Week 7! gimme me an F! gimme an art!

The art director is the person responsible for the look of an entire game in short. In actual fact an art director has a bucket load of tasks and responsibilities ranging from creative influence to the more managerial side of things including the hiring and firing of his team.

The art director has a responsibility to both his employer in terms of creating the look of a game and developing and communicating this visually and also to his team whom he is responsible for in terms of motivating and providing a sense of direction and leadership.

However I don't think the role of an art director is completely hands on. though there needs to be some aspect of creativity involved I think the art director is more about ensuring his team are all working from the same page and perhaps offering pointers or criticisms and ensuring deadlines are met. It is essentially a managerial possession and this will take a toll on how hands on and creative an art director can be. Undoubtedly this is not always the case I'm sure.

With games becoming more and more advanced and increasingly more grand and epic the difference in art direction between games and movies is decreasing. There is more need for a clear vision of what the game will look like. In the past when the look of a game may have been restricted by the technology I'm sure it was a different ball game altogether but now in a time were the artist is almost only restricted to what they can imagine the roles cannot be too dissimilar.

The skills required for an art director I think are firstly artistic. I know what you're thinking, I mentioned previously that I am not sure how much actual art work an art director does, despite this i think they must still have a vast knowledge of the subject simply because it is their decision that will decide the look of a game. They also need to be able to discuss on a regular basis the work which is being carried out by the team which again is another skill set altogether, communication is also a big part of the role.

All in all their are vast number of skills required to be an art director and I think one of the most important things would be knowledge of the industry. So in order to become an art director I think one of the most important skills would be experience.

Week 6! a vehicle of my own design, 5,000 gallons of heated dip.

The term gameplay to me implies the experience of playing a game, and in turn, the way a game is played or intended to be played. Whether it be fast paced action, calculated puzzle solving, or strumming a plastic guitar, gameplay is a fundamental feature of all games and is key to determine if the player is in fact enjoying the experience of playing. With out gameplay the most stunning looking graphics's or the most striking sound scarcely save a game with poor gameplay.


The design process seems to vary depending on the company in question. There isn't specific process which is followed for the design. Though there are obviously such people as game designers who are in some cases solely responsible for the creation of the game it is generally a collaborative effort between the many designers involved in making a game. though one person may have an initial idea it is then widely circulated and built upon and course character design, sound, and level or map design are all key in the process of creating the gaming experiences and, hopefully if done properly implementing the gameplay.

During this process i think the designers are thinking genre specific. Although you could argue that games possess the same fundamental rules and in some cases they do, I still think that a racing game for example is operating under a different set of rules to say, a sing star style karaoke game. No doubt the designers are aware of their target audience whilst developing their ideas and this in itself brings with it a need for the difference in the playing experience.

I tend to enjoy adventure games, games like tomb raider, prince of Persia, shadow of the colossus, metal gear solid, god of war, silent hill, resident evil and most recently have been enjoying assassins creed despite the fact it is slightly repetitive. judging from the list I suppose the things I find important are the sense of exploration and the feel of freedom. A good story with depth and the feeling of involvement in the story is important. also in conclusion, judging from the list a 3rd person view.

Week 5! Everyone's a critic!

Games reviewers, like any reviewers can only offer so much, their opinion. Though this is not a bad thing it is of course not a valid reason to part with forty of your hard earned queen heads on a game they have warranted worthy of the much, ahem! coveted five stars!

Opinions will always vary and everybody has their own. for this reason alone I think a ranking system is redundant and only really offers an at a glance guide to the reviewers feelings towards the game in question, for example I Know that regardless of how many stars a final fantasy style RPG is given, whether it be 5 out of 5 or 100 out of 10, I know the chanses of me rushing out to by it based on these star ratings are slim to none.

from what I have read it also seems that the writers are working to tight deadlines and so it seems some a lot of, if not all reviews are written in a hurry. With this in mind is the fun taken out of playing? Does the reveiwer really have time to enjoy the experience of playing the game? are they rushing through in order to get onto the next review and make that deadline?

The other factor is that depending in the employer of the reveiwer certain pressures are unavoidable. Reveiwers will undoubtedly offer a more favorable review for a game their employer is responsable which really does not offer a true reflection.

After reading some new games journalism i think it is a much more engaging read than many of the formulaic "standard" reviews out there. It is a much more personal approach and I think it offers more than a just a review and is more often an enjoyable read although like all forms of writing there are good examples and bad examples.

week 4, To Infinity and Beyond

Lets start this post with a quick video to have a look at how some of the consoles mentioned have ranked in this countdown of the TOP 10 BEST CONSOLES.


We are now in the 00's and the game industry is a multi billion pound industry.

The console rivalries of previous years continue to be fought, and new billion pound companies have become involved.

In November 2001 Microsoft's Xbox was launched and became a major player in the console market. launch titles which helped Microsoft in this endeavor included project Gotham racing which to this day is available in various incarnations and Halo: Combat Evolved which of course spawned the ever popular series.

I suppose my first console of the 00's and first "next generation" console was Sega's Dreamcast(Right). Yes, i was that one person that actually brought one. Despite the fact it was here and gone in the blink of an eye I was quite fond of some of the games I played on the Dreamcast. I enjoyed "Jet Set Radio", a rollerblading, graffiti tagging, gang rivalry....having?, fun game and chu chu rocket a highly addictive puzzle game. There was also a basketball game, I forget the name but I haven't played many basketball games better than it to this day and I'm a man that plays a fair amount of basketball games.

The ill fated Dreamcast was of course fatally wounded by the release of Sony's PlayStation 2. First released in march 2000 it went on to become the best selling console to date having shifted 120 million units as of 2007.
Like at least 120 million other people i too purchased a PS2 and it has provided me with many years of entertainment right up to this day. favourite games for me, though its hard to name simply because of the shear volume available, are prince of Persia: warrior within, the epic shadow of the colossus, resident evil 4, and both god of war and the recently completed god of war 2. I'm sure there are games that however this is to name just a few as if nothing else the PS2 simply has the largest and most varied variety of games available.

With that said we move onto the current generation of consoles which includes Sony's massively anticipated Playstation 3. despite the hype and Sony's boasts has garnered only luke warm reviews and only time will tell if it can live up to the expectation Sony has encouraged.

Prior to this however Microsoft had released their current generation console and the successor to the xbox, the Xbox 360. The 360 has fast become a popular console and sales of 13.4 million from its initial release up until the present is worthy of note.

The other contender in the market is Nintendo's bodily function sounding Wii. First launched in November 2006 it has quite unexpectedly gone on to become the market leader of this generation of consoles. the wii unique feature is its wireless "wiimote" which allows for new innovative ways to control and manipulate the gaming world. This paired with the type of games Nintendo produce and market has opened the door to a world of new gamers. people who potentially would not play games were now interested in the whole social gaming experience, in the sense that family's could now have a game of doubles tennis in their living room, or house parties could include a boxing or bowling tournament.

This change has introduced "social gamimg" and has obviously been a success for Nintendo but were do games go from here? The xbox and then xbox 360 have had massive success with its "live" service, in a sense another form of social gaming, and Sony are also keen to reach this level of success in this field. So it is apparent that online gaming is here to stay and as more and more games, solely designed for online play begin to appear for consoles (shadowrun for example) it seems that online content will become progressively more important. Obviously from Generation to generation graphics and processing power increase and its fair to say that at some stage a player will be able to manipulate and move around in a photo realistic environment with a photo realistic character where absolutely everything is interactive and the outcome of the game has not yet been programmed.

With the introduction of the wiimote and its popularity could motion detection also continue. possibly tracking points attached at parts of the body in the style of motion capture, or even a full body suit.

The future of games seems dependant on the companies involved ability to change the way games are played. No longer is it simply just about the graphics and sounds, or a game that has a start and an end. It seems players want more freedom and a more interactive experience than previous consoles where able to offer.

Finally though, in response to the top 10 best consoles here's a quick look at THE TOP 10 WORST CONSOLES