Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Extra Credit - Lighting a Scene in Maya


One Point- Directional Light for Key



Two Point- Ambient Light for Fill


Three Point - Spot Light for Rim


And a little something extra- since I've been learning a lot about shaders lately, I figured I'd try turning my initials into a bit of a simple lamp in Maya.

Building a Scene in Maya


Monday, November 17, 2014

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Stop Motion Character Animation



For my stop motion character animation I worked with my roommate Clayton Chan. I set up a (rather risky) camera rig by propping my Surface Pro 3 on a chair. Then we crafted some small figurines from kneaded erasers and each animated a humanoid character. The third surprise character at the end was animated by Clayton, and we split up the work by putting myself on compositing and editing and him on audio (since he worked on the third character). Overall it was a really silly process that got ourselves some good laughs at the end.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction? Term Paper #2

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction? The Violation of Conservation of Mass in Video Games

      Let's talk about conservation of mass. The principle behind conservation of mass and energy is pretty simple, going back to the idea that something cannot be created out of nothing. Ergo, any system of mass and energy cannot be created nor destroyed—though mass and energy may transfer between energy and mass states, but that's probably a lesson geared more towards chemistry. Granted, it doesn't take a genius to figure this principle out, as conservation of mass is one of the most basic principles of the universe that can be observed just about all the time. However, adhering to this principle in every single story really does not help stretch the imagination in fantasy situations. Often times, conservation of mass can act as a hindrance in video games by limiting the possibilities of what can be done in such games, thus many games have opted to ignore this principle in the name of entertainment, be it for story or gameplay purposes. So, without further ado, let's take a look at a few games that do what can't be done in the real world: completely ignore one of the most basic principles of physics in the universe.

Street Fighter VI
Wait, wrong Street Fighter game. Wow, I remember playing this on my bootleg NES. Time sure have changed since then...

     Ask any fighting game enthusiast what the quintessential fighting game is, and most of them will definitely point to the Street Fighter series. Capcom has been developing this fabled fighting game franchise ever since the first game debuted in the arcades back in 1987, and has been going strong ever since with its current iteration of the series dubbed “Ultra Street Fighter VI” (which is actually the...4th version of Street Fighter 4, which makes it...the umpteenth version. Seriously, there are way too many for me to count). The games feature characters with very unique fighting styles that can be pit against each other in one on one duels. Most of the fighting styles of these characters are founded upon real forms of martial arts such as karate and Muay Thai, but the game also featured more whimsical elements such as fireball projectiles that are usually referred to as a “Hadouken” attack for most characters (unless you play Sagat, who's attacks are just..."thaiger"-everything). These shots can be fired off without any limit so long as your character was still alive, allowing for a play-style that involved testing your opponent at a safe distance with fireballs.This is a pretty clear violation of the conservation of mass principle as the fighters that are capable of such seem to have limitless energy so long as they were conscious.

This kind of sequence is what I like to call getting "Daigo'ed," as named after the famous Daigo Umehara. Don't know what I mean? Take a look at this video:

Seriously, this is one of the most annoying things that can happen to you in this game.

Among the stranger characters in the roster lies Dhalsim, an Indian yogi whose “yoga” fighting style involves spitting flames, teleportation, and stretching out limbs in ways that clearly defy every principle of anatomy and mass.
Don't mess with Dhalsim's reach, because he will mess you up.
Street Fighter as a series has generally been inclusive of a heavy use of the mystic due to the heavy influence of Asian martial arts in the series, but aside from that element, the main purpose of this game's refusal to follow the simple principle of conservation of mass—as well as many other rules of physics—is to allow for a large diversity of game-play styles between different characters. From these limitless possibilities spawned characters of many different types, some with varying degrees of realism, all working towards making the fights different at a character-against-character basis. Because of this, Capcom has definitely built up a roster of fighters in their latest iteration of Street Fighter that is nothing short of a healthy diversity.

Look at all these cool cats. I play that ninja girl who's...somewhere in the top middle left of the screen. She's cool. Kind of.

The Mass Effect Series



     We looked at Street Fighter VI (excuse me, Ultra Street Fighter VI) as a game which ignores conservation of mass to promote variety in a competitive game-play environment. What about a game that tries to explain its lack of coherence to conservation of mass as a major lore point? For this, we will look at the Mass Effect series. The Mass Effect series is a set of space-shooter science fiction RPG in the vein of Star Trek-like storytelling. The game-play features guns that fire an unlimited amount of projectile bullets that, in the first game, do not run out until the gun overheats and needs to cool down. Certain characters also gain access to “biotic” powers, psychic-controlled blasts that consist of energy beams and explosions that often altered space, time, gravity, and mass. All of this is coupled with the existence of space ships that are gargantuan in size and implausible faster-than-light warping, elements that feel more science-fantasy than science-fiction.

The pistols in Mass Effect 1 were pretty notorious for being able to shoot an almost unlimited number of shots
Examples of biotics in action around 2:40

Many of these elements would normally seem baffling and could be written off as “space magic;” however, the writers behind Mass Effect at Bioware were kind enough to give this space magic a name and how it works. The premise of Mass Effect is founded upon the discovery of a new element, deemed “element zero,” which releases “dark energy” that can modify existing masses when exposed to an electrical current. This offers an explanation for a lot of the more fantastical elements of the game, from the strange space magic that is biotic powers to the sheer violation of mass conservation that the guns commit in the first game. The introduction of this element provides the entire lore and story point behind the game and allows for the exploration of a rich, intergalactic society that has been exposed to this kind of power.
...I should go.

Saints Row: The Third

     Now, Ultra Street Fighter VI and Mass Effect are both games where the violation of conservation of mass is thought out in a meaningful way, one for the sake of diverse multiplayer gameplay and the other in the name of a rich, science-fiction universe. However, there is no rule that states that breaking that rule of mass conservation has to be serious business! After all, cartoons violate physics for the sake of violating physics all the time, so why can't video games?This next game play sequence may be the most hilarious, asinine, stupid, beautiful example of a video game going all the way to the extreme of breaking this rule. I present to you, the second mission Saints Row: The Third, appropriately titled Yes I'm Free, Free-falling:
Skip to around 5:00, and just watch the beautiful carnage. Oh, and just for reference, you will see the plane around the 7 minute mark.

There are so many stupid things going on with this scene that it is hard to figure out which one to start with. This particular mission of this GTA-like starts off in a reasonably-sized private jet, in which the main character and his or her sidekick Shaundi end up bailing out of by opening the cargo hatch of the train. This in turn releases not only a bunch of thugs into the sky that attempt gun the player down in the free-fall, but also in turn releases a bunch of full-sized vans that end up raining down in the sky, in which the player would go through a high-octane action sequence of having to shoot through the falling vehicles to get to the free-falling Shaundi. The only problem is, if you reference the plane that the characters were initially in, you would find that there was no way that plane could have fit nearly all of those cars. In most cases, this would entail a level of distaste that would border on the imbecilic, but anyone who is familiar with the Saints Row series should know by now the ridiculous, over-the-top nature of the Saints Row games, considering that the starting level was just as over-the-top with a reality-TV-demo-bank-heist-gone-wrong and the hallmark of the second game that is the poop-flinging truck. Despite the seemingly-normal setting of “normal” streets and cities, the Saints Row games establish early on that the universe is ridiculous and wacky. There are so many points in the game where physics is straight up denied; why should this scene be any exception to that? Ultimately, nobody really cares that multiple rules of physics aren't being followed, as the game is just really stupid fun.
Beautiful. So beautiful.

     These are just some of the countless examples of video games breaking the physical rule of continuity that is conservation of mass and energy. Much of the charm of these games have very much to do with their lack of coherence to one of the most basic rules of physics, yet they are no worse for doing so. It is important to remember that, in the midst of a long movement that has been pushing for higher visual fidelity in graphics and physics, many fun games are often founded upon the premise of broken physics. Things like bunny hopping in Counter Strike, the insane movement speed in Arena shooters, weird glitch exploits that increase efficiency, and of course all of what was mentioned in previous paragraphs prove the point that games are not necessarily defined by the fidelity of the physics, but more so by the intent of the developer. After all, in a video game, game play comes first. Everything else—the art, the music, the physics, etc—need to wrap around what the game play is meant to be.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Outline for the Second Term Paper

Scientific Fact or Cinematic Fiction? Outline for Second Paper
Violation of Conservation of Mass and Energy in Video Games
1.       Introduction
a.  In the real world, the principles of conservation of mass and energy state that mass can neither be created nor destroyed.
b.  This principle is frequently violated in video games, often for entertainment, gameplay, or story purposes.

2.       Street Fighter VI
a.   Many characters, such as Ryu, Ken, and Akuma for example, feature fireball moves that can be fired repeatedly without limit so long as the player’s character is alive.
b.   Dhalsim in particular is a character that can stretch his limbs to fight in a way that doesn’t quite make sense
c.  Though not related to conservation of mass, many characters also featured “dive kicks” that allowed them to alter trajectory and velocity mid-air in controlled ways that were far from realistic
d.  These inaccuracies to physics serve the purpose of not only creating interesting characters in a mystical sort of martial arts society, but also serve the purpose of creating a diverse set of gameplay styles for specific characters.

3.       The Mass Effect Series
a.  The way guns worked in the Mass Effect series has always been rather baffling. Most guns in the series fired physical projectiles, yet there was no actual ammo system in the universe (according to the rules of the Mass Effect universe)
b.  Not to mention, there were such things as “biotic powers,” which consisted of strange “space magic” energy beams and explosions that often altered space, time, gravity, and mass.
c.  The writers of the Mass Effect series attributed these violations of physics to a fictional element called “element zero” which releases “dark energy” that can modify existing masses when exposed to an electrical current. This is a case where the laws of conservation are bypassed for the sake of story.

4.       Saints Row: The Third
a.  The beginning sequence of the game features an over-the-top skydiving gameplay sequence where, after escaping an airplane, the player has to shoot through random goons in the air and massive amounts of falling cars presumably from the airplane itself. The player has infinite ammo and the amount of cars raining in the sky clearly would not have entirely fit in the plane itself
b.  This level is obviously tongue and cheek and is not meant to be taken seriously, providing the player with an extremely exciting and explosion-gratifying action sequence.

5.       Conclusion

a.   While physics are incredibly important, it is not always necessary for video games to follow realistic physics all the time. Many great games are actually founded upon the premise of broken physics. At the end of the day, it comes down to the game developer’s intent.