Giana Twisted Sisters - 4th Dimensions World Design

When I played this game the first time around I didn’t really focus much on the dimension switching involved in the gameplay. Even though this was a main part of the game play it felt smooth in transitions between the two realities. Thinking about it like this from a new player’s perspective without looking purely at it as a gameplay mechanic is a great perspective as the best games are able to implement systems that do not feel out of character to the player. Playing the game, the second time around and with this lecture in mind, I began to notice all the little systems within the game and how they work as a whole with the gameplay. When the player switches from sister to sister there is a drastic change in how the game setting is viewed. When you switch from the blonde sister the game visually changes to a darker and sinister world which the second sister inhabits. this mechanic is essential to being able to complete levels as certain platforms will only appear depending on which sister that you are. Sometimes the player will have to change sister mid-air in order to pass some of the obstacles in the game. This forces the player to try and think on a more aware level and introduces an interesting puzzle for the player to overcome. In some of the puzzles the game plays on the player needing to remember where platforms were for the other sister so that when they jump they can land on platforms only available to them.

Image Reference

http://brutalgamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/giana-sisters-twisted-dreams-pc-1363291930-088.jpg

The right kind of pacing - Yakuza 5

Keep the pace just right boys

This week's class was about the use of pacing within video games, and how it is important to the success of video games to be able to encourage players to game in flow. I chose to play Yakuza 5 this week, playing the game from a critical point of view regarding the way the game is paced. The start of the game lays the foundation rather well for the player giving some insight into the dangerous world of the Yakuza. It sets the player up as Kazuma Kiryu, A man who's past won't leave him alone as his old Yakuza gang is trying to forge an alliance in the city he now lives in. The game lets the player know that there is a lot at stake. To lighten the tone the player is then given a reprieve to find a gift for another cab company for an earlier discretion. After this the player and the boss of the taxi company go out for food and drinks. The pacing is still slow and is building, in the last hostess club the player is then introduced to the fighting mechanics as he sorts out a bunch of unruly patrons. The flow in combat like the rest of the game is seamless and easy to learn. This then ends the night, and the player then goes to work in the morning. What I found with Yakuza 5 is that its flow is very similar throughout. Below is a pacing chart for the first chapter of the game. 

The player is given a lot to think about and then is hit with combat to keep the player engaged. After the combat is over the player is then given a reprieve to do things that are less stressful. I liked the pacing as it was not trying to overwhelm the player all the time. It made me appreciate the windows in between the combat such as being a taxi driver. It's in these exchanges that the player can be lucky to observe some really human interaction. The flow of the game is in such a way that it feels like a slice of life from each different mini game within the broader spectrum of the full game. The flow from each scene to scene is seamless like water. The best uses of pacing are generally found in most games that are story orientated and I believe this is down to the way that it manages to keep the flow of the character going. If the player is asked to do too much all the time it will get frustrating as there would be no break but if the player is not being pushed to do anything at all they will grow bored and stop playing. Finding the optimal state of flow is the essence of great game design. Great pacing should be like water, why you may ask? "Water can flow or it can crash be water my friend" - Bruce Lee

Image References
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/cfzieaifq2935r4e2jvs.jpg

Galaxy Building Star Control 2

That red monster in the back is a nice conqueror 

The worldbuilding taking place in Star Control 2 is a monumental achievement for a game of its era. The introduction lays the ground work for the game and sets the player up as the saviour of the galaxy. This isn't a game about worldbuilding its a game about galaxy building as the share size of the galaxy is enormous. The start of the game and how to goes about explaining the origin reminded me of games such as the halo and mass effect series. Even going as far as to have a race who's technology was far greater than anyone else's after them. Upon playing the game I found that the dire situation to which the player is placed in does a fine job of giving the player motivation to continue playing it also establishes the world that the player is going into. The many worlds that inhabit the solar system in the game are similar in the way that the player interacts with them however it does enough to make the player feel like each planet is different and unique. Along with these unique planets are the alien races that inhabit them, so far I've only managed to contact maybe half the alien races that I believe to be included in the game. An interaction with each alien race is distinctive and does not feel formulaic, 

The casualties of war

I found the alien race Zoq Fot Pik humurous with their multi-cultural society. The games months carry on and if you miss certain information you miss chances to be able to either save another race or recruit another race into your cause. I found this out the hard way as I did not heed the call for help from Zoq Fot Pik and their entire race were wiped out by the enemy. I felt sad about what happened but also thought that it was a brilliant piece of worldbuilding taking place, a world that does not wait for the player much similar to how real world time operates. It's this familiarity with the concept of time that makes this world much more believable. In this instance I also felt that the best worldbuilders build worlds that people want to actively participate in. When you take a look at books or other video games with well built worlds people dedicate hours and years to thoroughly explore these worlds over and over again, think Skyrim, Lord of the rings or even Destiny. This was more evident to me when I found myself still playing Star Control 2 well into the 18 hour mark, and the more time I invested in this world the more I wanted to see my quest to save the galaxy through to the end.

This is Not a Promise To Share My thoughts on The Stanley Parable Demo

You're almost about to play the demo

The demo that was not a demo but rather a gathering of thoughts that seemed coherent but weren't really coherent but placed in a way to make sense of nothing much at all to begin with. This to me sums up how I felt about playing the Stanley Parable demo. Can this even be called a demo? can it even be called a game to begin with? What is a game? These are the kinds of questions that I ask myself after playing this game. Its breaking of the fourth wall is an experience that puts the player right into the front seat. The game is very aware of the player and it's this awareness that carries this experience, if this is a precursor to the actual game it would do the game justice of encourages players to purchase the retail version to see where the game wants to take you or accuse you of next. 

I did not press this button for 10 minutes

The way the game speaks to the player it feels alive and yet very responsive to what the player is doing on screen, through all the dialogue it never felt to repetitive to the point where the narrator became annoying or overbearing he had the right mix of witty banter mixed in with direction to control the pacing of the game. It starts with the promise of a demo, and continually promises the player of this grandiose demo that's only just around the corner. It's a demo that's built upon the hype factor and trying to encourage the player to do strange things. Due to the way the game is setup I felt the need to constantly rebel against what the narrator was asking me to do, one of the first instances that this happens is the first time you walk into the screen room and it asks you to stay as still as possible for 20 minutes. I moved straight away and it triggered the next event. Another moment in the demo I felt carried weight was the first moment the player is presented with the yes or no answer for if they would purchase the full game, as the player approaches the platform his movement speed is slowed, its gives the player the feeling of physical weight to whether or not they would purchase it. It also likes to mention a lot that the decision to purchase the game should not be taken lately and should be an exciting prospect for the player. The game purposely tries to use reverse psychology on the player to be able to achieve a intriguing level of engagement. There are many scientific case studies where children are given a choice of eating the marshmallow now or wait for another 20 minutes and they would receive another marshmallow, it's the promise of more that some children will wait where others will not. This to me is exactly what the Stanley parable demo is. It is exactly as to what a demo should always be for any video game the promise of more.

Image References

https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6d2eY16-GURgHTFl2ZgZkDz0Tt8=/0x72:1100x691/1280x720/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/20945843/2013-10-09_00005.0.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eIELkO7zSZw/maxresdefault.jpg

Last Moment Changes - Game Studies Week 7

Game Changer

Upon reflecting upon the feedback I received from Tece, I had remembered that she challenged the idea of me looking specifically at Uncharted 3 and The last of Us. Citing that all I would be saying is that Naughty Dog knows how to make their games different, although this is not how I actually approached this, as I was looking more at what was similar and how similar trends cross over between genres It made sense as well to change it. So as a last minute decision I changed Uncharted 3 out for a game in the same genre. I am now going to discuss the game I Am Alive by Ubisoft Shanghai. Not only are they in the same genre but they also share a similar beginning where both games are set in a future after an event that has crashed the society around us as we know it. Being both survival horror games as Tece noted I could talk about what they do right and what they do wrong being from the same genre. That's not say I wont use Uncharted 3 s an example its just that it would be a more minor role in my final artefact. I also wanted to look at how well both games did in comparison to each other and if colour could have played a role in this. And if so this would then give more backing to why colour is important in video games. Which is the heart and soul of my artefact. Playing I Am Alive, the first thing I thought was that the colours are far to washed out. I know it was meant to be this way from the games perspective, but it was not something that added to the experience rather it took away from what the game could have been. Everything is grey, or white, or near to grey. The way the game guides the player around was strange as well, rather than it be subtle the game would have a bright white light to show the player this was where you had to go. At the same time it would get caught up with the shinning light of the same. It just did not make much sense at all. If we were to contrast this to the Last of Us by Naughty Dog you can clearly see everything. In the Last of Us you still get that feeling of a survival horror but their use of colour is not as washed out or in colour theory terms lacking saturation. If anything the Last of Us is in complete opposite to that I Am Alive. Which for me helps make a great case as to why colour is important in video games. Even though the game is colourful you still experience that it is not the world that we are used to and that feeling of dread is still ever present within the game. This was an important factor to place into my artefact, it may be rushed but at the same time it would not convey the same thoughts that using Uncharted 3 as a contract would have, I hope by doing this that I can provide better proof for why colour is important.

Resulting Colour Interpretation - Games Studies Week 6

Results Give Confidence.

Last week I spoke to Tece about the current state of my work, she read the new introduction and found that it went into detail far too early and that I should try to avoid repeating myself in the lines afterwards. Upon re-reading my work I could see why she would say this as I currently have a bad habit of repeating what I’ve said before all most too similarly. It’s a apart of my writing and is something I know am trying to proactivly counter in my writing. She to also pointed some out as an example so to give me a better understanding of my writing. Another fault found in my work was that I used a lot of first person statements. It came off sounding more like the proposal rather than the body of work that I was trying to create. However what I found was helpful was talking about where this research assignment could go and the format that it could be put in. This was great as I have been having issues with finding a way to link them all in. She particularly liked how I formated in why is it important and how it is important. She also spoke about how adding my why into the intro was a great way for people to see how the information that will be conveyed in this research assignment could be handy. After this I went away and reworded my introduction and also decided to leave it alone for now and focus on other parts of the essay. Some interesting information I found was that of Angela Wright who wrote about how colour affects people in “The colour affects system”. She goes on to talk about how it’s not just one colour that affects a person, it is a combination of the right hues. Her work has been proven scientifically and has helped to show that colour can be objective. A study done in 2002 by Li Chen Qu looked into whether or not we were affected by colour and if our cultural surroundings played any effect on this. The study included participants from europe and china, with startling results suggesting that regardless of ethnicity or gender colour can affect us in the same way. In her research she concludes that there are 4 different groups of people, and that people from 1 of those groups will all react the same way to colour as everyone else in the group. So in saying that everyone from group 1 will react the same, and that everyone from group 2 would react the same and so on and so forth. What they would react to would be a specific set of colours that would be classed for that specific group. This information combined with my look at colour physiology would be exactly what I needed to give my essay more substance in the way of factual results. Wright’s view on colour theory was that Newton and Goethe weren’t wrong and that a hybrid of their work would be similar to those views that Aristotle held earlier and that their views were an extension on to what had come before. Wright’s research was more to do with marketing, as she spoke about how important it is for a business to understand what colours they are using and how these colours can affect their potential customers. Previous research shows that red has the abilities to activate the viewer’s memory better but due to its negative association with aggressive tendencies might not be the best choice depending on what it is you are selling. Crowley noted in a paper in 1993 that red was best suited for impulse buying due to its ability to activate high arousal. It was in reading these that I found that marketing has a wealth of information regarding colour and here that I would find the basis for the majority of my claims, this in conjunction with colour psychology and colour physiology would be the backbone to my artefact.

Stand up Presentation - Game Studies Week 5

Feedback on my Presentation

This week we did our presentation to the class to discuss our subject matter and our findings. With my presentation and presenting what I had found I had got given some good feedback. One of the worrying things about my essay was that a lot of the info I had presented I had not presented with any actually quotes to back up what I had said. For example I applied one of the tests to the class to try it out and see if it works. The test was just getting them to stare at black and then at red, and asked what kind of feelings or how did those colours make them feel. It worked well because in some of the students observing they felt the way that my research had informed me they would but the problem was without any scientific or examples this part of the presentation came off as a “The colour does this” kind of notion, without the information it lacked any real traction and came off wrong. Which brings me to another point the presentation itself did not have much of the info relayed properly and another big problem was trying to find a way to be able to link the scientific branch of the colour psychology into colour theory correctly. As Jordan felt talking about the science of Optiks was one of the parts that didn't quite fit in with the rest of the info I was relaying and wondered whether it might be better for my artefact to drop this portion all together. He felt that I should just look at it briefly and rather focus more on how it helped our understanding of colour rather than going into the scientific talk surrounding it. Well I do agree with him I felt that if I did not give a bit more light to it that it would lose the impact of what I wanted to talk about using Goethe as a counter argument to it. But through this thinking I did find that I was focusing far too much on this basic and neglecting the actual question that I wanted to pursue and answer. As highlighted in my previous blog post, one of the students talked about trying to find a way to convey that use of colour was done intentionally rather than saying “We did this just because”. Which is exactly the issue that I have with this topic. I didn’t display my findings on the use of colour physiology just yet as I had not researched into this enough to give sound reason behind its use. Reflecting further on the presentation this could have given me more confidence as well as those listening to me, a better understanding for the topic. From what I’ve found on this subject is that colour has an effect on the body physically, colours like red as an example cause what’s called high arousal, this is measured in elevated heart rate, blood pressure and activates an alertness in the viewer. The reason for this could possibly be linked to how man has survived for so long, and is really a great evolutionary tool that has given our species what it needed to thrive. As colour was a way of understanding what would be good to eat, what to avoid and how to track something. As said before colour physiology doesn't adhere to being subjective as much as psychology which in that case would help present my case regarding my topic.

Colour my Games - Game Studies Week 4

Colour My Games.

Building on my thoughts from the previous weeks blog, I decided to look at the use of colour with Uncharted 3 and The last of us, both games are my by Naughty Dog. I wanted to look at how both games share similar uses of colour but at the same time have found ways to differentiate from each other. I thought this would be a good way of being able to take two games from different genre’s and compare how they are coloured in a way to suite their respective genre’s. This lead me to looking at colour techniques that are used within video games, for instance the use of colour grading which was a technique borrowed from film to be able to suggest to the player different times and locations. Or to try and imply a different tone. Another interesting use of colour within video games was colour cycling which was a form of animation for video games in the early 90’s, it allowed for the ability to shift colours around on screen to give the player the illusion of animation when in actuality the programmer placed a code to change the pixel colour to give it movement. This was mainly used for the elements like water, fire etc. Colour Cycling died out eventually and would be due to the advancement in technology. As it was used as a way to save memory for more important things that would happen in game, when you think about events such as the release of the original PlayStation, which arrived as the first console in history to be able to support up to 16.7 million different colours on screen where prior to this the highest number was 4096 from the NeoGeo in 1990 of a possible 65536. The PlayStation was a monumental jump for console gaming and since then has not looked back. Upon further research for my artefact, I did not find much in the way of colour psychology, as a lot of the information was countered by other research that was done. The main issues I found was that because of colours highly subjective nature, being influenced by our surroundings, upbringing or culture it made it difficult to back up any claims that I could make. It was at this notion that I found colour physiology as a way to help provide proof. As colour physiology was less reliant on an answer from the participant reviewing the use of said colours. This was a breakthrough As I felt I was not getting much traction in regards to my artefact.

The deeds and sufferings - Game Studies Week 3

"Colours are the deeds and sufferings of light" - Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe

This week I began writing the body of the essay talking about Newton’s theory of colour and how it gave birth to the science of Optiks. It was interesting as noted in my first blog post about how colour is a product of light. The experiment conducted by Newton involved blocking out all light from a room, and only allowing light to come through a hole, controlling how it enters into the area. Once this is done Newton placed a glass prism in front of the light and saw how doing this produced the colours of the rainbow through the refraction of all the light. It was here that he concluded that light is what makes colours. He refused Aristotle's theory that light was was a combination of light and dark. With his experiment he felt that he was able to prove his theory correct. For the most of part of the next century his colour theory would be held to as scientific fact as through science he was able to prove it. In the next 100 years a man by the name of Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe, a German poet who countered Newton’s theory. He conducted the same experiment but in reverse and found that you could still get some colour out of using the darkness as well. Which in turn was return to the similar thinking that Aristotle held prior to that of Newtons. However at the time Goethe’s contemporaries at the time never took him seriously enough as there was not enough science behind his methods. As a poet and an artist who also believed that the colour phenomena could not just be looked at through science and that the viewer would have to also use their own intuition when perceiving colour. As he saw it in his book the theory of colour, he believed that because we are apart of nature man cannot remove himself from nature to observe her and this was in case and point to counter how Newton removed man from the equation when he used the prism to observe light. Both of these men have contributed greatly to colour theory and both as well have contributed to the evolution of the colour wheel theory. With this in mind I pondered how would I be able to get enough information or show my perception correctly on the topic of colour. One avenue I thought would be really handy would be to look at how colour is perceived in the way it is used in film. Thinking about films I thought the following films fit perfectly into what could help me with my essay, I was looking at films like Equilibrium, The matrix and pleasantville. Equilibrium for instance we can look at how monotone and desaturated all colours are in the film, this could be to try and mute emotions within humans as it is believed that emotion is the true reason for wars which is the basic plotline to the movie. The Matrix on the other hand has the dull green tinged world that is within the matrix and how the people who know it is a dream are presented in the world with cold colours, this is also represented in the contract between the matrix world and real world where the matrix has a green tint and the real world has a blue tint. The last film on the list Pleasantville, starts out completely desaturated and all the viewer is able to see is black and white tones. As the movie goes on some things within the movie become coloured which the people in the movie begin to fear what they do not know. I thought these movies showed great use of colour in film and in all these cases have a specific use for them which in case could help me formulate why colour would be important in video games. In noting this after a discussion with Tece I've found that I have no video games to be able to relate these concepts to and in turn will need to as as soon as possible.

The Laws of Required Change - Games Studies Week 2

Unchanging Restlessness

Talked to Jordan this week regarding what I’ve got written up so for, having read over my intro felt It was a weak start and that it needed a lot more work. Advised was to avoid doing the introduction and start working on the body of the essay. I did some more research this week and found some pretty interesting information. While not directly linked to directly linked to colour it was an interesting insight into how not having a change of environment could affect you psychologically. Here's a quote I found in an article, by Faber Birren:

"In The Psychology of perception M.D Vernon describes research and clinical studies having to do with sensory deprivation. In one investigation of the effects of a monotonous environment, persons were voluntarily and individually confined to small rooms for periods up to five dates. There was little sound; their eyes were covered with translucent goggles to cloud the or view; and long cuffs were put over their hands to limit the sense of touch. Not all could endure the isolation for the full five days. All became bored or restless. Most significant, they suffered visual and auditory hallucinations. When they emerged objects appear blurred, distorted. They experienced dizziness and when their intelligence was tested it was found to have deteriorated." (Birren, 1969)

Its an interesting thought to ponder. If anything I thought it placed more of an importance on ensuring game's flow well and that colour doesn't become an obstacle to that. For instance ever thought how annoying it becomes when you’re playing a game but when you get to a portion where you get stuck?, staring at the same wall trying to get past? I thought that by contrast of how useful colour is in these situations. It was very interesting to note that they had hallucinations after note experiencing in change in environment. Some other research I found talked about how people would say that this colour for example white means purity. But the issue with this would be that how do we know what white means purity? Because in some asian countries white is their colour for mourning and the dead. It was at this point that I thought about how am I going to be able to back up any of what I have to say with any proof.

To Colour or not To Colour! - Game Studies Week 1

Choosing the topic

For this research I chose to do Colour, more importantly exploring how colour can is used and how it plays on human psychology. The main reason for me to choose this subject in particular because of how little I actually know about colour and how it can be used. When it comes to creating artwork I’ve always prefered working in black and white and working with values, mainly drawing and shading with pencil. I’ve recently tried to do more art using colour to broaden and hopefully improve my ability to use colour. One of the things about this that I found most troubling was thinking of where to begin. There are so many colours, and how do you know you’re making the right choice when you pick a colour? Its this same question that got me wondering about if there were any specific set of rules to use when creating items in colour. I felt that gaining the knowledge to know that using a certain colour because it helps the overall composition and that it actually has a meaning to its use not just because of the atheistic. So far I’ve found a lot of readings to go through that are really interesting. I never knew actually till now that Sir Isaac Newton had pioneered the original colour wheel. I’ve always thought that he was only really known for his discovering the forces of gravity. This week I’ve also learnt about how the colour wheel was made, and that all colour is a byproduct of light. From my understanding of what Ive read is that the light from the sun is projected on to the objects around us, the colours we see are the wavelengths that did not get absorbed by the object that the light is touching. This is an interesting topic however there is a lot of information to process.

World Design - Portal

At the beginning of portal when the player first stands up, they are shown a timer that is running down. Already the player is presented with some sort of urgency within their surroundings. There is nowhere for the player to go and is then introduced to the movement control's. On the wall next to the timer you can see that there a poster, it stands out due to the use of negative space it has. Compared to the rest of the environment that has a grey dull colour, this part of the wall has black and white and stands out really well. When the timer reaches 5 seconds the player is introduced to what seems to be the narrator in Glados. She counts the final seconds and announces that a portal will appear. Straight away the player is faced with the main mechanic of the game. The use of the portal to move from one place to another. In its own right it shows the player that you must proceed through here to continue the game. 

When you get to the other side of the portal you appear next to the poster that you saw from within the room, below this you can see symbols that might relate to what you have to do to proceed. The symbols really stick out to the player as a way of navigation without the player being told by words of what to do. Following the symbols I place the cube on the platform to hold the door open. There is then an orange dotted line that suggests to the player to proceed forward from here through the door. The use of the colour orange stands out really well against the grey. The next puzzle to solve shows the player that no matter that situation there is a way to solve it, building on top of the previous puzzle of using the cube to hold the door open, this time the game is showing the player that they can take the cube with them through portals to hold doors open,  leading the player through portals showing that every situation faced from here can be solved dependant on how the portals are used and that objects can also travel through portals. 

                                                      Oh you have a gun do you?

The next puzzle shows the player the firing of the portal gun first hand, as it is triggered to fire in front of player when they walk down the stairs. As you know now you can traverse through said portals when you do, you land up above the portal gun which you then jump down to get. This part is very important to the rest of the game as the player fires the gun for the first time they can comprehend as to how the gun works. The very first time you can use it you are only allowed the power of the blue portal this is done so it instantly reinforces to the player that blue will transport you through to orange and vice versa as seen before.  The next puzzle furthers this idea by making the player shoot a blue portal to the other side of a ledge, the side your on has the orange portal fixed into place, walking through bring you to where you shot the blue portal. The next couples level are more the same till the player is challenged to use physics within the game to slingshot themselves across levels. This was a great way to show how the portal can be applied to solve problems in numerous ways. During my play through of the demo not once did I feel lost within this game world, and not once did I feel like I didn't know what to do the game flows really well and introduces on the mechanics in a non intrusive way.

References

Image 1

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/400/header.jpg?t=1447890222

Image 2

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/oct07/valve/portal/port0.jpg

Image 3

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3094/3246011749_d423a63723_z.jpg?zz=1

Call Of Juarez: Gunslinger - World Design

Ever wanted to be a bounty hunter in the days of the wild west? If that's the case you're in the right place, Call of Juarez delivers that experience and more, placing you into the boots of Silas Greaves, a wondering gunslinger in the last days of the wild west. The game begins when an older version of the character walks into a bar and starts to talk to people at the bar about his adventures as a bounty hunter. In these first moments we are given an insight into the characters infamy as the bar patrons questions the legitimacy of the stories that were written about him and his bounty hunting ways. This first scene is very important as it lays the ground work for how the narrative is delivered to the player, It also sets the tone of the game as well as the art style that the creators Techland were going for. Like the wild west, the games aethstetic is gritty and delivered through animated cutscene's that look like something from a noir comic book. The use of colours are minimal during these cutscenes which is great as it seems to try and not take too much away from the parts where the player is actually playing. The narrative of the story is delivered through flashbacks told by the main character to those in the bar who would want to listen. 

The narration is carried over to when the player is actually playing the game as he narrates while the player plays. The first scene the player is introduced to that they are able to take control of is an outdoor ranch areas. We go from the narrative being delivered by comic book like panels to a first person shooter in a 3D environment. Even though the player has been transported to this 3D space to keep with the gritty theme of what has been shown to the player so far, the 3D environment has cel-shading on it. The cel-shading is done in a way where it still keeps with that comic book and gritty feel of the west. It's not clean outlines, the lines are jagged and jarred. The textures used also convey that rusty look that would be expected from a western film. The first scene is setup in such a romanticised way that immediately you feel like a courageous cowboy gunslinger parading around the ranch to save your fellow cowboys from the local militia, the architecture that we can see from the side of the road shows clearly that the player is in the wild west. The broken down wooden fences and house clearly goes on to further the idea of the rough feeling that the west places upon the location. The game has established throughout the start that it is a linear experience and does in no way try to trick the player into believing otherwise. It is through this view that the player can sit back and enjoy the game as a complete experience on its own rather than relying on previous games in the series to fill in the gaps. In your first interaction with an enemy, the narrator tells the people in the saloon that he had no choice but to take out these militia guards as they were already too many in number and if he were to make it out of this alive he would have to take them down. This is a very simple and straight forward way tells the player that he will have to kill the guards in order to advance through this portion. The design and flow of the level sets the tone for a shooter perfectly, when the player arrives on the ranch your forced into a bottleneck where they only way to get into the house is to go forward through where all the enemies are firing at you from. The game places big rocks from where the player starts to where the player has to go, they are spaced out evenly to provide the player with cover to get closer to make his shots. The rocks however do not seem out of place and fit with the theme of the wild west, there are also old broken farm carriages laid out near the rocks as well. Once you make it through this first part the game leads you into a different part of the ranch where the water tower is. The game goes on to place great importance on the man standing near the water fountain and the narrator goes on to talk about how enemies in this position are deadly because they have the high ground. The game spends time zooming in on this to signal to the player to take him down first as a priority as with the high ground your an easier target to shoot. This is when the player is introduced to a mechanic that is somewhat like a last chance dodge. When a bullet is first and if it has the potential to kill you the game slows down and the player needs to choose whether to dodge left or to dodge right, flicking the left analogue stick in the direction opposite to the bullet allows the player to dodge and stay alive, it then indicates to the player that there is a gauge at the top right of the screen that refills when it is full again it allows the player this lifeline option again. 

I felt that this was a great mechanic as it gives the player that feeling of invincibility that the wild west instils in the mind further building on and fully pushing the theme of the wild west. This introductory level is used to teach players the mechanics like any good video game should. It is in these first moments that the player is taught about how the firing of the weapons work, how the player can dual wield and also how slow motion works within the game. From here the player is lead by the narrator into the house where 'Billy the Kid' is held up. Going through the classic trope of the west a showdown between the outlaws of the west and the government hounds tracking them down. The player is given the experience of holding up within the house for as long as possible while hearing the narrator talk about the adventure he had. When it came to the time where the player has to make a run for it, the narrator says 'I then ran to get the horses from the barn', a subtle push to tell the player that it's high time to leave, If the player doesn't leave the narrator then repeats himself, 'It was at this time that I went down to the barn to get the horses'. I thought this was a great nudge to the player to move forward within the game. When the player goes to the barn to get the horses there is an overwhelming amount of enemies showcasing the desperation that these characters are in. Upon entering the barn the player is then shown another side of the game, the showdown. It is here that the player gets to feel what it might be like to be in a shootout in the west. The use of both analogue sticks to keep focus while using the other to get a faster draw balances really well, as the player has to keep an eye on the opponent as well as an eye on the holster. As soon as you see the opponent draw his gun you could then draw yours and shoot. This scenario happens many times throughout the game yet it doesn't get to the point where it feels like its tacked on. 

The way it is handled with the use of the story telling and the mechanic itself really feels well paced. However even though you win the dual in this case, the narrator back tracks and tells the story differently which I felt was a genius way to tell the story. Like most people the idea of thinking back to past events can be hazy, this was a really great way to show how the ideas of flash backs can be played with and doesn't necessarily need to be coherent. This is done a couple of times throughout the entire game, and is also sometimes done in real time 'and out of nowhere a ladder appeared' and literally a ladder would be put into the game in real-time to allow the player to advance forward. This was an interesting way of stopping the player from advancing forward to much without completing an objective. The start to Call of Juarez could even be compared to the start of the game to the Prince of Persia the sands of time. It has many similarities to how the game begins, how the foundations are set in a similar way,  how the protagonist is talking about past events, how the game has a mechanic that manipulates time in some way, and how the beginning level's layout is made in a way to guide the player carefully through the start showing them the ropes the whole way. The difference's here are to do with the setting, the theme, the game play genre and ultimately the narrative. Call of Juarez is a first person shooter where as Prince of Persia is a third person action game. To me this shows that good game design on a basic level no matter the genre cannot be overlooked. The flow of the first level is very important in keeping the player interested in taking the next step to go to the next stage and the stage after that to complete the game. I really enjoyed how the game unfolded however the only gripe I had with the game is that at the end of it the player is forced to choose revenge or redemption, after playing as Silas you discover that at the end of his tale the bar he walked into has the man who killed his brothers in cold blood. 

The twist at the end where he is telling the entire story to this man who killed his brothers is a stroke of genius but giving the player the choice of whether to take revenge or not was a strange move. I played both sides to see how it ended and felt that the revenge option is the true ending, my reasoning for this is that it made more sense for Silas's character to do this, the wild west is a place where an eye for an eye makes sense, the story told from Silas did not in any way show that he was a forgiving man. This game was enjoyable from start to finish as it was a complete experience and didn't try to change the characters perception of the west, it showed the player its view of the wild west and how real world people could be spun into a tale of fiction while helping stay true to who these people were portrayed to be in real-life.

References for images from top to bottom

http://cdn2.gamefront.com/wp-content/uploads/gallery/gunslinger/2013-05-24_00001.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yo0V62TAqZ8/maxresdefault.jpg

http://assets.vg247.com/current//2013/04/call_of_juarez_gunslinger_4.png

http://cdn.mashthosebuttons.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/204450_screenshots_2013-05-22_00007.jpg

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/50d0fc0ae4b0c75e54db0249/t/51ebff40e4b01b84c0892a8c/1374420802746/The+Good,+The+Bad,+%26+The+Ugly.jpg

Prince of Persia Sands of Time - World Design

The cinematic introduction to the game sets up the time period and which part of the world the player is in. The narrative further accomplishes this with the use of dialogue while the cinematic plays. The architecture we as the player see is clearly influenced in this part by Indian architecture, during a conversation between the king and the man whom signalled the kings men to attack, we hear him say "the maharajah treasures are hidden within". The context in what he says further extends on the fact this is taking place within India somewhere. Not long after this we are given control of the player, these first couple of levels are a tutorial of how the game is to be played, and gives the player insight into the main mechanics such as wall running, jumping and how to navigate the obstacles. When the player has a moment where it seems like a flashback the game is showing the player exactly what they have to do to be able to advance to the next portion of the stage. From playing the first couple of levels in the demo I found that the game tries to teach you very early on that time will be important when it comes to make jumps from walls runs or jumps in general. For example the very first time it gets you to wall run you must wall run at the very peak of the ledge in order to make it to the other side with a wall run. Unless you can complete this you will not go further in the level. The architecture leans itself towards the way the game plays as well, it contextualises where the player currently is but also makes sense for how and where the player navigates within the level. 

Thirsty?

Another part of the game I found interesting was the idea of water replenishing your health, being in a desert water is the epitome of life, I appreciated the symbolism in its use to replenish the players health. The beginning of the game show cased the games core movement mechanics as well as core game play mechanics like the use of the time dagger. It doesn't wait to show the player as well to what it can do, as soon as the player picks up the dagger, the next cut-scene shows you the kind of power it has. I thought this was well placed as it was a brief moment and was not dragged out. The game goes on to lead you through a tutorial and how the battle system works, it is here that much more importance is placed on the time dagger. The battle mechanic with the time dagger goes hand in hand with its ability to be able to rewind time. The way the game handles this mechanic is great as it displays that even though the time dagger is powerful it still needs something quantifiable to be able to use it regularly. We are also shown that the dagger not only rewinds time but also gives the ability to slow enemies down. From what I have played the narrative of the game has come before the game play, my reasoning for this is that everything that the player is able to do is contextualised by the game world rather than the mechanics themselves contextualizing the world around it. This could not be more clear as to when you pick up the dagger for the first time, the player is not in control of the first rewind rather the time rewind function of the dagger is in control of the player.

Reference for Images

Image 1 http://i.imgur.com/cgc1W.png

Image 2 http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/gamespot/images/2003/reviews/540893-589721_20031209_003.jpg

Kairo - World Design

The game begins with a lot of negative space, at first when I went to talk off the first platform I thought will I fall? will this cause my character to die? However this does not happen when I walk off the first platform it feels somewhat strange as most games have something for the player to stand on looking back at the platform with nothing below my feet felt other worldly. This other worldly feeling is helped on by the sound in the game, it's like putting your ear to a seashell and hearing the sea. It gives that chilling but at the same time soothing ambience. Upon inspection of the 2nd platform there is a door to go through. Now in a room, the space is vastly different to the endless abyss of where I had just come from. The space in the room feels small and somewhat just as daunting as the endless abyss outside. Inside there is a chair that with a symbol on it, the wall behind the chair also bears the same symbol upon pushing the two together it opens up the door below which you can then go through. This time this port is different from the one to the current room you're in. The first room had no indication of what you would be walking into however this room has a blurred image of the puzzle you are about to walk into. The arrangement of the cubes around the levels seem to be placed exactly where they need to be. When walking through there are shrine like objects that lead the player forward. The bridge to the next platform is raised, at first this confused me a little bit however remembering that the bridge went up when I walked under a different portion of the stage I was on gave me the idea that maybe walking over it would lower the bridge and it did do that. This was a clever trigger to have placed within the level, it was not to complicated but made sense to be the same trigger to bring the bridge back down. Another puzzle I thought was interesting within this game was the puzzle using the beams of light, it was interesting as to the simplicity of how it was laid out. using the beams of light to connect up, then using the piece of rubble to stop one of the lights so it would line up correctly was a great touch. At first I did not think it was possible as majority of the levels so far have shown little to no interaction with the objects around you. The beam of light triggered here is then seen throughout the other levels of the game. This game is very event driven and finding the visual cues is key to completing it.  The level layout is doesn't try to convince me to go to certain places but uses verticality to try and show the player where they should be heading. From the levels I have played going up is normally the right choice when the player is surrounded by negative space. Generally a big object will be in the distance to which the player will have to go to. To change this up on the odd occasion if you walk into a room you will be on top and having to go down but these portions are a lot smaller and less grand than the going up portions. A portion of the level where the negative space is coloured red it coaxes the player to go up, and just before it hits the point where the player should go it tries to change the pace by making the player feel too heavy to get to the top. At the top the player is then greeted by what seems to be images of destruction of homes and nature. In the background you can hear strange noises and seems to sound like a broken record. The colour red is for danger combined with the imagery seen its like the creator of this game is trying to warn the player against something. The games simple design serves it well to serve up its core mechanics of exploration and puzzle solving.

Reference for Images

Image 1

http://www.gry-online.pl/i/h/4/1735075312.jpg

Invisible Walls Bioshock - A critical world design view of the beginning to Bioshock

The game starts off after the plane has gone down somewhere in the ocean, the beginning intrigues the player to play on as the it says in the opening sequence "My parents said I would do great thing, They were right". Instantly the player is given a reason to play the game, what are these great things that the story speaks of? It sets the tone by establishing that there are going to be great moments in this game if you're willing to follow it through to the end. As the player you hear the carnage of the plane going down and everything going to black, however the character awakens in the water being lucky enough to survive the crash but is stranded between walls of fire all around him except for in front of the player is a clear indication of where to go to progress the story. This was done well in a way that the player isn't told directly to go forward but is more lead by the level design of the game to move forward. Naturally as humans we avoid fire as we know of its properties and how it can burn you so naturally you would look for a way forward by finding where there is no fire to go through. As a test I went into the fire to see what would happen and to see if this would kill the player. The visual effects when you are in the fire are quite jarring with bright flashy lights and sound effects of someone burning. Your first instinct is to quickly back away from the fire as this is an indicator that the player is getting hurt and that if you stay you will die. However upon testing this in the demo I've found as far as it goes the player seems to constantly look like he is taking damage however is not taking any at all, you could just sit there in the fire with no consequence. 

I found this to be used to great effect to lead the player away from the fire by doing this as in most games when the screen flashes and you hear hurt sound effects in general you back away from the object that is causing damage. When you go through to the portion where there is no fire blocking your path you immediately notice there is a strange building in front of you, the flames to the left seem to be spreading further along the sea as an visual queue not to go that way and to head towards the building. To build onto of this, at the bottom of the building are lights that seem to invite the player to take the stairs, if you walk right around the stairs you can see on the other side that there are no lights as an indicator to the player that this is not the right way to go. When you look left there is a door that is open, like an invitation for the player to go inside. When inside the player is locked in and greeted by a strange statue. From here music plays, the music sounds old in the way that it could be from anything prior to 1960. This in itself sets the setting of how the world you are about to see is affected by the time period the music is from. The building's architecture also lends itself to the idea that it is from an older time period. 

Yet again the lighting plays a powerful role in being the guide to the player and guides him down into the room where the submarine is. The light turning on the closer you get is again a great way to lead the player. In the submarine room the walls have 4 plaques, one reading 'science', another 'industry', another 'art' and the last one behind the submarine reads 'R'. This feels like symbolism to advise that player where they are going is built on science, art and industry where they are combined to create 'R'. Walking into the submarine and pulling the lever the player is given a quick in-game cut scene where he is turned around to look out the door he came in. It forces the player into looking at the setting that they are about to partake in. The video goes on to explain the three plaques, and goes on to state that with all three of these combined this is what Rapture is built upon. The architecture of what the player sees resembles 1960's America underwater. The music, the visuals and the narrative all combine perfectly in this sequence to set the tone of what's to come. You as the player can hear people talking over the speaker and upon listening can tell that this place isn't as great as the video has advised as there sounds as though these is danger all around "Watch out for the splicers". 

Upon getting to the end of the submarine ride the player is greeted by more imagery of something called plasmids. The player is then introduced to a splicer for the first time and now can put into context what was said earlier over the communication unit. Again the lights are leading the player, it never really feels like the game is telling you to do anything however is leading you right to where it wants you to go. Just from going this far in the game, it has already established the atmosphere the time period and the urgency for the player to move quickly. Bioshock leads the player without actually having to tell them where to go and majority of it is done through level design which leans heavily on the use of Art Deco. Only when the player picks up the communication unit is it then that they have someone that tells them what to do and yet even this is done in a way where the player isn't necessarily told you have to do this but simply asks them a question of what he should do.

References for images

Image 1

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/Bioshock_series.jpg

Image 2

http://d1vnh8mbrp67em.cloudfront.net/image/file/2/47/74652/bioshock.jpeg

Practising My Art

ArtyApe here to art XD

drew this awhile back and decided to update it with colour, feel I'm getting a better feel for colouring

thanks for taking the time to check it out :)

Laters

Week 2 Submission - Doom Level

Week 2 Submission - Doom Level

The Level Layout Below

This week we had to create a doom level based around the idea of having a central hub. This was to encourage the player to explore the area and pass through this same area numerous times. At the beginning of my level I situate the player right in front of a door, I did this on purpose to coax the player into walking forward into the door. The reason I made this choice was because to the left of the player is another room which has all the best weapons in it which you can gain access to if you have the yellow skull. Which the player should have when they came back around. I did this because of how in most older games there is always that room at the beginning of the game you cannot get into unless you have gotten past majority of the game and then have the abilities to come back and get into that part of the level. The room the player walks into would be where I have my central hub located. The player passes through this part of the level at a minimum of 4 times to be able to complete the stage. Throughout the map I have placed 3 skulls that the player needs to collect in order to open the big door in the main hub which takes you through to the final boss of the level. The first room with the first skull is an easy warm up room for the player to get through. It’s to put the player into his paces without testing him too much. The room with the blue skull in it forces the player to kill the enemy to obtain the blue skull, I on purpose laid the level out so the player couldn’t just straight away open and close the door to beat the bosses. The player then needs to get through a lot of enemies to get to the red skull. I did this to up the tempo for the player to force his was through to the red skull. Upon obtaining the red skull the level shakes this was to indicate that the door in the main hub is now open for the player to go into. Upon walking around the player should notice the secret room that was at the start of the level. In here the player can get the best weapons to make the last boss fight easier. If the player chooses to skip this, he can still beat the last boss but it would be harder to do so. Walking into the room with the big door teleport's you to the last boss battle. This was to avoid players being able to use the door as a way to avoid getting hurt by the bosses. When you arrive there is a yellow key card this is to indicate you will need to kill the bosses to get the other two and complete the level.

Some Practise

Hi All,

Just doing some practise with colour, not very good at it so working on it to become better XD, I really do prefer just pencil work but being able to colour would be a good asset to have in regards to arting.

Arting yes that thing that I do sometimes XD Should prolly do it alot more but alas here is what ive been working on.

Ill keep uploading what I consider finished images as I go along anyway thanks for reading if you have any tips that I could follow would be great.

Thanks alot

ArtyApe

The Not So Great Holidays

Hey everyone and anyone,

I say that because I don't really know if anyone even reads these things lol. But i'm trying to create some good habits for myself so from now on I will post more and also post up some things that I have been currently working on.

I just moved in with some of my bros that I used to go to high school with, I see them as my family its been all most 5 years since we last lived together after leaving Uni oh good times indeed.

Anyway I should be doing more stuff on here as I said before so without further ado here is some work in progress, I rushed a finished copy out for the competition I sent it into, sadly it didnt place anywhere but thats ok its all about the learning experience from here on out.

Heres my Batman WIP

I really liked the way that I did his leg guards so will be working more on this in the future.

I went back to an old fan art image I did of Ryu vs Jin from Tekken just working on colouring and so far its coming along pretty good will add that in my next update.

Thanks for reading if anyone even reads this but anyway laters

Arty Ape