Bar concepts.

     I was a little concerned about starting my concept drawings for the 3D work I am doing. There is always the worry that my drawing style wont be in keeping with my work once I start modeling. For this reason I had a look first at some of the artwork surrounding my inspiration games.

GTA5


     Max Payne 3

   
     When I look at these images the art style isn't necessarily reflective of what we see in game. I would say that these picture are all slightly comic-esque whereas the games themselves seem to revel in realism. The comic style is perhaps a particularly appropriate feature for Max Payne, considering the strong Film Noir theme that accompanied the early installments of the series. However all these images effectively convey the kind of atmosphere we see within their corresponding game and it occurs to me that achieving this, regardless of art style, is the more important thing.
   
   

          I decided that first I should have an idea of my layout, even if I choose to deviate from this later on. I have made sure that there will be different areas to accompany the various "functions" of the location. Players will be able to consume food drink from the bar for example, the cellar will likely hold some kind of office set up (mission management) and a mattress for sleeping on. The bottom left corner has a pool table and I will try to include other games by having a dartboard on the wall, card decks on tables etc. The top left corner will be the "adult entertainment area" (although I think this would apply to the entire bar anyway) and just tucked in from the bar would be the dance floor where like in games such as GTA or Sims, players could meet potential girlfriends/dates.

     An important idea to me, again to show just what kind of place this environment is. would be to make sure the player feels some kind of separation between these areas. People would be visiting the place for different reasons and have next to no interest in what the other customers are doing there. People in the strip club aren't interested in hanging out with the pool player, who likewise don't care if you came in just to play some cards, or to try your luck on the dance floor. This again will make lighting important I feel- in this case securing an invisible kind or partition to show that this area of the bar is quite different from the next. Once again this shows the true nature of the venue. Whilst a more established building may have different rooms VIP, Bar and Dance areas, we are seeing a small pokey building try to encompass all of these with its low cost all in one set up. 

     The adult entertainment area I think will be one of the most noticeable parts of the bar. With its loud, unignorable lighting an general griminess I think it will catch the eye of the player wherever they are in the bar. I have tried to get this griminess across by making sure that from the walls to the sofas to the tables, every surface looks as though it is still dirty from years of dirt, mud, and spilt drinks that have never been cleared up. It has been raised up a level and a railing put round to give the impression of some kind of modest/privacy however, as with most of the bar, no real effort has been taken to ensure this.

    

     This gives a quick overview of what I would call the general area of the bar where customers would sit and drink. You can see the general unkempt nature and the lack of effort to make sure that bottles are cleared away, or even just picked up so they don't spill all over the floor.

     

     

     This image show the bar as I picture it. The main details to focus on here are the general deterioration of the place eg. holes in the bar where the wood has been kicked through, the lack of a freezer to chill any drinks. The extremely limited choice of drinks, one brand of beer and a small assortment of spirits and the weapon on the lowest shelf, indicating the bar owner may frequently be required to defend themself.

     

     I am still a little undecided on what the toilet area will look like. I decided the bar would only have one bathroom for men and women but I am not sure whether I will keep the lighting as it is, with quite a lot of the disco light shining through, or to use stong but cold lighting to make it quite an unfriendly almost clinical looking area, a bit like the bathroom in the opening scene of "Saw". I will continue as I am and review this later. 

Saw- Bathroom Scene

     I decided now that my next step is to do a very simple block out version of this scene in Maya as I feel this will allow me to settle on particular feature before I begin my major research into I will achieve all my desired effects.