The great outdoors: environments

Hey people!


So environments? After starting shooting for my music video to 'find your way' today (my single with  Lacky C & Duv) I've actually had to think quite carefully about environment today. Environments, in games support the characters and gameplay and are one of the most immersive parts of a game. In some games it can be the shellshocked deserts of Afganistan, in others the colourful simplisitc areas of the Johto region (Pokemon), In our video today it was the Saff streets and the graffiti outside Goldhill park...why? to give the 'hard' attitude of a rap music video.


Films make envionments all the more easy to evaluate and in critical studies we looked at the influences of Edward Hopper on Dark city. Similar to the simple devices I talked about in the character blog, this used the same dreary colour palette of Hopper to convey a grim, ill picture of WW2 America. The city in Dark City is described by Higley as a "murky, nightmarish German expressionist film noir depiction of urban repression and mechanism".

A comparison of the opening shot from Dark City and the works of Edward Hopper, just so you can clearly see the similarities in the colour palette.

So what else can environments tell us? Well they can tell a narrative (as in the scene from Black Hawk down) or even illustrate scale (The Tripods; War of the Worlds). A favourite example of environments of mine is Dr Who. Now It just happens that my other half is a raving Dr Who fanatic - so last wednesday we went to the Dr Who experience (London Olympia). If you haven't been, seriously go it's amazing...but why am i mentioning Dr Who here? Well it's Time and Relative Demension in Space or the TARDIS! Just look at how the TARDIS environment has changed over the years to express the different emotions or outlooks of the doctors. The most significant being the new generation of the doctor, starting with christopher eccleston. The Tardis takes on a more organic (with the coral like beams), rejuvenated outlook and for the first time the doors are on the inside. Also, the dark colour palette suggests the rage inside the doctor. When designing the new TARDIS the organic feel was used to signify the new modern series. Expanding on this even more the updated Matt Smith series sees the TARDIS being enlarged and revamped further with new gadgets and gizmos on the TARDIS console showing the current doctor's flamboyant, erratic nature.

Pictures from the Doctor who experience, London Olympia. The David Tennant/Christopher Ecclestone TARDIS compared to the 1970's version.

Following on from the Art Direction Blog, I also have some pictures from the exhibition showing the art direction offices at the BBC that make Dr Who. They show just how much it takes to get a character or environment sorted:

Pictures I took from the Doctor Who experience showing the BBC offices used for art direction.

And you all thought my moodboards were extensive!


Now let's look at the basis of an environment within a game. I'm looking at Inception.


Now the film is amazing, and if you haven't seen it i would totally recommend it. But what would we do with it if we wanted to make it into a game? An article from World of level design.com explains just how inception is a game level designer's dream:

 "Throughout the film words such as architect, creating levels, worlds, creating boundaries (closed loops) for believable worlds and designing layouts are discussed in Inception."

"Many things in Inception directly relate to level design and creating game worlds. Here is what I learned in Inception about creating worlds.

• As a level designer you have a chance to build worlds, to design levels. You create a world out of an idea, a single thought you have in your mind. Simple idea becomes something tangible for someone else to experience. Player has a chance to explore your creation. Something that started as a simple idea in your mind can become a game world. Do not ignore a simple idea of a world you want to create. 
• Continuously create. Never stop creating. Always design and build something new. 
• Design with story in mind. Make sure the player has an objective you want them to fulfill. Make it clear, make it interesting. 
• The world you create is about visuals and emotion. The feeling you want the player to experience, reinforced by the visuals. 
• Never create from memory. Always use reference to create worlds. Use your memory to communicate the feelings of spaces and environments you've been to, but when designing use reference to make the world believable."

http://www.worldofleveldesign.com/categories/game_environments_design/game-world-creation-with-inception.php

Sound familiar? I can pretty much hear Chris reading this! (My Visual Design lecturer for those who don't know). Fully reading this text aligns all the major factors of creating an environment or level, or anything for that matter. Idea, Create,Story,Emotion and Reference are the first tools in creating a believable environment. I mean would you dream of tackling modelling a character without decent reference? this is just like the Edward hopper comparison that was used as reference to create the dark city world. And just look at all the reference and hard work behind the Dr Who designs...

Ultimately, environments screw with our emotions...just like the adverts on tv. They add to the overall feelings we feel - like an artists dummy they bend us with their use of colour, smell and style. 

Later,


PS: the audio 'Find your way' is on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxAg8uiy4JE
full video coming soon :D

Character

Hey people,


So when I first saw this blog was about character I initially thought of myself. People usually say I am quite the character...the word 'eccentric' or even 'idiot' has been thrown around; but what makes me that character? Say we're making 'The GA from the Saff' the motion picture and I have to cast myself? Just what would I be looking for? (apart from someone taller and way more stunning - I'm thinking Megan Fox).


This is just what this blog is about. We need to define just exactly what makes a character, and just how to go about designing one. In acting, a discipline I used to cover, the first step was visualising that character, everything from their job and natural processes to their feelings and situations. It is pretty similar in the world of gaming and film. 

"Issues that you’ll work to define:

• The character’s natural activities, as part of his or her job.
• The challenges that these sorts of actions suggest.
• The character’s primary emotional attitude, and how that is displayed visually and in language.
• The character’s visual appearance and movement animations, both voluntary and involuntary.
• Attributes and powerups that might affect the character’s abilities, and how they grow.
• The character’s natural environment, and enemies that may be found there."

- http://www.designersnotebook.com/Workshop/CharacterWorkshop/characterworkshop.htm 

When creating characters a lot of different techniques are used to make them more believable, genuine characters although I think a lot of it depends on the genre. For example the lead slasher in a horror film isn't going to be coloured pink and have a cheery disposition, but with moody lighting, intense music and rough stylisation he becomes the dark Freddy Kruger we all know and love.

I think an easy example of the design of characters is within the movie 'The Chronicles of Narnia:  The Lion, The Witch and The Wardobe." Here we see the evil witch and the heroic Aslan in ways which don't really depend on the script or much of the acting (Aslan being just the voice of Liam Neeson). The stylisation of both characters from the shining lion to the cold witch, even imprinting on the scenery around them suggests their characters. For example the witch is bathed in ice and her costume also suggests this. Everything about her is telling the audience she is evil whereas Aslan is a golden, shining lion and his setting (following the books Christian theme also) is always sunny and like spring. In the film they have played up to this brilliantly, I can't think of a bigger contrast. 

^ pictures from the Chronicles of Narnia - the lion the witch and the wardrobe. notice how everything on the witch's picture is cold and sharp whereas the lion Aslan uses warm colours predominately orange.

In visual design, the amount of drawings and research we've done for projects like 'reef' have also extended this. If i make a swamp like creature with gloopy, dreary colours it will express the character as such, whereas my final piece was a colourful coral based lady which immediately suggests she is good. Techniques as simple as this create compelling characters which ultimately create a realistic game world.

"To create a truly immersive game experience with a compelling fantasy world, you have to populate that world with real characters. Not just characters that behave realistically on the screen, but characters that ARE real to you, the game’s creator. The more you know your own characters, the more real they will become, and the more they will help draw the player into your game’s imaginary world."

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10216

So there you go! characters are very important within the game and film world. without believable characters we'd all just be down the the stick men...

Later,

The Sadistic Artistic: Art direction

Hey people,

So here we are, another day another blog... after the stress of the gladiator i've finally got round to starting these again...so get those paintbrushes ready peeps we gonna talk about Art Direction.

So what is Art direction?

looking at the job descriptions online it's a pretty demanding job spec:

"The art director is the creative visionary, responsible for defining the visual direction of the project. The art director carries the burden of communicating his or her vision of the game design to a diverse team of artists."

- Gamasutra - http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3115/common_methodologies_for_lead_.php

"In professional game art departments, the art director is the captain of the ship. Art directors are
generally responsible for setting the visual tone, quality, and style for the game."

Begginning game graphics Evry, Harry J - http://my.safaribooksonline.com/159200430X/ch11lev1sec2?portal=oreilly

Every description i have looked at is pretty much saying the art director is at the head of all the creative descisions in a Game project. looking at the brief they must determine (convulsing with the art team and lead artist) everything from environment to characters, textures to levels as well as the overall style and quality of the game. They're the boss in art terms and are directly responsible to the publishing company.

So is it a creative role?

I can see why people would think an art director position isn't creative as it is a lot of descision making...which to some people could seem quite administritive. I however, revising the links I think it is a highly artistic role. Think about it, this is the person who has to derive the research and make desicions on everything - from characters to environments etc. This also means they have to use their artistic judgement to a high degree. I would compare this role to a fine artist or researcher as to create say a character the art director has to find all the relevant research and starting ideas, refine them and show them to his team.

The silver screen vs the gaming world

So we've talked about art direction for games... what about films? surely they are very similar? A case study i've grabbed from the skillset website on Alex Laurent (a visual effects film guy turned art director for EA) should tell us everything we need to know...(ooooooooooooh!)

In 2004 Alex Laurent swapped the film industry (working for ILM on visual effects on such films as the Mummy series) to take over as senior art director at EA. He is currently working on the Harry Potter games.

Talking to Skillset, Alex explains that the film industry is very mature and that there is a tendency to spend lavishly to create profit and return whereas in games "there is a very flexible standard and there is no promise of realism". He goes on to say that players are prepared to comprimise on graphics etc. if it creates an immersive game world.

Describing the transfer of films and games Alex argues that the two worlds are not interchangeable and examples of cinematic storytelling which is new in games is what he will be bringing to EA, giving games an "artistic maturity".

Scrolling through this article I can tell that the main difference between Art direction in films and games is the budgets and capabilities of the mediums. Crossing from film to games Alex Laurent's main challenge seems to be working to the revised budgets and picking battles in the design.

(Skillset article: Alex Laurent http://www.skillset.org/games/careers/article_4407_1.asp)

So what next? The Art Director from the Saff...

After discussing the trials and tribulations of becoming an art director I don't think i will be in that position for a long time. I've definitely got a long way to go developing technical and traditional skills before I become even a mere concept artist so yeah, i don't think i'll be jumping straight into this role... Although I do think I would like the art director role as i am a very avid researcher, i like discussing ideas and trying new artists etc. however working to restrictions such as briefs and time/budget restraints would annoy me!

In conclusion I think the art director is literally the big boss at the end of the game. The Dark Queen in battletoads, Bowser in Mario Bros, hell even Inky from pacman :D

later,

So you want to make a game...

Hey people!

So did you miss me? Sorry It's taken ages for me to get back into this, due to a van made of cheese (my textures messed up okay!) and designing a metal character the blogs have been pushed back a little... purely my fault but I'm here now at the start/select screen pressing A. So... Game Design. I'm studying it so obviously I have a passion for it. As you've seen from my earlier blogs and the film I brought in today (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) my gaming passion lies in the past... but how far have things moved on? Do the Battletoads really rival the sleek Tekken 6? In this blog i'm studying what makes these games different - the thing running through all of them...what is in their design?

So let’s imagine we’re in that meeting, in that first job at Blitz or Codemasters, we look at the brief and the question is…How do we make this game?

When I think of Game Design, to me gameplay is one of the most important things – but what actually is it?

“Gameplay is interaction with a game (in particular, video games) through its rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it. Video game gameplay is distinct from graphics, or audio elements.”

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gameplay - accessed 9/2/2011)

To me, Gameplay is the overall play of the game – the environment, the characters, how everything moves and feels, rules and mainly the interaction in the game. Take a bad example say anyone remember superman 64? Well if you’re one of the lucky few that haven’t just watch…

This video just shows why gameplay – the control, environment and overall plot determines how awesome a game is…good gameplay is essential; when done badly gameplay is horrendous.

So now we know what gameplay is, where to start with the design? If only there were some examples of awesome game designers to follow…oh yeah there is!

As the best place to start is the beginning… how about the creator of Spacewar! ?

Steve "Slug" Russell is a programmer and computer scientist most famous for creating Spacewar!, one of the earliest videogames, in 1961 with the fellow members of the Tech Model Railroad Club at MIT. (See ‘the evolution of awesome part 1 for more info).

With Spacewar! The lead programmer was just one guy. Within the 70’s the game designer, lead programmer and entire art team was this one person. Nowadays it is a completely different story…

With the modern developers game design is HUGE!

With the exception of casual games like bejewelled, the big budget games of today have dozens of designers. In larger companies each aspect of the gameplay and design is governed by a separate person, lead designer and general designer.

Game design falls into many different categories all with different designers:

• World design - creation of a backstory, setting, and theme for the game
• System design - creation of game rules and programming
• Content design - creation of characters, assets, puzzles, and missions
• Game level design - construction of world levels and its features
• Game writing - dialogue, text, and story
• User interface design - constructs the user interactions and feedback

Examples of jobs within a modern game developer

• Lead designer
• Game Mechanic designer
• Level/environment designer
• Character Artist
• Writer

So now we know how Game play and design are worked we can start sharing the jobs and making the game…Phew! But what game to make? Obviously in a survival horror like the Queen’s building project we need the design to something slightly different to a game circled around Barbie and her horses (just a bit!). We need to think about the target audience. This will affect the genre and ultimately affect the Game design itself.

So that was my first foray into Game design… But what do I personally look for myself? Loving the fighting genre as well as RPG’s the type of gameplay I’d be looking for is Hack/Slash. Founded by the old pen and paper style of D&D games as well as card games like munchkin, Hack Slash gameplay emphasises combat.

So until next time this is the GA from the Saff saying bye!

Later,

The Review Hue

So back in the GA frame of mind; we're all stressed and shaky (god knows I will be when we see the next 3D brief; Eek!)...I myself had an awesome Christmas involving a HD camera (which will make textures look amazing...) I hope you all did too :) I've been stumped with writer's block for the past few days, so for this blog i'm gonna try and kill the banter and get on with it for once...so here goes: Game reviews.

Most of the game reviews I've seen are of the magazine type. These flashy reviews focus on the main games out at the moment etc. Flicking through a copy of 360 magazine I can see the main feature is Gears of War 3, as well as Dead space 2 and the new Medal of honour. All big games. All games with companies that can pay for the reviews.

This links to my main point - so what issues face games reviewers? I think the temptation to write flatly for a magazine is very great. I mean who wants to write about the growing Fifa franchise again and again and again......oh yeah and again... but if it pays? Well people will. Looking at the links it seems to be a choice similar to music; as a singer myself I write my own music and would love to perform it... but if singing ABBA and mowtown on the gig pays me...well that's what I gotta sing. This makes it quite tough for a game reviewer to choose - do you write passionately about a subject that pays little, or do you 'sell out'?

The next obstacle is how to write the reviews. Do you bump it up with facts and figures handed by the company, or do you use a little imagination and write what you know from playing. What you enjoy about the gameplay, the characters etc. Do you, this time, dare I say... GET PERSONAL!? Or would it be more in your own interest to stick to the mechanics of the basic review...plot, style, specs, mark, end.

So who actually pays for Game reviews? Researching the internet I found that the salary in dollars for a Games tester or Reviewer (magazine) is $32,000. I even found a job opportunity looking for a games reviewer on a self employed basis. When I worked at Game over Christmas the manager also offered me the opportunity of writing reviews that would be paid for if chosen. This again shows the two extremes. The salary is obviously a job writing corporate articles in a magazine whereas if you want to write alone it almost always seems to be self employed. 

New Games journalism

The rebellion that is new games journalism is way more personal than the amateur or magazine style writings. It's not reviews in the traditional sense and represents a stark contrast to the more normal review or article - the term itself was coined in 2004 by journalist Kieron Gillen. 

When reading the examples of NGJ i found it really confusing as to the metaphors etc. I liked however how links were made to the personal experiences of the gamer themselves rather than just a bog standard review. The main difference between the magazine reviews and NGJ is this - NGJ tends to respond to the subjective experiences presented in the game world, interactions, and personal flavour which creates a unique story - kinda similar to most of our blogs!

In conclusion i think NGJ, although hard to understand at first, is better than the corporate magazine reviews, just giving cold statistical reviews. I think with the way I myself write I will be able to write (if not already) in the NGJ style - I already develop little personal tweaks on subjects and in these blogs that give my writing those highlights. I also hope I'm passionate enough not to get sucked into the world of monotony that is the higher paid magazine style review.

So until my next blog; the long awaited review! (and yeah it'll be a kick ass retro game) I say stick it to the man and write how you want :D

Later,

Hello my game is....and I have a problem

I know my last blog was only yesterday; though last night I watched a documentary that really made me want to write. So here I am again rambling, though this time actually rambling about a viable argument. You see the programme (Panorama, BBC) was talking about gaming addiction. Is it real? Just who are the people affected? I found myself, now a person selling videogames as well as attempting to make them (with tenacity :P) getting rather engrossed in the programme and wanting to take some kind of responsibility. I mean I love games, I wouldn't be in everyday determined on 3dsmax if I didn't, although after a few hours on Sacred 2 I can put the controller down...So what makes an addict an addict? Just how much is too much?

Yesterday at GAME the main release was World of Warcraft Cataclysm (released last night at 11pm), and I managed to get quite a few pre orders (along with Wii remotes...seriously they LOVE the Wii-motes) though for two of the case studies mentioned in the documentary this was the worst game for fuelling game addiction. Leo, 20 calculates that he's spent 12hrs a day for 2 years on the game, clocking experience to get to level 70. He's lost touch with friends and family and his university work is failing. Also, Joe from Notts. only stopped playing when his dad threw his Xbox 360 out the window after he was expelled from university. Now thousands in dept, he stopped going to lectures and couldn't psychically move from his bed. Finally, Chris' Mother recalls how he started via refusing to go to school, playing the game throughout the night. More scary to this particular story is how when the internet went down he remembers shaking and sweating also becoming violent - anyone else think heroin addict sympts? To be honest when i saw these guys I thought of this video -

Joking aside, if it is this severe what are people doing about it? And is it the gaming industry or the individual who is to blame?

Gaming addiciton is not recognised as a medical condition; and companies believe it is a product of media histeria. Within the documentary Ian Livingstone from Eidos Interactive argued that "People say they are addicted to football or television, they probably have addictive personalities - there is no formal published medical evidence saying games are addictive." Listening to him I did kinda agree - I mean didn't they say the same about dancing and rock'n'roll in the 50s? After all isn't it your choice whether you play the game?

Above are some of the pictures 
taken through the screen by Robbie Cooper - 
The child directly above concentrates so much 
on game-play he has lost the blink reflex.
He openly cries while gaming.

Evidence from Ukie the industry body says games develop intelligence, are valuable learning tools and reduce stress - the latter of which I can relate to I mean who hasn't had a blast on a game after a bad day, and felt great when they get that headshot? I know I have. On the other hand the World Health Organisation describes some addictions to games "a serious threat to the mental health of young Europeans." Prof. Mark Griffiths from Nottingham Trent University also says that "People display signs and symptoms of more serious addictions." 

Next the programme looks at South Korea and the impact their brilliant high speed broadband is having on the people there. Looking at the moving maps and walls looking like Picadilly Circus everywhere I immediately thought this was awesome! I was completely in awe of the brilliance of the technology. In S.Korea 85% of the people have fast broadband, and more than half the population play games. Though this dazzling technology hides a population of gaming addicts. There are horrors like people actually playing themselves to death with blood clots and starvation plus the tragic story of a couple who actually left their own child to starve to death while playing a game where you save and protect a virtual child! In this last case the mother was taken for psychiatric review and was found to already be mentally unstable and of low I.Q. which supports the argument of it being the gamer not the game. A solution to the numbers of gaming addicts sees S.Korea holding bootcamps where the aim is to try and establish new bonds in the real world over the virtual. This really seems to work as a S.Korean child speaks at the end saying he really feels better playing outside.

So what makes the games so addictive? With S.Korea warning Britain will soon end up the same way and stories already of a woman having her children put into care over gaming addiction; Adrian Chon, Chief executive of Sixtostart explains why - "Games are designed in a manner so you don't want to leave. Using variable rate of the enforcement games are powerful tools. It is the slot machine effect."

So are games addictive? Are we all just crack addicts waiting to happen? I myself think they are to a certain extent. They use scientific tools and marketing devices to keep the consumer coming back. Although I personally think, looking at this documentary, like smoking, drinking and drugs it depends on the individual. Some people are stronger than others and some are more vulnerable to the triggers of gaming addiction. Within the case studies above I think they just needed more to do - watching the film, after quitting so many video games Joe is now working as a freelance film maker which is more inspiring for him. Boredom is really the killer, to me anyway. Disagree? So you can make your own conclusions i've added both parts of the film below - leave me a comment if you like :D.

So yeah, if you're bored games are cool, I myself love them....just don't get like these guys...PUT DOWN THE CONTROLLER!

Later,

Panorama - BBC 6th Dec 2010

PART 1/PART2

SNOW! and then some gaming...

So you've probably noticed by now that there's snow everywhere and it's BLOODY FREEZING! I hate snow as it is cold and messy. Ice is worse and my gloves pretty much melt with furry fluff everywhere at the moment...which is what i get for shopping at claire's accessories. Though the melty gloves are the link to the video below...I wore them in quite a Christmassy way :) so as this is a festive blog (and the songs and decorations etc. are probably killing you already) I'll cut a long story short....last Sunday this was me - 

Just thought I'd give you people out there an insight into what I actually do when I perform - as well as the usual (but posh as this was L'boro) banter at the start. This specifically, was at Charnwood's got Talent in Loughborough and yes it was also FREEZING! I managed to get third which was quite awesome, and in the post for me somewhere is £75 :) Also if you get the Loughborough Echo..I'm on page 3! (no kidding the pictures from the talent show are actually page 3...made me kill myself laughing). For the first time I actually thought I wouldn't get anywhere and I'd be home watching t.v. they called out my name and i screamed louder than a pensioner playing bingo (which to my experience on the clubs is actually pretty damn loud!)

I guess once you've seen me in that outfit I don't really have a comeback so I suppose I'll be wide open to gags these next weeks. although my week has also been quite cool - off the back of an earlier blog I managed to bag a job at GAME! Keeping with the Christmas theme it is a Christmas temp job - but tenacious as ever (which according to Heather I am, *grins*) I've taken it and on the first day (today) managed to sell 10 games and 5 Wii remotes (yeah... the people love the Wii remotes) and since I've got home I've done some quick market research ready for my next day (Wednesday). I really do think the people are nice there though, as they saved me from a scary shopper - seriously he made me repeat all the Kinect features again  and again and AGAIN and also asked if we stocked a Sega Saturn.....I mean I remember the Sega Saturn, although awesome it was in stock a long...long time ago. 'Nuff said. 

Anyways; with a tree to texture I'm off. I hope all your reviews went really well and erm, 

enjoy the vid ^^

Later,