Kitty KABOOM UI and Menus

To make the shapes for the UI I used the pen tool so that I could get very crisp edges. I then also desied to use the photoshop effects to add demention to the UI assaets, insted of painting them by hand. Doing this allowed me to keep the assaets looking uniform and neet. It also made the prosses faster as once I had a effects set I liked I saved it and simply aplyed it to the others.This proses still took some time as I don't have that much pratice with the prn tool, and getting the effects the ways I wanted them still took a lot of trile and error. To get the bubbly shiny look I wanted I still had to add small bits of highlights and colour by hand. I also used the pen tool to crate the two fonts I used for the title, and I also wanted to crate an entier font for the game using the same two style, but I didn't have the time. I put all the assects onto one sheet as it takes up less space and made it easire to inport then into the game. When making the assets I also sometimes made veriations in the same sheet incase the design I when with didn't work well or I had changed my mind.

As the art style of the game had changed, I desided to redraw the main characters so that it was more clear what their refance should look like. I wanted to do more indepth character sheets, but due to time I desided to leave it as it wasen't really needed. To save time, I desided to used this picture for the main menu of the game, both because I didn't have time to do something else, and as I wouldn't have to to make a cut scean fo the game, I feel like this image will at least introduce the characters to the player. 

KittyKABOOM Enemy Conpects

Munchers

I desided to go for robot enemies insted of organic ones, as they would be easier to animate and model. I also thought that the player shooting a real living creatures could seem more violent then intended. I also wanted to use the same shapes and look of the queen to influence the robots. At first I tried making a mouse tank type vehicle to fit in with the cat tank. But as the code I used was based on a zombie  enemies, the enemy needed to look like they would deal out damage in a slimier fation. I did a drill like design as the spinning would be easy to animate, but then I changed it to an "eating" robot, as it was already sapost to resemble a mouse, and mice has mouths, not drills. So visually this made more sence. 

     

I also desided to make a simple/crude test model so I could get a better understanding of what this robot would look like in 3D. I also needed it so I could see what the design would look like in the orthographic view of the game. 

Doing this helped me to see that I had to pay special attention to the ears as from an angle they may not read as ears at all. I kept this in mind when making the actual model and made the ears extra big so that they can be clearly seen in game. This dose make them look strange in a front view but it helps them to be seen diagonally. 

Cages and Cats

At first I wanted to make some cats as colectables for the game, but then I desided to change them from collectibles to objectives as it makes more sence with the goal of the game. I also made this change as I was having a hard time trying to deside what the boss section of the level would be like. Having one big turret was too easy and boring, so at first wanted it to be some form of big mouse robot with different kinds of ammunition that the player would have to avoid wile trying to attack it. Though this would have been more entertaining, I didn't have the know how to do this, or the time to lean how to eather. Because of this I had to think of a simpler way to make the boss section more engaging without having to add much. As there is a round about in the boss section, I thought that I should have some turrets curcel around it, as this would be easy to implement and the addition of a moving target could be fun. I then also desided to make the turrets cages that have the cats inside to make the player feel more determind to fight them.

I desided to use the same cat model for each cat, even though they all look different in the consent. This is because it will be easier to add more cats this way in the future, and as the wont be very big on the screan, the player might not even notice the differences if I was to model them. I changed the faces of the cats in the texture as adding the bigger cat eyes didn't translate well. 

Even thought at this point the art style of the game had changed to the lined toon look, I still did a panted concept fro the cage as I find it easier to paint non organic things, specially when I'm not sure what they look like. I made sure to keep to yhe same shapes and colours as the other mice related things to make so it all looked cohesive.

KittyKABOOM Evil Queen Consepts

Before making the enemies, I wanted to make the evil commander character so that I had a better idea of what the invaders look like. I was having troble thinking of the shapes I wanted to used for the commander, but I knew I wanted her to be very tall and slim. Because of this, I desided to uses Zbrush as a tool to get some ruff ideas out. I'm not very good at Zbrush, but I know how to uses most of the basic modelling tools, and as this was just for shape ideas, I didn't mind if it didn't look polished.

I then used this to start doing some different designs. At first, I stuck with more of  a demon/alien design aesthetic. I wanted to use a lot of sharp edges and sipcks to show that shes a bad guy. But I still wated her to look feminine and reagel, to she that she is very impotent/ has high statis. I then used more animal themes, just to help me think of different shapes. I ended up making a mouse themed one, as it would make more context with a cat themed tank. 

I wanted to work on the mouse design more, spasifacly getting the shapes and details down. I also wanted to practice some value work, so I did everything in gray scale. When making the queen, I still wanted it to look like a mouse, but I also wanted her too look evil and alien. To try and accomplish this, I used some mouse like elamants, like the buck teath and large rounded ears, but abstacted them with pointed edges to make her look dagarose. At first, I wanted the alain race to be more military based, so this character was going to be more of a galactic camcorder, but eventually I changed her to a bossy/ tatrent of a Queen, as I felt like her demanding/ selfish nature fits more for a royle character who is used to being spoled, then a solder based personality. 

Once I had finished the basic design, I added diffrent details would work for the enamies. With the frist design, people said it looked Aztec inspaired, which made her look very regal/ important. But I wanted her to look more sifi then mystical, so I didn't want to go with that one. The next two I tried to make look more spacy. The first one I tried to use mettle plates and rivets to make her look more matalic, but this became too busy looking and looks more steampunk/ had made then alien. For the last one I wanted to use more rounded shapes, to make it look more galatic/ spacey. 

After I had a better grasp on her design, I then tried out some different colours for the Queen. This was impotent as I would then use this colour scheme for the rest of the enmaies. I wanted them to look like aliens, but also look evil, so I used a lot of dark colours with some bright highlights for the detail, so that they stand out more. Thogh the red and black colours did make her look more evil, when people saw it they thoght she was some form of vampire mouse. To try and avoid this I when with the grayish blue colour to show the scifi element of it, as it looks more like metal.
I also included a little alien mouse solder by her side, just to show how much bigger she is from her subjects. I then used this to make a rended version of the concept. I was going to put her into a spaceship environment, but as environment are is my weekist skill it was taking too long. Additionally, there was no place in the game so far where the inside of the ship would be seen, so as it wane't needed for the game, I desided to not do it so that I had time to work on the more impotent thing for the game.

KittyKABOOM Tank Consepts

 Before makeing the tank, I desided to design the player character, as I find making characters easier. Also, if I had a better idea of the character, it might help me make the tank. I defiantly wanted the character to be a old, short lady, as i think the juxtaposition of a small old lady in a tank will be funny.

  

In the end, I went with the more wild look for her, as I felt it would be funnier if she had a very head stong and loud personality. It also made her look more like a cooky old lady, which I think makes more sence then a very quite, sesable lady, as she was sabost to be based on a crazy cat lady. 

Once a had done the lady, I then used that to help me think of what her tank would look like. I tried out some diffrent shapes, themes, and even diifrent viacels to make some tank designs. I liked the steam punk and needled themed ones, as they seemed very had made, and the thoght of her making the tank herself would add to the humor. However, I felt like for this kind of game, the design needed to be more simplistic design, as over complicaing it could make everything confusing. Asesaly if things alrady look like cats and mice. Also, when making the game, so far the camera distance had been quite far from the tank, so if I make the design, too complex, it may not be seen anyway, or even worse become confusing. 

I didn't want to confuse the visuals, so I desided to go for a simplistic design for the tank. This way it will be eaier for players to instantly see that it its a tank and also a cat. I also wanted to work on some colours as well, to make sure the tank really looked cat like. For this progect I wanted to work on consepting skills I'm not very good at, but for this drawing I used my normal style of quick line art and simple shading as its much qucker to do. After seeing this my teacher thoght this style worked well with the quircky idea of the game and it was more toonish. After debating it, I deaided to go forward with the new style as I'm more comftable with it so it will make creating the consepts faster and look better then trying to strugle with a style I'm not so used to.

Going forward with this style I made the model sheet for the tank. There where some parts of this that I struggled with as I couldn't visualize what the tank would look like in 3D. Because of this, some of the line work looks out of place and even mismatched in the different views. Even thogh I could see this, I didn't wont to spent to much time on it as I knew I could work out how these things would look butter once I started modeling them. If I was to send this reference on to someone else, I would have possible modeled parts of it in Maya fist so that the drawing was more accreate, but as I am working by my self this wasn't needed.

The problems I was having drawing some parts of the tank was quickly fixed once I started modeling as i was able to better see how the shapes would work together. To make the tracks for the tank I followed a tutorial that used a curve the help mold the shape I needed the tracks to follow. I also try to use this method and others to try and animte the tracks, but I coden't get this to work. The tracks where sapost to move along the curve but instent they would just rotate around its pivot. As this was taken too long to try and implement I desided to scrap it. However, because of this, the tank looked very bizarre when moving as the tracks where very obioaly not moving. To try and desicse this I desided to ass track covers to the tank as well. This work out better then I thought as the covers pushed the cat look even more and the paws where resived very well by testers. I did in the end deside to animate the wheels as that was much simpler and helped the tank look as if it was moving.  

New Eden Mobile: Finished Screen Shots

I think one of the biggest things I've lernt from doing this project is time manigment. Trying to deside what was worth more time and what could be cut was defintly importent with this as there where so many elements that needed to be done. It also made me practice environment art more which I still need to work on. 

 

New Eden Mobile: Gui

With the emblem, I wanted to make it look specel, but I also wanted to keep it simple so it doesn't get too beusy when broken apart. I also made sure to include the blue crystels as its a fesure that ties a lot of the game's world together.

When making the stone and bait GUI, I wanted to make sure it was easy to tell what it is, so I did diffrent designs and asked diffrent people which on looked most understandable. The ones people liked the most where the ones I used for the finel GUI. The arrows where tricker to do as I needed them to fit the style of the game, as well as stand out so a player could easaly see them. I used a stone design at first, but this blended in too much with the level. Then I thoght about using the colours in Tarrin's design as they ware used so she would stand out, so it would work for the GUI aswell. At first I was going to keep it flat, but after looking at other mobile game GUI, I desided to make it look more shiney. I did this by hand at first, but when I did the rest of the gui work, I played around with the effects in photoshop and found I could make the same look but much quicker. 

To decide what found to use for the game, I layed out some different styles so I could compare them. I liked the middle left one as I felt it suited the trible side of the world, but it was a little to busy. I desided on the middle right one as it had simsiler elements, but was much simpler. I then used what I lernt from the gui to add more demention and colour to the title.

New Eden Mobile: Alien Animals

As the story behind New Eden is that it was a space ship from earth, I thought a way to include the earth element is to comind normal animals to make alien like ones. I wanted to make a flying one and a big cat/dog type one, but due to time testritiones i desided to just make the flinging one. The aniames I wanted to combined where a bird and a bat. This is so it could be easily recognisable, and the bat like parts will help make it look more dangerous.

I tried different ways to combined them, but I mainly wanted to keep it simple to both fit the look of the game, and make modelling and rigging quicker. 

When colouring the bat bird, I wanted it too look thretaning to a player by looking at it, so I tried to use scehems that envocke danger. The coloures I used where based off a poisonis plaint, a dragon/lizerd, a bee and for the last one I wanted it too look more alien so I used constasting colours and waired patterning. I liked the colours of the plant one most, but I desided to go with the alien one to show the game is based on a nother planet. However, I didn't like the colouers as much as it started to blend in with the enviroment of the level. So I tied out diffrent colour combanations. I when with a perpaly pink one in the end, as the rednnes made it look more dagorose, and it stood out from the greens of the level.

As I was still working on the grope project at this time, I desided to keep the enamies as sprites so I woden't have to model them. This helped me save time, but also keep to the ristricked poly count, as the character was more then ezspected.

Even thogh I didn't have time to make the tiger hedhog, I still wanted to use it for the title screen of the game. I had a lot of troble getting the body to look right, so I used the zsphere tool in ZBrush to quickly block out the shape I wanted. This helped me to pose the creature.

At first, I wanted to give this creaure a strange colour scheem like the bird bat, but it started to look to bizzare and didn't seem to fit into the world of the game. Because of this, I kept the colours ferly simple, and focised on giving it feacures that make it look alien insted.

My fist try at doing this creates wasen't so good as I tried to use the gray schale and overlay tecnque that I used for the bird. I wasen't really getting the blend of coloures right and I started to over complicat the forms. So I started again, this time making sure I kept it simple and saturated, so it matched the styling of the game.

New Eden Mobile: Environment Assats

For the enviroment, I wanted the assaects to look like they're part of the same world of the Pc verson, but with the simpiler design. I ended up changing the platforms to make them less copicated, but this looked too dull, so I added some carvings to the side. When doing the tree, I wanted to add vines and moss to make look less neat and more overgrown. This also helps make it look more jungaley. I desided to only model the platforms as I felt the tree might take too long as the unwrap and the texturing would be tricky. 

I still felt like the tree wasn't really fitting to the jungle theme, so I used the strangle tree idea from the PC version and worked that into this tree. I feel like this helped it look more fantasy like and exotic then the tree before. I also took off the extra vines and moss as it started to get difficult to tell the decoration apart from the inheritable parts.