The use of sound and interactive elements in games.

The use of sound in games is extremely important as it can create a whole new atmosphere and setting for the player, for example horror games these types of games have unique sounds that make the player feel tense and scared and they also use jump scares to freak the player out. If you play a game with a headset it is more then likely going to be using surround sound, this means it simulates you actually being there, for example if an enemy was running behind you, you would clearly be able to tell where the enemy is and give you a sense of panic. Also sound can be used to your advantage in competitive games for example csgo you can listen out for footsteps to accurately pin point the players location and get the upper hand on the opponent. However depending on the type of game, sound is used differently for example in Dark Souls the music intensifies when you are in a boss fight and as soon as you kill the boss the music starts to mellow out and it appears almost calming. In addition in games sound can be used to warn players of certain events. For example if something bad is about to happen the music would get louder or the tempo of the music would get higher to simulate a fast beating heart.

Another key feature to most games would be its interactive elements, this could be from opening doors to picking up coins off the floor. This is what makes a game unique as it adds more to a game and makes the player feel as if they are doing something and it gives the players a clear focus. For example if in a game you had to go and pick up a quest item from a boss the player would instantly know where he is going to next and what his next focus is in the game. Also in games like Borderlands where there is so many things to pick up and collect it makes it fun because the player can choose what they want and have to make choices.

In our map we wanted to add interactive elements like a draw bridge and sign posts that read out our facts when you pressed a button. Also we was going to add some music to give it a natural feel so wind and birds, but unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to add these features into our game. I feel that if these features were added to the map it would have made it stand out from the crowd and it would have been unique.

Task 2 – E Sports

E sports is a multiplayer game played competitively by professionals for an audience. One of the biggest competitively played games would be League Of Legends. This game has a huge number of pro teams from all over the world. Also what stands this game out from all the others is that every game is different there is different items and spells that factor into the play style and outcome of the game this is why it is extremely hard to become pro and play to that level. This game has expanded vastly and is now one of the most played games in the world. In this game the pros have to be extremely aware of their surroundings, they need to have super fast reflexes and be extremely good at communicating as this game is heavily team based.

E sports has had a positive effect on the game industries as it has kept certain game genres alive for example battle royale games. At the start games like h1z1 didn’t have a huge player base but when it was introduced into e sports it created a huge rise in player count for these games. Now battle royale games are among one of the most popular games with new games such as Fortnite and PUBG also making it into e sports and attracting a huge number of players.

In contrast e sports has had a bad impact on the games industry because some games would heavily rely on e sports to bring players to the game before the game has even come out. For example Evolve was created around e sports. But when it came out it didn’t have a big player base so  it never made it to the e sports, this meant that the company lost a lot of money.

This picture is from one of the League Of Legends pro games as you can see hundreds and thousands of people across the world come to see their favorite teams battle it out.

My E Sports game idea.

My E sports game would be a 5v5 domination style game. The teams would have different clothing so it is clear who is ally and who is enemy. You would have 3 capture points on the map that you need to hold to earn points. Every 5 seconds you will earn 2 points per capture point, and it is 100 points to win. It will be a best of 4 games  with a sudden death round if both teams win 2 games. The rounds will have a time limit of 10 minutes.

Hadleigh Castle – Evaluation

In this project we had to work in small teams to recreate a local broken castle from the 1800s. At first we all went to the castle in person to get a look at the overall layout of the castle and to get the correct scale of the towers and walls.

The first week was mainly done research so this includes our going to the castle and gathering our own pictures and materials to use. We also done some deep digging on the castles background and its history and what it was used for. We used a website called Trello to share all of our groups research and models ect. This was helpful as we could easily find and store information for the whole project. Also during the first week I made a scale block out of the whole castle that we would use to make our models to so they are big enough for our level. Our team consisted of 4 people we all had different roles and deadlines, this made it quicker in the long run as we all just put our individual things in the end to build the castle. I was mainly working on models and scaling the models but I was also helping the whole team if they needed the help.

After completing the block out i started to model some basic tower shapes and wall structures. At first it was going to plan but after I finished my models we realised that there was different tower shape and sizes for different purposes, this meant i had to go back and do some more research into the towers and the design. After doing the research I continued with making the towers. After making the models I helped make the textures for the towers and walls. We used photo shop to make a seemless texture that was clear and good-looking.

If we could go back I would improve how long I spent with the tower models and the research as this cost us a lot of time at the end as we had to go back and complete it after already doing it once. Also I think we could have done more research of how the surroundings were as that was one of the main points the client comented on as it wasnt surrounded by trees it was on a hill with a river close by.

Overall I  feel that our end product came out well and the feedback we got from the client was good. There is things we could have improved as a team but overall we worked really well and communicated well. My favorite part of our castle is the small details such as torches and usable ladders as this gave our castle a unique feel.

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Fmp – Evaluation

My final project  was to create a game map using all of the skills we have learnt throughout the year. We could choose any theme we wanted, the first thing that popped into my head was to make an island. As I started my research I decided I was going to make it in the style of the Easter islands with the Head statutes also in my game I added a hut and fallen trees. I added some targets for the player to shoot while they are running around the map. We used the computers in college to create our games, we used programs such as photo-shop, unreal engine and maya to create our games.

At the beginning I had to do some research to specifically choose the types of trees and terrain I wanted, also I had to look at the different types of statues. Also I had to choose a game mode for my game, this took a while as I had to fit my design so the map was balanced. In the end I just decided to go with a team death match game mode as it makes my map extremely fair and balanced. For my research I mainly looked up tropical islands and looked at the Easter island for inspiration for my map.  Also I had to look at a lot of different statute shapes to get the perfect look.

 

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When I was making my game I had to make the map as fair as possible so I couldn’t give one team more cover then the other so I made the map mainly symmetrical so it’s as fair as possible but i also changed bits on both sides to make it not feel the same. Also I looked at some other game maps similar to mine to take some inspiration away. In the big open spaces i added the statue model to break vision so the players could hide behind cover and this adds a tactical element to my game.

Next I had to use unreal engine and create my terrain I used the landscape tool, this tool allows you to create natural mountains and hill areas by raising the ground up and down and you can also corrode mountain faces to give it a natural look. My map includes the 3 lane rule, this means what ever way you chose to go down there is 3 options for the player to move in this allows the map to have a lot more technicality and makes the game fun to play. This rule gives the player options rather than limit them to one lane, this rule is used in big titles like over watch. Also I was trying to put some foliage into my game so I was trying to put some grass and small pebbles into my map to make it look more interesting but I was stuck but after some help I got simple grass that moves in the wind and some small rocks on the ground to add some detail onto my level.

After finishing my landscape I moved onto creating my basic models. First of all I started to make my stone head model. I got some pictures from the internet and drew some concept art to make the models from. Overall I feel that the model came out pretty well as you can clearly see what it is from the model. Next was my palm tree model, at first I tried to model the leaves separate but after struggling I asked my tutor for help with an easier way to make the leaves and he showed me how to use a vertex shade, this basically means I can use an image of an actual palm leaf and put it on my tree to make it look realistic. I used this method for my vines as well to create some overhanging vines on the trees. After making the models i continued to make simple but effective textures for the models. I would have to use photo-shop to create a seamless texture. I would then create a new material on maya and apply the texture. Then I would have to edit the uv map so the texture doesn’t look stretched.

 

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During this project I have learnt how to create a map and take in all of the additional factors that create a map like the game mode and the setting of the map. Also during this time I  have improved with all of the programs we used, for example before I did not know how to navigate through photo shop smoothly but now I know more about the tools and how they work and how to create seemless textures.

If I could go back and improve I would do a few things. The first thing I would improve would be the research as I came across a few problem due to my lack of planing such as I didn’t think of how to keep the players from exiting the map, also I could have planned the model better as I could have made a few different types of statues and trees to give my game a unique feel. Also another area I could improve in would be my concept art as I did not have the amount I would have liked, or i could have taken more time with my drawings as some of them you can tell are rushed as I was running out of time. Finally I think i could improve my time management as some weeks I was bundled with work and was struggling whereas, in other weeks I felt like i had no work to do.

Overall I am happy with how my project turnt out and I am looking foward to further improving my skill with these programmes, I am also looking foward to working with more programes and seeing the other ways of making certain models and objects.

Production Log 5

This week i had to fix major problems with my map. The problem I had was making sure the players can not go outside of my map. I had to make my map a island so i can put boundaries around the edge so nobody can exit my map. I did not think about this when i first started making my map but, for future projects I will have to do a lot more planning. Furthermore this week i have also finished adding foliage to my game, I have made moving grass and small pebbles. In addition I finished my textures for all of my models.

Next week I will be adding a game feature to my game. The players will have to shoot targets that will spawn around the map.

Map boundaries

I made a mistake with my map design. I didn’t put much thought into how i would stop players getting out of my map. So once i finished my map i thought i could just put an invisible wall around my map to stop players but, i soon realized that this would be bad as it would make no sense because of the mountains in my map.  So i decided that i would make my map into an island and created another terrain to extend out of my map to make it its own tropical island surrounded by water. I will stop the players walking out of the map by putting water around the edge but if you go into the water you will die. In the future i will need to take more time planing my map so i do not have this problem with other projects.

 

Production log 4

This week I have been mostly focusing on my blog. I have been making sure I am up to date with all my work and making sure I post on my blog what i have been doing also, I have been finalizing my textures and applying them in game. I still need to finish some textures for my hut and my statues but after that i wont have much left to finish. I can improve my textures by making sure I UV map them correctly so they look good on the models. Also I still need to make a bush model and some plants to put all over my map to give it character. I am looking forward to seeing my game finished as I think it will look and play amazing.

Concept art. Palm Trees

Here are my drawings of palm trees. I think these will make my game look much better as it adds a design element into my game also I can use them as fallen trees to create cover or bridges. If I would improve my leafs as they are too small and scruffy.

Concept art. Map designs

Here are my original map design drawings. The 1st picture was my original idea. The idea was to have 5 islands all joined up by broken trees and boats and I would have a big hut in the middle island where most of the combat would be.

My second idea was my favourite idea and is the one I am using. It is just one main island split in half by a river. The map will have huts and statues and palm trees. There will be a broken tree in the middle to link both half of the island together.

Concept art. Statues

These are my stone statue drawings. These are influenced by the easter island heads. My map is a tropical island so I thought it would be unique to add these onto my map. I will mainly be using these to block lines of site to make the gameplay more tactical and fun.