Some minor developments.

Been getting to grips with a graphics tablet my friend lent me a few weeks ago for a while now trying to sketch as much as possible. Occurs to me that I'm pretty awful at doing anything that isn't just weapons from side on or people from the direct front. Spent about 3 hours last night working on this sketch without using reference material to test what I know about anatomy and structure of a person as well as depth and action in an image. Think it's been coming out pretty well so far, I'd like to do a lot more work on it, get some colour on there and hopefully come out with an actual finished piece by the end of it. Anyway here's the step by step progression so far -

~ZH

As a Number

I consider this reverse cosplay as all of this stuff has been pretty standard for me to wear and look like from wayyy before Borderlands 2 was announced, never the less here we are.

~ZH

The BorderLAN

So like I said this past weekend had been prepared a longggggg long time in advance, as soon as I heard about the sequel being announced me and my co-op partner SynC have had this last few days earmarked for mayhem the way only Gearbox could provide. So with 72 cans of drink in our arsenal we began work on Thursday the afternoon/evening before the UK Steam release of Borderlands 2 at midnight.

The first night we mainly played FTL: Faster Than Light while waiting for midnight, it was the first time either of us had played it but I found myself really addicted straight away (enough to play later in the weekend as a break from shooting skag and looting till my fingers bled), this is a GOOD game we're talking about in FTL. I'm so impressed at it's simple design, something I wouldn't have expected but it's style and imagery match it's pick up and play style so easily it instantly fit into my favourites list on Steam. There's something about the right indie game that gets you hooked and with FTL I want all those different spaceships and layouts for myself! But it's a hard game, I've only had one victory in tens of attempts at navigating my way from the rebels. Been going on a fairly pacifist approach mostly trying to avoid confrontation where possible and always trying to help out the Engi race of robots (because they seem so cool :3).

My new crew aboard the WreathTail

So what's next? Oh yeh, that majesty of creation that will have me in an coma for the next few months. Borderlands 2? Damn right! I loved it on sight! I've taken sooo many screenshots on my playthrough, the graphics have been taken a step further with this one (mainly the application of colour) but stylistically it really strikes a good chord with me. It's so satisfying to look at everything and just really get lost appreciating the level design of the various areas despite being shot at. I've died countless times just looking at things in awe. Weapon design? OH, where to begin, I've already displayed my appreciation for that in my earlier post but to actually be in there with them is a different thing. Found myself switching out as often as possible early on to get a range of all the different new styles they've got going on. So far I'm horribly impressed by the revolvers as compared to the first one, good that they use a more commonly found ammunition type now too. This game has been a delight to play so far and I'm so far from bored after 37 hours I'm probably going straight to play that when I'm done with this post.

Look familiar..? ;]

So obviously I've been playing as Zer0 (Namesake! <3) and so far I've got him set up really nicely with some fancy Hyperion weapons dropped by the last boss on it (no spoilers, but it's awesome ;]) and I sketched up a little pistol that I wish I had in game and came home to draw it up in Photoshop, took me a couple hours but I love how it came out! Enjoy <3

~ZH

What can I say..

Well since Thursday morning I've slept once on Friday night for 10 hours, played and completed Borderlands 2 over the course of 37 hours over the 3 day period, filled in the gaps with some extensive enjoyment of FTL and now think it's probably best I went to sleep to be refreshed for college in the morning.. that was an intense few days, a little recovery and work to pay it all off this week I think. I was not disappointed in the slightest, will write more on the subject of both games at a later stage when I'm more mentally conscious.

~ZH

Preparation for Borderlands 2; T-Minus 26 hours Remaining

So after almost a year since I heard that the sequel to one of my all time favourite games (Borderlands) was announced and here I am. Just over a day to go and it'll unlock on Steam (Three days after the U.S. to my perpetual distaste), what am I feeling exactly? Well mostly excitement, I also predict that by the end of tonight I'll have played more of the original just because I can feel the very essence of the game building up inside me. I've spent a whole lot of time researching this long awaited sequel and I have been impressed after impressed after impressed at every new development from concept art to launch trailers to character analysis.

Zer0

I don't mean to sound in any way egotistical at all but I can't help but notice that they've got a character named Zer0 in there, now I've been long planning to change my name to this for a long time, before Borderlands 2 was even mentioned as an idea, and I can't help but feel almost noticed in some strange omnipresent way, as if I'd been observed playing the original with such zeal. It almost feels like they included a little part of me in there and I am far too happy about this, I nearly died when I saw his little digit come up on the first launch trailer that introduced the characters, that was my ego trip for about a month (though still ongoing under the surface ;] )

For all the little things I love about the game nothing is more testament to my appreciation of the original than the development and design that has been put into the new weapons, speaking only from what I've seen through demo playthroughs and concept art. They have come in leaps and bounds from the first (almost basic by comparison) weapon layout and inspired me along a whole new series of design and ideas for something I'd like to implement in the future if not fully then just at least in a 3D space where I can use some minor code to assemble some of my own procedural and modular designs in everything from weapons to clothing to animals to buildings and landscape.

Hyperion Modular Concept

Maliwan Concept Weaponry

I think the scope for what makes Borderlands so addictive is being overlooked by everyone else and is ripe for expansion in just the way I've mentioned. I've been half drawing up some little design sketches based of inspiration from the concept art of the Maliwan and Tediore companies (weapon manufacturers in game), trying to get a feel for the way in which objects and weapons like that are drawn because it's what I hope to be doing myself someday on a professional level. As such I've been trying to work more with depth in my weapon designs which hopefully is slightly obvious (if not very unpracticed), just need much more work and practice.

I struggle enough with colours as it is and this was my first (recent) attempt to try and use some kind of colouring to bring the image to life a bit more but this was before experimenting with depth.

This was a bit more of an experiment into the field of depth and dimension that's displayed in the concept sketches, something I'm really not good at. With these last couple it's obvious where the inspiration from the Maliwan weapons comes from, I've tried to imitate the curvature and alien-feel, now if I could just do colours better. Below is another example of more depth practice based around this concept art. Think I'm done for now though.

So in a round about way I'll just wrap up by saying I really can't wait to be playing this. In fact just writing all this up has brought me nearly an hour closer to the release, so eeeeeeeee *excitement* I look forward to receiving more inspiration. At some point I'll write up my work with my own procedural design project and how it works. *Note to self*

~ZH

Testing

Test post for the Virtual Zero video game related blog. This may or may not include various entries from and about other subject matter.

~ZH