Exploring the world of Knightmare with Oculus Rift
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Hey folks,
I've had an Oculus Rift DK2 for a while now and decided to try my hand at recreating portions of the world of Knightmare (notably the CGI rooms).
So far, I've recreated part of the slimeless version of Sewers of Goth. Having trouble with the slime right now as it's messing up the alpha channels of the decals on the lower bricks of the walls. I'm trying to be as accurate as possible with the texturing so some of the objects are flat shaded. With the lo-fi look to it, it genuinely feels like you're walking through the original 3D assets as they were in the 90's.
HD images
http://i.imgur.com/wUQgHiD.png
http://i.imgur.com/FIjytrb.png
http://i.imgur.com/6bygihC.png
http://i.imgur.com/6D4aCeP.png
http://i.imgur.com/waSXTB7.png
http://i.imgur.com/0LYsBPH.png
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk5J7rDKDMg
With Oculus's recent announcement of hand tracking input (Oculus Touch), I'm hopeful at getting this ported into VR at somepoint in the future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvh7PlbIaCc (if made correctly, you'd actually have to reach out and touch the cards)
I don't know how far I'll get with this as my programming abilities on Unity are somewhat limited so don't expect a full blown epic game with NPCs/gameplay ect.
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Well I'm well impressed dude it's been a long time since I saw someone getting creative with three dimensional software I only wish I had the talents to do what you do buddy. The ideas I have is relatively endless Once again good work and keep it up, the more enlightenment we have the more morale we have too
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Well I'm well impressed dude it's been a long time since I saw someone getting creative with three dimensional software
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Thank you for your kind words . I really hope to inspire others to see what things could come with the advent of new upcoming technologies. Unity is a very easy engine to pick up and I'd encourage anyone to try their hand at it and the pro version recently went free as well which is a rather large bonus.
Trial by Spikes now partly implemented
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlqX3wlMwFs
The voice of Grimaldine from Julies quest tells you the combination which is accurately reflected on the recreation. You get quite a rush when you see those spikes come out of the floor as you approach it. . Only problem with it right now is that it's literally a single animation that plays. I was hoping to break it up into 6-7 independent animations to allow for greater control from a gameflow POV. Unity AFAIK, doesn't do multiple triggers on one object which makes it problematic to implement. Still pretty authentic as long as you don't deviate from the path.
The moving block room now recreated:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdzH4jVXaWM
Not much to say on this one. With the source assets, it can be refitted to include the fireball cannons that come out of the walls on some of the quests. Falling down between the blocks earns you a death bell sound and a complimentary "ooohh nasty".
I've got level transitions figured out now so it's now possible to travel between the rooms.
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It's the originality I think that that makes me attracted to this everything about it looks exquisite and a lot of thought has been put into it the colour of the spikes does look rather bright and bold but that is just me being picky I guess I'd love to see what more you can do my good man you might be onto something here well done
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Looking at the original footage, they do seem a bit on the bright side. The red ones should be a brown colour imo. Easy enough to change with the RGB variables.
Hopeful to get the Corridor of Blades implemented in the future:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3YXv3yDU1E
I'm intending to remodel the walls as the ones I originally used were downloaded off the web years ago, don't respond to lighting too well (smoothing errors I think?) and generally don't look faithful to the source material. I've already had it running in the rift but really want to improve the look of the walls at least before doing anything with this as this was originally made in 2006 and I've learnt a bit more about basic modelling since then. (seeing those blades come at you in true to life, full scale 3D along with 3D positional sound effects truly is something even with no death system implemented)
Combine that with upcoming full body mocap systems like Razer Stem and PrioVR and you could potentially have a full scale recreation of throwing yourself back and forth between walls and the blades
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Well it's like I said I don't want to nitpick your hard work it's absolutely fabulous. The problem with some remakes nowadays is that they lack original concept material (if that makes any sense). It doesn't have the "charm" that they should have tried to keep. It's what makes Knightmare Knightmare so to speak.
Those sequences would make a great "VISOR" spell scenario where the dungeoneer could control his own self during the scene. So what I mean is, when the decision is called for to use a spell or potion of sight, the scene is cut and the dungeoneer is transferred to the room where he can control the sequence himself under the advisors guidance. Then he can pilot himself out out without too much prompting
Your work is very enlightening mate it brings a whole fresh set of ideas. And as for the Corridor Of Blades, I should like to see some more ideas and theories that could work it does look like your onto something.
I did a project myself many years ago involving Chromekey but it was quite a flop. The highlight was the fact I'd borrowed a couple of props from Mr Child himself. Looking back on it now, I'd love to get more involved into doing something about it again it was fun times.
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Welcome to the forum jamesuk! Just had a chance to check out you work. Very impressive! I love the perspective on the trial by spikes room.
Concurring with Fidjit, the visor spell would work really well and would optimise the viewers enjoyment as well as adding suspense.
Thanks for sharing and hope to see more of your work.
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Thank you for sharing these, James. Very impressive work.
I don't think that seeing-eye spells need to be brought into it. A lot of fans strongly dislike them, including me. In my opinion, there doesn't necessarily have to be any context for an adventurer being able to see the dungeon, especially if it works as a challenge in its own right.
Thank you also for preserving on your YouTube channel the Knightmare VR music (as discussed on the forum here), ensuring that history can learn important lessons. Your fusion of the KMVR music and Series 6 is marvellous.
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Thanks again for all your support with this. I'll try to see how far I get with this but I am limited with my abilities to create scripts/textures/models from scratch which will limit the authenticity/detail of some of the more complex rooms.
I don't suppose anyone happens to know if any information has been released regarding the creation of the CGI rooms? There's loads of info on the creation of David Rowes painted rooms/photographic room locations yet there's absolutely nothing regarding the CGI rooms.
As for the Knightmare VR music, you can mainly thank Pooka for sending me the music. Prior to that, they had literally vanished from the internet and weren't downloadable anywhere (not even the internet archive had them). It's uncanny just how well the Knightmare VR theme syncs up with the series 6-8 titles though. It's literally like it was written for it shudders*
Now have a basic version of Series 8's Level 1 Clue Room. Featuring the actual grunts/screams of Bhal-Shebah. (No dragon encounter yet though) The surreal/distinct sound design made quite a lot of Knightmare memorable for me so finding the actual recordings used for these was an absolute godsend which really helps making you feel like you're literally there within the source material. The main screeching sound was actually the sound of metal squealing.
Not 100% satisfied with the texture quality as it was literally taken from the episode and then edited accordingly. Better than nothing I guess.
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I don't suppose anyone happens to know if any information has been released regarding the creation of the CGI rooms? There's loads of info on the creation of David Rowes painted rooms/photographic room locations yet there's absolutely nothing regarding the CGI rooms.
The only info I've seen is a couple of paragraphs about the Sewers of Goth, at the bottom of this page:
http://www.knightmare.com/fan-made/fanzines/quest/1174-quest-313
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Wow, these are fantastic! Thanks for posting.
Although this doesn’t necessarily have to ‘lead to’ anything (it’s a joyous piece of fandom in its own right) it does get me very excited about VR and the possible future of Knightmare.
The buzz coming out of E3 seems to say that VR which actually works (as opposed to the awful 90s version) has arrived on the high-street and is going to revolutionise gaming and story-telling. As KM straddles both these strands surely there’s some kind of future application?
As far as gaming is concerned, being able to be a dungeoneer in a fully immersive 3d world would be the ultimate gaming experience for a KM fan? This moves the brand away from TV but I for one would still be very interested in such an idea. The recent announcement that the Crystal Maze is coming back as a live experience suggests that retro shows might have a future that’s more ‘doing’ than ‘viewing’ and a well-written Knightmare VR (!) with great puzzles, stories and characters could be a great success.
That’s not to say consumption of KM has to be so active though. The sort of 360 degree film-making that Google have been exploring – whereby action happens all around and the viewer chooses where/when to look – could also be used by the Watchers as a quest is in progress. No two viewers would have the exact same experience and quests could be viewed repeatedly from different angles (this is far more interesting than the viewer simply following the dungeoneer’s POV exactly as this actually removes the drama of seeing them in relation to hazards – which is what creates tension in the KM viewing experience).
I think that considering this technology as a ‘sight’ potion equivalent misses the point slightly. Aside from the fact this breaks a core gameplay mechanic, this headset isn’t for the dungeoneer – it’s for the player/viewer!
If I had time I’d think about all this in a bit more depth – it’s exciting!
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Indeed Hobgoblin the way I like to see it is the more inspiration there is the more that something new can be possible. Knightmare was a huge hit back then we all know that, and to see it on an HMV/GAME shelf would be absolutely radical and (IMHO) a killer of a sell.
Yes I know the likelihood is rather slim to none, but it does give me some kind of enlightenment that we can kickstart something special even if it is a one off
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There's an article over at VRFocus which discusses the theoretical mechanics of a Knightmare VR game as well as a bit of history of Knightmare and briefly touches on the VR element of the Knightmare VR pilot.
http://vrfocus.com/archives/12922/make-virtual-reality-knightmare/
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Thanks
Though we're now well beyond the pilot. We actually ended up moving to a new engine after the pilot, which is might higher quality. We've got (at last count) about 55 different dungeon rooms/puzzles all designed and modelled. I'm now just scripting them and am coming up to about half way on that.
Then it just needs testing and it's done!
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