My Character

I early explained about characters that fit into Sci Fi worlds and how they look and become part of a game. Using ideas and inspiration from this characters i have created a couple of characters that would fit into the game with personalities that would match there background and the environment. Also i wanted to create them to what they would be doing e.g. clothes and armour.
Main character:

This was my first concept of the main character i wanted to show a character than has experienced a lack of technology and has to make due with clothes and items they find and steal since they are hiding and battling constantly. My idea was to have a high armour chest piece that would show how he would survive shots attacks. The colour code is bland to help show that its futuristic and theres a lack of freedom in the game.

main character Armoured:

This is a remake of the character showing a more tough and realistic approach to how he would survive be more futuristic. I used the idea of halo and DeadSpace giving my character a armour that fits the style of the game. But i didn't want to create a character that is over powerful with a suit of armour it takes away from the game thats why there are open parts that allow some explanation you why the player takes a lot of damage at times. The blue connotes good but being darker also shows the idea of space and technology.

Army of Two - Co-op Experience

The game Army of Two and Army of Two: the 40th day were both created by EA Montreal. Both are a third person shooter and both are focused around a core element of co-op play. Army of two is based on the military and you play as a a soldier that has a partner which is AI or two player controlled. The story is about a series of missions that begin and end but then you are pulled back into the missions years later. It focuses on government and military fighting criminal masterminds and terrorists and that you are the only team that can stop them.

http://c.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/army-of-two_lead.jpg
The main feature is how the Co-op system works with build in objects in the game that need the use of two players. It also uses two players to change and effect game play. The first co-op game play changer is how 'Aggro' is used in the game. 'Aggro' is how noticeable you are to enemies so the higher it builds the more you are targeted but this takes away from the secondary player or Ai creating them almost invisible at times. Guns and weapons produce more 'Aggro' than others meaning a players can choose who is playing stealthy and who wants to be targeted.

Another game changing feature in the game is the back to back mode that is build into levels. Back to back is a game feature that places both players back to back allowing them to cover a whole 360 spread of enemies. At these points the enemies would spawn and fight you from behind scenery or in open area. This mode is also in slow mo making the experience seem that its on a much quick level in real life. I like this feature but its only built in so only at certain points on levels it happens.

Healing you partner is a good feature for when the players health does down he ends up on the floor for a period of time that allows the other player to come and heal you. It doesn't stop there, if you have gone down then this means that the area you are in is under fire so healing you there isn't the best place, this is why in the game you can pull you team mate to safety. I like this feature because it shows how helpful another player it is but it also does mean players can just throw there bodies into fights and get dragged out to repeat it again.

Players can swap weapons which i think should be a key feature for all FPS games as a lot of games you have to either find weapons or savaged of killed players or enemies meaning you have to get together over a weapon to drop it and then have a friend come to you to pick it up. Its slow and not helpful in a difficult situation.

the start of a level you parachute into the map meaning that one player can control the direction you travel with the other able to shoot out enemies in the landing zone. I think this worked but it wasn't fair on the players who got to shoot and direct as they cant choose. The idea of using vehicles that require two people could be a interesting idea.

Players can also help each others climb walls and buildings by players boosting each other up but a lot of the time you only use this feature when the creators what you two with walls in the way of the next part, it gets annoying when you could make another path around but there is a wall just so they can make you use that feature.

All these Co-op features are interesting and are relevance to me as i wish to produce ways that players can interact together in two player but i don't want to have built in elements. I want players to be able to play the game without a constant AI player and not to always rely on a secondary player because i feel it ruins the pick up and play element i want the game to stand out on the single player element with the Co-op being a good added bonus meaning players will want to play the game first then return multiple times with friends and online players to explore allowing different experience and more replayablity.

features i want to include are similar to Army of Two like how players control different elements of vehicles and swapping weapons but i want also get a feel of team work against opponents like being able to both interact and take down a enemy without having to just whittle down its health by shooting at it.

Blade Runner City

Blade Runner released in 1982 directed by Ridley Scott was a film looking at the future of earth and following the life of a detective trying to find some replicates which were also looking for him. Set in a huge sci fi city it shows how dark and dim a futuristic city. I like the grunge dark evil look about the city but how it also looks very futurist and similar.

I want to bring this dark atmosphere to make the city's look like they are dominate and controlling and to bring the evilness to the cities. I didn't like how the bottom of the city is very dirty and punk like. The Giant screens and likes make the city look futuristic and would work for my story showing how they are keeping people under strict rules. I would also like to not have as many neon lights around the buildings and old style building around i want them to look sleek and prestien. The city also has a large amount of flying vehicles this is something i like but would tone down the amount because i don't want to show that much freedom in the cities.


http://www.scene-stealers.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/blade-runner-los-angeles-752153.jpg

http://www.seanax.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/bladerunner.jpg

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658/

Lost in Space

I recently watched the film Lost In Space. It was created in 1998 as a remake to a popular series. i liked this film and there was a could of pieces that i liked and thought they would be good to refer back to for ideas for my game design document. I firstly like the costume design of the characters that made them fit into the time period, they were both futuristic but fashionable and normal looking. I liked how this both promoted characteristic and theme and made the film coherent.

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/050620/14429__space_l.jpg

I also liked the robot design in the film.

http://www.jeffbots.com/S-MATT1.JPG

The robot both looked realistic and like it would be able to be functional to help build a city. As my game is based on robots helping to build the citys i will need to look at ways the would be helpful and if there should be dedicated robots for tasks.


http://www.linkandpinhobbies.com/graphics/Amt_8458.jpg

I also liked the fight spaceship but there were areas that i thought it was impractical so i wanted to remember the shape and how it flew as well as what i didn't like about it and why so that when i design my vehicles i can use this a base to model to create concepts and designs.


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzT7wHgdRJeRa5vUM7W-PSLv7wp_Q1wPZvUjhzEfnWKCiE-zGEonsq92bUdx-tDrlkpBVX0KX3oCw73BFNBcjs_EMJn7EF-qbkvp3zuPuGP2XbW5uwtOJFsfjE9O9iBm7B_uhk3sHgFI/s1600/lost_in_space_concept.jpg

Character Design pt 2

http://www.rankopedia.com/CandidatePix/40373.gif

Dr. Gordon Freeman from Valves popular game Half life. During the game you witness no cut scenes and no speech by Gordon meaning what you see is through the characters eyes but this means its more of what you see and witness. This makes the character more immersive for you because you play him totally without seeing him with a sense of life outside in the game. This character has a special suit which explains both his look, how he can survive and fitting into world. Being a scientist for a secret project means that understand the game is based on science fiction meaning we already think of iconography and themes to fit this style, and when we think of experimental technology we think of new and exciting things that are different that what we have today. Valve have realised this and both created a look to fit the theme and explained the reasons for the suit and how it works making the character coherent. I like the look of the character because is face and glasses makes him appear to be of a smart man that places him in the story of him being a scientist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Freeman



http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k225/DarkRageJigsaw/Characters/IsaacClarke.jpg

Isaac Clarke is the main character from the game Dead Space. A game based on human kind exploring space and destroying planets for resources. The game is based on surviving a ship that is full of alien life infecting human bodies. To fit the theme of a horror the armour is a rustic dark colour that fits with the dark setting and the dull lighting. Light sources on the mask and back make the armour look more sci if through the use of iconography. The character also struggles with emotions.

all these popular characters all fit into context and theme of the game. Both the characters emotion and personality and the clothes they wear. For my characters i will have to make new and interesting but relate and fit into the world. There characters look would also have to fit in the conditions of the game situation and the characters background. Using these i will designing some characters for my game.

Character Design

Characters are extremely important to fit in the game you are playing as well be interesting and fun enough to make the player feel as if they are playing the game and enjoying playing the character. There are lots of famous game characters that have made a huge impact in the games industry and being so iconic. A lot of games rely on the characters keeping the players happy and immersed in the game play especially in cutscenes and QTE were you are watching the character not playing him or her.

I found that looking at famous game characters was a good place to start for my design and looking at why they are so liked and why i like when i play them. I also kept mainly on characters that suited my theme of sci fi.




http://www.platformnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/MasterChiefHalo2.jpg

Master chief is famous around the world for being the unbeatable super hero of the halo universe. He has had some changes since the first halo game but his character has always stayed roughly the game and people around the world love him. Through the games you play as him but he has a unique character personality which is he is quiet but yet out going, strong and brave, in the game you don't know what he really looks like that makes him mystery and in the games he doesn't speak a lot creating this believe that you could be him but for what he does say and do makes him brave and strong with a deep voice. Hints in the game give away his character (like when cortana his sidekick refers to him as lucky). Transmedia has been used to go more in depth about him but players don't mind not knowing. Is Spartan suit is also iconic to him because of the colour and what it looks like because it make him look very sci fi. He also fits the type of character he needs to be in the game, you wouldn't expect a solider to be weak, thin and sound like posh.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9a/Samus_at_the_end_of_Metroid.png


http://www.zeldauniverse.net/images/games/ssbb/characters/samus.png

Samus was created by Nintendo and was the first serious female protagonist. The first image shows her without her suit at the end of the first game because people believed she was a male in a cyber suit while playing the game. Hiding her character made it better for selling the game because at the time most males wouldn’t like to play as a female soldier but by hiding her they gained a male audience without having a female character based around sexual appeal. By having a female protagisnt they automatically doubled their selling audience. She has many masculine traits to make her appear more soldier like.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samus_Aran

My Document background

after looking at multiple images about space i chose to make a background that shows a planet in space which would be my planet i am basing my story around. I also want to make a small box that appears to be a visor like text panel which will give a brief introduction to the game idea meaning from the first page you are gathering everything you need to know about the game. Its an invitation into the game world and story. the rest of the document i want to have an image of stars with some sort of boarder keeping with the theme but being simple so i can text can be easily read and have a large about of space to place images or text in.

I found a very good tutorial on the art website www.deviantart.com that shows how to make a realistic planet on photoshop, i am planning to use this tutorial to make my document look better and more professional. the link to the website is :http://dinyctis.deviantart.com/art/Planet-Tutorial-3131869

here are the images i created on photoshop for my background to my document :

Document Theme

I needed a design to follow my concept of my game story for my game document. As my game is based on a new planet and being colonised i wanted to create something that would promote a sci fi theme. I looked at space images to help me get an idea of what i could design for a background for my document. Here are some of the images i liked:


http://idowns.net/uploads/090430/1_145537_3.jpg
http://www.star.ac.za/graphics/n11lmc_noao.jpg


http://files.myopera.com/phamlythanh/albums/637848/Space%20Art%20Wallpapers%2026.jpg

I liked the idea of showing the planet on the design document to show both the theme and that the game isn't on earth because this directly makes you think of what the story might be knowing that its going to different game space than if it was based on earth.

Space Research

There are a couple of planets that scientists believe have the same qauities as earth but these can't be proven until we have the technology to send satilites to these distance planets.

My research has shown the closest planet that is earth like is 20.5 light years away a planet called Gliese 581 named after it was found orbiting the red dwarf sun Gliese. Astronomers have identified aprox 400 planets in the last 15 years of looking for earth like planets. This planet fits the habitable area of the "Goldilock zone" *

* "Goldilock zone" is the perfect habitable area of a planets distance from the sun which relates to radiation levels and head levels.

This planet has a mass greater than earth by 3 or 4 times and is locked into postion with the star so one side is light the other is dark. This would be that only one side of the planet is habitable for colozation. The orbit of star is around 37 days.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/science-technology/Astronomers-Find-Potentially-Habitable-Planet-104121519.html

Research on reasons for American war of independence

The cause of the American war of independence:
The war was based around finance and costs, this in particular was about the costs of the Anglo-French wars beforehand. The American land was largely to provide raw materials to Britain and to be consumers of the British manufactured goods. This lead to the realisation of the increasing control and restriction of American trade. Many colonists created a new society without restrictions using timber and the wilderness.

British regulation was lax until they started to exploit the American colonies, They limited expansion of colonies and they there first attempt made a boarder of colonies and Indians but this cut the colony’s of supply areas making the colonies lose a lot of money. Later direct tax from London had been placed onto colonies instead of tax from trade duties which was understandable. This was called the Stamp Act. This friction caused riots and these riots caused the fall of government of lord Grenville.

Rickard, J. (25 May 2003), American War of Independence (1775-1782), http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_american_independence.html

More tax’s lead to the colonists to believe the British were trying to create a absolute authority over America. These fears and ideas had no evidence to support them but the colonists managed to link the new taxs together to raise suspicion.

Smuggling and riots and the idea of British plotting to take over was spreading in America and was even George Washington was believing in the fact. This then lead to British troops stationing themselves in Boston to control lawless conditions.

Research and Story design

My game story during the pitch project was about a post apoplectic earth and this raised some concerns to the viewers and teachers of the pitch due to the amount of post apoplectic already on the market today. My issue was i had based my game around the story and immersion element of the game. Over the last couple of days I've been thinking of ways to change my story it both improve the idea and not to change the plays, style and mechanic ideas i already have.

I got a idea that i feel would work and open up more possibilities for my game and story. My story being based around a war and wasteland has been changed to a newly colonised planet many lightyears away from earth. This gives me a new world to build upon more freely. Designing a game on based on today and earth limits us with what can be real and what is clearly overly fantasy. As i want to make my FPS as real as i can i wouldn't have much freedom to explore new landscapes and areas in my original idea but a new planet will give more change to allow players to view a new fantasy that can be realistic because they haven't experienced it before.

By going with this idea there are some areas i will need to research and understand before i can take on more depth of my story. I intend to look into realistic ideas of colonzing planets and other details of space that may influence my story and make the game seem realistic. Other areas that will help me with this research is looking at films using Avatar by james cameron as an example i can look into other peoples ideas of other planets and issues of living on new worlds. I found out that Wayne Douglas Barlowe wrote a book called 'Expedition' which is a documentary of his experience on a alien world. The book was about documenting his made up adventure but in doing so creating a realistic idea of a alien planet. I would like to try to get this book to read and see how this author has created a new world.

I also want research into the american war of independence and the british empire because i feel that my game will be based around the fall of commutation of two planets leading one to make its own rules and create a world that shouldn't of happened. This is the same idea has how the discovery of new countries by the british empire and how they communicated and the fall of the empire and how america fought to become a country of its own.

Brief

Yesterday we had our brief on what was expected of us for the game document. The brief was very similar to the creating a pitch in the last project so with this i will follow the same steps as i took to create a idea and game but in more detailed way. I also received my feedback from my pitch yesterday as well, there was some things that were mentioned about my idea that would need to be changed to work in the games market today and i understand the reasons and i understand how i can change them for the best in my game.

I will document these idea changes and reasons during my game document while keeping piratical reasons and research parallel with my idea. My first task is to create a study proposal that will indicate to the course directors to how i will go about creating my game design document so they can understand my process of ideas.