KickBack - Sprint Review 1

KickBack - Sprint Review 1

My name is Kyle Ramser, and I am currently working as a 3D artist on the game KickBack. We just finished up our first sprint, which means I was able to finish some of the early models to be implemented into the game. So far, this production has been one of the most interesting for me personally, and the team I am working with is a bit larger than I am used to.

The art style for this game is low-poly models with a very simplistic texture style, reminiscent of something like Risk of Rain 2 or Solar Ash. I have never worked on a project with this type of style before, so it has been a learning curve for me, and I am still trying to find helpful information for texturing in these kinds of games. So far, I think the models have turned out quite well, and I am definitely getting the hang of the art style as it has become more natural for me to create these lower-poly models.

As for the work I have completed this sprint, like I said before, I completed several models for the main area of the game, which is themed to look like a dock. I completed a small storage crate prop, a large water tower, a large lightpost, a modular connector piece that will be used to connect platforms to structures, as well as a traffic cone and a set of pebbles to be scattered around the map. 

I had a few problems while modelling these, especially with the cone, because beveling it would constantly stretch the faces and make the light reflect off them in a strange way. After some research, I ended up being able to fix it and finish the cone. I think that overall, they have turned out quite well, and I believe they fit in well with the other 3D artists’ work, which will make the game’s art style look succinct and natural, rather than having different artists’ work stand out against each other.

It has been strange working with a team of 11, since I am usually used to a team of no more than 5 people, but it has been a welcome change. It may be very different, but working in a completely different environment like this has been interesting and shows me more what it is like to work in a larger group with multiple artists. This has been teaching me communication with these artists and how to keep the theme for all of the art the same. So overall, I think I had a good sprint, and I have been enjoying my time with this team and am excited to continue working on KickBack.