The Managing Director of MVPOnline.com.au and MVPKicks Pro-Shops contacted and commissioned my services to create a unique gaming experience for the award winning ‘NBA 2K14’. In a total of 26 and a half hours of working time spanning 28th June to 12th July, 2015, I modified in-game textures and created a roster for plans of an NBA 2K Tournament hosted by MVPOnline.
EPNProductions proudly presents my work to the public, following guidelines from my Information and Technology (IST) assignment, featuring: videos, screenshots, an interview with the Managing Director, and information on the task completed. Enjoy.
Programs Used: NBA 2K 3DM Mod Tool, NBA 2KX Mod Tool, Photoshop CC 2014, Gimp 2.0, RED Modding Centre;
Filmed and took screenshots with Fraps, Researched problems that came up from : HERE
Filmed and took screenshots with Fraps, Researched problems that came up from : HERE
What is the Project?
The task I received from Jim Tsangarliotis, the Managing Director of MVPOnline.com.au and MVPKicks, was a great challenge. He commissioned EPNProductions to design and create custom textures for the idea of an NBA 2K Tournament. These textures, and soon added Roster, had to include the MVPKicks and/or MVPOnline Logo, had to be unique, and had to all have different colours so there would not be any clashing on court.
The custom made assets include:
•An MVPOnline Logo on Replays
•MVP Sponsors on Electronic Boards and Throughout the Stadium
Seen in
•2 MVPOnline Courts, One for Each Stadium the Business is Located at:
•Bankstown Bruins (1)
•Hills Hornets
•MVP Logos Replacing “NBA 2K14 Logos”
•MVPKicks and MVPOnline Team Logos
•A Tribute to Me in the Credits (2), and on Bootup
•MVP Logos on the 'Player of the Game Scene'
•An MVPKicks and MVPOnline Uniform (Jersey, Shorts, Text, Warm-Ups
•An MVPOnline Stadium
•Downloaded Player Textures to Improve Visual Quality
•A Custom Roster with Custom Attributes to make the Teams Full of Superstars, All at the Same Level
Why is the Project Important?
The idea of an NBA 2K Tournament is important to Jim as it will help his store boost in popularity and have more people involved with his business. This is evident as Jim said, “I think the textures of the Garments and Sponsorships that you've put around the actual playing surface in the game I think is fantastic; and it basically is sending a message for people that there is MVPOnline… and there is MVPKicks.” The idea is important to me as: I am able to showcase my editing and graphic design skills to not only an important and well known business man but an entire basketball stadium full of people, It allows others to be happy and play an amazing game, lastly allows others to help me critique my designs and views on art.
Texture Creation Process
The process of creation and design of the textures for the project began with a long meeting with Jim, which included topics:
•What will the Tournament be like?
•What do I need to do?
•How long do I have?
And various other related topics. The basic concepts were sketched onto a quick document, which I took home and began brainstorming.
MVP Bankstown Court
I designed the court with Jim in the meeting, and changed the layout slightly by the end. The court, same with all the rest of the textures, were edited using Photoshop. I downloaded a template in 2014 for a large resolution court texture, and used this for the project. The file has an alpha layer, which acts as a mask, specifying where the court is using a wooden texture and when it is using the layout I designed. This is seen in the below picture: The semi-transparent red layer is the alpha.
The layout and creation of the court required my knowledge of professional basketball court layouts and creative eye to know where to place all the logos, and ultimately turned out great. The first version of the court had an MVPOnline logo in the mid court circle, which was turned down. Jim wanted it changed to the Bankstown Bruins Basketball Logo as “…it enables the local kids to relate to it, it’s something tangible to see.” The court was then updated with this logo, and got my name personalised onto the court. The court has been presented to the public once, and the feedback was quite positive. Even running the game at minimal graphics, the court looked great and was set out well enough so everyone could see all of the assets and logos.
MVPKicks and MVPOnline Uniforms
The custom uniforms for team MVPKicks and MVPOnline, the main centrepiece that everyone sees when playing the game, were a fun challenge. They were again designed with Jim at the meeting, and had various tweaks to make them look the way they do right now. The colours are great, as they do not clash, which are Black and Orange, and White and Blue.
The uniforms use the same Jersey design, a strip of alternate colour down the side, and have similar placing of the main logo on the chest. This is because they use the same base file for lettering and numbering because it is easier for me. The jerseys were well received in the first test shown to the public, with positive feedback from everyone.
All Textures Importing Process
Finally, importing and exporting the files in and out of the game was done using two programs: (both achieve the same thing) the NBA2KX Mod Tool and the 3DM Mod Tool. The programs would export the textures in one of three formats: Bitmap (.bmp), Portable Network Graphics (.png), or the NVIDIA Texture format (.dds). The textures were mainly the .dds format; which has a few different file extensions, including DXT1 and DXT5. The extensions determine if the file uses mipmaps, a sequence of pre-imported images, each of which is a progressively lower resolution representation of the same image, and/or if the file uses an alpha channel or not.
\These programs decompress the files packed by 2K, allow them to be editable and inform me which extension the .dds is (DXT5, DXT1 etc). These programs would then export the file as .iff, the format the game reads textures as. I overwrote the original 2K files with my edited ones and then opened the game. The game reads my edited files and uses them in game. This is the process of making and importing custom textures.
Videos
Interview with Managing Director of MVPOnline.com.au and MVPKicks
In-Game Footage from the First Game
Texture Creation: Stadium Creation
Time Lapse
Promotional Poster Creation
Time Lapse
Screenshots
