Ubi-art allows the animation of any kid of single image. You basically cut it up, add a skeleton and begin animating. The software compensates for any deformation of the image. This approach is specifically designed to compliment the artist. By simplifying the process, artists can animate with freedom and simplicity. Michel Ansel, creator of Rayman, expressed that this tool was meant to be shared and to get people involved. I can understand why he wants this software to be open source. People that are put of by the complexity of games can now simply draw and animate. It could open up gaming significantly and create a whole new community of artists, animators and gamers.
Monday 21 May 2012
Ubi-art
Ubi-art is the engine used to create the beautiful environments of Rayman Origins and hopefully will soon be open source.
Ubi-art allows the animation of any kid of single image. You basically cut it up, add a skeleton and begin animating. The software compensates for any deformation of the image. This approach is specifically designed to compliment the artist. By simplifying the process, artists can animate with freedom and simplicity. Michel Ansel, creator of Rayman, expressed that this tool was meant to be shared and to get people involved. I can understand why he wants this software to be open source. People that are put of by the complexity of games can now simply draw and animate. It could open up gaming significantly and create a whole new community of artists, animators and gamers.
Ubi-art allows the animation of any kid of single image. You basically cut it up, add a skeleton and begin animating. The software compensates for any deformation of the image. This approach is specifically designed to compliment the artist. By simplifying the process, artists can animate with freedom and simplicity. Michel Ansel, creator of Rayman, expressed that this tool was meant to be shared and to get people involved. I can understand why he wants this software to be open source. People that are put of by the complexity of games can now simply draw and animate. It could open up gaming significantly and create a whole new community of artists, animators and gamers.
Support for the Creative Industries in Leeds
There are 6 sectors in the creative industries
- Advertising and marketing
- Publishing
- Music and performing arts
- TV, film, radio and photography
- Visual arts
- games, software development
Support for the creative industries in Leeds
- Marketing Leeds
- Leeds Digital Festival
- Leeds Fashion Show
- Munroe House
- Advertising and marketing
- Publishing
- Music and performing arts
- TV, film, radio and photography
- Visual arts
- games, software development
Support for the creative industries in Leeds
- Marketing Leeds
- Leeds Digital Festival
- Leeds Fashion Show
- Munroe House
Dishonoured
Dishonoured is a game that looks very promising. Being developed by several talented developers, including Viktor Antoniv, the man behind Half Life 2's City 17 and Harvey Smith, Dues Ex, Dishonoured is a bioshock-esque game set in a city of corruption, magic and deadly plots.
The game follows Corvo, an ex-bodyguard for the empress, blamed for her murder and left to die in a prison. After receiving magical powers from an unknown benefactor, Corvo seeks to find out the truth in a city rich in poverty and corruption.
Corvo's powers range from freezing time, jumping great heights to possessing rats and fish. All of these powers provide several varied means to carry out assassinations. You don't even need to kill anyone in the game. The game is so varied in this way that the developers looked towards game testers to carry out creative means of completing the mission whether a killing spree or a cautious assassin aiming for just the one kill.
Dishonoured is scheduled for release in October this year and I leave you with the trailer.
The game follows Corvo, an ex-bodyguard for the empress, blamed for her murder and left to die in a prison. After receiving magical powers from an unknown benefactor, Corvo seeks to find out the truth in a city rich in poverty and corruption.
Corvo's powers range from freezing time, jumping great heights to possessing rats and fish. All of these powers provide several varied means to carry out assassinations. You don't even need to kill anyone in the game. The game is so varied in this way that the developers looked towards game testers to carry out creative means of completing the mission whether a killing spree or a cautious assassin aiming for just the one kill.
Dishonoured is scheduled for release in October this year and I leave you with the trailer.
Thursday 17 May 2012
The Great Gatsby for Nes
Here we have F.Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel, The Great Gatsby, developed into an NES style 8-bit platformer. You play as the narrator, Nick Carraway, as you take on dancers, waiters and gangsters throughout scenes in the novel.
The games website claims that the game is an unreleased localisation of a Nintendo game called 'Doki Doki Toshokan: Gatsby no Monogatari' complete with manual and artwork. However, Charlie Hoey made it as an 8-bit tribute.
Hoey's game is similar to the 'demakes' of Eric Ruth, known for creating demakes of Team Fortress and Left 4 Dead.
The games website claims that the game is an unreleased localisation of a Nintendo game called 'Doki Doki Toshokan: Gatsby no Monogatari' complete with manual and artwork. However, Charlie Hoey made it as an 8-bit tribute.
Hoey's game is similar to the 'demakes' of Eric Ruth, known for creating demakes of Team Fortress and Left 4 Dead.
Modding
Valve has recently released the Portal map maker along with Skyrim's creation kit. Modding is a great way to up the life of your game. Players can create and share weapons, upgrades and literally make anything. I have been interesting in modding since downloading a lot for Oblivion. Basically, I hoarded any interesting mods until the game crashed and became unplayable. However, it did give the chance to try out the tools they used to make all this stuff. Although I never got as far as placing a crate in a dungeon, I look forward to downloading both Portal's and Skyrim's tools to make something maybe as weird as the 'my little pony' dragon skins.
Wednesday 16 May 2012
The Sound Design of Batman: Arkham City
Arkham City was so successful as it compiled some of the best people of their trade to work together. Paul Dini worked the script, Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy took their place as the Joker and Batman.
Of course, sound was no exception.
In this article on Destructoid, some of the best sound designers explain the various processes they used. John Roesch was the Foley artist in Arkham City. He was also the artist in the Dark Knight, Matrix and Inception. It was interesting see him work, he uses anything to create the right sound. For example, to create the sound of bones breaking, he would break a leek in half. I didn't think it would work, but it does. This creative approach to sound design made some of the best sounds in the game.
Of course, sound was no exception.
In this article on Destructoid, some of the best sound designers explain the various processes they used. John Roesch was the Foley artist in Arkham City. He was also the artist in the Dark Knight, Matrix and Inception. It was interesting see him work, he uses anything to create the right sound. For example, to create the sound of bones breaking, he would break a leek in half. I didn't think it would work, but it does. This creative approach to sound design made some of the best sounds in the game.
Sectors and Services
Various sectors-
- primary sector - extraction and harvesting of natural resources
- public, supported by the tax payer
- secondary sector - processing, construction, manufacturing goods
- private, privately owned
- tertiary sector - knowledge, education, finance, services
- charities, non profit, voluntary, community owned businesses
All creative industries are in the service industries.
The Creative Industries-
- Creative England
- set up in Yorkshire and financed by the government to create projects.
- primary sector - extraction and harvesting of natural resources
- public, supported by the tax payer
- secondary sector - processing, construction, manufacturing goods
- private, privately owned
- tertiary sector - knowledge, education, finance, services
- charities, non profit, voluntary, community owned businesses
All creative industries are in the service industries.
The Creative Industries-
- Creative England
- set up in Yorkshire and financed by the government to create projects.
Just Say Yes!
The big society
- what makes life worthwhile?
- Does work count and is it worthwhile?
Volunteering
- Chance to make a difference
- builds motivation
- tackles social exclusion
- build management skills
- gain work experience
- work with professionals
- boost your portfolio
- meet new people
- what makes life worthwhile?
- Does work count and is it worthwhile?
Volunteering
- Chance to make a difference
- builds motivation
- tackles social exclusion
- build management skills
- gain work experience
- work with professionals
- boost your portfolio
- meet new people
Copyright Issues
The internet has become extremely hazardous in terms of copyright and intellectual property.
Intellectual property is refers to the products of your mind.
- inventions, designs, names among others used in commerce
- films, games, fashion designs
All work is covered automatically by the Copyright, Design and UK Patents act of 1998. This means that you own the right to do whatever you what with your IP. This also includes anything you upload onto the internet, but only applies in UK territory. For international uses, apply the copyright symbol, ©, to show to others that it is your work.
Patents, Trademarks, Logos and copyright.
- Patents last up to 20 years
- Trademarks and logos last forever
- Copyright lasts up to 75 after your death
To prove that your work is, in fact, yours, make sure to keep track of your work every step. This includes the beginning of the idea, its progress and the final product. Also, deposit a copy of your work at a bank, solicitor, or send a copy to yourself in a sealed envelope to show that it existed at that point.
If someone is using your work and you don't know about it, simply ask them to take it down or to address you as the owner. It saves both time and money. If not, seek legal advice, however this may be more complicated if this someone lives in another country, you would be under their laws.
Alternatives to copyright
Copyleft
- the practice of using existing copyright laws to allow the distribution of work.
Attribution - CC BY
- allows others to alter and distribute your work, as long as you are placed as the original author
Attribution - ShareAlike CC BY -SA
- The same as above, however the new work is has to be under the same licence.
Attribution - NoDerivatives CC BY -ND
- allows the distribution of your work, however it cannot be changed and you are placed as the original owner
Attribution - NonCommercial CC BY -NC
- allows others to change your work for non- commercial purposes provided that you are aware that they are doing so
Intellectual property is refers to the products of your mind.
- inventions, designs, names among others used in commerce
- films, games, fashion designs
All work is covered automatically by the Copyright, Design and UK Patents act of 1998. This means that you own the right to do whatever you what with your IP. This also includes anything you upload onto the internet, but only applies in UK territory. For international uses, apply the copyright symbol, ©, to show to others that it is your work.
Patents, Trademarks, Logos and copyright.
- Patents last up to 20 years
- Trademarks and logos last forever
- Copyright lasts up to 75 after your death
To prove that your work is, in fact, yours, make sure to keep track of your work every step. This includes the beginning of the idea, its progress and the final product. Also, deposit a copy of your work at a bank, solicitor, or send a copy to yourself in a sealed envelope to show that it existed at that point.
If someone is using your work and you don't know about it, simply ask them to take it down or to address you as the owner. It saves both time and money. If not, seek legal advice, however this may be more complicated if this someone lives in another country, you would be under their laws.
Alternatives to copyright
Copyleft
- the practice of using existing copyright laws to allow the distribution of work.
Attribution - CC BY
- allows others to alter and distribute your work, as long as you are placed as the original author
Attribution - ShareAlike CC BY -SA
- The same as above, however the new work is has to be under the same licence.
Attribution - NoDerivatives CC BY -ND
- allows the distribution of your work, however it cannot be changed and you are placed as the original owner
Attribution - NonCommercial CC BY -NC
- allows others to change your work for non- commercial purposes provided that you are aware that they are doing so
What is an Evaluation?
We make choices all the time based on:
- valued judgements
- reviews
- weighing the pros and cons
Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses for improvement.
Bloom's Taxonomy
- Knowledge
- Understanding
- Application
- Analysis
- Synthesis
- Evaluation
How Do We Begin?
- Identify what you need to evaluate
- Organise your thoughts
- Analyse and reflect
- Draw attention to certain points i.e. your strengths and your weaknesses
Do's and Don't's
Do:
- Stick to the subject
- explain why you did something or why you enjoyed or hated something
- qualify and explain your achievements
Don't:
- Say you did something without supporting with some evidence
- leave your evaluation until the last minute: it is a reflection of your experience with the module, make it count.
- valued judgements
- reviews
- weighing the pros and cons
Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses for improvement.
Bloom's Taxonomy
- Knowledge
- Understanding
- Application
- Analysis
- Synthesis
- Evaluation
How Do We Begin?
- Identify what you need to evaluate
- Organise your thoughts
- Analyse and reflect
- Draw attention to certain points i.e. your strengths and your weaknesses
Do's and Don't's
Do:
- Stick to the subject
- explain why you did something or why you enjoyed or hated something
- qualify and explain your achievements
Don't:
- Say you did something without supporting with some evidence
- leave your evaluation until the last minute: it is a reflection of your experience with the module, make it count.
Claw - one of the hardest games ever
I've been meaning to do a post on difficult games but couldn't think of anything relative. People usually use Super Meat Boy as a classic example, so to switch it up I'm going to talk about Claw, a game I have had since childhood and after 15 or so years, have never beat.
Claw is a game about a cat pirate looking for the amulet of nine-lives, an artifact granting the user immortality. He has an arsenal consisting of dynamite, bullets, his trusty sword, fists and a special kamehameha-esque power called 'magic claw'. It was awesome.
Claw isn't a fun game. It was and still is extremely frustrating having only completed around 75% of it in the 15 years I have had it. However, I find that the enjoyment stems from the difficulty. Claw doesn't make you tear your hair out, it pushes you to keep on playing. and when you finish a level, you feel like a boss.
One of the aspects that makes games like Claw so appealing is the artistic style. Claw possesses a unique artistic style with levels ranging from murky forests, to bustling ports and underwater caverns.
Similar to Super Meat Boy, both games look beautiful and that's why I think we forgive them for being so difficult.
As Claw is now abandonware, you can download it from here, abandonia.
Claw is a game about a cat pirate looking for the amulet of nine-lives, an artifact granting the user immortality. He has an arsenal consisting of dynamite, bullets, his trusty sword, fists and a special kamehameha-esque power called 'magic claw'. It was awesome.
Claw isn't a fun game. It was and still is extremely frustrating having only completed around 75% of it in the 15 years I have had it. However, I find that the enjoyment stems from the difficulty. Claw doesn't make you tear your hair out, it pushes you to keep on playing. and when you finish a level, you feel like a boss.
One of the aspects that makes games like Claw so appealing is the artistic style. Claw possesses a unique artistic style with levels ranging from murky forests, to bustling ports and underwater caverns.
Similar to Super Meat Boy, both games look beautiful and that's why I think we forgive them for being so difficult.
As Claw is now abandonware, you can download it from here, abandonia.
5 Games I Think You Should Go Play
Here are five games, in no particular order, I think people should go play.
1. Jak and Daxter
Jak and Daxter was the first game to feature a world with no loading screens. It was the first time you could just play a game with no interruptions from start to finish.This sparked a trend with other game developers trying to innovate in making games even more seamless and immersive. Jak and Daxter also improved upon animation and environment interaction. Jak waded through water, jumped back when he was hurt and skidded on slopes. All of the above, combined with stylistic visuals, awesome gameplay and narrative makes this a game that should stand the test of time.
2. The Sims
The Sims had unique gameplay and character. I think it was the first life-simulation game of its kind. You make and control your own family, design your own house and create a good or bad life for them. On paper, it doesn't sound fun, but it was. I particularly enjoyed the gibberish language they spoke.
3. Half Life
Half Life reinvented the FPS shooter by creating a game that used scripted sequence to tell a story. This approach created a very immersive and cinematic game heavily influencing the genre itself. It was also the first appearence of the world's coolest physicist, Gordon Freeman.
4. Max Payne
Max Payne is a stylised run 'n gun shooter featuring a gritty noir tale, comic book cut scenes and bullet time. The game follows Max trying to find the killers of his wife and child, usually with gun in hand stopping anything coming in his way. This blend of noir and comic book cut scenes allows Max Payne to stand out from other shooters.The game's trademark was bullet time. This feature allowed players to slow down time and dive while shooting and dodging bullets. It was the first time bullet time was implement in a game. Players would blast their way through each level watching the gunfight unfold beautifully in slow motion. It was an awesome game to both watch and play.
5. Portal
Portal was praised for its original ideas, design and black humour. What makes it is truly remarkable is that the narrative and humor is carried by one character, GLaDOS, the megalomaniac computer running the facility. The gameplay is fantastic, shooting portals to get to an exit sounds simple enough, but when turrets, cubes and neurotoxin come into play, it can lead to some mind-bending puzzles.
1. Jak and Daxter
Jak and Daxter was the first game to feature a world with no loading screens. It was the first time you could just play a game with no interruptions from start to finish.This sparked a trend with other game developers trying to innovate in making games even more seamless and immersive. Jak and Daxter also improved upon animation and environment interaction. Jak waded through water, jumped back when he was hurt and skidded on slopes. All of the above, combined with stylistic visuals, awesome gameplay and narrative makes this a game that should stand the test of time.
2. The Sims
The Sims had unique gameplay and character. I think it was the first life-simulation game of its kind. You make and control your own family, design your own house and create a good or bad life for them. On paper, it doesn't sound fun, but it was. I particularly enjoyed the gibberish language they spoke.
3. Half Life
Half Life reinvented the FPS shooter by creating a game that used scripted sequence to tell a story. This approach created a very immersive and cinematic game heavily influencing the genre itself. It was also the first appearence of the world's coolest physicist, Gordon Freeman.
4. Max Payne
Max Payne is a stylised run 'n gun shooter featuring a gritty noir tale, comic book cut scenes and bullet time. The game follows Max trying to find the killers of his wife and child, usually with gun in hand stopping anything coming in his way. This blend of noir and comic book cut scenes allows Max Payne to stand out from other shooters.The game's trademark was bullet time. This feature allowed players to slow down time and dive while shooting and dodging bullets. It was the first time bullet time was implement in a game. Players would blast their way through each level watching the gunfight unfold beautifully in slow motion. It was an awesome game to both watch and play.
5. Portal
Portal was praised for its original ideas, design and black humour. What makes it is truly remarkable is that the narrative and humor is carried by one character, GLaDOS, the megalomaniac computer running the facility. The gameplay is fantastic, shooting portals to get to an exit sounds simple enough, but when turrets, cubes and neurotoxin come into play, it can lead to some mind-bending puzzles.
Machinarium
Machinarium is a point and click puzzle adventure game set in a robotic dystopian city. Instead of the usual pixelated design of aventure games, Machinarium's environment's are highly detailed and surreal. Everything appears to be dirty and rusty, however this only adds to the character of the environment. Rather than moving through each environment without glancing at it, you look forward to seeing what Machinarium offers next.
and some concept art, more can be found here-
and some concept art, more can be found here-
BLDG blog
BLDG Blog is mainly an architecture blog featuring clever and inventive ideas. The main fun I get out of BLDG is just simply scrolling down and scanning the scope of ideas and posts. Posts range from cool ideas like bioluminescent-billboards and Wi-Fi blocking wallpaper to the glass hills of mars, all of which make good research for art concepts.
Tuesday 15 May 2012
Dear Esther
Dear Esther isn't a game, it is a freely experienced narrative. Similar to the reading of a book, you tackle the story at your own pace. Walking and listening are the main objectives and to progress you must walk forward. On paper, this concept doesn't seem particularly captivating or successful. The experience seems similar to that of listening to an e-book. However, I think it is a lot more successful than that.
What makes Dear Esther so captivating is the narrative itself. The narrative drives the game, and it has to. What else does the game have to offer? However it draws in the audience so well that you feel you don't need to do anything other than listen, walk in apprehension for the next part of the story and listen again.
The story isn't particularly happy and it isn't particularly sad either. You begin by waking up on a beach in search of answers. These answers are given to you in vague yet compelling journal-esque lines read by an even more compelling voice. You listen for those moments which indicate the nature of the story and the man relating it in quiet suspense. Until it all ends and every scrap of dialogue falls into place. Overall the experience isn't very long, but it is one of the best examples of story telling in video games.
Monday 14 May 2012
Perfect Presentations
6 steps for the perfect presentation
- visualise the room and audience and mentally run through your presentation from start to finish
- take a moment and a deep breath
- channel your energy
- anxiety and tension is not as noticeable as you think it is
- if you make mistakes, just continue
- never drink alcohol to reduce tension
Key points
- use as little text as possible
- keep things simple
- make connections
- keep it to 10 slides
- no bullet points
- use inspiring images
- visualise the room and audience and mentally run through your presentation from start to finish
- take a moment and a deep breath
- channel your energy
- anxiety and tension is not as noticeable as you think it is
- if you make mistakes, just continue
- never drink alcohol to reduce tension
Key points
- know your subject
- know your audience
- know yourself
- prepare your script
- choose the right visual aid
Social Media Success
Top 21 tips for successful social networking and blogging:
- Be Social. Talk about other people and their work
- Visit Other Blogs. Read the blogs of your peers and comment on their work.
- Respond To Comments. Acknowledge you reader and their will be encouraged to comment again.
- Be Generous. Be constructive with your comments.
- Subscribe By Email. Adding this feature may bring in more people.
- Share. If you think you have something in common with a reader, share things that might interest them.
- Know What You Have Posted About Yourself. Keep your profile up to date.
- Assume That Everything You Post Is Permanent. Even if you delete a post, their may be records somewhere.
- Be A Conduit. Look out for things that might interest your audience somewhere else on the web. Your blog will become the place to go to receive information that they like.
- Be Original. Don't replicate information that is elsewhere on the web. Think of new ideas and write in your own words.
- Create A News Feed. Choose some artists, musicians or writers that interest you and create a Google News Feed so your fans can follow them.
- Credit Your Sources. Include links to your sources to give your ideas some authority.
- Use Keywords. Label your posts with relevant titles.
- Interview Somebody. Bring the focus to someone else in a Q&A or video.
- Post Frequently. Post enough to keep the interests of your readers.
- Fun Widgets. If you must have widgets, don't have so many that they could put of the audience.
- End With A Question. Reach out to people by asking them their opinion. Generate conversation.
- Left Align Your Writing. This makes it easier to read and better to look at.
- Use Paragraph Breaks. Every time you begin a new idea or post start a new paragraph. Keep things neat.
- Don't Copy And Paste From Word. This is a blog and may mess it up.
- Stick With It. Don't give up too easily. Stick with it to make it worthwhile.
Who Am I?
How do personality types work in favour or do they create barriers for other people?
How much do your skills say about your personality?
How do others perceive you?
Introvert-Extrovert?
- the extrovert has a source of energy generated from the external world whereas introverts are the opposite.
-Which fits best? I or E?
Sensing-Intuition?
- sensing means that a person believes information he receives mainly from the outside world. Intuition means that the person believes the information he receives internally.
- Which fits best? S or N (intuition)?
Thinking-Feeling?
- thinking means that a person bases their decision mainly on logic. Feeling is based on emotion.
- Which fits best? T or F?
Judging - Perceiving?
- Judging means that someone organises their information and sticks to a schedule. Perceiving means that they are more likely to improvise and seek alternatives.
- Which fits best? J or P?
My personality type - I,S,F,P
indicating that I am an artist, seeing much but shares little.
How much do your skills say about your personality?
How do others perceive you?
Introvert-Extrovert?
- the extrovert has a source of energy generated from the external world whereas introverts are the opposite.
-Which fits best? I or E?
Sensing-Intuition?
- sensing means that a person believes information he receives mainly from the outside world. Intuition means that the person believes the information he receives internally.
- Which fits best? S or N (intuition)?
Thinking-Feeling?
- thinking means that a person bases their decision mainly on logic. Feeling is based on emotion.
- Which fits best? T or F?
Judging - Perceiving?
- Judging means that someone organises their information and sticks to a schedule. Perceiving means that they are more likely to improvise and seek alternatives.
- Which fits best? J or P?
My personality type - I,S,F,P
indicating that I am an artist, seeing much but shares little.
Sunday 13 May 2012
The Witcher 2 cinematic intro
The Witcher 2: Enhanced edition has been released and to create publicity and hype a cinematic intro was made showing a sequence from the game's narrative. The developers, CD Projekt, hired Platige Image to produce the trailer. Here is the video and a making of displaying in a cool way the processes Platige Image went through to get it to look like that.
Breaking Bad
I personally don't really like to watch a lot of television, managing only to occasionally flick through the music channels, however Breaking Bad caught my eye and after watching three seasons, it has to be one of the best TV shows around.
Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is an undervalued chemistry teacher with a lot of debt. After finding out he has lung cancer, he pairs up with Jesse Pinkman (Arron Paul), an ex-student turned junkie, to cook meth to provide for his family after he has gone.
One of the aspects that pulls the show together is the development of the characters. Walter White's transition throughout the series is TV gold. Bryan Cranston pulls it off incredibly well. In fact, all the cast are suited perfectly to the roles they play. This all contributes well to the story line, which although may seem slow to some people, I think it is the right balance to deliver the drama and tension needed.
Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is an undervalued chemistry teacher with a lot of debt. After finding out he has lung cancer, he pairs up with Jesse Pinkman (Arron Paul), an ex-student turned junkie, to cook meth to provide for his family after he has gone.
One of the aspects that pulls the show together is the development of the characters. Walter White's transition throughout the series is TV gold. Bryan Cranston pulls it off incredibly well. In fact, all the cast are suited perfectly to the roles they play. This all contributes well to the story line, which although may seem slow to some people, I think it is the right balance to deliver the drama and tension needed.
Double Fine Adventure!
Back in February, Double Fine being sick of publishers, decided to launch their own project which was to be funded by people through Kickstarter. Double Fine's project consisted of making a new adventure game and as they are no longer popular or 'mainstream' anymore, Kickstarter was the likely answer to funding. Double Fine's angst with publishers has gone on for a while, they are known for making risky games that turn out to be great but bring only a modest profit.
The goal was to reach $400,000, however in 24 hours they managed to raise over a million and by the deadline, March 13th, they reached $3.3 million. To date, this has been the largest crowd-funding project on kickstarter.
Some people pointed out that Double Fine's success was due to their unique fanbase and their willingness to trust Double Fine's risky and creative ideas. However, it has inspired other developers to begin crowd-sourcing. Inxile Entertainment has successfully funded Wasteland 2 and who knows what may happen next. This may have been a one of a kind instance or could lead to more crowd-funding.
The goal was to reach $400,000, however in 24 hours they managed to raise over a million and by the deadline, March 13th, they reached $3.3 million. To date, this has been the largest crowd-funding project on kickstarter.
Some people pointed out that Double Fine's success was due to their unique fanbase and their willingness to trust Double Fine's risky and creative ideas. However, it has inspired other developers to begin crowd-sourcing. Inxile Entertainment has successfully funded Wasteland 2 and who knows what may happen next. This may have been a one of a kind instance or could lead to more crowd-funding.
Thursday 10 May 2012
Finished Game Level
Here is the final version of my environment. I have made some final touches by allowing the player to pick up the mannequins and toss them around. Overall, I am very pleased with the environment I have made, I just need to manage my time better.
Anyway, here it is:
Moral Kombat
The documentary Moral Kombat tackles the controversial issues of violence in video games. These issues are looked at from both ends of the spectrum and are tackled to help people understand them better. While watching it, I was surprised by how much violence there is in video games and how horrible it may seem to an outsider.
Even though these games have violence, they are targeted towards an adult audience. I think the problem remains with the availability of such games to younger audiences. Rather than targeting games, I think it is better to teach parents and teachers to know what is too mature and what is acceptable leading to a better understanding.
Even though these games have violence, they are targeted towards an adult audience. I think the problem remains with the availability of such games to younger audiences. Rather than targeting games, I think it is better to teach parents and teachers to know what is too mature and what is acceptable leading to a better understanding.
Fully textured
I have finally finished texturing every asset in my environment. It took a lot longer than I thought it would. I have decided to add another room to extend and fill the space left by the gaping hole in the door.
Empty Spaces
Now that my environment is nearing completion, it feels like there are not enough items filling the space so I have decided to create some books and magazines to do this. I have chosen to use magazine covers of The Saturday Evening Post as it relates to the period in which my environment is set. I think that these small assets fill the space as well as giving the space character.
Wednesday 9 May 2012
The Sound of LIMBO
LIMBO has a really interesting approach to sound design by being minimalistic. The sound almost acts as ambience or background noise so that you can hear every small detail going around you. Whether its your footsteps, the creatures out to get you or the leaking pipes, every detail along with this ambience produces an extremely immersive and tense atmosphere.
Hopefully I can include sounds like this in my environment to evoke the same atmosphere.
Hopefully I can include sounds like this in my environment to evoke the same atmosphere.
Benedetta Bonichi
Benedetta Bonichi specialises in an interesting form of art called X-ray art. She basically X-rays items and people in strange poses.The artworks that I am interested in feature bird people and fish people.
These pieces showcase a weird combination of human and animal bodies that look almost realistic. This realism creates an unnatural and grotesque feeling.
In every version of the Beauty and the Beast, the beast has always been portrayed as having a hideous form. This form is usually inspired by animals like bears or bulls to suggest his large, horrible character.
In my concepts for the Beast, I have tried to make him look like an ugly bird, a vulture, to portray his horrible nature and personality.
The artworks by Bonichi
These pieces showcase a weird combination of human and animal bodies that look almost realistic. This realism creates an unnatural and grotesque feeling.
In every version of the Beauty and the Beast, the beast has always been portrayed as having a hideous form. This form is usually inspired by animals like bears or bulls to suggest his large, horrible character.
In my concepts for the Beast, I have tried to make him look like an ugly bird, a vulture, to portray his horrible nature and personality.
The artworks by Bonichi
Tuesday 8 May 2012
Finished environment (without the texture)
Here is my environment finally finished albeit the texture.
In my concepts I have suggested creating a staircase leading up to this room. I want to make sure my main game space is fully textured before moving onto anything else. Here are some images showing what the staircase might look like.
In my concepts I have suggested creating a staircase leading up to this room. I want to make sure my main game space is fully textured before moving onto anything else. Here are some images showing what the staircase might look like.
Arkham Asylum
The use of light in the game Batman: Arkham Asylum has given me ideas of how I could make the best use of light in my own environment. It gives me an idea of what my environment might end up looking like,
considering that I have also chosen to make my environment old and
decrepit. Arkham Asylum has similar gritty styles to another game I have looked at, Bioshock, however Arkham Asylum's lighting is more subtle.
Arkham Asylum possesses a dark, gloomy atmosphere that is achieved through it's use of light.
The lights are all dim making all of the corners and small spaces dark. In some areas, several shafts of light poke through the holes in the ceiling highlighting the fog and gloomy atmosphere.
Arkham Asylum possesses a dark, gloomy atmosphere that is achieved through it's use of light.
The lights are all dim making all of the corners and small spaces dark. In some areas, several shafts of light poke through the holes in the ceiling highlighting the fog and gloomy atmosphere.
Environment Development
Here are some previous concepts for the environment and some new concepts. While designing I thought that the room looked too bland and big so I redesigned, making the space smaller and have a more interesting shape
Here are my new and final concepts featuring an octogonal room with stairs included!
Here are my new and final concepts featuring an octogonal room with stairs included!
Texturing
I hoped to have more time to create my own textures however as this is not the case, I have had to resort to using textures from the internet and from websites such as cgtextures.com. Instead, I have developed new textures from the ones I have collected.
Here is an explanation of the one of the processes I have taken to texture one of the simple objects in my room
Here is the UV map of a table and two textures beneath it in layer order
Here is an explanation of the one of the processes I have taken to texture one of the simple objects in my room
Here is the UV map of a table and two textures beneath it in layer order
 |
| texture 1 |
 |
| texture 2 |
I simply selected Multiply on texture 1 to create this effect
and then duplicated and rotated texture 1 to make the finished texture
Some of the textures in my room have become complicated due to the amount of layers I have used to create them. For example, the finished texture for the walls and floor add up to about 40 layers
By choosing the best textures, you are able to get the effects that you want to achieve.
Eugenio Recuencio
I have also tried to produce a more mature retelling of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. However, I have been taking ideas more from the Original Greek myth Eros and Psyche. What I am worried about is that the player will not understand that my game is related to the story of the Beauty and the Beast. Recuencio's work has reminded me not to make my ideas to obscure for my audience not to understand them. I may need to add or change assets to ground these ideas and to make sure all players will be able to understand the origins behind the game level.
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