Coursework deadlines

So this week I have loads of cpusmrsework deadlines due in sorry the posts have been lacking see you net week guys !

Analysing games

So there are 5 major things to analyse when it comes to looking into other games , these include

Their art style and themes
The mechanics designed within the parameters of the game
The concept behind the game , for example is it a puzzle game?
What platform they are on
And who they game is aimed at and marketed to

The art style of a game can be very important as this will be how you game is recognised id the art style is very bland and boring then the game may not be remembered, but if a theme is vibrant or stands out from the crowd then the game will have impacted society slightly and will be remembered in the future.

A game can also be successful not on the graphics of a game but on the mechanics of how the game is played, this means that if the mechanics of a game are enjoyable but there is a lack of anything else the game could still be a success.

Ultimately a game will be decided as successful or not by how the concept within the game was created. If a puzzle game was created but not challenging then the genre of the game was not successfully established. This means that counters should be put into place for the game to be created at a high level, one way of doing this would be through the use of focus groups or testing in general, let people play the game and see what they think could make it better, this may make the design of the game not fit with the original dream but at the end of the day the users are going to be the ones who decide if the game is a success or not.

A games platform has been spoken about in the previous post, so now we shall speak about how the game should be designed with a specific group of people in mind. If something is created for everybody many times it isn't successful. This is because different groups and ages of people like different stuff. An elderly person will not like or maybe even understand the mechanics of a game designed for teenagers and this needs to be though about before a game is created. 

Platforms

So one thing I just realised it that a plaform for the game will also have to be decided before any major development can be implemented , this is because almost all of the code behind the game will need to be adapted to specific latfprms in order to successfully work.

For example the movement of the protagonist would be controlled with different input methods when made for different platforms. A touch screen device such as a phone or tablet could be control the character using a makeshift joystick on the screen , the character could also be moved with just one touch to a defeigned area. This is not however the same for other devices. On a console a controller would be used to co tell inputs which means that there can only be a select few options the player has over the character due to the lack of buttons a controller has over a mouse.

This consideration will be key when creating and implementing code within the defined rules of the game.

2D games

So im gonna be testing and playing around in unity for a while which means that this blog could get old and stale before it even starts to get going. So to counter this im gonna look into some 2D games and the mechanics, art styles, and gameplay of them. This will give me some knowledge of what the genre works well at and can help me with some ideas to start and get my game running.

However I only have some ideas of what games to look into and thought maybe if anybody has a suggestion to post into the comments what they thing i should look at. It doesn't have to be interesting or fun but something that could help a new designer thing of an interesting way of looking into the industry.

Who knows the game you suggest I look into could be the game that inspired me. I would also like your guys Ideas for games because I cant design a theme until the mechanics are up and running so at the moment my tests involve boxes moving around onto of boxes.

Lets Check Unity First!

So I completely forgot that i should probably check that my pc can run Unity and that i have the correct version in place before I start this thing properly, turns out im fine.

So you guys probably wont be able to see this unless you enlarge the image but on the little ribbon of options just above the window with a wireframe in there is a little 2D button which allows the engine to turn from 3D into 2D allowing a whole new, and from what I have heard easier experience in making a game.

Things to do?

Here is a list of things that need to be done for this game to be created (could be missing some stuff).

1st I need to do some background research in side scrollers and decide what kind of game I will be made, for example a point and click, a platformer, or a point and shoot game.

Once the game has been decided I will need to do some more research in already established games, what works well and why, what could be improved and who actually plays these games.

After this I can start to create some experimental demos of the game to make sure the core mechanics of the project work. I will be using the Unity 4.3 game engine which can be found at the link below.

And once the core mechanics have been created and are working smoothly I can then create a theme for the game, be this aliens, war,or something different. this will include characters, enemies, and even level design.


Unity website - http://unity3d.com/unity

Start

Hey I'm Luke and this blog has been made with the intention of me one day crating and releasing a game, all i know at the moment is that the game intends to be a side scroller but could be changes at a moments notice.