Thanks!. I’m modelling by hand looking at a lot of photos,these are mostly first pass so next step which I’ve just started on is more accuracy (some newer photos of the house just appeared online so I’m adjusting my model based on those also).
I use Maya / Photoshop and been using a lot of the example projects to look at materials and just experimenting.
This was the last 360 image I tried out,all the interactive versions of the images can be tried out on Flickr also https://flic.kr/s/aHskW8Xi5C
I’ve been working on updating my house model to make it more accurate to the real location,adjusting the scale and polishing it a little. Also been making making progress adding more items to the house and experimenting a little with a baked light version of the house. Since my lights are all interactive / dynamic it’s unlikely the final version will be baked but thinking it might make a interesting alternative mode.
Below is a preview of my latest 360 panorama test,the interactive version is on my facebook page https://www.facebook./AmityvilleGame/ and a couple of test images of baked lighting and progress on bathrooms.
Epic work!
It’s scary as is! Can’t wait to see the final polished version.
What platforms are you planning to publish to?
May I suggest? When you get to the audio part, don’t use music. The lightning, and the car’s headlights, needs to emit WAY MORE light (I know it’s a WIP)
Aiming for PC just at the moment although it’s still a long way off. I do actually plan on using music but for a specific reason and not overused,with it being set in the 70’s I want to evoke that feel as much as possible and want the music to be atmospheric / ambient.
The references I’m using for the music are Carpenters ‘The Fog’ and ‘It follows’ scores.
Messing around with the panorama images I took and decided to try converting them to video and see if they worked on Youtube 360 / VR. I noticed that my reflections don’t come out as expected so will have to tackle that as well as adjusting lighting and quality for Youtube a bit.Currently I’m just using static images but aiming to make the final game trailer a full interactive experience like a preview for the game,once the house model is finished and gameplay is more advance will start working on that.
I spent the afternoon experimenting a little with the sequencer,needed a break from modelling and ended up putting together a quick little tease style video.It’s still very early on and a ton of detail to be added but it was mostly just for my own amusement and it captured what I had in mind. Also testing out the preview of UE4.16 but seems the bug that effects my lighting hasn’t been resolved yet so my frame-rates are still limited unless I re-think my lighting setups.
Been a while since I updated but finally had a to get back to work on the project and got a couple of rooms progressing.
The screenshots below are of the third floor bedroom / bathroom,had to source images for re-creating these areas of the house and since they were less photographed than other areas work out how they looked.
They need an extra pass of detail work,a couple of fixes and then filling with smaller items but are very close to how the house looked during the time period (including funky wallpapers).
So many little props and changes to make so keep myself amused with making the occasional .gif. An earlier version of the game idea had the ability to place cameras which is partly where this shot was from (and paranormal activity).
Another little .gif experiment,been updating to Unreal 4.17 this week and experimenting with it a little as well as looking for new references for anything I’ve missed when modelling the house.
Spent a ton of time tracking down items from the real house so they can be added and constantly making minor changes to the house model itself.
Still wish I was further on in progress,recreating the house is still consuming so much time and there’s been a mix of new photos and rarely seen photos from the 70’s appear online so keep having to update my model.
Latest progress is all on smaller details,props and adjustments (window sash updates,improved doors,small props,new kitchen cabinets). Lot of little jobs but doesn’t look like a huge jump in progress although it is making the house feel more ‘right’/real when in-game.
Hey vagrantart, really like your concept here. I tend to enjoy games like Gone Home that are mainly about exploration and atmosphere but still have a bit of creepiness. There’s something about that feeling of being all alone at night in a mundane place - suddenly the familiar and comforting becomes eerie due to the isolation factor. I’ve wanted to see games in that style go for a stronger, more overt horror element, while still remaining somewhat grounded in reality, so I’m glad to see your project going for something like that. Props for basing it on a real-life location and story too, that’s pretty unique.
The house interior is looking real convincing, it’s clear you’ve done a lot of meticulous work on it. And I especially like the outdoor thunderstorm FX (from your post on 10-08-2016) and the static-y VHS images (e.g. your post from 08-09-2017). These are looking really professional and seem to capture the right tense, foreboding-yet-nostalgic atmosphere.
For an example of another game that does the “creepy suburbia”/“Gone Home gone wrong” approach very well, I’d recommend checking out Horrorshow’s ANATOMY: ANATOMY by Kitty Horrorshow
Thanks for the feedback. I checked out Anatomy,had actually seen a playthrough of it a while back and it does do atmosphere very well even with the basic environments. Part of my game will be the telling of the real story of the Amityville murders (and haunting) but less in a tape collecting type mechanic. I was looking into alter the house between time periods (1974 - 1976 and maybe even earlier) but keeping that in check at the moment since I’ve not finished the first iteration of the house let alone another.
Thanks,Yes all the lights are dynamic or stationary,I would love to have baked the whole map but everything’s interactive including the lights. I’m still thinking a baked version would be nice for a crime scene mode also.
Currently the lights are the biggest frame-rate killer (especially since the house is so tightly spaced) but I’ve tested setting up a a sort of custom culling I that should help with frame-rates.
