Research

Moxxi’s Bar

Moxxi’s Bar is a place that the player can go to gamble money and Eridum on the slot machines in the
hopes of earning loot or more money. It's a location that was in the second Borderlands game so they
carried it over into Borderlands 3. 

This bar matches the look of the character that runs it, very pink and purple. This room has the most
NPC in it but you can't really interact with them as they don't have names and don't give you any
quests. They do say stuff when you enter or walk past them,this helps add to the environment as this
is supposed to give the feeling of a bar so there would be a bunch of people having fun there. 

The slot machines are the biggest attraction in this bar as they give the players a chance to test their
luck and potentially gain big reward. There are two different types of slot machines in this game, are
purple and you will need eridium to use and the other two will be gold and it will only take your credits.

 

*The slot machines also have quite a few animations for the same thing. The first is the moving
handle when you purchase a spin on the machines, it's really simple but it adds a lot to the experience
and it also comes with it's own sound effect that leads into the next animation. This next animation is
the sinning pictures inside of the slot machine, it will randomly show some symbols before it stops and
gives you a reward depending on what you got. It's another relatively simple design which makes the
whole experience much better, after testing it it looks like you get  good reward 80% of the time but
when you don't the machine gives you an active bomb which is pretty fun. The model for the slot
machines looks really well made, the best parts are the not used additional features like the toys at
the top of the machine. The textures and lighting is also great and you can clearly see all of the details
on the model and the lighting helps it to stand out in a room full of crazy lights and objects.

Apart from the slot machines and interacting with people like Moxxie there isn't much else to do in the
room which is okay as it's only a small part of the sanctuary ship. The rest of the room is full of models
of bar stools and tables. I was playing as the siren so i found a tape recorder on one of the tables in
the back which would play some character information for me to listen to. Something like this is cool
to have when designing a room as it doesn't take much to model or implement but is a nice feature to
look for in a room.

In terms of a common colour pallet for the room texture i would have to say that they went with
purple/red for the main theme with black and white a side colours used to highlight the edges of walls
and the models of tables and boxes. This matches the character that the bar is named after so that's
a cool theme they thought about.

Marcus Munitions

Marcus Munitions is one of the more important places on the ship, here you can purchase ammo,
guns and upgrades for you weapon and backpack storage. You can also test out your weapons on
the target range to see who effective they are against different enemies and at different ranges. 

The colour scheme for both the shop and the target range is a silver/steel and an army green. This
helps the player identity that this room is to do with weapons and ammo. When the player goes to
purchase a weapon and backpack upgrade a small box will rise out of the slots in the counter, this is a
small feature as each upgrade pack looks the same but it looks cool so i guess that counts. The
space around the counter is very open and there isn't much to do but you can go down to the gun
range to test out your weapons. 

# There isn't really much else to discuss about the room because it serves a very specific purpose,
you are either there to buy an ammo upgrade or you want to test your weapon on the range. If i had to
change anything about this room I might add some weapons on the walls and maybe some NPC that
are testing their weapons or are just looking around like in the bar. This would make this place feel
like it's used more, which is should as everyone needs a gun in the game universe. 

Model Progress - Sci-fi Data Pad

Model Progress - Sci-fi Data Pad

This is the untextured data pads that i will be using in my Sci-Fi room, there are three different
designs shown below. I wanted to keep this model very simple because i am going to have quite a
few high poly assets in this room and I don't want to go overboard on the smaller models.  

The design is very simple, just one screen at the top as it's designed to be carried and used with
ease. For some of the additional components like buttons or charging ports, i will add these during the
texturing stage as they will be small details that don't need to be on the model. 

The way I created these data pas is by using a box and making it very thin, i then used the boolean
tool to create the hole for the screen to go when i texture the model. I went with three different
designs because I don't want to have the exact same model  spread throughout the room. I can also
texture these data pas in a different way, maybe some come from different companies so hey will
make use of a different colour scheme. 

Model Progress - Simple Wooden Box

Model Progress - Simple Wooden Box 

This is a simple wooden box that i will be using in my fantasy room, the basic shape and function of
the box is complete all i need to add it a lock on the front. I made the box using boolean to create the
gap for objects to be placed into it. For the hinges at the back i used a simple cylinder shape, I think it
will look decent once it has been unwrapped and textured. 

The great thing about this box design is that it's very simple so i can add lots of detail to the model
later on for different box designs. The reason i added a gap in the box is because i want it to open
during the video tour of the room, I will then create some objects that can go inside of the box for
people to look at. 

Concept Art - Level Maps

Links: 

https://deathbygoomba.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/fable-3-ett-fulsnyggt-spel/ - 08/10/19 - Fable 3

- 08/10/19 

http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/fable-iii/guide/page_52.html - 08/10/19 - Fable 3 Wiki

https://www.uxbooth.com/articles/learning-from-fable-iiis-ux-mistakes/ - 08/10/19 - Learning from Fable
3 mistakes

https://www.pinterest.ie/explore/cyberpunk-city/ - 09/10/19 - Cyberpunk City Art

https://harjm.artstation.com/projects/EvV4q - 09/10/19 - Example of a 3D room environment

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/55309901643990250/?nic=1 - 14/10/2019 - Fantasy room concept art

  https://borderlands.com/en-US/news/2019-09-04-borderlands-3-sanctuary-iii/ - 2910/2019 - Sanctuary
rooms and information about them

https://progameguides.com/borderlands/borderlands-3-sanctuary-3-guide/ - 28/10/2019 - More
Sanctuary information

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJc4rnu5m7I - 29/10/19 - Borderlands 3 game play  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4QDhQ2JgHU - 29/10/19 - More Borderlands 3 gameplay

Borderlands 3 Sanctuary Level

Borderlands 3 is a sci-fi game that i have been playing recently, the game contains loads of unique
and well designed locations for the characters to visit. My favorite so far has to be the rooms in the
Sanctuary ship. This is a location that the player can visit to buy new weapons, talk to story characters
and interact with some of the elements in the rooms.

The rooms that I want to talk about are the control room, character room, Mad Moxxi bar and the
weapon range room. That sounds like a lot but each room has different elements and purposes to
them, they also look different. 

The Bridge 

The first room is the Command room or the ‘Bridge’, This is where the player can fast travel to
different world since they have been unlocked. A lot of big story moments usually involve this room so
it's not something the player will see once and forget to go here. This room has a gold/yellow them to
it, i don't know why but it helps it stand out from the rest of the rooms on the ship. It's not a very large
room but it has enough room for the player to move and jump around, which is something you as a
player will find yourself doing without even realizing. 

The most important aspect of this room is the computer terminal in the center of the room, it's
modeled well and it stands out with its orange colour scheme, but still sits with the look of the room. If
the player moves towards the terminal the current planet that you are on will be displayed. The
camera will also change to allow the player to change the location. I think that it's been modeled very
well and it has small details on it that make it actually look like it would function. 

Another cool feature in this room is the windows at the front of the room, this shows the view of space
above the world you are at. It also has a cool hyperspace effect when you are moving to another
location, it would have been simple to have no windows on the ship but it's much cooler to see the
travel of the ship. There are stairs that lead up to the front of the ship and another set of terminals but
these don't have a purpose as far as i am aware. You can also go underneath the stairs but it doesn't
lead anywhere important, are the steps necessary to the game play and story, no but they do improve
the look of the room overall so  i would not take them out if i had to redesign this room. It's not easy to
notice but there are hazard stripes on the walls and panels near the window, this is a cool feature as
it shows the windows could be dangerous, which we see why in the campaign when claptrap is
sucked into a breach. 

The reason that I like the Borderlands location designs is the small details that are scattered around
the room to make it look like it has been used by people and it adds character to the location. An
example of this is the damage and dirt on the floor and walls, this makes it feel like it's a run down
ship that people live on all the time. The lighting in the room is very bright but that's what the game
likes to do, this room uses green and yellow lights. I like how they are hung up like Christmas lights,
it adds to the comedic factor of the game. 

In terms of what sounds there are in this room, it's really just the sounds of you walking on different
metal surfaces and the sound of the computer terminals in the background. When you plot a new
course you will hear some more sounds but that's not ambient. There is also a light music score that
plays whenever you are on the ship, this does help the gameplay and I think they did a good job with it.  

Character Room

The character room is a personal room on the ship dedicated to the player, in this room, the player
can store items in the vault, customize weapons and place trophies obtained during the campaign on
the walls. 

I really like the design of this room, the purple looks great and the use of light purple lights helps to
build a relaxed environment. When I played the game i thought that the purple design was because i
was playing my character but i found out that it's the same design no matter what character you play
as. One thing that does change in each of the rooms is an item that will be opposite from the bed, an
example of this is Amara as if you play as her you will see a punching bag in the room. 

The first thing I will talk about is the lighting in the room, it's not harsh to the eyes and the candles
next to the window helps to build the atmosphere of the room. The room is full of objects and items
that don't serve a purpose but they are nessessary to the room, such as the bed, draws and tables.
The design on the floor is really cool, I like how the circle carpets and bed covers match with the
pattern of the room. 

28/11/19 -  If I could change one thing about the room it would be adding the option to change the main lighting colour to whatever we want, the current colour is great but i think that you make it look even better with the option of multiple other colours to pick from.

The shape of the room is a basic rectangle, nothing super fancy but it doesn't need a complicated
design because the room doesn't serve a huge purpose and is very dense with items. The vault in
the corner of the room is well modeled and the green lights on it helps it to stand out from the purple
of the room. The green lights are also used in the game to show an item that can be opened by the
player.