Jan-Kevin Lacsina

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a) How and why your project differed (if at all) from your original proposal,
My final project definitely changed from the original proposeal. At first, I wanted it to be so that I's have a line of NPCs and as the player walked past them, they would make an individual note, eventually playing a familiar tune. Then that idea bacame a musical instrument that if you walked towards the NPCs, a drumset noise would sound. I however found that process to be too slow for something such as a drumkit. So then, I made it so the player only needs to shoot the NPCs to make it work, which is my eventual final project.

b) Any lessons learnt from your project that you can share with the class and the wider mod community.

I found a way of getting rid of a desired sound using cheats (sv_cheats 1" then "snd_show" then "stopsound.")

I also found a way of triggering a choreographed sequence by NPC damage. (in hammer select "on damage" instead of what we usually did for choreographed scenes)

Time bomb model

I couldn't import this model into the map, so I tried importing a single stick of dynamite. That didn't work either. What did work is a textureless stick. I got a checkered purple stick to work in the map

I decided to tweak the map a little bit. I decided to put the g-men/ cymbals higher than the other pieces like a real drum set. This allows the player to hit all the pieces without losing sight of the other pieces. I also eliminated the sound of the pistol/ the drumstick by doing "sv_cheats 1" then "snd_show" then "stopsound"

Using Fraps, I video captured some game play using the main "drumstick" followed by other weapons just for reference to see what other objects are in the mod.

I then used Adobe After Effects to make some title cards.

Converted the video using Vdub and uploaded it to youtube.

This morning I tweaked my project from activating the sounds by approaching the NPC to simply shooting the NPC. It allowed the player to activate the desired sound quicker and more easily. This however added a problem. One of the NPCs I was using was Breen. I approached him with my crowbar, and as I swung I expected to hear a tom drum; instead, Breen just keeled over and died. I then had to replace him with Dr. Kleiner along with a new set of animations for the new model.
I then discovered another problem. One of the NPCs wasn't working at all. I checked and rechecked and everything is the way it should be, but the NPC still doesn't respond. I might have to scrap this particular drum if I can't figure out how to fix it. I then completed the final map I will be using, and I'm just currently tweaking it and trying to improve it with some custom animated textures, although I can't figure out how to do that.
I am also trying to find a way to mute the sound of the gun so that the player can hear the drum better.

I decided to make a drum kit out of hl2. This morning i downloaded a bunch of drum sounds and converted them into wav files using audacity. After that, most of the day was spent trying to lip sync a non-human sound to a model. That wasn-t working too well, so i found it easier to just manually shape the lips in relation to the sound. The later part of the day was spent testing if i can get the triggered scenes to play multiple times on HL2. Currently, I am making the final map for the project.

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1. Concept
- What element is the main focus of this mod or machinima?
I want to make a musical instrument out of a FPS, specifically Half-Life 2.
- What interests you about the element you have chosen?
I'm very interested in taking the shooting elements away from a FPS and making it something completely different from its original form. I also became fascinated with faceposer, and I'm curious to see how musical notes will look voiced by characters.
- How will you abstract this main element?
Using Faceposer and Hammer, I am going to have a line of models, and each model will be designated a note. When the player walks up to that model, the note will be played via the trigger box. I will have several rooms. One will be like a piano, and other rooms will have a row of models arranged to make a predetermined tune.

- What will be your final "product"
The Final Product will be video footage of gameplay.
2. Technical
- On what game will this mod or machinima be be based?
I will be using the Half-Life 2 engine using Deathmatch.
- Which techniques will you use from those learnt in class?
I will be using faceposer, and creating my own maps.
- Which new techniques will you need to research and implement?
I will need to research how to connect rooms together as well as how to put together a room with several models witha dofferent note each.
- What technical problems do you foresee?
I think the fact that there will be so many models in a relatively small amount of space will be problematic. I hope that the computer will be able to handle it. I also fear that it might get too crowded with so many models.
3. Schedule
- Provide a schedule broken down as follows
Friday April 25
Find wav files for notes, create map (including textures and rooms), assign notes to models using faceposer
Friday May 2
Place models in map and attach musical notes.

I really like the concept, but I am still trying to decide what style I would like to use visually. I would like to not use any game related objects , but I know if I use original models, it will be impossible for me to accomplish without it taking away from the rest of the piece.

This was a deathmatch map. I wanted a texture that would still look good when it was repeated so i immediately thought of Escher. So... after a quick Google search and a quick photoshop job in which i tried my best to match the edges, the result is this room. I feel the Escher drawing adds to the confusion to what is up and what is down.

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Dead on Que's Fake Science is a different type of machinima compared to the ones most viewers are accustomed to. It does not have an obvious storyline, nor does it have characters making witty remarks with each other. It is what Henry Lowood states as an "avante-garde short." It is an experimental music video that makes commentary towards the relationship of people with technology and entertainment. It utilizes the Half-Life engine and a mod for it called the Spirit of Half-Life (a program that gives modders more options when making their projects). The technical achievements displayed in the piece also sets it apart from the norms of machinima. The visual style used, a black and white 2d style, is very intriguing. In fact, I found that the weakest parts of the clip were when this style wasn't used and instead what looked like stock scientists from the game were used instead in their colored style.

The piece starts with the skyline of an anonymous city. Then, the camera continually zooms out revealing more and more of the message the artists were trying to convey. During this continous zooming out, the audience views scientists that are creating a high-end TV set and then shortly afterwards, the scientists kill themselves. Perhaps the artists are fearful of the dependence that people have towards technology. Human creativity and drive slowly fades as technology is becoming more and more prominent. The piece would still work if it wasn't a machinima piece. The message would come across just as well. The only thing that would be lost if the artists had not used a game to make their piece would be the irony of using technology to criticize technology.

I think a mod in which the player plays as a typical villain would be very interesting. It would be interesting to play a game in which the player realizes that he/ she must constantly fail. Sure the player may have minor victories here or there, but in the end, the villain always loses to the hero.

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1) you need a clearly defined goal
memory reject accept game features
2) let the goals reflect yourself, own beliefs, interests, passions
3) topic should be subordinate to the goal
research topic, games before it with similar topic (history of topic itself)
4) allow time for the research, goal, and topic to come together, and mold with each other (long process)
5) build the I/O structure, the game structure, and the program structure together for harmonious results
6) don't use graphics as a crutch for a crappy game
7) abort a game before you get too heavily invested in it
8) polish the game until you are sick of it
9) forget the critics, its the public that matters

Foozball Fever is a Half-life 2 mod that tries to capture the feel of foozball; you know that table soccer game with the little players attached to rods. It was made using the hammer editor. The offline version is now downloadable with an online version on the way. I found it interesting because instead of modding Half-Life 2 to make another generic FPS, someone decided to go against the grain and make a harmless game. I also found it odd that someone would even do this. Why not just play foozball? I guess its a nice alternative to those without a table handy, and the online version provides a way to get your need for foozball satisfied.

Games have definitely altered the concept of friendship, or at least added new dynamics to it. Online games such as Final Fantasy 11 or World of Warcraft have allowed people to connect with other people who otherwise would not have known the existence of the other person. For some people, these virtual friends have replaced the need for traditional friends entirely. For these people, old relationships are lost because they get obsessed with the virtual world. I remember reading an article that stated that a guy killed himself because he got rejected by a girl over World of Warcraft.

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Waco Resurrection by Eddo Stern, Peter Brinson, Brody Condon, Michael Wilson, Mark Allen, Jessica Hutchins, relives the event that took place in 1993 in Waco, Texas--- the event in which government agents raided the Branch Davidian ranch. The event culminated in a fire that would kill 76 people which included 21 kids and 2 pregnant women. Players play as a resurrected David Karesh with other player controlled Kareshes each with their own custom Karesh hard mask that serves as a surround sound speaker/ microphone.

This game should be treated as art. Like many good artworks, it inspires emotions and includes very strong social commentary. It is also very innovative in the way that players are encouraged to use the voice activated devices to spout "messianic messages" in order to do better in the game. It touches upon serious subject matter such as the origiins of the Oklahoma City bombing, religion in America, as well as the growing militia movement in the country.

For more info:
http://www.eddostern.com/waco_resurrection.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_Siege

The biggest difference between Half-Life and movies/ books is that Half-Life is a lot more immersive. Video games in general are more immersive, especially ones that uses a first-person perspective. In Half-Life, most of your time consists of action with bits of narrative as opposed to movies in which they usually have constant narratives with splashes of action. Half-Life is somewhat unique in the way that you decide your viewpoint during the narratives; other games usually cut away to a preset animatic. Unlike movies and books, games usually let the players decide the pacing. They can choose to rush to see the next story point, or they can do what I usually do and mess aroud with dead enemies for a little bit until I get bored.