Ah, Minecraft. It really is the most fun you can have while playing an app.
But all joking aside, I love Minecraft- it was definitely a formative game for me. So I'm thrilled to be doing this assignment and building all of these different blocks.
It takes me back to my Creative Mode days... I'm still sad about my huge train station that died with my last computer. Rest in peace, Mackenzie's Awesome World. You will be missed.
Anyways! I'm sure you're curious as to what I did for my Minecraft Block assignment! Let me get right into it!
So I finally learned how to use the Sequencer tool to take some awesome videos of my stuff! I'm going to be using it a lot more in the future. It's such a neat little tool! I'm excited to delve into some of the other tools and features it has, but for now, I'm happy with the camera panning.
So for any of my process shots, expect me to use OBS for screen recording, but finals will be recorded in the sequencer from here on out.
Technicalities aside, welcome to my Minecraft World! I modelled it after a dry desert canyon, as it was the first place that instantly inspired my creativity. I miss hiking in the Dry Country, but hopefully, one day I'll be back.
As for this build, I was inspired by the sandstone mesas and cacti of the American Southwest, so I created a series of bricks that would be reminiscent of my favorite vistas in the world.
I created 17 separate textures for my world, from rocks and stones to grass and quartz. There's a lot packed into this Minecraft level... Over 5,700 blocks total. Thank goodness for the group select feature- it definitely lightened my load.
Imagine this happy little stream is heading to an aquifer underground. That's what I envisioned when I built it. I think it turned out great. And I'm super-thrilled to get the water moving. If you want to learn more about the wild world of World Position Offset in Unreal, check out this playlist to get you moving.
I didn't have my motion set to "True" when I was working, so I was worried I'd done something wrong, but as soon as I checked that box, my little water block could not stop moving. Check it out!
Anyways, sorting that out was definitely awesome. I'm happy that I got everything moving in the right direction. I kept adding little details to the world, though. Utilizing those transparency and opacity features was eye-opening.
I had actually made tree and grass assets prior, but they were too transparent. They looked like they were ghosting! But using the opacity mask sorted them out and brought a touch of life to this dry desert.
I wanted to make a teeny house in this desert, complete with a front yard, flowers, and trees. It just felt necessary, especially since I had some empty space up there.
Definitely happy with how this turned out. It really looks like it could be a level. Running and panning around this world was a lot of fun, which is why I wanted to put as much detail into it as possible.
Here's another process shot from my world. I just wanted to get a look around before the Sequencer did its magic.
I really had fun staging shots and just travelling around this world. This is the most built out world I've made for something, so I'm happy to finally have created a stage like this in Unreal Engine.
Enjoy this Topsy-Turvy Sequencer video I made. I tried to give you a view of as much of the world as I possibly could, so you could get a sense of scale.
Speaking of scale, check out the big Saguaro cactus I added. I think he looks nice!
And here's a better view of the water motion. I kept it subtle, since I imagine this stream as being small and dry, as opposed to rushing. It's not flash flood season yet- this stream is here to stay!
Last video, I swear! This is just a sky shot in my world. I thought the shot looked really nice with the rolling clouds in Unreal. It feels very tranquil to me.
Now, before I go off to do what I do best... make games, I wanted to hit you with a few progress shots, so you can get an idea of how this project came together!
Here are my cubes in Maya. I textured them in Maya so that I could focus more on building my world in Unreal. It actually helped a lot with my workflow. I was just very confused when it came to transparency, but I ultimately figured it out and was able to put my grass and leaves into the world.
Another shot of the cubes, so you can better see their textures. I ended up making more than pictured. This was an early, early shot. Like, way before I even opened Unreal.
Now, I wish I'd taken more progress shots, but this is really it. I only took one besides the two Maya images. This was right after I had built the walls. If you can see, the water hasn't even been put in yet! I was trying to group the water elements so they would all animate together, so my main focus was on building out the entire rest of the world and saving the water for last!
I'll keep updating you as my Art Journey continues!
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