Here are two models I worked on this week: A lab unit for the Weapon of Mass Destruction and a Frog Bot
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Works in Progress- Lab Unit and Frog Bot
Here are two models I worked on this week: A lab unit for the Weapon of Mass Destruction and a Frog Bot
Week-by-Week Breakdown of Senior Thesis Project, Semester One
Schedule:
WEEK ONE: Model: Lab unit, Flowchart completed, Postings for animators and others wanted for mods made
WEEK TWO: Model: Frog Bot and Lift, Basic geometry in Unreal flushed out, Continued Postings/Interviews
WEEK THREE: Model: Boss stage arena and Pagoda, Continued geometry layout in unreal
WEEK FOUR: Model: Temple complex pt I, Test imports into unreal, Collada download
WEEK FIVE: Model: Temple complex pt. II, Continued importing of art assets
WEEK SIX: Model: Finish temple and model labyrinth structures, begin texturing, texturing geo in unreal
WEEK SEVEN: Model: Cliffside with catwalks, begin normal mapping
WEEK EIGHT: Model: All major architectural models besides filler completed, all unreal geo laid out
WEEK NINE: Normal mapping, work in zBrush to automap
WEEK TEN: Continued work with normal mapping, gameplay starting to be figured out in level
WEEK ELEVEN: Animating and rigging of character models, normal mapping
WEEK TWELVE: Animate and rigging of character models, normal mapping
WEEK THIRTEEN: Materials brought into and worked out in unreal
WEEK FOURTEEN: DecoLayers and other Materials figured out in Unreal, additional models worked on
WEEK FIFTEEN: Finish texturing of major environment, adding filler, and importing important assets to check they look right
WEEK SIXTEEN: Texturing in level, adding filler, working out AI pathing
WEEK ONE: Model: Lab unit, Flowchart completed, Postings for animators and others wanted for mods made
WEEK TWO: Model: Frog Bot and Lift, Basic geometry in Unreal flushed out, Continued Postings/Interviews
WEEK THREE: Model: Boss stage arena and Pagoda, Continued geometry layout in unreal
WEEK FOUR: Model: Temple complex pt I, Test imports into unreal, Collada download
WEEK FIVE: Model: Temple complex pt. II, Continued importing of art assets
WEEK SIX: Model: Finish temple and model labyrinth structures, begin texturing, texturing geo in unreal
WEEK SEVEN: Model: Cliffside with catwalks, begin normal mapping
WEEK EIGHT: Model: All major architectural models besides filler completed, all unreal geo laid out
WEEK NINE: Normal mapping, work in zBrush to automap
WEEK TEN: Continued work with normal mapping, gameplay starting to be figured out in level
WEEK ELEVEN: Animating and rigging of character models, normal mapping
WEEK TWELVE: Animate and rigging of character models, normal mapping
WEEK THIRTEEN: Materials brought into and worked out in unreal
WEEK FOURTEEN: DecoLayers and other Materials figured out in Unreal, additional models worked on
WEEK FIFTEEN: Finish texturing of major environment, adding filler, and importing important assets to check they look right
WEEK SIXTEEN: Texturing in level, adding filler, working out AI pathing
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Level One Flowchart
Here's a revised flowchart for Level One, which has been condensed and simplified to better represent the realistic goals for the 2-semester project.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Terrain Level- Gansu
This was a test terrain level I made in Unreal 3. I apologize for the poor quality video. FRAPs hates me, and I had to resort to an alternative capture method...unfortunately, its very low quality. But for what it's worth, here's my stab at replicating the arid, rocky terrain of Gansu province in northwestern China.
Level One- Detail
LEVEL DESCRIPTIONS
LEVEL ONE: GUILIN CAVERNS AND JUNGLE
Objectives: Escape the Dungeon
Sub-Objectives: Follow tutorial prompts: Bandage self, get gun from storage space, break lock, and choke guard
Level Description:
Mei and her uncle are taken to a cavern in a cliff side that houses not only one of Liu Gui’s war machines in the making but also produces mechanical infantry in the form of golems. With guards as well as mechanical golems, Mei and Uncle Chang are under intense guard, being kept in a dungeon within the cavern.
However, Mei won't give in without a fight.
The player needs to her protect not only her life, but her uncle's life as well. When the player attacks one of the guards near the cell at the beginning o fthe level, they receive a prompt to "choke" the guard. When Mei does so, her hand begins to flow red and she absorbs his life. This is how Mei leanrs she has the ability not only to give life but to also take it away!
The player can use this new ability, as well as the matchlock gun and other pick-up ranged and melee weapons in the leavel, to make their escape out of the dungeon and out of the compound. Howin is used to reach items of interest that are out of reach, such as keys.
As soon as the player escapes, there is a cinematic showing Uncle Chang becoming hurt and afflicted with ricin poisoning injected into him through a tiny tube. He will die without an antitoxin dosage, obtainable only from the ingredients found within the forbidden garden labyrinth outside the boundaries of the temple sanctuary.
LEVEL DETAIL:
The level opens with a tutorial stage, in which the player is informed as to how to perform certain actions. You will be prompted in the following manner:
-Move character in any direction
-Move camera in any direction
- You will be told you are bleeding from the raid and should use a bandage: Look for a bandage
-Pick up a bandage from the inventory floor.
-Go to inventory to heal self with bandage.
-Channel Uncle Chang: Use his advice to check in the storage space between your cells to find the gun.
-Inspect a “weak spot on the wall”
-Kick the wall to break down a portion of it.
- Inspect the bag
-Pick up gun and ammo.
-Shoot lock off the cell. (triggers cinematic where you use Neogenesis ability on the sleeping guard that wakes up)
-End Tutorial Stage-
Golems begin approaching from the end of the hall- some are ranged, some are equipped with melee weapons (clubs)
-Target enemy
-Zoom in on approaching enemies for a better shot.
-When one of the enemies gets closer, you will be prompted to use the Neogenesis command.
-Prompt to release Uncle Chang from jail.
Once Uncle Chang is released, you will explore the lower level of the dungeon to find a way out. There are enemies, including more golems, positioned along the way. Uncle Chang will have his own health bar and will need to be protected. If he dies, the mission will fail and you will have to restart the level from the golem fight.
-Prompt to use Howin to get key (in a stone dragon statue’s mouth) to upper level of cavern.
Use the key to open a locked door leading to the upper level. There are tougher enemies here. You will get another key, which leads to the way outside.
Open door to go outside to the courtyard
Boss Fight: Falun Khan, boss. Lead Falun Khan to the edge of the cliff to push him off.
(End of Boss Fight cinematic: One of Falun Khan’s followers poisons Uncle Chang.
-Prompt to Heal Uncle Chang using a reverse of the Neogenesis ability.
-Prompt to mount horse outside post. (you will hoist Uncle Chang onto the horse as well)
Ride horse (with Uncle Chang) down path to the temple sanctuary. Uncle Chang’s health will be diminishing, and you will have to reach the cave within a time limit or he will die, which will result in objective failure (you will restart at just after the Boss Fight).
-Prompt to talk to friendly NPC: the monk.
-Prompt to save at well.
-Prompt to “Talk with Uncle Chang”- access menu for upgrades, etc.
-Prompt informing you as to your next objective (the second level)
THE GARDEN LABYRINTH
Objective: Obtain a flower, a seed, and a dragon’s claw to make the antitoxin needed to cure Uncle Chang; defeat the mad scientist.
Level Description:
Mei learns from Uncle Chang that the cure fo the ricin poisoning is an extremely rare flower believed to be extinct for 10,000 years. The last living flowers are inthe possesion of a mad scientist living in a walled-off artifical garden. Other ingredients will be needed as well.
The player begins in the forests of Guilin. Howin alerts the player to the presence of hidden dangers such a lurking tigers and snakes.
Once the player reaches the garden, they must solve a puzzle of rotating stones to gain entrance. Once inside, strange robotic demons and biomechanical ceratures and booby traps make the garden treacherous and challening for the player. Once the player manages to make their way through the labyranth, they must enter a huge greenhouse, where the flower is housed. Mei must fight off the mad scientist and a giant mechanical snake-dragon to obtain the flower.
LEVEL ONE: GUILIN CAVERNS AND JUNGLE
Objectives: Escape the Dungeon
Sub-Objectives: Follow tutorial prompts: Bandage self, get gun from storage space, break lock, and choke guard
Level Description:
Mei and her uncle are taken to a cavern in a cliff side that houses not only one of Liu Gui’s war machines in the making but also produces mechanical infantry in the form of golems. With guards as well as mechanical golems, Mei and Uncle Chang are under intense guard, being kept in a dungeon within the cavern.
However, Mei won't give in without a fight.
The player needs to her protect not only her life, but her uncle's life as well. When the player attacks one of the guards near the cell at the beginning o fthe level, they receive a prompt to "choke" the guard. When Mei does so, her hand begins to flow red and she absorbs his life. This is how Mei leanrs she has the ability not only to give life but to also take it away!
The player can use this new ability, as well as the matchlock gun and other pick-up ranged and melee weapons in the leavel, to make their escape out of the dungeon and out of the compound. Howin is used to reach items of interest that are out of reach, such as keys.
As soon as the player escapes, there is a cinematic showing Uncle Chang becoming hurt and afflicted with ricin poisoning injected into him through a tiny tube. He will die without an antitoxin dosage, obtainable only from the ingredients found within the forbidden garden labyrinth outside the boundaries of the temple sanctuary.
LEVEL DETAIL:
The level opens with a tutorial stage, in which the player is informed as to how to perform certain actions. You will be prompted in the following manner:
-Move character in any direction
-Move camera in any direction
- You will be told you are bleeding from the raid and should use a bandage: Look for a bandage
-Pick up a bandage from the inventory floor.
-Go to inventory to heal self with bandage.
-Channel Uncle Chang: Use his advice to check in the storage space between your cells to find the gun.
-Inspect a “weak spot on the wall”
-Kick the wall to break down a portion of it.
- Inspect the bag
-Pick up gun and ammo.
-Shoot lock off the cell. (triggers cinematic where you use Neogenesis ability on the sleeping guard that wakes up)
-End Tutorial Stage-
Golems begin approaching from the end of the hall- some are ranged, some are equipped with melee weapons (clubs)
-Target enemy
-Zoom in on approaching enemies for a better shot.
-When one of the enemies gets closer, you will be prompted to use the Neogenesis command.
-Prompt to release Uncle Chang from jail.
Once Uncle Chang is released, you will explore the lower level of the dungeon to find a way out. There are enemies, including more golems, positioned along the way. Uncle Chang will have his own health bar and will need to be protected. If he dies, the mission will fail and you will have to restart the level from the golem fight.
-Prompt to use Howin to get key (in a stone dragon statue’s mouth) to upper level of cavern.
Use the key to open a locked door leading to the upper level. There are tougher enemies here. You will get another key, which leads to the way outside.
Open door to go outside to the courtyard
Boss Fight: Falun Khan, boss. Lead Falun Khan to the edge of the cliff to push him off.
(End of Boss Fight cinematic: One of Falun Khan’s followers poisons Uncle Chang.
-Prompt to Heal Uncle Chang using a reverse of the Neogenesis ability.
-Prompt to mount horse outside post. (you will hoist Uncle Chang onto the horse as well)
Ride horse (with Uncle Chang) down path to the temple sanctuary. Uncle Chang’s health will be diminishing, and you will have to reach the cave within a time limit or he will die, which will result in objective failure (you will restart at just after the Boss Fight).
-Prompt to talk to friendly NPC: the monk.
-Prompt to save at well.
-Prompt to “Talk with Uncle Chang”- access menu for upgrades, etc.
-Prompt informing you as to your next objective (the second level)
THE GARDEN LABYRINTH
Objective: Obtain a flower, a seed, and a dragon’s claw to make the antitoxin needed to cure Uncle Chang; defeat the mad scientist.
Level Description:
Mei learns from Uncle Chang that the cure fo the ricin poisoning is an extremely rare flower believed to be extinct for 10,000 years. The last living flowers are inthe possesion of a mad scientist living in a walled-off artifical garden. Other ingredients will be needed as well.
The player begins in the forests of Guilin. Howin alerts the player to the presence of hidden dangers such a lurking tigers and snakes.
Once the player reaches the garden, they must solve a puzzle of rotating stones to gain entrance. Once inside, strange robotic demons and biomechanical ceratures and booby traps make the garden treacherous and challening for the player. Once the player manages to make their way through the labyranth, they must enter a huge greenhouse, where the flower is housed. Mei must fight off the mad scientist and a giant mechanical snake-dragon to obtain the flower.
Characters and Game Backstory
CHARACTERS
LUNG MEI
Mei is raised by her uncle, Chang, in the semitropical, remote Guilin region. Uncle Chang is an accomplished engineer and scientist like his brother. There she learns how to engineer tools to help with the fieldwork and other household chores. She has a pet firebird, a phoenix-like bird, named Howin.
Mei has the remarkable ability to give life to dying crops and sick animals. Word begins to spread of the miracles the girl appears to be perfoming. One of her hands can generate a green aura of life...the other, an ominous red glow emanates, its powers as of yet unimplemented.
THE CAPTURE
Word reaches the capital of Shangxi and Emperor Lu Gui hears of the mysterious girl in remote Gansu who seems to have divine power over life itself. He is suspicious, thinking it could only be the work of Lung Hui Ying. He sends his troops, including mechanical golems, to Gansu to seize the girl.
When Uncle Chang's farm is attacked, Mei grabs an experimental matchlock gun her uncle was working on and hides it in her bag and throws it to her uncle. They are both captured.
LUNG MEI
Mei is raised by her uncle, Chang, in the semitropical, remote Guilin region. Uncle Chang is an accomplished engineer and scientist like his brother. There she learns how to engineer tools to help with the fieldwork and other household chores. She has a pet firebird, a phoenix-like bird, named Howin.
Mei has the remarkable ability to give life to dying crops and sick animals. Word begins to spread of the miracles the girl appears to be perfoming. One of her hands can generate a green aura of life...the other, an ominous red glow emanates, its powers as of yet unimplemented.
THE CAPTURE
Word reaches the capital of Shangxi and Emperor Lu Gui hears of the mysterious girl in remote Gansu who seems to have divine power over life itself. He is suspicious, thinking it could only be the work of Lung Hui Ying. He sends his troops, including mechanical golems, to Gansu to seize the girl.
When Uncle Chang's farm is attacked, Mei grabs an experimental matchlock gun her uncle was working on and hides it in her bag and throws it to her uncle. They are both captured.
Previous Work in Unreal- Sara Leedom
Well, FRAPs officially despises my living guts, so I can't really show my old level I made last semester on this blog.
HOWEVER, here's a teaser vid I did for an ollllld mod. Enjoy!
HOWEVER, here's a teaser vid I did for an ollllld mod. Enjoy!
Some Background Research- Pre-Dynastic China
INSIDE THE WORLD OF NEOGENESIS: THE BACKSTORY
THE SHANGXI KINGDOM (16th Century BC)
A civilization lost of the annals of Ancient Chinese history, the city of Shangxi was a metroplis
built on technology far more advanced than the world had yet seen.
Scientists and engineers were working to unlock the secrets of life, and harnessing nature's
power to create wonders...or nightmares.
Ruled over by the cruel, megalomaniac emperor Lu Gui, ony the wealthy of Shangxi can enjoy the fruits of technology. The rest of the populace are oppressed and taxed into poverty to support even grander projects.
The ultimate secret Liu Gui seeks is a weapon powerful enough to wipe out all his enemies' armies. He entusts the finest scientist in Shangxi, Lung Hui Ying, in developing this weapon. When Hui Ying instead uses this funding to help the peasants intead of making weapons of war, Liu Gui's soldiers ransack his laborator and arrest Hui Ying. Before his capture, he injects his daughter, Mei, with the serum he developed: his final masterpiece, forever altering her DNA.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: THE SHANG AND XIA DYNASTIES
XIA DYNASTY: (from Wikipedia)
The Xia Dynasty (Chinese: ??; pinyin: xià cháo; Wade-Giles: hsia-ch'ao), ca. 2100 BC–1600 BC,[1][2] of China is the first dynasty to be described in ancient historical records such as Records of the Grand Historian and Bamboo Annals. Though there is disagreement pertaining to the actual existence of the dynasty, there is archaeological evidence which points to its possible existence. According to historical records, it was preceded by the period of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and followed by the Shang Dynasty.
According to the official history, the Xia Dynasty was founded when Shun abdicated the throne in favor of his minister Yu, whom Shun viewed as the perfect civil servant. Yu was greatly praised by his people for eliminating flooding by organizing the building of canals in all the major rivers. Soon before his death, instead of passing power to the person deemed most capable of rulership, Yu passed power to his son, Qi, setting the precedence for dynastic rule or the Hereditary System. The Xia Dynasty thus began a period of family or clan control.
The Skeptical School of early Chinese history, started by Gu Jiegang in the 1920s, was the first group of scholars within China to seriously question the traditional story of its early history: “the later the time, the longer the legendary period of earlier history... early Chinese history is a tale told and retold for generations, during which new elements were added to the front end”[3] Yun Kuen Lee's criticism of nationalist sentiment in developing an explanation of Three Dynasties chronology focuses on the dichotomy of evidence provided by archaeological versus historical research, in particular the claim that the archaeological Erlitou Culture is also the historical Xia Dynasty. “How to fuse the archaeological dates with historical dates is a challenge to all chronological studies of early civilization.”[4]
Jie, the last ruler, was said to be a corrupt king. He was overthrown by Tang, the leader of the Shang people from the east.
Archaeologists have uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs that point to the possible existence of the Xia dynasty at locations cited in ancient Chinese historical texts. There exists a debate as to whether or not Erlitou culture was the site of the Xia dynasty. Radiocarbon dating places the site at ca. 2100 to 1800 BC, providing physical evidence of the existence of a state contemporaneous with and possibly equivalent to the Xia Dynasty as described in Chinese historical works.[5] In 1959, a site located in the city of Yanshi was excavated containing large palaces that some archaeologists have attributed as capital of the Xia Dynasty. Though later historical works mention the Xia dynasty, no written records dated to the Xia period have been found to confirm the name of the dynasty and its sovereigns. At a minimum, the archaeological discoveries marked an evolutionary stage between the late neolithic cultures and the typical Chinese urban civilization of the Shang Dynasty.
In her work, The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art and Cosmos in Early China, Sarah Allan noted that many aspects of the Xia are simply the opposite of traits held to be emblematic of the Shang. Classical Chinese historians such as Sima Qian had access to records going only as far back as the Western Zhou Dynasty. The implied dualism between the Shang and Xia, Allan argues, is that while the Shang represent fire or the sun, birds and the east, the Xia represent the west and water. The development of this mythical Xia, Allan argues, is a necessary act on the part of the Zhou Dynasty, who justify their conquest of the Shang by noting that the Shang had supplanted the Xia.
SHANG DYNASTY: (from Wikipedia)
The Shang Dynasty (Chinese: ??) or Yin Dynasty (??) (ca. 1600 BC - ca. 1100 BC)[1] was the second historic Chinese dynasty and ruled in the northeastern region of the area known as "China proper", in the Yellow River valley. The Sh?ng Dynasty followed the legendary Xià Dynasty and preceded the Zh?u Dynasty. Information about the Shang Dynasty comes from historical records of the later Zhou Dynasty, the Han Dynasty Shiji by Sima Qian and from Shang inscriptions on bronze artifacts and oracle bones—turtle shells, cattle scapulae or other bones on which were written the first significant corpus of recorded Chinese characters.
These divinations can be gleaned for information on the politics, economy, culture, religion, geography, astronomy, calendar, art and medicine of the period,[2] and as such provide critical insight into the early stages of the Chinese civilization. One site of the Shang capitals, later historically called the Ruins of Yin (??), is near modern day Anyang . Archaeological work there uncovered 11 major Yin royal tombs and the foundations of palace and ritual sites, containing weapons of war and human as well as animal sacrifices. Tens of thousands of bronze, jade, stone, bone and ceramic artifacts have been obtained; the workmanship on the bronzes attests to a high level of civilization. In terms of inscribed oracle bones alone, more than 20,000 were discovered in the initial scientific excavations in the 1920s to 1930s, and over four times more have since been found.
The Shang dynasty is believed to have been founded by a rebel leader who overthrew the last Xia ruler. Its civilization was based on agriculture, augmented by hunting and animal husbandry. The Records of the Grand Historian state that the Shang moved its capital six times. The final and most important move to Yin in 1350 BC led to the golden age of the dynasty. The term Yin dynasty has been synonymous with the Shang in history, and indeed was the more popular term, although it is now often used specifically in reference to the latter half of the Shang. The Japanese and Koreans still refer to the Shang dynasty exclusively as the Yin (In) dynasty.
A line of hereditary Shang kings ruled over much of northern China, and Shang troops fought frequent wars with neighboring settlements and nomadic herdsmen from the inner Asian steppes. The capitals, particularly that in Yin, were centers of glittering court life. Court rituals to propitiate spirits developed. In addition to his secular position, the king was the head of the ancestor- and spirit-worship cult. The king often performed oracle bone divinations himself, especially near the end of the dynasty. Evidence from the royal tombs indicates that royal personages were buried with articles of value, presumably for use in the afterlife. Perhaps for the same reason, hundreds of commoners, who may have been slaves, were buried alive with the royal corpse.
The Shang had a fully developed system of writing as attested on bronze inscriptions, oracle bones, and a small number of other writings on pottery, jade and other stones, horn, etc.;[16] its complexity and state of development indicates an earlier period of development, which is still unattested. Bronze casting and pottery also advanced in Shang culture. The bronze was commonly used for art rather than weapons. In astronomy, the Shang astronomers saw Mars and various comets. Many musical instruments were also invented at that time.
Shang influence, though not political control, extended as far northeast as modern Beijing, where early pre-Yan culture shows evidence of Shang material culture.[17] At least one burial in this region during the Early Shang period contained both Shang-style bronzes and local-style gold jewelry.[17] This Shang influence likely made possible the integration of Yan into the later Zhou Dynasty.[17]
The Shang king, in his oracular divinations, repeatedly shows concern about the fang groups, which represented barbarians outside of the civilized tu regions that made up the Shang center. In particular, the tufang group of the Yan Shan region is regularly mentioned as hostile to the Shang.[17] The discovery of a Chenggu-style ge dagger-axe at Xiaohenan demonstrates that even at this early stage of Chinese history, there was some level of connection between the distant areas of north China.[17]
Shang Zhou, the last Shang king, committed suicide after his army was defeated by the Zhou people. Legends say that his army betrayed him by joining the Zhou rebels in a decisive battle.
A classical novel Fengshen Yanyi is about the war between the Yin and Zhou, in which each was favored and supported by one group of gods.
After the Yin's collapse, the surviving Yin ruling family collectively changed their surname from their royal Zi (?) (pinyin: zi; Wade-Giles: tzu) to the name of their fallen dynasty, Yin (?). The family remained aristocratic and often provided needed administrative services to the succeeding Zhou Dynasty. The King Cheng of Zhou (???) through the Regent, his uncle the Duke Dan of Zhou (???), enfeoffed[clarify] the former Shang King Zhou's brother the ruler of Wei, WeiZi (??) in the former Shang capital at Shang (?) with the territory becoming the state of Song (?). The State of Song and the royal Shang descendants maintained rites to the dead Shang kings which lasted until 286 BC. (Source: Records of the Grand Historian.)
Both Korean and Chinese legends state that a disgruntled Yin prince named Jizi (??), who had refused to cede power to the Zhou, left China with his garrison and founded Gija Joseon near modern day Liaoning to what would become one of the early Korean states (Go-, Gija-, and Wiman-Joseon).
Many Shang clans migrated northeast and were integrated into Yan culture during the Western Zhou period. These clans maintained an elite status, continuing their sacrificial and burial traditions.[17]
Shang infantry were armed with a variety of stone or bronze weaponry, including máo spears, yuè pole-axes, ge pole-based dagger-axes, the compound bow, and bronze or leather helmets (Wang Hongyuan 1993).[22] Their western military frontier was at the Taihang Mountains, where they fought the ma or "horse" barbarians, who might have used chariots. The Shang themselves likely only used chariots as mobile command vehicles or elite symbols.[23] Although the Shang depended upon the military skills of their nobility, the masses of town dwelling and rural commoners provided the Shang rulers with conscript labor as well as military obligation when mobilized for ventures of defense or conquest.[24] The subservient lords of noble lineage and other state rulers were obligated to furnish their locally-kept forces with all the necessary equipment, armor, and armaments, while the Shang king maintained a force of about a thousand troops at his capital, and personally led this force into battle.[25] A rudimentary military bureaucracy was needed in order to muster troops of three to five thousand troops in border campaigns, while it was recorded that up to thirteen thousand troops were mustered in order to suppress uprisings of insolent states to Shang authority.[25]
The army was divided into three sections - left, right, and middle.[22] There were largely two types of army units in these sections, those being the loosely organized infantry that were conscripted from the privileged populace and played a supporting role, while the core of the army was the warrior nobility who rode in chariots.[22] Chariot-based warfare continued as a prime means of conducting battle well into the Warring States (481 BC-221 BC) period, although this was slowly phased out by massive infantry, and then large cavalry-based forces by the 3rd century BC.[26] However, even after the Shang integrated the chariot into their military forces, the nobility were still largely amassed in infantry form, as the chariot was mostly associated with transportation, ceremonies, and large-scale royal hunting expeditions.[26] Chariots in the Shang period generally carried three men, the driver placed at the center, an archer on the left, and a warrior armed with a dagger-axe on the right.[26] It had a rectangular frame, with two large spoked wheels, and was driven by two horses,[26] although some of the chariots had teams of four horses.[21]
THE SHANGXI KINGDOM (16th Century BC)
A civilization lost of the annals of Ancient Chinese history, the city of Shangxi was a metroplis
built on technology far more advanced than the world had yet seen.
Scientists and engineers were working to unlock the secrets of life, and harnessing nature's
power to create wonders...or nightmares.
Ruled over by the cruel, megalomaniac emperor Lu Gui, ony the wealthy of Shangxi can enjoy the fruits of technology. The rest of the populace are oppressed and taxed into poverty to support even grander projects.
The ultimate secret Liu Gui seeks is a weapon powerful enough to wipe out all his enemies' armies. He entusts the finest scientist in Shangxi, Lung Hui Ying, in developing this weapon. When Hui Ying instead uses this funding to help the peasants intead of making weapons of war, Liu Gui's soldiers ransack his laborator and arrest Hui Ying. Before his capture, he injects his daughter, Mei, with the serum he developed: his final masterpiece, forever altering her DNA.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: THE SHANG AND XIA DYNASTIES
XIA DYNASTY: (from Wikipedia)
The Xia Dynasty (Chinese: ??; pinyin: xià cháo; Wade-Giles: hsia-ch'ao), ca. 2100 BC–1600 BC,[1][2] of China is the first dynasty to be described in ancient historical records such as Records of the Grand Historian and Bamboo Annals. Though there is disagreement pertaining to the actual existence of the dynasty, there is archaeological evidence which points to its possible existence. According to historical records, it was preceded by the period of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and followed by the Shang Dynasty.
According to the official history, the Xia Dynasty was founded when Shun abdicated the throne in favor of his minister Yu, whom Shun viewed as the perfect civil servant. Yu was greatly praised by his people for eliminating flooding by organizing the building of canals in all the major rivers. Soon before his death, instead of passing power to the person deemed most capable of rulership, Yu passed power to his son, Qi, setting the precedence for dynastic rule or the Hereditary System. The Xia Dynasty thus began a period of family or clan control.
The Skeptical School of early Chinese history, started by Gu Jiegang in the 1920s, was the first group of scholars within China to seriously question the traditional story of its early history: “the later the time, the longer the legendary period of earlier history... early Chinese history is a tale told and retold for generations, during which new elements were added to the front end”[3] Yun Kuen Lee's criticism of nationalist sentiment in developing an explanation of Three Dynasties chronology focuses on the dichotomy of evidence provided by archaeological versus historical research, in particular the claim that the archaeological Erlitou Culture is also the historical Xia Dynasty. “How to fuse the archaeological dates with historical dates is a challenge to all chronological studies of early civilization.”[4]
Jie, the last ruler, was said to be a corrupt king. He was overthrown by Tang, the leader of the Shang people from the east.
Archaeologists have uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs that point to the possible existence of the Xia dynasty at locations cited in ancient Chinese historical texts. There exists a debate as to whether or not Erlitou culture was the site of the Xia dynasty. Radiocarbon dating places the site at ca. 2100 to 1800 BC, providing physical evidence of the existence of a state contemporaneous with and possibly equivalent to the Xia Dynasty as described in Chinese historical works.[5] In 1959, a site located in the city of Yanshi was excavated containing large palaces that some archaeologists have attributed as capital of the Xia Dynasty. Though later historical works mention the Xia dynasty, no written records dated to the Xia period have been found to confirm the name of the dynasty and its sovereigns. At a minimum, the archaeological discoveries marked an evolutionary stage between the late neolithic cultures and the typical Chinese urban civilization of the Shang Dynasty.
In her work, The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art and Cosmos in Early China, Sarah Allan noted that many aspects of the Xia are simply the opposite of traits held to be emblematic of the Shang. Classical Chinese historians such as Sima Qian had access to records going only as far back as the Western Zhou Dynasty. The implied dualism between the Shang and Xia, Allan argues, is that while the Shang represent fire or the sun, birds and the east, the Xia represent the west and water. The development of this mythical Xia, Allan argues, is a necessary act on the part of the Zhou Dynasty, who justify their conquest of the Shang by noting that the Shang had supplanted the Xia.
SHANG DYNASTY: (from Wikipedia)
The Shang Dynasty (Chinese: ??) or Yin Dynasty (??) (ca. 1600 BC - ca. 1100 BC)[1] was the second historic Chinese dynasty and ruled in the northeastern region of the area known as "China proper", in the Yellow River valley. The Sh?ng Dynasty followed the legendary Xià Dynasty and preceded the Zh?u Dynasty. Information about the Shang Dynasty comes from historical records of the later Zhou Dynasty, the Han Dynasty Shiji by Sima Qian and from Shang inscriptions on bronze artifacts and oracle bones—turtle shells, cattle scapulae or other bones on which were written the first significant corpus of recorded Chinese characters.
These divinations can be gleaned for information on the politics, economy, culture, religion, geography, astronomy, calendar, art and medicine of the period,[2] and as such provide critical insight into the early stages of the Chinese civilization. One site of the Shang capitals, later historically called the Ruins of Yin (??), is near modern day Anyang . Archaeological work there uncovered 11 major Yin royal tombs and the foundations of palace and ritual sites, containing weapons of war and human as well as animal sacrifices. Tens of thousands of bronze, jade, stone, bone and ceramic artifacts have been obtained; the workmanship on the bronzes attests to a high level of civilization. In terms of inscribed oracle bones alone, more than 20,000 were discovered in the initial scientific excavations in the 1920s to 1930s, and over four times more have since been found.
The Shang dynasty is believed to have been founded by a rebel leader who overthrew the last Xia ruler. Its civilization was based on agriculture, augmented by hunting and animal husbandry. The Records of the Grand Historian state that the Shang moved its capital six times. The final and most important move to Yin in 1350 BC led to the golden age of the dynasty. The term Yin dynasty has been synonymous with the Shang in history, and indeed was the more popular term, although it is now often used specifically in reference to the latter half of the Shang. The Japanese and Koreans still refer to the Shang dynasty exclusively as the Yin (In) dynasty.
A line of hereditary Shang kings ruled over much of northern China, and Shang troops fought frequent wars with neighboring settlements and nomadic herdsmen from the inner Asian steppes. The capitals, particularly that in Yin, were centers of glittering court life. Court rituals to propitiate spirits developed. In addition to his secular position, the king was the head of the ancestor- and spirit-worship cult. The king often performed oracle bone divinations himself, especially near the end of the dynasty. Evidence from the royal tombs indicates that royal personages were buried with articles of value, presumably for use in the afterlife. Perhaps for the same reason, hundreds of commoners, who may have been slaves, were buried alive with the royal corpse.
The Shang had a fully developed system of writing as attested on bronze inscriptions, oracle bones, and a small number of other writings on pottery, jade and other stones, horn, etc.;[16] its complexity and state of development indicates an earlier period of development, which is still unattested. Bronze casting and pottery also advanced in Shang culture. The bronze was commonly used for art rather than weapons. In astronomy, the Shang astronomers saw Mars and various comets. Many musical instruments were also invented at that time.
Shang influence, though not political control, extended as far northeast as modern Beijing, where early pre-Yan culture shows evidence of Shang material culture.[17] At least one burial in this region during the Early Shang period contained both Shang-style bronzes and local-style gold jewelry.[17] This Shang influence likely made possible the integration of Yan into the later Zhou Dynasty.[17]
The Shang king, in his oracular divinations, repeatedly shows concern about the fang groups, which represented barbarians outside of the civilized tu regions that made up the Shang center. In particular, the tufang group of the Yan Shan region is regularly mentioned as hostile to the Shang.[17] The discovery of a Chenggu-style ge dagger-axe at Xiaohenan demonstrates that even at this early stage of Chinese history, there was some level of connection between the distant areas of north China.[17]
Shang Zhou, the last Shang king, committed suicide after his army was defeated by the Zhou people. Legends say that his army betrayed him by joining the Zhou rebels in a decisive battle.
A classical novel Fengshen Yanyi is about the war between the Yin and Zhou, in which each was favored and supported by one group of gods.
After the Yin's collapse, the surviving Yin ruling family collectively changed their surname from their royal Zi (?) (pinyin: zi; Wade-Giles: tzu) to the name of their fallen dynasty, Yin (?). The family remained aristocratic and often provided needed administrative services to the succeeding Zhou Dynasty. The King Cheng of Zhou (???) through the Regent, his uncle the Duke Dan of Zhou (???), enfeoffed[clarify] the former Shang King Zhou's brother the ruler of Wei, WeiZi (??) in the former Shang capital at Shang (?) with the territory becoming the state of Song (?). The State of Song and the royal Shang descendants maintained rites to the dead Shang kings which lasted until 286 BC. (Source: Records of the Grand Historian.)
Both Korean and Chinese legends state that a disgruntled Yin prince named Jizi (??), who had refused to cede power to the Zhou, left China with his garrison and founded Gija Joseon near modern day Liaoning to what would become one of the early Korean states (Go-, Gija-, and Wiman-Joseon).
Many Shang clans migrated northeast and were integrated into Yan culture during the Western Zhou period. These clans maintained an elite status, continuing their sacrificial and burial traditions.[17]
Shang infantry were armed with a variety of stone or bronze weaponry, including máo spears, yuè pole-axes, ge pole-based dagger-axes, the compound bow, and bronze or leather helmets (Wang Hongyuan 1993).[22] Their western military frontier was at the Taihang Mountains, where they fought the ma or "horse" barbarians, who might have used chariots. The Shang themselves likely only used chariots as mobile command vehicles or elite symbols.[23] Although the Shang depended upon the military skills of their nobility, the masses of town dwelling and rural commoners provided the Shang rulers with conscript labor as well as military obligation when mobilized for ventures of defense or conquest.[24] The subservient lords of noble lineage and other state rulers were obligated to furnish their locally-kept forces with all the necessary equipment, armor, and armaments, while the Shang king maintained a force of about a thousand troops at his capital, and personally led this force into battle.[25] A rudimentary military bureaucracy was needed in order to muster troops of three to five thousand troops in border campaigns, while it was recorded that up to thirteen thousand troops were mustered in order to suppress uprisings of insolent states to Shang authority.[25]
The army was divided into three sections - left, right, and middle.[22] There were largely two types of army units in these sections, those being the loosely organized infantry that were conscripted from the privileged populace and played a supporting role, while the core of the army was the warrior nobility who rode in chariots.[22] Chariot-based warfare continued as a prime means of conducting battle well into the Warring States (481 BC-221 BC) period, although this was slowly phased out by massive infantry, and then large cavalry-based forces by the 3rd century BC.[26] However, even after the Shang integrated the chariot into their military forces, the nobility were still largely amassed in infantry form, as the chariot was mostly associated with transportation, ceremonies, and large-scale royal hunting expeditions.[26] Chariots in the Shang period generally carried three men, the driver placed at the center, an archer on the left, and a warrior armed with a dagger-axe on the right.[26] It had a rectangular frame, with two large spoked wheels, and was driven by two horses,[26] although some of the chariots had teams of four horses.[21]
Neogenesis Proposal- from our super-offical DESIGN DOCUMENT
NEOGENESIS
Fantasy/Sci-Fi First-Person Shooter
HIGH CONCEPT
A fantasy/sci-fi shooter set in an alternate history China following a female protagonist whose abilities grow stronger as she harnesses the powers of biotechnology.
GAME OVERVIEW
The story of Neogenesis takes place in a lost kingdom in Ancient China called Shangxi, in the modern day Gansu region, with advanced technology, ruled under a ruthless dictator named Liu Gui. You play as Mei, who has been injected with a Neogenesis serum by her father before he was captured by Liu Gui’s army for disobeying his order to make weapons of war. The Neogenesis serum gave Mei the ability to give life to other living beings- as well as to absorb it to gain life herself.
Mei is raised by her uncle, Chang, in remote Guilin province, but word of her abilities reaches Liu Gui. Mei and her uncle are captured and sent to a military outpost. During their escape, her uncle is poisoned with ricin. As Mei, you must find the antidote, all the while trying to piece together the mystery of what became of her brilliant father, who has been captured and been imprisoned in Liu Gui’s palace. In the process, you will explore farflung and exotic locations and battle many formidable enemies, including the feared Liu Gui himself. With the power over life itself, will you use your powers wisely or give in to the temptation to use it with wrath, vengeance, and for darker purposes?
DESIGN OBJECTIVES
These three items are the foundation the game is built on.
-RICH, IMMERSIVE, OPEN ENVIRONMENTS
The environments in the game should be distinct from each other, be absolutely beautiful, and most importantly be open spaces that the player can explore- with plenty of surprises around every corner.
-PLAYER HAS THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE STYLE OF COMBAT AND PLAY
The player should have the ability to choose between using their Neogenesis ability or melee or ranged weapons- enemies should encourage a variety of gameplay possibilities, and suggest certain possibilities as being more favorable as certain times, but ultimately the way the player chooses to play is key. Similarly, level design should not be strictly linear and should be as open world as feasibly possible within the constraints of the project.
- CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AS CENTRAL FOCUS OF DESIGN
The player should identify with Mei, and there should be enough contextual clues in gameplay and in the environment that tell us who Mei is as a person. The player should feel a connection with the character, and understand her and her motives. Mei must have depth of emotion and seem human.
GAMES TO LOOK AT: Bioshock, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess , Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker, Too Human, the Lara Croft series of games, Half Life 1 &2, Hellgate: London
KEY FEATURES
-A variety of enemies based on ancient Chinese lore but infused with futuristic/steampunk technology
-A number of interesting, diverse environments the player can explore
-NPCs who refer to the player and reference key events
- Neogenesis ability to absorb life or heal
- Melee combat: kicking, punching
-Ranged combat: crossbow, compound bow, hand cannon, matchlock, soul devourer (plasma gun)
- Use of companion NPC “Howin”- a pet Microraptor that can access things out of reach of the player.
- Elements in gameplay, character animations, and in environment that give clues to Mei’s backstory, personality, and other aspects of character development.
- Ability to purchase upgrades to weapons, or make them using Uncle Chang
- Steady level ramping: difficulty proceeds as a steady pace; pacing should not be erratic.
- Puzzle mini-games to extend game play beyond shooting and combat
GAMEPLAY SUMMARY
(This represents an idealized view of what the game could be like; of course, certain features may not be possible given our resources)
A run-and-gun style shooter, you play as Mei running through both interior and exterior maps that reflect a hybridization of ancient Chinese style and a cyberpunk future. You run through the levels, constantly aware of the danger of enemies popping up from allies or even dropping down from above. You need quick reflexes and a calm nerve to put down these fierce adversaries- ranging from mechanical golems to human warriors.
You may combat these adversaries in one of three ways: melee- punching and kicking in a basic martial arts style. This is not a powerful attack, but is useful at close range; ranged weaponry- ranging from crossbows to guns to hand cannons, each weapon has its own unique stats (some are better suited at closer range, some are more powerful, etc etc); and Neogenesis ability- you can absorb your adversary’s life to heal yourself and deal damage to your opponent at a penalty to your energy level.
When using ranged weaponry, you can zoom in for greater accuracy and penetrating power (more damage) in your shots. A crosshair symbol will appear on the screen when you are zoomed in. You may also free-aim your shots, in which case there will be a circle on your screen, representing the range of your shot. This will result in a less accurate, less powerful attack, but you may be able to attack quicker using this shoot-from-the-hip method.
Your energy level effects how powerful your attacks are. At full energy, you deal 100% damage in melee and ranged attacks. At no energy, all attacks are diminished to 25% power, and you will be unable to use your Neogenesis ability until you have regained at least a third of your energy back.
In exterior levels, you may be given the option to ride a horse to cover more ground. You can do this by approaching the horse, and selecting the mount option. A horse allows you to travel 50% faster, but you cannot zoom in while shooting while on horseback, melee, or perform your Neogenesis ability.
There are a number of available pick-ups: bandages for health, spring water and tea for regaining energy, gold amulet charms that boost your Neogenesis ability, and “dragon teeth” that give you increased attack power (10%) for 2 minutes. You can also obtain, from the environment, ammo and other weapons, as well as upgrades for existing weaponry. Certain other miscellaneous in-environment items can also be gathered to create new weaponry.
As you continue through the levels, you will need to keep an eye out for clues necessary to advancing the storyline. There will be puzzles to solve, and in-game contextual clues to the larger story going on. Not everything you need may be in reach, however. You may need to use your trusted companion, Howin, to access things in roof rafters, in trees, or in small otherwise inaccessible areas. You will be prompted by the game when there is something of interest to investigate, with camera pans or a button prompt.
NPCs in the game will also comment on the events in the storyline, and react to you based on this fact.
Every so often, you will receive advice from Uncle Chang as to what your objectives are, or what you may need to know to solve a puzzle or access another part of the level. You will encounter Uncle Chang periodically in the game, at positioned save points, where you will be given the option to either upgrade weapons, purchase bandages, charms, or tea, or create new weaponry from items you have collected.
At the end of each level, you will encounter a boss you need to defeat to complete the objective. These bosses will be more powerful than typical opponents, and will be accompanied by other enemies or usual power and strength. It will take a careful management of health and energy, as well as equipment, to defeat these bosses. They may need to be defeated using some aspect of the environment that will weaken or destroy them.
Fantasy/Sci-Fi First-Person Shooter
HIGH CONCEPT
A fantasy/sci-fi shooter set in an alternate history China following a female protagonist whose abilities grow stronger as she harnesses the powers of biotechnology.
GAME OVERVIEW
The story of Neogenesis takes place in a lost kingdom in Ancient China called Shangxi, in the modern day Gansu region, with advanced technology, ruled under a ruthless dictator named Liu Gui. You play as Mei, who has been injected with a Neogenesis serum by her father before he was captured by Liu Gui’s army for disobeying his order to make weapons of war. The Neogenesis serum gave Mei the ability to give life to other living beings- as well as to absorb it to gain life herself.
Mei is raised by her uncle, Chang, in remote Guilin province, but word of her abilities reaches Liu Gui. Mei and her uncle are captured and sent to a military outpost. During their escape, her uncle is poisoned with ricin. As Mei, you must find the antidote, all the while trying to piece together the mystery of what became of her brilliant father, who has been captured and been imprisoned in Liu Gui’s palace. In the process, you will explore farflung and exotic locations and battle many formidable enemies, including the feared Liu Gui himself. With the power over life itself, will you use your powers wisely or give in to the temptation to use it with wrath, vengeance, and for darker purposes?
DESIGN OBJECTIVES
These three items are the foundation the game is built on.
-RICH, IMMERSIVE, OPEN ENVIRONMENTS
The environments in the game should be distinct from each other, be absolutely beautiful, and most importantly be open spaces that the player can explore- with plenty of surprises around every corner.
-PLAYER HAS THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE STYLE OF COMBAT AND PLAY
The player should have the ability to choose between using their Neogenesis ability or melee or ranged weapons- enemies should encourage a variety of gameplay possibilities, and suggest certain possibilities as being more favorable as certain times, but ultimately the way the player chooses to play is key. Similarly, level design should not be strictly linear and should be as open world as feasibly possible within the constraints of the project.
- CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AS CENTRAL FOCUS OF DESIGN
The player should identify with Mei, and there should be enough contextual clues in gameplay and in the environment that tell us who Mei is as a person. The player should feel a connection with the character, and understand her and her motives. Mei must have depth of emotion and seem human.
GAMES TO LOOK AT: Bioshock, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess , Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker, Too Human, the Lara Croft series of games, Half Life 1 &2, Hellgate: London
KEY FEATURES
-A variety of enemies based on ancient Chinese lore but infused with futuristic/steampunk technology
-A number of interesting, diverse environments the player can explore
-NPCs who refer to the player and reference key events
- Neogenesis ability to absorb life or heal
- Melee combat: kicking, punching
-Ranged combat: crossbow, compound bow, hand cannon, matchlock, soul devourer (plasma gun)
- Use of companion NPC “Howin”- a pet Microraptor that can access things out of reach of the player.
- Elements in gameplay, character animations, and in environment that give clues to Mei’s backstory, personality, and other aspects of character development.
- Ability to purchase upgrades to weapons, or make them using Uncle Chang
- Steady level ramping: difficulty proceeds as a steady pace; pacing should not be erratic.
- Puzzle mini-games to extend game play beyond shooting and combat
GAMEPLAY SUMMARY
(This represents an idealized view of what the game could be like; of course, certain features may not be possible given our resources)
A run-and-gun style shooter, you play as Mei running through both interior and exterior maps that reflect a hybridization of ancient Chinese style and a cyberpunk future. You run through the levels, constantly aware of the danger of enemies popping up from allies or even dropping down from above. You need quick reflexes and a calm nerve to put down these fierce adversaries- ranging from mechanical golems to human warriors.
You may combat these adversaries in one of three ways: melee- punching and kicking in a basic martial arts style. This is not a powerful attack, but is useful at close range; ranged weaponry- ranging from crossbows to guns to hand cannons, each weapon has its own unique stats (some are better suited at closer range, some are more powerful, etc etc); and Neogenesis ability- you can absorb your adversary’s life to heal yourself and deal damage to your opponent at a penalty to your energy level.
When using ranged weaponry, you can zoom in for greater accuracy and penetrating power (more damage) in your shots. A crosshair symbol will appear on the screen when you are zoomed in. You may also free-aim your shots, in which case there will be a circle on your screen, representing the range of your shot. This will result in a less accurate, less powerful attack, but you may be able to attack quicker using this shoot-from-the-hip method.
Your energy level effects how powerful your attacks are. At full energy, you deal 100% damage in melee and ranged attacks. At no energy, all attacks are diminished to 25% power, and you will be unable to use your Neogenesis ability until you have regained at least a third of your energy back.
In exterior levels, you may be given the option to ride a horse to cover more ground. You can do this by approaching the horse, and selecting the mount option. A horse allows you to travel 50% faster, but you cannot zoom in while shooting while on horseback, melee, or perform your Neogenesis ability.
There are a number of available pick-ups: bandages for health, spring water and tea for regaining energy, gold amulet charms that boost your Neogenesis ability, and “dragon teeth” that give you increased attack power (10%) for 2 minutes. You can also obtain, from the environment, ammo and other weapons, as well as upgrades for existing weaponry. Certain other miscellaneous in-environment items can also be gathered to create new weaponry.
As you continue through the levels, you will need to keep an eye out for clues necessary to advancing the storyline. There will be puzzles to solve, and in-game contextual clues to the larger story going on. Not everything you need may be in reach, however. You may need to use your trusted companion, Howin, to access things in roof rafters, in trees, or in small otherwise inaccessible areas. You will be prompted by the game when there is something of interest to investigate, with camera pans or a button prompt.
NPCs in the game will also comment on the events in the storyline, and react to you based on this fact.
Every so often, you will receive advice from Uncle Chang as to what your objectives are, or what you may need to know to solve a puzzle or access another part of the level. You will encounter Uncle Chang periodically in the game, at positioned save points, where you will be given the option to either upgrade weapons, purchase bandages, charms, or tea, or create new weaponry from items you have collected.
At the end of each level, you will encounter a boss you need to defeat to complete the objective. These bosses will be more powerful than typical opponents, and will be accompanied by other enemies or usual power and strength. It will take a careful management of health and energy, as well as equipment, to defeat these bosses. They may need to be defeated using some aspect of the environment that will weaken or destroy them.
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