Jon and I have been working on a simple proof of concept for PDR. The idea is to create a simple track in UDK and add a vehicle.
For the Proof of Concept I am creating a few simple assets. These models will most likely not be used in the final project.
Asset Name: Steel Trellis
I created the Steel Trellis with the mindset of building assets that can be used in multiple configurations, and would be easily multiplied to create different structures.
Examples of multiple configurations.
Asset Name: Finish Line Lights
These lights will be used in unison with the Steel Trellis asset to create a starting/finish line for the Proof of Concept.
An example of how the assets can be used together.
After three days of tinkering we’ve figured out all the steps needed to get our own custom vehicles into the Unreal Engine. Above is a short video of our demo “box” car all rigged up and running around our test-bed map that I’ve dubbed “The Playground”.
Here is a quick progress render for the Riviera. I would like to be further along, but Turkey Day cut into my project time. I placed black planes into the window areas of the car so the render would look better until a true interior exists.
The team is looking into how to setup destroyable assets in UDK, so for the time being I am keeping the various sections of the car separate.
Race is the key word in “Project Death Race.” So it’s not at all surprising that a vehicle or two will be created for this project.
After discussing who will be making what, I decided to take on the task of creating the 1966 Buick Riviera. Known from here on as the 666′ or the “Rivie.”
1966' Buick Riviera as seen in "Death Race"
To get this asset started I searched the internet for some decent pictures of the car to use as reference. Hoping to at the very least find a nice profile shot.
I found what in my opinion was the holy grail of reference images:
1969' Riviera reference image
I shrunk the above image down in Photoshop before posting it here.
As with anything that seems too good to be true, there is an issue with the image I found. The car in the movie was a 1966, and the car in the image is a 1969… But after close inspection of the cars I noticed that the only major difference is that the 69′ Riviera has a larger bumper than the 66′ and that area of the car is going to be covered in steel plates. The shape of the car is the same so I’m not too worried.
I doubt fans of Death Race or Buick Riviera’s will come after me for not being 100% true to the source material…
PDR is a small game development project using the newly released Unreal Development Kit. The purpose of this project is to showcase our skills at the 2010 Game Developers Conference.
With the release of the Unreal Development Kit, the opportunity to use the same AAA engine that powers BioShock, Gears of War, Mass Effect, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and many other fantastic games was just too enticing to pass up.
UDK allows us to package our work and distribute it freely on the internet. Giving people the opportunity to download a stand alone installer, without needing to have another game installed.
