Friday 30 September 2011
Alien Vs Predator
One of my course mates recommended me taking another look at the film Alien vs Predators, I have seen the film but completely forgot about using this film as potential resource. I completely forgot about the relevant links to the Mayan period, for example the hidden underground temple, which I really liked the concept off. I really liked some of the traps in the film, and the way the paths and rooms moved every so hours, I really like the idea of a maze like game play within the level, with plenty of obstacles. Its a potential idea to develop and one in which I can look towards this film for ideas. I also really like some of the architecture within the temple, unfortunately I cant many images on the internet to display but its very Mayan influenced with plenty of hieroglyphics.
Chichen Itza ( Wonder Of The World )
While doing a game project on Mayans, it would be silly to forget about the amazing chichen Itza which is situated in Yucatan, Mexico and is one of the most popular tourist attractions around the world which attracts many tourists per day. What I really love about the place is some of the legends and story behind the place which bring this great vibe. When it was discovered by the Spanish, they were supposedly heads surrounded all over the place on spikes, and you could hear the screams of the people been sacrificed by miles. It just gives me ideas, in which to include human heads, and patters. I really love some of the remaining ruins which can be shown in the images below, Ive mentioned it before but I love the patterns and architecture of the buildings and the way some of them resemble the shape of sinister faces, I'm looking at including a temple similar to the chichen Itza as it is regarded as some as the heart of the Mayan culture, and im thinking of including it towards the climax of the level.
2D Game Concept Art
I thought it would be a good idea to look at some concept art for games, trying to focus my search onto 2D games, I came across this show reel on YouTube for a 2D platform game with some very nice examples of artwork, allot of it is for character design but there's some nice examples of environment concept art too. I really like the concept he did in black and white, before then going onto add colour, i'm not sure on the exact form of media he used but its defiantly worthwhile experimenting with different forms of media for concept art, such as ink,paints, card and so on as you can get varied results which could encourage the art direction of the project and when it comes to texturing objects. I also liked the way his art is very cartoonist and the way it defines what kind of genre and target market the game is going to be aimed at, some very nice examples of art in which to take influence from into coming up with my own concept designs.
Wednesday 28 September 2011
Crash Bandicoot
Heres another classic Platform I researched a bit about, Crash Bandicoot which has made its way across a great vary of platforms from the old generation consoles to the next generation. Whilst The theme of quite a few of the Crash Bandicoot games is appropriate and good research as it does draw some jungle / Mayan influences within some of the levels, and I really like some of the ruins / statues in the game. I really wanted to comment on some of the camera views in the game, I really like the way they have crash move across the screen like a 2d platform but then he moves towards you, I think its really effective and as an extra dimension. Its also a very useful technique used for when there's a chase and something is trying to catch you and you see the thing behind and its easy to anticipate how close he is. What I also like about crash its such an easy game to play, and very hard to get lost while offering a decent challenge.
Sonic The Hedgehog
One of the classic side scrolling games which is one of many games which has made it into 3D, What I like about the sonic 2D games is there fast paced, exciting levels with plenty of unique features such as loops, jumps and turbo boosts, and the way everything is over the top with unique game designs and interactivity, and despite all of this its a fluent flowing game and easy for a first time gamer to just pick up and play.
A couple of days ago, Dan who is a fellow college mate kindly brought in his Gamecube and we played on Sonic Adventure DX which had designed a level taking the Mayan period has huge influence, even though this sonic game is done in 3D, you can easily draw comparisons to the 2D platform versions, for example the pace and the unique crazy game props which I really like. What I noticed about this level was how dark and dull it was, which suited the level as its a mysterious temple with plenty of hidden passageways and booby traps to challenge the players. However for my game i am aiming at a project which is more colorful.I really liked the view between 30 - 35 in the video of the jungle/temple in background which looked really nice which is emphasized by the way you exit the temple and is like the first real color you see in the level, which really caught my idea. Also something similar is work experimenting with on my level for a background, the idea of jungle with a few temples in the background which I could then repeat as is the normality for 2D levels as the backgrounds tend to repeat which I will write more about in another blog post. Another thing which caught my eye was the use of fire and water within the level which actually contributed each other very well, for example the water slide with fire statues which looked really nice, I have always thought of the idea of contributing fire into the level, through the use of statues or torches. But I also like the idea of experimenting with the water aspect, such as waterfalls, water features or even slides could work well. Finally I really like some of the statues such as the snake shaped statues which are repeated quite allot over the level, emphasizing the point of repetition on levels which is something useful for me as I don't have the time to individually design say 20 statues, so its a good way of keeping the work load efficient but also keeping to a good standard of work.
He also mentioned, something I found interesting is how they recreated a level which they first did in 3D, to a 2D game, here is the example of the 3D level below which I am led to believe they created first which was on Sonic Adventure 2. I've never really been a big fan of Sonic 3D levels and I finally got the chance to play it the other day. Even in 3D the game play is very similar, a very high paced game with plenty of obstacles and crazy course layouts, while I actually enjoyed playing the level there were certain aspects which reminded me why I prefer the 2D levels, firstly I found myself at times struggling to judge jumps, for example landing on a beam, which slight over movement of the controller to the right or left would leave me falling to my death, something that couldn't happen on the 2D, and with the high pace of the game this is easy to do. I also due to the view of the camera found it hard to notice whether there is any hidden paths for example, which could be potentially below the path you are on or above. As sonic is known for the variety of different paths in which you can take, and the camera view at times makes it easy to miss a path, this is what I found. I mean its something to consider for my game, do a just have one path you can take or multiple maze like paths, similar to sonic. However on the positive side Sonic in 3D looks very beautiful, Its was very interesting to see a game which has made its claim as 2d and keep a similar game play and be transferred into 3D, it provides plenty of contrasts to be made between the two games and advice into developing my 2D game and what to do and what not to.
And below is the 2d version of the same level. Unfortunately I haven't played the game, so its hard to make a contrast on the game play, but it looks just as beautiful, to me this looks allot more fun and for the style of the game play easier to navigate your way around the level. Its also great for pausing the two levels at the same point in the game and looking at how they potentially got around obstacles which may have been a issues into recreating the game into 2D from the 3D game and they have done a great job.
And what I found interesting is this fan work, in where someone has recreated some levels inwhere he has used unity. It looks really beautiful, it just gives a good idea on what could be potentially created in unity, It would also be great research to ask the person who created the level some questions on how he achieved.
A couple of days ago, Dan who is a fellow college mate kindly brought in his Gamecube and we played on Sonic Adventure DX which had designed a level taking the Mayan period has huge influence, even though this sonic game is done in 3D, you can easily draw comparisons to the 2D platform versions, for example the pace and the unique crazy game props which I really like. What I noticed about this level was how dark and dull it was, which suited the level as its a mysterious temple with plenty of hidden passageways and booby traps to challenge the players. However for my game i am aiming at a project which is more colorful.I really liked the view between 30 - 35 in the video of the jungle/temple in background which looked really nice which is emphasized by the way you exit the temple and is like the first real color you see in the level, which really caught my idea. Also something similar is work experimenting with on my level for a background, the idea of jungle with a few temples in the background which I could then repeat as is the normality for 2D levels as the backgrounds tend to repeat which I will write more about in another blog post. Another thing which caught my eye was the use of fire and water within the level which actually contributed each other very well, for example the water slide with fire statues which looked really nice, I have always thought of the idea of contributing fire into the level, through the use of statues or torches. But I also like the idea of experimenting with the water aspect, such as waterfalls, water features or even slides could work well. Finally I really like some of the statues such as the snake shaped statues which are repeated quite allot over the level, emphasizing the point of repetition on levels which is something useful for me as I don't have the time to individually design say 20 statues, so its a good way of keeping the work load efficient but also keeping to a good standard of work.
He also mentioned, something I found interesting is how they recreated a level which they first did in 3D, to a 2D game, here is the example of the 3D level below which I am led to believe they created first which was on Sonic Adventure 2. I've never really been a big fan of Sonic 3D levels and I finally got the chance to play it the other day. Even in 3D the game play is very similar, a very high paced game with plenty of obstacles and crazy course layouts, while I actually enjoyed playing the level there were certain aspects which reminded me why I prefer the 2D levels, firstly I found myself at times struggling to judge jumps, for example landing on a beam, which slight over movement of the controller to the right or left would leave me falling to my death, something that couldn't happen on the 2D, and with the high pace of the game this is easy to do. I also due to the view of the camera found it hard to notice whether there is any hidden paths for example, which could be potentially below the path you are on or above. As sonic is known for the variety of different paths in which you can take, and the camera view at times makes it easy to miss a path, this is what I found. I mean its something to consider for my game, do a just have one path you can take or multiple maze like paths, similar to sonic. However on the positive side Sonic in 3D looks very beautiful, Its was very interesting to see a game which has made its claim as 2d and keep a similar game play and be transferred into 3D, it provides plenty of contrasts to be made between the two games and advice into developing my 2D game and what to do and what not to.
And below is the 2d version of the same level. Unfortunately I haven't played the game, so its hard to make a contrast on the game play, but it looks just as beautiful, to me this looks allot more fun and for the style of the game play easier to navigate your way around the level. Its also great for pausing the two levels at the same point in the game and looking at how they potentially got around obstacles which may have been a issues into recreating the game into 2D from the 3D game and they have done a great job.
And what I found interesting is this fan work, in where someone has recreated some levels inwhere he has used unity. It looks really beautiful, it just gives a good idea on what could be potentially created in unity, It would also be great research to ask the person who created the level some questions on how he achieved.
Mayan Calender
One of the most interesting and controversial artifacts linking to the Mayan period was the Mayan calender, which is a very complex system and one which I find hard to understand and don't want to get into it to much, of cause everyone is aware that the legend says the Mayan Calender ends in 2012 and people say they have predicted every natural disaster to date, I am led to believe. Although that is interesting what really appeals to me is the shape and patterns on the calender itself, here's a few examples below.
As you can see from the above examples, there's some really beautiful patterns and imagery especially the centerpiece face and two crocodile like creatures to the side, I have thought of ideas of how to use a similar style as markings on walls / background on the game level, or even to to include the calender as some kind of feature on the game level. I have even thought of potentially coming up with my own designs similar to that on the Mayan calender of mystical creatures or something of a similar vein in which to to use on my game environment.
Here is also an interesting feature in which you cant see well on the above images, but here is a breakdown of the calender which features I believe the 19 months which are included on the calender, with some beautiful markings which could potentially look studding on the level, its definatly an idea in which I can develop.
A quick idea which I thought I'd document about is that similar to levels on Bowsers Castle from the Mario franchise, is there's these kind of stone like squares which fall on your head, well i was thinking of having something similar on my environment but featuring some of the mayan influenced pattens on, which could be a nice touch to include.
As you can see from the above examples, there's some really beautiful patterns and imagery especially the centerpiece face and two crocodile like creatures to the side, I have thought of ideas of how to use a similar style as markings on walls / background on the game level, or even to to include the calender as some kind of feature on the game level. I have even thought of potentially coming up with my own designs similar to that on the Mayan calender of mystical creatures or something of a similar vein in which to to use on my game environment.
Here is also an interesting feature in which you cant see well on the above images, but here is a breakdown of the calender which features I believe the 19 months which are included on the calender, with some beautiful markings which could potentially look studding on the level, its definatly an idea in which I can develop.
A quick idea which I thought I'd document about is that similar to levels on Bowsers Castle from the Mario franchise, is there's these kind of stone like squares which fall on your head, well i was thinking of having something similar on my environment but featuring some of the mayan influenced pattens on, which could be a nice touch to include.
Apocalypto
Haven't surprisingly not seen the film Apocalypto, as it seems like my kind of film I was suggested to watch the film as it was based on the Mayan period, ok its not game research but it could potentially give me ideas on game props for example and help me with my environmental design and hopefully improve my knowledge on the Mayans. Here is a trailer of the film and shall write a short review once I have watched the film.
Having watched the film, I quite enjoyed the film. It was a great source of research and gained both ideas in which to develop into my game. Not only that I enjoyed gaining a better understanding of the Mayan culture and one which fascinates me. The film portrayed the Mayans as very violent but at the same time very religious as they worship the god of sun. And as demonstrated by the film they believe sacrificing people by pulling there heart out then decapitating them and throwing the body down the pyramid shaped temple, will please the gods. They also seem to suggest vulnerabilities during the darkness as demonstrated when the eclipse happened in the film. This has given me ideas for example sun statues, and maybe the enemies are afraid to go into the dark places, giving you a slight potential. I also found interesting some of the Bobbie traps they used to catch food which is demonstrated at the start of the movie when there trying to catch the warthog. I could use a similar device as challenges to overcome during the game. I also really liked the mayan architecture, especially the patterns and the way some are designed to be quite intimidating a resemble a face. I think this would be a great idea for the game. Finally I really liked some of the mayan masks which can be seen during the sacrifices, they would be perfect for baddies in the game or even a boss.
Having watched the film, I quite enjoyed the film. It was a great source of research and gained both ideas in which to develop into my game. Not only that I enjoyed gaining a better understanding of the Mayan culture and one which fascinates me. The film portrayed the Mayans as very violent but at the same time very religious as they worship the god of sun. And as demonstrated by the film they believe sacrificing people by pulling there heart out then decapitating them and throwing the body down the pyramid shaped temple, will please the gods. They also seem to suggest vulnerabilities during the darkness as demonstrated when the eclipse happened in the film. This has given me ideas for example sun statues, and maybe the enemies are afraid to go into the dark places, giving you a slight potential. I also found interesting some of the Bobbie traps they used to catch food which is demonstrated at the start of the movie when there trying to catch the warthog. I could use a similar device as challenges to overcome during the game. I also really liked the mayan architecture, especially the patterns and the way some are designed to be quite intimidating a resemble a face. I think this would be a great idea for the game. Finally I really liked some of the mayan masks which can be seen during the sacrifices, they would be perfect for baddies in the game or even a boss.
Pee Man - The Game
Was searching on the web, and came across this interesting game called Pee Man, The game is developed by a Flash based company named Newsground, The game can be played from the link I am posting below. Here is a few screenshot's aswell.
Reasons why this game greatly appealed to me is on an aesthetic point of view. I think the game looks stunning displaying beautiful tones of color, what really grabbed me was the night sky, especially the background which really stands out and the way the moon is lit strikes me as stunning. I also really like the character designs and the way, especially the character you play is outlined with a white shade really is effective upon the dark background. I also like the way the game doesn't focus on too many colors, which really works for this game. It has a few different shades for example the green on the monster, but for the genre of game it really works well, as it comes across as a casual game with a toilet humor aproach and that cartoon approach really works well. A few other things worth mentioning are the pace of the game is really fluent and smooth, and is an easy game to play with very few controls, which is 2 things I want for my game especially if i'm aiming my game towards the family audience, as players who may not be gamer's and used to the controllers, I want it to be easy for them to play, but that more comes with the character design of the process, but its worth thinking about at this stage.
I then went onto the website, which is really interesting as it allows you to upload artwork which could be a good idea once i have completed art for my gaming as its a chance to start networking potentially and getting your work maybe noticed. I just Had a look at a few examples of concept art the artist who calls himself Pyschogoldfish has created and it follows the same kind of style, very illustrator aproach which I really like, its defiantly an approach to experiment and it would potentially fill my criteria.
Introduction
For my new project, I have decided to create a 2D environment for a side scrolling game level, reasons why I have chose to do this project is that firstly it links well to my dissertation proposal which is about photorealism in games / are games getting too advanced. This project gives me chance to explore different styles of media and compare and contrast as im planning to on designing a cartoonist look towards the game as i'm designing it for the casual game market, focusing on families. My idea for the game is to focus it on the mayan period as its a topic which interests me, im going for a indianna jones adventure appeal and have thought about game props for the game such as boulders, spikes and skulls, which could be animated to provide a challenge for the game. This project is also been used to improve my skills on software such as Maya and Unity, and also improve my drawing skills from a range of concept art. For my final project I plan on just having the game environment modeled and placed on Unity, I am planning on designing Characters for a later project.
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