I'm a 3D artist, and I worked on this project in my spare time, using it as an opportunity to study and become more familiar with Unreal Engine 5. I handled everything from modeling to texturing and shading, with the exception of the FX effects and the original sprites. Many aspects didn't turn out exactly as I wanted due to my technical limitations in Unreal. However, my goal is to expand my skills, continuously learn, and, of course, have fun while doing it .
This project is a homage to one of my favorite games. I adore Yasunori Mitsuda's music and am also a fan of Tetsuya Takahashi's games. Back in the 2000s, I remember completing the game in Japanese when I was a teenager; at that time, I didn't know any Japanese, and my understanding of English was still limited. I recall being stuck many times, and my strategy was to talk to everyone until something happened. Back then, I didn't have internet access to research. But upon completing it, I knew I had experienced something incredible. The same was true for FFVII, which I also finished in Japanese around the same period.
I started with the terrain. I created a tool with Houdini to make it possible to sculpt the base terrain in Maya/ZBrush and then import it to apply erosion. Using Houdini layers, I could apply materials afterward. I modeled the props using Maya and used Houdini for optimization and UVs. I used ZBrush for the terrain and also to create foliage. In Unreal, I used some procedural materials. The PCG was very cool; I could scatter grass, crops, and create stone and wooden fences. It wasn't an easy task to get the sprites working;
