Hello, I'm Kayne the lead artist for our game. Creating the main character for a video game has been a challenge. Traveling a thin line between practicality, aesthetics, and iconic look will grab the attention of the player. All while trying to blend it in with the theme of the game. Have I crossed the thin line? Well, I don’t know as of, yet things are slowing down as I’m trying to figure out UV unwrapping a complex model. At the start of the project, I worked a lot with the other artist on my team and there was a lot of back and forward on the mech aesthetic as this would govern the art style in we will follow. At first, our mech was quite similar to the futuristic sleek mechs from Titanfall. Unfortunately, our model was looking all too much BT-7274 and not enough BioShock big daddy. I disappeared for a week doing terrible hand sketches trying to come up with a mech design that looked like it belonged underwater. 

 After this, the model was built over several weeks and iterations, but the problem is he’s still grey and lifeless. 

I got a friend of mine to draw some pictures of our main character and here it is.

As of this week and probably next week I will be tackling the texturing process in the hopes of bringing our character to life. The mech is heavily inspired by old diving suits and submarines. The heavy shoulder makes him look sturdy and durable. The viewport of the operator is heavily fortified to keep out denizens of the depths. The oversized arms act like a toolbox. There are tools inside for every occasion, if not run away and try to find another path or solution. The floodlights on the mech will hopefully light the way and scare away any unwanted guests. The legs are powered by huge hydraulic pistons which allow this huge mech to move and traverse the depths of the unknown. The oxygen tanks and pressure gauge will inform the player if they have bitten off more they can chew or if they need to run away.

This week our programmers got the game to a pre-vertical stage.  Implementing moving and shooting and the model was put into the scene. Next week we aim to have a fish model, Ai, and some shaders implemented.