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  • 27/09/2016 – Visual Styles and GamePlay

    Here I developed my game idea further, noting Visual Styles and GamePlay:

    Visual Styles:

    • World – medieval/modern world
    • Characters – princess, prince, robot, horse
    • Non-playing characters – robot, prince
    • Perspectives – 2D, side scrolling, third person
    • FMV – Events/cutscenes that occur thoughout the game

     

    Game Play:

    • Interaction Model – Avatar, Single Player
    • Game setting – In the world, castle, grass, wherever in the world the level is set
    • Goals – Save the prince
    • Challenges – collect coins (possible currency)
    • Rewards – Achievements
    • Player Actions – Jump, attack, move side to side
    • Rules – Complete each level to progress to the end
    • Difficulty – Starts easy slowly increases in difficulty
    • Addiction – leaderboards?, challenges and rewards

  • 27/09/2016 – Story Theory

    Tzvetan Todorov argued that a narrative moves through a process of transformation in progressing towards its conclusion. This was known as the “5 stage theory”. He identified that every story has a start, middle and end, so devised a theory consisting of 5 stages: Equilibrium, Disruption, Recognition of disruption, Attempt to repair disruption and Reinstatement of the equilibrium.

    Vladimir Propp is most famous for writing “The Morphology of the Folk Tale”. Using character types and “spheres of action”, Propp claimed it was possible to group most, if not all, characters. These “spheres of action” contained 31 functions that would help to progress the story. He discovered there were 7 character types:

    • The Hero (traditionally a male protagonist)
    • The villain (cause of disruption)
    • Dispatcher (sends the hero on a journey)
    • Donor (offers advice / gift with magical properties)
    • The Helper
    • Princess/Heroine (vulnerable, usually needs rescuing by the hero)
    • False hero / false villain (a character who seems to be on a certain side – either hero or villain – who ends up deceiving/turning against them)

    There are 4 spheres action: The Introduction, The Body of the Story (hero onto their main quest), The donor sequence (searches for a solution, often gaining a magical agent from the donor – this may complete the story, and the 4th sphere may not be needed), The Hero’s return (this phase is often optional).  Within these spheres are what are known as “31 Narretemes”. A game company that tends to follow Propp’s theories very closely are Nintendo. A good game that depicts this from Nintendo’s collection is “Super Mario Bros”:

    Initial Situation:

    • Abesntation: Peach goes missing
    • Interdiction: Mario is warned

    Violation of interdiction

    • Reconnaissance: Bowser seeks Peach
    • Delivery: Bowser finds Peach’s whereabouts
    • Trickery: Bowser attempts to deceive Peach
    • Complicity: Bowser runs off with Peach
    • Villainy and Lack: Mario realises Peach is missing
    • Mediation: Mario realises Bowser has taken Peach
    • Counteraction: Mario runs after Bowser to save peach
    • Departure: Mario leaves on mission
    • Testing: Mario is faced with levels he needs to complete to get to Bowser’s castle
    • Reaction: Mario responds to the test, completing the levels
    • Acquisition: Mario gains powerups as he progresses through each level
    • Guidance: Mario reaches the castle (final level)
    • Struggle: Mario and Bowser fight (Final boss fight)
    • Branding: Mario is banded as hero
    • Victory: Bowser is defeated
    • Resolution: Peach is back, resolving the initial lack/misfortune

  • 22/09/2016 – EGX Birmingham 2016

    Today years one and two travelled to EGX – The UK’s biggest ever game event at the NEC, Birmingham. There were lots of different games being exhibited at the event, both old and new, both variants being equally interesting. The sheer quantity of them is depicted on the map below.

     

     

    The Rezzed Zone

    The Rezzed Zone was the part of the show floor that showcased upcoming indie games, and was a great opportunity to converse with the developers. A game that particularly registered interest was a game called “Forts”. Forts is “a physics-based action RTS, [that] challenges players to construct custom bases and destroy their opponents’.”

     

    Above: Trying out the upcoming indie game “Forts” by EarthWork Games.

    Zone 1

    Zone 1 included big companies such as Playstation, Twitch, Bethesda, PC Specialist, Square Enix and Amazon. The three plots the registered my interest here were Bethesda, Playstaion and PC Specialist.

    Above: The Virign Media Lounge

    Bethesda had brought their new game, The Elder Scrolls: Legends, to showcase. The Elder Scrolls: Legends is “a strategy card game that explores the series’ characters, creatures, deities, and lore.” This is very similar to Blizzard Entertainment’s Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, but instead of using characters from Warcraft opt to use those from The Elder Scrolls Series’. In my opinion, from what I have played, I prefer Bethesda’s take on a stategy card game, and view it as superior in both gameplay and storyline compared to Hearthstone.

     

    Above: The Elder Scrolls: Legends

    Playstation had a lot to showcase at this event. In my opinion they had one of the best if not most eyecatching plots at the event. The 2 main things that caught my eye were the new Playstation VR headset and Gran Turismo Sport, two things which were shown to work well with one another. I am excited to see what both have to offer uppon release.

     

    Above (Left to Right): Gran Turismo Sport and the Playstation VR

    PC Specialist was specifically to showcase the latest in Computer Gaming, from UltraWide Monitors to very high performance laptops. For me, this was very interesting to see the latest innovations in PC

     

    Above (Left to Right): UltraWide Monitor running Rise of the Tomb Raider, the Octane Gaming Laptop running No Man’s Sky and the InWin custom modded PC

    Zone 2

    This zone was full up with a variety ofthings, from merch and games to “YouTube celebrities” like TheSyndicateProject and The Yogscast. Personally, I found this the least interesting zone, so only had a quick “once over”. Here are some photos taken in this zone:

     

    Above (Left to Right): TheSyndicateProject and Gfinity   Below (Left to Right): Board Games and Merch

     

    Zone 3

    Zone 3 was very interesting. Although I did not visit everything there, the things I did go to were very fun and interesting. The only plot I am going to talk about is one I can safely say I spent the most time in; the retro game section. Here contained all of the classic consoles and games for you to try out, including the Nintendo GameCube and the Sega DreamCast. Here are some photos from the Retro Section:

     

     

    Over 18s

    The Over 18 Section contained big games like battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2, but I unfortunately could not get into this section as I am Under 18.

    Conclusion

    To conclude, I really enjoyed this trip and have picked up some useful ideas that could be implemented into my game. I have also found some very interesting indie games which I am now following, and am intrigued as to whether they will succeed or not.

  • 21/09/2016 – USP, Hook and PEGI Ratings

    Today we discussed USP (Unique Selling Points), Hooks and briefly looked over the PEGI Ratings.

    USP (Unique Selling Point)

    To start with, we discussed how having a Unique Selling point is important in making a game.  A good example of this are Zombie games. There are many zombie games, and a number of which are very memorable due to their USPs. For example, Dying Light is known for parkour, whereas dead rising is about customization and high kills. This is proof that you can make a popular game even in a crowded genre, as well as the importance of a USP.

    Hook

    Hooks are all about addiction. This literally means to keep the player hooked. This could include currency, XP, customization, ranks, story, expansions as well as visual and audio feedback. This can all be utilized through an external leaderboard so the player can compare themselves globally or compete with friends.

    The PEGI Rating system

    Today I was also shown how the PEGI rating system. Every game is recommended to go through this board before publishing their game. However, I highly disagree with some of the categories or how some things can be classified at certain ages. The fact that racial slurs are classified as “12” and foul language such as “f**k” and blasphemy are BARELY classified as “16” both confuse and disappoint me. However, the most disturbing of them all is the fact that “depictions of sexual violence or threats (including rape)” is classed as an “18”. I am amazed that this topic can pass as acceptable in games, and am shocked that PEGI allow this to be included within their rating system. In my opinion this topic should be banned as many other topics are, and I am thoroughly disappointed that this is not currently the case.

  • 20/09/2016 – Market Research Techniques

    This topic covers different research techniques and methods. These included:

    • Videogame Player Data – This looks at who plays games, what genres they play and statistics regarding this.
    • Videogame Player Awareness – Players interests, what genres they like to come back to and how your game would fit into the current market are covered here.
    • Videogame Profiling – This would include information about my intended market, who would play the games and how it should be advertised.
    • Consumer Behavior – This cover what would work in the genre of game I plan to make, what has worked and what hasn’t, as well as what the audience would like to see in games in this genre.
    • Competitor Analysis – Used to show your understanding of the product you have made or are going to make, what the audience want and what they enjoy most. This could be done through creating surveys to collect feedback which would help in the development of my game.
    • Product Research – This looks at how I can evaluate my product and ways I could get a wider response from people regarding my product.
    • Advertising Placement – This covers what people like the most, what adverts work (and don’t), where I should advertise my product and the best way to do so.
    • Advertising Effects – This is to decide what message I am trying to send, what to show in my advert and other aspects like whether there should be a teaser or reveal trailer.

    These 8 aspects will help me greatly with the development and advertising of my game. After looking at this I have found that the use of surveys will greatly aid the development and final result of my game.

  • 20/09/2016 – Game Engines and the history of them

    Today I discussed 5 core purposes about game engines:

    • Graphics rendering – text, display, lighting
    • Collision detection – main character not falling through floor etc. entering, leaving, touching
    • AI – game controlling itself, used to create illusion of intelligence in behaviour of NPCs
    • Sound – always needed (even if just ambience)
    • Physics – eg. Gravity, Friction (walking, climbing etc. linear and angular drag), Force/Torque, Momentum, Mass

    We discussed the advantages of using game engines over previous methods of building a game, where companies built an engine specifically for 1 game and then scrapped it after the game was released. An example of a ground breaking game engine was when ID Software licensed their DOOM engine, which completely changed how games were built, utilising the “Fake 3D” and helping to bridge the gap between 2D and 3D games.

    After discussing these points, I proceeded to look at how game engines progressed from when they were orgininally realeased, starting with game dev kits at the end of the 80s. An example of this was the Pinball Construction Set in 1983 which began to let the you toy around with different mechanics and begin to allow you to easily create your “unique” game. You only had a select number of things to use to build your pinball machine, but allowed people to start developing their own games.

    As we hit the 90s, we also hit the 3D revolution. A good example of a ground breaking engine was the Source Engine, which used true 3D, included modding, ragdoll and buoyancy physics. This began to progress in other engines and the graphics quality have been improving from one engine to the next since.

  • 20/09/2016 – Story Development and 2D Animation

    Today I learnt about different forms of storytelling, which included a wide range of methods:

    Cave paintings:

    Cave paintings are one of the earliest ways of communicating, and are the oldest from of recordable storytelling.

    Theories vary from them being used to communicate or just simply depicting the lives of the people from approx. 40,000 years ago.

     

    Myth:

    Myths explain the existence of natural occurrences, usually depicted through a supernatural being (eg. Lightning and Zeus) They are still popular even when the actual reason for these events taking place are known.

     

    Fable:

    A fable is a fictional story in which features something being anthropomorphised (given human qualities). These stories are also used to illustrate moral lessons. For example, The tortoise and the hare is a fable to show that you should take your time/ take care when doing things and you will be successful. These fables have originated from many cultures.

     

    Legend:

    Legends are stories that may have originally been true, or at least believed to be true, but turn out to be fictional. Examples of these include King Arthur, who is not proven to have existed at all, and robin hood who may have just been a desperate robber. These stories usually start small and are blown out of proportion or fantasised about, like Dick Turpin the Highwayman, who was portrayed as a romantic man, but was actually a cold blooded killer who robbed people.

     

    Theatre:

    Theatre uses live performers to portray an event in front of a live audience. They portray these stories using gestures, speech, music, dance or song.

     

    Film:

    A film is similar to theatre but is a series of images to used to produce the illusion of movement which are projected at the viewer. These are not live, and are produced using cameras, or animated.

     

    Television:

    Television is the most common way of viewing stories in the modern age. It is commonplace at home and work, and can be used to watch films and other entertainment purposes, as well as keeping up to date with news and weather.

  • 20/09/2016 – Trends and Statistics

    Today I have been looking at how products sell (eg. Consoles and Handhold Devices) and looking at statistics relating to them. Using vgchartz.com I have reserched information regarding how many consoles have been sold and where (in millions of units):

    Platform North America Europe Japan Rest of World Global
    PlayStation 4 (PS4) 15.71 17.41 3.07 7.19 43.38
    Xbox One (XOne) 13.69 5.97 0.07 2.52 22.25
    Wii U (WiiU) 6.03 3.24 3.24 0.85 13.36

    Source: vgchartz.com

    I also found out stats that surprised me, like the fact the the amount of female to male gamers were about equal.

  • 14/09/2016 – Visual Style and Gameplay

    Today I learnt about visual style and gameplay. We discussed many points within either categories and also used this link to help. An interesting aspect I found was the fact that the level of detail must be relatively equal between the main character, NPCs and enemies.

    Another good point was getting the balance when considering addiction. A good thing to incorporate into my game would be rewards that are given just regularly enough to keep the player hooked.

    Attached are my notes from the lesson outlining what was covered.

  • 13/09/2016 – First Day at Rizing Games

    Today was my first proper day at CRC. My first assignment was to brainstorm 3 ideas for a game I could make to show at the 2DGamesExpo at the beginning of next year. Attached is a pdf containing what ideas I have come up with.

    The Criteria included the following:

    -The game has to be 2D

    -The game should preferably be for Mobile

    -It will be coded using GameMaker “GML”

    -I must form 3 Ideas

    -Secondary Sources can be used

    The PDF File: 13-09-2016