to look and function like programs I am currently familiar with. As long my engine produces a playable game on windows and/or Xbox 360 that’s all that matters.
One of the great things about XNA is many developers have done most of the complicated programming for me, such as physics, AI, etc.; all I have to do is integrate those things and my own tools into one pipeline.
Later this week I will post features I plan to integrate into my engine. Note: I will still be using Sunburn as my primary Rendering Engine, this tool is a must buy for xna indie developers.
To make money, you have to spend money. With that said, I finally decided to get a Premium Membership ($99.00) for XNA Creators Club and was extremely happy with the advantages of this membership. The premium downloadable content will help me understand the XNA framework, but what truly impressed me is what you get from its partners. For example Torque X 2D / 3D for XNA is free.
Since I didn’t have to spend the money on Torque X 3D, I bought Synapse Gaming SunBurn Engine Community Edition. It was discounted for premium members. Essentially, I saved about $350.00, which will probably be used to purchase an Xbox360 Elite for my office. Torque X and Sunburn tools are pretty good so far, Later I will integrate Sunburn into Torque X…
On Another Note, I also purchased 3Dbuzz XNA Xtreme 101 (volumes 1-3). I’ve been watching the videos and Buzz does rant a lot while he teaches but he doesn’t skip or fast forward through anything. I’m half way thru Volume 1, and already learned so much. This is an excellent learning resource for guys like me just starting in XNA.
Now that I have more time to work on my personal projects, I want to explore game development and try to create a game. I recently read that Xbox 360 Elite is now only $299 which comes with a 120 GB hard drive. That’s perfect news, since I have finally decided to take XNA Game Studio more seriously (It has matured over the years). For those of you who don’t know what XNA is; it’s something to help programmers and developers produce games for Windows and Xbox 360 easier.
I love the fact that I don’t have to buy an overly expensive Development kit just to see my games on a Console. I want to make a Genryu’s Blade Game, but first I need to get my feet wet so I will probably make a similar type action/fighting game, to get a better understanding of the XNA game development process. I’m pretty sure my first game will probably be crappy, that’s why I don’t want to make Genryu’s Blade just yet.
What’s really nice about XNA is that , 1. It primary works with the C# programming language which I’m familiar with and 2. I can sell my game as an Xbox Live Indie Game, price at $1, $3 and $5 . That’s doesn’t sound like a lot but if 1000 people buy a $5 game, I will have plenty of gas money and maybe I can buy a better computer and/or software.
Besides I’m not doing this for the Money, I just really want to make a console game. Have you ever played a game and said to yourself “it would be cool if [Insert cool option here].” Think about it. You can make a game, play it and if you want to add or edit something, you can. The possibilities could be endless.
There is one thing however that I disagree with for the submissions of Xbox Live Indie Games; It’s the 150 Meg file limit. Are You Serious? Playstation One Games could be at least 700 Megs. (Playstation one came out in 1995) 150 Megs is fine for 2D games but 3D Games…
(3D Models, Textures Maps, Sounds, Music)… Under 150 Megs? How is this even possible?
I have seen a few 3D Indie Games, so I guess there is still hope. If all else fails, I will just distribute my games for Windows only. Once I have a working title and my new Elite Xbox 360 I will add the game developer’s diary to my workflow section.
This could be fun.
Side Note: I am still working on Pico’s Wrath as well; it is easier to work 2 projects at once to help prevent me from getting burned out on just one project. Updates will be posted next week.
First off Yes, there has been a serious lack of posts in my journal but I have been doing a lot of site revisions and updates. The site design and backend programming is now 99.9% finish. All sections are up and ready, so now all I have to do is keep adding content. With that being said…
The Making of Genryu’s Blade is available once again. I was surprised that so many people remembered it from my old ShockAnime website. Many of the emails I received were from animators on Newgrounds.com (with pretty good work), telling me that my article is one of the things that inspired them to animate. I was flattered so, after hunting thru my archives I found it, revised it, and loaded it to the new Workflow section.
I decided to add the workflow section because; animators and developers like me like to see the process of creating an animated short film or developing a video game. These workflows are basically “Developer Diaries” of my current and upcoming projects that will give fundamental information, tips, research information and trial and error I encounter throughout the project without going into too much detail.
Also in the Developer Diaries, I will list little details that aren’t fully revealed in the final project. For example in The Making of Genryu’s Blade, I explain Genryu’s and Takahashi’s special chi powers as well as the little extra touches I included in post-production. In upcoming projects, I will post updates to my workflows as I progress until distribution. Hopefully these articles will inspire and help new and skilled developers on their projects as well.
To help finding Maya Rigs, Tutorials, MelScripts etc., listed in my journal I’ve added a new Resource section to list those resources as well as a few WebLinks to specifically for animators and developers.
That’s it for the updates; my next personal project is Pico’s Wrath, my first animated flash short film since Genryu’s Blade, primarily for Newgrounds.com to help announce my return. I will document the progress in The Making of Pico’s Wrath as I work on it regularly.
I have created many animations over the years. One of my goals is to produce my own, animated movie using standard home PC’s. I think it is an incredible time we live in where we as the consumer has the capability to create and produce our own movies right in our very homes.
Jeff Lew did just that.
I have been a fan of Jeff Lew since 2001. He’s one of the guys that inspired me to get into the 3D industry. It took him five years to complete his 85 Minute Feature Length Film, KillerBean Forever. As far as I know he handled most of the modeling, animation, and directing himself. Below is the first scene of the Movie.
Pre-ordering is now available to customers in the United States and Canada.
I gotta support him, Because honestly I’m a fan and in about 5 years I may have my first animated film completed too.
The Gallery has a lot of past and current work. Everything from old Traditional Comic Book Style art of x-men, spawn, spider-man to digital animated stills from cinematic shorts I’m working on. Also in the gallery I will showcase any upcoming animation tests, such as run cycles, real time game animation, acting exercises etc.,
However working a full time job and trying to maintain a website is tough, especially when you have projects back to back…
But I’m still at it. The Info Section is next. Thanks for visiting.
The Norman Maya Rig has finally been released to the public.
Norman is a very popular and versatile Maya puppet built unofficially for the AAU (Academy of Art University) Pixar Classes. Norman was exclusive to AAU Students and intellectual property of AAU. The Pixar Classes are now disbanded and the creators have finally released it to the public under a non-commercial licensing agreement.
UDK (Unreal Development Kit) is the free edition of Unreal Engine 3 complete professional development framework. It has all the tools you need to create an AAA game. It comes with a demo version of Unreal Tournament 3 to use as a starting point for those of looking to develop their own first-person shooter, but this however is not a mod tool. You 
2010 is really staring to look like an interesting year.
To make money, you have to spend money. With that said, I finally decided to get a Premium Membership ($99.00) for 
The Norman Maya Rig has finally been released to the public.