So after learning how to download 3D models off google maps I ran into some problems with my original idea. I wanted it to be a POV view of the whole town where you could just walk around as if you were actually there. Some of my problems were:
- The program only downloads a smallish rectangle of google map information at a time, you can’t just zoom out and download an entire town. Luckily the rectangle is big enough to download key features, like Beaver Stadium, or the Spikes Baseball Field. I thought maybe I cold just download some of the more recognizable parts of the town and then format them together in Unity. But still another problem yet.
- The 3D models look best from above as the images are taken from satellites. When you are looking at a 3D model from the side you can see that the textures are a bit morphed, stretched and blurry.
- My last issue is that I want the perspective to be a POV as if you are walking around, but then I realized State College is so big that you would have to have super speed, or the ability to fly. I don’t really like super speed and I would love to make it a game where you fly around a real life environment but unfortunately I don’t know how to program flying in Unity and feel it might be overly ambitious for this project.
Finally, a solution to all.
Alright so at the beginning of the project Pierre told me that I don’t necessarily have to make it about my hometown, he said it could be something more abstract or maybe something more meaningful to me. This just now gave me the idea to make it more about ME than my hometown. Of course the hometown will still be apart because my hometown in definitely a part of me, but now it will also include more meaningful features that give a deeper look into who I am.
My new idea is this:
You are a character walking on a planet. The planet resembles earth, but more so, its Zach’s earth. My Earth is not the same as your Earth. For example, on my earth Pennsylvania is huge, it’s a place where you can drive all day and never leave the state. Its a place filled with people I know and lifestyles I relate to. Its a place that might not even exist on someone else’s earth. On Zach’s earth there would be different landmarks that left an impact on me. For example, when I was 15 my family took a big trip out west and visited a lot of national parks. They were all beautiful but Zion National Park stood out to me the most. Anytime someone asks me “Where would you love to go for vacation”, I always include Zion in my answer. Zach’s earth would include a lot of different locations that have been a big part of my life. You would be able to walk around and see each of them and read a quick description of why I included it and how it was a part of my life. Unfortunately, as I don’t know how to fly in Unity I think I will make all the locations miniature versions of themselves so you can get a top down view (something google map models excel in) as well as not waste time traveling between them. Maybe I could correlate their size with the impact they had on me.
Here is a 3D view of Angels Landing, a popular hiking trail at Zion National Park. I would definitely include this as one of my landmarks.