Greybox

For our first level we were tasked with not only making the scene in Maya, but also coding the level too. 

Out of all the classes I found the coding part to be particularly the hardest, as I could not wrap my head around how code worked. For my greybox level I decided to try and go for something short and simple. The original plan was to make a small level where you played as a janitor in a shopping store, cleaning up spills and mess. However the task soon became more than I expected in terms of work.


First I designed a plan for my first level, it was to be a simple store area so most of the map would be filled with store shelves. Other parts, like at the back area, would have different things like boxes or barrels.
At the front of the store I even moddled a parking lot, cars and high street to help make the level feel like it is a store.

Out of all the parts of this project, modeling was the most easiest. As we were not allowed to texture I found it easy to make models that didn't need much complexity.

Over the course of the project the store underwent many re-designs and re-modeling. For instance the first export of the store was just a room with an entrance and shelves, but over time more detail was added like small shelves and boxes, and  even doors.

Admittedly I wasn't expecting the coding part of the course to be an easy task at all, after hearing so many horror stories about programmers trying to code. I myself found the coding to be particularly tricky, most of the time I would have to ask for help when trying to script things to work.

After a while though  I sort of got the hang of the use of scripting. In my latest build I was able to script events like sounds or even objects that disappear when the player clicks on them, if he is in a trigger.

In the end I have to say I was kind of satisfied with my first level, I managed to get some events working and scripting, and the main level area looked appealing.