Upadating of power point of what we have done week 3

So we have added a couple of slides to this presentation, some slides are still blank and will be worked on tonight to be ready for tommorow.

What we have done This week.pdf

Changes in narrative

After looking through the storyline with the group we have decided that we should try and alter out some of the murder around the colonials. I am their for going to alter the story slightly just to try and appeal to the younger ages.

Week 3 presentation so far

What we have done This week3.pptx

We are also exspected to have a draft of the Design documentation i am going to start this when i have finished the slide show, to show and outline of it by next group session

Presentation

So i've decided we should try and make a presentation each weekend to show what we have been working on, i have made a brief one this also gives me an incline of what i want to achieved by the end of the week. It will also help with showing off work to tutors, i hope everyone is ok with how the story line plays out for now. Yet it is still in early stages so that might change.

What we have done week 3.pdf

quick look into narrative

So i have laid out a brief outline of narrative ideas, this is so far rough and will have a full document soon.

Story Line of Polynesian Flute.docx

Implementation of two player

Just a quick note of, adding another spirit to the game, either to serve as a guide or helper, or available for another player to join in with the puzzle solving.

Mood bored and story boards on Polynesia

So today i have been working on the mind map of Polynesian culture, changes with European impact, religion, tribes, lifestyle ets. This is a good start on research for Polynesian islands and lifestyle.

Once i finished that, i started making mood boards for the Polynesian natives and the environment around the Polynesian islands

I have also been toying with the idea of making the game two player, by adding another spirit into the game as another possessed idol, i have also come up with the concept of jumping too and from spirit world and physical world. 

I am now going to be working on a narrative for the game, as this game is primarily a puzzle game i must take into account genre and audience appeal.

Design Document Overview

Today was a lecture on how design documents are made, we looked at some other documents from large titles and other students work from previous ideas.

Potential headings and things to consider within the document

• Overview (of the game)
• Narrative (story line, other narrative quirks)
• Characters (protagonist, NPC's, enemy's, antagonists)
• Game play mechanics (play style genre)
• Controls/platform (specific controls, platforms and technology available through platform)
• Levels (How they are laid out, level design, other quirks)
• Art style (Specific color scheme or art style within game)
• Music and audio (Ambiance, music and sound effects)

Other aspects to look into

• Game World (maps, levels, culture)
• Game progression
• Character progression
• mini games
• Weapons, items, abilities, vehicles
• Community in game
• Currency
• Other similar games

Ways to show our work 

• Storyboards
• Mood boards
• Diagrams
• Anamatics
• Concept art
• Progression

Notes

• When mood boarding make different mood boards on characters, environments. ets.
• When level designing start work at block out stage to help gather a sense of depth to the level
• Use as much artwork as possible. (picture speaks 1000 words)
• Mock up images of 3D level layouts with artwork over it
• Story board of cut scene or branching narrative
• Condensed images to compile information further

Useful websites

• http://media.steampowered.com/apps/dota2/workshop/Dota2CharacterArtGuide.pdf  (specifically on art)
• http://www.gamepitches.com/ (a range of different game design documentations)

Decision Time

We have decided to go with Ollie's artifact which is the Polynesian flute.discovered in the 1800's this flute is a very spiritual object, the craftsmanship is exquisite and the design very unique. We have a rough concept at the moment, which is revolving around the player being a spirit that has inhabited the flute. However like all rough game ideas, this concept should evolve or even change by submission date.

I am now going to do research into culture, and history of the Polynesian islands around that time. 

Mind Map

This is the mind map of all the information i have gathered on the terracotta army. I am going to show this to my group, and see whether they want to follow my concept or one of there's. I have really enjoyed looking into this as a starting point, it is a fascinating topic to start from.

Video to watch

This is a video that i am going to watch to try and boost some ideas about. I am probably stepping far now as we still haven't got a primary artifact yet. However i am just getting interested by the concept as a whole.

Beyond Game Genre

I have now looked at the article of beyond game genre. Personally i dislike the concept. As a report it has a little too much complexity of dialogue to put across a clear point however it dose show both sides of the argument.

Stylised Writing

• Purpose is to inform
• Formal Writing Style
• Images and citations to back up points.
• Clearly laid out headings
• Argues both sides of the point (With a biased opinion)

Interpretation

• Game play and mechanics are a focal point of game not so much the narrative
• Game designers and the players view a game from a different standpoint, of mechanics, dynamics and Aesthetics.
• Designers should view a game from Mechanics, dynamics then aesthetics. Whereas players view it the other way around.

• Individuality and originality of mechanics and dynamics creates meaningful play 

Notes

• Narrative can get in the way and form a game to become a less pure game experience
• Core parts of a game is the game play and dynamics, the looks sound and story are part of the shell of the game.

Mechanics: Describes the game play style within the game, focusing on controls and play style
Dynamics: Works on the mechanics and aesthetics and brings forth choice for players in play style.
Aesthetics: Are the visual and audio representation for the player, how the game looks the story, and how the game sounds.

Personally i disagree with alot of the report as personally i cannot conncect with a game if the story is not there. However i also understand that if the story is not approched correctly for the player, it will ruin the game with tedious cutscenes and no player interaction what so ever.

Ollie's Object

We have been really bad at deciding on a single object to focus on by now we really should have an object however we are 2 members of the group down. One being ill and the other on holiday. This is causing me and Ollie to be the only two at a capable discussion point. The object he chose was a Polynesian Flute.

This Flute is incredibly cool looking and i would be happy to work on it as a focus point for a game, looking into spirituality aspects of the Polynesian culture. Yet we still want input from Morgan and Elliot. Before we fully give ourselves to a object to work on.

In regards to my idea i have made a mind map of concepts for games and general overview of facts and myths on the terracotta army. I am going to digitalise these mindmaps; and upload them tonight.

Royal Idol From Nigeria

Another one of the items i choose to look into was the royal idol from Nigeria, dating back to the 15th-16th century.

Sadly after a bit of research their really isn't much in the way of history from around those times. Nigeria was split into 3 other kingdoms. The Igabo, the Yoruba, The Hausa states and the Songhai. These kingdoms covered quite a different area, however from this item i can take certain things into account.

• Its a royal idol
• Probably Religious
• Weaponry used
• Reliability of horses
• Garments and clothing
• Stylized Design
• Sign of wealth or power
• Owned by the important

With this i can deduct these factors about this object, and start working on a concept for a game. 

eg.

Witch doctor idol story game

Jungle Open World Adventure game

Terractotta Army

History

One of the largest masoliems in the world the terracotta army has become a focal point for me, over the last few days. This huge clay army holds alot of history, and cultural infomation; reguarding the chinese in ancient history times. This grave was constructed for the first emporer of china in Qin Shi Huang. Who united china as one nation, before this china was split into smaller wareing states. This world wounder is the imprint this man left on the world. Simular to the egyptions this tomb is on one of the grandest scales in the world. With over 8000 clay statues including cavalry and chariots, this stone army was constructed to guard the emporer as he entered the afterlife. Like the pyrimds this structure took around 700 000 workers to complete, and must of taken decades to complete. Each figure is unquie in cloths, exspresion and height. No two are identicl, this simple adds to the magic of this clay army, each unquie and different.


The weopons that were discovered at this site are also incredibly interesting, they were weopons used in the wars before the emperor came into power, weopons such as, swords, crossbows, spears, axes shields and bows. A large amount of these were still sharp and coated in chromium oxide. Keeping them preseved to a point throughout history.

 Facts and Infomation

210-209 BC Qin Shi Huang died, and thousands of statues were buried with him in pits around his tomb. Construction ended a year after he died when the empire fell into turmoil

Worker deaths: It is thought that all the laborers were put to death to keep the mausoleum a secret along with many others! 

 Treasures: It is thought that the underground tomb itself might hold much more treasure and artifacts unless it has been robbed. But it hasn’t been excavated. 2,000 years ago, a historian named Sima Qian wrote that the tomb contained a world with mountains made of gold, stars represented by pearls, jewels, and flowing rivers of mercury.

 Construction: The whole complex was built in about 40 years and wasn’t completed.

Total area: The whole burial complex is thought to be bigger than Manhattan.

Booby Traps: There are alot of specualtion of booby traps and dangerous traps laid out throughout the emperors main tomb (that is still untouched) including poisen arrows and mercury traps.

Conncetion To astronamy: Throughout alot of chinese tombs in the Han dynasty, there is a range of inscriptions and images that could relate to astronomical events and happenings.

Terracotta Army, Royal Idol and Warrior Trophy/Mask

I have been playing on working with something around the terracotta army. This inspiration took hold of me, while i was at the Sainsbury center, after a small terracotta army figure was on display there. I have started looking into the history and purpose about the terracotta army.
A huge army of 8000 huge warrior statues each individual caught my attention directly, I want to play the idea over my head over the next few days, but this is one of three idea's i have been toying with. The other two coming from pieces that were at the Sainsbury Center. Being the small Royal Idol, from Nigeria, the other being a warriors mask orated with arrows.

All Ideas at the moment don't have enough flesh to them to create concepts for but over the next few days I will start to come up with ideas and a final idea, to present to the rest of my group. We will then feedback and decide on a main concept to follow. As all ideas will evolve and change drastically by the end of the project, i should not get attached to an idea so everything at the moment is considered very rough concept.

Sainsbury Center Visit

To create a game design document, myself and the rest of my group visited, the Sainsbury Center in Norwich. This was to spark our creativity for our project on historical/ cultural artifacts. I noted down items that caught my eye, and took photo of each one. 

Greek Helmet 7th Century BC

Arrowhead - New guinea 1800-1950

Royal Idol Nigeria 19th Centuray

Baby Carrier Borneo Kayan 19th Centuary

Twin Dragons China Han Dynasty

Contextual Studies BA4 Brief

Today was our first contextual study's lesson, we looked into various game genres, and the difference between a in game genre and a normal game genre. Overall in general study's we will be looking at the Game worlds and looking into how they were developed and other games or media's that might of helped with the design of these worlds. Once research has been assembled, a presentation will be made that must last 10 minutes over the next weeks i will be looking at different, game worlds and gathering research ready for my presentation.

Gad Ba4 Project 2 2013-14 Approved

Normal Game Genres
FPS
MMO
RPG
RTS

In game Genres
Horror
War
Fantasy
Sci Fi

I will upload the entire Outline over the next few days of examples of "In game genres" and "Normal Game Genres"

With this is mind i am to also research and look into this article by next week. Looking at grammar and stylized writing; to try and achieve that quality of work. I am also analyse the content of the piece, and make notes and interpretations on the article. Finally i will use the list i created today, to catalog them against the articles catalog and match them against my own.

Beyond Genre

BA4 Start day- Breif

Today, was the first day back, and giving us our first project of this year. BA4 will be a group project where we are split into groups of 3-4 and are set to design a Game design document. I have already astablished my group, i will be working with Morgan Baxter, Elliot Burton and Ollie Brown. The focus of the game, must be in the form of cultural and historical artifacts and events.

Gad Ba4 Project 1 2013-14 Approved

This is the project brief, over the next few posts i will start looking into artifacts and events that could be used as a base's of a game.