Below we can see different genres in games and how they each attract players.
Below we can find my personal notes on how different players reacted to the rythm game "DJ Hero". It is important to note that the players never played this game before.
Me and a colleague of mine were tasked with creating a different games space for DJ Hero by using tangible materials. We in fact managed to create a card game which uses dice rolls and music tracks (with the use of a mobile app) in game. This game turned out to be a success with the rest of the class. A problem which we found by play testing was that there were to many "cross-fade" cards in the deck ( this card basically prolongs the game by putting the opponent one step backward).
Below are the storyboard,assets and animation frames created for the video game "Filtro" which is part of our assignment.
Above we can see the drawn concept for the main character.
Above is a colorized concept drawing inspired by the game.
Above we can see how the character looks like in game (digitized).
Above is one frame from the Idle animation. This is how the character will look like in game. The features the main character Filtro riding his friend shark. It is important to remember that all gameplay takes place underwater (in an aquarium).
Above is a frame from the "suck" animation. This is the action done to absorb enemies. Edit: this animation is now used to suck up the garbage to charge the attack only.
Above we can see a frame from the "attack" animation. This action is done to stun enemies. It is important to remember that for the player to advance through the game, he/she must first attack the enemy germs to stun them, and then suck them up with the characters other ability shown earlier. EDIT: This attack animation is now just used to kill the germs when hit.
Above we can see a frame from the animation which plays when the character gets damaged by any means. EDIT: This animation might not make it in the final build of the game due to time constraints.
Below is some snapshots of me actually creating such assets and animations.
Below is a building I made to put in the game zone in the aquarium to promote our client.
Below is a last minute idea which one of my colleages had which was to include a special attack which included rainbow laser beams. I went ahead to create what is diplayed here. (This is just one frame of the animation).
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The effect of using different devices:
This game which we are creating is meant to work on desktop systems as well as tablets. This meant that we had to rethink and adjust graphics and mechanics to work on both.
The first consideration was the size of the animations and sprite sheets. Initially I was rendering out png sequence in full hd resolution, therefore each frame was 1920x1080. This posed a serious problem due to file size. It would take forever to load on a mobile device. I had to render the animation sequences again with a lower resolution of 600x480.
The second consideration was controls.On a desktop system, one uses the arrow keys to move the character in the desired direction. We had to implement a d-pad on the bottom left side of the screen so that mobile users could move the character around by pressing on the dpad via touch screen. (same system applies for both action buttons on the bottom right).
The third consideration was graphics. We would have liked to implement some 3D elements in the game especially due to the fact that all gameplay is underwater. Due to the mobile devices being use it was not possible to implement 3D models effectively and so we only used 2D graphics for all environments, assets and characters.
Evaluation:
In these few months I myself and three other class mates (Xanthe, Jeremy and Omar) were tasked to develop and produce a video game which had to focus on the educational outcome mainly. Our client was HSBC and the game players would be primary school children. The educational outcome focuses on water conservation (Catch the Drop campaign). The first thing we did was brainstorm ideas to try to come up with something fun and yet educational. We had some different ideas, but we finally settled on an underwater theme. I personally suggested that the character should be wearing a diving suit because I think it looks "cool" (and I thought that the kids would like it). My colleagues agreed so we went with that. Through this thought process, I was thinking of providing these primary school kids with a fun and action packed game while always reminding them about water conservation and threats of pollution. We then went ahead and decided the main gameplay mechanics and assets to be used.
At this point roles we given to each member depending on the individual's skill. Due to other assignments liked to this one, all team members had to produce 2D assets and animate them, this means that each team member helped somewhat in the graphics department. I was responsible for creating the main character and side kick (the shark) conceptually and digitally. I was also reasonable for all animations relating to the main character in game. I was also responsible for the main environment design although many other assets seen in the environment such as coral, obstacles and marine life were created by Xanthe as well (It is important to note that the HUD and game menus were created by Xanthe as well).The enemies in the game were germs which were created and animated by Jeremy (It is important to note that Jeremy was the one responsible for all the coding of the entire game). In the game area there are also supposed to be rubbish and other items which show that there is pollution. This little objects serve as a very important part in this game because the player has to pick them up to provide power for his attack while making the water cleaner. These assets were supposed to be created by omar, but the quality left a lot to be desired.
