Documentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17nqYzPgMeY08DPMDKVZIz1eJoLFgusqYYzECOzCiUec/edit?usp=sharing
Video Walkthrough: https://youtu.be/Kt0kbW3nIhA
Showing posts with label James. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James. Show all posts
Wednesday, 18 May 2016
Final Assignment Documentation
Final Assignment; TPS Shooter:
Documentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17nqYzPgMeY08DPMDKVZIz1eJoLFgusqYYzECOzCiUec/edit?usp=sharing
Video Walkthrough: https://youtu.be/Kt0kbW3nIhA
Documentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17nqYzPgMeY08DPMDKVZIz1eJoLFgusqYYzECOzCiUec/edit?usp=sharing
Video Walkthrough: https://youtu.be/Kt0kbW3nIhA
Wednesday, 9 March 2016
Object-Oriented Design: What You Need to Know -Part 1
BTEC Extended Diploma in
Computer Games Design
Unit 71: Object-Oriented
Design for Computer Games
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Object-Oriented Design: What You Need to Know
Object-Oriented
Design, or OOD, is a design method that is used on singular objects to give
them their own abilities and uses. Each object within a game would have their
own state and behaviours. The state would include its colour, name, direction,
speed and various other elements. Whereas the behaviours is more focused on the
mobility of the object and the possibilities of it changing state. Object-Oriented Design helps to organize the coding, or blueprints, into their individual and respective objects, making it easier to identify any problems if they happen to occur. Each of the individual objects hold all of the information about the objects states and behaviours.
What are States and Behaviours of an Object?
States of an object, like stated previously, are the things that describe the object, such as colour, shape and size. There are many different things that determine the shape of an object, the list above are just a few of the more common ones. Again, like previously stated, the behaviours of an object focus on what the object does rather than what the object looks like. Not just the mobility but also how it moves as well as where and why. The behaviours of the object tend to be more important than the state, the behaviours determine the way the game works and flows. While states are also important, the behaviours are what make the game work to its full potential.
Re-usability of Object Oriented Design:
One of the best things about Object Oriented Design is that for common objects such as a door, you can take the state and behaviours and place it into any game you make. If you were coding the game using java or C++ saving the code for the state an behaviour of the object into a word document would be the most efficient way to reuse it in future projects. Whereas if you were to be using a blueprint to give the object its state and behaviours then you will find it to be more challenging than saving a word document.
By selecting the blueprint or the asset in the content browser of unreal engine, you should right click and then select "Asset Actions". This will bring up a side menu of which you should choose "Migrate".
Maintenance & Quality Assurance of Object Oriented Design:
With any game, coded or blueprints, there is a significant probability that there will be some issues within the script. Assuring the quality is of a high standard before releasing the game would be best done by having a few professionals to play through the game and write a detailed review on any bugs, problems, or improvements. This can help to make the game better, but also identifies any areas within the blueprints. Above to the left is a screenshot of Unreal Tournament glitching. This would have been reported to Unreal and they would have had to go into their blueprints, or C++, identify the problem and correct it. As this game is live, this would have been a time sensitive project. Maintaining the blueprints during the game making process as well as once the project is completed, aren't so different. Once the project is completed, like mentioned before, there may be times that bugs need fixing or glitches need resolving, but there will be times when the game is being updated. The same OOD's can be used again, if it's a simple change, then individually updating the OOD's would be best, however if it is a big update, grouping the OOD's that have similar assets and updates would be time effective.
Efficiency of Object Oriented Design:
Object Oriented Design is in a sense efficient in the way it can be re-used at such ease. As we already established, re-using not only blueprinted OOD's but also Coded OOD's is very easy to do and doesn't take too much time to do so. Both are easily saved and stored and provide good structure to any game. This is similar to that of Procedural Programming, more commonly used in coded variants such as C++. Procedural Planning creates a chronological sequence of events to be executed with detailed instructions.
Real World Modelling:
Object Oriented Design isn't just found in computing, for example a car or a toy robot also use OOD to function. Looking closer at a toy robot, this one to be precise.
If you look at the state of the robot you can see that the name is Robot, obviously, you can also see that it is mainly blue with small sections of red.The behaviours are likely to be controlled by the wind-up key to the left side of the Robot, but the behaviours would be leg movement mainly and any potential noises that it would make. The way in which computerized objects work is not so different to that of physical objects. If you take a door within a game and compare it to a door in the real world, they work the same way. A standard door, in both capacities, work by being pushed, or the handle being used. Or an automatic sliding door would be triggered by a person standing in the view of a sensor, the same within unreal can be preformed by the use of a trigger box and setting up a matinee and a blueprint, like below.
Collaboration and Sharing:
An OOD may be created via various parties, there are many different people who work on games, the main two being the programmers and the artistic developers. The OOD could start by having the object created by the artistic team and then being passed onto the coders/programmers, to then be passed to the developers to add it to the game.
Communication, The Theory of Blueprints and How They Work:
Blueprints are a simpler way to code a game, most commonly used in the Unreal engine. There's been many debates on Blueprints vs C++ within the engine, neither seem to have more support than the other however. As shown below, both look rather complex to understand and execute, however most people who post on the unreal forums commented on how Blueprinting is easier to execute and use.
Neither way of coding the game will effect the game play, it all comes down to personal preference and skill level. When trying to get two or more blueprints to communicate with each other within the game, the main blueprint, which is your working blueprint, needs to gain access to the target blueprint. This being the other blueprint you want to communicate with. To do this, within your working blueprint, create a variable for the target blueprint. Then within the level with the working blueprint selected, in the details panel you can then set the variable. The variable is set to none as a default, by using the drop down menu you can choose from a variety of options to set the variable as, according to the needs of the blueprints. Within blueprint mapping itself, there is a function option that connect the variable to the blueprint, like below.
Inheritance:
Similar to a genetic inheritance, an object can take assets from two other objects and merged them with their own and become a whole new object, just like a child taking certain aspects from each parent as well as having their own. In unreal terms a parent and child class are often referred to as Superclass and Subclass. The subclass tends to take the properties from the superclass as well as develop its own, new, states and behaviours.
States of an object, like stated previously, are the things that describe the object, such as colour, shape and size. There are many different things that determine the shape of an object, the list above are just a few of the more common ones. Again, like previously stated, the behaviours of an object focus on what the object does rather than what the object looks like. Not just the mobility but also how it moves as well as where and why. The behaviours of the object tend to be more important than the state, the behaviours determine the way the game works and flows. While states are also important, the behaviours are what make the game work to its full potential. Re-usability of Object Oriented Design:
One of the best things about Object Oriented Design is that for common objects such as a door, you can take the state and behaviours and place it into any game you make. If you were coding the game using java or C++ saving the code for the state an behaviour of the object into a word document would be the most efficient way to reuse it in future projects. Whereas if you were to be using a blueprint to give the object its state and behaviours then you will find it to be more challenging than saving a word document.
By selecting the blueprint or the asset in the content browser of unreal engine, you should right click and then select "Asset Actions". This will bring up a side menu of which you should choose "Migrate".
Then confirm the migration and save it somewhere safe and easily accessible. Once you have migrated the asset, you can then import it into any other unreal project you need it for.
Maintenance & Quality Assurance of Object Oriented Design:
With any game, coded or blueprints, there is a significant probability that there will be some issues within the script. Assuring the quality is of a high standard before releasing the game would be best done by having a few professionals to play through the game and write a detailed review on any bugs, problems, or improvements. This can help to make the game better, but also identifies any areas within the blueprints. Above to the left is a screenshot of Unreal Tournament glitching. This would have been reported to Unreal and they would have had to go into their blueprints, or C++, identify the problem and correct it. As this game is live, this would have been a time sensitive project. Maintaining the blueprints during the game making process as well as once the project is completed, aren't so different. Once the project is completed, like mentioned before, there may be times that bugs need fixing or glitches need resolving, but there will be times when the game is being updated. The same OOD's can be used again, if it's a simple change, then individually updating the OOD's would be best, however if it is a big update, grouping the OOD's that have similar assets and updates would be time effective.Efficiency of Object Oriented Design:
Object Oriented Design is in a sense efficient in the way it can be re-used at such ease. As we already established, re-using not only blueprinted OOD's but also Coded OOD's is very easy to do and doesn't take too much time to do so. Both are easily saved and stored and provide good structure to any game. This is similar to that of Procedural Programming, more commonly used in coded variants such as C++. Procedural Planning creates a chronological sequence of events to be executed with detailed instructions.
Real World Modelling:
Object Oriented Design isn't just found in computing, for example a car or a toy robot also use OOD to function. Looking closer at a toy robot, this one to be precise.
If you look at the state of the robot you can see that the name is Robot, obviously, you can also see that it is mainly blue with small sections of red.The behaviours are likely to be controlled by the wind-up key to the left side of the Robot, but the behaviours would be leg movement mainly and any potential noises that it would make. The way in which computerized objects work is not so different to that of physical objects. If you take a door within a game and compare it to a door in the real world, they work the same way. A standard door, in both capacities, work by being pushed, or the handle being used. Or an automatic sliding door would be triggered by a person standing in the view of a sensor, the same within unreal can be preformed by the use of a trigger box and setting up a matinee and a blueprint, like below.
Collaboration and Sharing:
An OOD may be created via various parties, there are many different people who work on games, the main two being the programmers and the artistic developers. The OOD could start by having the object created by the artistic team and then being passed onto the coders/programmers, to then be passed to the developers to add it to the game.
Communication, The Theory of Blueprints and How They Work:
Blueprints are a simpler way to code a game, most commonly used in the Unreal engine. There's been many debates on Blueprints vs C++ within the engine, neither seem to have more support than the other however. As shown below, both look rather complex to understand and execute, however most people who post on the unreal forums commented on how Blueprinting is easier to execute and use.
Neither way of coding the game will effect the game play, it all comes down to personal preference and skill level. When trying to get two or more blueprints to communicate with each other within the game, the main blueprint, which is your working blueprint, needs to gain access to the target blueprint. This being the other blueprint you want to communicate with. To do this, within your working blueprint, create a variable for the target blueprint. Then within the level with the working blueprint selected, in the details panel you can then set the variable. The variable is set to none as a default, by using the drop down menu you can choose from a variety of options to set the variable as, according to the needs of the blueprints. Within blueprint mapping itself, there is a function option that connect the variable to the blueprint, like below.
Inheritance:
Similar to a genetic inheritance, an object can take assets from two other objects and merged them with their own and become a whole new object, just like a child taking certain aspects from each parent as well as having their own. In unreal terms a parent and child class are often referred to as Superclass and Subclass. The subclass tends to take the properties from the superclass as well as develop its own, new, states and behaviours.
Object-Oriented Design: What You Need to Know -Part 2
BTEC Extended Diploma in Computer Games
Design
Unit 71: Object-Oriented Design for Computer Games
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Object-Oriented Design: What You Need to Know
Advantages of Using the Following Objects:
> Sprites; A sprite is mainly used within 2D game making, however it can be found within 3D also. It is used to represent an object, it is more common in 2D games, as it is a flat image that can be animated through changing the image frame to progress the movement. As you can see below, the sprite is a basketball and it changes state to form the frames to make it look like it is bouncing through animation.
> Characters; Characters often shape a game, either through their story or their actions. There are some genres of game that require no characters, but genres such as First/Third person and RPG etc, depend on a good strong character to shape the story of the game.
> Weapons; Weaponry
within a game depends on genre, again, some games can get by without any
weapons. However games like Shoot ‘em ups and Strategy RPG games rely on
weapons. As you can see below, it’s not just guns that are considered as
weapons. Tools, Swords, Knifes, Daggers… The list is endless. Game makers are
getting more and more creative with weapon choice.
> Rooms; Rooms within a game often make up the playable area, that generally consists of multiple rooms. Rooms often have different collectibles within them, this could be different weapons or power-ups, sometimes even clothes or medical supplies. For example, below is a in game screenshot of Call of Duty: Black Ops II Zombie Map- Town. The player is in one of five rooms across the map. There is no significant power-ups or weapons within this bit of the map, however it is a wide open space often used to create some space between you and the zombies.
> Scenery; Scenery within games is important to set the story, as well as the feel within the game. Below is a scene from Skyrim, a medieval adventure game set in a fictional country, Skyrim. The eerie mountains and old villages set the scene and feel to the game perfectly. The scenery is a vital aspect to any game in order for the genre, story and artistic elements to connect and flow in exceptional way.
> Instances; Instances within 3D game making and 2D game making vary significantly. Within 3D game engines, Unreal in particular, instances are found within the objects assets, such as their materials. Where as a 2D software such as Game Maker, use instances to change the course of events. For example, if the player was to collide with a locked door and there was an instance in place the engine could check to see if the instance count of an object, such as a key, had been collected, if so the door would unlock. This is how a lot of things work within Game Maker.
> Rewards; Rewards, such as power-ups, extra health or bonuses, often boost the game play. There may come a time where the player is short of lives or low on health, finding an extra life or additional health, the chances of encouraging the player to play on will rise. Each reward would be their own OOD and each would function in their own ways, some would be similar in what assets the have and use, but solely individual also.
How are the Following Objects Defined within Specific Game Objects?
> Colour; The colour of an object is defined not only by sight, but through the material it is connected with. In some cases, it could have multiple colours. However the base colour or the subsurface colour is how the object would be identified.
> Size; The size of an object can most obviously be recognized by the size of said object. Also through the Details panel, within the transform section, there is Location, Rotation and Scale. Not only can you identify an objects size through here, but you can also alter it.
> Speed & Movement; Both speed and movement can be visually identified, however it can be identified through the blueprints that make the movement possible. Animating through unreal can be tricky, but once it has been digested and condensed into simpler terms it seems pretty easy to understand. The speed of the animation can be set through a blueprint also.
> Sounds; Importing sounds into Unreal is the easiest way to an atmosphere and emphasis into the game. Once the sounds have been imported, creating the blueprint gets a bit more trickier. Depending on the depth and detail of the sounds, the blueprint could be very large and complex like below, or it could be much simpler.
> Sounds; Importing sounds into Unreal is the easiest way to an atmosphere and emphasis into the game. Once the sounds have been imported, creating the blueprint gets a bit more trickier. Depending on the depth and detail of the sounds, the blueprint could be very large and complex like below, or it could be much simpler.
> Health & Lives; Health is a huge factor in most games, lives too. The importance of health in a game such as Legend of Zelda or Mario is pretty big, without lives or health, the game is over and you have to start again from the last save. Implementing a health system into unreal is done by using a blueprint widget. It gets more complex when it comes to adding and taking away the health, as well as drawing the health bar.
Actions and Events of Some Objects:
> Characters; Characters are the main part of each game, using
Link from the Legend of Zelda series as an example. You can see that the state
of Link is that he is mainly wearing green and he is carrying weaponry. The
behaviours of Link are mostly swordplay and general movement. The actions and events of Link are the main aim of the game, Rescue Princess Zelda. All of Links actions revolve around this one task.
> Weapons; Like previously mentioned, game developers are getting more creative with the weapons they're designing. Below is the Raygun Mark II from the DLC pack that gave us Buried on Call of Duty: Black Ops II Zombies. It is a zombie exclusive gun and is very powerful. The actions of weapons are most obviously, the damage in the health of other characters or enemies. The main event for the Raygun Mark II would be when the gun is presented to the player when they open the mystery box and gain the ability to play with this weapon. Generally speaking, the main events for any weapon would be the damage caused and executing different levels of damage.
> Rewards; Rewards within games are a huge boost the the playing experience, whether it be a new weapon, a boost in health or unlocking a new area, rewards keep the player playing. The most recognized game for power ups would be the Mario series. From mushrooms changing the size of the player to giant chain chomping metal balls, the power ups in Mario are infamous in themselves. Rewards can change the course of the game, either good or bad. In terms of implementing them within Unreal blueprints, a collision event would be put into place, the rest would vary on the type of reward gained. As well as the blueprints varying, the events and actions would also depend on the type of reward earned.
> Sounds; The events of a sound blueprint would include all of the different inputs and outputs needed to execute the sound. The sounds could be triggered by the players actions, this could be by walking into a trigger box or a specific area. Another action that could cause a sound to be played could be during a battle, the clink of swords or echoing gunfire.
> Lives; In some action rpg mmo games, it isnt just health and lives that the player has to keep track of. You can see below two bars, the top bar in the green resembles the players life, the blue bar at the bottom represents how much mana a player has left. This particular health bar is from the game League of Legends. Mana is used when preforming special moves, however some characters have unlimited mana so don't have to replenish it by drinking a potion. Potions are a common thing in games with health bars, they help to restore health when the player drinks them. Looking at the potions, the action would be the player consuming the health potion and the event would be gaining full, or partly restored health.
Implications of the Following Inheritance:
> Parent - Child; Parent - Child Behaviours can cause problems within blueprints, sometimes the child object doesn't maintain the variables and values that are inherited from the parent object. This sometimes interferes with the values that the object is trying to put into place for themselves.
> Overriding Events; Objects within unreal can override each other, sometimes this can cause errors, like seen below. Other times, you can only override objects that have output functions. This limits the functionalable blueprints.
Monday, 14 December 2015
Analysis of a Computer Game
Grand Theft Auto V is an action/adventure open world game developed and published by Rockstar Games. Despite being named as Grand Theft Auto V (Five) it is actually the fifteenth game within the series. It was originally released in September 2013 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was later released on the next generation consoles, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2014. In April of 2105 the final version of the game was released, this version is available for PC.
WARNING: SPOILERS!
Analysis of The Game:
The graphics within the game are of a significantly high level of detail, compared to detail within one of the earlier Grand Theft Auto games like Vice City.
Above you can see an immense difference in the quality of the games. A eleven year gap separates the two, and it shows. Vice City shows many similarities to that within V, but these are mainly the style of play and the way the game is set out. The difference in graphics, like I said previously, are extremely significant. In V you get a more realistic picture within the game, the characters look more life like as opposed to the block like characters from earlier versions of the game. Almost all of the elements are of significantly greater detail, the game as a whole runs smoother with the animation and graphics working side by side.
Sound within the game is of very high quality, not just the sound effects but the voice acting is also of excellent quality. There is also a lot of background music, mostly when you are in a vehicle. You have a choice of a number of different radio stations to choose from, ranging from rock to pop to country. The detail within this element of the game is excellent, it makes no difference to the game itself but it does allow the character to personalize their experience within the game more.
The way in which the content was constructed within the game was set out in a way that really compliments the story and every aspect of the game. The detail within the story is very well implemented and shows a vast amount of thought was taken within the content construction process. Content construction is all about appealing to the target audience, with GTA, if they producers chose to add things such as old fashioned clothing and vehicles instead of more relevant ones then the audience would be less likely to play the game. However, there is a small choice of older looking cars which are well received although the more modern sports car is a fan favorite.
The Codes and Conventions within GTA V are set out in a way which can make the player really connect with the characters. There are a few moments within the game that make you connect with a character, this is know as a symbolic code. An example of this would be after Michael's family leaves him and he begins heavily drinking. This represented his emotions as alone and down.
Narrative Structure:
The story is set in Los Santos, a fictional American State, similar to that of Los Angeles. The state of Los Santos has fifteen different areas of which you can visit, the main five of these are; Vinewood, Rockford Hills, Strawberry (Suburbs) Downtown Los Santos and Blaine County. Even though when the story starts you are playing as Michael, Trevor and Brad in Ludendorff in 2004. Ludendorff is a town in which has two playable scenes throughout the whole game. These are a bank robbery in the prologue as well as a scene after Trevor discovers the full truth of what happened nine years previous. After this it leaps to 2013 where you start the main story as Franklin working for Simeon repossessing cars.
The three main, playable, characters are Michael De Santa, Franklin Clinton and Trevor Philips. Throughout the story they do various heists and illegal missions and eventually get tangled up with some corrupt Government Agents. This is the focal to the ending of the story, which can be one of three options:
1. Kill Michael
2. Kill Trevor
3. Death wish
Each of the three options are played out via Franklin, the choice of ending will impact what happens to the characters after the story has ended.
Each of the characters respectively have a lot at stake should they not bring down the Government. All would end up facing time in jail, however depending on the players choice, Two of the characters could potentially loose their lives. Despite this each of the characters would loose someone/something close to them. This being either family or their business.
During the story there are multiple conflicts each of the characters have to face. The main one being the ongoing dispute between Michael and Trevor which often causes tension between the two characters and leads to Franklin having to maintain the peace between them. The conflict between them ultimately comes to some kind of resolvement after the second playable scene at Ludendorff, however it is still a very tense situation.
The conflict was set up as soon as the prologue ended, although the full of extent of the situation was not noted until later into the story. This left it flexible to fit the main characters in, we had already been introduced to Michael and Trevor but not yet to Franklin. From here Franklin was introduced for a few missions before he met Michael. After this both became playable characters, Trevor however was not playable until about a quarter of a way through the story. The individual missions all intertwine and make the story flow very well. Each mission has a consequence, good or bad, for the character. Some effect each of the characters, others only affect one. Towards the end of the game when Franklin is given the three options, this is where the story and the dispute finally comes to some form of conclusion. The impression the player gets is that Trevor comes to some sort of acceptance of Michael's actions, but still doesn't agree with what he did or why he did it.
As a whole the story tied into the game play is of a high quality, the amount of detail put into it enhances the experience of the game significantly.
Representation of Characters:
Sound within the game is of very high quality, not just the sound effects but the voice acting is also of excellent quality. There is also a lot of background music, mostly when you are in a vehicle. You have a choice of a number of different radio stations to choose from, ranging from rock to pop to country. The detail within this element of the game is excellent, it makes no difference to the game itself but it does allow the character to personalize their experience within the game more.
The way in which the content was constructed within the game was set out in a way that really compliments the story and every aspect of the game. The detail within the story is very well implemented and shows a vast amount of thought was taken within the content construction process. Content construction is all about appealing to the target audience, with GTA, if they producers chose to add things such as old fashioned clothing and vehicles instead of more relevant ones then the audience would be less likely to play the game. However, there is a small choice of older looking cars which are well received although the more modern sports car is a fan favorite.
The Codes and Conventions within GTA V are set out in a way which can make the player really connect with the characters. There are a few moments within the game that make you connect with a character, this is know as a symbolic code. An example of this would be after Michael's family leaves him and he begins heavily drinking. This represented his emotions as alone and down.
Narrative Structure:
The story is set in Los Santos, a fictional American State, similar to that of Los Angeles. The state of Los Santos has fifteen different areas of which you can visit, the main five of these are; Vinewood, Rockford Hills, Strawberry (Suburbs) Downtown Los Santos and Blaine County. Even though when the story starts you are playing as Michael, Trevor and Brad in Ludendorff in 2004. Ludendorff is a town in which has two playable scenes throughout the whole game. These are a bank robbery in the prologue as well as a scene after Trevor discovers the full truth of what happened nine years previous. After this it leaps to 2013 where you start the main story as Franklin working for Simeon repossessing cars.
The three main, playable, characters are Michael De Santa, Franklin Clinton and Trevor Philips. Throughout the story they do various heists and illegal missions and eventually get tangled up with some corrupt Government Agents. This is the focal to the ending of the story, which can be one of three options:1. Kill Michael
2. Kill Trevor
3. Death wish
Each of the three options are played out via Franklin, the choice of ending will impact what happens to the characters after the story has ended.
Each of the characters respectively have a lot at stake should they not bring down the Government. All would end up facing time in jail, however depending on the players choice, Two of the characters could potentially loose their lives. Despite this each of the characters would loose someone/something close to them. This being either family or their business.
During the story there are multiple conflicts each of the characters have to face. The main one being the ongoing dispute between Michael and Trevor which often causes tension between the two characters and leads to Franklin having to maintain the peace between them. The conflict between them ultimately comes to some kind of resolvement after the second playable scene at Ludendorff, however it is still a very tense situation.
The conflict was set up as soon as the prologue ended, although the full of extent of the situation was not noted until later into the story. This left it flexible to fit the main characters in, we had already been introduced to Michael and Trevor but not yet to Franklin. From here Franklin was introduced for a few missions before he met Michael. After this both became playable characters, Trevor however was not playable until about a quarter of a way through the story. The individual missions all intertwine and make the story flow very well. Each mission has a consequence, good or bad, for the character. Some effect each of the characters, others only affect one. Towards the end of the game when Franklin is given the three options, this is where the story and the dispute finally comes to some form of conclusion. The impression the player gets is that Trevor comes to some sort of acceptance of Michael's actions, but still doesn't agree with what he did or why he did it.
As a whole the story tied into the game play is of a high quality, the amount of detail put into it enhances the experience of the game significantly.
Representation of Characters:
The game is based on three main characters which
you can play as at will, however there are some parts of the game that require
you to be a specific character.
The game starts with you playing as Franklin Clinton, the first main character that you are introduced to. Not too long after you are introduced to the second character, Michael De Santa. The last character, Trevor Phillips, comes in at a later stage of the game. Each of the three main characters play a big part within the game and their individual stories all intertwine.
The game starts with you playing as Franklin Clinton, the first main character that you are introduced to. Not too long after you are introduced to the second character, Michael De Santa. The last character, Trevor Phillips, comes in at a later stage of the game. Each of the three main characters play a big part within the game and their individual stories all intertwine.
Each of the characters possess very unique personalities.
Michael is a family man who is haunted by his past and has a very serious
nature. Franklin is a laid back young adult trying to find his way in the life
of crime, he looks up to Michael as a father figure. Trevor is a neurotic slob,
who much like Michael is caught in the past, seeking revenge for what happened
on a heist he and Michael pulled in Ludendorff,
along with their friend Brad, many
years back, which led to all three suffering serious consequences.
["Look homie, I don't mind dying, you feel me? But I just wanna die
with something that matters."
― Franklin Clinton]
Franklin is the underdog, he constantly tries to show his worth.
Mainly to Michael, but to Trevor also. With being a Los Santos native, Franklin
knows a lot of people around the suburbs which gain him side missions with
various sub characters.
Franklin is often the peacekeeper between the other two characters
due to their past leaving them often fighting. Regardless of this Franklin is
known to have a similar relationship to his long term friend Lamar, much like Michael and Trevor.
As Franklin you have to decide how to end the story. There is three different options, Franklin can either kill Trevor and he and Michael go their separate ways. Another option is to kill Michael and the final option is to "Death Wish" which allows both Michael and Trevor to live. However, as a team you have to kill numerous people who are wanting Franklin to kill either Michael or Trevor.
Franklin is stereotyped as your typical African american street criminal. Although he is also portrayed as a kind and caring person at times. His stereotype fits his personality to a certain amount, but he also portrays himself in a different way too.
Franklin is stereotyped as your typical African american street criminal. Although he is also portrayed as a kind and caring person at times. His stereotype fits his personality to a certain amount, but he also portrays himself in a different way too.
Michael De Santa comes into the story
at the very beginning, here you do a heist with Trevor, as well as Brad. The
full reasoning as to why Michael and Trevor are at loggerheads is revealed
later in the story.
After this, the story shifts to Franklin. Here Franklin meets
Michael whilst repossessing a car that Michael’s son Jimmy is struggling to pay off. Michael gets in the back of the car
and follows Franklin back to Simeon, with a gun to his head. From here Michael
takes Franklin under his wing and treats him like a son.
Michael uses Franklin's help in various mission as his right hand man, their relationship is strong and full of trust. Michael's relationship to Trevor on the other hand is very tense sue to past events that were never clearly explained to Trevor before, leaving him angry at Michael.
During the course of the story, Michael comes across various family issues due to his previous past with Trevor as well as his life of crime and lack of faith to his wife, Amanda. This shapes the story in various ways, some of Michael's missions revolve around winning his family back, as well as keeping them safe.
The stereotype of Michael is that he is a family man who seems to be going through a mid life crisis. Which is very accurate, he is portrayed in both a negative and positibe way. NEgatively he is seen as a drunk who doesn't care for others, on the other hand is also shown to care alot... perhaps too much at times.
During the course of the story, Michael comes across various family issues due to his previous past with Trevor as well as his life of crime and lack of faith to his wife, Amanda. This shapes the story in various ways, some of Michael's missions revolve around winning his family back, as well as keeping them safe.
The stereotype of Michael is that he is a family man who seems to be going through a mid life crisis. Which is very accurate, he is portrayed in both a negative and positibe way. NEgatively he is seen as a drunk who doesn't care for others, on the other hand is also shown to care alot... perhaps too much at times.
["This is my life's work. I mean since I was a little kid I-I
dreamt big. Y'Know, I've always wanted to be an international drug dealer
and... Weapons trader." ―Trevor Philips]
Trevor Philips is brought into the
story after he sees Michael on the news. Trevor is under the impression that
during the Ludendorff heist Michael was killed and Brad was incarcerated.
However, Michael was working with the government and was placed in protection
and moved to Los Santos. This left Trevor on the run, who also ended up in Los
Santos hiding away in a trailer in the middle of the dessert of Blaine County.
Trevor is full of anger and angst towards Michael which causes a lot of tension within the trio. Trevor is under the impression that the third accomplice in the Ludendorff heist was caught by the police and has spent the many years since in prison and that Michael was killed. However it was Brad who was killed and placed in the grave named "Michael Townly" as Michael changed his name and moved his family to Los Santos, with the help of a government Agent. As Trevor you face a large amount of solo missions providing you with information about him as a person as well as a "business man". Also about how he had to live after the Ludendorff Heist.
Trevor is depicted as a loud and rude slob who doesn't care for anyone but himself. This is true to a certain extent, he sometimes however does show a caring side.
Trevor is full of anger and angst towards Michael which causes a lot of tension within the trio. Trevor is under the impression that the third accomplice in the Ludendorff heist was caught by the police and has spent the many years since in prison and that Michael was killed. However it was Brad who was killed and placed in the grave named "Michael Townly" as Michael changed his name and moved his family to Los Santos, with the help of a government Agent. As Trevor you face a large amount of solo missions providing you with information about him as a person as well as a "business man". Also about how he had to live after the Ludendorff Heist.
Trevor is depicted as a loud and rude slob who doesn't care for anyone but himself. This is true to a certain extent, he sometimes however does show a caring side.
Audience Target Demographic:The target audience demographic would be for 18 years +, this is the age rating within the game. However, there is a large amount people below the age of 18 who play the game. This would be due to high levels of violence and sexual scenes. Stereo-typically the game is aimed more towards the male population, but is also played by a vast amount of female gamers.
Genre:
Not just this game within the series, but most Grand Theft Auto games are classed as Action-Adventure games. However they also have an element of being a shooter game, dependant on how the player plays the game. It also has the potential to be classed as a MMO.
As a genre Action-Adventure has seen to get more violent within recent years with titles such as GTA getting a lot of bad press for being the cause of some violent crimes.
This however hasn't impacted on the Genre in itself.
Monday, 23 November 2015
The Effects of Violence in Video Games on 16-18 Year Olds
Violence in Video Games:
Video games are becoming part of our everyday lives, especially in teenagers within the 16-18 year age bracket. With new releases such as Call of Duty Black Ops III due to hit the shelves, there are a lot of questions being asked about the amount of violence within games and how they effect the people playing them.
Audience Theory:
Hypodermic Needle Theory, or Magic Bullet Theory, is the theory of media controlling the minds of the audience.
“Hypodermic Needle Theory promotes a few basic assumptions:
1. Humans react uniformly to stimuli.
2. The media’s message is directly “injected” into the “bloodstream” of a population like fluid from a syringe.
3. Messages are strategically created to achieve desired responses.
4. The effects of the media’s messages are immediate and powerful, capable of causing significant behavioral change in humans.
5. The public is powerless to escape the media’s influence.”
The above example gives the impression that after seeing, or hearing, violence will give the person violent temptations or urges. Originally developed in the 1920’s, Hypodermic Needle Theory is still looked at as the reason as to why people react in specific ways. It is disputed however, due to the difference within the audience. No one person reacts exactly the same as another when given the same resources. Hypodermic Needle Theory focuses on enforcing the impression of brainwashing the audience, whether from playing a game, watching a film, reading a book or hearing a news article or song from the radio. The University of Rochester, New York, did an experiment to try and determine if violent games are bad for a person, or whether they help with cognitive motor skills."It's not the case that the action game players are trigger-happy and less accurate - they are just as accurate and also faster," said Daphne Bavelier, a cognitive scientist at Rochester who has been testing how computer games affect the brain and eyes for much of the past 10 years. "Action game players make more correct decisions per unit time. If you are a surgeon or you are in the middle of the battlefield that can make all of the difference."
Where the above statement doesn't reference violence, it gives the indication that games are a useful part of our everyday development. There is some dispute to this given that many violent acts are linked to have been inspired by what the accused had witnessed within the games they have played. One of the most famous cases of this was after the release of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in 2003. The crime took place in Alabama and saw 18 year old Devin Moore shoot and killed two police officers, as well as the dispatcher and then proceed to steal a police car. Whilst in custody Moore told officers that "Life is a video game. You've got to die sometime."
In 1974, theorists; Blumler J.G. and Katz, E. came up with the Uses and Gratifications Theory. The theory outlines different thoughts on why the individuals choose to seek out different types of media. It could be due to arousal, challenge, diversion, social interaction, fantasy or competition.
Due to releases of software, such as Xbox Live or PlayStation Network, gaming for social purposes has become much more popular. Both of these pieces of software allow you to connect to the internet and play games with people from across the globe. There is a well known dispute of whether Xbox or PlayStation are the better console, some people tend to sway more towards PlayStation. The main factor of this is due to the online services for the PlayStation are free of charge on the PS3 Console, not on the newest (PS4) console.
Looking at the other elements of this theory, all seem to have a great argument as to why people play games. Starting with arousal, a lot of people play games to activate and stimulate their emotions. Which, also could link to the challenge of a game. Games are becoming more and more challenging, allowing the player to expand their skills as they play, often to escape their responsibilities or simply relax. This is where the division element of theory comes in to play. All of the above link together, but also stick out as individuals also.
Reception Theory is the reaction to how a piece of media is received, in this case; how well a game is received. "There are two aspects of reception: the ways a person or event was portrayed (by the "multipliers" and makers of public opinion), and the ways those portrayals were perceived (by the populace at large). The portrayals are easiest to determine--they make up the historical record. However, we usually only have indirect indications of how those portrayals were perceived by individuals, and even more rarely how groups perceived them."
There are many ways to know how well a game has been received, the most popular way would be through reviews. Companies, such as IGN reviews every game and place the review on their website, which acts as a game review database. Resources like this can also be reviewed by the general public giving an even greater vision into the reception of a game. Within the reviews on the sight you can see a verbal response of people who have played the games. Here gives you an insight into what people do and don't like about a game. Reception Study Theory is the theory of how the player will interpret the message of the game that they are playing. Some people may interpret different things in different ways, this could be why a player reacts to a certain situation in the way that they do. The reception and/or reaction to various aspects of a game can be seen as a healthy or an unhealthy reaction, dependent on the individual.
“An active consumption is when the audience will
engage and discuss media messages that comes across to them and sometimes
question the media messages through life experiences.”
“A passive consumption is when the audience doesn’t
engage or question the media message but just accepts it, this what media
outlets want to achieve when making a film or show as they want to view to
except and not question.”
The above statements highlight the different aspects of active and passive consumption. Active consumption is when the player engages with the game and will discuss and question why the developers of the game would make the game play go in the direction that they took it in. Where as, passive consumption is when the player doesn't engage with the reasoning's behind certain decisions within the game. Putting this into context within the violent sectors of a game, some people would question the scenes that are put into the game. But on the other hand, it wont bother other people and they will accept it and not mention anything about it.
Effects Debate:
The effects of violence and obscene imagery within any form of media has been a big part of the industry for many years. There has been many different high press stories within the media from the last ten-fifth-teen years. As i previously mentioned, one of the most high profile crimes was the Devin Moore shootings in 2003 after the release of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Other high profile shootings such as a 15 year old, Nehemiah Griego, from New Mexico shooting dead his parents and three siblings before confessing to his actions.
"Nehemiah Griego did not elaborate on a motive for the shocking crime, but he had plenty to say about his love for video games, including "Modern Warfare" and "Grand Theft Auto," authorities said."
It is widely thought that video games are the reason that people who play them commit violent and obscene acts, however it isn't scientifically proven that the violence witnessed within a game is the cause of unruly behavior. None the less there is a vast range of research into how exposure to explicit content, whether violent or sexual, can effect a person.
There are multiple effects that are said to influence the lives of children and young adults. Some of these include;
- De-Sensitizing Killing
- Disrespect towards women.
- Resolving Conflicts through Violence.
Where as these may be the case, not each of the outcomes are going to happen. There are many arguments stating that by exposing youths to this behavior will encourage them to copy the behavior and commit unruly crimes such as murder, or inappropriate actions towards other people. With this being said, there is no solid evidence that people such as Devin Moore and Nehemiah Griego committed their crimes solely due to what they witnessed playing games with elements of violence within them.
Researchers at The University of Texas, Austin, have said that "Embedding advertisements in violent video games leads to lower brand recall and negative brand attitudes suggesting advertisers should think twice about including such ads in a media campaign." This is more about advertising within a game, things such as product placement can enhance the gaming experience. As you can see on the right, the advertisement within the game has no significance to the play itself, therefore, in no way affecting the player in a violent manner. However, it is good marketing for big companies such as McDonald's and Pepsi to get their logos placed in as many locations possible within various games.
In terms of advertising the game itself, the games companies have to limit the amount of violence and sexual scenes within the trailer. This is mainly due to the trailer being accessible by a wider range of people, whether as a advert on the television or an advertisement on a website, or on the website of the game itself. However some companies choose to make two different trailers, one being a more moderated version and the other having the full content within it. Usually, the full contented trailer would either just be placed on the games website or sites such as YouTube, or only shown on television after 9PM, when it is deemed appropriate to show more violent natured imagery.
There is a big debate over how healthy video games are for you as a whole, however there is now concerns on violence within the games becoming increasingly harmful. There are many things that can affect your health that are seen to be caused by video games, things such as obesity, sleep deprivation and attention problems all being causes for concern within the sector. There is also the most common concern of the increase of anger issues, "Experts have long debated whether violent video games desensitize young people to violence. Some studies have disputed this while others, indicate that young people who show more rapid desensitization to violent pictures are going to be more accepting of violence, which is dangerous to the community at large." Where this may be the case in some people it isn't a proven fact that video games will desensitize the player indefinitely.
Above you can see the difference in brain activity from a non violent video game player as opposed to a gamer who plays more violent titles. Regardless of all the negativity surrounding video games, there are many elements of gaming that give the brain a good workout. Things such as Map Skills and Navigation are elements within the majority of games, other things such as memory skills can also be developed through games.
"The Videogame industry has come under fire for including graphic content relating to sex and violence. Lawmakers, Politicians and Family Values Groups have pushed legislation restricting the sale of certain videogames. Game developers have been sued by victims of violence and sexual misconduct." There is an increase in demand for games with violent, sexual and obscene elements to be censored by the developers. It is thought to believe that by censoring the violence and other obscenities it will decrease the amount of criminal acts committed in connection to video games.
By censoring any obscenities within games it would change the face of the whole sector. Some games have limited violence, these games would have limited censored imagery. However, in a game such as Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty there is a lot of violent and sexual scenes which would cause for the majority of the games being censored. This has opened up the debate for censorship being an unnecessary measure to tone down the violence with the games being developed and published.
Responses:
People interpret games in their own ways, when the player takes what has been presented to them within the game a processes it in their mind in a way in which they understand. For example, if a character dies then the individual would have a different response to another individual. It would vary on how the player feels about a certain element of the game and how they deal with what changes within the story. This could lead someone to change what happens in their own mind to help them situate what happened, even if it never happened within the game. In other circumstances the player may just accept what is being portrayed to them and not have any queries about why it is happening. On a very different note, it is also known that the player would understand what is happening but refuse to accept the situation and go into a state of denial and has a different opinion on what has, or what should have, happened.
Gaming in itself is the individual taking part in the story that is being portrayed. Some games have a more complex level of understanding, most games will use basic English to portray what is being said or shown in text. However, it may also be shown with signs or symbols, generating a higher level of difficulty and understanding.
Another huge part of the gaming community is the fan base a game can generate. This could be portrayed in people making modifications to a game and sharing it online, or people getting so involved in the game that it becomes part of their everyday lives.
Effects Debate:
The effects of violence and obscene imagery within any form of media has been a big part of the industry for many years. There has been many different high press stories within the media from the last ten-fifth-teen years. As i previously mentioned, one of the most high profile crimes was the Devin Moore shootings in 2003 after the release of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Other high profile shootings such as a 15 year old, Nehemiah Griego, from New Mexico shooting dead his parents and three siblings before confessing to his actions.
"Nehemiah Griego did not elaborate on a motive for the shocking crime, but he had plenty to say about his love for video games, including "Modern Warfare" and "Grand Theft Auto," authorities said."
There are multiple effects that are said to influence the lives of children and young adults. Some of these include;
- De-Sensitizing Killing
- Disrespect towards women.
- Resolving Conflicts through Violence.
Where as these may be the case, not each of the outcomes are going to happen. There are many arguments stating that by exposing youths to this behavior will encourage them to copy the behavior and commit unruly crimes such as murder, or inappropriate actions towards other people. With this being said, there is no solid evidence that people such as Devin Moore and Nehemiah Griego committed their crimes solely due to what they witnessed playing games with elements of violence within them.
In terms of advertising the game itself, the games companies have to limit the amount of violence and sexual scenes within the trailer. This is mainly due to the trailer being accessible by a wider range of people, whether as a advert on the television or an advertisement on a website, or on the website of the game itself. However some companies choose to make two different trailers, one being a more moderated version and the other having the full content within it. Usually, the full contented trailer would either just be placed on the games website or sites such as YouTube, or only shown on television after 9PM, when it is deemed appropriate to show more violent natured imagery.
There is a big debate over how healthy video games are for you as a whole, however there is now concerns on violence within the games becoming increasingly harmful. There are many things that can affect your health that are seen to be caused by video games, things such as obesity, sleep deprivation and attention problems all being causes for concern within the sector. There is also the most common concern of the increase of anger issues, "Experts have long debated whether violent video games desensitize young people to violence. Some studies have disputed this while others, indicate that young people who show more rapid desensitization to violent pictures are going to be more accepting of violence, which is dangerous to the community at large." Where this may be the case in some people it isn't a proven fact that video games will desensitize the player indefinitely.
Above you can see the difference in brain activity from a non violent video game player as opposed to a gamer who plays more violent titles. Regardless of all the negativity surrounding video games, there are many elements of gaming that give the brain a good workout. Things such as Map Skills and Navigation are elements within the majority of games, other things such as memory skills can also be developed through games.
"The Videogame industry has come under fire for including graphic content relating to sex and violence. Lawmakers, Politicians and Family Values Groups have pushed legislation restricting the sale of certain videogames. Game developers have been sued by victims of violence and sexual misconduct." There is an increase in demand for games with violent, sexual and obscene elements to be censored by the developers. It is thought to believe that by censoring the violence and other obscenities it will decrease the amount of criminal acts committed in connection to video games.
By censoring any obscenities within games it would change the face of the whole sector. Some games have limited violence, these games would have limited censored imagery. However, in a game such as Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty there is a lot of violent and sexual scenes which would cause for the majority of the games being censored. This has opened up the debate for censorship being an unnecessary measure to tone down the violence with the games being developed and published.
Responses:
People interpret games in their own ways, when the player takes what has been presented to them within the game a processes it in their mind in a way in which they understand. For example, if a character dies then the individual would have a different response to another individual. It would vary on how the player feels about a certain element of the game and how they deal with what changes within the story. This could lead someone to change what happens in their own mind to help them situate what happened, even if it never happened within the game. In other circumstances the player may just accept what is being portrayed to them and not have any queries about why it is happening. On a very different note, it is also known that the player would understand what is happening but refuse to accept the situation and go into a state of denial and has a different opinion on what has, or what should have, happened.
Gaming in itself is the individual taking part in the story that is being portrayed. Some games have a more complex level of understanding, most games will use basic English to portray what is being said or shown in text. However, it may also be shown with signs or symbols, generating a higher level of difficulty and understanding. Another huge part of the gaming community is the fan base a game can generate. This could be portrayed in people making modifications to a game and sharing it online, or people getting so involved in the game that it becomes part of their everyday lives.
Personally, I think violence effects people in games dependent on the individual. Some people aren’t affected at all, whereas others can be
deeply affected. In my opinion it is dependent on the player as to whether
their actions can be seen as violent due to the games that they may play.
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