The Blog With No Name

FMP

2010-04-28T11:27:00.003+01:00

Following my decision to start over I went back to the drawing board as it were and began to sketch out some alternate layouts for the park trying to include more features.

I started to develop the above layout, moving buildings around adding new assets, playing around with textures.

FMP

2010-04-23T20:34:00.002+01:00

I continued with the texturing stage of the project. I was starting to have my doubts about the whole thing. I quite liked some of the individual buildings and most of the style of the thing but it was not really a theme park. The attractions where all in the distance and it pretty much boiled down to being a street scene with some rides in the background.

I started to play around with a back drop to see if there was anything else I could do At this stage I was just playing with ideas and experimenting but In the end decided to start over and hopefully use some of the assets I had already made.

FMP

2010-04-21T18:27:00.006+01:00

I continued to develop this theme park further and at this stage it was a good representation of what I had concepted and how I wanted it to look.
I started to add some texture again trying to go with the over the top colours.

......FMP.......

2010-04-19T19:52:00.004+01:00

These are some more concept images produced for the abanoned run down theme park idea. The style was mainly influenced by the old american style amuement parks. I wanted to include some bold colours as I thought this would make a nice contrast to the grime and decay.

Below is an early sketch of how I was intending to lay out the model in max. These are some building ideas..both sketched and photoshoped.

And last but not least a chair....?!?

fmp.....

2010-04-19T19:39:00.004+01:00

So I cracked on with the actual model of my theme park. Below are some of the early renders. They were very much a realisation of the concepts I had previously drawn.Overall at this early stage I was happy with the way things were pogressing.

FMP!

2009-12-16T09:44:00.006Z

For my final project I have settled on the idea of an abandoned theme park. I am not looking to create an entire theme park, just a section, and have been playing around with ideas. Below is some of the development work starting with some pencil sketches, a quick photoshop paint, a go at blocking in the landscape in max and a quick paint over just to get a bit of contrast to see how it might look and feel.

best put up the ol' projects i suppose...

2009-12-14T17:25:00.004Z

The chest, what a headache, did not enjoy making this. I quite liked the crab, I decided to keep it fairly simple and came in quite a lot under the poly limit. The trash came out ok but I will revisit some of the textures I think.

bloggy, bloggy...

2009-12-14T17:03:00.004Z

Some personal work. Nothing to serious. Varying amounts of time spent on each.Hulk does indeed smash. this was about 30-40 mins. Don't know who this fella is, just started to draw and ended up doing a bit of character design.

2009-03-31T10:29:00.002+01:00

For this project the focus was on using traditional materials and to choose an artist for inspiration. I could'nt really settle on an artist and went more for a style. I used acrylics and found it quite hard. however i think i learnt a lot from this experience and would like to try more traditional painting.

I then did a photoshop version and really pushed the contrast. there are some parts of the picture i think are particulary successfull. i like the top half of the face and am happy with the eyes.

oh yeah, blog!

2009-03-30T15:37:00.002+01:00

So its been a little while and I have finished a few projects.
I touched up the portrait of my interesting character.

I also finished the sculpture to accompany it. I was quite happy with how this came out. its a good 3d representation of my concepts and I enjoyed making it. It is a wireframe with platercine model and i enjoyed the process of making this.

2009-02-12T11:31:00.003Z

I was mucking about on photoshop the other day and came up with theese. they were all done in no more than 30-45 mins and where just straight off the bat, nothing more than doodles to kill some time really. dont really like this one but they're all good practice I suppose.

I quite liked the way this was going and will probably do a proper paint along the lines of this one day.

Just added a bit of colour. Dont know why he's wearing jungle camo while everything else is black and white, he sticks out like a sore thumb. Maybe he has come through the jungle to reach his target, yeah thats it.....

Theres parts of this picture I really like. It dont really show up on here but I tried to paint the skin and the material textures and they came out alright.

added a real quick background.

Interesting character 2.

2009-02-12T11:06:00.003Z

Been working on an interesting character. The inspiration for this chap came from some guy I saw on my way home walking through town. The guy in question was, for want of a better word a "chav" but he had a sort of swagger and attitude that was crying out to be transplated into the body of a disheveled, drug addled rock star. So after a few sketches I painted the portrait below which I'm not completely happy with but it gets the attitude across ok i reckon. I then went on to paint the full character. I quite like this image. From these images I have started to sculpt the character. its still a work in progress but i think its coming along ok.

2009-01-11T19:22:00.007Z

I have made a few changes to some of my work over the Christmas period. applied a different texture to my vehicle. originally I was thinking about going for the showroom look but decided it looked a bit more interesting with a bit of wear an tear.

This is the self portrait. Some parts of it I like some could do with more work. It is certainly an improvement on my first character project. I actually made a completely different model to start with but after watching Ben Mathis a few weeks back went right back to the drawing board and employed some of Ben's ways of working.

This is the higher poly self portrait......

The environment project with some alternate textures.

WARNING: do not read if you are already depressed.

2008-12-18T17:57:00.014Z

I guess I'm writing this just to help me really. Not to preach or depress or patronise or for sympathy, just my thoughts on a few things spilling on to the page.....

I had recently had a number of Revelations in terms of my work and felt like I was making progress. Some things had started to click and I was just about hitting my stride upon returning from the summer break. I felt optimistic about my future on the course and about how I was developing. But then thing's can so easily change. I have recently been derailed by a few personal problems. It amazes me, the contrast between how I was feeling just a few months ago to how I have been feeling recently and how quickly all this has happened. Its not the first time something like this has happened, I'm sure it will not be the last and of course I am not the only person who has problems everyone does, and will in their life, it's just hard sometimes to get your head around why these things happen and the timing of them. I know its not the end of the world and I am slowly but surely getting back to a level playing field and I guess soon all will be well.....life goes on, it's just sometimes it's not always as you envisioned it. I guess whether that is a positive or a negative is down to the person.

But anyway that's enough of that. Its almost christmas for crying out loud, have a good one and a happy new year.....

2008-12-18T13:22:00.004Z

Some more photoshop work floating about on my pc. Below is a quick painting I produced for the war of the worlds project. When I was happy with with my design I put it in a scene just to get an idea how it might look.

This is completely from my brain box. no reference images or concepts just started painting so there are problems but was just an experiment in using some different tools and techniques in photoshop.

This was done as part of the interesting character project. I actually quite like this and think I captured what I set out to capture. I think the picture has character.

plastercine is fun!!

2008-12-18T12:44:00.015Z

We have recently been making models from various materials as part of the visual design module of the course. I hadn't done any actual physical sculpture for years. I have to say I really enjoyed it.

The first thing I modeled was a torso. Was just getting used to using the Plasticine really and had recently been looking at anatomy so thought I would bring those two factors together in this little experiment of mine.the next project was to model an interesting character. My sculpture is not an exact replica of the person I used, more loosely based on them and exaggerated.Technically this was the first sculpting project. We had to produce a physical model of a war of the worlds inspired tripod/vehicle. I had made a model but I didn't feel it was faith full to the designs I had produced so I revisited the project and produced this model which was a lot closer to what I had drawn.Just recently I decided to do a sculpture of myself just because I'm enjoying the Plasticine modelling and thought it was quite fitting with the ongoing game production self portrait project.

A rival for the statue of david? probably not....

2008-12-18T12:18:00.007Z

This is my higher poly self portrait model. I'm still refining the shape but I surprised myself really in the sense that I think its fairly representative of me. Although there are still some issues and there probably always will be when working with a program like max that has a mind of its own, I have noticed improvements in my modelling just recently and hopefully will continue to.

Here is my lower poly self portrait. It's still a work in progress but I think its shaping up OK. I quite enjoyed the making of both the lower and higher poly models and was surprised I didn't have as many problems as I had anticipated.

3d work

2008-12-18T12:00:00.006Z

This is my vehicle project. The lower image is with the my initial textures, I then stumbled across a tutorial for car paint materials so thought I would give it a go on the wheel arches. It doesn't come across that well in the pictures but was just a bit of an experiment really.

This is my environment project. Quite happy with the model. The textures where just really to see how things where looking and I will be re-texturing some parts , if not the whole thing.

some adjustments

2008-12-18T11:50:00.004Z

I continued to work into this previously finished picture and i think although the changes are only subtle it's and improvement.Again after looking at my previously finished interior i tried to give it a bit more atmosphere and character

My own worst critic!

2008-12-18T11:29:00.005Z

I noticed something about myself the other day. I tend to "finish" a piece of work and feel happy with it at the time but upon viewing with fresh eyes I then notice obvious errors, things that can be improved upon and things I just blatantly hate about it. Its amazing how you see things differently after taking a break from them....

I now employ this as part of my working practice. I used to despise revisiting old work but now realise that more often than not it is required in order to do the best you possibly can.

What I've been up to!

2008-11-14T19:43:00.014Z

The first project was to produce a number of pictures of urban environments mainly focusing on a single point of perspective.

Following a trek around bradgate park we were asked to produce some images. The next project was an interior/bar. The latest project was to design a vehicle/tripod influenced by the war of the worlds.

2008-10-24T13:18:00.005+01:00

Some "doodles" using photoshop. Some took slightly longer than others but all just really brain farts, pardon the expression, that just fell out in a few minutes......

I must, I must, I must improve my......Photoshop?

2008-04-22T20:33:00.007+01:00

So after watching the presentations I became increasingly more appalled at the quality of my photoshop "skills".

As I watched the many superior examples I began to see where I have been going wrong so I sat down and tried to implement what I had taken in from watching and the result is below......

Though its still not quite up to standard, it is easily the best photoshop work I have done and hopefully marks a turning point in my digital painting progression. There are some parts I like others I don't but I will endeavour to keep practicising and hopefully improve further more now it seems to have "clicked" at least a little.

On a side note this development couldn't have come at a better time, he says sarcastically. It's typical of me that the penny finally drops the day after final submissions for work, still better late than never, damn it!!!!!

Week 24! the final stage.

2008-04-20T23:39:00.002+01:00

So here it is my last formal blog and its the one that is causing the most problems. I don't think there is a lot i would have changed i think the course has moved at a good pace and that the responsibility is on me really to now develop what has been taught so far.

As for constructive feedback i think the changes such as sculpting and looking at more traditional art sound very positive and any other additional subject areas such as film are of course a bonus and would be a great addition to this opportunity.

But for now thanks for reading.....

Week 23! I just don't know what to do with myself.

2008-04-20T23:28:00.002+01:00

zzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz

Week 22! ahem! err, yes GDC is nearly upon us!?!?

2008-04-20T22:16:00.002+01:00

ok.... i apologise, so im running a little late and GDC has passed me by but i had a bit late so i have had a bit of a peruse of the ol' youtube and found some GDC videos that were fairly interesting.

Week 21! Destiny's powerful hand has made the bed of my future, and it's up to me to lie in it.

2008-04-20T21:36:00.003+01:00

So my first "year", and i use the term loosely as it has flown by, is coming to an end and its time to look back and assess how things have gone so far.

Generally I think things have gone OK. I feel there is a lot of room for improvement and I intend to keep grafting over the summer period and return in year 2, providing I'm allowed of course, at a level I would feel much happier. I think returning to education has been a bit of a culture shock and it has taken some getting used to but it is definitely a change for the better.

The biggest change I have noticed is in my drawing capabilities, I find myself approaching a scene in a much more methodical way, my thought processes have changed, as well as my technical capabilities. I have learnt new techniques and styles and have been able to see the results of these changes clearly by looking at sketch books past and present.

Area's I would like to focus on are digital painting which was a new medium to me at the start of the course. I can see improvements from when I first started but again this is an area I will be focusing on developing along with the bane of my existence 3ds max. 3ds max is much like walking a tight rope, all it takes is one little error and you're done for, at least that how it seemed to me. Again its not all bad I have definitely progressed from the start of the year and hop to continue to progress with all the practice I can get.

What i would like to gain from the course is the knowledge and know how to move into a field which interests me and with the structure and content of the course I think if I knuckle down and continue to develop the skills i have already learnt along with what is still to come the doors to a multitude of different and exciting careers will be opened.

Week 20! Manny, don't squash their creativity.

2008-04-06T12:49:00.002+01:00

Creativity is really a difficult word to define. It can manifest itself as a novel solution to a problem, or it could be an ingenious and groundbreaking development, but for a word that covers such a vast array of meaning, it ain't half hard to describe!!!

I suppose creativity is all around us really. Every thing we see and use on a daily basis is a result of one, or several persons "creativeness", some more striking and apparent than others. I suppose the most obvious forms of creativity are things such as music, art etc. but it can also appear in the form of problem solving.

With this in mind it is possible that in the realm of game design creativity may not be hindered by technical restraints but may in fact be the result. Particularly in the earlier days of gaming when the consoles were not quite capable of delivering the grandiose vision that the designers had hoped.

I believe creativity is abundant in games. Its always going to be required and while it may not always be strikingly obvious, creating a game is too much of a creative process for it not be in there somewhere, in some shape or form from the graphics style, a use of sound or a innovative control method

Leading on to a company who at the moment are demonstrating a creative approach to gaming, I'm talking of course of Nintendo and the Wii along with its long list of games which utilise the innovative control method and implement it in new and creative ways. Though some view it as a gimmick it is undeniably the product of creative thinking and as a result a whole host of games developers have got the ol' creative juices flowing trying to cash in... i mean, come up with new ways of using the unique capabilities and opportunities the Wii offers.

As a budding designer myself I'm still trying to get back that creative spark that after several years working for an insurance company was rapidly drained from within me, along with this there is another common problem with creativity that you inadvertently end up with a rehash of already existing ideas. I hope that once I do retrieve said spark I will be able to produce some fresh and exiting work that will hopefully become lodged in future game art students minds and in turn will be rehashed by them in a substandard manner.

Week 19! He also wants video games banned because he believes that they're destroying education... come on Dick, it's the only education we got.

2008-04-01T17:46:00.004+01:00

So the question that has been troubling man since the dawn of time....

Artist trained as modeller?

or,

modeler trained to be an artist?

it is a conundrum.

I think there are arguments for both. I suppose though it really comes down to the needs of the employer. A skilled programmer requires little technical training, and as a result can start work almost immediately however there is the likelihood they may become a one dimensional tool user. On the other hand a creative candidate can bring fresh, new ideas to the table but may also require extensive training to get up to speed on industry standard software.

It appears to me, in particular on my course, that the two are not mutually exclusive. Creative, artistic people are being taught to tools of the trade in order to have all bases covered as it were. This in my opinion is a good approach and from what I understand about the feedback on the course from the industry this has been recognised. As a result of this approach a more rounded, fully formed game artist is being produced with a strong artistic understanding as well a knowledge of industry standard software.

Week 18!

2008-03-10T16:05:00.002Z

Whether it be voice acting, soundtrack or sound FX, Sound is an imperative part of games. It can provide important cues to the player as to how they should be feeling, what is happening and provide essential narrative clues.

Although this is similair to other media types the added level of interactivity of games can mean that playing a game with the sound off could result in the player missing sonic cues, points etc.

Sound helps to provide real moments and can, for some, spark vivid memories of games gone by.
A few that spring to mind are the discovery of a secret in the original tomb raider, sends a shiver down my spine even now, or the sudden introduction of godsmack's "I stand alone" in prince of persia: warrior within, signaling it was time to haul ass because the dahaka was soon to be pursuing your royal blooded avatar to name but a few.

Some game soundtracks have taken on almost iconic status. Most people will be able to recognise the Tetris theme. Mario's theme is also fairly recognisable and more recently popular music artists are becoming involved in the sountrack to games and its not uncommon to find current chart songs featured in the sountracks which then themselves go on to sell impresive quantities.

There are a number of video game composers and the capabilities of todays consoles has really enabled them to produce scores on a much more dramitic and larger scale.

As for "good times" being one of the most influential recordings in the 20th century im not sure about that but is certainly one of the most sampled in music history.

Week 17! When a bird gets sucked into an engine they call it "bird strike". It's not bird strike, it's "engine suck"!

2008-03-07T10:08:00.002Z

The game engine, the heavy lifter of all the tech involved in game making. The game engine is the software responsible for managing the various functions of a game. The engine has a list of functions to perform such as a physics, animation and rendering to name but a few all which come together in a glorious crescendo enabling you to shoot a bad guy in the face on your favorite games!?!

With beginnings in games such as doom and quake in the 90's the game engine was soon on many developers shopping list. Rather than starting from scratch many developers will buy in an already existing engine. This provides a number of advantages such as quicker production times and a reduction in the production costs. This does however mean that any problems may need to be referred back to the engine developer and therefore another party then becomes involved in the production of the game.

The game engines employed in today's current generation of consoles are increasingly more sophisticated and there has been a separation in the different functions often running individually. An example of this is in racing games where the physics thread will be running at a different pace to many of the other core functions. This is a small example of some of the changes that have had to be made to how the game engine operates in order to incorporate the increasing need for realism in today's games.

Week 16! Haven't you noticed? We've been sharing our culture with you all morning.

2008-02-18T10:22:00.003Z

I wouldn't say I'm a really a gamer. I tend to drift in and out of phases of playing on a fairly regular basis and then not playing anything for months at a time. For instance at the moment I am playing quite a few games down to the fact that I have only in the last few months, come into possession of an Xbox 360, prior to this change in console related circumstances however when all I had vent to my video game playing urge was a PlayStation 2, don't get me wrong, a much loved console but by this time well past it, in my fickle eyes, It was a shadow of its former self sitting under my TV probably ranting in a drunken state to all the other electrical appliances about how it used to be somebody.

The thing that appeals to me in gaming is the escapism and with this in mind when i am in the grip of the game playing phase I do tend to get engrossed and it then can sort of become a distraction.

As for the game culture as a whole I suppose I have noticed change. Fairly recently on my last few visits to the cinema their have been big dramatic, cinematic trailers on the big screen for a few highly anticipated game releases. This i dont think was something that happended a few years back so I think there has been a cultural shift and as games are becoming more sophisticated they are not just considered a pass time of the geek.

Week 15! This industry moves so fast it's really hard to tell. That's why I need a name that's cutting-edge, like CutCo, EdgeCom, Interslice.

2008-01-05T12:33:00.000Z

The game industry has well and truly arrived in the sense that it is a multi billion pound, profit making machine but this is not a true reflection of its current state. behind the figures lay a problem.

Games used to be fairly cheap to produce yet would still sell in great volumes and in return the profit margin was great. This, unfortunately is no longer the case. Increasingly more sophisticated platforms has breed an increasingly more sophisticated consumer which in turn requires more sophisticated games. As a result games nowadays have production costs in the millions and unlike previous years when a team may produce several games in a year, the product is taking 2 or 3 years to completed.

This applied pressure to the employees of the games industry. As mentioned the games take longer to develop and cost more than ever before as a result more and more is being asked of the talent involved in the production. It appears there is an ongoing issue with the amount of hours an employee is expected or required to put in when working on a project.

It is not all bad, the pay for example, although not stratospheric is something that has increased as a result of the growth of the industry and most employees are paid what you could call a comfortable salary.

It seems the industry is at a stage of make or break. Either it could continue to grow with the the opportunities for advancement the current generation of consoles have brought with them or in a strange twist they could herald the end. It is the expectation of the games they also bring which has pushed the production costs higher and higher and caused the problem facing the industry at the moment in the first place.

It has reached a point where the consumer is possibly more demanding than ever in terms of what they expect from a game so there doesn't really seem any way to go back. One of the ways this is being confronted is the lifespan of the consoles. The industry has learnt that progressing to fast is a costly exercise. Another challenge the industry faces is finding a way to keep a handle on the production costs so that it is possible to keep developing games to this standard with out the reduction and loss of profit it has recently been suffering.

Week 11! Don't hate the player, hate the game....play!

2008-01-03T12:30:00.000Z

Nooooo! not gameplay again! what does it mean? As I touched on previously I consider it a loose term to describe the players experience of playing any type of game. But this of course, is not a difinative answer. I dont know if there is one. what i do know is, what ever it is, it is important in making a good game.

I would say gameplay is made up of a lot of factors all coming together to provide the experience of playing the game. Anything that detracts from this has a negative effect on the experience of playing and therfore reduces the gameplay, this could be anything from poor controls to a badly designed level.

That is how I perceive gameplay and with that said I realise these are all things that are dependant on the individual so if I regard, say, the controls of a game to be awkward and unuseable another player may disagree so gameplay is opinion based. like most things in life it is impossible to please everyone and with this in mind it would be impossible for gameplay to programmed or designed into a game.

In my opinion one man's gameplay is another mans poison, where some may find gameplay, some may find none.

Gameplay, to me then, is the overall experience of playing a game and comprises of the various factors that make up a game working in a way that the individual finds and enjoyable experience.

Week 10!

2008-01-02T12:27:00.000Z

Character design has become increasingly more important in gaming. A good character is an essential part of any story and a pivotal part of engaging with the audience.

Thinking of characters I have encountered my memory is not great so i will comment on a character who rate and who I re-visited recently. I thoroughly enjoyed the bourne movies, Identity, supremacy and most recently ultimatum. I am currently reading a book which continues the Jason Bourne character, titled the Bourne legacy.

Unfortunately however, I have never read the original books the movies are based on so I'm not sure how the character was originally envisioned by the author (Robert Ludlum). So the character in the movies is the one that appealed to me. Jason Bourne is a top assassin but rather than being an armed to the teeth, gun swinging action hero, Jason Bourne comes across as a believable person doing believable things.

I think the movies really captured the sense that Bourne is highly trained killer but that is not it, he is resourceful and highly intelligent, subtle touches like slipping in and out of a multitude of languages give depth and help reinforce this element.

I think this is one of the things that was appealing to me. It was reinventing the action hero and it was interesting to me to see how Bourne would deal with the situations he was placed in, both the combative, and the everyday.

I think any character is helped by a good script and performance. A good character needs to have good things to say and know the right way to say them. This is relevant in all aspects of story telling. The performance doesn't always have to require actor though an example that springs to mind is the "birth" of sandman in Spiderman 3. Not an actor in sight but it is a captivating and emotional moment built within a computer.

I do like a hero story. Someone selfless and/or triumphing against adversity whether it be the real world that exists in the Bourne movies or the more fantastical Spiderman etc. and this does filter into the sort of games I play.

Week 9! you got the touch!

2007-12-11T21:13:00.000Z

The controller, whether it be the joystick or the high tech wizardry of the wii mote, is an essential piece of equipment for any gamer, lets face it games would be a lot less interesting if you couldn't move.

the early controllers were essentially a stick on a box, i am of course referring to the humble joystick. it was the joystick which provided the interaction in my early gamer days on my Atari ST. Though not always the most reliable, functional or practical pieces of equipment, it sure did come into its own on those early flight Sims.

Nintendo NES brought with the "pad" and consoles have never looked back. The now standard D-pad soon became the control method of choice for most manufacturers. of the early pads i used i seem to remember preferring the SNES pad to its Sega rival. i always thought the megadrive pad, a little too bulky. On the subject of these particular consoles, though they may not have the sleek design of some of today's machines but I personally like them for their pure ease of use, and how robust and heavy duty they were along with the cartridges. No need to worry about a scratch on the disk in them days.

The introduction of the analog stick on the N64 again stuck as another standard feature. I think put to best use on the PlayStation controllers. Particularly the PlayStation 2, dual shock 2 which now i think about it has probably been one of the best.

having fairly recently purchased an Xbox 360 i may be slightly behind the game but i am enjoying the whole wireless remote experience. it is such a huge relief not to be constrained by that pesky wire. having never owned an xbox i have also got the used to the controller fairly quickly which is testament to it really.

Of all the consoles though, purely on looks alone the PS3 does slightly edge it over the 360, though it is a close run thing. i do like the taper of the 360 but the PS3 is so sleek it looks like it could fly.

Then there is of course the Wii and the now infamous Wii mote. I have not used said equipment but it has been a huge success and with it being such a success it has possibly opened the door for more obscure and innovative ways to interact with games in the future. Has it spelled the end for the game pad? i think its success may have, as history has taught us that after one company (Nintendo) has done it, all the other companies follow.

Week 8! The never ending story.

2007-12-04T19:31:00.000Z

I don't necessarily think a story makes for a better game, but I do think a story certainly makes for a more immersive experience and offers a different type of enjoyment than say a player driven game in the model of the Sims.

A good story will hopefully captivate the player and make them want to keep playing, and i know from experience i have lost entire days trying to delve deeper into a good storyline. I think this is a key difference it gives the player a sense of involvement. How the story is played out is in most cases pre determined by the programmers or creators of the game and the player will travel a series of paths which will ultimately lead to the same end or in some cases a selection of endings again pre determined but i don't believe this limits the story in any way i think the whole point of a good story is to offer some form of structure and plot.

So as a player there is the element of the story guiding but unlike movies playing a game is an interactive experience so their will inevitably be things a player can do or attempt to do which may not always be plot relative. so with that said the story Will guide but the player does have some element of control as to how and when.

Not all games have a predetermined story line. I started to think about guitar hero and singstar as having no story but I guess there is an arguement it is a story of the progression from amatuer to rock god or pop legend. With games like the sims I suppose the storyline is fairly open ended but the characters will follow a very broad script of birth, work, marrige, and death which in a sense offers some form of narrative. I would say that in games where the story may not be a great deal of plot or the story may not be obvious a player will impose their own story.

So I suppose story does exist in most games if you look hard enough. Not always obvious, not always good stories for that matter but I think that a story is a fundemental feature in a game as thats what we as a speices seem enjoy whether it be music, movies or the humble computer game.

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

2007-11-27T20:41:00.000Z

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.

2007-11-26T21:13:00.000Z

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!

2007-11-09T10:51:00.000Z

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

2007-11-05T09:16:00.000Z

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

Week 3! The 80's and 90's, when video games ruled the earth!

2007-10-31T11:28:00.000Z

So following on from my previous entry we have witnessed the birth and early development of the computer game industry and now move into the middle ages and a period in which I first ventured forth into the world of games.

However the first significant event, other than me starting to play games, was on the 17Th of June, 1980. Atari's "asteroids" and "lunar Lander" became the first video games to ever be registered at the copyright office and ushered in a new era in the computer game industry.

In the 80's it was all about the personal computers such as the spectrum, commodore and the Atari which was also my first system and my introduction to games.

The Atari ST to be specific, was my first ever computer if memory serves me correctly. Although I can't remember what the first game I ever played was I do have memories of playing such titles as outrun, golden axe, and lotus esprit turbo challenge on my trusty Atari amongst others.

I also seem to remember spending a lot of time playing on a very basic flight Sim pretending to be maverick after watching a little film you may of heard of, TOP GUN!!! anyone??

So, around the same time I was initiated into Top gun with all the other top pilots the gaming industry of the 80's was producing the building blocks of the future. Games such as final fantasy, the legend of Zelda and metal gear all made their debut during this time.

It seems the 80's were a time of new beginnings. Franchises were created, new and, though it wasn't known at the time, legendary characters were introduced, link and Mario to name just a couple, and the market seemed to be gathering momentum all the time.

Which leads us onto the 90's. A decade which See's me move into the console world after father Christmas saw fit to bestow upon me the gift of SNES (or super Nintendo). A Christmas were I proceeded to vanish to the solitude of my room and attempt to complete starwing, calling upon all my previous Top gun training, only venturing downstairs for turkey and those little sausages wrapped in bacon.

By the 90's the gaming industry was well and truly established and it was all about growth and the developing rivalries of the big name companies. Sega and Nintendo dominated the market and had a massive ongoing war of the consoles. Sega's master system followed by the megadrive versus Nintendo's NES and then SNES.

This rivalry continued and with the ever increasing market more companies became involved in this competition for computer game supremacy, namely Sony and in December of 1994 the PlayStation was released.

This again resulted in another Christmas day spent in solitude. One of the stand out games for me on the PlayStation was tomb raider. The new system, along with the then groundbreaking graphics added up to all night stints trying desperately hard raid some tombs.

It appears then that this time was of great importance to the industry, it was established and had grown into an industry to rival that of the film industry and several new and important names entered the foray both in terms of new game franchises, popular characters still in existence today and big name companies becoming interested and in fact staking claim to their share of the market.

this then brings us to the 00's but also in turn then end of this chapter.

Week 2! let there be game! (1950-1970)

2007-10-24T12:32:00.000+01:00

In the beginning there was man, then not much happened until one day a slightly more intelligent man created game!

Though the origins of games appear to be contradicting, inconsistent and generally impossible to determine what we do know is this.....

The surface was first scratched, so to speak, in 1952 when a gentleman going by the name of A.S. Douglas created, on the worlds first computer (EDSAC), a game of naughts and crosses. The game was created for Douglas's thesis on human-computer interaction. However this was unique and was not commercially available mainly for the simple reason it was only on the EDSAC, which incidentally was the size of a small country and thus not practical for the living room of most homes.

Following on from this in 1958 there came what is in some cases considered the first ever video game. Tennis for two (left) was created by William Higinbotham to prevent boredom of guests visiting the lab where Higinbotham worked, a clear example that computer games where being recognised as a form of fun and entertainment. Though it transpires this invention and realisation later became a regret of Higinbotham who wanted to be known for his work as a physicist rather than this, I suppose you could call, small side project.

Then came the big hitter, A space fighting game!!!!! in 1962 the future was now with the creation of spacewar! (right). Steve Russell a computer programmer gave us the true computer game experience enabling players to compete against one another assuming the roles of duelling spaceships, imaginatively known as the wedge and the pencil, the object of the game was to annihilate your opponent before they succeeded in annihilating you. with the inclusion of various options such as hyper space and a reasonable representation of physics it is quit a step from the earlier naughts and crosses giant computer considering as well spacewar was on the comparatively tiny PDP-1 computer.

This said it wasn't until 1972 when games where brought to the home. I give you the console ladies and gentlemen. Up to this point games were primarily created and available on military, scientific or academic systems including the aforementioned PDP-1 which was not a domestic computer. the worlds first console was brought to us by a pioneering man named Ralph Baer who way back 1951 had conceived the idea of incorporating games into a TV set he been requested to design by his boss. unfortunately his somewhat less pioneering boss did not approve the idea and it was subsequently scrapped. However our fearless hero, undeterred, 1966, OK, maybe a little deterred, resumes work on the now titled "brown box" which later (1971) became the odyssey (pictured right) the first commercially available home video games console. Given his fairly humble beginning's as a factory worker it is not clear what drove Baer to concentrate so much on the goal of bringing games to the masses over than the fact it appears Baer was very into progresion having attained an at the time unique degree in television engineering and never looked back goin on to sart his own company. I guess Baer saw the potential were others did not and now it is widely accepted that Baer is the man responsible creating and shaping the game industry we know today.

this brings us upto 1973 where the world famous "pong" was introduced, a game im sure most people had their first experience of games.

this however concludes this entry as we have now entered the 70's.

Week 1!

2007-10-22T13:23:00.000+01:00

OK so here we go, first blog, first task. I'm gonna try and hit the ground running and just type whatever pours fourth from my brain...........

........OK, that's not gonna work. A new approach, so, for this week's task we have been set the unenviable job of reviewing a fellow blogger. obviously a man of my blogging experience is ideally placed to do this with my 2 paragraphs of blogging history well behind me.

The blog i stumbled across is by none other than the legend that is 90's hip hop star, MC hammer.
being a fan when i was younger it didn't take much to capture my interest and it was good to see hammer is still out there somewhere.

In terms of the blog itself it is frequently written, almost daily, and from what i have seen it covers a wide variety of subjects, mainly hammers take on topics ranging from music and news to things of a more personal nature. the post's themselves range from large areas of text to perhaps a video or picture with a comment to support.

I enjoyed reading the blog although i am biased being a fan. I think it provides me with an insight into the writer and my initial opinion is of someone who is very family orientated with strong religious beliefs.

The above said my take on blogging is that a blog can provide the image you want it to provide. You can be as personal, objective or controversial etc. as you like. This is not said to detract from blogging. From my early experience I think this is the appeal.

From trudging through numerous blogs in the archive, some good, some bad, I think my approach to blogging will try to include hopefully some aspect of personality and be fairly simple to read as these, whether it reflects good or bad on me, are the blogs I was more inclined to read.

Let the blogging begin!!!!