Unity

So for my project I have been playing in Unity, mainly to get to grips again with the software but mostly to try new things (even if they are simple!)

In a previous Unity project I spent the time importing square planes with textures to create a simple world to explore, however this was very modular and in no way natural.
( Link to that game here: http://www.waterfrontgames.com/game/index/34 )
So instead I tried something new with the Terrain tool.
Following a few tutorials and a really helpful book - Game Development with Unity by Michelle Menard -  I began playing around with the tools available and sculpted a simple landscape.
I am quite happy with the results. The actual size of this map wasn't an issue as I was just testing and the textures again are all basic images painted on to the land.

After I had created the landscape I began considering features in the final game. The first, and easiest was water. With the software providing a  prefab I just needed to experiment with the basic settings. Nothing interesting here.

The next feature was a torch which the player can pick up. This was done by a short amount of code, initially fr the player to be able to pick up the object and secondly to make it so the player can turn it on and off.

I wont bore you with the code, but I will upload the test level as it stands at the moment.
http://www.kongregate.com/games/Vodier/spookytest

As I described in an earlier post, a game can be immersive even with basic models. My example being 'Slender'. I will be working towards a standard of 3D model which represents how I can create models which are to the point with as few polys as possible. This will give my entire work a fluid feel. The textures on my test are not final, the torch for example needs more shadowing and materials!

To add that creepy feel I considered what is considered freaky if you were to be wandering around a haunted mansion. I came to the conclusion, music boxes or dolls. So I created a music box with a ballerina doll. Initially this was meant to be a final texture however I added a toon shader to the models and the original texture didnt look right, so I edited it and continued, not wanting to be bogged down on something that will inevitably change!
More on toon shaders after this.

As the doll thing stands now there is no music box per say but with a small animation the doll does rotate.
Add in a 'creepy' sound effect that as you get closer gets louder.
The final touch to this small creepy scene was a particle effect to make the air around look dusty and lonesome. This is the effect I was going for, un-nerving surroundings, a dark area and nothing can be seen but what you light up with your torch.
Using Game development with Unity I have looked into AI, I will be studying it a bit closer trying to get my head around the code so that the player has something to run from. But for now I am happy with my test results.

Toon shaders

I have added in a toon shader to all models and scenery (terrain) this gives the outlines of all the models a thicker black line. I really like this effect and if I can master the style in this game project I will be very happy.
So all in all I see this project boosting my unity coding skills, modelling skills and my abilities in Unity. Hopefully I will get a lot out of this project!!

Ross, Out.