Finishing the project

     This is my final post for this project. My contextual studies is finished, and our various Game Design Docs/ Pitches etc. are close to completion. My eyes are throbbing from staring at this screen so it will be a pleasure to rap things up. I look forward to the opportunity to spend some time on my own work in the next couple of weeks which will be uploaded here in due course.

CS Update

     My contextual studies presentation is coming to a close. I have looked at the relevance of Proppian theory to the player's own narrative within open world games- and whether this changes with a non traditional setting.



     My three games I looked at are "Fallout 3", "Fable 3" and "GTA4". As mentioned in the presentation I deliberately picked open world games where the player has a choice of narrative or quest to follow. Without this I decided Proppian relevance depend simply on whoever wrote the game.
     I have also compared Propp theory in traditional folktales to the game examples in order to show where similarities can occur.
    Going over these features allows me identify what elements, if any, sustain the relevance of Proppian theory in modern games.
    In conclusion it came as some surprise to me that all three games conformed surprisingly well. To some extent the most contemporary of all three (GTA) turned out to harness similarities that even the more traditional (Fable) did not.
     I would have liked to spend more time on this cs project, I feel that along with some other members of the group, so much time and attention has been spent on the other project that I have neglected this somewhat. At the same time however I do feel I have some interesting points to talk about, and plenty to talk  about for the ten minutes I will be presenting. CS over.

Update

     At this point the majority of our work is done and we are preparing for hand in. I have just finished my summary of research and we have all been proof reading our Game Design Document to clear any errors before we submit it. I now need to begin getting my contextual studies presentation ready to be handed in and finish off with a personal evaluation of our project. Large amounts of coffee and high energy sugary junk to be consumed in the next couple of hours.

Future Potential

     After a string of fairly non productive days I have finally got round to the future potential section of our game design document. An important piece of artwork to produce for this was a page full of examples of avatar items.

 To help me with this I had a look at my own avatar on Xbox Live and some of the items that were available to him. Interestingly after some research I came across a couple of sites such as this http://www.examiner.com/article/no-guns-for-xbox-live-avatars-2012-means-bye-bye-gears-of-war-rifles which have stated that since 1st Jan 2012 guns will not be available as avatar items, although people who have already purchased them may keep them. This was important as, considering we are designing a WW2 game, guns would have been a likely choice.









The picture above shows a fairly basic avatar form which I will use to create some sort of template. The picture to the right shows a prime example of game related avatar items. Here we have the King's Attire (crown, clothes and boots) which are all earned by getting to a certain point (being crowned king) in "Fable 3".

      I used the basic image of my avatar to help me create templates. On top of these I added the features seen below. I considered that for an item to be important enough for someone to want to purchase it should probably be relevant to some of the more iconic elements or characters of the game. This also contributes to some of the player's personal identification with the characters. Some of the avatar items I picked include Georges makeshift attire, Nancy's camera and the Juggernaut uniform

     The following is the final edited version of what I have contributed for the Future Potential section: "One of the major elements for the future potential of our game is DLC or “downloadable content”. As with many other games a large portion of this will be dedicated to sustaining the enjoyment of player’s online/multiplayer experience. The ability for players to access new maps and locations for their games to take place in will keep their online play original and exciting. Furthermore, as mentioned in the multiplayer section, characters and weapons will be customisable, with the ability to add changes such as new skins and attachments. Being able to personalise how your character and his/her equipment looks has proven to be a major appeal to online players, as opposed to a large group of players from across the globe all meeting up with the same default equipment. Additionally being able to choose the manner in which you handle a combat situation was something we considered to be important within our main gameplay, therefore it makes sense that we should carry this through, where possible, to the online play, by allowing players to adapt equipment and modify how it functions for them. This also becomes a major enhancement of a player’s personal identification with their character which is surely one of the major pros of first person perspective gameplay.

     This personal identification and representation through characters carries through to another element of DLC- avatar items. A major disappointment is that due to the Xbox Live rule brought in at the start of 2012, gun accessories are no longer allowed, which sadly rules out any of the multiplayer weapon skins as avatar items. Examples of accessories that have been included are George’s makeshift uniform, Nazi juggernaut armour, Nancy’s camera and the French Resistance uniform. Again online players seem to appreciate the ability to alter the way their avatar represents them, especially as avatars can feature in some Xbox Live games. It was a conscious decision to include some of the features of the more iconic characters, as these are the ones that players will most likely want their avatars to emulate.

     There are also downloadable missions for both George and William which have been listed in the mission descriptions within this document. For the George mission this will act as something of a prequel to the invasion, explaining how Britain reached the point where it could be occupied. There is also the option at a later date to create further DLC, possibly further missions for the male characters, or new features that modify the open world gameplay for Nancy. Availability of any additional missions for George and William, that are set after the events of the game will be dependent on which one has died as a result of the player’s decisions.  These missions will function within a campaign of their own, furthering the narrative of the game.

     At some point after the release of the game and it’s DLC, there will be a “full edition” version that combines all of these for players to purchase at once. This version will be released with an alternate cover distinguishing it from the original.

     The remaining further potential for the game would rely somewhat on its success. If characters prove to be popular and iconic, as with many other franchises they could be made into statues/figurines. If fans of the game wish to see the narrative explored in further depth, animated shorts and web comics could be created featuring the characters backgrounds or side stories. Should the game really catch on, a good idea would be to open websites where followers of the game can indulge in discussion forums and fan art, and generally just get more involved in the game."

George- A Portrait

     As mentioned in my last post, the previous picture I did of main character "George" has been reassigned for the mood art section. Therefore I decided that another piece, this time a more portrait style, would be in order. I was inspired by the cover image from the fallout game design document that we have been using as a guide (pictured below).



 Here one of the characters has sent a photo of him self in army (or the fallout equivalent) uniform home to his mother. I thought it would be good to have a similar theme with george having sent home a photo to his wife Nancy saying how much he misses her. What makes this even better I believe is that the game focuses so much on the relationship between these characters, making it quite relevant as imagery for character representation.

The two images above show my WIP and final stage. I am pretty happy that the tone of this piece is intouch with what I intended when I first started. My main disappointment would be the fact that my handwriting is so appalingly crap, the message dosnt look quite so romanticized. Overall however I am pleases with the result. My next work now is to look at marketing and future potential of the game, and also to crack on with my contextual studies work.





Gameplay Image- Stealth Attack

     I dedicate this post to my friends and family...but mostly to the new concept work I have for our game design document. As stated before our tutor mentioned that we should try to fit the images around the document. With this in mind I opted for a gameplay image as we didn't have any pictures for this yet. To begin with I was a little unsure whether the camera should remain in first person for stealth kills, or whether it could follow suit from games such as "Skyrim" where it can temporarily switch to a third person cinematic kill, pictured below.


I ran it by my group using our facebook page and getting them to compare the following two images. (Taken from "Dishonoured" and "Socom 4")


      It was generally agreed that there had to be a beneficial effect generated by breaking the first person camera, for it to be a logical thing to do. Otherwise it is just disrupting the players personal identification with the character. Which incidently was an issue brought up in our most recent contextual studies session about 60s themed spy game "No One Lives Forever" which does exactly that. This decided I opted for the first person approach.

This is certainly not my finest work however at the moment it is very much about getting the idea across as quickly as possible. I have tried to emulate the same visual style as the artwork being produced by the other members of our group, particularly relating to the line work and the almost sepia overall colour of the piece. I am reasonably pleased with it as a representation of how stealth kills, potentially a key part of the game mechanics depending on the players personal style, would appear in game.
      I intend to use my previous image of main character George standing in the rubble of a building as a mood piece, therefore I require now a more close up and personal image of his character. This will be my next image. A side note, I brought up my concern that aside from my character's bio and mission structure, I didn't feel like I had contributed enough to the writing within our game doc. Therefore I have now been put in charge of looking at marketing analysis and future potential of the game. More information on this will follow

George- A major Character, Georges level design

 I have now finished the concept art for my character "George". As you see in the first two images I tried a slightly different style for the character and had my group choose between them. We opted for the simplified almost comic style but with more detail on the gun and face. I wanted this to be a quicker concept piece, used to get the mood of the game across, hence the background in particular is much less refined then the tank concept I did before.
     I gave the image an old photograph style effect to reflect the nature of the game and added some shadow to establish his position on the ground.

     Part of my responsibility was to write Georges character bio and level design for our Game Design Document. This may need tweaking or adjusting to fit with the other characters before we submit therefore I opted to do this after finishing my concept, so as to give me and my group plenty of opportunity to review it if necessary. They read as such:
George signed up for the army at the beginning of the war, determined to do his part. His outstanding performance in training led to him being enrolled in the Royal Marines. This was however shortlived. George was one of several established military men encouraged to return to the UK, in order to provide balance in leadership and capability amongst the many inexperienced men, being recruited for the British Resistance Organisation in the threat of a mass invasion. With his wife Nancy’s increased involvement in the war he felt duty bound to return home. His efficient training with the Royal Marines was more than beneficial when it came to making do with the comparatively poor supply of weaponry provided by the resistance however despite his physical aptitude as a soldier, George is struggling with the level of leadership he is having to take on, and the frequent losses of those he regards as comrades- combined with the decisions he is forced to make, and the constant worry of Nancy’s dangerous level of engagement with the resistance is starting to have a profound effect upon him.

Appearance- Mirroring his mental state Georges appearance becomes increasing weathered and dishevelled as the invasion progresses. Whilst favouring an army side cap, George’s position as a survivor of a shattered unit of the BRO leaves him opting for whatever attire best suits his current objective- generally dull civilian gear that is unlikely to draw too much attention. Whilst his unit was not the best stocked, his survivalist, waste not want not attitude provides him with, at least, a reasonably respectable arsenal of weapons and gear.

Personality- Whilst previously mild mannered and somewhat meek in character, the impact of the war and the role he has been given is proving to be his undoing, and has begun to manifest itself in his increasingly sadistic attitude to dealing with the enemy, as well as his secretly despairing mental state. That said, his ability to achieve in that which he focuses on balances this somewhat and in itself is making him a key figure in Britain’s retaliation.

  

George Mission 1

George has been relocated to Britain as a member of the BRO. Part of his duties involves reconnaissance work of buildings such as country houses in the area. On one such assignment his eye is drawn to the arrival of a French officer, a fellow resistance member entering the building. Upon further investigation he discovers that BRO HQ locations are being leaked, and that his own unit is threatened by imminent attack. He makes it to the base and as he is warning his crew explosions occur round the entrances of the base, caught off-guard many of the BRO are killed by an attack team. George opts to set off minor detonations to torch the rest of the base in order to let the remaining men escape, whilst preventing them from rescuing any wounded. As an officer he is aware of a secret exit and they make their escape, emerging with only a fraction of their original unit.

George Mission 2

Planned attacks upon Resistance HQs have been interpreted as  a warning that a German invasion may be about to occur. Remaining BRO members as well as Home Guard members and as many willing civilians as possible are assembled upon the coastline of Kent in preparation. German ship can be seen emerging, but also strange shapes floating on the surface closer to the beach. These are revealed to be breathing apparatus for a mass army of amphibious German Tauchpanzers which storm the beach. The poor organisation and communication between the BRO and Home Guard results in them having to retreat from this unexpected opponent.  Several of the more experienced members including George and his remaining officers us as many explosives as they can to take out the tanks, but with so little help they quickly become the main target and must fall back also. As they retreat small attack teams like those that assaulted the BRO in mission 1 emerge and engage in gunfire with BRO and civilians alike. Sickened by the sight of locals being gunned down George’s team strike back, with George becoming increasingly violent towards the German soldiers. More and more civilians join their small party seeing it as their best chance of survival. They fight their way to a army truck and leave Kent, Rescuing civilians on the way, but also having to consciously leave many to the mercy of the invading forces.

George Mission 3

With Kent and Sussex now occupied a major concern is losing London.  As many men, and even some female civilians, as possible are assembled and split into two units. With an “attack is the best form of defence” attitude, the two groups go to take back ground. This time the unit is much better organised, they attack ground and air units simultaneously and launch ambushes at the same time. The mission looks set to be a success until a radio broadcast warns that the Sussex attack was unsuccessful, and troops are now emerging from that direction. This turns the tide of the battle and the resistance take heavy losses, success seems unlikely and they prepare for what they believe to be their last battle; however they last out long enough for allies to emerge. With the increased threat of a Germany occupied Britain, the Republic of Ireland has relinquished its neutrality and assembled small but effective teams combined with air units which are now aiding the resistance effort. Together they take back a large section of occupied Kent, and prevent any advancement from the Sussex direction.

      I found the following web addresses to be useful to help me plan some of my characters bio and missions  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Resistance_Organisation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Marines

     This picture of a secret exit from the BRO base is what inspired the final part of mission 1 for me.

     As we need a pretty sizable amount of artwork in our document I will now be cracking on with a new piece. In our most recent crit session one of our tutors advised us that we should be creating art to suit the game document, and not the other way round. With this in mind one of our group compiled a list of the various sections of our design document, and which of these would benefit with some additional artwork. Accordingly I have decided to do something for the gameplay section, a first person perspective stealth kill. More work to follow shortly.