Faithless: The Making of an NWN2 Module

It’s been a while since I last posted a screenshot of any 3D model in the works. That’s because I am currently making a very complex placeable, the kind that should have players realizing that this is no ordinary object when they first look at it. As can be seen from the concept art to the right, the placeable consists of a fairly ornate mirror held by a couple of angel statues. I had to craft and assemble several meshes to produce the high-poly version of this piece. In the process, I came across some new challenges for me to hurdle. Firstly, there is the matter of the mirror frame, the design of which is inspired by art nouveau and the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. It may come as a surprise to some people that Lovecraft and art nouveau go very well together. One of the main features of art nouveau is the presence of vine-like tendrils that curl about in a stylized way. Well, it doesn’t take much tweaking to replace tendrils with tentacles, the appendage of choice of Lovecraft’s famous c...

Several months ago, I identified the members of the Shattered Dreams team , all of whom have contributed their unique talents to our creative undertaking. While a few have since left to pursue other projects, most are still active with us. Since then, we’ve had some noteworthy additions to the team, whom I’d like to welcome in this blog post. Here they are, arranged according to when they joined us: Henry Solberg, Composer. I first met Henry online when he messaged me with an offer to compose music for Faithless , the module that is supposed to be this blog’s reason for being. (Ahem.) It became obvious that I wasn’t about to release Faithless any time soon, so Henry asked if he could be a part of what was then known as the “secret bouncyRock project.” After listening to samples of Henry’s music, Dirtywick said yes. Henry joined the Shattered Dreams team last December, but it’s only now that I finally got around to blogging about his involvement with us. Thanks to him and Gallaen Frost...

Meet Mister Grin, one of the potential companions that player characters may take up in Shattered Dreams. The picture shown here is how I envision this character to appear. I’ll make a 3D model of this NPC later. For now, I’d like to say a few words about him to give a preview of what he is like: Although Mister Grin is dressed in the height of fashion, people tend to be taken aback by his appearance for three reasons. Firstly, almost every part of his body is covered with some article of clothing. Mister Grin explains that his heavy clothing helps him resist the ague, to which his frail constitution is highly susceptible. Secondly, while Mister Grin is obviously a man of breeding, it is not entirely certain what breed he is of. An occasional peek at his pointy ears suggests that he may be of elven stock, although he is taller and bulkier than the typical elf. Also, even with Mister Grin’s hat, scarf, and dark glasses on, it is easy to tell that he is completely devoid of hair. Mister ...

“My name is Enemigo Monstruoso. You killed my minions. Prepare to die.” Well, that’s what the big boss seems to be saying in the picture to the right. It may look impressive, but I’ve found that from a modeling standpoint, this monster has a whole slew of new challenges to hurdle. The most obvious problem is the sheer size of the thing. Having a monster this large means that in combat, players will almost never see it in its entirety. To make it more visible, I lowered the height at which the creature hovers above the ground, but I can’t get it lower than fifteen to twenty feet without its appendages sinking below ground during its animation cycle. I could bring the mob to a more manageable size, but its background story would hardly make sense unless the creature is as large as possible without making it unplayable. Another problem is that I may have made the creature’s collision spheres too large, because even at fifteen to twenty feet away, a player character can still hit it in me...