Stepping it up a gear ...
Neyyah has been in development since July 2018 ... It was during a time where I had only just started learning Blender. Previously, I had been using a software called Anim8or (www.anim8or.com) which, for my teenage self, had been a fantastic easy first step into the world of 3D. I will love to go deeper into my developments with Anim8or in another post, but for now, I would like to touch upon how even in Blender, the world of Neyyah has changed drastically over the nearly 4 year development cycle ...
The Mechanical Cake
The Dome - from 2020 through to its current stage of 2022
I remember, very well, the feeling of having achieved a huge milestone in the development of this area for Neyyah. It officially began in late 2019, where I was working for a very long time on a very basic computer system, running on only 4gb RAM (as opposed to my 64gb beast, which I now own two of). 'Layers of the Mechanical Cake'. This is how I described and wrote up about the experience over on Patreon at the time (www.patreon.com/defyrealityentertainment). Each section was modelled separately, and then (while hoping the set file wouldn't crash) every segment (layer of the mechanical cake) was placed together in a final full set. It wasn't until April 2020 that I finally upgraded my system and suddenly, render times took on how a new magic. The whole development process of Neyyah's world felt magical ... A new portal of creative life had leaked out in front of me. This new computer pushed my vision, materialised my imagination into reality even more than before - and so much faster, too.
I ran with it ...
Changing Colours
The Harbour - continued developments, not only in modelling, but in post-processing within Photoshop
Neyyah's world took on new details, new richness. It was an amazing experience - but one which later down the track also challenged the logistics of certain world building aspects and development pipeline. This example shows how colouration and post-processing has pushed the game's style to new levels, and Photoshop has played a massive part in achieving the 'Neyyah' look, influenced greatly by Myst's sequel, Riven (1997).
Feel free to watch my devlog on my Photoshop work for Neyyah at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqEQ9IveEdk&t=1442s
I look forward to sharing some more stories along the way, plus some new upcoming developments!
- Aaron Gwynaire / Defy Reality Entertainment