Unit 10 personal development

Unit 52 3D Animation

Develop a range of cinema 4d animation:

Rolling ball:

Here is a basic motion tween of a ball rolling down a ramp.
I had the ball start at frame 1 and then on frame 80 i moved the ball to the end of the ramp and rotated it by 720 to simulate the rolling effect. recording the position of the ball at frame 1 and frame 80. added the hazard texture to the ball to better see the ball in a rolling motion.

Waving test:

This was a simple test for animating of humanoid figures for i am thinking of having moving characters in my final animation. i used the cinema 4d preset for the humanoid figure just to quickly get a test set up, i decided to animate the arm to simulate waving by having it start in the air at frame 1 and rotating it on the last frame creating a motion tween this was the result.

Rolling ball jump:
this was a development of the first rolling all animation whereby i had the same ball rol across the surface like before but this time however had an obstacle (ramp) for it to jump over, since cinema 4d has no physics engine i had to alter the motion tween path to simulate the physics of the ball going up/down ramp.

Here i attached the camera and target camera to the circle which it would later on rotate around to pan around the scene.

in the spline path bar you can see my circle shape set inside telling the camera what path to follow

for he rotation i set the position at 0% on frame 1 and then set it to 100% on the last frame.

this is the zooming in aspect of my animation, the adjusted the foal length at both ends of the animation to create the zoom in transition.

this is a shot of aligning the target camera to the ball so that it knows what to follow during the timeline of the animation.

Research how 3d animations are used in the industry

Initially the world of animation began on paper being limited to two dimensions, these animations were restricted to hand drawn techniques (cel animation). however as the world of technology advanced new outlets for animation were being used with the rise of the digital age, where computer programs were used to handle and produce thee dimensional models which were then animated.
originally animation was seen as only t be a outlet for media and entertainment, films/adverts ect. but as animation became more advanced and popular various different aspects of the industry have found how they can benefit from animation in their work they are as follows:

Medical:
doctors/researchers hav begun using animation software to help visualise various topics in medical care such as. surgical operations showing a process of the procedure of how the operatio is carried out, this can be helpful or intriguing for the patient to view so they can get a clearer idea of what the their procedure entails other than listening to their doctors verbal description.
researches can use short animated movies to show investors or the public a latest breakthrough in scientifical research or just to again solidify verbal descriptions of medical related issues.





Education:
Animation has also found it way into education these days whereby schools, college's are adapting to this new form of communication for presentations or instructional videos designed to teach. the reason for this is the latest information received from research that animation holds attention span (generally) more and for longer than readin from a book or having a lecture from a teacher. so to improve the conveying of information for students to learn from education is more and more welcoming the use of animation in their subjects in the hope for better performance from students in their studies.





Mechanical:
Engineers and their companies haved saved alot of hassle and complications from the recent use of animation software that takes pre rendered 3d models and animates them within a physics abiding world. this really helps enginneers spt any design issues and potential problems that can occur by testing the set up they have in mind and running it in a simulation, if they arent happy they can quickly change where neccessary without having to deconstruct a hard physical prototype all the time.
companies have saved millions on animation software too for its significantly reduced development costs which contain buying multiple parts for engineers to put together and test.




Architecture:
Designers or Architects not only use 3d modelling software to put together their designs they also use animation software (usually combined with the 3d model software). animating their work allows their building to be simulated in a world to see how well it operates and functions by using actors and props such as moving cars, humans etc.
if not to test their designs animation is also simply used to show off their buildings to potential buyers by adding a stylised feel to a movie that displays their work and is useful for grabbing or keeping the attention of buyers rather than viewing paper blueprints.




Forensic:
Crime scene investigators have been using animation software to aid in the solving of crimes committed for example, car crash's, assaults etc. rather than someone trying to visualise the scene inside their own head trying to to put it together, they use animating software to recreate a crime to better understand the situation also making it easier for colleagues to see the interpreters thoughts of how the crime was committed. it allows them to simulate the scene giving the most realistic as they can get to the time of the actual event, it helps detectives to better understand and possibly induce ideas of potential clues that could be scattered about.






Media/Entertainment:
obviously the main focal point for animation use, the entertainment industry has benefited greatly from the world of animation for it offers a new medium of entertainment and over the years has become more and more popular, up there now with the live action films these days.
originally starting out on 2d with cel animation, disney being an example here had all of their old cartoons done this way. however moving onto 3d film companies have learned of the benefits to solely animated films, the films can be limitless in imagination with not great cost, like a live action film filled with effects and exotic environments.





Proposal for animation 

Detailed mind map

Mood board of ideas/themes

Thumbnails of ideas for animation

Storyboarding for animation

3d animation

Evaluation of my work

Unit 61 Interactive media design

Task 1-

Research into design principles

Principles of Design

Aesthetics: elements that make a product nice to look at for the user, its good for reaasuraance and comfort for the userbility side of things. it is an important factor in making the product look professional and trustworthy, however usability comes before aesthetics, the elements must not take away from the product's efficiency at doing its intended job and should therefore be only applied around the usability functions of the design and making way for them rather than changing or altering them to improve the overall look of the product.

Colour: use of colour within design is very important, branching off from aesthetics, colour comes into its own standalone principle in how it can be used for not only pretty layouts. its important for a product to follow a sensical matching of colours, this is where the colour wheel and theory of colour are very important to be aware of. too many colours can give the wrong impression of the product in hand. colour can also be used practically in whereby it can highlight aspects of a design that is intended to draw the users attention.

Consistency: it is important for designers to keep a similar theme throughout their products, this could be in the form of aesthetics or level of quality that must be evident in very product designed. this reaasures users because it they know the product is of a professional standard. constant consistency throughout new products is also a trademark and can be used to distinguish a product to a user out of other similar competitor products.

Readability: it is important to have every informative or instructional aspect of your product/design clear and concise for others to view easily and comprehend, this improves on impression you give the user and gives a sense of a higher quality. if the product is particularly dangerous legal reasons come into hand as to why a product's readability must be clear for if an instruction is read improperly an causes harm ti an unexpected user, it can create health issues and legal lawsuits.

Simplicity: a product has to be simple in how its used or as simple as it can be without having it downgraded essentially from its original purpose. a user must feel comfortable at what they're looking at and what it is they are looking at, it give a sense of confidence that will make the user want to come back to it. not just disregard from the thought because of its complexity.

Usability: tying into other principles of design a little usability is how well a product connects with a user for example is it easy to use, quick to learn and pick up and is it generally satisfying to use.
analysts look in the general backgrounds of users taken from reports and research to allow them to understand what the average sky level is and how they should alter their product/design accordingly to match.

Discoverability: this is a principle that should be focused on when trying to get a product noticed by users, various techniques can include such things like size of the object, bigger is generally more noticeable  various design elements such as highlighting color can be used to draw attention to certain parts of a product eg a shopping site, having a checkout button in red clearly leading them to the next step.

copyright: taking a legal perspective now with principles of design, copyright is equally important as to the other principles for it can make or break a product depending on if its followed the laws layed out.
a product must be somewhat original and not too similar to another product (depending on if the product being copied is protected) copyright mainly applies to naming of products no two names can be the same for this has to allow other products to be individual and credit is equally given out among both companies with similar products.

Research Exemplars

Example One:

my attention has been drawn to this idea since i like the idea of using real world physics effect something electronic e.g here lights, whereby you can tilt this grid down and the lights on the grid will fall down to the bottom to simulate the effect of gravity on them. 

Example Two:

i found this example of a cube formation of Led's to display a scripted light show within the frame i like the look of this product in how it flows about and almost hides the fact that there are tiny led's inside it almost looks like an actual form of physical matter.

this has made me want to focus more on using led's within my design .

Example Three:

having settled on an idea in my head i found this example of an electronic dice and it caught my attention with how it displays the numbers it adds to that electronic "techy" feel and i believe will give users of the dice that reassurance that it is electronical.

BTEC Interactive Design

Unit 61 Interactive Media Design Design Proposal

Student Name: Luke Irving

Electronic LED Dice

Brief Description of your design concept

This Arduino project is an Electronic LED dice that can be used to randomly generate outcomes ranging from (1 to 6) by using Led’s to shine, indicating the number generated.

With this basic concept in mind I might intend to add more features to the device such as sounds and different colour Led’s (maybe have the led’s on a temperature scale, 1 being blue and 6 showing red).  

Materials you intend to use to build this device

1x ATTiny26

7xLED (preferably diffused)

7x 160 ohm resistor

push button

9V battery clip

1x  box container

voltage regulator:

(1x 60 ohm resistor power rating 0.3W or more)

(1x 5.1V zener diode power rating 0.5W)

Sketch/Blueprint/diagram of your proposed concept for a device

Environmental impact of this concept:

since this concept of an electronic dice is designed to be rolled there can be an issue of ware and tare either from the dice itself or its surroundings  e.g bits could fall off the dice like led's falling out of sockets or the actual structural integrity fails and can lead to hazardous tiny components which create shock hazards or choking hazards.
this concept i intend to only use recycled electronic waste and reuse the parts when constructing this device, giving this product a "green" feeling and apply to the environment friendly requirement in the brief.
i also believe that this device will prove less wasteful than a typical die or dice because of its novelty and size, it less likely to be lost and disregarded, it stands out and will have "hopefully" a level of quality that will make users take extra care with it and to not lose it potentially adding to waste. 

Legal issues you need to research for this concept:

• Safety of parts used (are they stored and connected safely?)
• ergonomics of the product (any sharp objects or edges that can cause harm?)
• environmental impact (can it be discarded of safely in normal waste?)
• copyright (are there any other similar products adamant on public individuality?)
• Reverse Engineer proof (i it a permanent fixture or can it be dismantled after use?)

Ethical issues associated with this concept

• Accessibility (can it be widely used for all disabilities e.g blindness)
• Engineering ethics (how can i follow the code of engineering electronics)
• Gambling (light up dice could be glorifying gambling)

Software skills/Electronic skills/manufacturing skills that you will need to learn to produce an interactive prototype of this concept

• javascript coding for the arduino to determine the random number generated on dice
• soldering, skill with a solder to safely and join connections together neatly and efficiently
• knowledge on safe distribution of voltage using resistors and capacitors

Task 2- Research into legal and ethical issues

Legal

Safety of parts: it is important to make sure that any parts used is to a safe standard and by that it means is the quality of the part to a healthy state e.g a battery, does it leak? or will it provide too much power to a certain component and cause a burst or violent break in the circuit. having undirected power can be hazardous to health whereby can cause shocks to the body and potentially burns or induce heart attacks.



ergonomics: the shape, size and feel of the product/device can bring up issues in itself whereby the user could cut hands or fingers when using your product from sharp edges that have not been carefully smoothed out to avoid cuts. size of the object can cause problems for example if left in a room could become a trip hazard or if the object is being carried  could it be too awkward to carry and potentially lead to it being dropped causing harm to the consumer. weight can be an issue too if dropped on by an unsuspecting consumer. therefore it is important to clearly label or instruct the user of all concerns and make them aware so they know how to safely operate the device.





Environmental impact: must make sure that the product is environmentally friendly to the environment in what is used to make the device e.g are these parts used to build the device from a re-used source and or recycled into something new but still making sure these used parts keep within the safety regulations concerning safe electronics. and for disposal can the device be and its contents be disposed of normally or does it need to have special disposal methods e.g like batteries in waste. or can the product be fully re-used by another device in the future.








copyright: this is always an issue and probably the most prominent legal issue surrounding products being designed and especially being publicly available sold. the device must make sure it has (in some cases) a different name to any other similar products, if a already published device is too similar to your and has the copyright protection covering it then your product must be altered or changed sufficiently that it does not conflict with the copyright agreement.

Reverse Engineering: with some products/devices company designers ensure that their products are secured and permanently fixed whereby it prevents it from being modified by consumers and potentially being re-sold off by them with the new modifications. however for my concept interactive device i plan to allow re-construction or room for modification for i believe this is less costly on the environment for if it cannot be dismantled and re-used or modified and is a permanent fixture it will have to be thrown away in waste.


Ethical

Accessibility: Ethical issues brought up with this device i would have to say would be disability, mainly regarding blindness, since the device works solely on sight alone to work out what number is displayed from the number generator, i want to however make my device more widely available so therefore could introduce sound into my design where the device could let out a sound with varying pitch or a clear distinguishable sound to let the user know what number it has landed on, obviously will need instructions telling what sound means what number.











Gambling: Having dice being an iconic symbol of gambling or associated with casino's, this device could raise some ethical issues whereby it could be glorifying gambling in how the device is being a "flashy novelty" potentially advertising that gambling is a fun and attractive past time however there are conflicts with this in how gambling is also associated with money loss an depression.









Engineering Ethics: when building my device i must try and follow the engineering electronics code in where the connections i use and the various arts and how and where they are placed complies with this code to ensure its safe and efficient to use for consumers.

Unit 67 Computer game Engines

Task 1- Research into comparisons between retro and new games

Games through the ages


1980- PacMan

Brief History: An Arcade game developed by Namco in May 22 1980.
Licensed for release in America October 1980.
Highest Gross profit for a video game of all time hitting $2.5 billion.
Many different versions spanned from the original after being a huge success and a social phenomenon.








What made it Succeed?

• Unique: During this era of video games space was a popular theme so many space shooters popped up around the world for example space invaders and asteroids, what made pacman succeed was that it was genre defining and something completely different from the mainstream of space.
• Competitive: Games started out as just arcade machines in various locations which were filled by the public to play, so multiple people would challenge a game, what added to the pacman experience was the scoring system and a keeping record of who had the highest score making an addictive attraction for some trying to "beat the rest".
• Social: As mentioned before pacman originated in arcades a very busy and public space and the most powerful form of advertisement is via word of mouth so having many people in the area of pacman created a very successful "spreading" of the game to others to come see it. It also removed the gender barrier or male gamer stereotype for most by having it as a neutral theme something both genders could relate to not just space shooters which around the time mainly interested boys.
• Simple: Having a simple and clear to understand goal or objective can be a real attention holder (more so in the 1980's), it means anyone can come along start the game up and instantly work out what they have to do making it so anyone can play it.
• Iconic: The design of pacman and the other sprites is very clear cut and recognizable, unique in its appearance it became somewhat of a symbol that everyone could look at and instantly go pacman since it was so defining. hard for other game companies to "copy" the design without risk of copyright.

1985- Ghosts and Goblins

Brief History: Sidescrolling platform game developed by capcom in 1985.
Known for being very difficult and "the worlds most difficult arcade game".
Started out on arcade then was later developed on the Commodore 64 gaming console.
Became capcoms 8th best selling game franchise.











What made it succeed?

• Multiplayer: Any game that manages to introduce a form of multiplayer aspect shoots up its play ability and popularity instantly for it induces word of mouth spreading to others to try out the game and join someone playing and also adds a new social experience between players which can make the game more much more memorable.
• Challenging: ghosts and goblins was considered very difficult although a turn off for some players having the game being difficult for example with timed lives and enemy AI for the bosses, it can add to the game in a way if a player completes a section it fills them with a sense of pride and achievement from the challenge something an easy would not offer.
• Dynamic: this game was highly re playable due to its Armour and weapon pickups which each added their own gameplay mechanics to the mix and changed how players play the game.
• Unique: mainly unique for its plot and ending in by where it had the player reach the final boss but could only continue if they were wielding a cross (weapon pickup) if they did not they were sent back to the start to go find the weapon to kill the final boss. this set up of repetition was not only a unique idea but forced players to experience more of the game and possibly making it last longer?
• Graphics: for its time in the mid 80's ghosts and goblins was considered very detailed in terms of its graphics and use of color which always entices people to come play the game.

1990- Final Fantasy

Brief history: Developed by Square (now known as Square Enix) by a man named hironobu sakaguchi.

Originally produced for the NES but later on re-developed onto multiple other consoles.

2 million copies sold by 2003.

revolutionized rpg games and kick started the squares final fantasy series.

This game saved square from bankruptcy due to its high success and was originally going to be there final game.

What made it succeed?

• Attracting story: Final fantasy was a genre defining game for its time and made people more aware that a viable and interesting story is a big hit in video games and from then steered the game industry down a new route rather just gameplay. the story was fantasy based, different from what people have read and what was currently around e.g in fantasy novels ect so already grabbed players attention.
• Unique gameplay: the game provided a new system for battles or enemy encounters where by it being less action based and more strategy/turn based this ushered in a new type of gamer to the industry and also opened alot of eyes to current gamers as to what different directions games can go.
• Exploration: exploration was one of the four game play modes and took alot of the players time up. having this large map/world for players to explore (for its time) really creates an immersive experience for the player and gives them a sense that they are on that same journey.
• character development: this feature was really what helped the game succeed whereby customization added alot of different dynamics and replay value so players can try a new equipment or power in a different playthrough, having this wide scope for customization attracted a wide audience due to its diversity.
• Inspired: final fantasy was inspired by already some successful rpg's example being ultima and wizardry setting the game up already for a warm reception among the genre for its similar elements from these past games.

1995- Sonic and knuckles

Brief history: sonic and knuckles (or sonic 4) was a 1994 platform based videogame for the sonic the hedgehog series on the sega genesis.
Produced as a standalone game for an expansion to sonic the hedgehog 2 and sonic the hedgehog 3.
later re-produced and developed onto higher generation consoles with different variants.

What made it succeed?

• Gameplay: The gameplay in sonic 1 had already been considered unique in how much faster paced it was from other games but what sonic and knucles 3 changed was the ability to play the game as different characters whereby having an option to play as either sonic, tails or knuckles each with their own movement mechanic differences, making for a large replay value.
• Music: the music from sonic 1 was always defining andsonic and knuckles was no different, it is key to have iconic music that is different and changes with area's it kept the game fresh with every level not a same dreary battle tune for the whole game (which previous games have had).
• Graphics: sonic and knuckles was a very colourful and vibrant game and this already makes it a flashy eye catching game to viewers and gives them a somewhat proffessional feeling overall of the game already selling it then and there.
• Level design: its important to keep a game new and different as you progress through it and what sonic and knuckles did well was the variation between its levels which changed the background, enemies and gameplay mechanics each time this kept the game challenging and the attention of the player by having it all not the similar.
• Power ups: Sonic and knuckles also had a wide variety of powerups from speed boots, invulnerability and shields. powerups keep the game fun by changing how the player tackles a certain situation in the game making the player think and this is a good thing.

2000- The Sims

Brief history: the sims is life simulation game produced by EA Maxis.
it is one of the most successful video game series of all time.
in 2013 overall has sold 175 million copies worldwide.

What made it succeed?

Sandbox: sandbox games have become very popular over the years and the sims really helped do that with its goaless objective of the game having it all in the players hands in what direction they want to go with it which made it very dynamic.
Customization: the vast options for the sims is huge and makes for a large cover of the different preferences that players can have "suiting to all needs" essentially. this sells the game already to wider audience because of this, everyone can be themselves or add their own input style to the game.
Simulation: sims offers a unique novelty in its setup whereby it simulates real life this can attract a large audience simply by letting players do something they believe is out of their reach or live an alternate life on the sims, setting up their "dream world", which is attractive to most. the sims creates this realistic feel by the sheer amount of features it has and social interactions, more interactions in the game means more real the game feels and simulates life, making it more immersive.
Expansion: the sims has always been known for its wide variety of expansion packs for its game, expansion packs are a good way to keep the game from going stale, keeping it fresh and new with each addition by adding gameplay features, clothing ect.
Unique: although set in the simulation genre sims stands out for its uniqueness from other games for its not about your typical action game set up whereby you have a hero obstacles and final fight with boss. the sims is slower paced where the player can literally just do what they want and live a life on the game. this provides a great form of advertisement since it can cause social media to circulate around the game amplifying its popularity.


2005- Destroy all humans

Brief history:  Destroy all humans is adventure action based videogame created by pandemic in 2005.
released for playstation 2 and xbox on june 21.













What made it succeed?

Chaos: simply put this game focuses explosions and various mesmerizing effects in the game that all ensue chaos among the streets something all action based players are fond of.
Comedy: throughout the game parodies of real life icons, places ect are made all over the place adding a high comedy value to the game which can be a very key factor for a game in the way that comedy is mostly more memorable among other genres it spurs on most conversations to day already making the game popular on this front.
Gameplay: gameplay is dynamic it the way it has different weapons with varying effects mixing up players gameplay style and approaches to missions, powers which can alter the way in which battles or fights drastically either via telekinesis or possession, you then finally have the option to use your own spacecraft which can be upgraded along with all the other weapons and powers on ground changing the perspective of how the game is viewed and played.
Antagonist view: what makes this game stand out from your usual hero vs evil game is the fact that you play the villain and your job is to fight the hero, its a flip up of the traditional "hero's journey" set up and for this fact makes the game different and memorable. breaks the "mold" essentially.
Free Roam: free roam in games is always a plus, even more so today with more and more demand for it in games than ever, its simply because it is so effective in the way that it can be replayed over and over where the player can play the game one way first then another way the second time round, its a useful factor to introduce if you want to increase a games "lifes span".

2010- Heavy Rain

Brief History: Heavy rain is an interactive drama adventure based game developed by quantic dream and produced by sony.
it was exclusive to one platform (playstation 3).
won multiple game of year awards.
selling over 3 million copies.
a live action film is currentely in development of this game.




What made it succeed?

Story: A story for any game can be very effective and attention grabbing for any player it helps keep the game addictive and memorable and in this case heavy rain achieves a attention grabbing story very well by its thriller aspect and just how in depth the story actually goes, thrillers are always good for creating tension and suspense which can really effect and make an impression on players.
Multiple Paths: This factor of multiple endings and paths to those endings depending on the characters choices are a great way to add replay value to the game and in heavy rain these choices are so drastic it can end up killing off main characters this essentially adds countless different stories to be told in one game adding to its lifes span.
Unique genre: A game mainly solely based on a film essentially is a unique idea and something that is beginning to catch on alot in games in recent days, it seems story telling in games has become more of a demand over that of gameplay and so heavy rain achieves this very well with its stand out ish approach to games so much so it has spurred on other games to follow suit in some cases (walking dead ect).
Empathetic characters: for players to fully gripped and sucked into a story the dialogue between characters is vital in achieving this outcome and heavy rain is very well written where characters are seen conversing with each other, the characters seem "real" and this allows players to somewhat share empathy with them.
Motion capture: going to the previous mention of creating that "real" factor in games for players to relate and be empathetic towards characters, motion capture suits are a great way in recording "real life" human movements to make the in game characters motions much more believable and realistic not generated by a 3d animation software which can make the characters appear robotic taking away from the immersion.


2014- Final Fantasy 13 Lightnings Return

Brief history: final fantasy 13 lightnings return is a console role playing action based game created by square enix in 2014.
it is final fantasy 13's final game in its mini series.
began development in may 2012 2 years total.
graphics handled by triface.







What made it succeed?

Story closure: final fantasy 13 lightnings return was what most players were wanting for the mini series to finally reach an end and gain closure to it all. this form of sequels with stories is already a high selling factor among games because it is already sold for some players even when they haven't seen the rest of the game they are interested in the story and creating multiple sequels can give increasing anticipation among fans for the game story though it can have limits.
New gameplay: It can be a good idea to change some gameplay features when it comes to sequels of games for a story alone for most cant hold a game series up forever players need something new in the game, so final fantasy 13 lightning returns did just that they changed the battle dynamic completely to the games before it, this can be a risky move however but it can grab more of the players attention for they then have to learn this new system.
Graphics: modern final fantasy games have always been well known for their high quality and "pretty" cinematics and general graphics and for most this factor is a real eye catcher as is with art in paintings.
Tension: final fantasy 13 lightnings return had a new feature introduced from the previous titles in which the game was "timed" and the player had to complete the game before this timer hit 0 essentially or until 13 in game days was counted. this was a unique idea for a game and something that made it stand out and cause attention which can be useful for advertisement. it also creates tension for the player and forces them into concentration on the game to ensure they make it.
Customization: now with any final fantasy game comes a wide customization factor in terms of what weapons, spells, and Armour you can equip which is very effective in branching out to wider audiences for it offers multiple play styles and final fantasy 13 lightnings return is no different in that regard however with the addition of adding a players preference for colour with armour and weapons, this can be highly effective in selling a game for it allows the player to add their own input into the game.


Comparison of old and new

Final Fantasy -1990 Square Soft                      Final Fantasy 13 Lightnings Return - 2014 Square Enix

Similarities:

•  Both games are role playing games whereby different characters or stances fullfill a certain role in combat e.g white mage or medic heals the group. it applies also with speech or interactivity with non playable characters where dialogue is present.
• Both share a random encounter system where battle areanas are set up simply by the player walking around the world.
• Character development is present in both games where stats such as health the character(s) have how much damage they do. also same with equipment for the characters with varying weapons or armour.
• Feature an area to explore a map to follow where the player must navigate through depending on where the story is wanting them to go to.
• certain aspects of the battle system are the same whereby plyers must choose their attacks from a drop down list or bar e.g choose attack, magic, potion ect.

Differences:

• Final fantasy 1 features many different protagonists (4 at a time) rather that just the one in final fantasy lightning returns where it is just lightning as the party but she fills all the different roles with varying stances.
• Final fantasy lightning returns is dramatically superior to final fantasy 1 graphically with its higher generation of computer generated imagery from newer and more modern software.
• Lightning returns has more gameplay dynamics when exploring the world for example jumping and free running/climbing buildings whereas in final fantasy 1 you are a 2d sprite on a flat world with only up down left right as directions to head in.
• the battle systems in both games are vastly different though both hold strategy lightning returns is much more of  faster paced battle that that of final fantasy 1 which is slower with choosing commands and seen as more of a strategic way of fighting.
• final fantasy 1 follows a very old era of fantasy stories and setting for example the use of the classic warrior and wizards whereas in lightning returns the setting and combat roles are much more modernized.

Game testing

Title

Genre

Release Date

Structure

Platform

Realistic/ Abstract

Dimension 2D/3D ?

Perspective

Goals

Objectives

Secrets/ Achievements

Narrative structure

Sprites or Polygons

Player Role

Overall Rating 0-100%

Assassins creed black flag

Action adventure

October 29th 2013

Free roam story based exploration

Playstation 3 Xbox 360

Realistic

3-dimensional

From a 3rd person view

Complete all memories in the story

Designed to be stealth based

Hidden collectibles e.g chests, messages in bottles

Linear structure

polygons

Controls Edward, main protagonist, must lead him through story

90%

Grand theft auto 5

Action 3rd person shooter

September 17th 2013

Free roam Story exploration

Playstation 3 Xbox 360

Realistic

3-dimensional

From a 3rd and 1st person view

Complete all missions set in story

Earn money through story missions and side activities

Random characters to meet for heist members

Linear structure with a 3 pronged ending

polygons

Controls 3 main protagonists

95%

Saints row 4

Action adventure game

August 20 2013

Open world action based game

Playstation 3 Xbox 360

Realistic

3-dimensional

From a 3rd person view

Complete all missions in story

Earn experience and money through missions and side activities

Many hidden audio logs from past games and power up nodes

Linear story

Polygons and sprites

Controls controls own character (player created)

93%

Beyond two souls

Interactive drama

October 8 2013

Interactive film

Playstation 3

Realistic

3-dimensional

From a 3rd person view

Follow through all the memories

Make choices within in the game that change direction of story

No collectibles

Multipath structure

polygons

Viewpoint of main protangonist Chooses actions

85%

Warframe

Action 3rd person shooter mmo

March 25 2013

Mission based action shooter

Playstation 4 pc

Realistic

3-dimensional

From a 3rd person view

Earn experience through completing online missions

Become powerful enough to withstand the higher level “raid” missions

Parts for weapons and armour hidden in chests and enemies

Linear structure

polygons

Chooses a frame to move in and customise weapons for it

65%

Minecraft

sandbox

May 17 2009

Free roam survival

Playstation 3 Playstation 4

Abstract

3-dimensional

From a 3rd and 1st person view

Player chooses own goal can be survival based or used as creative builder

Survive in the world or build up enough to kill final dragon

Hidden dungeons and ores to mine

Dynamic structure Depends on player

polygons

Build, create Houses and survive nights

90%

Last of us

Action survival

June 14 2013

Story based survival

Playstation 3

Realistic

3-dimensional

From 3rd person view

Follow the story “areas”

Craft enough supplies and weapons to live through the story areas

Hidden pendants from fallen resistance members

Linear structure

polygons

Controls the two protagonists

85%

Unit 68 Computer Game Design – Computer Game Research Template                                                     Student Name Luke Irving 561378. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..  .

Our Team name: The Indieviduals

Task 2- Produce game concept ideas


This was my own personal mindmap i made:

Our Groups  Mind map generation of ideas:

This is the layout of our structure for the game, as you can see we've gone for a room based set up with maze aspects. this also shows a brief look at the teleportation aspect of our game and how it works, one door will teleport you to another far away room in the "grid" format.

My personal input for our game "The Dead End" was being tasked with the drawing and generation of ideas for concept art that would be forwarded onto to be later developed into 3d models ready to use in game.
specifically drawing out all the in game objects such as furniture and gameplay objects, with also some initial sketches of wall textures in rooms.
I have also laid out and used google sketch up as a modelling program for level design to get a rough idea of how our game will be structured ready to be overlayed by all of my concept art models and wall textures onto the layout creating a game world so we can introduce gameplay mechanics.
For the 10 page detailed game brief i worked on the title page for the document and i researched into game ratings such as 12, 15, 18 ect and determined what category our game fitted inside also outlining the various themes inside our game such as gore, horror bad language ect.



This is my example of my work with concept art for the game, these are a range of possible objects that we can use in the gothic manor themed room areas.

This is a video preview of my work on the level design for "The dead end", i separated each area into sections, currently in this stage there is only a hospital, gothic manor and dark forest area mapped out.

the gothic manor being the huge cuboid structure in the background, the forest being defined as the pillars which represent tree placement and finally the hospital at the foreground which i designed to be more "maze like" in the way it has alternating small corridors and tight corners.

Screenshots of level design:

 Hospital

 Dark Forest

 Gothic Manor

this level layout plan i came about with has the idea of our game being centred around a "Hub" or the house you start in, to get to the different parts of the house you will have to scan the house for keys (areas available to you) which unlock rooms to navigate, 4 in total.

each room will give way to a new room area to explore by giving you a key that opens up new parts of house.

Task 3- High game concept





Feedback from professional game developers of their overview of our game pitch: