Critical Review
"The game is good but not great in my opinion. I can certainly see why people would like it because it offers a very unique Batman experience. However, people claiming it offers the same environment and feel of Bioshock are giving the game to much credit in my opinion. The combat itself is as clunky as the demo was tedious. Punch, counter rinse and repeat. The invisible predator mode is the best thing about the game and is the only thing that keeps it from an even lower score in my book. Another thing is that game is really easy as the puzzles are moronically simple to solve. Seriously, if you can't beat this game in under 8 hours then you are doing something wrong. It's short but doesn't offer much replay aside from the little fighting room mini game with the Joker. The musical score is amazing, voice acting is amazing, story is good, graphics are top notch but that can't save the core game from being extremely shallow and generic. The RPG system where you level up techniques using XP is as simple as it comes. Why even have it if there is no depth? Why not just automatically upgrade attributes. At the end of the day I would say Infamous offers more value for the money and a better experience. This game is really only for Batman fanboys. I can't see myself playing this after I get the platinum trophy which I'm only few trophies away from doing right now. Gameplay - 5 Story - 8 Audio - 10 replay - 7 graphics - 9 Controls - 4 Total score = 43/60 or 7.0 overall Suggestion: Only buy it if you are a hardcore Batman fanboy. Otherwise, it's a solid rental or value buy if you can get it under $39.99. This is just my opinion and I would suggest anyone interested in the game should just try it for themselves"
http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/batman-arkham-asylum/user-reviews

Biased Review
"It's quite simple for me...the only disappointment I experienced while playing this game was the fact that I have never read comic books of any kind before, so considering how the characters of Batman: AA were based off the comic versions, I really didn't know much about the characters that weren't in the movies (I have, nonetheless, seen all the movies, so I do know of the ones featured in them). But at the same time, this was halfway a good thing for me, b/c I found myself excited to unlock the next of many character bio's through the Riddler puzzles. Despite my ignorance of 90% of the characters who were mentioned in the bio's, I have to say that in my opinion, this was one of the most fun games I have ever played. First, everyone must understand the intentions of this game. Those who say the puzzles are too easy or the fighting is too easy or how easily it is for Batman to evade attackers by shooting up to the gargoyles, you have to understand that if you look at who Batman is, these things SHOULD be somewhat easy. He's Batman, for crying out loud. Would Batman ever have a tough time disposing of low level thugs like the many thugs you have to fight in the game?? No, b/c he's knowledgeable in many forms of martial arts, so the fighting should be fairly easy. Would Batman ever have a tough time trying to solve puzzles and riddles like the ones left behind by the Riddler in the game?? No, b/c he is a master detective and an all around genius in every aspect of the word, so the puzzles should be fairly easy. Would Batman have any trouble in losing moronic henchmen like the ones in the game?? No, b/c he is a true master of stealth tactics, so it should be fairly easy to elude the moronic henchmen in the game. That's what needs to be understood about this game...they wanted you to feel like you are Batman. What it's like to "Eat chumps like them everyday for breakfast" (hahaha that was so cheesy it was actually funny), being able to easily get out of a tight spot by shooting into and flying through the rafters, and solving the Riddler's puzzles in a decent amount of time. For those who haven't played it yet, don't let anyone fool you...the combat and puzzle solving isn't as easy as some may say. You will find yourself running through the different possibilities of an answer to a puzzle or the best strategy to use to take down a room full of armed henchmen many times throughout playing. Oh, for those wondering why Batman is so big...this game was made in homage to the comics, not the movies, and in the comics, Batman is pretty big...with the Joker being as thin as Gumby. That's why they are portrayed that way. Yes, there are some minor variations to the characters that do appear in the game compared to their comic book counterparts, but nothing too dramatic. In closing, I will say that if you are a fan of The Bat, you will not be disappointed with this game whether you buy or rent. The same can probably be said about the casual fans, like myself, also. I don't really care if anyone thinks I'm out of my mind for saying this, but based on the fact at how extremely fun and engaging as this game was for me and how I was enjoying the game when I completed everything just as much as I was when I first started the game (which is rare for me), I can honestly say that, to ME, this is in the top 5 greatest games I have ever played. Period."
http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/batman-arkham-asylum/user-reviews?page=1

The first review shows an understanding of both sides and opinions of the game, which to me makes it a critical review. It starts off with an overall opinion, then going on to show understanding of both sides of the debate. Encountering other opinions and then relating/comparing that to their opinion. They explain their dislikes within the combat of the game and the lack of skill needed  for the game- claiming it's perhaps too easy as well as too short as a game length. They then move on to the positives of the game which is the voice acting, music, story and graphics, however then clashes with this by saying the core of the game is "shallow" and "generic". Throughout the review, they roughly even out the negatives and positives, giving a structured critique. They then conclude their review which numbered ratings for each criteria of the game. Overall, recommending the game specifically for "Batman fans" but basically saying the game is not particularly worth it other wise - unless you are interesting in the game for other reasons then to go ahead and try it out. This review encounters and gives an opinion on the majority, if not all of the criteria's of the game. Trying to include and understand other perceptions but overall giving out an honest opinion. They don't put the negatives out in a harsh way, yet they make it clear they are questioning the flaws of the game. I think this review has a critique perception rather than biased, because they aren't a big fan of Batman, themselves. I think if they were a fan it would make their opinion much stronger and personal- perhaps sticking up for the game a lot more rather than pointing out factual aspects of the gameplay.

The next review bases their experience and opinion on the game on their personal views of Batman. Such as stating the only disappointment with the game was that they did not previously know much about the characters involved, which isn't the games fault/deal at all. However, they then add that this could be a positive feature as it made them much more intrigued on finding more out about the characters. The review then goes on to talk about how the game is and should be easy as Batman basically knows all, there fore it would be easy for Batman so should be for his role in the game. I'd say this is a biased opinion as they are a Batman fan themselves and would typically stand up to his greatness, rather then thinking about the gameplay for whoever chooses to play, they might want a personal, realistic challenge for themselves..In other words it shouldn't depend on Batman's skill if he's not actually the one behind the controls. The skill should be likewise to his but I think that would make it pointless if there was no challenge for those personally. However they then add that the game is actually quite challenging. The review then concludes also by saying how this game is mostly suitable for batman fans aswell as casual fans. This review doesn't talk no where near as much about the actual game play as the first review did. They didn't give specific ratings for different aspects of the game unlike the other review and didn't give as many negatives, probably as they were more biased, being a bigger fan. Neither reviews really covered the purpose of the game or background information.

Final Render

Evaluation

This is my final render after the adjustments I made. I also tinted the scene slightly yellow because the photo's I took for primary research also had a sort of musky yellow tint. This render represents the slenderness of the architecture much more than my previous render because the camera angle if from the floor - looking up. My final render delivers the same visual message as my research because during my research I noticed key features within the themes such as Gothic and Romanesque, which I then included in my final piece e.g cobbled stone walls, arches, spikes and the castling. It suits it's purpose as it provides a rotating light which guides in ships. It refers to my concept art 1 as it's pretty much the same however I added a few more features, such as the door and another window. If I had more time I would of added more detail such as gargoyles as they are one of the most recognisable features on this kind of castle architecture. I would of made them on Mudbox and then transferred it to Maya, duplicating it across the building. If I could change anything then I would make the grass base and the sky background more realistic. I also might of slightly sculpted the spikes differently to look more cone like.  

                                        Previous Render

This is my previous render which I decided I wanted to change because the camera angle doesn't relate to my research. The camera angle shown in my research tends to be looking up to the building to exaggerate the size as a main feature and this render does pretty much the opposite. So I'll re render this in a different perspective.

The Process

This was my first bit of progress into my project outcome, I created the basic shape of the sculpture, including the light pole, spiked decoration and castling. From here onwards was to create the detail. 

This shows the rotating system for the light pole. I added two flat spheres to represent a crank handle at the base of the pole so that the light system could rotate - as a real lighthouse would.

This shows the top of the pole where I added a cone to represent where the light is being projected from, because if I just inserted a light, you wouldn't be able to physically see it as an object.

Here I added a sphere, made it yellow and intensified it's glow so that it would appear as a light. This screen shot also shows a render of this glow effect to show how it would appear in my final render.

Next I created an arched window, as the medieval style I was going for follows a theme of arched features. I then duplicated it to create the other.

I then put a bit more detail into the window frame, by extruding the faces and creating a Y shape. I chose this design as through my research I noticed it was a popular feature.  

I made this door in a similar way and added a door knob to the inside.

Then I added a plane for the base and extruded it as a soft selection creating smooth bumps to create a realistic surface.

This is the outcome after I textured everything. I created a brick texture for the castle and wood for the window/door frames as this is what they used for a lot of their architecture at the time. I also added an actual light into the light cone at the top of the pole. I textured the surface to appear as grass and added two upright planes to create a background and textured them to look like the sky. I found that where the two planes met, you could see where they met. So I flipped one of the planes to hide the joining seam.

I added an ambient light into the scene to create a general lighting.



This shows the render of my final outcome, I positioned it at an angle where you can see everything in an understanding perspective so that it looks more realistic. I then realised in my final render that there are no shadows which makes the lighting appear unrealistic. I then came to the thought that a directional light would work better as the direction of the light would create shadows making it look more realistic. Because I previously used an ambient light which creates a general lighting.

This is what the outcome render looked like with the directional light. I prefer this look so kept this light instead.



Concept 3

 

 

 

This is my third piece of concept art and is based on the stone - hand made texture. As that was a commonly used material for their architecture because it was easy to get and use. I included the spikes as these were often seen in Medieval architecture.

 

Concept 2

This is my second piece of concept art, which is more revolved around the Romanesque/French style. It has a timber framing as that's the main feature of this style and also involves a structure at the top, beneath the light. The colour scheme is brown and a yellowish-neutral colour. The brown as it's a natural wood colour and the neutral shade because that's the colour they used with this style of architecture. It's a fairly simple design as in that period of time they didn't have complex designs because it was within their capability.

 

Concept 1

 



This is my first piece of concept art. It demonstrates how the front and side view would appear, they're pretty similar but the side doesn't have a window. I've included in my design some of my favourite features from the medieval architecture style; such as castling on the top of the building, spikes, stone texture and arched windows. I designed it so it would fit in the theme of a castle as that's what most of the buildings during that period looked like. I also coloured it with simple grey and brown colours as during the medieval period, the colour scheme consisted of similar dull colours.

 

Features

  

These are key Medieval features that I am considering including in my final design.

I took these pictures of Bristol University and Cathedral for primary research as they are great examples of Gothic and Romanesque buildings. They include the key features of Medieval architecture: tall/slender buildings, spikes, arches, gargoyles, the colour scheme and detail.