Maze game diary

Maze Game

 

Customer

 

What does the customer want? The customer wants a educational math's maze game.

What does the design brief say? The brief says to create a maze game for students to play and help them develop their mathematical skills.

Who is the target audience? The target audience is GCSE math's students.

 

Development

 

What sprites do we need? We will need a main character, walls, monsters and any other sprites that will be included when making the game.

What sounds do we need? We could have some background music and maybe when the main character dies we could add in a sound affect.

How many levels do we want? We want 5 levels.

 

 

Management

 

What do we want by the end of this session? By the end of todays session I will like to have created my main character using Photoshop.

How long do we have to create this game? We have 4 weeks to create the maze game.

How can we break down the tasks in making a game? To break down the tasks I could create a schedule.

Unit 78 Exercise

 

 

Unit 78 Exercise

 

Sprites and sketches for my games. 
 

 

 

 

Intellectual property law in general lets people own the work they create.  Intellectual property rights (IPR) are rights granted to creators and owners of works that are the result of human intellectual creativity. Copyright law in the UK is governed by Part I of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA, the Act).  It has been subject to various amendments over time including revisions recognizing the digital age in 2003, and with a recognition of creative industry and education in 2014.  The UK legislation has been updated on a number of occasions to harmonize it with the provisions of international treaties and conventions to which the UK is a signatory.

 

Procedure

UNIT 1

PRE-PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES FOR THE CREATIVE MEDIA INDUSTRIES

PROCEDURE
 

·         Identify finance available

My research shows that I wouldn’t necessarily need a budget but I have the resources available free at the college. The only thing I may need to consider is buying some software for my computer at home so I can complete my game quicker and also become more familiar with the software.
 

·         Identify resources and book where necessary

Most of my resources will be available to me at the college so my hours will be limited and I need to consider booking a room out in the college.
 

·         Identify personnel needed and weather they are available

I have one personnel to assist me on Photoshop to help me create my sprites and help me get a better understanding of how to use Photoshop so In the future I can create my sprites without assistance.
 

·         Identify and health and safety concerns

I will consider all the health and safety concerns such as keeping drinks away from all electrical devices, regular breaks from the screen and posture.
 

·         Prepare schedule

I will need to organize my time wisely and prepare a schedule to cover all the steps required. Beginning with the game concept, design and sketches, leading onto creating my sprites. The last part will be testing out my game to double check for any missing links.
 

·         Identify any other risks to your project

I will consider my time limit as I will have a deadline and will need to have completed it. I will also need to consider the risk of losing data.
 

·         Identify legal aspects

I will need to ensure the material I use is not copyrighted such as music, sound effects and images. I will need also need to make sure my game is suitable for the age rating.

Digital graphics for computer games

Unit 78         

Digital graphics for computer games.

Artistic style

·        Photo realism

Photo realism is where developers try to create graphics that looks so life like that it looks like a photo. This has become a more recent trend with games as graphics have improved so much in recent years. Some good examples of these types of games would be: Far Cry2 and GTA.

·        Cel shading

Cel shading is when the texture of an object is made to look like a comic book or a hand drawn image using flat colours. Some examples of Cel shading games include: Borderlands and the walking dead.

·        Abstract

Abstract often employs a lot of lines and geometric shapes that don’t resemble any real life object. For example, Geometry wars, a game which uses nothing but lines and geometric shapes. Another good example of an abstract style game is Tetris.

·        Exaggeration

Exaggeration art style is used in many anime or manga games and is designed to be over the top. The images are expressed more highly then normal games. Some good examples are: Final Fantasy and Pokémon.  

Pixel

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

Image resolution: Resolution is the quality of the image. As the resolution goes up the image becomes clearer. It becomes sharper, more defined, and more detailed. Your computer laptop and smartphone both have image resolutions. The more pixels you can fit into the width and height of the screen, the higher the resolution. The less pixels, the lower the resolution. You will have to consider image resolution as when importing to another software e.g. in game maker it may not be the size you want, therefore you have to know what resolutions you are going to use.

Computer game graphics

3D isometric sprites: 3D isometric sprites are 2D sprites that give the impression of depth, posed in 3D. They are still used in games today normally on foliage (as you play games the grass and leaves on trees turn to face you to give the impression of depth)

2D Sprites: With mobile devices and casual gaming becoming more and more popular the classic 2D games return .As well as the programs that can create said indie games, there are several mainstream games as well. These famous game series like Fire Emblem, Pokémon, and other handheld system games tend to use these more for the same reasons that mobile devices such as tablets and cell phones do. It saves on memory so it allows for more content, effects, music, and story to be added into the chip or cartridge.

Concept art: A concept artist usually uses traditional materials (e.g. pen and paper) rather than computer software. Concept artist sketches idea’s for the game worlds, characters, objects, vehicles, etc.  A game concept starts with an idea, a simple sketch of the main character and maybe a baddie.

Texture art: A texture artist is an individual who develops textures for digital media, usually for video games, movies and television shows. These textures can be in the form of 2D or 3D art. The textures artist main job is to create photorealistic textures. Texture artists use a variety of software and platforms to create textures for environments, characters, objects, and props for video games.

Compression

The object of image and file compression is to reduce irrelevance of the data in order to be able to store or transmit data in an efficient form.

Optimising

For imagery, optimisation involves choosing a suitable graphic compression format. Compression reduces the image file size and consequently the time it takes to download and display in a browser. Common compression types include GIF, TIFF and JPEG. Many compression formats reduce file size by removing information from the image.

Rasta Images

TIFF images create very large file sizes. TIFF images are uncompressed therefor contain a lot of detailed image data. 

JPEG files are images that have been compressed to store a lot of information in a small size file. Most digital cameras store photos in JPEG format, because then you can take more photos on one camera card then you can with other formats. A JPEG is compressed in a way that loses some of the image detail during the compression in order to make the file smaller.

GIF format compresses images but, as different from JPEG, there is no detail lost in the compression, but the file can’t be made as small as a JPEG. GIF also has an extremely limited colour range suitable for the web but not for printing. GIF can also be used for animations.

 Image capture

Image capture is an application program from Apple that enables users to upload pictures from digital cameras which are either connected directly to the computer or network.

Storage of image assets

Storage of image assets is a very useful way to store things like textures, graphics and text styles so that others can easily access them and assets. This is very useful in the game industry as most companies have lots of different teams who all need to access the same stuff. Being able to transfer files between colleges really speeds up production as you don’t need to wait around for files to transfer. 

sketches

Level 1. Starting in the top left hand corner you make your way through the relatively easy level dodging 3 monsters to reach the goal at the bottom right hand corner.

Level 2. Starting at the top left hand corner you make your way through the maze which is a little bit harder than level 1. There are 4 monsters you have to dodge in order to reach the goal in the bottom right hand corner.

Level 3. Starting at the top left hand corner you find your way to the goal which is in the top right hand corner. This time you will be facing 5 monsters. This level is harder than level 1 and 2.

Level 4. Starting at the top left hand corner you have 6 monsters to dodge and reach the goal at the bottom right hand corner. This level is harder then 1, 2 and 3. 

Level 5. This level is the hardest out of them all starting in the top left hand corner dodging 7 monsters to reach the goal at the bottom right hand corner. 

 This game is going to be aimed for the both genders of all ages as it will be suitable for you children and teenagers. I will be making this game with a team of people all taking on different roles such as coding, graphics and designing. I will be doing the designing aspect of the game. We are making the game for a college project which will be available on the college computers. For this game we will need to create our sprites using Photoshop. We also need sounds and music which we can either download of the internet or we can record ourselves.

visual styles of games

Visual Styles of Games.

Photo realism = GTA

Photo realism is where developers try to create graphics that looks so life like that it looks like a photo.

 

Cel-shaded = Viewtiful Joe

Cel shading is when the texture of an object is made to look like a comic book or a hand drawn image using flat colors.

Abstract = Geometry wars

Abstract often employs a lot of lines and geometric shapes that don’t resemble any real life object. Geometric wars is a game which insists of only lines and geometric shapes.  

2D = Space invaders

2D games are games with flat images so it looks like a piece of paper with images on

3D = Crash Bandicoot

3D games are games that have 3 dimensions therefore you can see the height, length and width of a character and the scene.

pre-production

Unit 1

Pre-Production.

Pre-production is the planning you do before you start to make your product and is important in the whole of the media industry.

 This includes finance and time. To be able to make a high quality, professional game you need to have a budget. One way you can get a good amount of money to make your game is a distributer. A distributer will give you some money to get things started and ask you to come back and see if the game is progressing well and if it is then they will give you some more money to progress even further. Having a distributer means that you will always have a deadline, if you cannot complete your project by the deadline then they will either extend the deadline or scrap the project all together.

Part of pre-production is personnel. This is the team of people with different roles, skills and experiences in the creative media industry that will help you create your project to a professional standard. A more experienced game maker is more likely to demand higher fees whereas a new inexperienced person would cost less. Some of these people may be artists, designers, writers, directors etc. The size of the team is not restricted as you could use one person for all the roles needed or many. The more personnel you have the better the quality but the higher the cost. A project manager is responsible for ensuring that each personnel is available as and when required.

All the team members need to meet and agree on what steps are needed to ensure the game making runs smoothly. You need to consider meeting places, availability of all concerned and costs of venues. You also need to consider the availability of the facilities you will need to use such as, production equipment and facility houses. Facility houses is where your team will go and use the resources to help them make your game. You may need to outsource which means that you pay someone who isn’t part of your team to come in and do some work for you.

There are many materials you will need to use to complete your game successfully, such as a sound library. A sound library is a collection of sound recordings that you load into a sampler, which is then used to create your piece of music. Sound libraries are used by many people in the media industry such as composers, performers and producers of music.

Before starting pre-production you should already be aware of the codes of practice and regulation. Some things you must consider during pre-production is making sure you don’t copyright because if you are caught you can be sued and getting permission from people who may appear in your work.

Pan European Gaming Information (PEGI) are an age rating system that is supported by the major console manufacturers including Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. The roles they have is to watch every game to ensure it is appropriate for the age rating before it is released. For example films and games with graphic violence and strong language is not appropriate for children.

 Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) advertise across all types of media. The types of responsibilities they have is to make sure that the advertising in all media is legal and appropriate. For example a baby with a cigarette was banned after complaints.

Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a rating system that helps enable parents and others choose games that are most appropriate for their children.

The British Interactive Media Association (BIMA) have offices in England, Scotland, Wales, and with regional representatives spread across the country to do four key things

•      Support and promote the British digital industry

•      Reward great work

•      Share knowledge and great practice

•      Encourage the next generation

BIMA is a membership association for people working in digital media in the UK. They state membership will extend your network, raise your profile, attract and develop talent, grow your business and give you a voice on issues affecting your business.