Cluedo

[DCLeadboot]

I am studying a BA in Digital Media. So far, so good. I've got through the first two years.

 

Now, when I start my third and final year, one thing we have been warned of in advance is a Specialised Study project. We've got plenty of time to plan and I want to make the most of it.

I have decided to make an interactive Macromedia Director based project, based on the well-known game of Cluedo.

Influenced by Hasbro Interactive games, you get to solve the mystery by actually searching the rooms for clues, questioning the suspects and viewing flashbacks of previous events.

I plan to make it a parody, calling it Crazy Cluedo and making it funny. The suspects have the most ridiculous motives for murder and often behave like big kids at any given opportunity - even Dr Black himself. The only sensible characters are Earle Grey, the butler (played by a costumed model of me), who is your narrator and guide, and Mr Ewe the Inspector (the player).

 

Here's where Animation:Master comes in.

I have been building models for the characters and weapons (I'll deal with the rooms later), and just lately copying, pasting and amending 'Lip sync' poses. The 3D scenes and props will be used as the graphical base for the game and for animated sequences such as flashbacks.

 

The weapons and characters are complete as they stand, but I would like some opinions on what I have created here. My drawing style is very cartoony, but I like to aim for believability with it.

I've had more practice with anthropomorphic animals.

 

In the attached image, you see the six Cluedo characters who are suspected of murdering Dr Black. The facial designs were based on the cards in our board game at home, but altered slightly in transition. These are my first completed character models ever.

 

Miss Scarletina Scarlett, the attractive young heiress who is Dr Black's niece. I wanted a sexy figure and a beautiful face.

Colonel Coleman Mustard, the retired army officer. I wanted a strong, heroic-looking guy who stands for no nonsense.

Mrs Snowdrop White, the old housekeeper. I was thinking of someone short, dumpy and cross-looking.

Reverend Bethnal Green, the parish minister. I decided to make him C of E and give him a cassock. He acts holy, but has more than a little to hide, I'm afraid.

Mrs Prunella Peacock, a wealthy widow. Maybe she was attractive herself, but now she is past her prime. She still dresses flashily, nonetheless.

Professor Victor Plum, an eccentric biologist. In planning, I wanted a sense of Patrick Moore (hence the monocle), but he finished up with a bit of Einstein. So I mixed both characteristics. I want to keep the monocle, but I can't make the chain hang right. The monocle moves (Kinematic) to a target, but the Dynamics won't work properly. It goes mad instead.

 

Please let me know what you think and what changes I can make to improve them. Any workable advice on decent skin and hair textures would be most welcome.

 

(If you wish, I can later provide further snapshots of these characters, or the other models involved.)

[wwoelbel]

The priest and the biologist are great! Love em. What would you think about trying to make the housekeeper have a more jowl-ey (not a real word I'm sure) look? When I close my eyes and imagine the description, I see her more "saggy" but then again thats just me.

 

C of E? Church of England? Is that different from the Episcopal Church here in the states?

 

Bill

[DCLeadboot]

C of E? Church of England? Is that different from the Episcopal Church here in the states?

I know that they christen babies. (Splash a little water on their heads)

 

Being non-conformist Baptist, I'm afraid I wouldn't know!

[nixie]

Interesting project, Like the idea. The characters are nice, you could maybe exaggerate them a litte more if you wanted and as for texture, I'd make their skin a lighter shade and a little less pink (less red - more towards yellow). A simple bumpmap to show wrinkles and just give their skin some 'texture'. I'm not talking alot though, I tink simplicity is the keywith guys like this!

 

Good luck with the project, Im a year behind you in my BA so iv got it all to come!

 

Regards - Nixie

[Atomike]

C of E? Church of England? Is that different from the Episcopal Church here in the states?

 

The Episcopal Church was started during the Revolutionary War, since anyone tied to an English Church (the king of England being the leader) would be seen as as traitor-ish. So, by changing the name, all was well.

 

That's what I've heard. I'm a proud Catholic, not Episcopal, but I think that's how it happened.

[DCLeadboot]

Strangely enough, I haven't seen any further input on this topic for a whole week.

 

Nevertheless, I have taken note of what input I have had and this latest attachment shows the characters after a few changes.

I have altered the skin tones, making them more realistic, and given them a slight roughness. That is, 2% Roughness and 5% Roughness Scale. Anything more started to look too much like granite, quartz or marble surfaces!

I have given individuality to the skin tones. For instance, Mustard has been made more yellow, Scarlett is pinker and White looks more sallow.

 

You will also notice three additional characters involved with this topic. On the extreme right, you see Dr Black, the murder victim. He is a sinister man, always up to no good and is constantly being murdered by one character or another. For that reason, I also made his skin very pale indeed.

In the very front at the centre stands Earle Grey, the butler. This is actually me in a butler costume and ill-fitting skin wig. Comedy is the emphasis.

Lurking, at the very back is the Inspector, Mr Ewe (as in 'you' the player of the game). Just a stereotypical inspector type in trench coat and hat - the face is hidden, leaving only a pair of luminous eyes.

 

What do you think now? Better or worse?

[barkest]

Hi,

 

I am not in any position to give you critical input, just to say I particularly like the Inspector Ewe model, very good and gives a really good characterisation of a sterotypical plod.

 

nice work - big thumbs up.

 

I recently went to an open evening for some graduating students who were doing a similar course to yours and I have to say it was under-whelming and looking at your stuff you would have blown them away. Interested to see the final product.

[trajcedrv]

Amazing work for the first try! (of the human characters, I mean)

 

Keep us posted!

 

Drvarceto

 

p.s. ...um... could you post some wires?

[Paul Forwood]

Nice work, Daniel!

 

The only criticism is your own personal character, Earl Grey. It looks to me like he has had his collar torn off. Perhaps you could lift the collar and bow-tie a little.

 

So, where are you doing your degree, Daniel?

[DCLeadboot]

So, where are you doing your degree, Daniel?

Canterbury Christ Church University College, at the Thanet Campus.

 

And yes, I see your point. I have quite a long neck anyway, but if I raise the neckline and bow-tie, it should be OK.

[Eric2575]

Looks great so far. One thing - in both versions, the eyes are buggin me. To me (which doesn't mean much) the eyes look a bit beedy and a bit too similar from character to character. I know they are charicatures, but some of them also have the eyes set too far apart. A little more variety in the eyes with bigger pupils IMHO.

 

The way you have them may just be the style you are after, so take what I've said with a grain of salt

[gschumsky]

Interesting how over there they call it "Cluedo" while here in the States it's simply called "Clue". Played it every so often when I was a kid...great fun game and the clues, etc. were pretty wacky to begin with. They eventually made a movie of it, and depending on what theatre you went to, the ending was different. Turned out they made tow different ends (or was it three), which are all on the DVD version, as well as shown whenever it's on TV. Great cast...kinda lame film (Martin Mull played Colonel Mustard from what I remember).

 

Sounds like an interesting project!

 

Greg

[Gerry]

DC - I'm not sure about Mrs. White's body language. Hands on hips and feet apart make her look like a guy in drag. Something more ladylike but steely would be better, maybe standing at a slight angle to the camera, with head tilted and peering, narrow eyes. Think of Barbara Bush. She would never stand with hands on hips, but you also know you won't get away with any crap around her!

 

You're starting with a pretty ambitious project! Let us see how it progresses.

[DCLeadboot]

Latest news on my Crazy Cluedo project:

I have it completed on a DVD-R ready to hand in the next time I am in Uni.

Just have to wait to see what mark it gets, though.

[Rodney]

Hey. This is the first I've seen of this project. I must have missed it when you posted last year.

Quite an ambicious project!

 

Congrats on completion.

[Fuchur]

I dont know if this has been asked before, but did you find a Director-Plugin (W3C or W3d or something like that is the 3d-format of director) for A:M?

 

Or do you render the images out and use them as stills in director and you dont want to get 3d-formats in director?

 

If you are trying to make a 3d-content-game you should take a look at quest3d, which can import and handle *.x-format. A A:M-Plugin for *.x is available from Obsidan-Games... quest3d is nice, but works in another way than director... Quest3d is available in different version, the cheapest costs about 150 dollars (or something like that) the most expensive one costs about 5.000 dollars.

Here is the link:

 

Link to Quest3d-Homepage

 

*Fuchur*

[DCLeadboot]

Did you mean an actual A:M Plug-In for Macromedia Director?

I didn't know there was one, I'm afraid.

 

No, what I did was render everything as they were needed.

For room environments, a panaramic picture was prepared, using a render of a 360 camera spin and Autostitch. (The Billiard Room scene is attached as an example) This was then set up in Director as a Fake QuickTime Virtual Reality. The last 800 pixels of the image is used at both ends for the panaromic flipping methods.

Clues, suspects and flashbacks were accessed by hotspot images locked in place on the image.

When a clue is clicked, a short 2-second lead-in animation shows the room from Inspector Ewe's POV as he focuses on what you have found. A textual description appears beneath, set up by the program code.

The flashbacks in each of the nine rooms, clue lead-ins and other cinematics were all rendered as QuickTime movies.

Sound and editing was taken care of, using Adobe After Effects.

So the 3D imagery was used as still images or Quicktime movies. No A:M Plug-In was required or used.