Video Game Consoles/Platforms That I Own

For this assignment I am going to be showing you some video game consoles/platforms that I own. For each one I will talk about the spec, show things such as peripherals, and other things like wires (how they plug in and where they go etc.)

1. The Nintendo Wii

The release of the Wii marked Nintendo's entry into the seventh generation of video game consoles. The Wii was a unique console, and was aimed at non gamers and casual gamers as well as experienced gamers. This is because of the Wii's main feature, movement based gameplay. The Wii came with the Wii Remote, which would connected to an infra-red bar that would be played on top of the television, this allowed the player to use the remote as a pointer to navigate menus and to be used during gameplay by moving it around as well as pressing buttons on the screen. This feature meant that the Wii was more of a family console, and it was something that the whole family could get into and play together. In terms of spec, the Wii wasn’t as good as the Xbox and PlayStation. It did not come with a hard drive, instead only 512mb of internal flash memory (however it supported SD cards.) 

The Wii also ran at 480p max, meaning it was the only 7^th gen console that couldn’t run in HD…

Advantages

• Like most consoles, it's small and easy to set up. You could take it somewhere with you if you needed to.
• The Wii was something the whole family could get into. It was enjoyable with lots of people.
• Lots of great games were released over the Wii's lifetime. It has a wide selection of games.
• Backwards compatibility.

Disadvantages

• In terms of power and graphical capabilities, the Wii was behind the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

2. Nintendo 3DS
The 3DS is Nintendo's current main handheld, along with the New Nintendo 3DS (a never version of the 3DS that is more powerful and has better 3D features.) The 3DS allows players to view games in 3D, without having to wear 3D glasses. The 3DS is also much more powerful than previous DS models and can run full 3D games with great graphics. 

Specs:

• OS: Nintendo 3DS system software
• CPU: Dual-Core ARM11 MPCore, single-core ARM9
• Memory: 128 MB FCRAM, 6 MB VRAM
• Storage: 1 GB internal flash memory
• Removable storage: Included 2 GB SD card (3DS)
• Included 4 GB SDHC card (3DS XL)
• Cartridge save
• Display: LCD screens
• Graphics: DMP PICA200 GPU
• Sound: Stereo speakers and a microphone
• Camera: 3 VGA cameras. One on the inner screen, 2 on the outer shell.

Advantages

• A huge step up from the previous DS models in terms of features and hardware capabilities.
• Strong line-up of games. 

Disadvantages

• 3D effect can be awkward to use. If the screen is at a slight angle it messes it up (This was fixed with the New 3DS.)
• Low battery life with use of the 3D effect.
• 3D effect has negative effects on some individuals. (This obviously isn't Nintendo's fault but I'd still count it as a disadvantage.)

3. PC
PC is a more difficult platform to talk about because people build PC's differently depending on what they want to use it for. Some built them for casual gaming, others for intense gaming, some build them for doing work etc. My PC is built for intense gaming.    

    

Pictures:

Headphone jack and mic jack plugged in.

DVI cable (for graphics card, the white one) and the power cable for the monitor.

DVI cable going in to the graphics card.

Ethernet cable, keyboard and mouse USB's.

Ethernet cable goes into the TP Link which allows me to connect to the internet. The power cable for the PC and monitor are also plugged in.

Power cable plugged into the PC's power supply.

Advantages

• PC's can be custom built to meet any requirements, and high end PC's can last a long time.
• Highly customizable.
• You can do a lot on a PC.
• Performance and visuals are usually better on PC.
• wide variety of peripherals.

Disadvantages

• Can be quite expensive.
• Usually not very portable. Hard to move around.
• PC games sometimes get terrible console ports (games that function more like a console game than a PC game. Bad performance etc.) Or certain games aren't released for PC.
• Possibility of technical problems.

4. Game Boy Advance SP
The Game Boy Advance SP was a portable system released by Nintendo in 2003. The GBA was accompanied by the Nintendo DS, Nintendo's first DS model, and when compared to the DS it wasn't as powerful.

Spec Info
The Game Boy only had one screen, and it was only 2.9 inches. Earlier models of the GBA didn't have a backlit screen, so it was quite dull and hard to see at first. The resolution was also only 240 x 160 pixels. 

• CPU: 32-bit ARM7TDMI with embedded memory.
• Co-processor: 8-bit Zilog Z80
• Memory: 32 kilobyte+96 kilobyte VRAM (internal CPU), 256 kilobyte DRAM (external CPU).
• 15-bit RGB colour.

5. Mobile
Mobile gaming has grown a lot over the past few years, and people spend a lot on in game items and bonuses which keeps the market afloat. The reason why mobile gaming is so popular is because its easy to access and easy to get into. Most people have a smart phone, and younger gamers are able to show their parents things that they would never have used before. You can mobile game in your spare time, on a break at work, on a bus (pretty much everywhere.)

The power of mobile phones and tablets has also got better and better, and they can handle games with full 3D graphics. An example of a great looking game is Modern Combat 5, which looks stunning considering it's a phone game.

Advantages

• You pretty much have your phone with you wherever you go, so mobile gaming is easy to access and is good for killing time.
• Powerful devices allow us to run almost console-like games on the go (MC5 for example.)
• Easy to get into and even older people can enjoy it (games like Candy Crush etc.)

Disadvantages

• On a small touch screen or touch screen in general, controls can sometimes be a little bit hard to get used to and or annoying.
• Battery life may be an issue on some phones.

Appleseed Alpha - Practice Assignment 2

Appleseed Alpha – Movie Story

Characters

• Two Horns – He wants money
• Talos - Wants power and access to Iris and the huge weapon
• Iris - 
• Olson - Wants to protect Iris and stay away from the cyborgs
• Briareos

Beginning

• Two characters, a female (Deunan) and a cyborg (Briareos) are trying to transport some sort of vaccine on a train. They are attacked and the train crashes, so they have to go into the city (destroyed New York.)
• They talk to their boss, Two Horns who wants the vaccine, but they don’t have it anymore.
• They meet a junk collector called Matthews who charges Briareos.

Middle

• They go to clear out a town that’s full of robots, and save a man called Olson and a girl called Iris that are driving through the town. They decide to help each other out.
• It becomes clear that there has been a war, and they are trying to clean up all the hostile robots that are left over.
• A group of robots land in town and are trying to track the main characters, it turns out Iris is wanted by the robots. It’s their “mission.”
• Two Horns tracks them down and attacks them with a tank.
• Iris blows up the tank.

End

• The bad guys get Iris and guy and take them away in a helicopter. They kill Olson.
• Iris it taken to a hidden underground area storing a huge weapon.
• Deunan and Briareos find them and move in. They run into Two Horns and Matthews who are trying to help them.
• Iris is being used to power the weapon, Deunan is running after her in a robot suit.
• They don’t get to her in time and the weapon starts shooting.
• Deunan teams up with Two Horns to stop the weapon.
• Deunan kills Talos.
• Iris has to stay in the ship and die to end the mission. Briareos successfully destroys the weapon.
• Two Horns survives and along with Matthews gives them a suit of armour.

-film ends

A game based on Appleseed Alpha...what would it be like?

I think that Appleseed Alpha would work as an open world role playing game. This is because the world that the film is set in could be quite interesting to explore, and having the freedom to go wherever you want would work really well. The characters in the game would have the same objective as the one in the film, which is to save Iris, however it could have more information about each of the characters past. There could also be more quests and different characters that you can complete that lead up to the end of the game, making it longer than the film and more engaging.

It could also work as a linear shooter, however that might not be as interesting and immersive.

Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games

Task 1

Exercise a: Video Game Music and Effects

1: Game: Penumbra 

Track: Close to Evil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qNgJeJwzNk

Penumbra is a horror game that really relies on it's music and sound effects to create a creepy atmosphere. This track begins to play when an enemy is near, and it really works. It's a really intense track, and it gets your heart pounding because you know that any second something could come running towards you. As well as creeping out the player, it also helps them, because it's giving them a warning. The player will be a lot more careful when exploring and will be prepared for the worst.

2: Game: Mirrors Edge

Track: The Shard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZoHgTle2fw

Mirrors Edge is a free running game that involves a lot of action and intense moments. This track plays on the last level of the game, that involves lots of fighting and loud gunfire. I think the opening of this track fits really well, because it's like the calm before the storm, and as you go through the level the track changes between intense and calm as certain things happen.

3: Game: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Track: Endgame/Final Fight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sInUQYOhS9w

This track plays at the end of Modern Warfare 2 as a fight breaks out between the antagonist and one of the main characters. The music is very dramatic and fits with the scene, and it keeps repeating, making it seem like all is lost and the battle is going to keep going. That is until the sudden loud part towards the end, when your character manages to kill the antagonist. 

4: Game: Animal Crossing 

Track: The Whole Soundtrack

Animal Crossing uses relaxing music since it's a life simulation game. The music track changes every hour, so if you play the game a lot it's easy to tell what time of day it is just by listening to the music. The earlier times in the morning tend to have weirder sounding tracks, but as the day goes on the tracks become quite relaxing. There also different tracks in each shop, when you catch insects etc. The soundtrack does a good job of making the player feel relaxed, excited, and it gives the game and its characters lots of character.

5: Game: LIMBO

LIMBO is a very mysterious game, and so is the soundtrack which is why it fits so perfectly. The tracks use soft sounds, but manage to sound sinister as well as relaxing at times.

Exercise b: Key Words

Waveform: A waveform is the shape of a sound wave, often seen in recording software.

Wavelength: The wavelength is the distance from crest-to-crest between waves.

Amplitude: The amplitude is the height of a wave. The quieter the sound, the lower the wave. The louder the sound, the higher the wave.

Frequency: The frequency is the amount of waves. More waves = higher frequency.

Pitch: The pitch is how high or low sounding the sound is. If something is "high pitched" then it's more squeaky, if something is "lower pitched" then its sounds more bassy. 

Hertz: The unit for frequency. 

Foley: Foley is the making of artificial sounds. E.g. a slapping sound could be created by something clapping their hands, not actually slapping someone around the face. 

Task 2

Sound as Information

In video games, sound can be used to tell the player something. This includes, music sound effects and speech.

1: The Super Mario Games & Other platformers.

In the Mario games, you have to collect coins to up your score. When a coin is collected, a sound effect is played. This means that even if you aren't paying attention to that certain part of the screen, you'll know that you've collected a coin because of the sound effect. The same thing is used in many other games such as Sonic The Hedgehog. Other playing actions also trigger sound effects, such as picking up a life, losing the game, killing and enemy etc.

2: The Stanley Parable

The Stanley Parable is a game that has a narrator constantly communicating with you and telling the story as you play. He always tells you how your character is feeling, where you should go, and he even shows his own emotions depending on what you do.

3: Amnesia: The Dark Descent (horror game)

In Amnesia, the music plays a huge part in controlling the players emotions. In the main areas of the game the music makes the player feel uneasy, and that anything could suddenly happen. When enemies are near, you can hear the grunting of moaning, and walking around, and the music becomes more tense the closer they get to you. If you're being chased the music becomes very loud, almost as if it's screaming "run!" at the player. There are also smaller sound effects used throughout the game, for example the sound of glass breaking, books falling off a shelf, and other things to improve the games ambience. 

Task 3
Sources of Music and Sound Effects

1. Incompetech
Incompetech is a site created by a composer called Kevin MacLeod. All of the music is royalty free, and to use it all the have to do is credit Kevin in your work. 

2. Freesound.org
Freesound is a site that contains user uploaded sound effects. All of the sounds are creative commons licensed.

3. Produce your own
Lots of game developers produce their own music, or have other people on the development team produce it. External bands and composers may also contribute.



Task 4
The Purpose of Video Game Music

1. Horror Games e.g. Amnesia and Outlast

Horror games heavily depend on the music and sound effects to immerse the player. Games like Amnesia use lots of ambient sounds such as wind whistling past, things smashing and creaking etc. The music in horror games usually changes depending on the situation. In a mysterious dark area, the music could sound mysterious and creepy, making the player scared as they think about the possibility of something jumping out at them. Horror games also sometimes use soothing music, but with a hint of creepiness added. This keeps the player on edge and makes them unsure as to whether they're safe or not. When something fast paced is happening such as a chase, the music may become loud and intense, and also increase in speed. The purpose of this is to get the players blood and adrenaline pumping.

2. Counter Strike: Global Offensive

Counter Strike does use some music to make the experience more intense. At the start of the match some slower music will play. I see it as preparation music and it's building up to the action that will take place during the match. There is also music that plays when the bomb is planted, and it starts off soft and gradually builds up to the explosion of the bomb. This music always gets my heart pumping, especially if I'm the last player left alive during that round. The overall purpose of CS:GO's music is to hype up the players and get them in the mood.

3. Dark Souls 2

For Dark Souls 2 I am mainly going to talk about the sound effects. Dark Souls 2 is a very challenging game that has a dark, gloomy and gothic style. For lots of areas I've found that the game is pretty quiet, but I think this works, because you have no idea about which enemy you're going to encounter next. It also adds a creepy feeling to the game when all you can hear is your echoing footsteps. When entering a battle the game becomes louder with lots of attack and enemy sounds, and when paired with the quietness of the game this works really well because it makes encounters more sudden, and the player has to think fast at the same time as being startled. 

Task 5 
Copyright and Legal Issues

When taking music or sound effects to use in your game, there are things that you need to consider. Firstly, you need to check if the music is copyrighted, and how you can get your hands on it. If it's copyrighted, you may not be able to use it. However, you could buy the rights to it, but it could be quite expensive. You could also get permission from the artist, and they might let you use the music as long as you give them credit. 

Some music is royalty free, which means it can be used by anyone. However, you still need to credit the artist. If the track is licensed with creative commons you also need to mention that.

There are some organisations such as PRS that manage artists rights and who can access the music.

Video Game Storytelling

Task 1: Games with Stories

1.       The Stanley Parable

The Stanley Parable is a singleplayer interactive storytelling game developed by Davey Wreden and William Pugh. The game was originally released as a free Half-Life 2 mod, but a high definition standalone was released in October 2013.

In the Stanley Parable, you play as a man called Stanley, who works in an office. One day, Stanley leaves his office to find all of his colleagues gone. The narrator of the game (voiced by Kevin Brightings) guides Stanley through the office on a journey to find out what has happened to Stanley’s colleagues. The game has many different paths and endings, and the player can choose to do as the narrator says, completely disobey him, or do a bit of both. The player has the freedom to do whatever they want. The Stanley Parable is a great game, because you become attached to the narrator. He is your only friend as you go through the lonely areas of the game. As you progress and choose different paths the narrator’s personality begins to shine through. He isn’t just someone reading out what you do, he’s working with you and having conversations with you as you go.

2.       Borderlands 2

Borderlands 2 is a first-person shooter, action role-playing game developed by Gearbox studios. The game takes place 5 years after the events of the first game, where four vault hunters were guided through the planet of Pandora by a mysterious “guardian angel” in order to find the vault, a place thought to hold many treasures. At the end of Borderlands 1, when you kill the Destroyer, a valuable mineral called “Eridium” began to appear on Pandora. Since the resource is valuable, Handsome Jack (leader of Hyperion Corp) makes use of it, and he claims is going to “make peace.”

Borderlands 2 starts with four new Vault hunters riding a Hyperion train, which turns out to be booby trapped by Handsome Jack. It becomes apparent that Handsome Jack is far from the good guy. Throughout the game, you travel through Pandora completing various quests for NPC’s. As you play, other characters can talk to you through your ECHO device. The “guardian angel” guides you through the game and Handsome Jack taunts you. Borderlands 2 has a story you can become immersed in. The characters are people you care about, Handsome Jack is someone who annoys you, and by the end of the game you really want him dead (even though he is a very funny and has brilliantly-written dialogue.)

3. Mirrors Edge

Mirrors Edge is a game based on rooftop parkour and chaining moves together. The game is about a runner called Faith. Runners are basically couriers that use the rooftops to stay out of the way of the police and people down on the streets. Faith is guided by her boss, Merc, who talks to her through an ear piece. He tells her that her sister is in trouble, and Faith finds her at the office of a mayoral candidate Robert Pope, who is dead on the desk. Faiths sister Kate is framed, and Faiths motivation throughout the game is getting her sister back, and trying to find out what has triggered a sudden battle between the runners and the police.



4. Little Inferno
Little Inferno is a game revolves entirely around burning things. You play as an unknown child in a unknown town, who is playing with his "Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace." Basically, a fireplace for children that allows them to burn toys. The reason behind everyone using a Little Inferno is because it's been snowing for years, and the world is turning into a cold ball. You must buy toys and burn them to earn cash to buy more toys. You communicate with your neighbor who is a young girl, and "Miss Nancy" who runs the Tomorrow Corporation, the company responsible for Little Inferno. Little Inferno may not seem like the story is that important, but it is because of how mysterious it is. And the characters play a big part as you are alone and only have them to listen to.

Task 2: Games Without Stories

As well as games with stories, there are also games with no stories. There types are common on mobile platforms, and more casual gamers tend to play them. For example, a game like Candy Crush may be played by a busy worker when he or she is on a coffee break, just to pass the time. These kinds of games can be picked up and played by anyone because it isn't difficult to understand what is going on and what the players objective is. 

Some examples of games with no stories...

1. Candy Crush - A simple match 3 video game.

2. Pong - A game that involves 2 players hitting a ball back and forth as they try to get it in each others goals.

3. Tetris - Similar to Candy Crush. Blocks fall down and you have to pack them together.

Task 3: Video Game Stories vs Movie Stories

The main difference between stories in video games and movies is that video game stories have many more options and possibilities (sometimes.) A game that depends on the players choice can have multiple endings and paths, and different outcomes for each situation. With a movie, the ending and path is already complete and planned, and there is no way for the viewer to change it while watching. A movie story line is set in marble, and game story isn't.

The experience is also much different. In a game, the player is in control of the story. Maybe a character they love is about to die and they have a chance to save them, however if this was happening in a movie there's no way to change that characters fate. A video game may be more emotional and engaging if the player is responsible for the actions.

Task 4: Linear and Non-Linear Storylines

What is a linear story in a game?

A linear storyline is a story that is the same for every player. It's lots of sequences packed together in a certain order that cannot be changed. An example of a linear game is Call of Duty, which uses linear gameplay for it's singleplayer modes. Clear objectives are shown to the player, and in a way its basically "keep moving forward until you reach the objective."

What is a non-linear story in a game?

A non-linear story is something that isn't a straight path to the objective, in fact, it's the opposite. Non-linear stories allow the player to do sequences in a different order, and the player can have different outcomes. The player could skip out a certain sequence to do something the easy way or to do something else. Or they could do things the hard way to get their desired reward or objective. An example of a non-linear game would be "The Walking Dead" by Telltale games. TWD allows the players to make their own choices, which lead to certain events and endings.

Survivor - Practice Assignment

Characters and Motivations

• Kate Abbot – Friends died in 9/11. She wants to protect the country.
• Bill -
• Sam – Trusted Kate and wanted to protect her.
• Paul -
• The Watchmaker (bad guy/assassin) – His motivation became clear at the end. He wanted to be a billionaire.
• Ambassador – Only really cared about Politics. She didn’t want to upset any countries and wanted Kate dead so that it could all end.
• Doctor Emil - A bad guy that works with different types of gases.

Beginning

• Gun fight between US soldiers and terrorists in Afghanistan.
• 2 soldiers are captured, one is seen being killed.
• Characters are introduced. They all work for the government.
• Workers go out for dinner to celebrate Bills birthday. Bill turns out to be a traitor, and the office workers are blown up with a hidden bomb made by the assassin, "The Watchmaker."
• Kate survives, and with the assassin hunting her she begins her long escape.

-end of beginning

Middle

• Bill finds Kate after she has escaped from the assassin. Since he is a traitor he tries to shoot her, but she turns the gun on him. Bill dies and everyone sees what happened. The whole scene is recorded and people think Kate is a murderer, so she has to keep running away.
• A man meets up with the Watchmaker and creates a device allowing him to track Kate. After making this the Watchmaker kills him and leaves.
• Important building is blown when the Watchmaker shoots a gas tank with a sniper.
• Kate’s friend is going to meet up with her and the bad guys are following.
• Kate is at St Pancras station trying to find her friend. Bad guys and Watchmaker are chasing her and trying to shoot at her. They are bad at aiming.
• The Watchmaker finds Kate and tries to blow her up. He fails.
• Kate runs into her friend Sam and he takes her to safety.
• Bills son turns out to be the soldier who died in Afghanistan at the start of the film.
• The Watchmaker finds Kate and Sam. Sam gets blown up but of course Kate gets away.
• Watchmaker says there will be blood on the streets of New York, just like 9/11.
• Kate starts her journey to New York.

-end of middle

End

• Kate sees on TV in the taxi that cooling gas will be used to cool down the New Year lights in New York. Kate knows that Doctor Emil is behind it and he will try to blow it up.
• Kate goes down an alley and gets into a fight. She wins and runs away.
• Kate is on her way to stop the Watchmaker and the Doctor from shooting the light and setting off the gas bomb.
• Watchmaker kills the doctor.
• Kate finds the Watchmaker before he can set off the bomb. She throws him off the roof.
• Sam calls her. He survived. Kate saves the day.

-end of film

Assignment - Creating a Game (Shapeman)

Shape-Man Game Sketch
For this assignment, I have been making a game called "Shape-Man," which is a variant of Pac-Man. The aim of the game is to move around a maze like level, collect pills (to get score) and kill enemies. However, there's a slight twist. The enemies move around randomly, and they change shape randomly (they change between circle, cross, triangle, and pentagon.) The player can only kill enemies if they are the same shape. To do this, the player must touch the stationary shapes that are placed in the map, these will turn the player into that shape. There is also a timer in the middle of the map that shows the player which shape will be next, by displaying the number of sides the next shape has. The game is never-ending, which means it cannot be beaten. The player can die, however, and they have 3 lives. 

Here you can see the room for the game. In this sketch I have not included enemies, however they are scattered around the room and begin moving in random directions when the game starts. The shapes that you can see in this picture are the stationary shapes that the player has to touch to become that shape. In the middle you can see the timer that displays which shape will be next, and at the top the score and amount of lives that the player has. In terms of score, the player gets 1 whenever they pick up a pill, and 100 when they kill an enemy. There are 100 pills in total, and I have shown them in this sketch by drawing thin blue lines. 

Shape-Man Sprites
Shape man uses several different sprites, and you can see them on the left. I created these sprites myself with Game Makers built in sprite editor/creator. Some of them, such as the pill and wall, I drew with just the pen tool. To create others however I used things like the circle tool and square tool etc. Below there is also a screenshot of the sprite editor. On the left you can see the various different tools, in the middle you can edit the sprite, and on the right you can change colours. You can see my square sprite in the middle.

































Shape-Man Objects

On the right you can see a list of all my objects. Each object does has a different purpose, and to get some of them to function properly I had to use code.

Obj_Controller

Obj_controller may be last on the list but it is the most important because without it all the other code wouldn't work! This is because the controller contains a piece of code called "Variables." This code contains the global variables, which are things that all of the other objects can use. The controller also draws the score on the screen (makes the score visible for the player) and sets the colour of the score font etc.

Here you can see the global variables. You will see these in the code used for the games other objects too. I will go over some of the main ones.

Number and Countdown = 200 are involved with the game ticks and the random shape changing of the enemies.

Myshape = the players shape.

Spriteto and Spritenext = irandom(4); are for when the enemy shape changes. It makes sure that the enemy changes to any random shape out of the 4 that are available. 

idied = whether the player has died or not.

The next code is in a step event. This code is involved with the countdown. The first line "if irandom(number) > 50" makes the games enemy change countdown random. Line 8 "if countdown < 1" is saying "if the countdown is lower than 1" (it runs out) then the actions on line 10-14 should be performed. When the countdown runs out, the enemies sprite should change and it should change to a random one (spriteto = spritenext; and spritenext = irandom(4);) Lines 17 and 19 are saying that if there are no more enemies in the room (if instance_number(obj_enemy) < 1) a message should be shown that says "ran out of bad guys." This message along with any other debug messages are shown in this section of Game Maker (highlighted with red box,) which is separate from the game window itself:

Obj_fwall & Obj_cwall

Obj_fwall and cwall have the same simple function, they are walls. They stop the players from getting out of the map and they give the map it's maze-like shape (they are named slightly differently because of the sprites used. F stands for front, and c stands for continuing. This just helped me tell them apart properly and made sure I didn't mix them up.) These two objects have no code and the only thing I did to them was make them solid.

Obj_square, circle, triangle, pentagon and cross

These 5 objects are the stationary shapes placed in the room, and if the player touches them they become that shape. I have not used any code for these objects directly, however there is code related to these objects in other areas, which I will get on to later.

Obj_enemy

Obj_enemy is the enemy of the player. The enemy will bounce around the room randomly and change shape. To get the enemy to work as desired, code was needed. I will show the code below.
                    

The first line of this code sets the speed that the enemy will move at. In my game the speed is 0.6. Not all enemies will move at 0.6 however, and the +random(2) allows this. Line 2 allows the enemies to move in a random direction, and this is easy to understand because of the way it's written. It says that the direction should be random, and they objects are free to move 360 degrees. I will not show the next piece of code under the "alarm event" because it is the exact same however it does not use the line 1 code.

The next code is used when obj_enemy collides with obj_me (obj_me is the shape that the player controls.) This code controls whether the enemy is destroyed or not when the player collides with it. In terms of what this code does, let's focus on line 6-9 first. "case 0" is basically saying "if obj_enemy is a circle." We can tell it's about a circle because it uses the number 0, which is the amount of sides a circle has -1. The next line, "if spriteto == 0 then killedit = true;" is saying "if the players sprite is a circle (0) as well, then the enemy will be killed when the player collides with it." The next line "else idied = true;" is basically saying "if the player is anything other than a circle, the player will be killed." At the end of the code, (lines 29-37) it is saying that "if we kill the enemy, it's instance should be destroyed." It will also up the players score by 100 if an enemy is killed.

This next code is in a "draw event" for obj_enemy. This code is telling the enemy which case = what sprite. For example, when the enemy changes to case 0, it is changing to a circle because a 0 is the number of sides a circle has -1.

Obj_enemy is also set to bounce off solid objects e.g. the walls. This stops the enemies from leaving the game map.

Obj_me

Obj_me mainly uses drag and drop features but does include a little bit of code.

Firstly I have obj_me set to stop moving when it hits a wall. This is an easy way of using collision with the drag and drop features

I then have collision events set for when the player collides with a stationary shape. All the shapes work in the same way so for an example I will show you the square. 

Here you can see the drag and drop action that turns the players sprite into the square when the player collides with the square.

The code is quite simple and includes a global variable that tells the game what the value of the shape is. For square it is 3, and as I've said before it's the number of sides the shape has -1.

The rest of the events in obj_me are keyboard controls. Set to the arrow keys. The player moves at a speed of 2.5 when using the controls.

Obj_pill

The last object to talk about is obj_pill, which is what the player picks up to get score. The player is given one point when one pill is collected and there are 100 in total.

All that obj_pill has to do is disappear when the player collides with it, and up the players score by 1.

The Room

The room is the area in which the game takes place. Below you can see a picture of the room for Shape-Man.

Gameplay video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NCHqv1fjy8

What could be done to improve the game?

My friend Tom played Shape-Man and from his feedback I know what I could do to make the game more interesting. Firstly I could animate the sprites. By animating the sprites it makes the game look more interesting and visually appealing. Secondly, I could have used a wider range of sounds. Maybe sounds of the enemies pinging off walls, or my character exploding when I die. Thirdly, I could try harder to fix major issues with the game, for example the countdown in the middle. The countdown is an important feature and like me my friend struggled kill the enemies sometimes because he didn't know what they were going to turn into next. And even though the player can easily be told in a manual, the number of remaining lives should be displayed on the screen.

Game Manual

Assignment - Understanding The Video Game Industry

Unit 13: Understanding the Video Games Industry

Top 5 Current Trends in Gaming

1. The Oculus Rift (Virtual Reality Gaming)

The Oculus Rift is a virtual reality device that people can wear over their eyes while they play games. The Oculus is designed for first person games, and allows the player to see the first person view of the game through their own eyes, as if they were really there. The Oculus has one screen per eye, each one running at a 1080x1200 resolution, 90hz refresh rate and a wide field of view. The headset also comes with built in 3D sound.

Financial Information

The creator of the Rift, Palmer Luckey, came up with the idea for the Oculus Rift himself, and made his first prototype in his parents garage at the age of 18. When it came to making a proper version of the device, and not a shoddy one that had been duct taped together, a Kickstarter campaign was put up. The Kickstarter raised $2.5 million. The first version of the Rift, the Development Kit 1 (DK1) was available for backers who pledged at least $300 on Kickstarter. Later on the general public were able to purchase the device for $300 from the Rift site.

Market Trends

The idea behind the Oculus Rift was to create a great VR headset that would be inexpensive for gamers, so the plan was to make something suitable for gaming. This is why the Oculus supports a high resolution, refresh rate and field of view, because these are all big selling points for gamers. Especially the wide field of view, because low field of view can cause sickness for some individuals. The Oculus Rift has many competitors, the main ones being the HTC Vive that is being made by HTC and Valve corporation, and the Microsoft HoloLens, a headset that allows the user to see and interact with holograms.

2. Esports

Esports has been around for a while, but with more people getting into competitive games such as Counter-Strike and League of Legends, it has grown even more over the past few years. If you are unaware, Esports is when professional players who have mastered there chosen game, compete against other major professional players/teams. With games like Counter-Strike and League of Legends, big tournaments are sometimes held, with the grand prize usually being a lot of money. I think the reason that Esports has grown so much is because people can play the same games at home and become good at them too. These games also offer competitive modes for normal players, so they can play properly as a team and use tactics.

Financial Information

Professional players don’t just make money by winning tournaments and they are usually offered a salary. Some players prefer to live stream on sites like Twitch because this is a safer/more reliable way of earning money. This is because you can have lots of people watching you play daily and viewers are able to donate to the streamer or subscribe to them. Expensive in game items are also donated sometimes. This year SuperData Research said that globally the esports industry generated about $748.8 million in revenue. In terms of countries, Asia is currently in the lead with over $321 million, North America $224 million and Europe has $172 million. They have also estimated that by 2018, global revenue should reach $1.9 billion.

Market Trends

Esports has moved out of the arena and into stores too. Companies such as Razer and Steelseries (companies that make gaming peripherals) sell products that are licensed by big esports teams and include logos etc. In game stickers and player skins related to certain players and teams can also be purchased in games like CS and LoL, with some of the money going to the players.

3. Free-to-Play Gaming

Free-to-play games have been around for over 10 years and are still popular today. They are games that are completely free to install and play however optional things (known as microtransactions) can be purchased in game. Some popular free-to-play games are Team Fortress 2, League of Legends and Dirty Bomb.

Market Trends and Finance

As I mentioned before, there are things known as microtransactions and these allow players to purchase items in game. Usually the items players can purchase are purely cosmetic, e.g. weapon camos in Counter-Strike (some of which cost hundreds of pounds on the Steam community market, seriously), and some in some games you can buy boosters that boost the amount of in-game currency you earn per match. Some unbalanced games are classed as “pay-to-win” because the players that pay for in game items are at an advantage when compared to players that don’t pay. Free-to-play games aren’t just on PC and you can find them on all kinds of devices. Big games like Candy Crush can be found on the app store and the developers make lots of money from in-game purchases.

4. Video Game Modding

Video game mods are things created by the community that add things to a certain game, or change features for the better. An example of a game series that has a big modding community is Fallout. For the Fallout games (New Vegas, 3 and 4) people create optimization mods, mods that improve visuals or reduce them for older PC’s, new storylines, NPC’s, weapons etc. These mods are mainly uploaded to a site called Nexus Mods, the site has a huge community and there are a variety of mods to choose from. For the PC in particular, free mods have grown in popularity with the introduction of the Steam workshop, a massive addition to Steam where players can upload game add-ons and mods and other players can download them easily with a click of a button. Valve introduced paid mods on Steam earlier this year, but they were met with massive amounts of negativity from users. There were big problems with copyright (mods being sold by people that didn’t even make it) and bad prices. Not long after the introduction of this feature, Valve listened to the community and removed it.

Below is a Fallout: New Vegas graphics enhancement mod.

5. Counter-Strike’s in game items

I have previously spoken about microtransactions however I feel that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) deserves it’s own spot. A few years ago, Valve introduced the community market and workshop as features on Steam, and microtransactions within CS:GO. The workshop allowed players to be creative and upload their own weapon camo designs. If they gained enough votes they would be put into CS:GO with the next weapon case update. Weapon case updates add a new case to the game, which contains several weapon skins, each varying in rarity and price. The rarest item you can get is a knife. Cases are earned by playing the game and they can also be bought off the community market for a cheap price. To open the cases however, you need keys which cost about £1.69 each. This is how Valve make money off the game. When cases are opened you are given a random item from the case. Sometimes people open up items that can be worth hundreds of pounds, and they can be sold for real money on the market and can be bought by other players. (Valve take some of the money away from the seller.) Websites such as CSGOJackpot exist and these are gambling sites but you lose or gain weapon camos. There are websites such as CSGOLounge where players can trade items and make profit. I have had experience with CS:GOLounge and managed to get up to an item worth £150! The in game items on Counter-Strike are so popular and people put so much money into it it’s almost like it’s become Valves own mini industry. Players can make money and Valve can make money off the players making money…if that makes any sense…

Top 5 Future Trends in Gaming

1. Virtual Reality Gaming

I included virtual reality gaming in my top 5 current trends, but it is also classed as a future trend because lots of big virtual reality devices haven’t actually been released yet. The big one, the Oculus Rift hasn’t been experienced by as many people as it would have over the next few years because it isn’t being officially released until 2016. The only people that have their hands on Oculus Rift development kits are people who backed over $300 on Kickstarter and reviewers. The final version/near final version has not been given out to the public yet. The Microsoft HoloLens, that allows the user to interact with holograms has also not been realised yet, and this is one that will most likely be very popular because it can be used with Minecraft, one of the most popular games at this point in time. In the future, VR will continue to become better and better and it will become more affordable, easier to develop and easier to access, and it will be used by both gamers and non-gamers.

2. Indie Gaming

Indie gaming is already a thing, however I believe the industry will grow bigger and bigger in the future. If you are a bit clueless, Indie games are made by small independent teams and sometimes by single individuals. Some Indie games can often be just as or more successful as big triple A titles, because they boast their brilliant story-telling, art styles and innovative gameplay. It is also easier for indie developers to get their games out there. Websites such as IndieGoGo, Indie Fund can be used to gain funds for the game and make it a reality, and Steam has it’s own built in publishing system known as “Greenlight.” Developers can post their games, get support and feedback from the community and get their game onto the Steam store. Steam Greenlight is also quite affordable, and you pay £70 once and are able to post and update whatever you want.

3&4. Portable Gaming and Game Streaming

I've put portable gaming and game streaming in the same category because in some ways they are similar.

Portable gaming has been around for a while, with Nintendo leading with their Gameboy and DS consoles, however with the release of the 3DS and the New 3DS (yes they are different,) portable gaming has become more enjoyable with improved graphics running on more powerful hardware. Hardware is only going to get better and better and in the future we could be seeing console-like graphics on portable devices. The console-like graphics could not just be achieved through great hardware, and could also be done with streaming. An example of a current streaming device is the Nvidia SHIELD, which is a portable device that allows you to stream games from your PC directly to the Shield, which means you can play anywhere in your house. If streaming becomes more powerful people could move out of their house and play big games on the go!

5. Video Game Graphics and Realism

Games with stunning graphics already exist, and while some people may think that graphics can't possibly become more realistic, that is not the case. In the not so distant future, hardware will be so good that graphics will look extremely realistic, and virtual reality may not even feel that virtual anymore...

Believe it or not, the image below is a computer render! Some visual effect artists have said that by 2022 we will be unable to tell real life film and video game graphics apart.