Studio work- Bar- Inspirations

     Since our session last week I have been spending time thinking about what I would like to do for my studio project. As stated before I was already considering a 3D environment such as a bar. I started to think about the kind of bars that I prefer to go to. Generally I prefer somewhere with a sense of character, often accompanied I find by a reasonable amount of deterioration, and adorned with various artifacts that have been picked up over the years. I feel I would find it preferable to create this kind of scene then an immaculately clean and well looked after building with no real atmosphere to it.
     Whilst I don't have an exact idea for the game setting my environment would fall into, I have an idea for what the scene should be like. I think I will pick a foreign location for my building, somewhere where health and safety would not be an issue, fights would break out regularly, with a seedy atmosphere and a plentiful amount of illegal activity.
     My first step was to get as much inspiration for my idea as possible. A strong example of this kind of scene that I particularly enjoyed is in one of the levels of Max Payne 3. Much like the criteria I had for my own idea this takes place in a lawless slum in Brazil where safety regulations in public buildings would be the least of anyone's worries.

     One of major things that appeal to me is the sense that rich Western culture has infiltrated the location. This attempt to appeal to tourists with merchandise, such as the gaudy shirt max is sporting in this image, is something I feel I should include in my scene to add character to the environment. I would also like to show this by having big name brands, or knock off versions, of food, drink, clothing etc within the scene. Obviously I cannot use existing brand but it should still be possible to emulate this.

     The sense of dilapidation is also something I want in my scene. Whilst this image does not quite capture the same mood as my bar, it is from the previous Max Payne set in American, it does give a idea of the grime and disrepair I would like to put forward in certain areas of my game. My main intention is to get the impression across that this is a no frills kind of establishment where the decor and general cleanliness are thoroughly ignored by patrons who are there purely to satisfy their vices by any means necessary

     Lighting has often been a weak point in the final presentation of my work, and one of the points raised by my tutors when deciding on the project was the opportunities for lighting within this piece. Being a bar/club there will be many variances of shiny materials, chrome, glass bottles, polished wood etc which will all reflect light differently.
     In keeping with the seedy atmosphere I also intend to include an "adult entertainment area" within my scene. As before this is where people will be coming to satisfy their various urges and therefore rather then trying to dress it up as a "classy establishment" it will consist of cheap fluorescent lighting and grubby furniture. This lighting around the snooker table in this area gives a fair example of how I would like this to come across.  
      Some other relevant features of the image would be the snooker table and the posters on the wall. If this was somewhere people were spending a lot of time I imagine pub games would be a popular choice. Posters on the wall I can imagine would be an alternative to putting fresh paint on the walls. It would also be another example of rich Western media infiltration where American music and cinema that may appeal to tourists.

     This image shows far too grand a scene for what I have in mind however I did want an example of the set up behind the bar, and to some extent the style I am trying to avoid.

Overall the Max Payne series also sets a benchmark for the type of realism I would like to achieve in my 3D piece when it is finished.




Another, if somewhat indirect, source of inspiration is the anime series and subsequent game adaption "Afro Samurai". The art style is far too comic book for what I have intended however it is a brilliant example of the "Western influence/infiltration" I have mentioned before. Whilst the series is typical of Japanese Manga in many ways the use of Samuel L Jackson, a very Western icon, as a character voice subverts this somewhat.
The protagonist himself is clearly inspired by Blaxploitation characters such as the ones below.


This cross of cultures I will try to infuse slightly with my own work, cheapening the aesthetics of the bar even more with its tacky tourist appeal. My next step is to start formulating my ideas and deciding on the layout of my actual scene. I will begin this now and then update.