Building A New Portfolio: The Classroom

For the past couple of weeks, I have been thinking about how I'm going to reach my ultimate goal. As I've never worked in the game industry before, I made it an effort to consult with experts in the art field. This means, getting a lot of feedback and criticism on what direction I'm taking.

I hold this blog as proof, that I can listen to those that are more knowledgeable than me, and I can apply their advice to my work.

I've decided for my portfolio, I want to have 4 very special environments. All of them are meant to convey a great story, meet certain job standards, and show my learning curve.

Before I came up with the first environment idea, it had to undergo a lot of changes.

Originally, I wanted to do a Bathroom environment. This was because, it was small and I would be able to push the visuals for the target platform (Playstation 4). However, I ultimately chose to scrap it, because it just wouldn't be interesting.

A work in progress, the bathroom didn't have a good story. It was meant to have a look 1:1 with a real bathroom, but this would be boring. Of course, I could have changed it, but I had better in mind.

Originally, the replacement for this environment, was going to be an underground bar. The new specs would be for mobile platforms (ex: Nintendo 3DS, PS Vita or iOS). This would be significantly more easier to pull off and allow me to focus on fewer assets instead of jumping head first into a large environment.

I changed my mind though.

Google results for this made bar settings appear very dark. Makes sense, since it's underground. But I just wasn't happy. I could have of course, modify the colors, but then I wouldn't be sure if what was left would still be a bar.

I had another idea though. I thought of doing a kitchen. There are plenty of stories that can be told with that, and it would fit in with some games. But I worried a kitchen couldn't handle a lot of variety.

Next up, was a restaurant. I did something similar before when I first played around with Unreal Engine 4.
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138724

 I was feeling more confident with it, but I ran into a conflict. The next environment I had planned after this might overlap too much (a convenience store). I want my portfolio to be original and devoid of clones as much as possible. This was out.

I finally arrived closer to my dream portfolio piece, when I thought of doing a Classroom piece. I could immediately brainstorm many ideas for this. I'll admit, the biggest inspiration comes from Japanese games and anime, where the Highschool setting is actually popular.

However, I saw this as an opportunity to not only recall my own experiences in High School, but all those who graduated from it as well.

Look forward to The Classroom being about a very chaotic time at High School.