Game Sketch

Game: Set in 2290. An army of various different robots have invaded the Earth and taken your friends hostage (Including your defective robot, Spanner). The robots were created by someone called Datlof and your job is to stop him from creating anymore of these robots in order to stop him from claiming the world! Datlof created these because he wants everyone to feel what he felt when he was a child, as all of his family were killed by defective butler droids. You are a well known enforcer called Taris who has dealt with robots in the past, but nothing like this. You loved to travel to in-humane places, but none like this.

The aim of the game is to press the button to release a key, you then have to wait for a certain amount of time before the key reaches the ground. The key will unlock cells to help your friends except for in the final level. In the final level the key opens a room up where a button is, this button freezes the enemies for 20 seconds. If you die three times, you have to start the level again. If you lose all your lives three times you have to start the whole game again. The crate contains a weapon called the Exterminator which Taris can use to attack enemies. The Exterminator doesn't work on Datlof.

First Level: You have to wait until the key drops to the ground, you have three lives. You have to survive until the key drops.

Final Level: You have to step on the button when the green light is on above it, this will fire a rocket at Datlof. Don't let the robots kill you whilst you attack Datlof. Your friends will try and distract the non-boss enemies.

Characters:

Taris

Taris is main character.

Oswin

Oswin can shoot lasers.

C-BOT

C-BOT does nothing. He floats around telling you what to do.

F.3-9

F.3-9 has a sword for a tail and a laser on its back.

Stareks

Stareks are one of the enemies. They say 'annihilate' when they kill you.

Cyberoids

Cyberoids are one of the enemies. They say 'destroy' when they kill you.

Zoods

Zoods are one of the enemies. They make a hiss sound when they kill you.

BOSS: DATLOF

Datlof is a huge droid who takes a long time to destroy. (Datlof Mark I)

Pixels and Digital Graphics

Summer Bates

Games Design L3

Pixels

A pixel is not a small square!

Pixel Dimensions: Pixel dimensions tell us how many pixels are in our image from left to right and from top to bottom. It is shown by the width and height. It also tells us the file size. A smaller amount of pixels on an image tends to have lower quality.

Picture/Image Resolution: Depending on how many pixels there are, the resolution can be high or low. If an image has high resolution it has better quality than a low resolution image. Digital zoom is one of the main reasons an image has a low resolution, by zooming into an image digitally it enlarges the image but it lowers the quality. Overall, the resolution is just the quality of the image, how clear is the image?

See how digital zoom can affect your image resolution:

Optical Zoom vs Digital Zoom:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCcCuusKHyM

Picture/Image: A picture is an individual piece of art or a photo that has been directly taken. An image is more to do with the optical process, or where you obtain an image online and edit it.

Intensity (Pixel Values): The pixel value describes how bright a pixel is and what color it should be. Red, blue and green components must be specified for each pixel. The higher the intensity the better the picture resolution.

Types of Digital Graphics

Raster Images (bmp, gif, tiff, jpeg): When you zoom into a raster image, the pixels are clearly visible and the quality is low. The image becomes more pixelated and blurry.

< This is an example of a zoomed in Raster Image.

Vector Images (psd, wmf, fla, ai): Vector images are the opposite of Raster images, when you zoom into a vector image the quality of the image stays the same. The image is still clear and has a high resolution. Vector images look smoother when zoomed in. You can't see individual pixels.

File extensions: File extensions tend to be the file type that is seen at the end of a file name eg: .png, .jpeg, .gif etc.

Compression: Compression is when you use approximations to reduce file size. You will have more file space after compression.

Image Capture: You can capture an image by using a scanner, digital camera or a phone. This is then put into the computer and it is often relevant when compressing images.

Optimising: Optimising is rearranging data to improve the quality or the efficiency.

Storage of an Image Asset: It is used for organising files and storing things like textures or graphics. 

Pre-Production Of Video Games | FINANCE

THESE ARE SOME GAMES THAT WERE MADE USING INDIE FUND!


FINANCE - Need help funding your game?
Games cost a lot to develop, but it will be all worth it once it is finished!

Self Funding
Self funding tends to be one of the hardest things to do, especially if you don't get paid a lot of money, but if you want to take a risk, then go ahead! Developers who are just starting off, tend to create Indie games first just to see how sales do, and if those games do great then maybe a much bigger game will too! But you have to be willing to take the 50% chance that it won't do well. Well developing a game, try not to spend money on worthless things, if you HAVE to have something in your game and it costs money, consider whether or not you actually need it. You will also need enough money to be able to publish your game to Steam Greenlight or to a console (if it is an Indie game).

Indie Funding
Creating Indie games is a lot cheaper than creating other types of games, sometimes it costs little to nothing! However, this will take a VERY long time to create. People who develop Indie games tend to do it in their spare times, so they still have a day job in order to pay for a any minor things they need. However, their is a program called the 'Indie Fund'. All you have to do is pitch your idea to Indie Fund and then they decide whether or not they will help you with the finance issues, this is great help for those individual game developers out there! You can also start a petition on a well-known website called 'Kickstarter'. Kickstarter is a crowd funding system, this is where you pitch your idea to the public and then some people who like your idea will donate some money in order to help you produce it. A lot of people use Kickstarter, so there is a high chance that lots of people will see your pitch and decide whether or not they should donate to you. Crowdfunder and IndioGoGo are some other indie funding sites you can use!

KICKSTARTER: https://www.kickstarter.com/
INDIE FUND: http://indie-fund.com/apply/

Who knows, maybe you'll make a popular Indie game!

Publisher Funding
Publisher funding is one of the most efficient ways to gain money for big games, but it is a lot harder to be funded by an official publisher. Publishers won't fund independent developers, you need to have a good team of people, good presentation and a COMPLETE idea of what your game is going to be about. You also need to give the publisher a playable demo for them to test so they can see what game you are trying to create. You will only have a VERY small of being accepted by a publisher, as they don't want to take a chance of funding in-experienced developers.
If you are thinking about using 'Publisher Funding' then you will need to have a pitch, check out these links in order to find out how to write a good and informative pitch!

http://www.obscure.co.uk/articles-2/preparing-a-product-pitch/
http://www.obscure.co.uk/articles-2/the-video-game-acquisitions-process/

Computer Game Art Styles

Summer Bates                                                                                                                         Josh Rai

Games Design Level 3

Unit 78 - Digital Graphics for Computer Games 

There are a number of different artistic styles when relating to video games, here are some examples of these styles which include, Photorealism, Cel-shaded, Abstract and Exaggerated.

Photorealism is an art style which tries to make objects, characters and the environment to look as real as possible, it is mainly used in first person shooters. Cel-shaded is an art style where the characters and environment look hand-drawn and they have a ‘comic book’ feel to them. Abstract is an art style which uses geometric shapes and is nowhere near realistic, these games contain nothing that would relate to the human world. Exaggerated art styles are ‘over the top’ art styles, this is where the creators have dramatically exaggerated human features, physical or mental. These games tend to have an exaggerated environment too, it is done to give games an original feel and it can also add a huge fun factor to it. 

ART STYLE

Photorealism – Life like

Last of Us – Action, survival

Last of us is a popular ‘photo-realistic’ game. The developers have purposefully created life-like characters, I believe they have done this in order to make the players build a connection with the characters and have a more emotional time whilst playing the game. They have also done this so that players can relate to them, and to make us feel like we are actually apart of the game. People are more likely to buy photorealistic games as they look more appealing to modern day gamers.

Cel-shaded – Comic book style

Borderlands Franchise

The first Borderlands game was made in 2009 created by Gearbox Studios, and then a company called Telltale games decided to carry with the Borderlands franchise in 2014 and they produced Tales from the borderlands. The Cel-shaded style is a ‘comic book’ styled game.

Abstract – Geometric shapes

 Geometry Wars 

Abstract has been used here to appeal to a wide audience, it creates an original feel for the game. This is also something that can easily catch someone’s eye.

Exaggeration – Exaggerate human/environmental features

 Saints Row

Exaggeration is where the characters are exaggerated eg. Big eyes and inhumane strength. For example, Saints Row involves super powers and this is exaggerated. The environment is also exaggerated because of the 'Glitch' effect that is used.

COMPUTER GAME GRAPHICS

Pixel Art: Pixel art is 2D sprites and 3D isometric sprites. 3D isometric sprites are 2D images that you can see from different angles. Examples of pixel art games are Chrono Trigger and Pokemon (3D Isometric).

Concept Art: Different objects in the game like, weapons, vehicles and the characters. (Art style) Idea of characters/objects (drawings). The way the characters are designed will show off their personality as well, this will present a clear image to the play as to what these characters are truly like.

Texture Art: What is the art style of these objects? (Plastic, wooden, etc.) (Visual: physical properties) A dark texture would create a dull atmosphere, which could present a frightening scene.

Background graphics: Walls, Forests and Clouds. A game that presents its background graphics well is Until Dawn, with the forest and weather. Negative and positive atmospheres can be presented by the way the background is designed.

 

In-game interface: Head up display, health and ammo on screen.                                                        

A game that uses a head up display is The Sims.

 

Print Media: Game packaging, box cover, manual, label and posters (promotional).

Does the cover appeal to the audience, will it be noticeable?

Does the poster look interesting and does it make you want to buy it?

My Favourite And Not So Favourite Games

   Borderlands franchise

Are you the villain or are you the hero? This is a frequent question that I asked throughout the long trek of this game. Working for the biggest villain or ‘hero’ as he refers to himself as, you come across many exotic locations including Concordia, the biggest city on the planet of Elpis containing the one and only ‘Meriff’, a mixture between the Sheriff and the Mayor. It’s stupid. I know. Or perhaps take a journey to Pandora and explore the lands of Sanctuary, or just team up with the bosses up on the feared Hyperion. Your main mission in each of these games is to find a legendary and sacred place called the Vault, containing all the riches you could dream of, but obviously, it is guarded by a protector, a creature who wants to protect whatever the vault has in store. But this doesn’t stop the one and only Handsome Jack, the main villain OR the main hero, you can decide once you’ve seen how he acts, personally I believe that he is the hero of the story. This game is and probably will be for a very long time, my favourite game. A huge positive for this game is that it all of the games link together easily and you can have a clear understanding of what is going on. It’s packed with action AND comedy, what more could you want? What’s better than attacking people with spoons? Nothing. That’s what. You get attached to the characters very easily from their original personalities and the way they look, from small funny robots who love to dance to big diamond ponies called ButtStallion who poop out guns, nothing could beat this fantastic game. The style of this game is ‘cel-shaded’, this means that is has a comic book style to it, and it all looks hand drawn, this is my favourite kind of game style as it presents originality and it tends to provide an interesting adventure. It’s really difficult for me to find any fault with this game, I think it’s impossible. Borderlands is also great for friends and family, team up together in the world of Borderlands to conquer all the burdens out there, play as a Gladiator or play as the dorky Hyperion worker or even a robot whom everyone has come to love (and hate). The one and only, ClapTrap. And even though this game wasn’t designed to make you cry your eyes out, believe me, it made me. But perhaps you all aren’t as weak as me when it comes to video games.
My favorite character in this game is someone called Handsome Jack, he is the main "villain" of the story who works in a company called Hyperion. His main goal is to find the vault and collect all of its riches. And lets not forget that he has a diamond pony called ButtStallion... And he hates pretzels...

Last of Us 
                                          

 

From playing Last of Us I can say that it is my favorite photo-realistic game out there. Even if it made my emotions pour out within the first twenty minutes of the game. Photo-realistic games are games which have been made to have that realistic look, as if it were a movie or photo that has been taken. From looking at the differences between the PS3 version and the PS4 version there aren’t a lot of differences but you can see that the hair is more defined and the picture looks a bit clearer, but overall, it doesn’t matter what console you play this on as you will have the same experience either way. This game is perfect for you if you enjoy heavily driven story games and an adventure, there are only a few cut scenes so you will be able to actually have a lot of gameplay. If you are ‘normal’ gamer then it will take you around 12 – 15 hours to complete, but if you feel like playing on hard-core mode it tends to take people around 20 – 25 hours to finish, I’ve been playing on the hardest difficulty for a few days now and I STILL haven’t completed it. You all know the story, a man and a girl make their way through the apocalypse that has been cast down on them, where zombie-like creatures called runners, clickers and stalkers are trying to take over the human race. The main objective is to take the girl to a group called the Fireflies, who are potentially trying to find a cure to the disease which keeps on spreading, and they believe that this girl, Ellie, is the answer. The character development is one of the main points of the game, each character has a very specific personality. The main protagonist is Joel, a man who has suffered losses throughout the infection that has spread throughout the country, and let’s be honest, he doesn’t really take loss too well. You also end up playing a young 14 year old girl called Ellie, who is known as ‘the cure for man-kind’, which Joel doesn’t think is true. Ellie can be calm but also sinister at times, I mean, who wouldn’t be after growing up in a world like this? Ellie is actually one of my favorite video game characters of all time, she is a very original character who has been through so many negative times in her life, and I feel like she could be relatable for some people who play this game. I also like the way she acts and how she talks to the other characters in the game. The developers of this game clearly took a long time when it came to thinking of the character's personality, and I am glad that they took their time when they were in the production of this game.
A big positive that this game has received is that IGN gave it a 10/10, what more do you need in order to persuade you to play this game?!

Her Story

This game is perfect for those who don’t like FPS games or any kind of survival game, but it isn’t perfect for those who do. The aim of the game is to watch a series of clips and figure out what the story is about, personally I think that it is a very boring process from watching short clips to extremely long clips, especially when there is over 200 of them. This game isn’t a game at all, it is a movie where you every so often click on something just to move the story a long, if I wanted to do something like this I would’ve paid to go and see it in the cinema. There isn't much I can say about this game, I just wouldn't waste my money on it! I will probably watch it on YouTube in the future.

Infamous Second Son

Infamous Second Son is one of my favorite PS4 exclusives out there! You play as a character called Delsin Rowe who is a regular guy who spray paints the town, who then soon becomes somebody called a Conduit. A Conduit is someone who possesses a certain supernatural power, some have Neon Power, some have Smoke Power, some have Video Power and some have Concrete Power. Delsin is, metaphorically, a sponge so by the end of the game you will have absorbed all of these powers. The style of this game is photorealistic, it can also be seen as exaggerated as well because of the way the characters move. The other main character is called Abigail Walker, but she prefers to be called Fetch. She possesses the power of Neon so she can travel at light speed. The style of photorealism and Cel-shaded are my favorite, I love how it has an impact on the game itself and how it creates a certain atmosphere.
Even though IGN only gave this game 8.7 out of 10, I hope that this review can persuade you to buy this game. Honestly, I bought my own PlayStation just for this game! (Including Last of Us Remastered)


Until Dawn

I am in love with this game, the way it is designed is perfect and the way each character is portrayed is amazing. My favorite aspect of this game has to be the photorealistic features of the characters and the environment, there is a perfect character for everyone

Pre-Production Of Game Development

Summer Bates

Games Design L3

Pre-production. What do I need before I start to produce a game?!

Hardware

Computers

Windows computer – used to develop games (Most common). Linux and Macs are also used. You need a PC or Dev kit to be able to test these developed games to search for any problems it may have.

A Mac costs roughly around £899, A good Windows PC would cost around £500, A Linux would also cost around £500. These prices vary A LOT!

Peripherals

If you are wanting to produce a game for IOS, then you are going to need every IOS product in order to be able to test it on each device to make sure there are no bugs and no crashes. You may also need to purchase certain gaming controllers if you want to test them on a Dev Kit.

Dev Kits

A Dev kit is a system that allows you to test your game to see if there are any bugs or to see if it crashes at certain points of the game, these NEED to be used before it gets published on the official store.

Dev kits for Xbox tend to be free but you have to go through a long process in order to obtain one. PSN charge around $2,500 for a Dev                                                        kit, but they also give away free Dev kits to certain developers.

< XBOX ONE DEV KIT: This allows you to test your games that you develop!

Software - Game Development

UDK – Unreal Development Kit (Unreal Engine). 

Games like Bioshock were created using UDK!

Windows 7 64-bit or Mac OS X 10.9.2 or later Quad-core Intel or AMD processor, 2.5 GHz or faster NVIDIA GeForce 470 GTX or AMD Radeon 6870 HD series card or higher 8 GB RAM

UDK IS A FREE SOFTWARE!

Unity. Popular games like Angry Birds and Kerbal Space Programme were created using Unity!

For development: Windows XP SP2+, 7 SP1+, 8, 10; Mac OS X 10.8+. Graphics card with DX9 (shader model 2.0) capabilities. Anything made since 2004 should work.

For playing Unity games: OS: Windows XP+, Mac OS X 10.7+, Ubuntu 12.04+, SteamOS+. Graphics card: DX9 (shader model 2.0) capabilities; generally everything made since 2004 should work.

UNITY IS A FREE SOFTWARE!

Game Maker. This is used by people who are NEW to game developing, some games that were created via this software have been available on Steam! Costs $155.

Windows XP or above, 512MB RAM, 128MB graphics, Screen resolution of 1024×60, Internet connection for some features.

Maya. This is used to create characters and other 3D objects that you would find in the world that you are creating!

64-bit Intel® or AMD® multi-core processor, Graphics Hardware - RAM: 4 GB of RAM (8GB recommended), Disk Space: 4GB of free disk space for install, Pointing Device: Three-button mouse, Microsoft® Windows® 7 (SP1), Windows® 8 and Windows® 8.1 Professional operating system, Apple® Mac OS® X 10.8.5 and 10.9.x operating system, Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® 6.2 WS operating system, Fedora™ 14 Linux operating system, CentOS 6.2 Linux operating system.

MAYA COSTS £97 PER MONTH!

Publishing - Every game developer wants their work out there! They all want to make money! But you have to spend some to earn some.

Steam Greenlight

In order to publish a game to Steam (Greenlight) you have to pay a fee of $100 (£70). 

http://store.steampowered.com/app/219820 <- Pay the fee to publish!

ID@Xbox

An indie game costs around $5000 to publish to Xbox One, and in order to publish a bigger game you will need to contact Microsoft and write a game proposal and if they agree with it they will consider putting it on the store for a reasonable fee.

PSN

To publish to PSN you need to contact them directly, you have to have a company as they do not accept games that have been made by one individual. After you have contacted them about your game, they then decide whether or not it should be put on the PlayStation console or the PlayStation Vita. You have to pay a fee that they set. Sometimes, if they like the game, they will help out with the marketing costs and put a post on their Twitter/Facebook page in order to advertise your game.

Gaming In Our Society

Summer Bates

Games Design L3

Games in Society

Excessive Gaming – http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/21/opinion/gaming-addiction-risks/

Excessive gaming can affect behavior and affect the way people act. It can also cause health problems. Excessive gaming can also be the cause of social isolation. “Man breaks record for longest gaming sessions, clocks 135 hours”, this is one of the stories that involves excessive gaming. http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-11/19/videogame-marathon . You can play for hours upon end, just do it wisely and carefully and NOT all of the time.
One of the most played games of 2015 is League of Legends, and we all know that people will be playing this for hours and hours without a break. 

Social Isolation

Some people who play games can become socially isolated, this is where people block themselves off from the real world and they tend to lose their social skills. Social isolation is just a lack of contact with anyone, this could make young people forget out to interact with others.

Cost - http://www.ranker.com/list/8-people-who-spent-an-exorbitant-amount-on-video-games/benjamin-dunn?var=2&utm_expid=16418821-142.-TnVog0iRH60mJdQFvMOxQ.1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2F

“Heart-Broken Man Sells Engagement Ring and Buys Master Chief Armour”

The cost can be high when it comes to gaming as you may need to buy a console for the game (new consoles tend to be around £300) and then you will need to buy a game itself to play on that console (and new games tend to range from £40 - £80). Most of these games will require a paid membership to be able to play the game, for example, if you were to buy an online membership for PlayStation Plus it can go up to £50 a year if you were to pay monthly. Some games also require you to buy a certain object to allow you to progress through the game, people have spent thousands on these objects, like this man who: “Spends $16,000 for Virtual Sword”. (Can be viewed in the link above). Don’t waste all of your money on digital items on a game that you may stop playing one day. This virtual sword was purchased in a game called Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, it is a well-known game and people spend their money on this almost everyday. 

Benefits

However, there are some benefits when it comes to gaming. It is known to improve hand-eye coordination and it can involve brain training, it has also brought families together and it has allowed online gamers to make friends http://gamessavedmylife.tumblr.com/
Most parents don’t believe that gaming can help their children, but sometimes it can, it can improve their strategic skills and their thinking skills which could be helpful for when they are in school. Another benefit is that it can provide team work skills in some games like Call of Duty or Rocket League (One of my favorite games!), and this may also help you with team working in real life. Some strategy games, like Civilization V or Plants vs Zombies, and this will improve your skills and this could potentially help you in real life.

Separation from reality
This can also relate to social isolation, as you are blocking yourself off from the real world, meaning that you aren't meeting anyone new and you are losing your social skills.

Psychological Factors

Sound

Sound within games can make people react in different ways, like in Horror games, sound is one of the key methods that developers use to make you feel frightened or worried. The music in particular can make you feel scared even if nothing is happening at the time. Other games use music to build up tension or to make you feel relaxed and calm, the sound that is used in games is one of the main features.          
 Games like Outlast and Five Nights at Freddy's use sound very effectively to create the atmosphere.

High Score Listings

Everyone wants to be on the top of the leader board when it comes to online games, it makes you feel proud, but this can cause excessive gaming too. After playing for hours upon end, you make it to the top of the board, but of course someone will beat it. This will cause even more excessive gaming as you feel like you HAVE to keep your crown, so you play for hours and hours until your score is better than everyone else’s. But someone will beat it again one day, and this will cause you to waste more of your time trying to get back to the top. And this brings us back to social isolation.

Competitive Games

Some people who play games like Call of Duty, say that it isn’t competitive. Well, it is. Some gamers who play these competitive games can become angry and enraged, and this has led to people losing friends or family.

Peer Pressure

Some people get peer pressured into buying/playing a game. If your friend has a game that you don’t have, maybe even one you’ve never even heard of, they might say something like, “Hey go and buy this game, it’s only £30, we can play online together, I promise it’s great.” Some people actually give in to this peer pressure and then actually go and buy this certain game, sometimes they don’t even like the game so they instantly regret paying that mass amount of money for it, they have wasted their money on a game that they will probably only play once or twice. You may also be peer pressured by people at school, you may hear everyone talking about a game that you haven’t got and this may force you to go and buy it so you are a part of the crowd, this also leads to a loss of money.

Fun

Games bring entertainment to people, maybe because they like a challenge or they like the way the game is presented, it’s obvious that people enjoy games. Action-adventure games tend to be the most played genre, it is also one of my favorite game genres because I think it is ‘fun’.
We all play video games for different reasons, maybe we are just bored and have nothing to do, maybe we want to do something that will pass the time, or maybe we just want to do something entertaining with our friends. Overall. It. Is. Fun. No matter what  all of those non-gamers say, we are still going to play games until the day that we die because we are entertained by them. We may also play these games because we LIKE to be scared, it gives us a thrill and afterwards we just laugh about it.

Educational value
Games are sometimes used for educational purposes. One of the classic educational games was 'Brain Training' which was on the DS, this provides children with basic Maths and English skills! See, games can be 'boring' too! (They are perfect for young people who want to learn something new!)
But it's not just Maths and English that we learn from these types of games, they can even help us with social skills and concentration skills which would DEFINITELY be useful when at work or in school.

Leveling

Most gamers will know what leveling is, you have to level up to progress through the game. This only occurs in games like Borderlands World of Warcraft, leveling up allows us to obtain more gear and more in-game abilities, or we just level up to progress through a story. For example, there may be an area in a game where you have to be Level 50 to be able to progress through it, but you may only be Level 40 so you have to keep on working up to the required level in order to be able to progress.