Blockout Stage and Planning

After deciding on where I wanted the project to go I began to create a simple blockout in Unreal 4. This would help get a good scale for the environment and make it easier to work out how a camera could move out the environment. I used the geometry brushes in Unreal 4 for the basic wall sections and created a few quick static meshes for other assets to represent the scene better. I will go back and improve these models later on and do high poly bakes.

After creating a blockout I made a quick mock-up of what a cinematic fly-through of the level may look like. I focused on key features such as the central fountain in the patio and other assets that told the story of what each room is.

Planning:
After creating the blockout I began to plan out the rest of my project. I created a simple asset list that included the minimum amount of assets I needed to produce. If I end up feeling the room are too empty or that I have time left over I will create more meshes and assets to bring the scene to life.

Main Patio Area:

·         Lion fountain – one complete lion, one slightly broken to make some variation

·         Modular sections of columns 

·         Spare column for corners and extras

·         Water channels

·         Foliage – bushes, trees?

·         Roofs

Living Room:

·         Sofas

·         Chairs

·         Cushions

·         Tables

·         Lamps

·         Central fountain/water pool

·         Shutters on windows

·         Chandelier

·         Plants

Bedroom:

·         Four-poster bed with drapes

·         Bedside table

·         Lamp

·         Ceiling light

·         Dressing table

·         Wardrobe

·         Chest of drawers

·         Shutters and drapes on windows

Other:

·         Sky out of windows

·         Terrain out of windows and over walls on patio

By calculating how long it will take me on average for each asset (and overestimating slightly on each) I then created a basic gantt chart. This shows that if I stick to the plan below I can be finished about a week before the deadline. I would like to stick to this plan as it means I will have a week to polish the level however I am aware that other modules, events and circumstances may get in the way.

I had originally created a few basic milestones for myself. I aimed to get all the assets modelled and UV'd by week 6 latest so I have time to base texture before the alpha milestone at week 8. After creating the gantt chart I realised that this may be unacheivable and a more realistic milestone would be week 7. I had also thought about having a milestone for week 10 of everything finished but this again was pushed back to week 11 on my gantt chart after looking at the hours required for each task. If I find that I get things done quicker than illustrated in this gantt chart I will return to my original milestones of week 6 and 10.