Assignment 1: Researching Games

BTEC L3 Games Development

Assignment 1: Researching Games

Start Date: 28/09/15

End Date: 02/10/15

Tutor: Wayne, Gallear

Name: Wyatt, Chapman

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Types of Genres – Genres are the different types of games; from FPS to RPG, or even combining the two, it creates a whole new game.

FPS (First Person Shooter) – The main aim for an FPS type of game is to gun down the opposing team. Once you have eliminated a certain amount, the team with the most eliminations win.

CS:GO (Counter Strike : Global Offensive) is an FPS that is extremely competitive. 

There is no single player/story mode. When playing multiplayer it requires you to think on your toes against the other team, especially because this is one of the most advanced FPS today, (In my opinion) so if you don’t think tactically you are going to fail. Listening to footsteps, knowing when to reload, where and when to throw a grenade, flash or smoke are all vital.

RPG (Role Playing Game) – This type game focuses on story, questing and leveling up. It needs hours of attention and comes with a bundle of side-quest to keep you entertained. Usually there will be skill trees, or another form of perk system.

Skyrim is about a man/women that was destined to be executed, until a dragon came out from the heavens, slaughtering everyone but allowing you to escape and advance your skills further.

Skyrim is the most known RPG. It’s got tons of content, a driven story, great levelling system and hundreds of side-quests. Made by Bethesda (known for their RPG games) Skyrim will take hours, weeks, or maybe months to fully complete.

Strategy – Strategy games make the player think ahead when playing against an opponent. They must know what to capture, what to build, when they should attack and who to create an alliance with. One wrong move at the start of the game, could create problems later on in the game.

Empire: Total War is an historical game, which has amazing detail. Released in 2009 it was far ahead of its counter parts, which made it very popular among new types of audiences and already made fans of the total war series. This strategy game isn’t just about fighting though, there are diplomatic issues, trades that must be made, and naval battles must be fought. Land needs to be conquered and so war must be set.

Action – Action games demand fast reflexes, great accuracy, and timing to beat each level. Most action games merge with different genres, like battlefield 4. It’s a FPS but also an Action game that needs you to have better reflexes and accuracy to beat your opponent. Interactive movies can also merge with the action genre by adding quick time events, like Until Dawn.

Until Dawn is a horror game, where you play as 7 characters that must survive against a murderer and the Wendigo. Full of quick-time events, you panic to keep the characters alive throughout the story. One mistake can lead to the permanent demise of a character.

Simulation – These games are usually over complicated (like buss simulator) because of how many controls there are, but that is because simulation games try to copy the real world task of being a bus driver.

Each button, screen etc. can all be used and will be used so that you can understand, even if it’s just a little, what it’s like to be a bus driver. Mainly all you do in this game is drive around, pick up people that are standing at a bus stop and dive them to their location.

Action-Adventure – This type of genre has very interesting and popular games. The main type of games for this genre are [hard-core] stealth games or survival horrors.

Fox Engine: Metal Gear Solid V’s engine started being developed after 2008’s Metal Gear Solid 4 with the hopes of making the “best game engine in the world”.

The Metal Gear Solid series has a very heavy aspect of hard-core stealth game-play, except for the newest one of the series, all previous games needed you to use stealth throughout all of the story because that was the most efficient way for the player to progress.

Sports – The sport genre consists of competitive games such as Forza, an online and single player track racing game; or maybe people would prefer to play tennis on their Wii. In today’s generation of gaming most people play sports games on their Wii, PlayStation interactive controller, or the Xbox 360/Xbox One’s Kinect.

Forza series is just one of the most popular car racing games, and it’s not just because of the amazing graphics but the wide variety of cars to buy, or earn; leader-board placements (trying to get, or stay number 1) and the locations that you can race on.

Platformer – Platform games have been around for years. Almost all platformers are 2D with the exception of Fez having a 3-Dimensional camera used to see the level at a new angle. The idea is that you get placed within a level and have to make it to the end without dying, but it’s not that easy because there are obstacles in the way and puzzles you have to figure out.

Because of the advancement in technology players can now invite their friends over and play together on super Mario bros, this adds a whole new diverse way to get through the levels because players can pick each other up and then throw them over obstacles, or you can even throw them off the edge to kill them if you really feel like it.

The objective of Mario has never changed it's idea.You must complete a set number of levels before you get to the last level where you will then fight the boss and save Princess Peach from King Bowser and his children.

ETHICS:Impact on Games in Society

Games in society:

Concerns such as excess playing time – playing for long periods of time on a game can cause a lot of problems. One of these is involuntary movements, or urges to do certain actions, that would be done within a specific game. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/10663708/Excessive-gaming-can-cause-involuntary-actions.html this website explains the types of experiments they did on 762 forum users, which said they would avoid CCTV, try the grasp a gaming pad in thin air, or shoot things, or people with guns that were not there. http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/01/12/what-makes-games-so-addictive/ this website states why excessive gaming can be fatal. Chen, a male gamer, was playing at an internet café, doing  a marathon of League of Legends when the very next day he was found deceased, paused in the position that indicated that while he was possibly undergoing a cardiac arrest, he still attempted to play the game.

Social isolation – Gaming can cause people to become addict and sometimes this addiction can lead to them cutting them self-off from the real world. By doing so most people tend to forget how to interact with people in the real world, in a normal way. Anti-social behaviour can potentially cause people to go insane. Let’s say that you put someone on an island by themselves for a month or two. Eventually they will go insane because of lack of social interaction. Now say that the island is a bedroom, where someone plays games only by themselves, the same thing will happen because we are not anti-social beings, we must communicate with other people.  https://socialwellness.wordpress.com/the-causes-and-impact-of-social-isolation/ this article tells us the effects that social isolation can have on people. They can feel more depressed, feel like they have less energy.

Cost – Playing games can have a very big impact on your wallet. Along with the console you have to pay for, there will also be several games you will buy for the starting console of your choice, the cost can go up to £500+, and that’s only your console and some games. Imagine how much you will spend over the years just buying games. 

The problem isn’t just with physical objects though. Now days you have to buy in-game items with real money, just to progress to the next level. A perfect example of in-game temptations is Clash of Clan. This mobile game has an in-game currency called “Gems”. These gems can be used to instantly build, or upgrade items in your village. There are only two ways to get gems, and that’s using real money to get mass amounts of gems or waiting for clutter to build up and then removing it to collect 1-8 gems.

Separation from reality – There has been incidents where excessive playing and social isolation have come together to confuse reality with the gaming world. This can cause people to question if they are in a fake world (when in actuality they are in the real world) and think that the gaming world is where they belong, that it’s the real world. Because of this some people have committed real world crimes, such as: car theft, murders and try to recreate scenes from games, which can be gruesome and inhumane. http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/features/10-deaths-caused-by-video-games.html  numbers 3, 5, 8, are the main stories that were people that got confused and obsessed with their games.

Benefits – Playing certain games that require you to be quick thinking and move precisely when needed can also translate into real life situations. Games can increase cognitive functions, hand-eye coordination, reflexes and the time it takes you to look at a situation process it, then think of a solution on how to tackle that situation. http://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2013/mar/20/can-computer-games-sharpen-your-mind in this article someone states that just by playing games he’s able to unwind and relieve stress levels so that he can go back to work with a focused mind set.

Thinking and strategy skills – Some games are made specifically for this reason. Take the military for example. They use game simulations to help them sharpen reflexes, make quick judgments of situations, plan their next attacks strategically, increase teamwork and help with the psychological problems with war. http://www.polygon.com/2013/9/16/4738616/the-future-of-video-games-in-the-military this article explains what the military use games for. Some of the text is opinionated near the bottom, I would advise that you ignore that.

Future impact – With the way things are going, games are taking over everything. People are using wii sports to stay healthy and fit, instead of going out and doing it in reality, children are playing activity games, such as catch on PlayStation Champions. Socializing has become something that people do more over the internet rather than online. http://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/08/31/video-games-are-the-future-and-theres-no-way-to-avoid-them/ this article explains how things are going at the minute, and how new people are being introduced to gaming.

 Psychological factors: 

High score listings - Having high scores within a game is stressful because once you have 1st place you want to keep it, but anyone, anytime can beat that score, by just getting one more point than you, so because of this people come back to the game and spend hours trying to beat the new world record. This benefits the developers because it creates "loyal fans".

Competitive games - Competitive games have an amazing life span. This is because it's hard to get bored of beating other people. Once you find someone more skilled than you, it becomes stressful, knowing that someone out there is far superior. To prevent this people practice over and over again to hone their skills. In most games this can lead to people buying extra content to get better gear.

Peer pressure - Peer pressure with games is common. if you have ever had a friend tell you about some amazing game that surpasses all other games and you should go buy it because it's fun and he/she would love to play with you, then that would be classed as peer pressure. Your friend is giving a biased opinion that makes you question your own opinion and therefore causes you to want to buy the game, even if you didn't like it from the start, the fact that your "best" friend is telling you about it in this way makes you cave in.

Fun - A major factor within games is whether or not you enjoy them. Pick a type of game that suites your needs as a gamer. After all the main attraction of games is entertainment. If you're not having fun, then why are you playing that game. Even if you get angry at a game it can still mean it's fun, it's just that your stressed because you're stuck on one part.

Educational value - More and more games in today's generation are aimed at helping your brain to learn, or training your brain to hone reflex abilities, and hand to eye coordination etc. In the military they use war simulations so that soldiers can practice shooting a gun and killing the enemy. Of-course it wont have the same impact than if it was done in real life, but it's used to prepare them for what to expect. Games for the elderly are mainly used for amnesia patience or people recovering from strokes because games can help to nurture their brains recovery.

Expectations - Lots of gamers will overestimate a game from the predecessor, or from trailers and teasers. Expecting the sequel to be just as amazing as the first one, whether gamers know or not, this puts an incredible amount of stress on the developers. Take Valve for example; they made Half-Life and Half-Life 2, but they are afraid to make Half-Life 3 because of the expectations. They know that if they don't make a game that the consumers deem worthy of their demands then the developers will be sent hate mail, death threats etc. 

Leveling - If a leveling system in a game is to be implemented then it has to be balanced. The developers should not make an exp system and expect gamers to grind for 12 hours just to get to level 2, because they wont, it would just become boring and everyone will start to get bored, which means hate reviews will go online, then sales will drop and the company would have to eventually abandon the game because of the lack of funds. 

Yet if the developers make an excellent leveling system people will play for hours because they intend to become the strongest within the game and that can only be done by getting the level cap, to get the best loot. Borderlands for example had an original level cap at level 50, then they brought out DLC that contain 11 more levels, this brought back some of the fans and got gearbox some extra money, then they thought we'll increase the level by 11 again making the max cap at level 72, but of-course this also got people to buy this DLC, just so they could stay max level and have the best loot.

This is a small game sketch i did on paint, it's certainly not amazing and eye catching but it was just something quick i did to get the general idea. Basically the star is the starting point (bottom left, blue object) then you have to jump over the spikes where you will make it to the other side, then you jump on the platforms, onto the booster, grab the "warp gun" and then rush to the exit.

Game Plot (Character's goal, item information etc.) - the character's goal is to deliver 8 golden hearts to the evil empire. This empire wants the hearts for their incredible power. With this power they plan to dominate every piece of land. You are one of those people that want this power, and is being payed a hefty price for them. but while rushing there the character encounters hunters trying to take back the sacred hearts. Each time she accidentally drops one and leaves it behind, she will lose money off of her reward (end of level money to buy new upgrades). The hearts are your health and can be restored after you have finished the level or steal back the hearts before the hunters sneak off with them.

Throughout each level you will encounter chests. These chests have loot within them, that will help you in the long run, especially the chests with gems above them. Chests will be hard to get to as you progress and the player will have to decide whether to risk collecting the item for a later advantage, or to pick the safe route and possibly struggle later on. Each level will have several possible ways to complete it and i'm not talking about 2 ways but about 2-4 ways of completing the level, and considering the simplistic nature of the game, that's a fair amount.

The CCTV cameras watch your every move, and will decide accordingly where to place traps. The traps can be quite deadly; from closing a pathway off, giving a countdown to complete the level, giving out fake chests, or spawning more enemies in. It will also resort to cheap taunts, in an attempt to aggravate the player. This could lead someone to want to complete the level twice as much as before. Yet this isn't just your "arch enemy", the CCTV camera will also record each level you complete. This recording will assess where you will be on the scoreboard. Faster the time on a level, the higher up on the scoreboard the player will be.