tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27766264356153514052024-03-21T12:27:47.648-07:00unimaginitively titledMike Pickton's blog, following his progress as a Game Art student at De Montfort University, Leicester.Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-67259090936634991922011-07-05T12:09:00.000-07:002013-03-16T04:21:00.509-07:00I've moved!my blog can now be found over at <a href="http://mikepicktonfmp.blogspot.co.uk">mikepicktonfmp.blogspot.co.uk</a><br />
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I will not continue to post any further entries here.<br />
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Hope to see you on the other side!Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-64141844592357403432011-05-01T15:52:00.000-07:002011-05-01T15:52:19.467-07:00Update 4<div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">I really must do these more frequently. I say this in perfect knowledge that I will not follow through on the sentiment. You see, what’s nice about doing progress updates infrequently is that I can just select my favourite pieces, rather than expose my most distinguished readers to the tat which comes with the fluctuating success of an artist-in-training’s pieces. Perhaps I’d better leave such judgements to others.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As the assessed academic year rounds to a close, I have just finished a digital painting of Bradgate Park. I’m really pleased and a little bit proud of the result. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m proud because it shows in so many ways how much I have improved since starting the course. You only need to look at a vaguely similar environment piece I did just months before starting the course. It’s also the first piece I got a real sense of “I’m <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not trying to paint exactly what I see, but painting to give the impression of what I see”. This way of thinking really works for me – trying to represent what I see exactly bogs me down in exact details, and the piece as a whole suffers. See for yourself – before and after the first year:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVO1_-JhfU_BCHgLNWvfk9EP3fKEuZyvhtfGvTvyv5-6-RG9n_Kt6PLWDDGBlGtdLvz1XG_sqdv4HhqEhbo1cKsN4o4LgTESPyqEEBdvlZh-ZrZM8NyvarJBRDMCCC3VgosJo_UqC17bc/s1600/021+paintings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVO1_-JhfU_BCHgLNWvfk9EP3fKEuZyvhtfGvTvyv5-6-RG9n_Kt6PLWDDGBlGtdLvz1XG_sqdv4HhqEhbo1cKsN4o4LgTESPyqEEBdvlZh-ZrZM8NyvarJBRDMCCC3VgosJo_UqC17bc/s400/021+paintings.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’ve also made leaps forward in 3D. When presented with small, manageable steps, it’s easy not to notice the total distance covered. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But looking back, my understanding has developed, I’m more efficient and accurate at modelling and my texturing has developed from “slap a photo on it” to something that actually looks pretty good (I think!)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My latest piece was completed as an art test for a summer job I’m applying for. Regardless of whether I get the place, the brief was a good one, and I’m pleased with the result – I hope I’ll still be using it in my portfolio when I finish the course. See for yourself the differences between a model I made before the course, and my latest piece:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLfiqM824TrTJ774ZVQkHFEEi5XA3ojR4_II4_llD-bSv9NjseoRw6YvEqlduJRXdGGDZvQKgi16XL_uTYrEu10RM8XkOIDUH1LoU32Y_cyGBuCFPg8tgCkLakb-RKaLl_Cfk7xnO_co/s1600/021+models.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLfiqM824TrTJ774ZVQkHFEEi5XA3ojR4_II4_llD-bSv9NjseoRw6YvEqlduJRXdGGDZvQKgi16XL_uTYrEu10RM8XkOIDUH1LoU32Y_cyGBuCFPg8tgCkLakb-RKaLl_Cfk7xnO_co/s400/021+models.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br />
</o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">With no more assessed work, I’m not sure what’s planned for the next academic term; possibly nothing. Which would be a shame, but at least I could use the time to develop the areas I’d like to improve in. And then there’s the summer job I’ve just applied for. Stay tuned for what happens next!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-72129156632884094122011-04-27T13:47:00.000-07:002011-04-27T13:48:40.408-07:00Review of First Year<div class="MsoNormal">Many of these blog posts are mandatory tasks set for my course, Game Art Design at De Montfort University, and this post is one such example. I am to write a review of the first year of the course as a means of providing constructive feedback for my tutors. I warn you, it’s pretty big and doesn't have pictures, so regular readers (mum!) may want to give this one a miss. Without further ado, my thoughts on the course so far…</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Game Production (the 3D stuff)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Curiously, I never get much of my own work done in Game Production lessons, but that’s as much my choosing as anything. After the tutorial which usually opens the session, I wander around to see what other students are doing; helping and learning from them in any way I can. It seems clear to me that there is a direct correlation between engagement with other classmates and improvement over the year. The guru project, where third-year students set first-years a task and assisted in its completion, is a great example of this being encouraged. The third years were able to give immediate feedback which was extremely valuable. More on feedback later.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have found that all projects given have been suitably challenging and have targeted new skills in each case. Expectations for each project are made clear with one exception: the design document. I would have found it helpful for a template to be suggested, and the expected content, audience and the purpose of the document to be identified.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The tutorials given are generally clear and well-planned, though I sometimes struggle to keep up. Many students have not known or forgotten how to do things which have been covered in tutorials. So reducing the pace some might help out all around. Some tutorials have not had written documents. Other documents have yielded additional gems of knowledge which had not been verbally communicated.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m a fan of video tutorials, and am somewhat surprised by the reluctance to record the tutorials and make them available during the lesson. I understand the hesitation over quality, accuracy or conciseness, but I do feel that many students would benefit from such videos.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It might also be helpful and rewarding to maintain a “skills checklist”, where students mark off when they have demonstrated a technique in an assessed project. This might encourage students to push themselves a little further in trying things a little out of their comfort zone. Examples of these skills might be “created a normal map from a handpainted height map”, “retopologised a high-poly model”, “used a sculpting package”, “handpainted a texture” and so on. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Visual Design (the 2D stuff)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I very much enjoyed the little day trips spent off-campus sketching in the first term.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They certainly gave me a good attitude to drawing: it need not be confined by a studio, and there are fantastic sources of inspiration everywhere. I am sure this practice will continue next year as it should. Some trips were cut rather short by spending a fair amount of time travelling to the destination, notably Bradgate park. I wonder whether DMU has access to a minibus or similar that could be hired for the day to take students down?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I am sure almost every student in their feedback will mention the inadequacy of the life drawing facilities. I won’t dwell – it’s really far too crowded in there for the large first year cohort. I’m not one to enjoy doing the same thing twice, and have therefore been glad to try different media for life drawing, but the technique of blind contour drawing has become somewhat tiresome for me personally. I feel I have learned what I can from it, and would prefer to choose my own warm-up exercise. Next year I will do just this, consequences be damned!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The handbook is a valuable resource with some good stuff in, but it isn’t mentioned often and is easily forgotten. Having seen Photoshop paintings at open days and in final presentations, I was surprised to learn that no Photoshop tutorials were given, but putting on DVDs with this sort of tutorial has offset my disappointment somewhat. Given the strong negativity towards certain artists, art styles and methods, might I suggest a “reading list” of approved Photoshop tutorials be provided? Students could then be responsible for finding these and could watch them at their own pace without using up valuable lesson time.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Oh and a little housekeeping: how about asking next year’s intake to name their Facebook account Dmuga11 so we know which year they started?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Critical Game Studies (the blagging... err blogging... stuff)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Writing the blogs has become less of a chore – enjoyable, even – of late. A few of the links provided were broken, but quite frankly after I’d seen what were acceptable sources of research, I was pretty content to hunt down and read up on topics without the links. I see no links are provided for second-years, which is suitable.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I was disappointed that the “review a game” presentation was dropped this year. Not only do I like giving presentations, I think they are a valuable skill to nurture. From the presentations given after the first term, it seems clear to me that some people could really use the practice and confidence. The end of year presentation has also been dropped, reducing our total from a planned three presentations to just one this year.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">I will now unfairly and selectively quote the Critical Game Studies handbook: “A key goal of this syllabus… is to develop… presentation skills”. Sure, it’s not the first thing mentioned, but it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> mentioned, and I was very a little upset (offended?) that the two tutors who attended were entirely occupied assessing our work on Facebook and the shared network. No feedback on presentation skills have been given this year.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>The F word</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The F word is a bad word. It instantly launches all of the tutors into defensive mode. Indeed, I have witnessed pre-emptive defence of the F word, which is as telling as anything. I’m talking about feedback. With some trepidation, a heap of anxiety and a small amount of fear, I will launch – not my attack – but my constructive suggestions. No defence necessary, please.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It is entirely possible with enough initiative and commitment for aspiring game artists to teach themselves the subject without attending university by reading tutorials and books. I have met several very talented 2d and 3d artists who have done just that. So with such cost (and take note: next year’s intake will be more sensitive to this), why would a student subscribe to this course? Course reputation, structured learning, peer support – these are fringe benefits for sure, but the one thing no book can ever provide is that of professional-grade criticism. Identifying areas of weakness and targets for improvement; I cannot stress enough how important these factors are to my attendance of this course.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Let me begin with the marking, an important part of feedback. We are told that no mark may be given to students until the marks are moderated at the end of the year. This is simultaneously surprising, disappointing and frustrating. I am sceptical that nothing can be done. I find the argument that “giving Johnny his mark may make him complacent” to be patronising: Johnny has nobody to blame but himself in this case. If Johnny is prone to this attitude, better that his complacency stings him during first year than allow the same to happen next year when the mark forms part of his final grade. Giving Johnny his mark could equally give him the kick up his arse that he needs. And students perfectly well understand that marks could be moderated up or down, there is no need to cushion us from that eventuality by leaving us completely in the dark.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We are, however, given performance indications twice a year at our formative assessments, which last around 5 minutes. These are not entirely ineffective, since high-level discussion of performance is useful. It is not, however, sufficient time to discuss any singular piece, and in this regard I have found feedback in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i> modules to be severely lacking.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">While it is easy to fall back on the “a student can ask us for feedback at any time” staple, I do not believe this is entirely fair. There is rarely an opportune moment to do this, and not all students possess the initiative in any case. If they did, would the tutors’ temperaments bear the continual informal office drop-ins?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Solutions, not problems </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Extending formative assessments would be impractical (and imperfect – it is possibly the slowest feedback loop I can think of). However, other solutions could be considered to attempt to address the topic of feedback.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Solution 1: Lunchtime feedback sessions. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Tutors would allocate a 15 minute lunchtime slot per term per student. They would bring their work – both in progress and completed – and the tutor would be able to give proper feedback while they eat their lunch.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">Solution 2: Use web 2.0 to give feedback.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Visual Design: I’m unsure why tutor critiquing on Facebook has died down to a trickle. It is very good when it arrives. I have not had the privilege of receiving any this year on Facebook.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Game Production: Facebook can be used to leave feedback as the tutor makes their assessment after hand-in. After all, why wait until formative assessment to give the notes made at assessment to the student? Giving them sooner allows the student to put the advice given into practice in their next assignment.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Critical Studies: Blogs (generally) allow visitors to leave comments. From the handbook: “Web 2.0 tools support learning and teaching, including tutor and peer critique”. I concede peer critique is as lacking as tutor critique, but why not leave a comment after reading a blog post, while it is still fresh?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">Solution 3: support peer feedback</div><div class="MsoNormal">Peer feedback is relied upon <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">extremely</b> heavily right now. It would be good to acknowledge it and support it better. Visual Design is pretty well catered for on Facebook, but the few tend to feed back to the many. To get more people involved in providing feedback, some words of encouragement could be given by the tutor, and the odd “Like” on a good piece of feedback would go a long way.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For Game Production, to ensure inclusiveness and quality, one could formalise peer feedback by asking students to complete short forms. These would be placed by the student on the K drive with their work and each student would be expected to examine and assess maybe two other students’ work. I would be very happy to mock up something suitable. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Closing comments</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have left what I feel is the most positive thing about the course until last. I am delighted to report that enthusiasm is alive and strong among students on the course. One can never understate its importance - all endeavours benefit from enthusiasm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is contagious and spirals positively upwards and outwards. But it is not indefinitely self-sustaining – complacency, apathy and negativity can kill enthusiasm and one must be ever vigilant against these threats. Enthusiasm is a flame which is difficult to rekindle once lost. It would be deeply regrettable if recent developments in the UK Education sector snuffed the one thing that funding never bought.<o:p></o:p></div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-13056083194865454792011-04-20T18:52:00.000-07:002011-04-20T18:54:53.421-07:00The Triple-A Problem<div class="MsoNormal">A coursemate recently<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>pointed me in the direction of an <a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-04-18-smartphone-and-tablets-now-8-percent-of-u-s-games-market">article on GamesIndustry.biz</a> which reported that smartphone and tablet gaming now secured 8% of the US Games market. The abstract read</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>“The traditional home console business is quickly losing revenue share to the smartphone market” </i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkvgS6bS2zt2PzgXrxc5aTfec5Mw6RoHH8DLZnmioBF_gVJhgTx4Q18YX7pzWW9bqVuBfrbHbO5yBB-xwIJ2INGBqIh9ky0hjqBJsVZBgBQdc6KQfJMUKOPW0cnYxmquOj-jgBYq3eUNQ/s1600/019+angry+birds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkvgS6bS2zt2PzgXrxc5aTfec5Mw6RoHH8DLZnmioBF_gVJhgTx4Q18YX7pzWW9bqVuBfrbHbO5yBB-xwIJ2INGBqIh9ky0hjqBJsVZBgBQdc6KQfJMUKOPW0cnYxmquOj-jgBYq3eUNQ/s320/019+angry+birds.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will Rovio's Angry Birds be toppling the<br />
console games industry?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">At this, my face screwed up. For revenue share to be lost, the two must be comparison goods: the purchase of one directly reduces consumption of the other. Is this true? Are people NOT buying console/PC games because they’ve got <a href="http://www.rovio.com/index.php?page=angry-birds">Angry Birds</a>? I’m not convinced. One could argue smartphone games are a gateway drug drawing in new gamers to console games, particularly casual-focussed consoles like Wii and (3)DS. This would in fact make them complimentary goods, where the growth of one would positively, not negatively, impact the growth of the other. Mobile games might represent a widening of the gaming market, rather than a new rival muscling out console and PC gaming.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 361.35pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal">The discussion continued and it became apparent that examining demand alone was short-sighted – supply for console and PC games is also being affected as waning developers switch to making mobile games. No longer competing with increasingly expensive Triple-A titles (a loose term given to games which have a high level of investment and are expected to sell well) is a move I can sympathise with. For the last two generations of consoles (notably since the PS2), we have witnessed a lot of developers strive for the success of genre-leading developers by imitation. These games often follow a very well-established template for a game and tend to mingle aspects of two or more successful games but rarely bring anything new to the table. But this honey-trap has claws – the level of investment is necessarily high (anything less would be creating an inferior and uncompetitive product), and with high investment comes high sunk costs. It has spelt the downfall of many developers who have failed to anticipate the oversaturation of their chosen genre. Too little, too late.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0olIu-iaByrCVzLSezlnQCWTi9ol7impk1KfGd2EuLrQz_Mhw4MUw7ZarrXbkbAz2ukIMLwiG-jjlxpShQmd-enH31Y6X9rxxcPO1L3g8ZiRPRIb0NwMGEwRmItOdYpx7Z4mBkoMsDo/s1600/019+Ninja_Blade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0olIu-iaByrCVzLSezlnQCWTi9ol7impk1KfGd2EuLrQz_Mhw4MUw7ZarrXbkbAz2ukIMLwiG-jjlxpShQmd-enH31Y6X9rxxcPO1L3g8ZiRPRIb0NwMGEwRmItOdYpx7Z4mBkoMsDo/s320/019+Ninja_Blade.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ninja Blade was unoriginal with substandard<br />
gameplay, imitating the likes of Ninja Gaiden 2,<br />
and paling by comparison.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>But the investors never seem to learn, and have continued to fund these cripplingly expensive projects for years, hoping with each iteration that they might spawn the next big thing. But instead of offering the developer freedom to do as they wish (and probably the only real chance at making the aforementioned big thing), they insist on “low-risk” projects whose subject matter and genre have been proven to sell. But with such similarity, only the best of the bunch gets bought, making massive profits while its competitors lose a fortune. High trade-in rates drop retail prices drastically. A good example of the market adjusting the price to its correct amount?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As the saying goes, he who dares wins, and there have been a lot of losing developers. The fact of the matter is, the higher the investment cost, the greater the need to try and appeal to a very wide audience, leading to very bland, undaring titles. So is moving to mobile gaming the answer? Perhaps, but it’s not the only one.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Step forward, Single-A title! A relatively new term that I first saw discussed in a <a href="http://www.gamestm.co.uk/features/single-a-gaming/">GamesTM article</a> to describe medium-investment titles. Costs can be less than a quarter of the production cost of typical triple-A games and instead of being shackled by investors’ risk-aversion to unproven formulae, these games have the opportunity to fill the niche gaps between the triple-A titles. This position encourages innovation and uniqueness. Naturally, lower investment represents lower production values, so the quality-inferior single-A titles must choose their battles carefully. Some qualities are cheaper than others, and some qualities don’t matter to certain audiences.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm4fjdSJw2tFj-jy8hR1-O4oJxCbBfSHXklqWkOBLWHb1ml_Sz_S_7xHPZTrC3WUJ8qwjxj_uxzu4rZZyNW-aM2uwR9MtizD72xe8p61H1rxJSEvs2rMfEEfgwT0bQ85ESv6EY_Bl_m9s/s1600/019+farming+simulator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm4fjdSJw2tFj-jy8hR1-O4oJxCbBfSHXklqWkOBLWHb1ml_Sz_S_7xHPZTrC3WUJ8qwjxj_uxzu4rZZyNW-aM2uwR9MtizD72xe8p61H1rxJSEvs2rMfEEfgwT0bQ85ESv6EY_Bl_m9s/s320/019+farming+simulator.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simulator games appeal to a niche, and <br />
several developers have been operating a <br />
low-cost business model successfully for years.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Few single-A titles make their way onto high-street retail shelves, but they’re thriving on digital distribution platforms like <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/">Steam</a> which offers its customers PC games for instantaneous download and continued support. On Steam, developers can be independent of a publisher. These indie studios are often self-funded and their games typically retail between £5 to £25 (or less in Steam’s habitual sales)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For PC gaming, it seems to be working. And it seems to be taking off in a very small way on consoles via their respective download marketplaces. But it will take a shift in shopping styles before download-only games hit the console mainstream.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So will we see single-A titles frequenting the shelves of high street games retailers at £20? With retailers getting such a small cut of any new game sale, it seems unlikely that they’d swap out the shelf space of higher-margin products. And with this attitude, its unlikely publishers will be supporting single-A releases for some time. But there’s nothing to hold back the indies from winning out in the inevitable creep of download-only popularity. Watch this (digital) space.</div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-22000447278502508702011-04-05T13:05:00.000-07:002011-04-05T13:07:01.067-07:00Environment Design<div class="MsoNormal">In a recent Escapist article, game journalist Shamus Young resented the rising cost of development due to money spent on graphics. It’s a view that, as a soon-to-be-jobhunting game artist, I shouldn’t support; that budget is the buoy keeping the employment of fresh game artists afloat. But I can’t help but agree with him – from a visual standpoint, fidelity is not the thing holding back gaming experiences. In fact, it’s becoming one of the obstacles preventing truly imaginative and enchanting game worlds from becoming realised.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Allow me to explain. People need problems. If they don’t have any, they make them… to keep themselves busy. It’s what we do, or else we’d probably still be hurling rocks at animals for dinner. If technology continually moves forward, artists face technical problems: how can I get the most out of this new graphics engine, this new hardware? But hold back the relentless advance of graphical fidelity, and the artists GIVE themselves new problems: stylisation problems, not technical ones. They say: “how can we make our current tech more visually effective? How can we make our levels interesting to look at and play in, not just technically impressive?” They innovate, not in spite of, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">because</i> nobody else is doing it for them.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This is exemplified by Shamus’ surprise that with all the new technical complications that come with a new engine, Crysis 2 developer Crytek has taken care to make something that’s stylistically pleasant to look at. All it took to stand out was some colour in the palette. It’s embarrassing that something as fundamental as this has become exceptional. But the developers which think beyond the fidelity problems tend to make the most memorable and enjoyable environments to play in.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHDtnHTOqdLSaaTdhE8Sa8s9lvFZOCmRJA-PPRx0f-XiGFeaHmfGdlPFotEW6X3tvV9BCAblZim-cRUDIPy_SeSMJ8al66Y6eA0RA4t7mBSsDRojz9MXQqK_IwzUBDPMSVrbHnWa3h0qs/s1600/018+BG2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHDtnHTOqdLSaaTdhE8Sa8s9lvFZOCmRJA-PPRx0f-XiGFeaHmfGdlPFotEW6X3tvV9BCAblZim-cRUDIPy_SeSMJ8al66Y6eA0RA4t7mBSsDRojz9MXQqK_IwzUBDPMSVrbHnWa3h0qs/s320/018+BG2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This Baldur's Gate 2 level is unique - just like every other level</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It will come as little surprise, then, that some of my favourite levels are from games long past their prime, forged in a time when developers weren’t making the same games as one another. I’ve mentioned before that I really adore the hand-painted isometric environments in Baldur’s Gate 2 (2001). One of the benefits of the 2D medium is that there is far less pressure to re-use assets and practically nothing stopping the artist from painting in unique details wherever they see fit. It becomes style-driven. This allowed for massive visual diversity and some really unique environments that made so many levels truly fantastic and magical.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7OqgEmcde1ahd48k8D4Xe62PvYTUIzgZZI0_tGvRFCenL2IcwVNiDQTPJ7X8SYSGo3E6xdYgm2GxO38EoIIN7AWihTW-VajPRuz2-cT9diWrr4yH1N7RwWi1MehVEiZpJaWOk39R7lDY/s1600/018+dantes+inferno.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7OqgEmcde1ahd48k8D4Xe62PvYTUIzgZZI0_tGvRFCenL2IcwVNiDQTPJ7X8SYSGo3E6xdYgm2GxO38EoIIN7AWihTW-VajPRuz2-cT9diWrr4yH1N7RwWi1MehVEiZpJaWOk39R7lDY/s320/018+dantes+inferno.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crooked, twisting trees claw skward from pestulent waters as<br />
winged demons swarm in skies overhead. just lovely.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>But in recent games development, competing on a fidelity level is only a distraction; it doesn’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">prevent</i> good and interesting environment design. Dante’s Inferno (2010) sports some great environment design. Although very linear, the sheer grandeur of the environments is extremely refreshing and something which could not be accomplished in a two-dimensional setup. Hellish landscapes stretch as far as the eye can see. The sense of scale is astonishing, making the player’s journey truly epic. These environments are populated with all sorts of nightmarish features: impaled corpses twitch on the player’s approach, walls of trapped souls scream and claw to escape, and plenty of set-piece animations really make the levels feel truly alive (in an “everybody’s dead” sort of way). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Lighting is used both to direct the player through the levels and to match the heavy-handed moods of each of the levels. Putrid greens reek of desperation, fiery reds evoke agonising pain, icy blues portray deceit; with a whole gamut of colours to match levels in-between. The game owes much of its inspiration from the source material, The Divine Comedy, but also from other accounts of hell in Christian literature. The benefit of these materials is that their authors were not bound by anything except their imagination, and further, only interpretation can transform them into something visual and real, so there’s plenty of opportunity to get creative, and that’s just what developer Visceral Games has done.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br />
</o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb1lHoLjbmmvrPyhQZWeyW9rchiRTLdKt8mzPjbHsP999G8fCcd88EiXDc3SuiNaFQd2McioNc-jqFtUkmfr71ht02zfX5IgU2wq196XLlS51igj-hSLVZ32pKr6iC3MVXvqdX7wicd-I/s1600/018+blinkers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb1lHoLjbmmvrPyhQZWeyW9rchiRTLdKt8mzPjbHsP999G8fCcd88EiXDc3SuiNaFQd2McioNc-jqFtUkmfr71ht02zfX5IgU2wq196XLlS51igj-hSLVZ32pKr6iC3MVXvqdX7wicd-I/s200/018+blinkers.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These references to visual impairment are as<br />
ham-fisted as many developers' approach to<br />
visual stylisation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So do <i>I</i> resent technological improvements in game graphics? Yes – I fear they are the blinkers on many developers, blinding their originality and preventing them from taking that step back from their pixel-perfect shaders to see the big picture: you’ve made another brown wall for your brown environment.<br />
<br />
It has affected too many developers. But not all. And for those few that open their eyes enough to get it right, it’s worth the suffering.</div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-55974667421983238402011-03-31T18:43:00.000-07:002011-04-03T15:41:46.045-07:00Changing Games<div class="MsoNormal">Dragon Age 2 has upset me.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I really enjoyed the game. Sure, it had its flaws, but on the whole I was very pleased with the changes made since the original Dragon Age Origins. The fact that many fans of the original do not share this opinion would not upset me, but for the ferocity of the hatred these fans have for the sequel.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVsmLO5_ze3X5o5w6pZuQkckrM5ZpfiWtNr2pGfc3hMo8gRGrkGJe8zYae42yYAq3MHGKYiUDWsdDjUM3k1yeM5SyKRllcIPqc-NP8kUYjl4cPLGBOTgVSZbirPQYFcry06k2P0gxwus/s1600/017+dragon+age+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVsmLO5_ze3X5o5w6pZuQkckrM5ZpfiWtNr2pGfc3hMo8gRGrkGJe8zYae42yYAq3MHGKYiUDWsdDjUM3k1yeM5SyKRllcIPqc-NP8kUYjl4cPLGBOTgVSZbirPQYFcry06k2P0gxwus/s320/017+dragon+age+2.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dragon Age 2 was met with mixed reviews,<br />
particularly among fans</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">I can ignore the odd hater or two hundred, but when fans write threads on the developer’s forum with titles requesting the firing of specific senior developers, it gets personal. I can’t even imagine how I would feel if I were one of the individuals being attacked in such threads.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So what have Bioware done to offend their fans so? Changed stuff. Ruthlessly – or so a hater would have it. If somebody feels something is perfect, then before you even tell them what the change is, their default stance is: a change from perfection can only be worse! This has been the case with Dragon Age 2, but the biggest pity is that not only were the changes good (in my opinion)… but they weren’t actually changing the core stuff at all!</div><div class="MsoNormal">Whats curious with change, is how it would have worked the opposite way around – if Dragon Age 2 came out before Dragon Age Origins. I hypothesise (in a statement that could never possibly be disproved) that fans would hate Dragon Age Origins.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">So how <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">does</i> one implement change in a game series? Probably the same way you’d implement any change. So I did a search on how to cope with change, and found an <a href="http://www.ivillage.co.uk/coping-change/82164">iVillage article</a> on this subject. You’d be surprised how applicable many of their tips are to changes in games. So here’s a summary, inspired by that article on how a developer should implement a change to a successful formula.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfC1r53OnsJkyeBbNYceg98pe5HfzcTDnZI0qUCt_eM-d9EtkNFRLlmuJeusqT0d3dGzJzxzrZo6yaqXrXpOczeDbw_8csUXnX8yW8RyLwsRpxAUOVeftWCwW80duUbfyQg8lgElQ68ds/s1600/017+fifa+09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfC1r53OnsJkyeBbNYceg98pe5HfzcTDnZI0qUCt_eM-d9EtkNFRLlmuJeusqT0d3dGzJzxzrZo6yaqXrXpOczeDbw_8csUXnX8yW8RyLwsRpxAUOVeftWCwW80duUbfyQg8lgElQ68ds/s320/017+fifa+09.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Football game developers delay planned changes<br />
to deliver just the right amount of familiar and new.<br />
Don't believe me? then you won't have any difficulty<br />
identifying the game (and version) shown above...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Take your time.</b> Thrusting a change onto someone is likely to result in an adverse reaction (see “sink or swim”). Leaving it more than 18 months is a bare minimum for a sequel with lots of change (nudge, nudge Bioware) . Implementing the changes over two or more games is better still, and will allow you to have hooks for the next game in the series. MIKENOTE: FOOTBALL GAMES</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Get players on your side.</b> Get them <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wanting</i> the change: show them there’s good in it. Explain why the new is better than the old. Admitting the old was bad is a double-edged sword: you run the danger of being hostile to your fans’ nostalgia, but doing so often better demonstrates the need for the change. Handle with care.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Avoid Alienation.</b> If you’re implementing a big change, then hang on to familiar aspects so it’s not totally alien. If you want to change so much that nothing is familiar, then take a bold step and give it a new name – if you had to change so much, it’s probably good to avoid the old title!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_QJqrX9Gs0MBrNXI9PNr3JzcfwODwfmO8coTkZLHfM_tgoU51d1LmCxE96uQL-mmq_4WG543rdaKopleRc45ZqvknXPWZz2pmJ978akITA6jicCy3Wj-NMshvJ01dTQUSCwu-dzJ4iM/s1600/017+screamingbaby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_QJqrX9Gs0MBrNXI9PNr3JzcfwODwfmO8coTkZLHfM_tgoU51d1LmCxE96uQL-mmq_4WG543rdaKopleRc45ZqvknXPWZz2pmJ978akITA6jicCy3Wj-NMshvJ01dTQUSCwu-dzJ4iM/s320/017+screamingbaby.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some things simply <i>have</i> to be changed. Like this baby.<br />
Don't let unpleasantness stop you.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Divide up the changes.</b> Implementing changes over the course of the first half of the game (rather than all at the start) is great if possible. If not, consider releasing a demo ahead of release with some of the changes shown, provided they reflect the changes very positively.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Accept the changes.</b> Don’t try and hide the changes away or tell players only small changes have been made – you’ll only make the shock greater. You’ve changed stuff for a reason (hopefully), so be confident about the changes.</div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-44179667224990975372011-03-27T12:46:00.000-07:002011-03-27T12:46:15.430-07:00Characters in Video Games<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9t2kt3dquhLw94jg0qkX7TV05SE_OzHVEb1n7tNcBdRvvEtcG3KrQpD8lYzRGbuKynWNQIv3uW0q0uf6o4cYE_3phQIOTQdmrP8bAIF_xzcZZNAkKqDE-dT1pstWdCzxvHMFwhZyYQNU/s1600/016+absorbed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9t2kt3dquhLw94jg0qkX7TV05SE_OzHVEb1n7tNcBdRvvEtcG3KrQpD8lYzRGbuKynWNQIv3uW0q0uf6o4cYE_3phQIOTQdmrP8bAIF_xzcZZNAkKqDE-dT1pstWdCzxvHMFwhZyYQNU/s320/016+absorbed.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Utterly absorbed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">Games have an advantage over all other media. That advantage is interactivity. No other entertainment medium offers (demands?) the same level of interaction. Interactivity allows the player to connect with the elements in the game – the world, story and characters. Further than that consumers typically invest a greater span of time in a game than a film, TV episode or book.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But very few games have brought me to tears or thrilled me in the way films or TV can. To connect most deeply with the consumer, the media must nail everything just right. An unbelievable world, an uninteresting story, poor writing or acting – any of these things will break the spell. But one thing games often fail at – and consequently lose their magic – is in creating interesting characters that the player cares about.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Of course, we can make excuses for games – facial animation is still generally unbelievable, the gameplay disconnects the player from the drama, “engaging characters” don’t sell games (directly)… but the simple fact that there are games which <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">have</i> got this right, proves that it can be done.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I can only really list two game characters I connected deeply with. The first is Link’s childhood friend Saria in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time. The friends part ways in Link’s youth, but even after Link learns to travel through time, he is unable to prevent Saria’s death or even say a final farewell – just her haunting melody echoes through the Kokiri Forest Meadows.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS85HqOQZb9tIva08NDKKqkvqfoQPdD8WHNVnU_IdtnEf0EUSBlj7I2t5AkJ4bOtQet9uvGZAtdkRiwQ5LWQYIaKNetbnke_hXo7iLPl5zKAfRWt0qdCEg7h0WdNFPhu74Q-vZsGEbP2M/s1600/016+thousandyears.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS85HqOQZb9tIva08NDKKqkvqfoQPdD8WHNVnU_IdtnEf0EUSBlj7I2t5AkJ4bOtQet9uvGZAtdkRiwQ5LWQYIaKNetbnke_hXo7iLPl5zKAfRWt0qdCEg7h0WdNFPhu74Q-vZsGEbP2M/s320/016+thousandyears.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lost Odyssey delivered short stories with simple pictures<br />
and music to develop the characters</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">The other character with whom I developed a strong connection was Kaim Argonar from Lost Odyssey (2008). Much of Kaim’s character is revealed in the game’s Thousand Years of Dreams sequences where Kaim remembers things from his past. In these sequences, the player is presented with third-person prose accompanied by simple abstract visual backdrops and music and ambient sounds. Through these “dreams” the player is shown the sword-for-hire mercenary’s sympathetic and caring nature.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Curiously, neither example relies on bleeding-edge visuals or carefully orchestrated cutscenes. Written word and well-pitched audio are the only thing used to develop a connection with the player and enhance the emotional experience. While Kaim’s multifaceted character sustains interest and believable humanity, the simplicity of Link and Saria’s friendship tragedy was enough to pull at my heartstrings without overdeveloping the characters’ depth.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZS63i1XqBvwghYkEa0eCeXAIq3qrd274PvXJ4oKRone5pVvC3Ziksoni3Gxz_iiUOs1rTR9_FH3wR4P3fZKcSS-HwWcUJxlXPVuuCV-zEf74UgVwSKBJvQGRATKi-NpzyLSyhpql3WE/s1600/016+gladiator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZS63i1XqBvwghYkEa0eCeXAIq3qrd274PvXJ4oKRone5pVvC3Ziksoni3Gxz_iiUOs1rTR9_FH3wR4P3fZKcSS-HwWcUJxlXPVuuCV-zEf74UgVwSKBJvQGRATKi-NpzyLSyhpql3WE/s320/016+gladiator.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poor Maximus never wanted to mutilate all those gladiators,<br />
he just wanted to get touchy feely with the corn.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Call it macabre, but few things get the emotional response from me as a classic greek tragedy – a hero’s fall. Maximus, the protagonist from the 2000 film Gladiator is a good example of a character who “works” for me. We see him first as a general, then as a father and husband, then as a vengeful warrior. Exposing so many of these facets of the character, and being so close to him during pivotal moments in his life allows the viewer to develop a very strong relationship with the character.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In most cases the character’s appearance is only used to make an engaging first impression and provide a visual summary of the character, but this importance shouldn’t be understated. In some cases, the appearance can be used to support emotions which put greater emphasis on appearance. Familiarity is generally broken by characters with an inhuman appearance – and consequently attachment is lost. This is often intentionally the case with “the bad guys”. Physical attraction can also be important if the story nurtures a relationship between two characters; Hollywood knows all too well to use attractive actors and actresses when making romantic films and the same should be true for games. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But ultimately, I feel the single most important part of creating an engaging character is the script. The events which happen to the character, their backstory and also what they say during the experience are what separate engaging characters from flat ones. Books are unable to use visual appearance and films are necessarily short, yet memorable and deeply emotional character engagements happen in these media frequently.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">Increasingly, Hollywood talent is providing voice acting in games. But it’s still rare that big or small screen scriptwriters get contracted for games. If the games industry cannot – or will not – attract the best of this (and other) writing talent, then its little wonder the characters come up short. With the ever-increasing budgets required to make games, why not splash a little cash in the writing department? Let’s see if they can come up with some characters that players actually care about.</div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-50521676513346105322011-02-25T16:18:00.000-08:002011-02-25T16:19:58.923-08:00Relatively Good<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1pt0w5zRxJHi4q2m_roFlEpU6pDXZWjQXV44oUHpKmwm6TdmqPZXDplft2tR6WSyZK2WfqEsM57A3umI9QTOW7xvqcMx_j-bKDteBKkZYIlGuiGt07N9JmiXq1UQ-OzH8BGTyksTzYk/s320/015+BFBC2.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BattleField Bad Company 2 for iPhone</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>“this games actually pretty good”</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My flatmate Jamie’s surprised reaction to playing an iPhone game I purchased recently. The game was Battlefield Bad Company 2. The game is based on the popular multiplatform game of the same title, but has been built for mobile platforms. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">As he watched the clunky characters wobble about and wrestled with iPhone’s touch-screen interpretation of first-person shooter controls, I mused that he would scoff at it on any other platform. It got me thinking: has this game received a positive reaction from the player entirely because of relative and not absolute expectations? Is it only good because his expectations on this platform are low?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It makes an interesting comparison, since a game with an identical brief (and title) has been produced for other platforms which allows us to make direct comparisons. The console version has undeniably better graphics, better control, longer gameplay, more dramatic cutscenes, more weapon variety… the list goes on. If the mobile game were ported directly, with no changes made, onto a console platform, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone that gives the game the time of day.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Of course, it seems perfectly natural to scale our expectations to match the platform on which we are playing. However, if our ultimate goal of playing a game is to enjoy it, is our observation of “good” – relative or otherwise – at all relevant anyway? Shouldn’t we be making comments like “this games actually pretty fun”? As soon as we force our observations to meet the criteria of “fun”, we can make relevant relative comparisons across not just platform, but also time: “the new Prince of Persia games haven’t been as fun as Sands of Time”.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDq9Uo1C6s3fnwLAUg2YMBwy6tqNSn9raGwvkTOvOMj7bbSXaxKeERTDcH1A7IvunzqHzAb-8IgdfR7koo9R71t9xF_SpIWb7pmtBWENBZL-VcpGMzur6ACfWRWpWQkZCPuL1y2MP4Uuo/s1600/015+ocarina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDq9Uo1C6s3fnwLAUg2YMBwy6tqNSn9raGwvkTOvOMj7bbSXaxKeERTDcH1A7IvunzqHzAb-8IgdfR7koo9R71t9xF_SpIWb7pmtBWENBZL-VcpGMzur6ACfWRWpWQkZCPuL1y2MP4Uuo/s320/015+ocarina.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The next best thing to having<br />
a magical Ocarina in your pocket</td></tr>
</tbody></table>One of the most anticipated titles for Nintendo’s new handheld, the 3DS, is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time. The decision to remake this game for 3DS might have been out of convenience – production costs for remakes are certainly lower. It might have been for the sake of the game's heritage and renown. Or <em>just maybe</em> it was because what was fun 13 years ago will still be fun today?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Minutes later, a different flatmate walked past and said the above iPhone game looked like sh**.</div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-27247099452359374672011-02-21T13:46:00.000-08:002011-02-21T13:46:41.871-08:00Update 3<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It’s been a while since the last Progress Update and for that I can only apologise!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIxW3MW63BzmDmuNsIMmNjY1AvWRkyj3opui_Ymwpgxh4OQxQ2zQDfLxArld4AUgf8rsSIailw8nYF8DsBc7xTIfVSiEHARlkQe3L5oIhB9AR7I8fuzykOqCkkkdl_PDkPWOqgG6YwRM/s1600/07+-+textured+side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIxW3MW63BzmDmuNsIMmNjY1AvWRkyj3opui_Ymwpgxh4OQxQ2zQDfLxArld4AUgf8rsSIailw8nYF8DsBc7xTIfVSiEHARlkQe3L5oIhB9AR7I8fuzykOqCkkkdl_PDkPWOqgG6YwRM/s320/07+-+textured+side.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I also rendered this out in a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvimeo.com%2F19792642&h=d9cd4">turntable video</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Since then I’ve modelled trees, a sniper rifle and a transit van. In each project I’ve been trying to experiment by doing things somewhat unconventionally to see how successful different methods of texturing and modelling can be. They’ve yielded mixed results, but the learning process has developed my skills further. I will, however, need to work faster in future since I took longer than most of my colleagues, and certainly longer than a professional would take.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0X_jYA_z-jYxkVJBWtrFzjsOffBcZq2i4fZlP123RPyScdX_qrTXXDWWKSG5qtQsz8xlKrBrTEkcKU-tb3foLUVuHuJGsrvE8ktFoJrwcCFN9u_z9WwDrWsTYnFfp0WNGd69kcpaaM0w/s1600/sculpey+model+03+threequarter+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0X_jYA_z-jYxkVJBWtrFzjsOffBcZq2i4fZlP123RPyScdX_qrTXXDWWKSG5qtQsz8xlKrBrTEkcKU-tb3foLUVuHuJGsrvE8ktFoJrwcCFN9u_z9WwDrWsTYnFfp0WNGd69kcpaaM0w/s320/sculpey+model+03+threequarter+crop.jpg" width="252" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trucker character miniature, height ~8 inches</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Perhaps I am too close to it, but I feel progress in my visual design has been a little slower and at times I’ve been reluctant to give it the time it deserves. Hopefully this admission will stir me into action! I am pleased with my development in Photoshop, though I still need a lot of practice.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Life drawing has taken a larger component now and highlights a weakness - my experience at drawing the human figure is limited and its something I should be concentrating on. I’m looking forward to focussing on the face later in the course since right now most of my faces look awful!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJ_rByQULNKxsVqtPe0c4oZxq3_R1M4_P-BAjnramlFuFUFMAqKh81fopF1O4p4ZB3KmElutpOT8huW0-8uaFjBG4exv3WIxEUE32vkU33xuum7augx7ZpZOjXDGeJyEUmYsmzL8fcM4/s1600/014+mushroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJ_rByQULNKxsVqtPe0c4oZxq3_R1M4_P-BAjnramlFuFUFMAqKh81fopF1O4p4ZB3KmElutpOT8huW0-8uaFjBG4exv3WIxEUE32vkU33xuum7augx7ZpZOjXDGeJyEUmYsmzL8fcM4/s320/014+mushroom.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A giant mushroom I did for the BGR project</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As far as extracurricular activities go, I’m still plodding along with the mod for Dragon Age. Due to a skills shortage in scripting, I’ve taken up that slack rather than doing much by way of art stuff. I’ve become pretty fluent in scripting for Dragon Age now, though I’m not sure of the value of such a skill. I guess it can’t harm! I have begun to wind down the amount of time I spend in this area, since I’m expecting to need more time toward the end of term…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaRandYy1FFyB-4ozTTGwCNZYJhGryZfmKVanSbNy4ShndwBMAC_kYXxoNCDyl8OFgWUDBkVyh4_zKlvEgGuuZFxu_qj52N7dw_9-B8CuOuGqEcVX_mh-JqPKnnTdiYt4vHM598hbZRQ/s1600/014+gingerbread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaRandYy1FFyB-4ozTTGwCNZYJhGryZfmKVanSbNy4ShndwBMAC_kYXxoNCDyl8OFgWUDBkVyh4_zKlvEgGuuZFxu_qj52N7dw_9-B8CuOuGqEcVX_mh-JqPKnnTdiYt4vHM598hbZRQ/s320/014+gingerbread.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustrations for our project by teammember Tristan Silva</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">An exciting recent development has been the forming of the Games Society - a collaboration of Game Art and Games Programming students to design and create playable games. We’re really excited about our game and it will be great seeing some of my work in real use! We’re making a “you’re a gingerbread man, escape the bakery” obstacle course adventure. Even if it turns out to be a rubbish game, I’m confident I’ll have a lot of fun working on it… Let’s just hope we can follow through on our plans!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-60231831389931295382011-02-07T02:44:00.000-08:002011-02-25T16:20:54.843-08:00Art Directors<span style="font-family: "TT1B1t00";"><span style="font-family: "Calibri";">Being, as I am, an aspiring game artist, my interest in the visual style and execution of video games won’t be too surprising. While many games hum the well-rehearsed rhythm of ever-improving photorealistic visuals, others adopt an entirely unique style, or even whistle their own tune for what is expected of photorealism. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTOvO063q_ZIJ0w6ovHLZ0fRST-cGjLtwEWTPUIBDTtvb6xRkZoIa7wHHZxsThITNkn1P1DIdAfnS5IupLMC-XpiwZ-uufsO8P_U7TMyabUcynB6ql3PGqmQmDfwf4QuIA7Gcsmpqc7E/s1600/013+madworld.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTOvO063q_ZIJ0w6ovHLZ0fRST-cGjLtwEWTPUIBDTtvb6xRkZoIa7wHHZxsThITNkn1P1DIdAfnS5IupLMC-XpiwZ-uufsO8P_U7TMyabUcynB6ql3PGqmQmDfwf4QuIA7Gcsmpqc7E/s320/013+madworld.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madworld's very distinctive visual style is not just skin deep:<br />
the musculature of characters and weapons as well as the <br />
environments is all highly stylised, but consistant.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "TT1B1t00";"><span style="font-family: "Calibri";">However, when you consider that each game has a single art style, despite a swathe of different independent artists (working in a team), one might wonder how the skills and tastes of this team of artists is unified into a single creative vision… that’s where the Art Director comes in.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "TT1B1t00";"><span style="font-family: "Calibri";">It is the Art Director’s responsibility that the visual style is coherent and consistent, and projects the correct feeling onto the player. The Art Director will be responsible for overseeing concepts for the visual elements, requesting refinements and steering the course of all the visual elements’ designs in a single direction. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "TT1B1t00";"><span style="font-family: "Calibri";">While a single artist toils over a handful of assets with utmost care, it is the Art Director’s responsibility that that artist’s body of work fits seamlessly into the game and does not result in a visually inconsistent environment, character or other asset.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "TT1B1t00";"><span style="font-family: "Calibri";">The role should not be confused with that of Lead Artist. While the role may, in smaller companies be embodied by the Art Director, it is still a different set of responsibilities. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "TT1B1t00";"><span style="font-family: "Calibri";">A Lead Artist would be responsible not as style consultant or visual consistency advisor, but take on a more technical and perhaps even managerial role. The Lead Artist will be concerned with ensuring artists’ work flows through the pipeline with maximum efficiency: their work should be meeting a clear technical brief concerning budget, scale and other factors. They may be responsible for delegating art tasks, and ensuring artists are meeting deadlines.</span></span></div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIsQzvtAtqfYMR5-TUmwt4azqltb8aGcYaafdL7sb9Odth5ryhOJ3I7Cscbo6LdrDJf3R6LLsiYeFl-J5ih-ndPq-HggmIcLbSUNhcPlc14Y5AogcXo2dFNYROkMAFisNu-qx9BtY8eI/s1600/013+not+like+that+like+this.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIsQzvtAtqfYMR5-TUmwt4azqltb8aGcYaafdL7sb9Odth5ryhOJ3I7Cscbo6LdrDJf3R6LLsiYeFl-J5ih-ndPq-HggmIcLbSUNhcPlc14Y5AogcXo2dFNYROkMAFisNu-qx9BtY8eI/s320/013+not+like+that+like+this.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not like that, like this!</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "TT1B1t00";"><span style="font-family: "Calibri";">So while a Lead Artist’s skillset is likely to focus on proficiency as a 3d artist coupled with managerial skills, an Art Director’s requirements differ somewhat. The art director must understand holistically the visual aesthetic required of the game. They must be able to communicate this vision with all artists and must be able to identify when created content does not fit this brief. It will not be enough to simply request changes to each asset which does not fit – the existence of poorly-matched assets represent a communication failure either by the art director in expressing the aesthetic,</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2776626435615351405&postID=6023183138993129538" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri";"> or the artist in understanding it. </span></span></div> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "TT1B1t00";"><span style="font-family: "Calibri";">It takes a very special type of artist to become a director – one who is able to step back from a single isolated piece and see the entire body of work, often well before it has been created. Their communication skills must be able to match with every member of the art team. They must be willing and able to be less hands-on with the work since they are unlikely to be able revise every asset themselves.</span></span></div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbs2qnpwor35vJxTVmN6VjUGB9A9ggEwTN7cjTx70kHLGW5gRA-ekJ4Lg90wbDMqXJ7fmBeS8WbxQYDftBTlrbEPIE1qOgbasnwiMDtgeswPKfZVerKHxIx3FWImeaNYVe6EMlhYrXLFI/s1600/013+conductor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbs2qnpwor35vJxTVmN6VjUGB9A9ggEwTN7cjTx70kHLGW5gRA-ekJ4Lg90wbDMqXJ7fmBeS8WbxQYDftBTlrbEPIE1qOgbasnwiMDtgeswPKfZVerKHxIx3FWImeaNYVe6EMlhYrXLFI/s320/013+conductor.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Conductor.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "TT1B1t00";"><span style="font-family: "Calibri";">One might argue that the Art Director has very limited creative freedom – simply steering other artists and often producing little work themselves. However, it is their hand guiding the entire visual design for the game. Much as an conductor lifts baton and not instrument, so too does the Art Director orchestrate the visual performance of the artists, and assist in the composition of the visual score for the game. No easy feat.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "TT1B1t00";"><span style="font-family: "Calibri";">So take a bow, Art Directors.</span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-10624927298894247792011-01-25T18:19:00.000-08:002011-01-25T18:20:45.852-08:00Game Design part 1<div class="MsoNormal">Everyone wants to be a game designer.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi6SP8bvIGY0vYidQVOYdORIZgBZ0yf_o0TjGKkvhp_ZMcWJn2QhdTRK1wAsKm3YqxVBeasaGQUWiWbd60VMSN9Fjv684z5MSzLDXJ0kaT7K-GiBgEsxqqvZfDTpoGdByQfKO376y9PF0/s1600/012+moar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi6SP8bvIGY0vYidQVOYdORIZgBZ0yf_o0TjGKkvhp_ZMcWJn2QhdTRK1wAsKm3YqxVBeasaGQUWiWbd60VMSN9Fjv684z5MSzLDXJ0kaT7K-GiBgEsxqqvZfDTpoGdByQfKO376y9PF0/s320/012+moar.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moar. I want it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Heck, I know what’s <b>fun</b>, I could design a game easily. I can list a dozen ways to improve a good game and I know why bad games are bad. This job’s a walk in the park… More explosions! More violence! Better graphics! More weapons! More levels! I could invent my own game easily… the industry just hasn’t recognised my potential yet!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The above statement was brought to you by game consumers en masse, and makes hefty use of the word “more”. The consumer always wants more and they want it for less. This is true of any marketplace. Unique to the gaming market, however, is the popularly held belief by consumers that they could do the producer’s job better. And within this, few jobs receive the level of scrutiny as that of the game designer.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And who can blame them? Each year, dozens of shooters come out, many of them sequels with what must surely have been a design document similar to the above. [end obvious and rather unfair snipe at course leader Mike’s preferred genre].</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNa-SMA0vt1vwJOInsxzxGAY7vXtXUAXW300eGyVYDpnBzdYr3zsWQ_Tfbin63VQXztT3weH3EQM3aaGe878hVVLMTdSrnsoH0lH5R5CmaGuhToUKGrNOn3BVK0h3i1CiTPTACMFX6XY/s1600/012+noseblower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNa-SMA0vt1vwJOInsxzxGAY7vXtXUAXW300eGyVYDpnBzdYr3zsWQ_Tfbin63VQXztT3weH3EQM3aaGe878hVVLMTdSrnsoH0lH5R5CmaGuhToUKGrNOn3BVK0h3i1CiTPTACMFX6XY/s320/012+noseblower.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think the designer of the contraptions<br />
in 101 Unuseless Japanese Inventions<br />
was trying to make a statement.<br />
But you get the point.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In actuality, inventing a game is much like inventing any other product. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Superficially effortless: a simple idea worth millions. In execution: countless hours spent developing, prototyping and refining the design. And that’s all before it’s even shown to a distributor.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">At home we have a book: 101 Un-useless Japanese inventions. Many of them are simply brilliant; Excellent solutions to everyday problems. I believe in every case, however, they have failed due to entirely misreading consumer demand. But at least they made it to production. One cannot say the same of poor game designs. Bad designs simply do not get made by any studio worth its salt.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">So game design is important. That’s why it’s a full-time job performed by specialist professionals. In actuality, the ideas for games (the bit consumers think is the entire role of the game designer) tends to come from management or from a publisher. Very often a game designer will be given a safe-bet brief, mashing together a few games into a cocktail management believe will have the lowest chance of failure. Low risk pleases the stockholders. I’ll leave my feelings on the harmful effect of low-risk development to another blog post.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIleYpy2SjKdz4ZX2IBQfUOO80Dl3j5lZ9mho-HZz3-USbUEU18DAH4oFYKkHn6YUZc_wrgRWuwju0-h4maRiZ3kam8iV7JgnvHtWLOF5dF-32u5AEXcOQcSJf2G45kuSOlBkddjhxmf0/s1600/012+large+document.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIleYpy2SjKdz4ZX2IBQfUOO80Dl3j5lZ9mho-HZz3-USbUEU18DAH4oFYKkHn6YUZc_wrgRWuwju0-h4maRiZ3kam8iV7JgnvHtWLOF5dF-32u5AEXcOQcSJf2G45kuSOlBkddjhxmf0/s200/012+large+document.jpg" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Design Documents often reach<br>hundreds of pages</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">does</i> a game designer do then, if they don’t come up with the original idea? Their major activity will be writing and maintaining a design document – a body of work which every member of a development team will refer to while creating the game. The design document will include detailing gameplay, narrative, setting, characters and environment. Art direction may be contained in the design document, or be supplied in a separate document once the design gets the go-ahead.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The design document should leave no member of a development team guessing what is required of their role and will provide expectations of the final product which can be presented to publishers, partners or investors. A good design document will be say precisely enough to allow everyone to do their job. This means enough information to prevent developers second-guessing and enough freedom to benefit from expert judgement from specific roles. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So if that’s what makes a good design document… what makes a good design? More on this in coming posts.</div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-78422448279603741002011-01-02T08:33:00.000-08:002011-01-02T08:36:19.921-08:00Why corners are dark<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I am constantly plagued by “why”. One of the “why”s which has been eating away at me for a couple of days is that of ambient occlusion. Ambient occlusion is a technique in games that allows raised details to “pop” more by darkening surfaces close to corners. It works well and gives extra strength to the 3D illusion. It relies on the following truism: “corners are dark”</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">But does it really happen? My first response was: well sure, if you’ve got a shadow being cast, otherwise probably not - just a trick to make things look less flat. But as time passed, this problem ate away at me, and I have concluded that yes it really does happen. And here’s why…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqQpA7XkY3s0H8oMKUduEiJT2Ok8VqGCgO8KOfObwXmPQO2CUu-MJOBa7X-8Ornr3-2pp8Z1_nqahm7xE_TzEOa3xQ3fJ4nGH7YJT4w-J3EnLQkfa8wLE6KfL4axFnkeUWM9miFVBtWk/s1600/011+lightdiagram+1+direct+surface+area.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqQpA7XkY3s0H8oMKUduEiJT2Ok8VqGCgO8KOfObwXmPQO2CUu-MJOBa7X-8Ornr3-2pp8Z1_nqahm7xE_TzEOa3xQ3fJ4nGH7YJT4w-J3EnLQkfa8wLE6KfL4axFnkeUWM9miFVBtWk/s320/011+lightdiagram+1+direct+surface+area.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><b>A - Corners receive less direct light. </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Relevance: 6</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In the diagram, a four-walled room is being lit by an ordinary bulb casting light in all directions evenly. If we divide this light into 15 degree sections, each emitting the exact same amount of light, we can examine where this light strikes. In sections near the middle of the wall, the light strikes only a small area of the wall. The same amount of light strikes a much larger surface area in the corner of the room, where the angle is more acute.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">If the same amount of light strikes a larger surface area, it stands to reason that the strength of that light is diluted across the surface, and consequently the surface appears darker.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2wfXtrrEfVC8-AEhNMSaj6JdAT7sX7rxkKIfkkg63enZeDO4CSkR-GtgqDjwLz1tEY_U4V_ohyhGOn0_bKb0X_VcIMNm_zJeOoPLhwfU8csRPdiTmS6vNsn7C82qQjHEKGI0-FMFNtqg/s1600/011+lightdiagram+2+light+falloff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2wfXtrrEfVC8-AEhNMSaj6JdAT7sX7rxkKIfkkg63enZeDO4CSkR-GtgqDjwLz1tEY_U4V_ohyhGOn0_bKb0X_VcIMNm_zJeOoPLhwfU8csRPdiTmS6vNsn7C82qQjHEKGI0-FMFNtqg/s320/011+lightdiagram+2+light+falloff.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><b>B - Corners are far away from light</b><b>s</b>. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Relevance: 0.1</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">This might be some people’s immediate response to why the corners of a room are dark. While there is some truth to this, I believe this case to be very weak.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Let’s assume light sources are not found in corners (they generally aren’t). This means generally, corners are further from the source, and when this is the case, some light scatters on dust particles/similar before reaching the corner. This is called light falloff. Comparing corners to flat surfaces, however, we’re talking about very short distances, so the amount of falloff is negligible. Dusty rooms or foggy or smoky environments would cause more light falloff, but I’m still going with “barely relevant” on this one.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPd0cjAKrd4ke6UvBpFXXhe8SEZ5WNz56215roQqpV5zcL4iVukeAn_gPUjOjarRqdmtG8UI8ZJ527Ddw3qRuKiDw-J1XQDHOyWGyY0gBhuwlOF9ylz24_DOjzxTaPrCUyWLQG1eo6KpA/s1600/011+lightdiagram+3+receives+less+scatter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPd0cjAKrd4ke6UvBpFXXhe8SEZ5WNz56215roQqpV5zcL4iVukeAn_gPUjOjarRqdmtG8UI8ZJ527Ddw3qRuKiDw-J1XQDHOyWGyY0gBhuwlOF9ylz24_DOjzxTaPrCUyWLQG1eo6KpA/s320/011+lightdiagram+3+receives+less+scatter.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><b>C - Corners receive less scattered light.</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><b> </b></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Relevance: 4</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Light bouncing around all over the place has a reduced chance of striking in a corner. In the diagram we follow 8 paths of light from the source - only a couple strike anywhere near a corner, whereas 4 could be said to hit very near to the middle portion of one of the walls. The innermost of the corner is affected most strongly by this phenomenon.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvgCPxhe8K0IeDtr79cSGmfzWVD1jpLl8ljkF6c2qVbL0no3q6utZDDtibY6UQuJUJpyF_aPOSxWphqin90AqJiZXZ0TYFFY6XKumuAwWJpXfuOPyR7i2prOOpT_kwLIwFU7l7f-BjXo/s1600/011+lightdiagram+4+scatter+shadow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvgCPxhe8K0IeDtr79cSGmfzWVD1jpLl8ljkF6c2qVbL0no3q6utZDDtibY6UQuJUJpyF_aPOSxWphqin90AqJiZXZ0TYFFY6XKumuAwWJpXfuOPyR7i2prOOpT_kwLIwFU7l7f-BjXo/s320/011+lightdiagram+4+scatter+shadow.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><b>D - Corners are in “scatter-shadow”.</b> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Relevance: 0 to 10</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">This is not at all true of our four-wall room scenario, but it certainly is true of many other corner situations. While this shadow may not be from direct light sources and consequently no hard shadow edges are shown, here’s an example of where a corner is in scattered light shadow (another surface is catching its scattered light).</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The diagram illustrates that those sections tucked away in the corner do not catch much, or any of the primary bounce light, and must receive it from a secondary bounce (which is less strong).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">And here’s a real-life photo taken from the comfort of my desk to demonstrate the above. Apologies for the picture quality - fetching anything more than my phone camera would require me leaving my seat. Goodness, just the thought of it…</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivVNy0lPmzzoR-mQuIJFKppYFUf1LOE3Z64-S_B_kgPclefgCktDmRxS5mNGMhaYTnVsVoWzL08VKnIxt7SbcKWsY9qbymkY0uA1yI0JmB175vnUk4D5UznJ9EvNxuy7QFNqaY_38ZQpY/s1600/011+real+life+shadows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivVNy0lPmzzoR-mQuIJFKppYFUf1LOE3Z64-S_B_kgPclefgCktDmRxS5mNGMhaYTnVsVoWzL08VKnIxt7SbcKWsY9qbymkY0uA1yI0JmB175vnUk4D5UznJ9EvNxuy7QFNqaY_38ZQpY/s320/011+real+life+shadows.jpg" width="239" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><b>D - corners are in scatter-shadow.</b> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p>We're already in shadow from the direct light, so the shadows you're seeing within the shadow are entirely scatter-shadows.</o:p></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><b>C - corners receive less scattered light.</b> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p>Notice how the corner is darker, particularly very near to the corner. </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUt0KHqnBJV77uR3GasYXY0cH9O4uSdlmi_RZUtzYpV59hSw9BFsJz8vsqA1iT4Jd1ROQLgXfsVQ8zBqoRYaFBjMemP6rL-eKcrFEkXquyoZO-If7mEthkjhGpgvBt7j6LYDFFmsZPvws/s1600/011+real+life+shadows+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUt0KHqnBJV77uR3GasYXY0cH9O4uSdlmi_RZUtzYpV59hSw9BFsJz8vsqA1iT4Jd1ROQLgXfsVQ8zBqoRYaFBjMemP6rL-eKcrFEkXquyoZO-If7mEthkjhGpgvBt7j6LYDFFmsZPvws/s1600/011+real+life+shadows+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUt0KHqnBJV77uR3GasYXY0cH9O4uSdlmi_RZUtzYpV59hSw9BFsJz8vsqA1iT4Jd1ROQLgXfsVQ8zBqoRYaFBjMemP6rL-eKcrFEkXquyoZO-If7mEthkjhGpgvBt7j6LYDFFmsZPvws/s1600/011+real+life+shadows+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUt0KHqnBJV77uR3GasYXY0cH9O4uSdlmi_RZUtzYpV59hSw9BFsJz8vsqA1iT4Jd1ROQLgXfsVQ8zBqoRYaFBjMemP6rL-eKcrFEkXquyoZO-If7mEthkjhGpgvBt7j6LYDFFmsZPvws/s320/011+real+life+shadows+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p>A - </o:p></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Corners receive less direct light. </span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As the angle becomes less perpendicular to the source of the light, the light is spread over a larger are</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">a. This can be seen in two places of this picture.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">C - </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p>corners receive less scattered light.</o:p></span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p>Again, the very innermost part of the corner has quite a dark line where very little scattered light reaches. </o:p></span></div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-18135814777351129732010-12-04T05:00:00.000-08:002010-12-04T05:08:24.866-08:00Games Journalism<div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfavFfqJVRIaIsPZ48idSGuL4ZX8-YxK4bCa10rfl99RgZz0G6ZnFCXVOrE1wRJU-jsWSktpyFPKUzU9PWbTar8SszjyIfQEAZux5A0rvJIr7tcSfCvVnW8kbaKyEaNQiKtbGxhxdLC_0/s1600/010+megapixelnet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfavFfqJVRIaIsPZ48idSGuL4ZX8-YxK4bCa10rfl99RgZz0G6ZnFCXVOrE1wRJU-jsWSktpyFPKUzU9PWbTar8SszjyIfQEAZux5A0rvJIr7tcSfCvVnW8kbaKyEaNQiKtbGxhxdLC_0/s320/010+megapixelnet.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It might not look like much but I challenge you <br />
to find better camera reviews than MagaPixel.net</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">When Canadian camera review site megapixel.net went on (seemingly permanent) hiatus early last year, I was most disappointed. Their impartial and exhaustive reviews of popular digital cameras led to the purchase of four digital cameras for myself and friends, all of whom have been very satisfied. Their nine-part illustrated review structure laid out in meticulous detail everything you could possibly want to know before making your choice and contained typically only 20 words for their personal opinion. Extremely suitable for the subject, for which subjectivity is unnecessary.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">But games journalism is different. Games journalism is personal. No statistics, screenshots or videos can tell a player whether they will enjoy a game. Certainly a rating out of ten cannot. These things can express the content and quality of the game, but who can say how enjoyable an individual will find a game? I do not think a games journalist can. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">…For that matter, I haven’t played a new game in a while. I Should really pick up something…</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So why do games magazines and websites exist at all? Despite the above fundamental flaw, they have an arguably stronger raison d’être than music or film journalism. These mediums ask less time and money of their consumer than games do. Gamers need to know what to spend their limited resources on - it’s a big investment. Gamers need games journalism. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It’s a position that publishers exploited for years. Cries of skew and bias were rampant in the early 2000s, particularly among publications devoted to a single platform. A solution was proposed in 2005 by journalist Kieron Gillen, dubbed <a href="http://gillen.cream.org/wordpress_html/?page_id=3">‘New Games Journalism’</a> (NGJ) - it focuses on how the journalist experienced the game, rather than focusing on the game itself. This was born from the simple observation: gamers do not play games to interact with a feature set and pretty visuals, but to experience something fun. The experience is what is of interest to the gamer. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">…Enslaved: Odyssey to the West allegedly has an engaging and cinematic gameplay experience. Pretty screens a plus. Short gameplay a plus. Something of a flop a plus (should be cheap soon). Check Amazon. Not cheap yet. Such a spendthrift. Justification: Student…</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The biggest difficulty here is that of objectivity and subjectivity. It is possible to be objective about visual fidelity, gameplay mechanics, quality of writing, gameplay mechanics, music score, etc. It is not possible to be objective about one’s overarching experience of the game.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98psskfYEw1GNdvbv4N9JGJH8PdFyxwplV0Cz-aX5rXd56MJqJH6yIQUU2esWqMf1drp7LNyLAh-ogRObZXlp4wusJnCZjUdaDkai44qcZ-nyYiOR5y2yBVxB8bsZNK9woEH_rgb2FWQ/s1600/010+gametrailerscom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98psskfYEw1GNdvbv4N9JGJH8PdFyxwplV0Cz-aX5rXd56MJqJH6yIQUU2esWqMf1drp7LNyLAh-ogRObZXlp4wusJnCZjUdaDkai44qcZ-nyYiOR5y2yBVxB8bsZNK9woEH_rgb2FWQ/s320/010+gametrailerscom.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whilst video reviews are relatively new, <br />
GameTrailers.com follows a traditional 'describe and critique' <br />
approach and closes with a score breakdown</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It is, however, more entertaining to write in this way. The writer can compose their inner monologue, primal frustrations and ecstasy in a more personal way. They can connect with their reader as an individual. They can write their entire article in first person if they wish. They can write some utterly egotistical self-centered rubbish. It’s a problem that has developed over time. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Chris Lepine wrote <a href="http://www.artfulgamer.com/2009/02/09/new-games-journalism-is-dead-long-live-new-new-games-journalism/">an article</a> in 2009 addressing the issue, declaring the NGJ movement “dead” using adjectives like “pretentiously intellectual… opinionated… corrupted”. His major criticisms seem to be that NGJ has led to poor quality journalism and/or a loss of objectivity, particularly in reviews. Lepine was inviting change.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In Brendan Caldwell’s <a href="http://brendycaldwell.wordpress.com/2010/06/29/the-good-the-bad-and-the-angry/">rebuttal</a>, he cites examples of excellent articles in the New Games Journalism style and contests that poor quality exists because of the author, not its style. Lepine’s later commented on the article, suggesting that while NGJ isn’t fundamentally at fault, it invites poor journalism and publications have become “driven by economic and prestige considerations” above those of “good writing”. It all sounds somewhat familiar.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">…Also on Amazon: Castlevania. Played that at Gamescom and was impressed. Another cliché fantasy setting. Should probably try and broaden my gaming palette or else the vampires will start to recognise me…</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkSDw-mf_dxTLlszTTBowIdJYSJ8gvesqFq-TZcsvGK72a85VZoRdHwsIZiAg4DH0B8sJzSwb7oNx9dkVPN2u2Jw5ugmFe9THuI73mR9Ie_jt3K_QEMsg1lU2hQQUvPsLaje63qN1GHAU/s1600/010+puzzledconsumer_baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkSDw-mf_dxTLlszTTBowIdJYSJ8gvesqFq-TZcsvGK72a85VZoRdHwsIZiAg4DH0B8sJzSwb7oNx9dkVPN2u2Jw5ugmFe9THuI73mR9Ie_jt3K_QEMsg1lU2hQQUvPsLaje63qN1GHAU/s320/010+puzzledconsumer_baby.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So what do we, as consumers of games journalism, make of this mess? I find that most gaming media fits into a spectrum and that each publication has a specific niche within this spectrum. Before I subscribed to GamesTM earlier this year, I read through a few gaming magazines for the same month. Having now read up on new games journalism, it seems clear that GamesTM seems to separate their NGJ into its own little section at the start. While not game reviews per se (some would claim NGJ can never be reviews), these 800 word pieces I have found to be very hit-and-miss. And I find they often fail to answer the questions I have before buying a game. But I guess that’s exactly what the above debate is all about. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">…Distracted by reading magazine. Not noticed Little Big Planet 2 preview before. Looks good. Family might also like the game. Investigate the purchase of a PlayStation 3. Justification for new console (hours spent playing) cannot be met (no hours to spend). Disregard…</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So do I like NGJ? Yes, I very much do. I find it highly entertaining. But waddayaknow - I still don’t know what game to buy.</span></div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-76970508193102210572010-11-23T12:24:00.000-08:002010-11-23T12:25:43.395-08:00Personal Gaming History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-A4yJ4n21hYp3PosUOINxUr-lcAcHELZHzWcdW59AqnZaIV6mzj-vwcU4xQ0rxZKCMZKc6fRuEUqisv06saIeKqWyok7HnRunnbbCcNOvO7CglAzQAAzk33ckbPmxjALOUqUiGEevJ5c/s1600/008+sonic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div>One of my flatmates was looking through Ebay listings of old consoles today. He wanted to buy a Sega Dreamcast. Looking through the games included in the listing descriptions, soft cooing could be heard from behind his laptop screen while I cooked my dinner. We exchanged nostalgic gaming memories; I concluded I was most sad that I had sold my Nintendo 64, exchanging it for the GameCube which has lain dormant on a shelf for the past few years. He made me promise absolutely to bring it back with me the next time I go home. If I forget, I’m not sure I will be going home again…<br />
<br />
The first computer game I remember playing was Commander Keen on my Mum’s PC. It was some years later that I got a Nintendo Entertainment system (NES) with a light gun and Duck Hunt. I remember the games being quite difficult. I even exchanged a game which I couldn’t get past the first level, only to watch in the store as the press start screen demo showed how to get past the bit I was stuck on. It was only later in my gaming life that I came to really enjoy difficult games.<br />
<br />
Command and Conquer really got me into PC gaming. Although I had enjoyed many PC games before that, realtime strategy became my preferred genre for some years after that game. Its sequel, Red Alert, was the first game I made custom content for - the maps I made for that game were the start of a side-hobby of modding games that has continued to this day.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-A4yJ4n21hYp3PosUOINxUr-lcAcHELZHzWcdW59AqnZaIV6mzj-vwcU4xQ0rxZKCMZKc6fRuEUqisv06saIeKqWyok7HnRunnbbCcNOvO7CglAzQAAzk33ckbPmxjALOUqUiGEevJ5c/s1600/008+sonic.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-A4yJ4n21hYp3PosUOINxUr-lcAcHELZHzWcdW59AqnZaIV6mzj-vwcU4xQ0rxZKCMZKc6fRuEUqisv06saIeKqWyok7HnRunnbbCcNOvO7CglAzQAAzk33ckbPmxjALOUqUiGEevJ5c/s1600/008+sonic.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everybody's favourite blue hedgehog in his heyday</td></tr>
</tbody></table>But there was never a year went by I didn’t buy at<br />
least a few games for my console. I played the Sonic games to death on my Mega Drive, but my fondest console memories are for the Nintendo 64. Having mates around to play the likes of Super Smash Brothers and Mario Tennis was an experience no childhood should be without. Of course, no talk of Nintendo 64 would be complete without a mention of Goldeneye, which really set the standard for compelling and diverse single-player first-person shooter experiences. I’m baffled to this day how I managed to get almost all of the stars on Super Mario 64 without any form of guide. The internet spoils us these days.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExhoy122EkVX6-AxftLCU1uaRHbrrs1NyLUT7ledObET2cyPOlIeNWi3E-YVrAxxl2nqOJzuRG6ILkE5KotFEe1EvPgVfM1tVpX_SopxcPhVULC9ev0J3MocpzsimwjEezmhK1xHffdk/s1600/009+zelda+OoT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExhoy122EkVX6-AxftLCU1uaRHbrrs1NyLUT7ledObET2cyPOlIeNWi3E-YVrAxxl2nqOJzuRG6ILkE5KotFEe1EvPgVfM1tVpX_SopxcPhVULC9ev0J3MocpzsimwjEezmhK1xHffdk/s320/009+zelda+OoT.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time set a benchmark for<br />
adventure games that few were willing or able to follow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Looking back on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I feel it was the first game that really tied down everything I like in a game. A compelling plot and emotional attachment to key characters, challenging gameplay which sometimes required a bit of thinking and interesting environments enhanced by solid visual and audio production values. Those three benchmarks can be set to most mainstream games. In my opinion, only one game has bested that game.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmR5wJGD7XCa83BNnygoWWB2IKa4B3ejaDUyRk5QGV6NGTezYfZ5we-7B1HW4InbaZQN4iwMcNbJzg58xnuK-1CHzyvqt810i8qtEzN3CrTuVdOXZsm-uDffK4qiueuHaJpCcUY1d3IY/s1600/008+BG2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmR5wJGD7XCa83BNnygoWWB2IKa4B3ejaDUyRk5QGV6NGTezYfZ5we-7B1HW4InbaZQN4iwMcNbJzg58xnuK-1CHzyvqt810i8qtEzN3CrTuVdOXZsm-uDffK4qiueuHaJpCcUY1d3IY/s320/008+BG2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a year has gone by since its release<br />
that I haven't played Baldur's Gate 2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I’m not even sure why I picked up Baldur’s Gate 2. I got stuck on the first level (sound familiar?) and decided to pick up a walkthrough book. Before BG2, I barely knew what a role-playing game was. I have never read literature so compelling, never been so absorbed by a world in film or TV, nor played a game whose mechanics I have dissected so thoroughly to improve my play… as Baldur’s Gate 2. I could go on praising it, and I might just do that… but in another post. I have to move on.<br />
<br />
As my gaming palate matured, my appreciation of gaming genres broadened. There really are very few genres I don’t enjoy sampling, even if I don’t have enough time or money to try everything the genre has to offer. Even my parents have got in on the act - owning a Nintendo DS and Wii between them; and we continue to regularly play board and card games as well. <br />
<br />
To say that games in the past ten years have been less influential on me would only be partly true. I think the frequency of high production cost games (triple A games) has resulted in fewer games that stand out head-and-shoulders above the competition. Games I love from the current generation include Lost Odyssey, Bioshock, Portal, Dragon Age: Origins, Ninja Gaiden 2, Mass Effect, Guitar Hero 3… I could go on. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj23o7krw5oAKaLdpNt9H1ad1tuv50Ekwag1dFP6-6bXDzEGrPAJY19CkZXmZ-9e8T1b4Au1wvEqkOrkqEZGCqJbvMJKWNkfH25Kw2HR-KlvgRIZcoHAfji5rRV6cmz-QYKaXpvoZA7_l0/s1600/008+ninja+gaiden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj23o7krw5oAKaLdpNt9H1ad1tuv50Ekwag1dFP6-6bXDzEGrPAJY19CkZXmZ-9e8T1b4Au1wvEqkOrkqEZGCqJbvMJKWNkfH25Kw2HR-KlvgRIZcoHAfji5rRV6cmz-QYKaXpvoZA7_l0/s400/008+ninja+gaiden.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ninja Gaiden 2 was renowned for its brutal difficulty. I guess I love a challenge!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
Games continue to fascinate me. I only wish I had more time to play them. I asked my friend how long ago he sold his Dreamcast. He never owned one. Nostalgia is a funny thing.Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-35032105128473627942010-11-15T16:27:00.000-08:002010-11-15T16:27:23.442-08:00History of Computer games 2000sVideogames had been pacing along well enough for the past two decades. The gradual balance shift between arcade and console/PC gaming was barely a wave lapping at the bow of the ship compared to the boat-rocking that was to take place in the 2000s. Prominent among these changes were the rise in multiplayer gaming and the commercialisation of the “casual gamer” market.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPL4I3lrXojiCMMhjaRuY6j72t2UB07dijWIh_-X5APDKgJK6FKfL_1xI2-I5_GyE12QzPfTbPbmUiLvID80-TEcSUPT_24ifvPMzMiL-wwYtbzJaZvnKGQC1X6PnJ-R6KKpGuN4xzTnY/s1600/007+world+of+warcraft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPL4I3lrXojiCMMhjaRuY6j72t2UB07dijWIh_-X5APDKgJK6FKfL_1xI2-I5_GyE12QzPfTbPbmUiLvID80-TEcSUPT_24ifvPMzMiL-wwYtbzJaZvnKGQC1X6PnJ-R6KKpGuN4xzTnY/s320/007+world+of+warcraft.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World of Warcraft features a persistent world <br />
where players may group with others <br />
to fight monsters and complete quests.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>All new consoles in the 2000s featured inbuilt or addon modems and offered services for matchmaking in games. Publishers displayed clearly on the box those games which could be played online and gamers began to expect titles to allow them to compete or co-operate online with their friends. Gaming became social.<br />
<br />
Internet-dependant games became increasingly popular with Massively Multiplayer Online titles like World of Warcraft boasting more than ten million active subscribers by the end of the decade.<br />
<br />
I am unsure whether it was this new social aspect of gaming or the increased computer literacy and abundance of Personal Computers that was the major cause of the commercialisation of casual gaming. I say “commercialisation” since casual gaming has always existed, but few games were specifically targeted at this market and those that were tended to be low-budget, low-cost games.<br />
<br />
The Sims was massively popular among new casual gamers, totalling over 16 million sales in the first half of the decade. In the years that followed, Nintendo released the Wii, stating outright that their console “isn't focused on the core gamer”. Hosts of gimmicky peripherals and family- and party-friendly games boosted the Wii to the top-selling console of the generation, firmly cementing casual gaming as equally commercially important as core gaming. Microsoft and Sony have since taken steps to capture some of the casual market with their products.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWs9wA4_5pqyV58kXgap78bdym5JCYaxrgcROnPIPVdA-abYPcXPbc4-5-nRViVe1Y7jMff_V-dc4xyAgCpSvrQ1rlM9Wg9GrqC7V-ymsQNQiBb5GfG6DqTVlXfhe2_gzrsWkKOgpAyts/s1600/007+guitar+hero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWs9wA4_5pqyV58kXgap78bdym5JCYaxrgcROnPIPVdA-abYPcXPbc4-5-nRViVe1Y7jMff_V-dc4xyAgCpSvrQ1rlM9Wg9GrqC7V-ymsQNQiBb5GfG6DqTVlXfhe2_gzrsWkKOgpAyts/s320/007+guitar+hero.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Games like Guitar Hero feature new peripherals and <br />
split screen modes to appeal to casual gamers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Although mobile gaming wasn’t new to the 2000s, mobile <i>phone</i> gaming was. As phones became more capable, so too did the complexity of the games offered to rival the dedicated handheld gaming devices. <br />
<br />
With internet distribution channels like Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network and the App Store, the need for publishers eroded still further and increasing numbers of independently developed games reached more gamers’ hands. These “indie” developers with small budgets diversified both the casual and core markets with niche games that rely on compelling gameplay above high production values.<br />
<br />
But online distribution was not just used by small developers - additional paid-for downloadable content for popular games allows developers to generate extra revenue for games that are greatly enjoyed by their players. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdzERafAQWrq8PVrg_PpcJLneM9BjwCch0N3iiPsFPCCOEQgt-xt6eq6n8lGI0-_NisZn2cqMxnJVOWjIw-IZFFSXcYa4z2tEj3R28RfFM52h0oPxCCGHgaxJvLw06Q2jUl73HUNDk4II/s1600/007+steam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdzERafAQWrq8PVrg_PpcJLneM9BjwCch0N3iiPsFPCCOEQgt-xt6eq6n8lGI0-_NisZn2cqMxnJVOWjIw-IZFFSXcYa4z2tEj3R28RfFM52h0oPxCCGHgaxJvLw06Q2jUl73HUNDk4II/s320/007+steam.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Services like Steam allow people to purchase entirely <br />
digital versions of games, cutting out distribution and <br />
retail costs almost entirely</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Many MMOs like Lord of the Rings Online are experimenting with abandoning the subscription fee and relying entirely on microtransactions to fund development of the game. Services like OnLive are even offering streaming gaming of existing titles for microtransaction and subscription charges.<br />
<br />
Retro gaming and ported games delivered through Xbox Live Arcade and Wii’s Virtual Console highlights what made gaming classics so successful.<br />
<br />
As the 2000s finish and we press into the 2010s, I feel the games industry has reached a curious maturity. Console manufacturers have chosen to hold back on releasing consoles in the immediate future: a decision which backs the strength of the games developers and their creativity. The next ten years promise to be really rather exciting.Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-13623833796907809592010-11-13T17:01:00.000-08:002010-11-13T17:01:52.667-08:00History of Computer games 1980s - 1990s<div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Like excited children with golden geese, the developers, publishers and console manufacturers of the early eighties couldn’t wait to try out their new toys. The only problem was, a goose made of gold doesn’t fly, it doesn’t swim, and bashing it over the head with the same old mallet will not force it to lay another golden egg. In fact, it’ll probably cause the gold to flake and tarnish. Which is exactly what happened.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmu9WeFIBAfw3ZHjJAjfKDXUcrciboZ5bWTTs3ZPPGa0kHDeWmQxWdlBAYOeVYxovCOciRlvUJguwUzJ5Ohmnq_fXxSgkAKhDswtATWKB_oyloi21X6m7PsgPKvWspuqzSt-0fseUDc8/s1600/AtariLandfill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmu9WeFIBAfw3ZHjJAjfKDXUcrciboZ5bWTTs3ZPPGa0kHDeWmQxWdlBAYOeVYxovCOciRlvUJguwUzJ5Ohmnq_fXxSgkAKhDswtATWKB_oyloi21X6m7PsgPKvWspuqzSt-0fseUDc8/s320/AtariLandfill.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Atari buried millions of unwanted<br />
cartridges in a landfill after sales<br />
fell far below expectations.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Publishers were paying programmers poorly; some even disallowing credits. This caused programmers to splinter and develop their games independently. With no publishing rights for the games being created for their consoles, quality and quantity control was entirely lost. The market became saturated with disingenuous and iterative games, and in an attempt to compensate: redundant and unnecessary console upgrades. By 1984, swathes of interested parties had pulled out from the games industry or become bankrupt.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The video game recovery was largely due to Japanese manufacturers and developers, who were less affected by the crash than their North American rivals. Through the eighties Nintendo’s Entertainment System and Sega’s Master System vied for superiority with notable releases including Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, and the Alex Kidd series.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sega and Nintendo continued to hold strong positions through the nineties, releasing the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Mega Drive</st1:address></st1:street> (Genesis) respectively. The popularity of home video game consoles continued to rise, while the popularity of arcades diminished. Many arcade developers began to develop games for home consoles or port their existing arcade game to these platforms.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The popularity of Personal Computers grew through the nineties and consequently, PC gaming became a more commercially viable activity, where previously the consumer base had been too small. An increasing market size coupled with low barriers to entry for PC developers afforded an extremely diverse selection of games. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQQ_NFJR9ojrvo2f761Xf63M-4yMjZpQ3TqpfSdwleG_2c2YZYSPLKWJd-jf45Ysjrrcb_f5J4FP1ND9OnK0GJTOuzduFGoLTUkmjfxfJTn0edk0lqiUjpRZHq4Qeoug5eD60SqWSsJ0/s1600/Doom_ingame_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQQ_NFJR9ojrvo2f761Xf63M-4yMjZpQ3TqpfSdwleG_2c2YZYSPLKWJd-jf45Ysjrrcb_f5J4FP1ND9OnK0GJTOuzduFGoLTUkmjfxfJTn0edk0lqiUjpRZHq4Qeoug5eD60SqWSsJ0/s1600/Doom_ingame_1.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The highly contraversial DOOM game for PC</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Specialist video game retailers began to appear, stocking games for consoles and PC, offering a wider selection of games than was typically available in the toy stores.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">One of the most significant changes for gaming in the nineties was the transition to 3D games - games which displayed objects using points plotted in three dimensions connected with triangular surfaces. Although Elite, released in 1984, is widely regarded as the first 3D game, 3D games did not gain much traction in the console market until the release of the more graphically capable Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation platforms.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">While at first these games were relatively ugly compared to their 2D counterparts, they quite literally added a new dimension to the gameplay experience. Some developers chose create new Intellectual Properties for 3D, some stuck with making decreasingly popular 2D games and others re-imagined their 2D characters and environments in the third dimension… with mixed success. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOu-vThYM79vSCyfS0LmZiHgj9r2zIR2ZhPiIqimkV6AmCzt08oetYJ-UJTnJ7ehRnkvFwcaqVeqmIICqGpQaA9da2jPB2hOknPgJS9tgEuf-RT_cSXxjFPbr5LoQZka0FArVA3ggvhPA/s1600/mario+64.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOu-vThYM79vSCyfS0LmZiHgj9r2zIR2ZhPiIqimkV6AmCzt08oetYJ-UJTnJ7ehRnkvFwcaqVeqmIICqGpQaA9da2jPB2hOknPgJS9tgEuf-RT_cSXxjFPbr5LoQZka0FArVA3ggvhPA/s320/mario+64.jpeg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As would be expected of a platform gaming superstar,<br />
Mario cleared the jump to 3D in style</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As the nineties were drawing to an end, internet connectivity was rapidly increasing and playing games over the internet was becoming increasingly popular. Improvements in the speed and reliability of internet services allowed real-time games to be played with gamers across the world. This phenomenon started in PC gaming, but the Sega Dreamcast pioneered in the console market with an inbuilt modem that gave a taste of what to expect from gaming in the 2000s.</span></div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-61971192933888940492010-11-10T18:21:00.001-08:002010-11-10T18:23:41.882-08:00Update 2<div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As the excitement of starting university (again) wears out, its time to knuckle down and I have found myself spending a lot of time modelling. The current projects are to construct an old building from reference (pictured) and a project set by third-year mentors: to create a modern day weapon (still a work in progress).</span></div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwjRlsQwNUy0m5BUexn80tobEJAMKRJ-4EXaZZCX1rpsJFVqoLVYcZyNGIZA3uXIKL9UmFC6BUMgxeMaoN_pWuLMDN01DaFd842EkXMG5I8SqMwSgvjFx3spMtXktBEAcDUo-z2BgCB_8/s1600/glamour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwjRlsQwNUy0m5BUexn80tobEJAMKRJ-4EXaZZCX1rpsJFVqoLVYcZyNGIZA3uXIKL9UmFC6BUMgxeMaoN_pWuLMDN01DaFd842EkXMG5I8SqMwSgvjFx3spMtXktBEAcDUo-z2BgCB_8/s320/glamour.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I particularly focussed on the textures on the building project - trying to get the best pixel density and most believable surfaces possible on the building within the specifications of the brief. I’m happy with how they turned out, though I fear my rendering techniques do not showcase them at their best. Something to work on.</span></div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It certainly hasn’t been a conscious decision to prioritise modelling over drawing and digital painting, given it is my aim this year to really improve in these more traditional skills. I wonder if it is telling that I am leaning this way naturally? Or perhaps it is because I am outside of my comfort zone with the drawing and digital painting? </span></div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-GVBkthzoluUeSPtvcuBmzHxF1bPuPTkPAii2KlAuYZDI5mnayLtW60xbAxNDnl3qYNqToKF7UwRcD6BUd8ujT0rc2NiFBLEUB6ZSJiDJHwafOXRpRqEVs14OZL_syGiGgtpEJujC7Ug/s1600/a+metalized+puppet+assembles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-GVBkthzoluUeSPtvcuBmzHxF1bPuPTkPAii2KlAuYZDI5mnayLtW60xbAxNDnl3qYNqToKF7UwRcD6BUd8ujT0rc2NiFBLEUB6ZSJiDJHwafOXRpRqEVs14OZL_syGiGgtpEJujC7Ug/s320/a+metalized+puppet+assembles.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Nothing could be more out of my comfort than a twice-weekly time-restricted digital painting exercise. It would be fair to say I have had very mixed success, but I hope just getting the hours in will help me improve. Today’s exercise used the randomly-generated theme “a metalized puppet assembles”. Grammar robot are fail.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Seeing the incredible posts that coursemates in the second and third years (and even some first years with digital painting experience) are making, it is very clear to see that practice makes perfect. It inspires envy both loathesome and pitiable.</span></div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">While I have been a little lax with the blog lately, you can expect a bunch of games history posts while I catch up on the blog assignments in the next couple of weeks. I have been struggling since the start of this post to find the pun to fit the following picture, but fortunately as I write this sentence it has finally come to me. Handy timing.</span></div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVpjghlaeFfSa44eTD5X4U5XguKHmu8r5_KuRzqqcV1pyjPKPU7142enixoHEj1bG1sLJrlMQpgD8H7CydSt7YgXhU6zNWMU8YenknQXcFe8ZypA_iJ0Mm8oUoEj_HzeXbmBFDAl7oSU/s1600/002+still+1+hand+1600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVpjghlaeFfSa44eTD5X4U5XguKHmu8r5_KuRzqqcV1pyjPKPU7142enixoHEj1bG1sLJrlMQpgD8H7CydSt7YgXhU6zNWMU8YenknQXcFe8ZypA_iJ0Mm8oUoEj_HzeXbmBFDAl7oSU/s320/002+still+1+hand+1600.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-69140821526521838342010-11-07T08:33:00.000-08:002010-11-07T08:33:45.580-08:00History of Computer games 1950s - 1970s<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">When pondering what I thought the very first “computer game” to be, I expected some sort of primitive text adventure game might be among the contenders. I missed the mark by more than 20 years! I was considering which games would require the least processing power, but early computer games had more to worry about that just the number crunch. The graphical fidelity to render text was extremely limited and alphabetic keyboards were not typical input devices.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">From what I could see, there is no absolute on the first computer game, so I will break down the early games with their significant landmarks:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">1947 - Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann develop a missile simulator game, the first use of a computer for entertainment.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">1950 - Claude Shannon devises a chess game in his paper, demonstrating the first artificial gaming intelligence.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidn9ubRZN2OoJN56DCUrKYKW2Ek9sVDenZkSQYjlHIu4Lh57mFwHMd67OjnGmEgMdGgnArrlNYH8aGFe6do9yAFT_zwNdrR5rqcuMrPpDkn6hzxy6svEwnh5wvkAFWrmmNyi-MO4pVj9E/s320/Tennis_for_Two_-_Screen.png" /></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">1952 - Alexander Douglas creates the first digitally displayed computer game, OXO - a noughts and crosses simulator created to study human-computer interaction.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">1958 - William Higinbotham exhibits Tennis for Two, the first multiplayer computer game, displayed on an oscilloscope.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">1962 - Spacewar is created for the DEC PDP-1 mini-computer by MIT students and is the first time a computer game is designed not as a simulator for an existing game or scenario.</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Computer games continued to be the preserve of students with access to university mainframe computers throughout the 1960s. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The increase in availability of mainframes in academic and business institutions, coupled with the rising populatity of computer games fuelled the growth of personal game projects undertaken by pioneering programmers. Games such as Spacewar were even ported across platforms and later distributed with the mainframes themselves.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20070119/odyssey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20070119/odyssey.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It wasn’t until technological advances in miniaturization and cost-effective production of electronic components made the hardware accessible in the home. The first home video game console was the Magnavox Odyssey, released in 1972 which sold 330,000 units in its three year production cycle. The console used any of 30 separately-sold game cartridges to play the games on a home television set. It was this console and business model that paved the way for the entire video game industry to follow.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In the same year, the coin-operated arcade version of Pong was released by Atari to massive commercial success. I find it interesting to think that tennis inspired Tennis for Two, which inspired Pong, which by my reckoning appeared to inspire air hockey, coming full circle to a physical game again. A testament to the circular and self-referential nature of games to follow?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">By the time popular titles like Space Invaders (1978) and Asteroids (1979) hit the arcades, the appeal of arcade video games was clear: they were affordable, fun and addictive entertainment. At a time when televisions were not commonplace and consoles were extremely rare, arcades were a place to meet and play games with friends.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Through the 70s, mainframe games proved to be the catwalk by which coin-operated arcade games and late-70s consoles and personal microcomputers followed. By the end of the decade, video games had become a multimillion dollar industry on an upward trajectory.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-58779164029639282702010-10-23T12:22:00.000-07:002010-10-23T12:22:15.456-07:00Mod released<div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oNuudjwZvdHUEWKLxm3RIl-yvE6ugBqXHOsaVGXgTFOwmXMyQ6HaZdGOUFS_dQPtpIx-Yoau8gU-3RuE1CvG8cIrucHozwpRUEvlStlXV8jARktlmHvNPR92hgbxBOxQ58EPzaeawLM/s1600/logo_final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oNuudjwZvdHUEWKLxm3RIl-yvE6ugBqXHOsaVGXgTFOwmXMyQ6HaZdGOUFS_dQPtpIx-Yoau8gU-3RuE1CvG8cIrucHozwpRUEvlStlXV8jARktlmHvNPR92hgbxBOxQ58EPzaeawLM/s200/logo_final.jpg" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I have spent a very significant proportion of my free time over the past year working in a modding team of a dozen or so people. We’ve been recreating a portion of an old game called Baldur’s Gate 2 inside another game engine; that of Dragon Age: Origins, a newer title. The module has around 2 hours of gameplay. I am reminded of the Honda advert where vehicle components knock into one another in sequence. $6,500,000 and 3 months of work by engineers and a film crew for 90 seconds of entertainment.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I first saw the opening room from Baldur’s Gate 2 modelled out, ready to be converted into Dragon Age some 11 months ago. As probably my favourite game of all time, the overwhelming nostalgia it evoked made it impossible to resist getting involved. The project was simple: remake a 10-year-old game in a new engine. A game that happened to have over 100 hours of gameplay.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn7FnqYiOplIe23tf12sEd00zKNzPS4mFHeQD-SaniFYGckB9bunTi_BjJO_XAnnJEXdSunVfIJPZul1tojKGuEQeldnuv9oIkARgFP5rIhTYHZb_WTvqP_lUsMgmHUpR0rA03PtC9Ex8/s1600/environment2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn7FnqYiOplIe23tf12sEd00zKNzPS4mFHeQD-SaniFYGckB9bunTi_BjJO_XAnnJEXdSunVfIJPZul1tojKGuEQeldnuv9oIkARgFP5rIhTYHZb_WTvqP_lUsMgmHUpR0rA03PtC9Ex8/s320/environment2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I did not anticipate taking a major part in the project, but I’m not somebody who will stand by as dreams and hard work fall apart to bad co-ordination. Before long I was responsible for the organisation of the project as well as creating much of the content. It was a great opportunity to improve my modelling and texturing before starting this course and I’m very pleased with the look of the levels, which were my main focus (besides doing bits of everything else!)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">But the task was not straightforward - the scope of the project was immense. Those involved were scattered around the world with varying levels of experience, availability and commitment. This industry is renowned for failing to meet deadlines despite having control over all of the above factors. Some even get abandoned, usually due to over-ambition or inexperience. Here are a handful of amateurs who have never met one another plotting to recreate an enormous game… for no pay… in our spare time. What chance did we have?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">With a manoeuvre straight out of high school, setting achievable targets was crucial. Releasing the project in short modules meant that the end was always in sight, interest could be built and more people could get involved. After almost a year of development, I am pleased to report out first module has just been released.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.tellmewhereonearth.com/Web%20Pages/Humor/Humor%20Photos/H256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://www.tellmewhereonearth.com/Web%20Pages/Humor/Humor%20Photos/H256.JPG" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It has been a great project to work on, and it ticks pretty well all the boxes employers like to see in an application - working in a team, meeting deadlines, accepting and delegating responsibility, I could go on. I have been extremely fortunate that the people I have been working with have been so dedicated and enthusiastic. I look forward to continuing to work with them in future modules.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Despite being released for less than 24 hours, the feedback so far has been extremely positive:</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div><blockquote><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><em>Insanely Great!</em></span> </blockquote><blockquote><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><em> </em></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><em>Best DA-mod so far</em></span></blockquote><blockquote><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><em>Far above any DA mod I had ever tried</em></span></blockquote><blockquote><em> </em></blockquote><blockquote><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><em>Easily one of the top mods ever produced</em></span></blockquote><blockquote><em> </em></blockquote><blockquote><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><em>This mod should be on TOP OF dragonagenexus forum as THE MOST DOWNLOADED MOD IN HISTORY!!</em></span></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">A little sensationalist but they seem to like it! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I like to think the people at Honda are proud of their advertisement. I love that ad.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">You can read more about the mod and player’s comments on the <a href="http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1836">project page</a>. If you have Dragon Age Origins, you can also download it from there and have a go.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-71301152515740561442010-10-17T14:41:00.000-07:002010-10-17T15:01:26.436-07:00Update 1<div align="justify"></div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"></div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal">I am pleased to report that in these first two weeks I have produced a significant amount of work! Especially pleased since a certain someone I know typically spends much too long doing much too little! But all of that is going to have to change…</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal">I have never been more jealous of my sister's time management. Not because she has a fully packed schedule and does a million things; but because she does the million things without fully packing her schedule. I'll be sure to ask her how she pulls it off, since now that I am at university, too many things are pulling at my time in different directions.</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal">So, in no particular order, in my first two weeks of term I have mostly been doing:<br />
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</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Visual Design</b> (the drawing/painting bit)</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXYZRaCbdYlsBkPSDeOsexAixOpaQXkx92N5VnbTQAGDdfJa27eBp9PadwLJCV-OZiv4klOd-VelOSmjdhfyUcYP9AQnfVxJpfPfspRvpdHikgm6LdXH2Jsh0S8sgmPMwLJ35QhrLpGXQ/s1600/final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXYZRaCbdYlsBkPSDeOsexAixOpaQXkx92N5VnbTQAGDdfJa27eBp9PadwLJCV-OZiv4klOd-VelOSmjdhfyUcYP9AQnfVxJpfPfspRvpdHikgm6LdXH2Jsh0S8sgmPMwLJ35QhrLpGXQ/s320/final.jpg" width="320" /></a>We have been looking at single-point perspective. Its a topic I'm fairly comfortable with. For one, my former art teachers managed to drill this into me many years ago (thank you!). Also I think I've always had a very mechanical eye as far as art has been concerned. I mean that metaphorically - any artistic flair is always constrained by a need for a technically "tight" drawing - not that i have some sort of cybernetic ocular receptor in the sockets of my skull.</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal">Our first subject was the canal near the university. I have completed my preparatory sketches for our second assignment - an old stone archway on a cobbled street, but have not yet finished.</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Game Production</b> (the modelling/texturing bit)</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09OeTH6xKJtMRmsE9CybYrluZhnHH0D7YEncZTWVA6C_0hUembdpi6pXT1qcwrYin_plEoq_kHZ-257d24MiiD5fLDkkPi5W9skUknDflByZIctS8tc8TRof-ni-Z-MLMt6nR5e1TtiQ/s1600/render01_1600x1200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09OeTH6xKJtMRmsE9CybYrluZhnHH0D7YEncZTWVA6C_0hUembdpi6pXT1qcwrYin_plEoq_kHZ-257d24MiiD5fLDkkPi5W9skUknDflByZIctS8tc8TRof-ni-Z-MLMt6nR5e1TtiQ/s200/render01_1600x1200.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal">Our first assignment was to create a Dalek - a tall order for the students on the course who had never done any 3d modelling before! Fortunately, I do have some experience and was able to help out some of the other guys. I find explaining stuff to others actually fleshes out my own understanding of the topic, so it has been helpful for me too. Working to a technical brief really made me rethink how I could model more efficiently. On the advice of a third-year, I redid my first attempt with what I had learnt and am pleased with the final result.</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUi72otvfmW4zuFf_C8e3nHPXjSrNUZSzDKIKX6fSNMCfH9IObJJcdQLhY0Tlquw5m5cASKuAqv-cgl7E6n9-4YQwTDAzgYdaNRHsUXPSJd6b6A1VrWj8g_ZilfDTlRAY4uUhxJzmyd1k/s1600/wheeliebin_glamourshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUi72otvfmW4zuFf_C8e3nHPXjSrNUZSzDKIKX6fSNMCfH9IObJJcdQLhY0Tlquw5m5cASKuAqv-cgl7E6n9-4YQwTDAzgYdaNRHsUXPSJd6b6A1VrWj8g_ZilfDTlRAY4uUhxJzmyd1k/s200/wheeliebin_glamourshot.jpg" width="200" /></a><o:p> </o:p></div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal">The second assignment was to model a wheelie bin. I chose one of the bins from my building's bin store, though later regretted the decision upon seeing all the interestingly grimy bins my fellow game artists had dredged up. So then, my disappointingly clean paper bin... </div><div align="justify" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Mod I have been working on for the past 9 months</b></div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal">Its finally drawing to a close. Or at least, the first chapter of it. I am working in a small team to remake an old role-playing game called Baldur’s Gate 2 in a new game engine - Dragon Age. Although I took on the project with a sentence something like “I don’t want to take a major role in this mod”, before long I found most of my free time was sinking into this mod, and I ended up being the guy organizing it.</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal">I can’t say I regret doing so - it has been thoroughly enjoyable and I have learnt a great many skills from it. I will let you know how it is received after the first chapter releases this Friday.</div><div align="justify" class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776626435615351405.post-7889022427619023532010-10-07T15:10:00.000-07:002010-10-09T04:04:25.455-07:00Introduction<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">You know what’s hard? Starting things is hard. Continuing things? That only requires momentum to be sustained. Ending things? Easiest of all, it usually requires doing nothing whatsoever. But <i>starting</i> things - like a blog? That requires things - like a title.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRt5Eeg4SFJs6H7trGtTziwHHkO_V881dgrU_Ev_0unw4Fg7UojEIgsoVTwKkiX5eGfiudNc8M17TTu43jKn-_N9V91IFbQS5bZ98LsCi9Kg3OEdtI9KubrmcqFfzSteWpUm3NmRuIEhk/s1600/mikephoto.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRt5Eeg4SFJs6H7trGtTziwHHkO_V881dgrU_Ev_0unw4Fg7UojEIgsoVTwKkiX5eGfiudNc8M17TTu43jKn-_N9V91IFbQS5bZ98LsCi9Kg3OEdtI9KubrmcqFfzSteWpUm3NmRuIEhk/s1600/mikephoto.jpg" /></a></div><span lang="EN-GB">An introduction is in order. I’m Mike Pickton, a first-year Game Art student at De Montfort University in Leicester. I made the decision a couple of years ago to abandon my Economics and Management university course and attempt entry into the games industry - something which I have a genuine passion for. I haven’t looked back!</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Working in Quality Assurance for Codemasters allowed me to see that I really wanted to visualise ideas and worlds into something tangible. For years I have modded and created my own games in my spare time. Retraining myself on an art foundation, and joining a three year course in Games Art, I hope to improve my self-taught skills to industry standard. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I would love to work as an environment artist initially, and move on to lead artist or producer. While my interest lies in the fantasy and science fiction genres, I enjoy the technical challenges of photorealistic production values and would be thrilled to work on any triple-A title for PC or consoles.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I have recently been very active in a team of modders looking to reproduce the roleplaying classic Baldur’s Gate 2 using the Dragon Age toolset; our first release is imminent. As part of this community, I also co-host a fortnightly podcast, record modding video tutorials and organise regular sponsored modding contests. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll be able to convert my work on Dragon Age into a summer placement at Bioware, and have an open dialogue with a couple of the developers there. I will be applying for a 3 month placement as an environment artist, hoping to demonstrate the desirable skills they list for this position:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-GB"> <ul><li> An ability to think in 3D<br />
</li>
<li> Drawings/sketches that display basic skills as well as any modelling and texture work related to objects, buildings, natural terrain, etc. <br />
</li>
<li> Excellent sense of form, weight (mass), and volume<br />
</li>
<li> Good use of light and shadow- Breadth of artistic styles<br />
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<li> An understanding of optimization<br />
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<li> Excellent sense of scale and level of finish<br />
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</ul></span></i> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<span lang="EN-GB">While I can currently demonstrate most of these abilities to some extent, building a professional portfolio in my first couple of weeks will be challenging. Fortunately, by the time I come to apply for a fulltime job, I plan to have developed many of my weaker areas. I intend to focus strongly on improving upon my breadth of artistic styles and sense of form, weight and volume as well as continually pushing myself outside of my comfort zone to become a better games artist. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Outside of games, I regularly play tennis and volleyball. While I really enjoy watching films of most genres, I struggle to find time to watch everything I’d like to! I love to travel, and have toured Southern Africa and Europe by road. I hope to travel to South-East Asia one summer, finances allowing!</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I have been looking forward to this course for 18 months now, and am extremely excited to be here. I anticipate thoroughly enjoying my time and hope to really excel in a subject that I am so passionate about! </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Starting this course? Easiest decision I have ever made. Continuing it? I have never wanted anything to be more difficult. Ending the course? I only hope I can!</span></div>Mike Picktonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05966566871504020882noreply@blogger.com0