My Inspiration

I have always enjoyed museums, and from my recollection, my favorite museums are usually history museums. If there is some section of a museum that has historical artifacts in it (things from ancient Greece or Egypt or some other ancient civilization; clothes and other items from the 18th and 19th centuries; pop-cultural artifacts from past decades; etc.) I will be all over it. I am especially fascinated by East Asian artifacts, as I had always held a fascination for Asia (I was very interested in China when I was little, but then grew more fond of Japan once I became a serious gamer; this led to my ardent Japanophilia in my late teens and is the reason why I am minoring in the Japanese language). Now that I am an adult, I now realize that most of these historical artifacts were stolen from their home countries, but I still find history museums to be a magical place regardless. They are windows into other times and places, and give me ample creative inspiration, as most of my projects for this major are inspired by some historical period. For example, my Prop and Character Design final, Gladiatrix, was set in ancient Rome.

Thus, I would like to make a history museum in Unreal, showing artifacts from the past. Historical artifacts are something that I imagine would be easy to find in Unreal; I already have some medieval artifacts from Game Design I, for example, and if all else fails, I can certainly model an artifact or two in Maya. I’d like to focus on ancient history, 

I have acquired 3D models of Ancient Egyptian artifacts in Unreal, which I will put in my museum. Ancient Egyptian exhibits in museums have a nostalgic quality for me, as I have fond memories of seeing the artifacts from King Tut’s tomb when I was a child. The lighting will be a bit dim with spotlights on the artifacts, which is typical of such museums to create a mysterious atmosphere. 

The level will be educational and provide real, actual facts about ancient Egypt. It will effectively simulate the experience of being in a museum. You can also pick up and read a brochure, and interact with the signs on the artifacts. I can add atmospheric music and especially lighting to enhance the “museum” effect.

My plan is thus:

0.1: Get our base level in week 3

0.1.1: Make walls, ceiling, floors

0.1.2: Mark out where everything will go using spheres

0.2: Add props and lighting in week 4

0.2.1: Lights

0.2.2: Props

0.3: Create signs for props that can be read in week 5

0.3.1: Signs have text

0.3.2: The player can read the text

0.4: Create particles and sound in week 6

0.4.1: Sound

0.4.2: Particles

0.5: Create brochure and the ability to pick it up in week 7

1.0: Fix bugs and add any finishing touches in week 8

Below is a map I made to give a rough idea of how I want the level to be designed.