Artisan

"It was over a century ago...

"The world's greatest hero arose, suddenly and unexpectedly....

"The greatest attestation of his heroic character was his vast amounts of wealth, which made it possible for him to never have to do a day's work ever again..."

Game Concept
Artisan will be a fairly simple 3D, first/third person perspective game that allows the players to be inventive and contribute to an internet-based community. The player will create a simple, fun character that will populate a world which will have a whimsical medieval feel and aesthetic. The goal of the game will be for players to create custom 3D items and become famous artisans within the game world. The more famous their characters are, the more immersed in the world they can become. They will be able to create more items for their characters and to sell in markets. You can proceed to adventure, explore, and combat monsters in the game world using your custom items and accessories.

Artisan takes place in a whimsical, Norse dwarf-themed world called Smörgåsland. Players will create personalized dwarven characters to populate this world, and within it they will venture to become successful craftsmen. Players will use their characters to design and build custom items. By doing so, they attempt to win fortune and fame by selling to rich and influential NPCs, such as kings, queens, lords, magical beings, etc. When a character is created, the player will select the specialty of the character. Examples include woodcarver, metalworker, weaver, alchemist, etc. This will determine the character’s base skill, which creates restrictions on item creation. For example, if a player creates a character who is a metalworker, they gain the metalworking skill. This means they can create items that are made of metal, but they cannot create an item made of wood or of fabric.

Throughout the game, the player’s character will gain additional knowledge and may add more skills to their retinue. This can augment the player's ability to work various materials. For example, if the player chooses woodcarving as the next skill, they would be able to craft items made of metal or wood, or items which are made of both metal and wood, such as a spear.

In order to use a character’s skills, the character must first possess the proper materials. Materials may be gained in a number of ways: Once the player's character has created a number of items worth recognition, the character gains favor with some of the influential NPCs in Smörgåsland. If this trend continues, the player may have the opportunity to obtain a permanent shop somewhere in Smörgåsland. As long as the character maintains reputation, a permanent shop provides a consistent source of income. This represents locals shopping at the character’s establishment for trinkets. Sometimes, a government official may commission a particular item, in which case the player would need to go adventuring and obtain the necessary materials and skills. Such commissions might have deadlines.
 * 1) By purchasing materials from merchants. Each city and town has a market. Each market may have a different set of materials, depending on various factors such as local environment and cultural trends.
 * 2) Characters may obtain materials by adventuring. They can seek and destroy various monsters and mythological creatures who may have access to needed materials. This is especially true of materials used to create magical items.
 * 3) Characters might be given items or materials by wandering merchants, magical creatures, or benevolent nobility. This happens more often as characters gain reputation as craftsmen.

Story
King Brandulfar of the kingdom of Dwarrowheim once wielded his ancestral sword in defense of his realm. The blade was a beacon of safety and struck fear into the hearts of the kingdom’s enemies. So strong was its magic that evil could sense its presence for miles around, and so the kingdom went unmolested for many years. Issaethra, an icy white dragon who once plagued the mountains of Dwarrowheim, hid in his lair for centuries after the sword was forged.

But now the sword is missing. Once the sword was gone, Issaethra sensed the sword’s power fade, and gained courage. In desperation, the dwarfs of Dwarrowheim fortified themselves in case of the dragon’s attack, but all in vain. The icy fiend soared to the gates of the kingdom and bashed its defenses to pieces. King Brandulfar was slain in his attempt to save his people, and the dragon took the king’s crown back to his lair to add to his collection of loot.

Eldgrim, the King’s right hand man and Warlord of Dwarrowheim, swore to avenge the king’s death. He will stop at nothing to put an end to Issaethra once and for all. As preparations for the dragon hunt began, Eldgrim made two declarations: first, that the discourteous dwarf who stole the king’s sword shall be found out and put to death. Secondly, that all of the greatest dwarf warriors in the world are invited to aid Eldgrim in his hunt for the dragon. All are promised fame and fortune should the quest succeed.

As a character, you have the choice to help Eldgrim fulfill either or both of his declarations. The whole world of Smörgåsland is available for questing in, which will be necessary to become worthy of confronting the world’s most frightening dragon. You must discover what it takes to slay a dragon, for such a task is nigh impossible. Then you must gather the skills and supplies to create weapons, armor and other tools with which arm yourself and your party for the final confrontation.

Gameplay
Artisan consists of three different modes of gameplay:
 * 1) Crafting to create custom items for use and sale to NPCs.
 * 2) Combat to collect the materials necessary for crafting items.
 * 3) Character Creation when starting the game to create a custom character.

Additionally, other ideas have been proposed as gameplay features.

Artwork
Artwork for Artisan is being furnished by Bryce and Kat Lowry.

Currently, artwork is divided into the following categories:


 * Characters
 * Creatures
 * Environments
 * Miscellaneous

Other game assets, such as more artwork and 3D models will be developed as the project progresses.

Project Organization
Artisan is being developed by a team with the following organization:



As such, each team member's participation in the project is largely defined by their role on the team. They are responsible for contributing in their sphere of influence to ensure that project milestones are met. They are also responsible for reporting their goals and progress.

Technology
Artisan will be developed using the UDK framework.

Seth has written the following page on potential graphics technology.

HLSL
Shader Tutorial

Tutorial # 2

Tutorial # 3

Official Programming Guide

3D Modeling
3D Primer