Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Creating Coherent Worlds

Below are my lecture notes from our first Contextual Studies Session this year. Our latest brief is titled: Creating Coherent Worlds.

Some of the topics we will cover in research are;
- How different genres of games are put together and what characteristics are associated with those genres?
- Narrative, structure, story world.
- What position is the player in when playing the game?
- How are people involved / immersed in the game?

Tips for your research work;
- How have you linked your research to your final work; show confidence in your understanding of your subject.
- Be discerning in your research and make sure it is all relevant and linked to your ideas / brief.

Authors to look at;
- Henry Jenkins
- Jesper



Some examples of genre;

- Alternate Reality Games; (No Hope Left - resident evil) 'playing puppet master' real time stories who's content is controlled by game designers. Often multimedia and social networking online resources are usedas trans-media story telling devices.

- Augmented Reality Games; (Drive AG) where images or gameplay is literally projected onto reality, often thought the use of a camera.

- Beat em Up; (Scott Pilgrim vs the World) Emphasises raw combat over gameplay components.

- Platform; (Puzzle Pirates)
Demand that players explore, negotiate and then conquer the gaming environments. Regardless of setting puzzle games always keep their core values.

- Racing; (Burnout) Regardless of character, gameplay is based on close combat racing environments. You are almost always racing right next to your opponent.

- Rhythm and Action; (Just Dance)
players coordinate their physical movements or button presses (sometimes both like on the Wii remote)

- RPG & MMORPG

- Shoot em Ups

- Sports

-Strategy


Questions to answer on a chosen game from the Action Genre;

1) How is the game structured? Does it have levels?

2) Do you have to follow a set path to complete the game?

3) How much freedom do you have to explore the game world?

4) What does the game look like; art style, influences, feel?

5) How do the visuals affect the player?

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Robin Silcock

I am a Second Year Games Art and Design student at Norwich University of the Arts. After exploration of a number of roles in my first year, I am now looking to graduate as a 3D Artist with applicable skills in Maya, Mudbox, ZBrush and Photoshop. I understand that my skills in this field are not there yet - but I aim to achieve this goal through consistently working through the programs in my University and Personal Projects. I love to be busy - I have always had a lot of things on my plate since the age of 7 where I successfully balanced school with Ballet, Tap, Horse-Riding, French, Piano and Singing Lessons! In the same fashion, my university schedule is just as hectic and varied; I am a Peer Mentor to first year students, Student Rep for Second Year, and President of the Enterprise Society. Like I said, I love to be busy! I am a Games Hippie - so to speak - I believe that Games if designed and harnessed in the right way, will be able to help solve many of the global issues we have today - even if it starts off in a small way. Just look at the positive effects that Facebook and Twitter have already had... When navigating my blog;
  • Works in Progress - This section is a constantly running account of all my current projects - personal and for university. It will contain reference images and website links and sometimes less than coherent posts, so be prepared!
  • Finished Pieces - This is where you will find my more polished artwork. Looking for help with Maya? Check out the posts tagged "Maya How-To's"