Platform Game

Customer:

What Does The Customer Want?

·         A platform game that involves physics, the main character must be named Max.

What Does The Design Brief Say?

·         Create a platform game for students to play, the main character is to be called ‘Max’ and he must move from level to level fighting or dodging monsters which either chase or block the way. Max will get the score from collecting diamonds and killing monsters. Collecting certain items will unlock doors for the next level.

Who Is The Target Audience?

·         Children, aged roughly between 8-12 years old.

Development:

What Sprites Do We Need?

·         Max; main character.

·         Enemies; different ones for different levels.

·         Walls and scenery.

·         Diamonds; to collect.

·         Doors; to next levels.

What Sounds Do We Need?

·         Sound effects; shooting, collecting diamonds, jumping.

·         Background music

How Many Levels Do We Want?

·         5 levels, progressively harder.

What Other Elements Do We Want?

·         Score

·         Lives

·         Timer

Management

What Do We Want To Do By The End Of This Session?

·         Start to create and develop the rooms and walls.

How Long Do We Have To Create This Game?

·         4 Weeks, 12 sessions… plus time to work on it in free time.

How Can We Break Down The Tasks In Making A Game?

·         Plan out what to do and when.

·         Don’t Rush.

·         Don’t expect too much of yourself.

Unit 78 - Recap

Unit 78- BTEC Extended Diploma in Computer Games Design

There are many different aspects within Computer Games Graphics, sprites, textures and animations all go into the graphics of a game.

 

Pixel Art; Raster Images, Vector Images:

- A pixel, short for Picture Element, is a single point within an image. Pixels are millions of points within a display screen. They look as though it is all one picture, because they are so close together

Concept Art; Drawings, Photographs, Mood Board, Videos:

- Concept Art is used to portray a design idea that is to be used in a computer game, comic book, animation or a film. Concept art is used to show the bigger picture, it starts with a brief design and then evolves into a finished product. Concept art is mainly used for characters, vehicles, environments or weapons. Different form and illustration, concept art is used to explore ideas quickly.

 

Artistic Styles; Photo-Realism, Abstraction, Exaggeration, Anime:

-  Anime is exaggerated imagery, natively from Japan, it can be hand drawn or computer animated. The word anime is itself short for animation, generally the images or characters are very bright and vibrant, usually with pink or blue hair. Anime stands out from other forms of artistic styles. Photorealism is an art form of which an already captured image is recreated, there is also a group called United States Art Movement. The US Art Movement specialize in photorealism, the group began in the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s. Artist such as Audrey Flack, Chuck Close and Ralph Goings began to recreate what they caught on film. This particular artistic style was created from the Pop Art industry. Photorealism is reliant on photography to be able to transfer the imagery onto a canvas to create the final piece. Abstraction can take the form of either a painting or even a sculpture, usually in an exaggerated or distorted fashion. This art form began in 1911, a piece of art was created by Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky. This artist believe that different colours meant different things. For example; Blue was deep and supernatural and White was silent but full of possibilities.

Cel-Shading:

- Cel-Shading is a computer rendered artistic style that imitates the look of art work that has been hand-drawn. The first computer game to be codified with cel-shading was Jet Set Radio, by SEGA Dreamcast. However cel-shading isn’t just used for video games, but it is the main platform. Some animated television shows use cel-shading to gain the right look.

Background Graphics:

- A background graphic is what’s known as a sprite, it is a image or animation in a 2D format.  Background Graphics, walls, clouds and forests etc… The background graphics may be more objects than anything else, however it would be objects that aren’t functional.

Image Capture:

- Capturing an image, using a camera, screenshot, a scanning machine or any other method of being able to get an image onto a screen. Capturing an image isn’t the hardest thing to do but as a photographer it is important to capture the right thing. If you were working on a game based on street crime in London, for example. Then taking pictures of a park in Manchester isn’t going to be right. Researching what you need to do before doing it is important to gaining the highest quality of imagery possible.

Storage of Image Assets:

- Storage of an image asset means the file size, how big the file is. Name, what the file is going to be called. Storage, where will you save it. Saving and storing a document, or picture, correctly is important to assuring you don’t lose it. Also naming it appropriately will help you find it easier. For example, take Mario. If you were to have a folder with various different Mario’s within it the folder would be best called ‘Mario’ the files within ‘Mario 1’ Mario 2’ etc…

What is Graphics Specification?

Below is the definition of Specification from the Oxford Dictionary;

An act of identifying something precisely or of stating a precise requirement: 'give a full specification of the job advertised' [mass noun]: 'there was no clear specification of objectives'

Putting this into terms of Graphics specification, it could refer to any of the elements within a graphic. Such as;

- Resolution
- Compression
- Optimization
-Storage of an Image Asset
-File Extension

It could also refer to other things such as:

- Client Needs
- Audience
- Thumbnail Sketches
-Visual Styles
-Composition
- Typography
- Technical Considerations.

 Overall a specification could be seen as a rule or instruction, maybe in a client brief they would ask for presise things which you would have to deliver.

Unit 78 Exercises

Concept Art;

 

Spider; This is a basic design of a spider. I have used a light black dark grey pencil to add texture to the spiders body.

 

What is Copyright Law?

- Copyright is the protection of work that has been produced, therefore forbidding others to copy the work and claim it as their own. The current copyright act is; Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This law gives the creator of a piece of work the right to control how the piece is used. Things that are covered by copyright law are literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, sound recordings, broadcasts, films and typographical arrangements. Copyright arises automatically when a company, or an individual, creates a form of work covered by the copyright law. Without the consent of the owner it is illegal to; copy the work, rent or lend out a copy of the work, adapt the work or preform it to a public audience or broadcaster. The owner also has the right to be identified as the owner/author of the work.

http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law

 

What does Libel mean?



- A published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation;
'He was found guilty of a libel on a Liverpool inspector of taxes'

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/libel

- Libel has been compared to the term Slander;

The action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation;

'He is suing the TV company for slander'

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/slander

 

How are female characters represented in games?

- Females are less common as main characters within games, compared to male. One of the most famous Female Leads would be Lara Croft; Tomb Raider. As you can see on the right, she is notoriously breasty, this portrays her in a negative way. Females are less common, however when they are portrayed they are done so in a false way which may even look highly feminized. She looks like a fake woman, however she is incredibly strong and driven, which isn't portrayed in the way in which she looks. The way in which she is dressed makes her look 'sexy' which is how the majority of female characters are portrayed in order to appeal to the main population of gamers, boys in their teenage years, or early to mid twenties. In more recent versions of the game, Lara looks more realistic and less fake. She is however a lot younger as well which may be a massive contributor to the way in which she now looks.

Unit 1 - Maths Maze Game;

I used Animoto to create a mood board for my new maze game.

----------> https://animoto.com/play/igUgUnbPZSa2O5iD6W0Kaw <----------

The Schedule.

Week 1

28th October 2014	Start to create the main character, Brainbox.
29th October 2014	Continue developing Brainbox.

Week 2

3rd November 2014	Start to produce the base of each level.
4th November 2014	Develop the levels, check they are the size.
5th November 2014	Programme Brainbox to move around the maze.

Week 3

10th November 2014	Develop a Start Screen, as well as an End Screen. Additionally add the monsters/bad guys into the individual rooms, and make them move around.
11th November 2014	Create sprites and objects in Numbers, Symbols and other necessary mathematical aspects
12th November 2014	Start to add Mathematical elements. As well as adding lives and possibly a score.

Week 4

17th November 2014	Continue to add the elements of Maths, ensuring the calculations are right and laying them out within the maze.
18th November 2014	Test the game and alter any changes.
19th November 2014	Test the game and alter any changes, upload to Blogger.

 Because of the format I used to complete my Budget, I have print screened it and placed it as a picture.

Clearances

In terms of clearances, I would have to consider contracts for all personnel that worked within the project. Having a legal document that binds the person to the project is important to assuring that the work will be done, if not they are breaking the contract and there will be consequences. People who would mainly need a contract would be people such as Voice Actors, Concept Artists, etc…

Another thing to consider would be the availability of your personnel. Some people would be working on the project throughout the whole development, like a coder or programmer. Some personnel, like a voice actor, would only be needed for a short amount of time.

Some things you may find within the contract may be:

-          Rate of pay

-          Deadline

-          Copyright Laws

-          Expectations

Below is an example of a Voice Actors contract,

LETTER OF AGREEMENT

Client: ____________________________________

 

Name of Production:________________________

 

Talent shall provide: _______________________

• (:10/:15/:30/:60/Other)
• (TV/Radio/Non-Broadcast/Phone)
• (Spots/Tags/Liners/Narration)
• (Buy Out/1 Year/13 Weeks)

Voiceover Due:________________________

Compensation:

• Client shall pay talent $_____ per spot/ tag / script/ hour.
• The terms of this agreement shall be confidential between the parties hereto, and neither CLIENT nor VOICE TALENT may disclose any clause, covenant, or term, in whole or part, to any third party without the other's consent.

Terms:

• Payment options include check, electronic funds transfer or PayPal (+4.0%)
• Balance due net 10.
• After voiceover session, rates for recuts requested at no fault of talent or after approval will need to be negotiated between talent and client on a project-by-project basis. After 48 hours full rate applied.
• Late charge of 1.5% per month on all past due accounts.
• Attorney fees and collection costs added to any overdue items.

Special Provisions:

Agreed To By:

 

Client signature: ________ Date: ________

 

A copy of the finished project will be sent to talent with permission to use on talent’s website and/or demo. (Yes /  No)

 

Billing Address: _________________________________

 

(http://www.voiceoverxtra.com/article.htm?id=cu87ubav – 12/11/2014 – 11:46)

It's very important that before or even at the beginning that you adhere to the codes of practice. Making sure that everyone abides by the legal laws and regulations during the production is vital to making sure the project goes ahead smoothly and legally. Health and safety regulations should also be adhered to. This is another reason why contracts and other legal documents are important.

Making sure that the company has the relevant insurance to cover everything is rather important. The insurance should cover the facilities, equipment and the people working within the production. Other important insurance is Completion Insurance. Ensuring that if you are being hired to create some artwork for a production and for some reason you cannot complete the job you will be covered so the company cannot sue you.

Certain regulatory bodies need to be taken into consideration also. Press Complaints Commission (PCC), Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), Pan European Game Informant (PEGI) are a few that need to research, looked into and consulted during the production procedure.

Other organizations that need to be considered are, The British Interactive Media Association (BIMA), The Independent Games Developers Association (TIGA), Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) are important agencies and organizations to know about and to consider.

 

 

 

Health & Safety Checklist

	Yes	No	N/A
Have the computers and/or other equipment been PAT tested?
Is the area surrounding the electrical equipment safe?
Has all food and/or drink been removed from the room or put away from any electrical equipment?
Has everyone had the necessary training?
Do all of the personnel using the equipment know how to use it accordingly and safely?
Is the room secure when no one is there?
Do the relevant people have access to the room?

 

Contingency Plan

What Could Go Wrong?	How Would You Prevent It?
Work being lost or wiped.	Save in multiple areas, on the computer, a USB stick, a hard drive and as a backup email it to yourself.
Personnel not attending or not completing work on time.	Write up a contract with each person working on the project ensuring they know about their deadline and what is expected of them throughout the project.
Food or drink being spilt on or near the electrical equipment.	Do not allow food and/or drink near the electrical equipment. Either leave them outside the room or have a table or cupboard near the door, away from any equipment.
Personnel being injured or unable to continue the project.	Always have a backup for each member of the work force. Ensure that if this does happen then it is vital that you get a replacement as soon as possible to keep the project on track.