Some odd months ago I wrote a very heated post called “A Generation In Crisis”, in which I basically angrily argued the facets of a broken American society in 2019. I specifically said, “I just need a break, or I need this entire system to break faster, so our generation can fix it properly. “
And eerily enough, less than 6 months later, we get a pandemic that will cause shockwaves of economic ruin throughout the globe, and hundreds of thousands of deaths.
The American system is crumbling, and every sane and rational citizen I’ve ran into seems to agree. I don’t think it’s an end-of-days Mad Max scenario, but definitely something worse than the great depression.
This post isn’t just half baked ramblings about society and politics though. I actually wanted to keep it mostly focused on my productive side of the pandemic.
I’ve been working will some colleagues from Drexel on a game project since January, and that has been going really well. I’ve been doing concept art, making assets, and meeting with everyone regularly. It meant a great deal to me that they asked me to be a part of their team.
The pandemic forced my job at the University of Scranton to close, and my grad classes have moved online. Thankfully, I’m still getting paid for full-time employment. However, all of this free-time was hell for my mental health at first. Yes, I know everyone and their mother talks about having anxiety these days, but I’ve had it since grade school, and I’ve had to get it treated every few years or so. Basically whenever there is a high stress situation for a few months, I start to lose my damn mind. Grad school was high stress, but I had a clear goal, and a good understanding of what I was doing. This pandemic ripped the rug out from under me, and that stress eventually developed into panic. Well panic attacks and anxiety are really damn annoying when trying to sit down and do work at your computer.I have been getting the anxiety treated through a mix of meds, exercise, and a good group of friends, so I feel like I have my head back. I know a lot of people are stressed out now, so my heart goes out to those people. This time at home should be your chance to get your passion projects done, not worry and panic. The month of March felt like it dragged on forever, while April disappeared with a flash.
With my head clear, I was able to finish up two automotive related projects I had brewing. I finally wanted to make a Twisted Metal related art piece, because I hadn’t really done anything since I was in high school.
Below is my “what-if” series return for PS5. I think it would be interesting to explore the first year of the Twisted Metal competition, and a great excuse to soak up the 90s nostalgia.
The rendering utilizes a modified 1983 Ford Crown Victoria police car. I had also had to model the Browning 30 cal machine guns you see on the hood. I brought the model into Substance Painter, and only did a few textures for some key components on the vehicle. Mainly the bumpers and guns. Then I brought everything into Keyshot 9, and placed additional texture details on the model.
The most difficult part of this entire project was getting a good HDRI set and backplate. I wanted to find some good photos of LA at night, and I couldn’t. I couldn’t even really find any premium HDRI or backplate images either, which was surprising. The cityscape I ended up using is actually Atlanta.
I brought the render into Photoshop for some additional edits. I added some noise, smoke, flames, and text. I was trying to capture the feeling of one of those gaming magazine ads from the late 90s.
I was really happy how it turned out, but it really didn’t get any traction with the media or gaming press. They are really anal about getting in trouble for leaks these days after several studios have sued for it.
I also used that Crown Victoria model for my second entry into the appropriately named “Four Doorsman of the Apocalypse” series. My goal was to make a race spec version of this otherwise mundane 4 door sedan. I am so happy how these renders turned out, and I can’t wait to do see what I come up with next.
I’ve also had an interview with a tech start-up funded by Walmart. I had to sign an NDA, but it’s looking very promising so far. This could be my big break I have been hoping for, but I’ll be realistic about it. I’m just excited to finally be in a good head space, and have a lot of time to do what I want. I’ve been catching up with video games, watching movies, working on my classic truck, and taking in life a bit more.
I want to get back into developing Criminal Mischief this month, and I still have a goal for an end of summer vertical slice release.
