Evaluation

Evaluating the final output, involves looking at the final trailer video for the virtual reality project, designed in Unreal Engine 4 and the accompanying website, created using Adobe Muse. Both outputs became something I am proud to showcase as a representation of my digital skills.

The final ‘teaser trailer’ for the project ‘Goodbye 100’ involves an Adobe after-effects animated title sequence, a voice over and a camera pan overview of the virtual reality world. I wanted the title sequence to reflect the level of professionalism seen in most modern day marketing videos and pitches for new projects, remaining clear with the intended message, whilst still being interactive and visually pleasing, this involved designing the text and shapes around specific colour schemes that reflect this aim.

The camera pan and voice over involved placing specific cameras with directional rails in unreal engine 4, using the cinematic options to make a consistent flow of content showcasing the 3D world. I also added particle effects within the games design, including fire, smoke and leaves blowing, with the aim to give the world a sense of realism away from its digital birth, this also involved researching into how objects decay, looking at broken glass and rust on a recent trip to an abandoned airfield at RAF Folkingham, these images are listed on the website. I then exported this footage into Premium Pro, adjusting the colour and video transitions into a cinematic trailer, this worked well and became the main showcase as an embedded video on the websites homepage.

The website began with research into what style and layout I wanted to present, looking at different public sites and finding inspiration from platforms like: http://everydaypro.com and deciding on a minimalist output. I broke the website down into 5 different sections, including the home page, a global problem, VR development, Gallery, Contact Page and used a menu widget to navigate easily between the pages. The design is simplistic with a white/black theme and opacity overlay on most content to make the website feel more interactive and clean. The most complex part of the process involved lining up and correcting all margins within the site so everything looks streamlined and filled the browser.

With future improvements and planning I would spend more time designing characters and a linear storyline that could take the player on a journey that explained the reason for the project and how they can make a change to stop this determined future. I would further design more complex 3D models, including props that I could include within the suburban neighbourhood, and local characters that could interact with the player. I would also challenge myself to create complex environments for the player to experience, included narration as well as the voice over and attempt to gain public funding for completion of the product.