Cave Boss Arena Flythrough
- Animator, 3D Modeler
-
A flythrough of a cave to be used as an arena in a video game. The cave was modeled from the ground up in Maya, with floating orbs to symbolize the four elements used throughout the game. Collecting the orbs and then examining the stone tablet in the middle leads to a boss fight, which in turn opens the door on the side of the cave to reach a new secret area.
Programs: Maya, Adobe Photoshop
Scene Set-up
I started by drawing the cave and figuring out what all I wanted to show in it. As a potential bonus boss arena for a 3D video game, there needed to be some sort of idea that would trigger the boss. I decided on elemental orbs for this--collectibles a player would be able to bring to the cave and place. Once all four are placed, the boss battle begins.
I also decided I wanted a small reward for this boss battle, so I added one more idea to the cave design: a secret section locked by a door. This would be perfect for a treasure chest and a rare fishing spot for the game.
Storyboard
The first part of the storyboard focused on how I planned on visiting each of the elemental spheres, as well as showing some crystals along the back wall between them.
The second part of the storyboard visited the tablet up close, then showed the door off to the side before it slides up to reveal the secret area.
Coming to Life
As I worked to create the layout, I paid a lot of attention to not only how it looked inside to make sure there was room for the camera, but also how it looked above as a map. I had to expand it a number of times to get the space I wanted inside.
But of course, actually bringing it all to life took a considerable amount of planning out assets and tasks, all of which are covered below.
Lists
- Timeline
-
03/27/22: Milestone 1 – Initial creative brief, storyboards, map
04/03/22: Milestone 2 – Assets organized and base cave created with lighting and basic camera animation
04/10/22: Milestone 3 – Textures added, environment touched up with added crystals, camera animation touched up
04/17/22: Milestone 3.5 – Stalagmites, stalactites, and other details added to make the cave feel more real; textures added to everything still missing them
04/24/22: Milestone 4 – Project complete - Asset List
-
This project took a lot of trial and error to figure out how to best make the assets. In particular, the lighting was very basic at first, created without much thought to color. Near the end of the project, I decided to rework the lighting to better reflect the four elemental orbs giving the cave light.
Asset Priority Target Date Closed Tablet A Milestone 3 04/08/2022 Tablet Base A Milestone 3 04/08/2022 Orb Base (x4) A Milestone 3.5 04/14/2022 Elemental Orbs (x4) A Milestone 2 04/10/2022 Mining Crystal B Milestone 3 04/10/2022 Stalagmites (x6) C Milestone 3.5 04/23/2022 Stalactites (x3) C Milestone 3.5 04/23/2022 Cave Pillar D Milestone 4 04/23/2022 Lighting A Milestone 2 04/23/2022 Camera and Aim A Milestone 3.5 04/14/2022 Door C Milestone 3.5 04/23/2022 Water D Milestone 4 04/23/2022 - Task List
-
For the task list, I went into this project knowing I might not have enough time for the fishing area. Therefore, I divided the task list into priorities to do first vs. what I'd add on if I was able. Luckily, I was able to complete the fishing area on time.
Job Category Priority Deadline Date Completed Basic Cave Layout Environment High 04/03/2022 03/31/2022 Stone Tablet Shape Objects High 04/03/2022 03/31/2022 Orb Pillars Shape Objects High 04/03/2022 04/01/2022 Elemental Orbs Objects High 04/03/2022 04/01/2022 Lighting Environment Mid 04/03/2022 04/01/2022 Refine Layout Environment Mid 04/03/2022 04/02/2022 Texturize Stone Tablet Textures Mid 04/10/2022 04/07/2022 Mining Crystal Shape Objects Mid 04/10/2022 04/07/2022 Elemental Orbs Animation Animation Mid 04/10/2022 04/10/2022 Camera Motion Path Animation Mid 04/10/2022 04/10/2022 Camera Aim Path Animation Mid 04/10/2022 04/10/2022 Texturize Mining Crystal Textures Mid 04/10/2022 04/07/2022 Stalagmites Objects Low 04/24/2022 04/23/2022 Stalactites Objects Low 04/24/2022 04/23/2022 Texturize Cave/Stones Textures Mid 04/24/2022 04/23/2022 Stone Pillar Objects Very low 04/24/2022 04/23/2022 Fishing Area Layout Environment Mid 04/24/2022 04/01/2022 Door to Fishing Area Objects Mid 04/24/2022 04/23/2022 Texturize Door Textures Low 04/24/2022 04/23/2022 Water Environment Low 04/24/2022 04/23/2022 Door Animation Animation Low 04/24/2022 04/23/2022
Bringing it All Together
By working on one task at a time, the project came together--from a barebones layout to a texturized cave.
