Wednesday, 3 December 2014
Wednesday, 26 November 2014
Games Design - Concept Art
Concept art is a MASSIVE part of the games design process I wish I was good at it and can produce some amazing pieces of work. I absolutely love concept art to be honest. I have a subscription to a monthly magazine about concept art called Imagine FX and every issue is just filled with great work. But back to the main point! Art! Concept art is what game developers will look at and work around for creating characters, levels, in-game objects, vehicles and many other parts of a game. It can vary from small sketches to a fully fledged work of art.
A concept artist's job is to bring the what is in the imagination onto paper and show it to the developers so that the next phase of the game can begin. Artist's wont just make a few sketches of a character and then move on. They will make possibly make 10-15 sketches and drawings of a character because they will take the first drawing to the developer and get feedback and refine it and this process will happen many more times before they come up with the final image.
A concept artist's job is to bring the what is in the imagination onto paper and show it to the developers so that the next phase of the game can begin. Artist's wont just make a few sketches of a character and then move on. They will make possibly make 10-15 sketches and drawings of a character because they will take the first drawing to the developer and get feedback and refine it and this process will happen many more times before they come up with the final image.
The image that is above is a piece of art from Guild Wars 2. I cannot put into words how much I love that piece of work. I really can't. I wish that I could draw and paint to that level of skill although I know that it's nigh impossible :c
It is designs like this that will be used for the game and will be taken by the animators, created and rendered and then put into the game. All of this spawns from the image that is given to them by the artist.
Concept art comes in different styles and can vary from landscapes to vehicles to guns to characters to in-game paraphernalia. An artist that I follow on youtube is a guy called Feng Zhu. His work is just fantastic and covers anything from characters to level design. He has a unique style that I really enjoy and the final piece of work really looks spectacular and is something that I'd strive for if I could draw to that standard of work. His work is what I would love to be able to take inspiration from and be able to draw in a similar style.
Below is just a snapshot of Feng Zhu's work.....its god damn beautiful.
Sunday, 16 November 2014
Game Design - Logos
Game Logos
Game logos can be something simple from the good old N64 logo to the memorable Gears of War logo. A logo must be simple yet effective but also memorable versatile but most importantly it must be relevant to the game or company.
A logo will start off by being researched and planned. Artists will sketch and brain storm ideas that will eventually be whittled down into the final product and produced for the game or company.
A logo if done well can be memorable and will be instantly recognisable by players. Just looking at the image below it takes only a glimpse to know what each one of these logos derives from. Just a quick glance and the logos that jump out are the N64, Rockstar, God of War, Diablo and Bioshock. Each of these logos are completely different but just by a quick look each one is identifiable within a flash. The Bioshock logo is just so unique and is so well done because of the art deco style that is used through the game. The Half-Life logo is the lambda symbol and is used in the game as part of the secrets and achievements. Each of these are easy to recognise because of how iconic they are.
All in all a logo if done well will be a symbol that can stand out in the crowd. It will be something that players will look at in 5 or 10 years and still recall the game to memory because it is important that a logo is timeless. That it will stand the test of time and will be remembered for years to come.
Game logos can be something simple from the good old N64 logo to the memorable Gears of War logo. A logo must be simple yet effective but also memorable versatile but most importantly it must be relevant to the game or company.
A logo will start off by being researched and planned. Artists will sketch and brain storm ideas that will eventually be whittled down into the final product and produced for the game or company.
A logo if done well can be memorable and will be instantly recognisable by players. Just looking at the image below it takes only a glimpse to know what each one of these logos derives from. Just a quick glance and the logos that jump out are the N64, Rockstar, God of War, Diablo and Bioshock. Each of these logos are completely different but just by a quick look each one is identifiable within a flash. The Bioshock logo is just so unique and is so well done because of the art deco style that is used through the game. The Half-Life logo is the lambda symbol and is used in the game as part of the secrets and achievements. Each of these are easy to recognise because of how iconic they are.
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
Why do we play games?
Why do we play games?
Personally I believe we play games to escape from our daily lives. To find something that we could never experience normally. Look at Skyrim for example. How many of us will go around killing dragons and shooting fireballs out of our hands? Pretty sure no one can. It is this feeling of the surreal that I believe leads us to sit and spend hours immersed in a game chipping away at the story line desperate to know the next part of the adventure.
Personally I believe we play games to escape from our daily lives. To find something that we could never experience normally. Look at Skyrim for example. How many of us will go around killing dragons and shooting fireballs out of our hands? Pretty sure no one can. It is this feeling of the surreal that I believe leads us to sit and spend hours immersed in a game chipping away at the story line desperate to know the next part of the adventure.
We as humans crave the extra ordinary. We love to find new ways of completing tasks or discovering new things because humans an inquisitive by nature. Games nurture this, they help us evolve this understanding and desire for knowledge. Even on a day to day basis we still make goals for ourselves and gamify things, so to speak. In the gym we try to 'level up' our muscles, in the library we try to 'level up' our intelligence...well this is how I see it but that's cause I am a nerd and enjoy games and putting them into my daily life. Anyway! I believe that games are so popular because they are a release for our creative juices and give us a way to express ourselves in our own little way. There are games that inspire us to go out and try new things, games that help us bond with friends and family, games that make us strive for that perfect 100% score and then there are games that make us want a zombie apocalypse so we can run around with chainsaws and brawling with the undead. Just normal gaming stuff really.
Regardless of what games a person likes they will always find some solitude in sitting there in their own little bubble, away from the world they know, and into their own adventure. This is why we play games. To experience the sensation of being somewhere else, to have the feeling of freedom of creativity and in the end. To have fun!
Thursday, 6 November 2014
Games Design - Sound
Sound in a game can be one of the most crucial parts of a game. When talking about sound I mean both the ambient sound, the sound effects and the backing track of the game. Each one of these aspects all are important in their own way. Having good sound effects will make the game more real and believable. If you are playing a first person shooter and machine gun makes a "pew" sound effect then it won't be realistic, unless of course that is the amusing result you are aiming for.
Sound effects can be simple little things that range from the 'waka waka' of Pacman to the Halo Plasma rifle. Each of these sounds are completely different from each other but each one does the job that is is supposed to do.
Sound effects can be made with surprising ease, a great example is that sound of flesh being hacked by a sword. Take a cabbage and a big ol' butchers knife and SLAM and you have your sound effect. In a game sound effects that are well recorded and created will make a game more intense, for example if you are playing a zombie game and stab a zombie with a sword you will expect to here a squelch of some sort. If you do hear the gut spilling noise then you will be content and continue swinging but if you here a poor sound effect you won't stop playing the game but you won't get quite as excited at the chance to carve up the undead.
You hear that and you immediately know that the Empire are about to show up on screen. The same ideals apply to a movie apply to a game. Music can make or break a game because having a good soundtrack will be noticed but not as much as if you have a bad soundtrack. The quote that comes to mind to describe this is, rather interestingly, from Futurama:
"When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all."
A great, if not perfect example of a soundtrack that synchronises well with the game is The Elder Scrolls : Skyrim. The full soundtrack for that game is about 4 hours long (I know because I have it) I can imagine that every single player of Skyrim can recognise the main theme of the game instantly because of how strong a theme it is. The percussion leads in with the choir chanting the language of the dragons. A cresendo then takes the full orchestra into the iconic riff of the full theme and even listening to it in the main menu you feel inspired to fill the shoes of this fictional hero. However ask one of the players to listen to some of the ambient music for a cave and I can take a stab and say that very few of them will be able to guess that it is from Skyrim.
Personally I love a good soundtrack. It doesn't have to be a game soundtrack, it can be a movie soundtrack, a TV series soundtrack or in some cases a musical soundtrack. I can easily spend hours listening to orchestral music because it gives me something that other music can't and that is emotion and feeling. I'm not disputing that some music is sad, happy etc but there is just something about hearing a full symphony orchestra play as one living being that just makes me quite content and happy.
Wednesday, 15 October 2014
Think Tank - Story Boarding
Corey's idea: Earth is no more. Humanities greedy nature had finally caught up as the worlds first massive colony ships neared completion following the worldwide panic as the effects of resource starvation and global warming started to really show. Humanity was forced to make certain sacrifices and abandon their home. The mass populace moved to the ship yards above, by way of Orbital Elevators, to escape the chaos below. Earths last few materials were drained as man sucked the air from the planet for the stations and ships and even went as far to drain the water from the seas to be filtrated and rationed above.
The once clean and modern stations quickly became riddled with disease and famine as space was scarce as were any resources, Humanity would endure this hardship for some time and even fall trial to the formation of new human bodies of power and government as the newly formed colonies orbiting Earth waged war against each other, each racing to leave the rest behind. Riots and killings were on the rise until a time of brief peace a midst the chaos came only months before the colony ships would ferry Humanity to a New Earth, a monument to mankind's old home.
As the ships scoured the galaxy strongholds were built and systems were marked. Each faction found their home and expanded their territory from there, discovering new planets and even new life. Some people were accepting of the strange races they encountered, others saw the aliens as lesser beings in the way of humanities progress.
Now the year is 2272, more than 100 years after the Unification Wars and still nothings changed. The Commonwealth of Nations led by King Arthur Windsor, President John Miller and the United States Space Federation, the Coalition of Communist Space led by Chairman Dae-Hyun Eun and The Fourth Reich led by Baron Ulrich Steiner operate under a shaky piece treaty. A bright center to the chaos of the galaxy has been founded on the largest planet of the Agora System. A political haven where humanity and her respective factions share a stand with the larger alien empires of the galaxy.
Enter the New Earth Consortium. A small faction operating out of a hidden station on a remote moon. They believe the treaty should be repealed and instead of the powers coexisting they should be merged into a fairer government body. This NEC has been ousted as the perpetrators of recent assassination on a member of the United States Space Federation, under alignment with the Coalition. The fall man is James Trent, a spacer who takes on any work he can, bounties, smuggling, gun running anything that requires a certain element. The assassination was concocted by the Commonwealth Nations in order to turn the Federation against the Coalition, two groups who have always remained rivals.
For the first half of the game Trent runs various missions with his crew, playing all sides of the power struggle in the capital. When Trent is hired for an assassination he jumps without question as the pay is substantial. He places a bomb in the location specified and leaves. Following the explosion he learns of the victims, the wife and children of a very high up person in the USF rankings. Suddenly there's a bounty on Trent's head as he flees to the only people willing to help, the NEC. Over the course of his partnership with the NEC he learns that the Commonwealth were behind the whole thing and that there are a substantial amount of bounty hunters looking for him and his crew but not before he's sold out as a Coalition Radical to the Commonwealth. With most of his crew disbanded or dead and a serious hunter stopping at nothing to find him he manages to escape and find the man responsible for everything. Over the course of the game the player will have made multiple choices that effect the ending. If that player choose mostly evil options throughout he's gunned down killing the father of the family and the perpetrator of the assassination. A mix of both good and evil sees the character die at the hand of the father and the perpetrator being brought to justice within the Commonwealth and a majority of good choices leads to the fathers forgiveness and corrupt members of all houses being hunted down.
The once clean and modern stations quickly became riddled with disease and famine as space was scarce as were any resources, Humanity would endure this hardship for some time and even fall trial to the formation of new human bodies of power and government as the newly formed colonies orbiting Earth waged war against each other, each racing to leave the rest behind. Riots and killings were on the rise until a time of brief peace a midst the chaos came only months before the colony ships would ferry Humanity to a New Earth, a monument to mankind's old home.
As the ships scoured the galaxy strongholds were built and systems were marked. Each faction found their home and expanded their territory from there, discovering new planets and even new life. Some people were accepting of the strange races they encountered, others saw the aliens as lesser beings in the way of humanities progress.
Now the year is 2272, more than 100 years after the Unification Wars and still nothings changed. The Commonwealth of Nations led by King Arthur Windsor, President John Miller and the United States Space Federation, the Coalition of Communist Space led by Chairman Dae-Hyun Eun and The Fourth Reich led by Baron Ulrich Steiner operate under a shaky piece treaty. A bright center to the chaos of the galaxy has been founded on the largest planet of the Agora System. A political haven where humanity and her respective factions share a stand with the larger alien empires of the galaxy.
Enter the New Earth Consortium. A small faction operating out of a hidden station on a remote moon. They believe the treaty should be repealed and instead of the powers coexisting they should be merged into a fairer government body. This NEC has been ousted as the perpetrators of recent assassination on a member of the United States Space Federation, under alignment with the Coalition. The fall man is James Trent, a spacer who takes on any work he can, bounties, smuggling, gun running anything that requires a certain element. The assassination was concocted by the Commonwealth Nations in order to turn the Federation against the Coalition, two groups who have always remained rivals.
For the first half of the game Trent runs various missions with his crew, playing all sides of the power struggle in the capital. When Trent is hired for an assassination he jumps without question as the pay is substantial. He places a bomb in the location specified and leaves. Following the explosion he learns of the victims, the wife and children of a very high up person in the USF rankings. Suddenly there's a bounty on Trent's head as he flees to the only people willing to help, the NEC. Over the course of his partnership with the NEC he learns that the Commonwealth were behind the whole thing and that there are a substantial amount of bounty hunters looking for him and his crew but not before he's sold out as a Coalition Radical to the Commonwealth. With most of his crew disbanded or dead and a serious hunter stopping at nothing to find him he manages to escape and find the man responsible for everything. Over the course of the game the player will have made multiple choices that effect the ending. If that player choose mostly evil options throughout he's gunned down killing the father of the family and the perpetrator of the assassination. A mix of both good and evil sees the character die at the hand of the father and the perpetrator being brought to justice within the Commonwealth and a majority of good choices leads to the fathers forgiveness and corrupt members of all houses being hunted down.
Nathan's idea: The year is 2501, the beginning of a new Century, and it has been almost 300 years since the UCC have rose to power. They brought about the terraforming of new planets, forming hundreds of colonies over countless planets. The Universal Command Corps grew strong and many in numbers and slowly they took over each planet and acted as the new law enforcers. They were in control and they made sure that their presence was felt by all. Governments quickly became overthrown and strife with corruption as they shouldered their way in. The UCC began dividing the poor and the wealthy in a attempt to create their own Utopia in the central cities, their own little piece of paradise. The rich would flourish and prosper while the working class would suffer and live in poverty.
The smaller hubs of the working class prospered and grew taking on their own form of society, culture and gangs. Many of these smaller cities created their own hierarchies of guilds and gangs. Joining one of these guilds would mean to go against the UCC and to become a target till the day that you died.
The Den of Thieves, The Alliance of Hunters, The Shades and The Resurrected. These were the collection of guilds that had formed after the divide. These guilds were the type of places that if you needed something done quickly and quietly, that wasn't on the right side of the law, you would find all the resources you needed. Any one of these guilds would teach any willing soul how to stalk their prey, to go in for the killing blow and to collect the bounty on their head. They would train the youngest of children how to pickpocket and steal without being detected. However, the most prestigious guild was the Alliance of Hunters and they would take the brightest and best to train in the art of becoming a hunter. They would take boys and girls and give them years of training to become hone their craft and to perfect that art of killing. Anyone from the Alliance of Hunters could easily be called finest assassins of the verse. Only a few select assassins would survive past the muscle for hire stage but those who did would claim the title of Bounty Hunter.
As a boy I was cast out by my mother and father for being different from the rest. I would always ask the wrong questions and could never understand why we had separated from the poor. I believed that we should have helped them and it was 'heretical' views that brought shame on my family so I was abandoned and sent to the slums to fight for myself. Growing up in a city where slave trafficking, prostitution and murder are a daily occurrence I quickly learned how to surive, how to steal, to live in the shadows and how to fight for for my life. After a few years of living in those conditions I had build somewhat of a reputation for myself among a few of the guilds. I guess this served me well as just after my 17th birthday I was tracked down by the Alliance of Hunters wanting me to become a bounty hunter. Seven grueling years later I had finally made a name for myself as a bounty hunter and I had my own ship, my own armour and guns and had a list of contacts for 'business' contracts.
The irony is that the very same people who cast me out, who abandoned me were now those who were hiring my services. As long as the paycheck is worth it then I only need to ask one question, the name of my target. My work may be grim and bloody but as long as there are at least two people left on this planet someone will want someone else dead.
Ben's idea: Sci-fi game (FPS/RPG)
Sometime, several hundred years from now when space travel is a common method of transportation and access to different planets, inhabited by different alien races is nothing but a day to day occurrence, an underground organisation hides among society. Dealing out contracts for the Soldiers of Fortune for the galaxy one in particular known as <Protagonist Name: Player Selective> abandons his current job <Player choice> in order to join this Mercenary group and gain riches to pay for his only daughters blood transfusion, a cost which he wouldn't be able to make in his life time, legally. Turning to the Underground Society he equips himself with the gear needed provided by his deceased father and uses his name as an Alias to get what he wants.
In the game there would a job system for the character to choose at the start of the game and would also give a different opening cutscene; slightly, for the game. Some of the jobs are as follows.
Architect:
Sometime, several hundred years from now when space travel is a common method of transportation and access to different planets, inhabited by different alien races is nothing but a day to day occurrence, an underground organisation hides among society. Dealing out contracts for the Soldiers of Fortune for the galaxy one in particular known as <Protagonist Name: Player Selective> abandons his current job <Player choice> in order to join this Mercenary group and gain riches to pay for his only daughters blood transfusion, a cost which he wouldn't be able to make in his life time, legally. Turning to the Underground Society he equips himself with the gear needed provided by his deceased father and uses his name as an Alias to get what he wants.
In the game there would a job system for the character to choose at the start of the game and would also give a different opening cutscene; slightly, for the game. Some of the jobs are as follows.
Architect:
- Has access to blueprints of multiple buildings and skyscrapers in the galaxy.
- Starts mission with map
- Can exploit structural weaknesses
Engineer:
- Access to power tools which double as weapons
- Can weld and create new weapons
- Can repair weapons and armour
Full time Bounty Hunter:
- Starts game with knowledge of all Hunting Bureaus
- Can hire followers at a cheaper price
- More influence over Bounty Hunter Society
Fast Travel will only be unlocked after 33% of the games locations have been unlocked. Other methods of fast travel such as paid star flight and public transport are unlocked at the beginning of the game.
Andy's idea: You start on SAAN one of 6 planets in the Prosperity District of Galaxy Clel.
A wealthy human business man, most of your wealth coming from taking and selling resources from other planets with your company Xpl-Ore. Since Xpl-Ore take resources before most lifeforms on the planet are able to make use of them, leaving the planet with no wealth or possible way to maintain sustainable life.
This outrages some other districts, which leads to an attempt to steal some of his wealth. Unfortunately for these bounty hunters/theifs they steal (his) space trawler with his daughter still in the vessel.
Not only has your daughter just been stolen from you, but you receive the blame.
Your fellow board members of the company freeze your assets, oust you as CEO and have you arrested for the kidnapping and potential murder of your daughter.
///////OOOohhh shit it turns out was actually guy below you, that did it so he could be ceo///////
You are moved to the Niterc District, and placed in Clel's largest floating multi-species prison as you await trial. You spend 4 nights in the prison pleading your innocence and trying to figure a way out.
On the fifth night, a masked figure presents himself as Olaga, he proceeds to break you out of the prison and takes you to one of his several asteroid bases. Then informs you that it was right hand man (insert name) ordered some bounty hunters to steal your ship but wait until the daughter goes into it, so he can gain full control of the company. Olaga also informs you that they have your daughter in the Farlig District, very restricted and only accessible by being a high up member of Dödliga Jägare- a notorious gang of bounty hunters lead by the galaxies most lethal and dangerous criminals- as it is only accessible by being a Dödliga Jägare (unless you wish for an instant death), you have to start of as a small bounty hunter, working your way up until you manage to become a Dödliga Jägare.
Other add-ons
Olaga is a merchant on the black market who will send you what ever you need (provide you got the coin)
He allows you to use one of his asteroid bases (again coin) were the Player can customise your character with new armour, weaponry, gadgets, vessiles and of course a mad ass jet pack.
The player will be able to name the character (thus providing an emotional connection, like naming a pet, but a pet with mad crazy space stuff)
Names:
Olaga - Unlawful
Farlig - Dangerous
Dödliga Jägare - Deadly/lethal hunters
^these are swedish
Clel - is made up
Niterc - is cretin backwards
///////OOOohhh shit it turns out was actually guy below you, that did it so he could be ceo///////
You are moved to the Niterc District, and placed in Clel's largest floating multi-species prison as you await trial. You spend 4 nights in the prison pleading your innocence and trying to figure a way out.
On the fifth night, a masked figure presents himself as Olaga, he proceeds to break you out of the prison and takes you to one of his several asteroid bases. Then informs you that it was right hand man (insert name) ordered some bounty hunters to steal your ship but wait until the daughter goes into it, so he can gain full control of the company. Olaga also informs you that they have your daughter in the Farlig District, very restricted and only accessible by being a high up member of Dödliga Jägare- a notorious gang of bounty hunters lead by the galaxies most lethal and dangerous criminals- as it is only accessible by being a Dödliga Jägare (unless you wish for an instant death), you have to start of as a small bounty hunter, working your way up until you manage to become a Dödliga Jägare.
I have no idea why its all spaced like that above^^^^^^^
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////Other add-ons
Olaga is a merchant on the black market who will send you what ever you need (provide you got the coin)
He allows you to use one of his asteroid bases (again coin) were the Player can customise your character with new armour, weaponry, gadgets, vessiles and of course a mad ass jet pack.
The player will be able to name the character (thus providing an emotional connection, like naming a pet, but a pet with mad crazy space stuff)
Names:
Olaga - Unlawful
Farlig - Dangerous
Dödliga Jägare - Deadly/lethal hunters
^these are swedish
Clel - is made up
Niterc - is cretin backwards
Thursday, 9 October 2014
Think Tank - Story Line
The year is 2501, the beginning of a new Century, and it has been almost 300 years since the UCC have rose to power. They brought about the terraforming of new planets, forming hundreds of colonies over countless planets. The Universal Command Corps grew strong and many in numbers and slowly they took over each planet and acted as the new law enforcers. They were in control and they made sure that their presence was felt by all. Governments quickly became overthrown and strife with corruption as they shouldered their way in. The UCC began dividing the poor and the wealthy in a attempt to create their own Utopia in the central cities, their own little piece of paradise. The rich would flourish and prosper while the working class would suffer and live in poverty.
The smaller hubs of the working class prospered and grew taking on their own form of society, culture and gangs. Many of these smaller cities created their own hierarchies of guilds and gangs. Joining one of these guilds would mean to go against the UCC and to become a target till the day that you died.
The Den of Thieves, The Alliance of Hunters, The Shades and The Resurrected. These were the collection of guilds that had formed after the divide. These guilds were the type of places that if you needed something done quickly and quietly, that wasn't on the right side of the law, you would find all the resources you needed. Any one of these guilds would teach any willing soul how to stalk their prey, to go in for the killing blow and to collect the bounty on their head. They would train the youngest of children how to pickpocket and steal without being detected. However, the most prestigious guild was the Alliance of Hunters and they would take the brightest and best to train in the art of becoming a hunter. They would take boys and girls and give them years of training to become hone their craft and to perfect that art of killing. Anyone from the Alliance of Hunters could easily be called finest assassins of the verse. Only a few select assassins would survive past the muscle for hire stage but those who did would claim the title of Bounty Hunter.
As a boy I was cast out by my mother and father for being different from the rest. I would always ask the wrong questions and could never understand why we had separated from the poor. I believed that we should have helped them and it was 'heretical' views that brought shame on my family so I was abandoned and sent to the slums to fight for myself. Growing up in a city where slave trafficking, prostitution and murder are a daily occurrence I quickly learned how to surive, how to steal, to live in the shadows and how to fight for for my life. After a few years of living in those conditions I had build somewhat of a reputation for myself among a few of the guilds. I guess this served me well as just after my 17th birthday I was tracked down by the Alliance of Hunters wanting me to become a bounty hunter. Seven grueling years later I had finally made a name for myself as a bounty hunter and I had my own ship, my own armour and guns and had a list of contacts for 'business' contracts.
The irony is that the very same people who cast me out, who abandoned me were now those who were hiring my services. As long as the paycheck is worth it then I only need to ask one question, the name of my target. My work may be grim and bloody but as long as there are at least two people left on this planet someone will want someone else dead.
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