Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Normally this is all you need for character design, but for the project outlined in this topic
we are creating a real-time character; that means there are other considerations that could
affect your design. As with any game artwork, you are expected to work within certain
technical limitations. Examples are polygon count, texture page size, animation data, and
even joint limits (all ofwhich are covered in later chapters). The lead artist, having worked
closely with the lead programmer to come up with the numbers, will impose these restric-
tions.
So how does this affect your character design? Let's look at two examples.
Example A: John Doe
—In this case you are creating a generic character who will
be onscreen with a hundred others, plus vehicles and the game world. The polygon
count limit is between 500 and 1000, but you are urged to go as low as possible, as
is always the case when creating real-time artwork. The less overall memory your
character takes up the better, as the entire game will have to fit inside a tight
budget. In addition, let's say you are informed that John Doe will have to use a ba-
sic skeleton, which will probably mean a limit of about 15 joints. You are not go-
ing to see him up close, so there is no need for significant detail.
With such small polygon and joint limits, you won't be able to build long flowing
hair, or that complex rocket pack you had in mind. Instead, you will be better off
sticking with a basic model: arms, legs, head, and probably hands that are fixed in
a certain pose because you will not have enough polygons or joints for separate
fingers. In addition, you won't have sufficient polygons to have nice, rounded
muscle tone, so you will have to rely on the textures to show any needed detail.
Since the character will always be positioned away from the camera, however, any
detail in the texture will be lost.
Tip
When compiling your research, try to get a good idea of how big the char-
acter will be onscreen, this will allow you to get a good idea of just how
much detail you will need.
Example B: Hercules—
This is the game's main character; he will be seen both
close up and from a distance, but the game is predominantly viewed in the third-
person perspective (from behind the character). As the game's cut scenes are
rendered real-time, Hercules will also need fully posable fingers, as well as facial
animation. Your polygon limit is 3000, and the character needs to look good at all
resolutions.
