Week 17- Game Engines

When companies make games, they will often use a previously developed Game Engine in order to save time and money within the competition of the game industry. A Game Engine is the main frame of programming upon which the mechanics of a game works. By implementing this frame from the begininning, the company will save time on creating collision detection, animation, sound and how the scenes are rendered within the game among other things.

One of the main advantages of this is that focus can be directed towards the artwork or storyline rather than programming. Additional features can be added to the programming but the core mechanics of the game are still there. For example, Gears of War runs on the Unreal Engine but the camera angles and movement are presented in a different way.



Ideas can be pushed forward and developed without pressure. However creating a completely new game engine also has its advantages. It allows the creators to do whatever they wish and make new features that have never been done before. For example, in Far Cry 2 they have created a new engine in which fire spreads realistically and graphics can be rendered in a completely new way. Had they not created their own engine they would not "be able to push the limits of the current technology" (to quote an interview with the one of the developers http://uk.gamespot.com/video/942192/6185293/far-cry-2-interview-2).

Van Project

Finished my van and I am quite proud of it so I thought I would upload a picture. Used an ambient occlusion map for the first time and struggled with it a bit as I had made quite a few errors when making the wireframe. I had misunderstood how polygons work and assumed that I had to flip them in order for the inside to be visible: I learnt later that there is a "Force 2 sided" check box which makes polygons viewable from both sides which would have saved me a lot of time.

I did really struggle with this van but I am really happy with the result.

GENIUS CHIMPS!

Managed to catch a program on TV when I was at a friends house and it facinated me soo much I just have to write about it. The program was about a Japanese scientist that is studying chimps and their memory. He had trained all of these chimps to use touch screen computers and got them to play memory games, much like the ones on Brain Training, rewarding them with fruit whenever they did something right.

The chimps were trained to press numbers on the screen in order that were placed randomly. This is what facinated me, the chimps could remember characters and japanese symbols for colours and perform these tasks at amazing speeds! Not only that but the young chimps would watch their parents playing these games and would learn the symbols by example.

The reason behind these tests was to test the chimp's working memory. Working memory is what we use to remember everyday things such as our PIN numbers and where a shop is on the high street. The research started to suggest that chimps actually had a better working memory than us and that they may even be more intelligent than us in some ways.

To test this, the scientists performed an identical test on both humans and chimps. They created a test in which numbers were shown to the subject and they were randomly placed in front of them. The numbers were then hidden and the subject had to show where they were in order. Incredibly, only one out of fifteen humans could complete this test, where as, a large percentage of the chimps could complete it very quickly and easily.

They then went on to show a memory expert, who could remember an entire pack of cards, fail to beat the chimps at a memory game. The numbers were shown for a quarter of a second and the chimps could remember where they were every time.

I think it is facinating how much about the world we are finding out and the possibilities we had never considered. These chimps proved to me that maybe we shouldn't assume too much about what is going on in the world.

Week 16- Gaming Cultures

When you think of a person who plays games, firstoff you would probably associate him/her with loneliness and social difficulty. However gaming allows a new type of culture to develop in the real world.

Personally, some of the best times that I have had with my friends have been at our "Gaming Nights". We started doing these while I was doing my GCSE's when Halo 2 first came out. It started with about 4 of us playing over each others houses after school on fridays and bringing all our consoles and just chilling out with pizza. We then realised that if we all chipped in, we could play 16 player on Halo 2. This, we then found, was one of the best decisions any competitively fueled man could make. It was fantastic being able to have team games, in which, 2 teams were in different rooms in order to keep tactics secret, occasionally yelling to the other team across the hall "you suck!!" or "can you handle that?!". Great fun.

I then started inviting friends from outside school who liked to play Halo. These nights have introduced people that would never have met otherwise and that are now very close friends. We still do gaming nights whenever possible and we still end up hysterically laughing when a team member makes a complete fool of themself. As time has gone on, I have realised, it's not just us that does this often: Many of my other groups of friends have started holding similar events which has given even more reason for them to hang out with people they never would usually through inviting others along.

Ultimately, the games arent mainly why we enjoy these nights. They act as a catalyst for our jokes and competitiveness and it makes for a great time and an excuse to just laugh with your friends with pizza and beer (which is what we all want right?!). Whenever I see one of these friends again, it's almost guaranteed that at some point the question will come up "so whens the next gaming night?!". In fact, if it weren't for the gaming nights, I probably would not have stayed in contact with some of them after I moved schools in sixth form.

Many other gaming cultures have emerged in society generally, such as online social events and MMORPG. Gaming has extended into the rest of our culture. There arent many places you can go and not hear some kids talking about the games they are currently playing and film continues to take influence from games.

Online gaming has opened all kinds of new possiblities. One of my best friends even keeps in contact with his brother almost completely though meeting up online to play a couple of games, or chat over Xbox Live. Although many over indulge in this and it can be unhealthy in many respects, it has become a vital part of the modern world. "Virtual friends" can know you just as well as somebody you see every day. Games could even (dare I say it) help you make friends and meet people.

Week 15- The Game Industry

Currently the gaming industry appears to be very profitable with a greater amount of people playing games than ever before. This is mostly due to more family-friendly games becoming available through consoles like the Wii and DS.

The structure of games development is different depending on what company you go to but the basics are the same. A guest lecturer from Sega Rally explained that different roles are assigned depending on how important they are. If several objects have to be made for the game but it would save the company time, they often outsource to other companies which means that they will make several objects within the game but are not part of the same development team.

The main diciplines in terms of Art include: Modeller, World Builder, Front End Artist, Special FX Artist, Animator and Concept Artist. They are then guided by a Senior/Principle Artist. Programmers then take what has been created and make all the gameplay mechanics of the game. Programmers and Artists are under the Game Director or Producer.

blog? what? oh yea... that thing I do sometimes

Due to an extreme absence of me, I feel I have to inform all of the minor changes in my life, whether you like it or not! READ IT!!!

My experience of halls has become... interesting: I've found a little too much pleasure in aggravating my flat mates: putting salt in Jacks drinks over and over has proved...amusing. Also putting his beer in the toilet when he got a bit bossy was fun. This has started a chain of events in which nearly every time something is stolen from my room! grrr I want my monkey back!!





Aswell as this my internet has failed to work for a good 5 days in a row... and for somebody that is a bit too in to facebook, this tends to give me a cold sweat like some kind of addict: the kind who's only your friend so that he can "borrow" your DVD player.

The course has become increasingly difficult and I am finding it difficult to juggle everything at the moment but I'm filled with determination to become better at every aspect. I've really struggled making the Transit Van but I feel like I'm alot better than I was before I started. Now I just have to texture it... yay. It is really strange because I want to be able to do these things but the process of learning is a real uphill climb. However, I am so happy at what I have learnt and it is great being able to show my friends from outside uni what I am up to.



I am excited about doing the workshops that are coming up. We are going to be having inductions which will allow us to use more traditional materials, which I love. We had a life drawing class with charcoal a few days ago which was great! I have missed being able to get a bit messy in order to make something look great. The current drawing project is to do a self portrait, which is quite exciting because it allows you to express yourself quite literally in whatever material you want!

"WOOT".. as some idiots say.

Week 11- Gameplay

The definition of "gameplay" given by a man called Patrick Mount is 'A set of basic elements, which - when implemented in an interactive environment, ensure that the end-user can make interesting choices, thus leading to a vicarious experience which is both memorable and fun.' This definition is a very mathematical approach to solving what gameplay means and is, in my opinion, in need of further exploration.
This seems to imply that gameplay is governed by rules set out by the creators of the game: This does not immediately sound fun. However, the rules of a game should allow the player to perform exciting actions and provide a way in which the player can perform these things. In order for a character to run and jump in a game rules need to be in place within the environment to make sure that this happens. Games tend to give the player a sense of freedom and exploration when in fact they are performing preset actions in a game engine or are exploring within a set of rules created in order to stop the illusion becoming ruined.

If you seach for the definition of 'play' on a definitions site such as dictionary.com you will find a incredibly long list of definitions and context examples. It seems to be one of the most vague words in the English language which seems to cover actions such as pretending, having fun and doing any number of things. In the context of games, gameplay is anything that the player controls or interacts with in order to affect what is happening in the game.

Can these ideas of play be programmed into a game? Are we really playing them at all? I recently showed Half Life 2 to my Step-Grandmother in order that she could understand what it was my course was all about and I was challenged when she asked me "Is this really playing? It is not playing in the same way that you would on a board game or a sport: you seem to be living out a little life". My Mum's immediate responce seemed to grasp what 'Gameplay' is perfectly. She said "The person playing has to overcome several challenges in the same way you would overcome the challenge of solving a puzzle or running a race and by completing that challenge the game becomes fun or satisfying".

GET A LIFE!

Yet again I have stumbled across ANOTHER "games forum" which basically means long childish arguements including ridiculous "your mum" jokes and unnecessary abbrieviations of things that people don't even say that often! Why are gamers the only people in the world who argue over such stupid things?! You don't see people having a punch up when one of them wants to play monopoly and the other prefers pictionary. Gamers seem to think it is perfectly possible that they know everything about games and that they are the definitive masters of everything! It comes from sitting and pretending you're that 'brave' hero when in fact you've just sat pressing buttons and sweating in your dark room which you havent left in days. Why are gamers so angry?!

Get some exercise, get over yourselves, and get a life. You're not special! You're a sweaty and most likely, unnattractive man that needs to get some real friends: So stop telling everybody else what to think. So what if (insert any game here) sucks? I'm sure you'll get over it.

Week 10- Story and Character

Characters in games are traditionally wooden and stereotypical. In a recent visit from a games artist, Ben Mathis, who has worked on characters for games such as Tony Hawk 8 and 9 and Oblivion, he explained that he is tired of the games industry creating typical muscly manly characters or women who are an idealist vision of what a man wants to see. He explained that with his characters he tries to avoid such stereotypes in order to create original ideas.

It is true that most games I have played, the women are attractive and the men are strong and violent. Generally, within all media this isn't true. I think the characters that I connect most with in films and books are men that are actually sensitive and just, mostly because it appeals to me more after seeing way too many explosions and butt whoopings.

The Bourne Ultimatum has become my favourite film and I think this is mostly due to the strength of the Bourne character: he is not just a killing machine, but actually has a concience about what he does to survive. Although not an incredibly expressive character, it is clear that he loves, fears and regrets. In one particular scene he says that he can see all the faces of the people he has ever killed but does not know what their names were. The incredible amount of guilt portrayed here is really attractive when it comes to his character, it makes him human.

One of the things that games are missing at the moment are beleivable characters that could have come out of everyday life. When I play a game, watch a film or engage in anykind of story, I want to see people like me thrown into incredible situations in which their full personality, weaknesses and strengths can be seen.

The stories that appeal to me most are ones that show the ultimate strengths or weaknesses of characters. One of my favourite films is Gladiator and I love the spirituality of this film and the way that strength and weakness are juxtaposed. When Maximus loses his wife and child he cries in a way that a typically masculine character would not, losing all sence of dignity and showing that he is just like the rest of us. The hope expresses in this film of the next life is inspiring, he is so sure of what he has to face. Why can't game characters be like this?

I think game characters tend to be very one dimensional, what you see is what you get. Why can't games try making complicated, exciting characters? This may be due to the interactivity of games. The character you portray could not do too much on his own otherwise you would not be deciding how he acts. However there is nothing stopping the characters surrounding you to becoming easier to empathise with.