Here is the link to my project!

Input:

1. Project Summary:
   1. I want to create my first game and be able to sell it on Steam. I will use Blender and substance painter as tools to create models and texture them. I also plan on using Chat GPT and YouTube to find code. This will be for the entertainment industry.
   2. I want to make a small single-player game on my own in Unreal Engine 5 and put it on my resume. 
2. Needs Assessment:
   • Many of the current and future needs in the gaming industry are people who can 3D model, animate, texture and code.
   • How can AI address these needs with a focus on generative AI technologies.
3. Skills and Technology Overview:
   • The only generative AI skills and technologies required to meet identified needs are ChatGPT
   • My current skills are 
     • Motion Capture
     • Key frame animation
     • 3D modeling
     • Texturing
     • Rigger
   • I need to develop my skills in coding.
4. Learning and Development Plan:
   • I don’t need a budget for materials or any courses.
   • I can get all my courses from YouTube and Chat GPT.
5. Application and Impact:
   • Substance painter is for creating textures
   • Blender is for modeling and animations
   • Unreal Engine 5 is for putting everything together as a game with code.
   • I will know If I can get the funding to create a bigger and greater game and the gamers will have found another indie developer.
6. Project Timeline:
   1. Create the idea of game.
   2. Create models, animations and textures using Blender and Substance painter.
   3. create code for game using Unreal Engine 5 and Chat GPT.
   4. Test game so I can polish it.
   5. publish game on steam.
7. Budget:
   • I am not paying any money to be able to create things in these programs. I already paid for substance painter with no subscription, blender is free and Unreal engine 5 doesn’t require me to pay until I’ve made a million dollars. Steam requires that I pay $100 to publish a game which is no big deal.
8. Evaluation and Reflection:
   • The project’s success will be if it gains 10,000 sales. The price of the game will be $1. I am not expecting a lot of sales or attention but this is a good baseline for success.
   • Include a plan for reflecting on the learning process, challenges faced, and how obstacles were overcome.

Output:

Skill Development & Learning Plan

Coding Skills:

• Objective: Learn to program in Unreal Engine 5 using its scripting languages (e.g., C++ and Blueprints).
• Resources: Use free online resources such as YouTube tutorials on Unreal Engine 5 coding. ChatGPT can help clarify concepts, debug issues, and provide coding examples.
• Timeline: Dedicate specific blocks of time each week for learning and practicing coding.

Integrating AI Technologies:

• Generative AI for Game Development: Use AI tools to assist in generating code snippets, debugging, and perhaps even creating basic game assets or narrative elements.
• ChatGPT: Utilize ChatGPT for generating dialogue, story plots, or solving specific coding problems.
• AI-based Plugins: Explore AI plugins available for Unreal Engine 5 that can automate or simplify tasks like texturing, animation, or environmental design.

Game Development Phases

Idea & Concept Development:

• Objective: Develop a clear, concise game concept that includes the main theme, gameplay mechanics, and storyline.
• Tools: Mind mapping tools, storyboarding, and initial sketches using digital art software.

Asset Creation:

• Modeling and Texturing: Use Blender for 3D modeling and Substance Painter for texturing. Employ your skills in 3D modeling, rigging, and texturing to create detailed game characters and environments.
• Animation: Implement both motion capture and keyframe animation techniques to bring characters and elements to life.

Game Coding and Integration:

• Objective: Program game mechanics, player interactions, and other functionalities within Unreal Engine 5.
• Generative AI Assistance: Use AI to suggest code optimizations or troubleshoot issues as you integrate assets into the game engine.

Testing & Polishing:

• Objective: Ensure the game is functional, enjoyable, and free of bugs.
• Process: Conduct both closed alpha tests (personal tests) and beta tests (open to selected users) to gather feedback and make necessary adjustments.

Publishing:

• Objective: Launch the game on Steam.
• Steps: Prepare all necessary marketing materials, such as trailers and screenshots. Pay the Steam Direct fee to publish your game.

Budget & Resources

• Cost Analysis: The main cost will be the Steam Direct fee ($100). All software tools are either already owned or free.
• Additional Costs: Consider potential expenses for marketing, additional hardware for testing, or freelance help if needed.

Evaluation & Reflection

• Success Metrics: Aim for 10,000 sales at $1 each as a measure of success.
• Reflection: Regularly document the development process, challenges faced, and solutions found. Reflect on what learning methods and tools were most effective, and how obstacles were overcome.

Timeline Overview

• Month 1-2: Learning and conceptualizing game idea.
• Month 3-6: Asset creation and initial game coding.
• Month 7-8: Integrating assets and coding with Unreal Engine 5.
• Month 9: Testing and making adjustments.
• Month 10: Final preparations and publishing on Steam.

My essay topic is about finding out the implications of the integration of AI in 3-D modeling in animation industries, such as games and film.

So far my project idea is that I will generate a 3D model or 3D animation using an AI generated 2-D image. It will probably involve an automaton that looks smooth but is complicated in detail. There  should be tools out there that can create a 3D model using a 2D image.

Here is my group’s slingshot game called Pumpkin Toss!

Since there may be some truth to most companies using AI, I may have to utilize AI if I want my business to survive in this problematic economic model we are forced to live under. If I had to use AI, I would use it for game design. That seems to be one of the least harmful ways of utilizing AI. I have picked up game design again by learning Unreal Engine 5 recently and after learning I can code in HTML5 using Chat GPT, I have realized it can do C## too! This will help me get farther in my gaming aspirations quickly. It will be less vital for me to hire other people and instead be able to have more agency and power over my projects without being forced to hire people I may not be able to afford. I would use AI to be able to code for me and then once I complete a project, I would get attention using Kickstarter. I don’t plan on publishing on console so I will go to Steam and pay a $100 fee to publish on their distribution platform.

I can use AI to make text outlines acting as plan so that it can provide me with a clearer picture of how I plan to pursue this project. I need an outline so I can focus on what I will need to complete. If I have any questions, Chat GPT will come to me like it would a person but be able to answer most questions I would need to ask to fulfill my projects.

If my business got hired to specialize in remakes, that is one way I can stand out. I am very passionate about bringing games back using modern technology. There are games like Half-Life, Resident Evil and Halo that got remasters or remakes because they are timeless classics. For better or for worse, I can take advantage of the love certain old games have and refresh it. Not by changing it but expanding it by adding more skins, weapons, maps and/or game modes. I would also have an option to toggle the new stuff off. Freedom of choice will bring in new and old players that satisfy as many people as possible without turning anyone off from feeling the game being too generic. Player configuration is part of what will make my business unique. Since my business will likely stay small, I will not require the games to be sold at the standard $60 but more likely $5-10 and take advantage of steam sales.

Here are my questions for Toby Roberts:

1. What is the most fulfilling aspect of working with a client at Happy Finish?
2. What makes Happy Finish excel at types of advertisements like augmented reality and commercials?

Since I have experience in coding and designing, that is what I’ve decided to do. I am one of many coders and designers in this group.

As it stands my group and I are planning to create a physics game. In this game, the player will be tasked with using a pumpkin as a slingshot to make it into the bucket and that is how the player will win. Considering our group size we will probably make two levels, with the latter being harder than the former. The score may be a timer and the lower your time is, the greater your score is in a sense.

Here is my AI Website: Calitopia 2100

Among the many different techniques regarding the generative art article, I was most fascinated by techniques such as true random, Perlin noise, and cellular automata.

The true random technique is strange in the way that it requires a natural source of chaotic data from something such as a radio or lava lamps.

The Perlin noise technique seems to be random, but each dot is not allowed to be so far from the previous dot and creates interesting looking data and sometimes looks like mountains.

Lastly, I chose the cellular automata due to its fascinating look. It can create complex patterns across the whole grid. It is constantly moving and creating new shapes almost as if it’s alive.

Interactive HTML5 Work

Generative Art with P5.js

Generative Animation with P5.js

Here is my website made by Chat GPT.

After completing the exercise for generating an HTML file using Chat GPT, I see now that not much will change. Sure, AI will make coding easier for both beginners and advanced users and save time but all users need to understand how coding works. People who create HTMLs through AI still need to learn the fundamentals of good web design and structure if they plan on actually posting the HTML. AI can definitely help but it can mostly export a basic generation because the AI cannot think the same way a human can come up with a complex plan of executing a website. If someone doesn’t know what they are doing, it will be incredibly easy to mess up.

This will make game, web and app development easier but it will not do the thinking for you. It is an amazing way to assist with projects but never assume that the work will be creative.

I am worried that there will be many more basic or poorly designed websites due to coding being more easier to access from people who couldn’t bother learning to code themselves. I fear for the dip in quality and effort. I am hoping that this will help inspire people to get into coding and learn for themselves now that the barrier for entry has been somewhat lifted now that AI can get the basics down.

I do not plan on using coding as a profession but this will help me put more time into learning how to code as a hobby. I have a series I am creating called “Void-Theta” and it would be really nice to at least have a page for myself to act as a “wiki” for the stories and characters involved. I want to be able to see the fruits of my labor in the medium of a web page.

For this new project, it had to involve the use of Premiere Pro, Chat GPT, Suno AI and RunwayML. This was clearly an ambitious project. My plan was to create an AI animation in the world of the other project involving the old man and the AI automaton except the main character is one of the robots named Athena. She is the first character we see as well as the last.

when I exported all of my storyboard images from Chat GPT and onto RunwayML, the animation didn’t move how I expected for most of scenes. I didn’t expect the quality to be Sora but I had much difficulty getting the scenes to work even with a prompt and an enabled motion path.

I used Suno AI to create 3 different songs that each had their own way of expressing emotion. One was peace, the other was dread and the last was resolution.

The kick, punch, metal hit and falling SFX are from Pixabay.

Here is the AI Animation:

Here is the Website

https://dtc-wsuv.org/atruax23/byte-banjo/

After seeing some of Mark Amerika’s work, I have a few things I’d like to respond to. If I understand him correctly, his goal is to make AI pass as human. In some cases it is kind of inspiring to experiment. However, if something is created and I can’t tell if it was created by a human or an AI, that may be potentially dangerous. Sometimes it may be important to know if something was written by a human in case the stakes are high or if the situation is serious.

I think Mark Amerika sees Chat GPT as a collaborator or a tool for inspiration rather than something that will replace human creativity.

I have a few fears and concerns about AI in visual culture. I fear that AI will take jobs away from artists and make it harder than it already is to seek employment. Aside from job insecurity, AI can also be used to incriminate people for crimes they’ve never committed. How will courts know what’s real and what’s not? Not only that but how will people know the difference during election seasons? Video AI has evolved so much in one year. With the rise of Sora, this will become a legitimate threat.

If artists and creators want to address and respond to the collective concerns, they can probably show the public what the AI tools are capable of by stress testing it. This can show if the fears are valid or not and show how harmful the tools can become.

My thoughts on the risks and opportunities of AI cinema are somewhat negative. I think there could be a lot of legal battles made against studios who use AI writing or art because it can’t make anything original, it has to use pre-existing work to function.This may even takeaway many opportunities for artists working professionally.

The future of Hollywood entertainment with AI will make creating cinema easier. However, if blatant AI usage is found, people will notice it and they will realize they are paying for low quality work. No matter how realistic AI becomes, it will never feel as human as if an actual human had made it. AI cinema could help propel individual artists to complete cinematic projects but would prove tricky if the AI use was overt instead of being used to assist.

Within my AI animation, the setting takes place in California in the year 2100 where AI automatons assist in most facets of life. On the streets, an automaton named Athena sees a man with his physical AI companion and the man named Felix who is clearly wealthy begins to verbally abuse Icarus. Icarus collapses after the heavy weight of some groceries, and while Felix is disparaging him, he begins to kick his robot on the ground. Random AI automatons staring in the background with a blank look on their face, but their eyes show they are in horror. As Felix is about to start punching Icarus, Athena steps in by blocking his fist, and pushing him with that hand alone. Felix frowns, shrugs and gives up as he picks up the grocery bags and leaves. Athena gives Iris a hand and expresses that “as long as automatons stick together, they will never be broken.”

The visual style should be vibrant with deep colors that heavily includes nature. There should be sounds for kicking, falling, and impact SFX on a human hand. The music should be dark but then a hint of inspiration and hope in the end. In its entirety, the music should be cinematic. The voices for the characters should sound middle aged for Felix, Athena should sound strong and Icarus will have a voice that is masculine but low energy.

Here is our promotional video from Byte & Banjo’s new album “Circuitry and Strings: Tales from Terraformed Frontiers!”

By Vincent Lam and Andrew Truax

In my process of creating my own story in the world I have created last week, it was a complicated process. It was difficult making sure all the details added up for what I was going for. My plan for this story was that I wanted a man to attempt to return his AI automaton. Since this was made in the world of a utopia, I had to find a way to cause conflict between two characters. It also had to relate to AI. So I created a story of an old man named Lucas being stuck in his ways and not realizing that AI is not meant to replace him but to help him live his life.

Here are some of the challenges I had maintaining consistency. One of my issues was that I had to keep on regenerating images for the storyboards until I got the image that matched up with what I had imagined in my head as best as I could. My other challenge was that I had to retrieve certain bits of information used in previous storyboards so that the next one lines up and looks consistent like making sure this image still takes place on a street and will the cane appear or not. I tried using the IMAX film format on my storyboard but the AI told me that DALL-E cannot replicate this style so I just chose to make my images 1920×1080. The GPT still had issues being accurate with that resolution. My last challenge was that I now had to write the GPT to never include a cane for Lucas because he keeps being generated with one.

Now I will explain how I used the AI tools to generate and refine my world and its visual representation. When I am not using close up’s, medium or long shots, I also used over-the-shoulder and Bird’s Eye view. These are definitely difficult for Chat GPT to understand since it didn’t do exactly what I asked it to.

Here is where you can find the presentation.

Embark on a sonic journey through time and space with Byte & Banjo’s groundbreaking album, “Circuitry & Strings: Tales from Terraformed Frontiers.” In this electro-country odyssey, the band seamlessly merges 19th-century country melodies with 2020’s electronic beats, crafting a unique sound that transcends both past and future.

Song-titles:

1. Red Planet Rumble
2. Timeless Odyssey
3. Fishbowl Serenade
4. Ghostly Hoedown
5. Cybernetic Sorrow
6. Neon Bushido
7. Rustic Resonance
8. Echoes of Eternity
9. Binary Ballad
10. Galactic Lament

Here are the images

For this blog post, I will share a presentation showing images I generated using the many themes I was given to use. These themes helped me create my ideas through a series of images found in my presentation.

My first theme I went with was abstraction. I am not usually passionate or exposed to abstract art, so I asked ChatGPT to make something that I consider somewhat interesting, such as creating the idea of dread and the fear of the unknown.

Creating surrealistic Imagery was fun. I wanted to mix some realism with some fantasy in my generated work. I wanted to toy with the idea of a piece of land that was still considered natural except it was turned into something human or fleshy. Also, I am passionate about space and it’s strange nature so I wanted to take that a bit further and create floating platforms to make make this generated image look more alien.

This time I was going to create something photo-realistic. I remembered that I am into making realistic creatures. I wanted to see if I could make an image reminiscent of my animation, “The Apex Dragon” where a couple of Komodo dragons and a Draco Lizard are stalking the scorpion.

Here for my New Species Creation, I went with something that I would be interested in and an idea that I wanted to finally see. It is not exactly what I wanted it to be but it still looks great. There shouldn’t be a tail and the head is not supposed to look like it came from the movie “Alien” and it is missing a second pair of arms. The stripes look really good and the overall design is pretty accurate all things considered.

For my Sketch to Image, I didn’t want to do it at first, but then I realized that I don’t know how to do poetic prompts very well. I didn’t understand if if I should make my own poem or find a poem off the Internet or even just make a poem from ChatGPT. Either way, I decided that I was going to go for sketch to image and I’m very happy I did. I learned that I can get my images more accurate if I draw them first and then give the ChatGPT something to go off of, so I went with something simple, such as a blank room. I didn’t want it to be completely dark and gloomy so I made the outside pretty vibrant. I will be using this method again.

Here is where you can find the presentation.

In this post, I will be creating a prompt for a fictional AI World and then show the end result. Here is what I wrote to generate my fictional world using Chat GPT 4.0:

It is the first day of 2100. It is somewhere near the beaches of California. The weather for this environment is sunny, but not too hot. It is around 80°.

Within view are the trees that are all tropical such as palm trees. There are no roads. The roads have all been replaced with sidewalks by this time. There are plenty of trees that take up space. Many mountains are found in the background.

Diverse cuisines from all around the planet exist here, such as East Asian, Mexican, Italian. Local cuisines exist while chain restaurants are rare. Some food is free to the public. Fruit trees grow everywhere. One of the biggest cultural practices is that this society has a deep connection with nature. There is more of an appreciation for art. Lastly, cats are often found everywhere as they are the most common pets in this city.

Unsustainable social processes are put to an end such as the use of oil. electricity replaces it. The greatest resources in this city are renewable energy and gold. There are no homeless issue due to universal basic income and houses constructed for the displaced.

This is a spiritual and non-religious society. This society believes in compassion and are less individualistic. Science is taken more seriously so it triumphs over all faith. Public Schools for children are well funded. Every meal in school is funded through taxes. Colleges and universities are free to the public.

AI controlled automatons tasked with most of the menial labor. AI is used for role-playing in video games and using as companions, the substitute, the lack of real players. Holograms projections become very common. There are also self driving buses powered by AI.

In this world, everyone’s needs are met. Nobody needs to work. They use AI to do all the work for them while humans work on their aspirations. Humans can also have personalized AI companions. Nature and technology are able to coexist better.

Here is the result of my prompt. It didn’t work exactly the way I wanted it but it was somewhat close. I am happy that I got to create an image that resembled my fictional AI world idea.

For this week, I must generate a poem using ChatGPT 4.0. In some form, I didn’t get the results I was looking for. My idea was to create a short, fictional poem of a noble man who is trying to appeal to a conflicted man’s good side, persuading him that humanity is worth saving. This was my way of creating a poem that wasn’t going to be so bland and instead have something interesting to read.

At first, I was going to go with using the N +7 constraint, but it didn’t end up the way I was asking it to be. ChatGPT just gave me a warning that the output would be nonsensical and then would give me a boring result. I gave up on that and decided to go with something different.

I went with a lipogram poem where I would exclude a letter, such as “E” from the poem. I could tell that ChatGPT was trying hard to make this work, but in the end, it still ended up not doing what I had hoped. I even asked it to regenerate its text, and the result was very similar, though it did try to minimize the amount of e’s within the poem.

That didn’t work so I tried removing “D” and it still had issues performing that task. It was still not resulting in the way I had asked it to. I was beginning to realize that I could not make this work. It is time that I show what ChatGPT gave me. Here is the final result of my exploration:

In shadows, lost, a soul in plight,

His heart consumed by darkest night.

With fury strong, his thoughts ignite,

A vengeful path, an endless fight.

But look beyond this bitter fray,

And find a way, a brighter day.

In each of us, a light can sway,

A spark of hope, come what may.

In noble hearts, let’s take this stand,

With outstretched arms, we’ll lend a hand.

For in humanity, a worth so grand,

To save our world, a sacred land.

In my efforts to become a professional 3D modeler, I often look for inspiration or references so that I can maintain the momentum of being a creator and build my portfolio. There will be times when I need help so that I don’t slow down my process. To maintain my speed and save time, I looked for ways to help inspire me.

I took the opportunity of using Chat GPT to help fuel my ambition. I began working on my own custom GPT, but I couldn’t decide on what I needed it to do, exactly. My first GPT helped me give ideas based on a genre or subject I would propose. I called it the “Concept Inspiration Crafter.” It certainly had a use but I’m unsure if this is what I needed for the time being. After I discovered that Chat GPT 4.0 uses DALL-E to create images (or remix pre-existing photos), I finally realized what I must do. Now the sky is the limit! I can put together whatever is going on in my mind using this new GPT. I call this new GPT the “Concept Image Creator.”

There are some behaviors I had made for it or retain. I wanted it to maintain a professional yet welcoming and friendly tone. Not only that but avoid copyrighted material. Lastly, the GPT will ask questions for clarification if it must.

When the behaviors were finally implemented, I suddenly had an idea to create something I had in the back of my mind for a while. The idea I had was to create a warrior with futuristic military armor, but that warrior was a dragon with a humanoid shape much like what you would see in DND called a dragonborn. I had never seen someone draw that before and I really wanted to see that happen.

After I created my first one, it looked amazing, but I wanted to see if I could adjust it a little bit. I was curious if changing the colors would satisfy me. When I did ask the Concept Image Creator to change the colors to tan and red, it changed the subject to be tan and red as well as his armor and turned him into a totally different dragon. He’s tougher and lacks wings and the armor is different but still retains the same art style.

This is almost exactly what I was looking for despite this GPT not having a whole lot of instructions to go from! These images were created, almost instantaneously. And while these images looked amazing, I would never frame these on my wall, partly because of its robotic and lifeless feel. it was clearly not made by another human but put together by an unconscious entity. I cannot claim these as my own as I didn’t create this.

Let me just say that I do not plan on using any of these images other than for inspiration and maybe as references within my work, but it will never be a rough draft or a final.

This piece of software is truly groundbreaking, this GPT will go far and wide to help me and inspire me. I am supremely thankful to live in a time where there is AI and that I got introduced to this so early. I don’t know how I’ll be able to go back after this. From my standpoint as a 3D modeler, this will become very helpful. however, This GPT role is to assist me and not to create for me.

Hello everyone!

I am taking this class for a multitude of reasons. I am curious to see how AI unfolds in the future and I want to be prepared rather than running behind when the use of AI becomes REQUIRED. Also, I want to see how A.I. can ethically benefit and aid me.