Unit 1: Assignment 3

Game Research

Objective

• You need to research three games which use a similar art style and genre to the one you would have made for your concept art.

• Complete a table of details for the game in question• Write up an evaluation of the game, focusing on the

graphical style and genre and how they compliment each other

• Include a collage of images from that game with annotations as to how these examples are useful for your own production

• Review how you can use this information to develop your own work (Concept art and final digitally designed image)

Game Research #1 Game title Final fantasy XIII

Publisher Square Enix

System Ps3 & Xbox 360

Genre Adventure & Role-playing

Release date December 2009 japan and worldwide in March 2010

Graphical Style Exaggeration

Game Research: Evaluation #1

• Provide a brief summary of the game, discussing how the graphical style and the genre compliment each other.

• Why does this game use the art style that it does? What effect does this have on the tone of the game & the feel?

With regards to final fantasy, I chose this game to research because the graphic style is exaggerated which is the same as mine. My main focus point on the research of this game is the weapons. The weapons in this game are exaggerated and larger then life, they happen to be a lot bigger then the characters themselves which is the bases and main focus of exaggeration game style. This is how I intend to make my weapons in my game.

Game Research: Collage #1Produce of collage of images from the game which best exemplify the art style they have used with annotations as to how you can use this to help your own sketches and game idea.

I can use these to help my own sketches because I have an idea of how big my weapon should be.

Game Research: Review #1

How can/ will you use all this information to help you with your sketches for Unit 13 Activity 3?

I will use this information for my sketches by making my weapons larger then it’s owners. This will be beneficial for my game as it matches my choice of graphic style (exaggerated)

Game Research #2 Game title Dragon Age 2

Publisher Electronic Arts

System X box 360, ps3, pc

Genre Fantasy & adventure

Release date March 8th 2011

Graphical Style Exaggerated

Game Research: Evaluation #2

• Provide a brief summary of the game, discussing how the graphical style and the genre compliment each other.

• Why does this game use the art style that it does? What effect does this have on the tone of the game & the feel?

Dragon age 2 also has many weapons and shields which are larger then life, this is the reason why I've decided to research this game. The characters are also a lot smaller then some the enemy’s which is another reason as to why I chose to research this game, as I am considering to have the enemy's in my game bigger then the hero.

Game Research: Collage #2Produce of collage of images from the game which best exemplify the art style they have used with annotations as to how you can use this to help your own sketches and game idea.

The villains are larger then the heroes, this is useful because now I have an idea of how much bigger I should make the villains from my heroes for my game.

Game Research: Review #2

How can/ will you use all this information to help you with your sketches for Unit 13 Activity 3?

I will use this information for my sketches by making the villains in my game larger then the hero’s. I believe this is effected as it makes it seem for the game player, that it will be more difficult to beat the villain.

Game Research #3 Game title Gears of wars

Publisher Microsoft Studios

System Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows

Genre Sci-fi/ post apocalyptic

Release date November 17, 2006

Graphical Style Exaggerated

Game Research: Evaluation #3

• Provide a brief summary of the game, discussing how the graphical style and the genre compliment each other.

• Why does this game use the art style that it does? What effect does this have on the tone of the game & the feel?

• The genre and graphic style go well together. Especially as the villains in the game are larger then life and are creatures, rather then humans. If the graphic style was photorealistic, it would not look good and flow well with the villains as they are creatures.

Game Research: Collage #3

These images will help me in my sketches as they have given me an idea of how I should make my villains face look.

Game Research: Review #3

How can/ will you use all this information to help you with your sketches for Unit 13 Activity 3?

I researched this game mainly because of the form of which the creatures are in. They’re not in human form. I am looking to have the villains in my game fully demonised which is why I researched this game. From the research I gained some ideas of how to make my villains look in my exaggerated style of game.

40%

10%

40%

10%

What art style do you think would work well in an action adventure game

Celshaded photo realistic exaggerated abstract

The results show that exaggerated & Cel shaded would work well in an action/adventure game. It also shows that photorealistic and abstract will not fit and suit this genre. I believe people were not in favour of an abstract style game for this specific genre because abstract games are mostly used in puzzle games like Tetris and it does not suit this genre. I believe people were in favour of exaggerated game style because it’s possible to make the game hyper realistic, meaning it can be made larger then life. I believe people were in favour for Cel shaded because this type of graphic style appeals to the younger generation, for example a lot of young teenagers and kids play Pokémon which is a Cel shaded game style.

I asked this question because I wanted to find out which game style would be most effective for the genre of my game.

This means I will be using an exaggerated graphic style for my game, I will be using an exaggerated graphic style because I want my weapons and characters to be larger then life, as I feel it would work better for my game. The reason I chose to go with exaggerated rather then Cel shaded is because I want to target not only young audience members but also older audience members. I believe exaggerated game style would work better for this.

15%

30%

40%

15%

Which area of a game should have the most focus when it comes to concept art?

Environment Characters Items Level Designs

I chose to ask this question because I wanted to know what audience members would want me to focus on more.

The results show that items should have the most focus on when it comes to concept art. I believe this is because most of the people in my class are males, and males tend to focus more on weaponry rather then environments and characters. Another reason why this received most votes is possibly because the weapons will be used throughout the whole game, whereas the environment changes throughout the game. Level designs received least votes, I believe this is because levels are not as important as items and characters.

This means I will focus mostly on items, when it comes to concept art. I look to make my weapons larger then life and put a good level of detail in to it.

50%

0%0%

50%

In a game with demons as the main enemies, what setting would be

most appropriate

The city Saburb Country side MansionsI asked this question because I want to know where the setting should be.

The results show the suburbs and country side are not in favour at all. I believe this because the city and a mansion would create more excitement for my class members. I believe the results turned out like this because me and my class mates are in the city, so it would be more favourable for us to have a game that we can relate to. The country side has less people meaning less drama. Mansions had a high number of votes because mansion are very big and luxurious.

I will the setting of the city because I believe it will be more exciting and entertaining for the audience as the city has many places, which makes for a bigger adventure.

5%5%

85%

5%

In a game with demons what weapons would you expect the main character to have

Boomerangs

Machine gun

Sword with button on it, when pressed fire comes out

Gun that shots out blades

I asked this question because I want to know which weapon would appeal to the audience more and which weapon would be most effective.

The results show that a staggering 85% of my class members went for a sword with buttons on it, and when pressed fire comes out. I believe this was most popular because it adds way more excitement and is unique from the other weapons. The other weapons are very plain compared to the sword, and in all honesty I am not surprised what so ever by the results. I am however surprised by the votes for the guns. This is because like the sword, it is unique as the gun has blades coming out, this is different from the others and a lot more exciting then a boomerang and an average machine gun.

This means I will have the sword as my main weapon, this is exciting as I will aim to make it larger then life, this will match with the graphic style of my game.

27%

23%

36%

14%

What Clothes would you expect the main hero to wear

Long jacket, no top on with combat trousers and boots

Leather jacket, black jeans and casual shoes

Casual Clothes such a t shirt, trousers and trainers

Suits

I asked this questions because I wanted to know what outfit would look suitable for my hero.

Casual clothes was most favourable. I believe the reason behind this is because my class mates dress casually and they would be able to relate to the game more. People who can relate to the game will be more interested and hooked on to playing the game. The reasons why suits got the least votes is because it don’t suit a game where a hero will have to kill demons. Whereas the casual clothes is for everyday, suits are not.

From the results, I will be using casual clothes, this will work better as it shows my hero is more kicked back and relaxed.

10%

40%

30%

10%

10%

what form should demon be inHumanoed Fully Demonised

Half human, half demon Mostly human with little demon features

Mostly demon with little humanity

I asked this question because I wanted to know what form the demons would be most effective in for the audience.

Fully demonised received the majority of the votes, I believe the reason behind this is because people would rather see something different from humans. Humanoid received joint least votes because a human as a villain is not exciting, compared to a demon in full demon form. Half human, half demon received second highest, I believe this is because it is different and is more scary then completely human form.

The results mean I will be using fully demonised, but considering that half human, half demon got a high vote as well, I may use it as it’s different and brings excitement to the game.

10%

75%

10%

5%

What colour should the main heroes weapon be

Black Blue Red White

I asked this because I wanted to know what colour would be most popular for a weapon.

Blue received highest votes. Black and red received a low percentage of 10% each. White received 5% which is the least out of the lot. I believe blue was most successful because most peoples favourite colour in my class is blue.

I will be using blue because of the popularity of the colour and also I believe this will blend well with the sword when the button is pressed and the fire comes out.

85%

5%

5%5%

What colour hair should the main hero have

Black Brown Blonde Red

I asked this because I wanted to know which hair colour is most popular with my classmates.

Black received the highest votes, which is not surprising. The rest of the colours are out of the ordinary and people may consider them colours to be weird for someone's hair. Most people have black hair in my class as well which is probably the reason as to why most people voted for it.

I will be using black as it’s simple, also the other colours may look weird on the hero.

20%

30%30%

20%

What age hero should a Exaggerated art style adventure game have?

Age 5-15 Age 16-26 Age 27-37 Age 38 or over

I asked this because I wanted to know what age group suits an exaggerated graphic styles game.

Age 16-26 received joint highest votes alongside the ages of 27-37. I believe 16-26 was chosen because my class mates are between the ages of 16- 18, so they can relate to it. I believe my class mates didn’t vote highly for ages between 5-15 because they would not want to see someone younger be superior to something which is something strong. Age 38 or over was less popular because I believe my class mates think that, them ages are too old to be fighting and it would seem very unrealistic.

These results were useful because now I know what age group is most popular for an adventure game.

My Game

The setting is 3 different houses in a world full of demons, first 2 house at the end has 2 mini bosses at the end and then the final house has a main boss.

I have 2 main characters. You can choose between them in

the beginning . They both have different type of elements which come out of their

swords.

The characters are ‘’Damon’’ and ‘’Stefan’’. Damon’s sword has the element of fire when he presses the button. Damon has a gun that shots out blades, the blades are surrounded by fire. In each house he will a maximum of 20 blades inside the gun. He can add more blades by finding them around the house. If the blades miss the target then he can retrieve it by picking up and the fire will reappear once put back into the gun.

When Stefan’s sword is inside someone, and he presses the button on his sword, it will drain some of the enemies health and add it to his. This is not very effective to the bosses. he also has a boomerang which when it hits the enemy the blade poisons the opposition, slowly they will lose life, even if they don’t get attacked after the boomerang has been taken out. He has 10 of these in each house. He can get more

Damon is tall with messy hair and muscular. Stefan is muscular, a little shorter than Damon and has the same body figure as Damon. Damon wears a slim fit jacket that is not zipped up and wears no top under. The jacket is red and his trousers are black, he holds his sword in his hand and has his gun under the belt of his trousers. Stefan wears a dark, black, long jacket with black jeans and Stefan also has a boomerang which when it hits the enemy the blade poisons the opposition, slowly they will lose life, even if they don’t get attacked after the boomerang has been taken out. He has 10 of these in each house. Each character has 100% life. Once they are under 20% they are able to do a super move/combo. They both have their own unique moves.

The characters have to save Damon’s girlfriend who got kidnapped by the boss demons workers. They must save her before he demonises her mind!!!

People’s views on my game

• The majority of pupils in my class liked the idea concept of my game. Some changes in which they requested is too have less characters. I took this into consideration and concluded that I will follow up on their request as I believe it will be better to focus on one character rather then 2.