assignment 78

Visual/Artistic Styles 

A visual style of a game is how it looks whether it’s cartoony or a military style. There are 4 main visual styles, Abstract, Photo Realistic, Cel-Shaded and Exaggerated. 

 

Cel-Shaded: 

Cel shading is a non-photorealistic rendered style of games which make the game look like it’s been hand drawn. Cel shading is mostly used to make games look cartoony such as Borderlands and World of Warcraft, even though they are not the same genre of game they have the same style. 

 

Photorealism 

Photo realistic graphics are used in styles of games like Military games. It is the most difficult and demanding visual style out of the other styles. The most popular games that use photorealism are Call of Duty, GTA and Halo. 

 

 

Exaggerated 

This style is roughly based photorealism, but most attributes have been enhanced such as ridiculously muscly characters or outrageous hairstyles. The best examples of exaggerated games are Tekken and Final Fantasy.  

 

 

 

Abstract 

Abstract is one of the most unique visual styles as with an abstract game it doesn’t tend to look like any other style of game. Many abstract games use bright colours while some have very elusive colours. The best example of an abstract game is geometry wars. 

Pixel 

“A pixel is a point sample. It exists only at a point. For a colour picture, a pixel might actually contain three samples, one for each primary colour contributing to the picture at the sampling point.” – Alvy Ray Smith 

 

http://alvyray.com/Memos/CG/Microsoft/6_pixel.pdf 

 

Most people think a pixel is a little square, but they are wrong. A point sample that can contain several different colours that the picture you are using has. 

 

The lower your pixel dimensions the quality will worsen and the more “pixely” and distorted 

 

Each pixel is made up of sub pixels containing red, green and blue. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the picture above is the image resolution or the pixel dimensions. 

 

Computer game graphics 

Pixel Art: 

It is a form of digital art, it is created through the use of raster graphics, where the images are editing on pixel level. This is mostly used on old computer games and mobile phone games. 

When pixel art is at too high of a resolution it becomes to look blocky or pixellated, this is called pixellation. 

As 3D are the games to play now, a lot of pixel art is lost and not used much now, but as mobile phone games are quite popular as well so not all pixel art is lost. 

2D sprites are used for 8-bit games, everything in the game will be a flat image. Take the old 8-bit Mario games for instance his movements are limited such as one screen capture for jumping, crouching and walking. 

3D Isometric sprites are 2D sprites that give the impression of depth, posed in 3D. They are used in games now but mostly on foliage such as grass and leaves on tree turning towards you to give the impression of depth. 

 

Concept Art: 

It is a form of illustration used to carry an idea for use in films, games, animation or comic books before it is put into the final product. Concept art is also known as visual development 

 

 

 

Texture Art: 

It is the element of arts that gives the way it looks and feels, in this case the texture art of a video game such as Call of Duty: Black Ops would be old, grungy, dirty and military styled. 

 

In-game Interface: 

The in-game interface or the HUD (heads-up display) or the status bar is a method put in the game to either tell you the score, your health, time, ammunition, minimap, the reticle/cursor/crosshair. 

 

Print Media Art: 

Print media art is important in the games industry, as people buy games that are colourful and attracts their attention. most games now have a special edition or a pre-order bonus to buy separate from the regular edition. 

  

Types of Digital Graphics 

 

Raster Images: 

TIFF (also TIF), file types ending in .tif. TIFF images are a very large file sizes, They are uncompressed and therefore store a lot of detailed image data. TIFF images are very flexible when it comes to colour, they can be grayscale, CMYK for print or RG for web pages. 

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) JPEG files have been compressed to store a lot of information in a small-size file. digital camera have been programed so that when a picture has been taken it saves as a JPEG so you are able to take more photos as it is a small file size. 

GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) this format compresses images, but it is not the same as a JPEG. when the compression is made no detail is lost so therefore the file size is not as a JPEG. 

Vector Images: 

PSD (Photoshop Document) a PSD file is a file format that is only available in Adobe Photoshop. When a file has been saved as a PSD it contains the information of layers with masks, transparency, text and more. 

WMF (Windows Metafile) it is an image format that was designed for Microsoft Windows in the 1990s. WMF files are flexible throughout different software and contain both vector graphics and bitmap components. 

AI (Adobe Illustrator Artwork) it is a proprietary file format created by Adobe Systems for representing single page vector based in both EPS and PDF formats. The AI file format was originally called PGF. 

 

 

 

File Extensions: 

a file extension is a suffix to the name of a computer file applied to show the encoding of its contents. some file systems have limited the length of the extension. 

Compression: 

Compression involves encoding information using less bits that the original product. it is useful as it helps reduce resource usage. 

 

Comparison of 2D and 3D 

 

Both 2D ad 3D games have their similarities but also their differences. but the main difference is that 2D games are flat, using X and Y dimensions while 3D use X,Y and Z which is the depth. the third dimension is used for rotation ad multiple perspectives.

  

 

 

Unit 1 - Pre-production

Unit 1

What is pre-production?

Pre-production is the preparation of the product e.g. research, finance, time and locations.

 

Finance and Time

Finance is the most important aspect of creating a game because if you do not already have the resources needed you will have to pay quite a lot as game making software is not cheap. You can have several sources of finance such as private investors and distributors. You can link finance and time together because if you get your finance from a distributors they will give you a dead line.

The newly released game Destiny cost $140 million to cover Bungie’s development and limited marketing efforts

Personnel

With popular games you will need more personnel to work on different parts of the game, such as script writers, graphic designers and sound creators. Personnel can also link to finance as you have to make a budget on what you’re going to pay the personnel to make the game.

Facilities

Facilities automatically have to link with finance as you may have to pay for the computer to make the game and the software. You also may have to pay for a room if you do not have enough room somewhere else or do not have one.

Materials

A material in a product is the necessary parts that make up the product, e.g. a sound library, script and animatics.

 Contributors

Contributors are a very important role make a game, film or TV show. If you do not have any money to afford personnel or facilities you may get an anonymous contributor or you may have another company contribute to your product.

Locations

Location is very important in film and TV as you may have to book a specific area to shoot it. This also then links to finance as you might have to rent a room or area to shoot your footage.

Codes of practice and regular

It is very important that you understand the codes of practice, rules and regulation, trademarks, ethics and copyright when in pre-production. The codes of practice and regulation is the most important factor of pre-production because if you do not fully understand it and you take a character out of another game that has a copyright, then the company has a right to sue. So it is best to follow the codes of practice and regulation so you can stay out of legal trouble.

Regular bodies:

Ofcom – (Office of Communications) the communications regulator in the UK. Ofcom make sure that people in the UK are getting the best from their communications services and are protected from scams.

ASA – (Advertising Standards Authority) Independent regulator of all media advertisement. ASA deal with complaints and proactively checking media to make sure is no misleading, harmful or offensive adverts.

PEGI – (Pan European Game Information) PEGI is an age rating system that helps parents make decisions on buying computer games. E.g. PEGI 18. PEGI is used throughout Europe, in 30 countries.

ESRB – (Entertainment Software Rating Board) the ESRB is just like PEGI as it also rates video game to help parents make decision on buying a game.

TIGA – (The Independent Games Developers’ Association) trade association representing business and commercial interests of some video and computer game developers.

ELSPA – (Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers’ Association) ELSPA was responsible for introducing age rating to games in the UK. It was the first age rating system for any entertainment medium in the UK.

BIMA – (British Interactive Media Association) based in the UK and exist to do four things:

·         Support and promote the British digital industry

·         Share knowledge and best practice

·         Reward great work

·         Encourage the next generation

 

 

 

 

Unit 1 - Assignment 1

Assignment 1

The first thing I will have to consider is when I start my product I will have a deadline, and if I do not make that deadline I will fail. All of the time spent on my product will be made at college as I do not have the resources at home. I must be sure to make that everything is correct and organised properly before the deadline.

For my game finance will not be a problem as at college all of the game maker software is already provided. But if I was creating a game from home I am able to get Game Maker for free but only with limited features, if I wanted the full version I would have to pay about $799.99 for the master collection of Game Maker or pay about $99.99 for the professional version. The information I have provided on Game Maker has come from this source: https://www.yoyogames.com/studio

I may have to download the free version of Game Maker at home to complete my product if I do not have enough time spent on it at college.

The game I have been set to make is an independent task but as I do not know all the tricks on Gamer Maker other college student and also the lecturer are allowed to help me with bits that I do not know.

Facilities are not a problem as just like finance the college have provided everything that I need to create my game, but I may need to download a free version on Game Maker at home to tweak a few parts of my product.

At the beginning of the pre-product I will be creating my maze ideas on Adobe Photoshop, my sprites and background of the maze will also be created on Photoshop. The 5 levels I will be creating will get significantly harder as you progress followed by a boss battle on the last level. I may consider to have a background music on my final product but, yet I have not decided whether I will or not as I have to consider how long it will take. My sound effect of the game such as death noise and level complete noise, for the sound effect of my game I will find a free stock library to download them from, and if that does not work I will have to make my own.

I must try as hard as possible to make my game original and follow the codes of practice and regulation. I must ensure these by either making my own sprites or using pre made sprites from the internet but slightly charged to avoid plagiarism.

 

 

 

 

 

Impact of Computer Games on Society

Impact of computer games on Society

Games in society

Concerns such as excess playing time: spending too much time on computers games can cause an addiction or a borderline addiction, this could cause sleep deprivation and it could effect your education.

social isolation: too much time on computers could cause social isolation which means that you won't have contact with people in reality, and only contact people in game.

cost: spending too much time on games could have a cost on your health e.g forgetting to eat or drink. for example a Korean man died of starvation from playing too much and not eating. it can have a serious affect on your psychical health such as RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) which is caused from overworking your wrist which causes your wrist to be inflamed and sore, also it could provoke obesity as you're sat in front of a screen all day and not getting the right amount of exercise. It can also take a toll on your mental health such as becoming addicted and developing insomnia.

separation from reality: people that become so grossed in a game for a long period of time starting believing that they are a part of the game they are playing. an example of this that 2 young girls got addicted to a horror game called 'Slenderman', apparently they got told by Slenderman to take their friend out into the woods and kill her, the girls between them had stabbed the girl 13 times in the chest.

education: computer games could affect your education in both positive and negative ways. the positive ways are that it could increase your hand-eye coordination, brain training and strategy skills. games are useful in the military as it helps your strategy skills. Negative affects of computer games are that it can essentially take over your life and make you skip school or higher education.

future impact: as computer games are constantly evolving, so it computer tech, which can help people develop skills to practice theoretical and practical skills, it will continue to evolve to the point of simulators to help individuals to use high tech tools.

impact on 'mainstream' application development: it has helped people to use computer tech much easier in today's era than what it was years ago with the early computer operating systems, they required users to have high technical knowledge. some of the first games such as pong allowed user to use a joy stick which helped users without high technical knowledge to play the game.

Psychological factors

effects e.g. use of sound: the use of sound in a game can dramatical change the experience of the game, but it could also affect your psychological health, if you look at the paragraph on separation from reality about the 2 young girls, then sound is a major psychological factor especially if you suffer from mental health disorders such a Schizophrenia.

high score listing: High score listing can link to excess playing time, as if you are addicted to a game you can also be addicted to getting the high score, which also then links to cost by affecting your health if you do not achieve the highest score.

competitive games: if you are a competitive gamer for a known competitive team then you may have to leave your home town or country to visit gaming convention such as MLG or Pax which could interfere with you education.

peer pressure: This could be linked to competitive games and high scoring listing, because if you have a group of friends that are doing better on a game than you, then they may make a joke of it as you are not as doing as well as them, therefore pressuring you to play the game more to try and beat them. 

fun: this is a major fact of a playing a game because if you don't find the game fun then you wont play it, but some people have got addicted to fun, in some cases people can't sleep if they don't even get 30 minutes of a game.

educational value: the educational value of a games can go both positive and negative. the positives are that it can help train your brain in a range of areas. the negative are that the game could 

 

expectations, leveling