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.

 

 

 

Aims for the Session; Maze Game

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

- Start to create and develop the main character. (28th October 2014)

- Continue Developing the main character. (29th October 2014)

- Develop the base of each Level. (3rd November 2014)

- Continuing level development. (4th November 2014)

- Make the character move. (5th November 2014))

- Developing a start and end screen. (10th November 2014)

- Finish each monster/bad guy and add them into the game. (10th November 2014)

- Create numbers, symbols and other mathematical aspects as sprites, then objects. (11th November 2014)

- Start adding the mathematical elements into the game. (12th November 2014)

- Add lives and a score. (12th November 2014)

- Continue to add the elements of math, ensuring the calculations are right. (17th November 2014)

- Lay the math objects in the maze. (17th November 2014)

- Test the game, make any changes/alterations. (18th November 2014)

- Test the game, make any changes/alterations. (19th November 2014)

- Upload the final piece to Blogger. (19th November 2014)

Procedure & Documentation

Unit 1- Pre-Production Techniques for the Creative Media Industries

Procedure; as I mentioned previously within my research, personnel will not be needed within the process of making my game as it is a college based project that will count towards my final grade.

Financially Josh has given us an idea of a budget of £1000, below are two tables defining what the budgets would be used for if it wasn’t a college project and then what the budget would be like if we had the £1000 budget to spend.

The budget below is what would be needed if the project wasn’t to be used within the college;

Software	Cost	Usage
GameMaker Studio	$799.99/£500.48	Main platform of which to make the game.
Photoshop Pro	£329.95	Creating aspects to go within the game.
Computer	£300-£700	Everything is computer based, so a computer is vital.
Total:	£1130.43-£1530.43

 

Below this is a table with a budget of £1000, to use within the college;

Software	Cost	Usage
Musician	£100 per day + £25 per hour (Roughly £400)	To create unique music to use within the game.
Artist/Illustrator	£25 per illustration + £75 per day (Roughly £350)	To help design characters or sprites for in game use.
Voice Actors	£125 per character (Roughly £250- 1 main character, 1 Bad guy)	To make individual characters come to life with a unique voice.
Total:	£1000

 

There are many different resources within the college to use, the main one would be the I.T & Media Department which has all of the necessary equipment to make and develop the maze game. Additionally, the library and computers around the college also have the relative equipment installed onto them. As well as this, the Library also has books and journals that may be of use.

Planning how to make your game and when to make it is a good way of staying on track and meeting the deadline, the best way to do this would be to make a schedule.

Health & Safety isn’t a massive factor as it is a college based project, however it is still important. Pat testing equipment ensures that all of the computers and other electrical resources around the college are suitable and safe to use.

Legal Aspects such as insurance aren’t too important within this college based project, however other things such as copyright need to be adhered to at all times.

The main risk to the project is the work not saving correctly. Loosing work can put the project behind schedule and affect the way it is done.

 

Documentation; within the production side of things there are many different documents to cover. A Script for the game is basically a written document which outlines what will happen, who it will happen to, why it’s happening and when. A Storyboard is very similar, it shows a rough sketch of ideas within the game. Made up of around 6-8 boxes it portrays the story with still images and text. A Mood board is a document that has various pictures and words on it to emphasise the mood you’re aiming for within the game.  A production schedule, like I said before, is useful to help plan the production of the game and keep everything running smoothly. It helps to be on a printed out document so that it can easily be referred back to.

Like explained above the budget needs to outline what resources and equipment needs to be purchased and invested in to assure the production can go ahead. It is important to plan the budget to ensure you have all of the necessary funds available that you will need.

Clearances ensure that you have permission for the things you are using, like copyright. For example making sure that your musician signs a document stating that the music they have produced for you is their own and that you have permission to use it.

Plans ensure that everything is kept up to date and on track, much like a schedule.

Health & Safety checks are vital, especially when working with electrical equipment. Making sure that computers are regularly checked to ensure no working faults is key to keeping everyone safe and helping to project continue with no interruptions.

Contingency plan, a plan for if everything goes wrong. It is useful to ensure you have a backup plan to enforce within the production just in case for some reason the development of the game has to be stopped or can no longer continue.

Mathematical Maze Game; Design Brief

Customer:

What Does The Customer Want?

·         A maths related maze game, solving problems to get to the next level.

What Does The Design Brief Say?

·         Create a fun game for the students to play, that also helps their maths skills.

Who Is The Target Audience?

·         Teenagers between 14-16 Years of age, GCSE Level.

Development:

What Sprites Do We Need?

·         Main Character; Brainbox.

·         Bad Guys.

·         Answers; Numbers/Solutions.

·         Walls.

·         Backgrounds.

What Sounds Do We Need?

·         Background Music.

·         Correct/Incorrect Result Sound.

·         Death Sounds.

How Many Levels Do We Want?

·         Between 5 and 10.

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 main character. (28^th October 2014)

·         Develop the base of each Level. (3^rd November 2014)

How Long Do We Have To Create This Game?

·         Four Weeks.

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

·         Create sprites separately.

·         Add bits to the game bit by bit.

·         Don’t rush.

Ninja Climber; Mood Board

Check out my mood board for my Action/Adventure Retro Platform game! :D

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