The scene the team decided to reproduce was the InkBlot Academy map from Splatoon 2. The team had all tried the game Splatoon before so we were all familiar with how the game looks and plays. We felt that this map would fit within the scope of what we had in mind of building the city and then adding a small mini-game involving the paint splatter. My job as the 3D modeler and texture artist was to create most of the models in the scene, such as tower buildings, flooring, and a few props. As well as texturing all the models and extra models that my teammates provided so that it could look like the Inkblot Academy map.
Final Scene Screenshot!
Vista Point Final Scene Screenshot!
As I mentioned, the models I worked on were buildings and ramps for the scene. I created separate UV maps for each of the models and made sure to group items so that I could create UV maps in a more compact way. I also made sure to keep the same texel density for all of my UV maps for anything that I did so that it could look even when I textured my items in Painter. The buildings did cause me a few problems, such as n-gons, but I was able to clean up the models by attaching more edge loops and separate faces. After creating the buildings, I did in fact learn a new way to create windows on buildings and I will make sure to keep note of this model for buildings that I will create that involve windows.
Tower Building models together!
Building 1 with textures!
...and Building 1 UV Map!
As for the different sets of ramps, they were a success. I split them up into 4 UV map sets in Maya and all of them had the same texel density as well. I made sure the color IDs had the same colors throughout all four for things that had the same material like grass or brick. They came out all extremely good-looking when I exported out of Painter. I added brick generators for the brick material and ambient occlusion as well to top it off. A tower was placed between the ramps that was also modeled and textured; I got to place little bits of graffiti art, which was fun to do!
Ramps Set 1 with generators and ambient occlusion!
All ramp sets were placed in Unity to measure sizes.
Graffiti art on walls/buildings to make it feel more city-like!
I also got to texture a few models given by my teammates such as the splatter-shot gun, I was extremely proud of how it came out and how similar it looked to the real in-game weapon. After I completed all the texturing, I made sure to export all the images into a specific folder so that I could find them easily when I placed materials on the models in Unity. Once I got into Unity, I made sure that all the materials had a special Ink shader that was provided by a teammate. That way it allows materials with that special shader to be splattered by ink. I also had to make sure each model in Unity had colliders and an Ink script code attached, which was also provided by my teammate.
Splattershot weapon with textures!
Texture maps! (including reference of the splattershot weapon!)
As I was getting everything together in Unity, I took care of the level design. I made sure all the models were placed properly together in the scene. Also making sure everything had colliders so that the player does not fall through or out of the map. Everything went to plan nicely, so I also ended up placing down a few props that were modeled by me and a team member. To tie everything together, I made a water plane for the outskirts of the map so that it could help fill the city out. My team members were able to assist in adding a balloon shooting game in which the player needed to shoot all 17 red balloons to win. We wanted to make sure the player was kept busy while exploring the map while also giving them a little challenge.
All assets being placed down for the scene in Unity!
Red balloons for the ink-shooting mini-game and a look at the water plane!
This project as a whole was pretty fun to work with. We juggled between three different maps from other games to base our project at the start, but I am glad we ended up sticking with Splatoon because the team has played the Splatoon series before, so we were all familiar with it. What this project helped me improve in was, for sure time management. We were a group of three after all, and we had plenty of work on our plates throughout all the sprints. I learned that it is okay to scrap items that won't be able to fit within the scope because time is limited and we wanted to make sure we get our point out to the players and make sure they had fun exploring while playing the mini version of InkBlot Academy from Splatoon 2. Teamwork makes the dream work after all, and I am extremely proud of the results that we produced!
This Sprint 5 was putting my focus on the background towers and placing some ambient occlusion on all the ramps that I had previously textured as well as placing generators. I did come across some issues with my buildings having n-gons, but they ended up getting solved and cleaned up. I re-did the UV maps for the buildings to have a better quality when placing textures. There were two types of background buildings that I had to make UV's and color ID's for, which came out nicely.
Tower Building 1's UV map
For the background towers, I was able to successfully make UV maps for both towers while keeping the same texel density. I am glad that this time around I had no n-gons in my way that would interrupt the texturing process. I was also able to place color ID's on both buildings so that can be ready to export for Painter. As I went to the Painter stage, I was able to quickly place material textures on the buildings and also threw on some ambient occlusion.
Building 1 with Textures!
Once I got completed with the background towers, I returned back to the modeled ramps so that I could further elevate their look. I placed ambient occlusion on all the sets and placed generators for things like concrete floors and brick ramps. It turned out extremely nice and I am proud of the results! I also added some little things like, some painted parking lines and cracks for the asphalt. The ramps and towers were then exported out so that they could be ready for Unity.
Ramps Set 1 with brick generators, ambient occlusion, and parking lines!
This Sprint 4 was my personal favorite, the texturing process! I was able to import all my modeled ramps into Substance Painter and got to work right away placing textures that would imitate the map, Inkblot Academy from Splatoon Two. I was extremely proud of how all four sets came out. During this sprint, I was also able to model and texture out a small tower and a brick wall that would be placed within the ramps.
Ramps Set 1 with material textures.
Ramps Set 4 with material textures.
All the textures came out perfectly for all the ramps to my liking. I am glad that I placed many different colored ID's for the models because it became a really easy process once baked for Substance Painter. I wanted to get a base material on so that I could place generators, for example, the brick or concrete floors. I felt that I had found the perfect material for each ground texture.
Ramps Set 2 with material textures.
As I completed placing material textures for the ramps, I got to model a small tower and brick walls. I was able to complete the UV's for both items and place color ID's nicely. I was excited to model the small tower because there was a cloth-like material on the side and in the game it had writing on it. I had the idea of placing some graffiti-style writing on the side later on so that it gives it more of a city feel. As for the brick walls, it was pretty simple, just to be used as a barrier that the player wouldn't be able to jump out of the map. I was able to have the brick wall models imported into Painter and place brick-colored textures for the first half and concrete textures for the second half.
This Sprint 3 was about focusing on the modeled floor ramps and getting ready for them to be textured. I also wanted to have a basic layout so that I know what it would look like all connected together into Unity. The main thing I was focused on was making sure everything was fully UV'd out before I moved on to placing color ID's for all the UV sets I created for the ramps.
All Ramps pieced together! (4 UV Sets)
I had saved the texel density from the very first UV set that I created so nothing goes bonkers during the texturing process. I created over four UV sets for the ramps and all the sets went to plan nicely. I did not encounter any n-gons which was great. As I got all the UV's organized, I was able to begin the color ID process for the ramps.
UV Set 2 for Ramps
As for the color ID's, I wanted to make sure that all of the same materials had the same color so that it is easiest to figure out when I place textures on Substance Painter. I took this process very precisely, and I would like to thank myself that I did because Painter can sometimes get wonky and place textures on colors that seem similar to each other.
Completed Color ID's for the Ramps (player side)
As I got to the construction of placing all the ramps together, I was able to get a perfect view of how everything would go to plan for when I reached Unity (see first image). It took a little longer than I expected to piece the ramps together, but it was all worth it in the end. It was exactly like building a Lego set and admiring your work once completed.
This sprint 2 was all about creating the models from our asset list. My duty was to create the tall buildings in the background of the scene so that it very well is a replica of the game scene. There were a few n-gons I ran into while creating my buildings, but they have been resolved right away which is perfect. I am proud of how my first two towers came out overall since it does look similar to the Splatoon map.
My two modeled buildings to start off with.
I also got to work on the basic flooring of the map with a block out so I know where all the obstacles are. ramps and such would be placed on the map. I referenced a video of someone playing the map since I did not own the game, but the video did help a bunch while creating a block out.
Little Block out of the first side (player side) of the map.
Some work I did not get to during sprint two was UV'ing the tall buildings, but that is what I am working on now for the third sprint. My duty is to make sure I create most of the models and send them over to verify for the lead to check it out to make sure it is all good. This sprint we are starting to get some momentum going and making sure we keep all communications open so that we are all on the same page during the project. A GitHub repository was also set up by a team member so that we could push things for the team.
This Sprint 1 was all about gathering references for the team and myself. We first had the idea of creating a horror-style Left For Dead map, then switched over the a Zelda map, and then finally, we decided upon a Splatoon map that we all enjoy. The team created an Excel sheet to jot down many of the assets that we would need to complete the project. We made a giant list and toned it down a little to focus more on the scope of the project. I have been assigned the modeler and texture for the group and my duty is to model out many things for the scene, create UV sets, color IDs, and place some textures on them for Unity.
The main vista point view of the map from the highest point the player can be.
I did find a really good video online to reference while I built my block out for this map. I decided to get to work right away on finding the most reference images I could find online to share on our group's Discord so that the team could approve of what they would be completing. The team started getting to work right away so we didn't waste time since each sprint is one week long and we must all contribute work each week. A good idea a team member brought up was that we should all play out the game in real-time so that it can help us for reference modeling in the long run.
Main centerpiece. Is actually shown on both player and enemy sides.
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