2000's
Video Game Graphics and Computer Art

In early 2000, after a somewhat scary flight while on a business trip, I became interested in airplanes which led me to purchase Microsoft Flight Simulator. I learned that Microsoft had designed the Flight Simulator so that programmers and airplane enthusiasts could create and add their own aircraft to the game. I saw an opportunity to develop my own add-on package and thus started what has become known as Project OY-KGR. My project is centered on the Scandinavian Airline Service DC-9-41 airplane OY-KGR. It has evolved over the years from a simple flight simulator experience to something that is much more sophisticated and graphically intense. The project has included the assistance of many flight simulator developers and enthusiasts from around the globe.

There are two main components to my project: 2D cockpit and 3D cockpit with external airplane model. The 2D cockpit is composed of hundreds of computer generated renderings and image files that I had to create. These images range from the cockpit panel backgrounds to the tiny needles found in the flight instruments. Using XML programming code, I merge all of the image files in real-time so that when the game is running it gives the person playing the experience of sitting in a real DC-9 cockpit.

The 3D cockpit is much more complicated to design than the 2D version. Using 3D modeling and animation software, I had to construct the entire cockpit. The development process is time consuming and my only reference material are from photographs found on the Internet. Most of those photographs are of poor quality so careful analysis and planning is required when building certain features into the game environment. Below are screenshots of the 3D cockpit environment taken during recent game testing.