Week 5 - Getting the keywords and beginning development! - 23/2/15 & 24/2/15

In class today we received the keywords for the games we are to create as our assessment items in conjunction with our Programming class. The keywords we received are “Space” and “Medieval”. We are to make both games which include certain parameters by our programming class on week 10, just before the mid semester break. The first game, the one with a “Space” theme, is to be completed by week 7, and the “Medieval” game by week 10. So we can leave production of the 2^nd game until we finish the first game, so I will focus my attention on that.

Understanding the Project Brief:

We are required to make a web build of a game prototype with the theme of “Space”. We also have to make this game using Unity’s inbuilt physics engine. We will be creating the environment and ideas for this game in our Game Design 2 classes, and writing scripts and making the game in our Programming 2 class.

We also have restrictions we have to take into account when conceptualising and creating the game. The game prototype must not use a character controller or animator controller. We must use Translate/Rotate or AddForce methods when programming the movements for our players, enemies and objects in the game, and the camera is to stay in a fixed position. The game also has to be in 3D.

Conceptualising the game:

So the theme for the visual aspects is “Space”. So most games with a space theme are flying games, and this seems like the most logical choice to make, in both terms of simplicity and content yet also enjoyable for the player.

So with the main game to be a flying style game, I now need to decide what type of flying game it will be. It be either one of the following:

-          A survival style game, where the player has to fly for as long as they can while avoiding obstacles.

-          A shooting style game, where the player has to kill enemies in front of him that are returning fire trying to kill them.

-          Both of these ideas combined to make a survival – shooter game.

-          A racing style game, where a player has to complete a level by getting from point A to point B as fast as possible, passing checkpoints along the way and picking up boosts to increase their speed, or bumping obstacles which slows their progress.

This decision is an important one, as it will shape how the game is designed. The one that appeals to me the most is a survival type of game, where the player has to fly as far as they can avoiding obstacles. If they hit an obstacle then the player’s ship will explode and the game will end, prompting a restart if they want to try again.

Beginning Development:

To begin I need to start thinking about what will be in the game. The following items will need to be created for the game:

-          Player – The player will be a ship of some kind, to fly through the level.

-          Obstacles – The obstacles in the game will consist of asteroids and space debris. They will all be solid objects and the player will be instantly killed if they collide with them.

-          Objective(s) – The objective of the game will be to go as far as possible, whether it be via a timer or a distance measurement, and maybe to collect as many small valuable pickups which add to the distance/length of time that the player is alive.

-          Background – As the game will be set in space the game will need a space background. At this early stage it could be a skybox or a simple image.

Models will be needed for these most of these objects. Fortunately we are able to use assets from the Unity Asset Store.

We have been told to blog our progress throughout the weeks we are creating our games, updating you readers on my progress

Week 4 - Creating a level blueprint - 16/2/15

This week we were told to expand on our original game concept and develop a blueprint for a level that was to be included in the game. As per last week, we were given a series of questions to help aid our design. All of these question will consist mainly of hand drawn images with an explanation on some of these images.

Week 4 – Creating the level blueprint

Question 1: Building on the original concept developed in Chapter 2, create a blueprint for your level. Make sure you begin with a series of rough sketches until your blueprint begins to take shape.

Image 1: A rough map of the level with a few notes regarding its design.

Image 2: The level with more detail added to its design.

Image 3: The final level blueprint and with start position and notes included.

Question 2: Create at least three gameplay mechanics for your level. How do these objectives relate to your original story idea?

There are many different gameplay mechanics that are Included when making games. Some of these include what style the game is, how the player interacts with the game world, right up to how the characters move and interact in the world. As the game is a RPG style, and the player assumes the role of a sergeant in an army, he has the ability to aim, shoot, jump etc. He will also be able to interact with other minor characters in the game world, like talking to AI characters throughout the game, and interacting with objects around each level.

Objectives throughout the game will have different ways of being completed. Some will include killing a certain character/a number of characters, gathering intel, picking up certain objects, triggering a set of events or cut-scene and checkpoint which will load another set of objectives to complete the level. In this level that has been conceptualized above, some gameplay mechanics that have been created are gather/pickup objectives for most of the objectives in the level, where the player will have to gather information by going from house to house to interview people and find out information. The player will also have to use Jump/climbing and crouching movement mechanics to make it through the level as the end objectives are isolated by an obstacle. The player will also view the game through a first-person camera mechanic, as most shooter games are created in first person to make the game feel much more realistic.

All these game mechanics relate to the original story idea of a RPG shooter game as these are all integral mechanics into making a game like this work. The jumping and crouching mechanics in the game are necessary as the jumping is needed to navigate through certain levels and over obstacles, while crouching and lying prone are needed to hide in cover from enemies firing at the player and crawl under certain obstacles. The gather/pickup objectives can be used for many different instances throughout the game and not just the level, where the character may need to retrieve a certain item/weapon, or gather a certain piece of information. These are important as they give another way to complete objectives, rather than just to kill someone/a certain amount of people. The first-person camera is probably the ideal way to play a shooter game as it depicts the story from the point of view of the character and player, and this makes the game more relatable for humans to play.

Question 3: Come up with five level objectives that correspond to your gameplay mechanics. How will you identify these objectives in your blueprint level?

Before the level begins a cut-scene will show telling the player the main objectives of the level, which would be a different character telling the main player to go and gather information by interviewing the locals living in the houses in the surrounding area. There will be four pieces of information to gather in this fashion, and they should be collected in a linear fashion as the player follows the ‘Z’ shape of the level. The final objective of the level is to take the information back to head command, which means navigating back through the level and returning to the starting point.

These will be shown in the game by a text line that appears in a corner of the game screen showing the current objective and how many pieces of information are left to collect, if applicable. In the blueprint level they will be shown via a blue cross (X). The final objective is shown via a red cross (X). If there is an arrow beside the cross it depicts that the objective is on the level above.

Image 4: The final level with objectives included in the design.

In the next lesson we will be given two keywords which will be the themes for two games we are to create. 

Week 3 - Creating a game concept - 9/2/15

Chapter 2 - Conceptualizing a game idea.

In this chapter, we were asked to begin developing a concept for a game that we would like to create. These questions were given to us to help begin and develop this concept.

Question 1: Using some of the techniques discussed in this chapter, begin developing a concept for an original game idea. Discuss the central theme of your idea, and the methods you used to bring your idea into existence.

The game concept I wish to develop has the central theme of science – fiction, good-overcomes-evil style game, involving the main setting of the moon. It will be an RPG/first-person shooter game in which the character has to follow the storyline and complete missions and levels to complete an overall goal, either that be to kill a powerful antagonist or achieve an ultimate goal. It will be set in a future civilisation that has been established on the Earth’s moon, with small parts on the uninhabitable Earth.

When thinking about developing an original game idea, one must use some inspiration to gather the initial ideas to form the game concept. Usually game creators want to make a game that is based on themes and ideas that they find interesting, activities that they like to do, objects and theories that they find appealing to them or a topic they know well. Once topic is decided upon then the details about what type of game, setting, characters, details and levels can be started to be developed.

Question 2: Create a backstory, environment, and three character descriptions associated with your original game idea. How are these elements integrated and linked through a central theme?

Backstory – The year is 2245 AD. 26 year old Sergeant Jackson Velibor, a member of the Royal Reconnaissance Army (RRA) had been stationed on the Royal Palace, Moon City for 3 years. The Purge of the Earth had ended 50 years ago, and was now uninhabitable. Those who were fortunate and wealthy enough were able to escape to the nearby Moon, established and built into the last society of Humans from Earth. Since the end of the Purge, the Moon’s inhabitants had been ruled by tyrant Maximillion Crayne, and the Moons’ citizens’ were suffering from it. Using his training from the RRA, will Jackson be able to make a difference and bring the Moon to harmony?

Environment – As the game will be set in the year 2245 AD, the setting for the game is primarily the moon of planet Earth, with some parts to be set on a destroyed planet Earth. As time as passed, along with the advancement of technology, the humans of Earth had inhabited the Moon, and developed it into a futuristic city for the last humans who survived the purge of the Earth to live in harmony upon its surface. The Earth, however, is a barren, toxic, apocalyptic wasteland. The air is polluted and lethal and the land is constantly ablaze with fire and lava.

Character Descriptions:

·         Character 1: Jackson Velibor (Main Protagonist) – Jackson Velibor is 26 years old male sergeant in the Royal Reconnaissance Army (RRA), serving as a guard in the Royal Palace. He is 6 foot 1 inch tall, short brown hair, brown eyes and well built. He is a determined, strong hearted person who has an undying loyalty to his family and friends – a typical hero character.

·         Character 2: Maximillion Crayne (Main Antagonist) – Maximillion Crayne is the 51 year old tyrant dictator of the Moon City, the last city where humans are now living. A tall, average built man with long black hair and dark grey eyes, he had been in charge for 12 years, and ruled over the city with an iron fist, living in luxury while the citizens under his suffer in hardship. He is cold hearted and very intelligent, with no remorse for his subjects.

·         Character 3: Malcolm Cannari (Minor character) – Malcolm Cannari is the leader of the secret group that is plotting to kill Maximillion Crayne and overthrow the Royal Reconnaissance Army. He is a seasoned former soldier, tall and strong, sporting many scars from battles, most significantly the straight scar running across his face. He voice carries a strong authority with it, and is not worried about the consequences to get a job done.

All these elements, the backstory, environment and characters, are linked to the central theme of a futuristic, science-fiction world where good overcomes evil. The characters are created so that they have a fixed hero that the player will grow to love, the antagonist will have the attitude and characteristics that will make the player loathe him– this giving the player a drive to complete the game.

Question 3: Document your concept with reference material and original sketches. How did you capture your reference images? Create thumbnails and silhouettes. Compile these images into an art “bible” to help guide your vision.

Most of the reference images were gathered via the internet, with the hand drawn images done via paper scanned onto the computer and those drawn via tablet and Photoshop saved regularly. All images gathered from the internet have their URL attached.

Image 1: http://wallpoper.com/images/00/40/00/76/moon-surface_00400076.jpg

Image 2: 1.       http://www.allanstanglin.com/wp-content/uploads/MoonSurface.jpg

Image 3: http://previewcf.turbosquid.com/Preview/2014/05/25__18_32_44/render_moon0003.jpg05f9068e-03e2-4c79-95db-1de112af5c0aLarger.jpg

Image 4: http://s193.photobucket.com/user/Dronetek/media/Copernicus2-full.gif.html

Image 5: http://www.edu-observatory.org/eo/images/crater.gif

Image 6: http://www.pri.org/sites/default/files/styles/story_main/public/story/images/fire2.jpg?itok=7jZDdqMS

 Image 7: 4 http://www.noaa.gov/features/resources_0109/images/fire1.jpg

Image 8: http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/planetes/images/5/56/Moon_surface.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120522195041

Silhouette drawing of some buildings and the moon.

Thumbnail images of Buildings, Earth and Moon City.

Week 2 - First Lesson for the Semester! - 2/2/15

Welcome to the first post for the semester. This blog will consist of work given to us students in class and anything our teacher wants answered to be marked will be posted regularly here.
In our first lesson for the semester we were asked to answer some question regarding game level design. Here are the questions and answers below:



Question: What is a level?

A level is a total space of a game where a player has to navigate puzzles and challenges to achieve a goal.

Question: What is the role of a level designer?

A level designer is the person who puts the different aspects of the game together. They are in charge of creating the levels out of the art, models, scripts and ideas that are created by other members of the creative team.

Question: How has level design evolved throughout history?

Level design has been greatly improved throughout the years with the advancement of technology. When the first games were originally created they only contained one level and 2 Dimensional pixel art based, whereas nowadays with the significant advancement of processing power and development of gaming consoles, levels in games are much more complex, with incredibly descriptive storylines, intriguing puzzles and crystal clear 3 Dimensional graphics.

Question: How are game platforms related to level design?

Game platforms are related to game and level design in that they provide limitations into how detailed and descriptive each game level can be. When games were first invented, the processing power and size capabilities of machines was very small and limited, so only basic games could be created. However nowadays with the advancement knowledge and technology and the creation of powerful game consoles such as the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, game levels can be made to be much more detailed and aesthetically appealing.

Question: How are game genres related to level design?

Game genres affect the development of game levels significantly. They are the main inspiration as to how a game level is designed and created. A game with a war based genre will affect the design of a game level in that it will have linear storyline, with an objective at the end of the level and the player having to shoot their way to the that objective, whereas a game with a technical and strategic genre will have a level that is based upon solving a certain puzzle or algorithm to make it to the objective at the end, and a game with a sports genre will involve the player playing matches to achieve the goal of victory.

Question: Imagine that you are a level designer working in the 1980s. Knowing the limitations associated with this era, what type of game would you develop?

If I was a level designer working in the 1980’s, I would develop a game that was based around a set of levels that would progressively get harder in order to achieve a high score. It would have simple pixel art graphics in order to keep memory low which would make the game run smoother.

Question: Play three games—one from the 1980s, one from the 1990s, and one released after 2004. Compare and contrast how levels and environments are designed in all three games.

The three games that I have selected to play are Pac-Man (1980), Mario Kart 64 (1996) and Destiny (2014). These games were all designed in different eras when knowledge in the limitations and boundaries of technology were expanding, allowing for better games to be made. The levels and environments of each game are significantly more advanced and aesthetically appealing the later the game was developed. Pac-Man has an environment in which the game is drawn in 2D, on a black background with small white dots and blue borders, which enabled low memory requirements which were the limitations of the technology back in the 1980’s. Their levels consisted of the same layout, with difficulty advancing the more levels are completed, with the goal to eat all the small white dots and avoid being killed by the monsters that followed you through the maze. Mario Kart 64 enabled a simple 3D environment through the use of 2D sprite images layered to give the environment a sense of depth. The characters in the game have been drawn so that they look 3D but are just flat images, with the borders of the images jagged from the simple pixel art. Each level consisted of a different track layout and setting, with the goal to win races and claim victory in each tournament, and with the increase in size capabilities of PC’s and gaming consoles this was achieved successfully. With the further advancement in technology and design as the years progressed we have games such as Destiny which are crystal clear, full Three-Dimensional environments in which every location looks extremely realistic, with perfect smoothness on all the models in the game due to gaming consoles and PC’s being able to process the large sizes of memory that modern games take up. The environments of Destiny consist of planets Earth, Mars and Venus, as well as the Moon. There are many levels within Destiny, each with a different goal and different paths through the different environments that exist to make up the game to achieve the overall goal of completion.

Question: How does a game’s genre affect the way its levels and environments are designed? Choose one level from three different games—each from a distinct primary genre—and compare how these levels are designed with regard to setting, goals, puzzles, and risk–reward system.

A game’s genre affects the way a level is designed in very similar ways, but the environment will be designed differently. Three games in which this can be shown are Destiny, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Killzone: Shadow Fall. These three games have the same primary genre, first person shooters, and can show that the level design is the relatively the same, while the environments are designed differently. In all three games, it is the requirement of the player to achieve the level goal via following a set route, which may involve puzzles and strategic thinking, and shooting and eliminating enemies along the route to the objective. This final goal may be different in each game, but the way a level is set out in each game is relatively the same. The environments for each game, however, are completely different from each other. Destiny is set amongst planets Earth, Mars and Venus as well as the Moon, in which there are civilised establishments built on each planet. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is set on Earth around the years 2059 – 2065, and shows a futuristic Earth with many similarities to our cities today. Killzone: Shadow Fall is set amongst foreign planets that are pose similarities to Earth but are different in many aspects. The environments vary amongst each game, but the level layout is very much similar to each other due to the genre of the game.