Progress

    Progress is the name of Sniper Bunny's Rifle. She is a biomechanical weapon that was grown for him. She is also possessed by the soul of Josa Ram, the love interest of a great ancient war general, Sniper Bunny reincarnate.

    Unlike other companion relationships, this one is fueled by the need for the rifle to kill, to take life or just be used one more time. She is his conscience, but with a darker, more maniacal agenda than to keep him on the straight and narrow.

    The special thing about Progress is that she is influenced by the people that are around Sniper Bunny. She adopts their techniques and increases the amount of situations she can be useful in (close vs far quarters combat, for example). Maybe as a game mechanic after you defeat the particular character, she can morph into another version of herself.

   When I first started thinking about the rifle, I had thought about the character whom she was grown for. I focused on three distinct directions this gun would follow or emulate:

1.Gun (kind of duh) - Not just any gun, THE gun. The type of gun that if you were stuck in the worst possible situation and want to come out alive - she is it.
2.Motorcycle - I thought about the inner workings of the rifle. Onboard computer? Check. Armored design? Check. Mechanically-fed operations? What? Check.
3.Woman - I thought to take the canon (pun lazily intended) regarding guns and guitars being shaped closer to familiarity of a curvy body, but take it a step further and make it less of a utility and more of a luxury concept model.


These photos are for scholarly and informational purposes only. They do not represent the final game or its affiliation in any way other than to spare you the stick figures you would otherwise get if I had drawn what I was talking about.

This is by far, the closest in concept that I had in mind as far as the aesthetics. This artist captured something organic mixed with something resembling metal or shell. The ligaments are similar to Progress's sling which is in the form of a lock of hair that extends and retracts to keep Sniper Bunny shooting more and picking up rifles less.

(http://sobaku-chiuchiu.deviantart.com/art/alien-guns-addons-268059278)

I like glowey stuff. As a person who appreciates reality and meeting realistic expectations when it comes to weapon operations and nuances, I happen to appreciate the anime over-the-top huge glowing gun that would be completely ridiculous in a real-life battle situation also. This one seems to have the utility of a long range rifle and the tame pizzaz I'm looking for in mine.

(http://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/popular-weapon-designs.203407/page-44)

The scope. It had to be something real special. It had to be the connection between the rifle's world and Sniper Bunny's. This concept offered something other than the straight telescopic cylinder. The rifle calls for a face hugger-type biometal that is more malleable than the rest of the rifle, but could also protect his face when aiming. The scope is more than a magnifier, it also calculates the trajectory of a shot and offers an interface as well as different features and of course magnifications.

http://www.comicvine.com/forums/rpg-9/cvnu-new-york-city-725095/?page=7

Trying to stay away from popular designs is difficult, yet familiar shapes house familiar parts and every gun is essentially designed for the same thing. The gun would flow with curves and crevices, yet keep some sort of utility. The mixture of motorcycle piston parts, logic board electronics and sleek design are not only every geek boy's dream, but also a new take on something hardcore gamers don't even think twice about - their gun's fashion (i guess). The main body would resemble more of a motorcycle gas tank than a gun, but this picture is a good reference point.

(http://aliens.wikia.com/wiki/Geth)

Guns with thumb holes or hand guides seems to be a growing fad and I suspect most guns in a few years will come standard with a grip that integrates into the body. First concept ideas where of a grip that resembled more of a motorcycle handle, however would really stand out as a design faux pas. 

(http://www.kygunco.com/fn-herstal-fs2000-tactical-223rem-rifle-1744-od-green-thumbhole-stock-10-rd-62122)

I don't know if it's just me, but I have a hard time finding that comfortable cheek placement spot. Either my face is oddly shaped or guns are just lifeless hunks of unforgiving metal. In either case, a cheek rest made of tempur material is something that can only happen in dreams. And video games.

(http://www.pilkguns.com/tenp/spwlgr.htm)

The body is be modeled after a Ducati 1199 Streetfighter. The rifle would be shouldered where the rear wheel is. The seat would act as a cheek pad, the gas tank would house a retractable scope and interface "fingers".

(http://www.blackrebelmoto.com/)

Where the brake light of the bike is, the original concept called for a viking-style figurehead, whose hair would run the length of the gun, starting at the rear, extending as a metal decal until the forward hand grip, at which point the gun is in a semi-metal, semi-hair state where Sniper Bunny grips her. She also has the ability to cling onto his arm in the case the two were to become separated mid-battle.

(http://www.pinterest.com/oolala10/ships-figureheads/)

(http://www.armoryblog.com/firearms/rifles/doublestar-zombie-x-chainsaw-rail-attachment/)

 (http://pirates.missiledine.com/specialweapons.html)

(http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/01/27/arsenal-22-lr-knife-gun/)

Let's talk bayonet action. There are a lot of weapons that are both a usable gun and a knife or another weapon (see axe). With Progress, the hair becoming a decoration at the rear, a utility at the forward hand grip and then a last line of defense in the form of a lock of hair, pointing forward as a bayonet is a concept that has been a defining factor of this particular gun. There is even a real-life chainsaw attachment via picatinny rail, which through upgrades is something worthwhile to explore.

The body of the rifle needs to sell the overall feel of the rifle and to accentuate the alien disconnect between the gas-fed majority of rifles a lamen would have seen in media and something more organic, but unmistakably mechanic.  

(http://www.sscycle.com/go-fast-showcase/motorcycle-engines/t111-motorcycle-engine)

- Dmitriy

Mission: Sniper Bunny

    I had the fortunate surge of gumption to keep track of my progress on a project that I am working on.

    This is a personal project, which I have been slowly working on for about 7 years now on and off. I've always thought of writing an autobiography but can't stand reading them. I also had conceived that my story, no matter how inspirational it may be, would still be very depressing. So I started working on swinging facts, building imagery that exaggerates certain parts that may be disappointing or not hitting the right notes from a story's perspective. After a while it stopped being an autobiography altogether and became an amusing story, then became sort of an extreme parallel into our own social nuances as a domesticated species. 

    I experimented with choosing a medium and at first, due to the mature nature of my story, was very settled on graphic novel. I would hunt down anyone within half a skill with a pen or a pencil just for a glimpse of the character I've never seen before. I met Andrew Espada who provided some great inspiration: 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FSI310Ex69OILP1blyYuCg0hNSksLxyLpXNSac-N1ic/edit?usp=sharing

I would now like to mention that the above pictures were of a work-for-hire nature. Also the lady in green (Progress) was made by Lauryn Yovino.

    So what do we have? A concept of an anthropomorphic animal, a living rifle, his companion and an alternate, enhanced state for all three. Cool.

    Next is the story: well we can't have just them three in the world, so there's a part of town where all the "manimals" are basically forced into slums. This place is called Zooish Harlem as a slur. The animals, of course make the best of it and are much a part of everyday life, but don't really have any rights on paper.

    I have decided to go with 3rd person video game as my format. It seems, at this point, the most cost-efficient way to beef up not only my portfolio for when I finish school, but also a good way to explore story nuances that can be found in graphic novels, and offer incentives for reliving those moments.

UDK Implementation

    I want to share with you something I did in UDK. First to paint a picture: you're a spy in WWII Russia. Shadows are your allies and quick death to your enemies are your friends. You're alone. sent on a mission as a last resort to clear your traitorous name. The order is: kill Stalin, then kill yourself. Your orders are hand-written by the Fuhrer himself, with just those words. In an alternate time twist, the Germans are the defending protagonists that are driven to the point of starvation and large amounts of destruction as the United Russo-American Front is closing in on Berlin.

    The aesthetic is a cold winter night, filled with danger and suspense. A very notable flag waiving in the cold night sky lets you know the Communist party is ever present in their glory. This sound attenuates as you walk toward or away from the monument that is flanked by two flags of the Communist Party. The backgrounds chosen are more reminiscent of train station activity rather than a desolate winter night as the visuals enhance. This is to offer further immersion into this world without power outages, bombing raids or curfews. This contrast to a country that never had to worry about the taking of Stalingrad or subversive activity because the war has been on their side enough so that there has been no issue of attack. I wanted the player to feel as though they're not going at this alone in some distant base, but a bustling metropolis and lively streets just around the corner or behind a wall. Once you are away from the open space and head down a hallway, the sound of people becomes less apparent and is also an audible cue that danger is lurking right around the next bend. The purpose is then, instead of adding to the ambiance with stingers, to keep it so minimal and intimate that no last gasp of air or piercing of flesh or broken bones would ever be masked by any other sound. It's just you and the victim in front of you. The purpose is to get inside the player's head, to introduce them to the reality of what it is to take a life, to offer them an experience into what it would actually be like to extinguish someone's life force.

    Some doors are locked. Locked doors get a shake. The shake occurs when you simply walk up to it so that the player does not get finger fatigue from checking doors that they cannot open. Finger and ear fatigue are my number one complaints (yes, they're a twofor) and to have a game play arcady, experience rich game is what drives me to play religiously. If I feel as though I'm offered an experience I believe in that doesn't punish me with boring/tedious game antics is one that gets my vote. The ammo sounds I picked sound less like weapons and more like tools. This is done to make the player understand that this is a job and it needs to get done. Picking up tools gives a sense that the player is about to build something: a better future, one that doesn't have Stalin in it.

    In this alternate timeline, the Russians have stolen technology from Germany and thanks to a thriving war economy has built transporter beams and fast troop deployment platforms that allow the shock troops to quickly gain personnel aerial advantage against an enemy force. The quick "swoosh" of these platforms are usually the last thing a German squad hears. Since Russian voltage is unregulated by safety standards and has a high throughput, the electrical sounds are heavy humming behemoths when up close.

 Video 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAdJkoM_0zk&feature=youtu.be

Video 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojfFhhU1r3o&feature=youtu.be