Unit 21:Game Development Practices- Blog-page.

One Pager Game Design Document of Fallen.

Ten Pager Game Design Document of Fallen.

Present An idea and Development plan for a computer game to my colleague.

An negotiate with your partner and settle on the final idea for the game is below discussing why a game idea was not chosen.

The reason why Takara a 2.5 game idea will not be pick seen as it’s simply and dose not really challenge the player and the developers will not be challenged to make original product seen as this game has be done many times with it story driven game-play, and similar mechanics to many other games.

The reason for why we have choose Fallen for a game idea is that the games mechanics is more challenging for the developers e.g. us to create and the concept add a twist to the game that other similar product have not thought of before like the inclusion of of different ability’s at are related the law’s in physics.

What are my…( in my game Fallen)

-Must have’s

-Gravity mechanics Zero/ Heavy (starting powers)

-level designs e.g. Two.

-Basic interface force bar and health menu and death screen win screen.

-Health item

-Should have’s

-combat system / enemies.

-Extra item power ups energy orb and kinetic arm.

-Could have’s with in the game.  

Other abilities ELECTRONIC Force Repel and Attract.

Narrative text (point the player in the right direct. )

Incorporating another ability to the game mechanics.

simply puzzles using forces/ability’s.

• Produce a project plan for a game prototype

Justification.

Discussing the roles within the development of video games.

•  Game Designer.

Game designer is in charge and has control over the design process of the game this consists of how the game plays e.g. the concept or premise. They plan and define element and components of a game. This could be from setting, rules, structure,story flow, characters, props, object, interface design and modes of game play.

The responsibility and roles a game designer faces within the industry  this taking in consideration thought acknowledgement of the games target audience. A game design should also be aware of the capabilities and the benefits of different hardware platform to get the best possible outcome in sales for the game, and quality of the product. E.g. PC, console, mobile device ect. The game designer need to be familiar with these software of each platform. Game design normal build on what come before but there is always that push and challenge to come up with a creative title that challengers,expands and that defines the genre, this is the expectation of the client has this would produce more sales so they is a big pressure on the design to creative something that has not been see before, or expanded on.

• Sound Designer.

 Audio engineers are the creators of a OST e.g. the games Sound Track. This could be from sound effect that are in the game e.g. gunshot for example,character voice and other expressions, spoken or instructed, environment noise e.g. rush traffic ect a audio engineer is responsible for all audio for the game this includes the thing list above and many more. This can be both a creative and technical process with in the development of a game.

The responsibility of a audio engineers faces within the industry is very demanding as it becomes increasingly important as the game may grow in complexity and some titles may need a full orchestral score. Audio engineers work for independent development studios both independent and publisher owned. The department can depend on the company as it can just have 2 employees working on the project this would mean very long hours for the team to produced the audio/ soundtrack for the game before the games launch date so the sound track/ audio for the game has to be done before its  initial release seen as this will have to be implemented into the game. Additional the producer and market team will using some of the resource to advertise the game so really this has to be done, so it can be produced by the producer and the market team can market it.So it can be used for merchandise or a an incentive to purchases a limited edition of the game by included soundtrack as a separate entity of media/ product.

• Artist.

Concept artist or artist creates visual asset of the games weather that be coming up concept for characters, scenery, vehicles, props clothing surface texture and possibly even the user interface they basically come up the over look of the game in its visuals.

The responsibility of a Artist faces within the industry is there are asked by a client to produce concept of either characters, setting, props objects ect. And have a certain amount of time to produce this to then to be able to pass it off to other artist which will be used a a starting point for 3D models or animators this is normal in pre production stage of production. The artist as an obligation to listen to feedback if they is a problem between departments weather it a technical problem or a legal one, if so they must make changes until the client and the team are happy with result and are willing to go head a produce the concept further this can be 2D,3D or animation form of art.

3D artist take concept and 3D model these asset e.g. character,props,environment. Using 3D software like Maya, 3Ds Max, Zbrush , blender ect. as well as texturing the model asset and UV mapping it To make these asset then are tested and put in engine.

The responsibility of a 3D artist within industry is to produce 3D asset with a set dead line 3D artist may also work close with artist and animators to get input on the artist creative vision and how they want it to look as they created the initial concept. When it is passed off to the 3D artist responsibility to make sure it meets high artwork standers and standers of the original artist. 3D artist will have to discuss art related issues to other departments e.g. the artist, programmer and will have to come to some agreement and compromise, additional a 3D artist when finish with their result it will be review by original artist and the specification of the client if any recommendation or improvement can be made upon the 3D asset and discussing an further problems that need to be addressed. Sometimes a 3D artist will model something that dose not meet the specification of the client meaning that there are responsible for the need of the project. This is why 3D artist are initially responsible for understand the projects requirement of the client.

• Animation

Animator 3D & 2D are in control of the portrayal of movement and behaviour and give life to games characters, creature animator also work on animated other elements like Objects and scenery plus rigging the model to free move and animation the character for example.

The responsibility of an animator within the industry is to initial bring the 3D model to life by rigging and animation the model in software’s like Maya and have to be produced to high quality under the supervision of the art director, animator has to to portray movement and behaviour an efficiently and in a effective way while making best of the engines technology and being able to maximise the opportunities for game play and interactivity in the game. Also an animator has to be willing to share knowledge in order to further advance the whole team and work load; therefore an animator will have to work in a high collaborative environment to fully realize the creative vision of the character movement and behaviour or any other assets the animator are task to animate.

• Programmer.

Programmer is a joint force working with the lead programmer and it works at the heart of the development process. They mostly design and write computer code that runs the game.

The responsibilities of a programmer within the industry is mainly design and writing the code which will be used in game occasional programmers will need to address issues by test and fixing bugs within their code of the game which allows for quality insurance of the product e.g. making sure that game dose not break and is suitable for market and consumers is another responsibility of a programmer team so there are not pushing a fault product on to the market. Being a programmer is a highly pressured job and often in tales extremely long working hours as lunch date approaches.

• Quality Assurance Tester.

An quality assurance tester test video games and insures the quality of the product via finding glitches, inconsistency or bug within the game software or the gaming experience.  This can involved writing detail documents, reports so the developers can review these inconsistency’s and make changes to the code until they are deemed OK and varied by the lead programmer.

• Producer

Producer is initially responsible for the game initial delivery and that it is on track to meet it deadline and within the games budget.

The responsibility a producer faces within the industry is the control of the projects financial and other resources which are necessary for the production team to co-ordinate the work and to make sure that the quality and vision of the game overall is maintained. The producer key responsible to know the value of everybody which contributes to the game and to keep overview of the entire process from start to finish.A developer team can start off small but by the end of the project it could involve 30 or more people making the game project increase which requires additional investment exceeding it initial amount. E.g. meaning this is a big  job which carries a considerable financial responsibility.

• Publisher.

An publisher is responsibly for publishing a video game that have either developed initially by the publisher or eternally by a video game developer. A publisher if they are large enough will distribute the game independently however if they are a smaller publisher instead they would hire distribution company’s. Other functions performed by a publisher included deciding on paying licences  which are used by the game. They also pay for the localisation of a game it’s layout and printing and the writer who write the manual and the creation of graphic design element such as the box art they are  also partly responsible for  marketing the game to consumers as stated above.

Analysing the importance of…

-Game Flow is accentual part of game design as it keep the player engaged and want to play more as without a game flow the game would not be as engaging at want the player to keep on playing the game. As game flow goes, for a balance between the games design of levels and other, all difficultly of each level experience of which the player will face as some game flow will start off as easy but progressively harder this is a stander game flow of game design but dose not always work as a lot of players are different skill from when they begin to how much they learn while playing thought the game as they get further into the experience but this game flow can be lack luster for lot of player and and become less enjoyable as it is either not challenging enough especial if the game get to hard for the player to get past a certain section of the game the same if the game is easy thought the whole game can become too easy for the player that why game flow is important to keep that balance which is not easy for some games. As this applies to all aspect to the game weather that be controls of main character, game play, design level ,enemy’s as this is why the game flow can variety in some part of the game being too easy or way to hard and they is no reason for this change in difficult and in it’s constantly fluctuates in some game or just stay the same game flow thought the game e.g. easy all the way thought or hard all the way thought can be the result in bad game flow that was not considered in testing of the game.

An good game flow e.g. for example RE4 (Resident Evil 4) as you play thought that game it is constantly changing the difficulty to the players skill performance this might be the game seen that you do bad and make less enemy’s or sees you doing good at the game and giving you more enemy’s and a variety of different types to create challenging for the player to over come thus felling more accomplished same if a player was less skill at their performance the difficulty would drop e.g. less enemy’s and less enemy types  but not enough for the player to take notice e.g. still feeling that scene of accomplishment as thought it was on hard this is how they get players any skill thought the game equal for a satisfied experience over all and wanting to continue the game. This is a good example of game flow and why it is  imperative to find this balance between skill and difficulty as it will come down to how long the player will play your game if not at all this is why game flow is important because if a person is not enjoy play your game and the overall experience then their is not point of really playing the game.

-Immersion is why a lot of  people play video games is to immersive them self’s in a world of non-fiction. Immersion in games allows the player to put and object them self into that world by putting them self via main character of the game. Immersion is cruel of a game of getting the player involved in the experience and the world premise of the game without that immersion the game would be less appealing to players without that level of immersion weather it be challenging the player like Dark Souls dose as the difficulty of the game require you to improve upon your mistake and make you a better player meaning you will invest a lot of time playing it to get better given that level of immersion to the player without that challenge that dark souls offers to people, the game would cease to be less immersive to the players.

However their are different certain types of immersion that keep people invested in a game like RPG’s for example some RPG’s allow you to rename your main character or customizing your characters look to the players taste on a charter creation screen found in RPG’s or MMORPG’s this player immersion by given the player these option to do this will make them more like to play the game due to their own attachment they have to the game by doing this which is basic role play as the character himself as this would get then immersion in the world of the RPG or MMORPG.

Other levels immersion for example in The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt the story progression in that game is done thought dialog options and thought the character Geralt of Rivia allowing the player to shape the story depending on their/ players decision in game of Geralt of Rivia story. Thought the game given that level of immersion thought the player decisions and yet again role playing as that character thought the story and narrative of the game given you probably more immersion as the player are following story thought this character/player decisions. This is why immersion in game are important because it gives another level or enjoyment for the game to its players and make it more appeal to the players that not having that level of immersion which kind of sell a game and the experience to the player.

Justifying the use of different game play techniques to keep the player engaged.

Techniques that keep the player engaged are a dynamic difficulty setting in game play this can both reward the player and given challenges when necessary this can make the experience for the player a satisfying as it keep them it that level/ state of game flow as RE4 (resident evil 4) use this technique to great effect by adjusting players difficultly to how the player plays and performs at the task. But this is just one technique that is used to keep the player engaged into the game it is also the story and the arching plot that the game play incorporates as some game are purely narrative driven game this can be encouraged for the play as they will play thought the game play experience to find out what happens in the plot of a story which the game play will correlated close to the story/ narrative to also keep the play engaged to that experience.

an example of a game that dose this is a favourite of my Shadow of Memories a game which is narrative driven thought its game player features as your are given a mysterious and entreating plot narrative where you the player playing as the protagonist Eike Kusch  the ability to time travel by a mysterious voice at the start of the game as the dialog between the two are vague but interesting as the voice tells Eike his dead but can still prevent that destiny from happening by using time travel. as this would catch the players attention wanting to know what is going on as they play thought the story via the game play using the time travel mechanic in game to unravel the mysterious that this game keeps getting the player more engaged to play so  find out the mystery of the story and narrative  of the characters and arching plot of the game.

Here is a video on shadow of memories part to further expand on my point enjoy.

Story’s can be an very effective way of engaging the player thought its game play and atmospheric specking of atmospheric music can be also engaging thought its game play as it make the experience well more engaging due to the emotions a soundtrack or theme can provided to it game play experience which can have an effect on the player and they engagement in game play of the game. an example of this would be shown of memories village 1580A theme here give a listen link to shadow of memories 1580A Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq0qoqGZik0&list=PLB789F091023C94D8&index=1

as you can see the music dose add effect to the game player given the player that immersion and engagement when play the game. Another example would be RE4 Resident Evil 4 Save theme.

here is a link to RE4 save theme:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZXPy5zVAds&list=PL7B50CA1C360E8D3D&index=7

as you can see music gives game play more engagement to it player weather it be thought its music to get a better game play experience. These techniques used in game play enriches this experience that make an effort to further engaged the player in that experience.

Giving my reasoning and thought to each aspect of my game design. 

My game world is shattered and distorted and broken world because of the character himself is and it a visual representation on his inner self that why they island and gravity is acting on the world in different way either falling, motionless floating, or risen up the world is linked to the character because it inside him, his world.  This is why it is the representation of floating island fantasy setting/ world and why the world vary on the characters heart and souls and state of mind as it’s his world and trap inside him self, it like the very world that the force the character is fighting against him so like fighting him self that why the world is falling.

Story line/ narrative plot is about force the main protagonist trying to break free for his inner world by rising to reach whats beyond his inner world is it reality or something else however the story has two sides he could fall into the abyss and beyond reaching further in to despair in side is own hell or some where else much worst to he as to rise and reach the heaves and regain what was once lost to him. while he will face his greatest enemy himself or inverse force a doppelganger of himself AKA inverse the Bad force. This is the story and narrative of the game the reason why it like this is that it correlates to my game play really well and the game play relates to the story. This is why my story is like this because it suit and complement very aspect of my game both story line, game world characters and the over all look and feel of the game i want and going for.

The look and feel of my game will incorporate the theme of heaven and hell and the abyss mythologies in the aesthetics of the game and the feel of the game and its combat and is platforming from is light puzzle solving as my game will used physics forces which relates to story and the world of the game given it many layers to the games look and feel both in combat, platforming and atheistic. the reason why i am going for this look and feel is due to the arching themes and deep philosophical meaning that the game will portray thought its look and the feel and for the content that the game will have in it.

Sound i would want my game to have is,i imagine having a kind of orchestral sound track mixture of a rock, fast pace, instrumental religious, heavy metal kind of music as my game The reason behind this is over arching mythologies is heaven and hell related so  these type of music would suit in my game as that is the look and feel of the game will portray and get across same with the music. 

How i will in assure that the quality of my game is up to standard is quality Assurances, is by checking my game for any bug or make any adjustments within the game i could make to ensure that the product is playable and work like it is supposed to. This will be done by play testing in early stages of the development to find any problems with any blue print of the game in unreal engine. This will require my play test during the production of the demo version of the game as to meet the creative vision of the designer and how he want certain mechanics to work which will required a lot of play test certain elements of the game e.g. mechanics, level design , power up, head up display interface etc. All this will be test before the demo is release as first impressions on a game can be vital on the player.

Project Plan for Game Prototype.

Linking to game design theory and techniques.

How do game design techniques change from genre to genre? Depending on the genre of game the design and techniques used for that game will vary like for example hack an slash game design focus are normal on how the player controls and its combat system as this is what a hack n slash centres around game like this would be devil may cry, metal gear rising etc   these game have a different combat system to each other.

For devil may cry it has more of a combo system in it combat using sword and gun to ranking up the combo meter and performing different combos on enemy how ever in metal gear rising the combat centre around the sword the ability to cut enemy and object, bosses in to pieces which the combat of the game focus purely on that mechanics with a mixture of the same combo system of devil may cry for these kind of game it is  essential that the three C’s are done right as in centre around its combat system so the character and camera need to be fluid in motion and tight in response of the controls for the character and combat system design these element are essential for any game design. but however unlike hack n slash games these techniques will vary if the genre was an RPG for example the design techniques to create an RPG like final fantasy will be very different that an hack n slash as hack an slash is action oriented game play and design thought is combat system RPG are more Design thought they different kind of layout as it might still have a combat system but not in the way where you have complete control over a character as the combat system in RPG have different aspect on a combat system it is turn base system where an enemy attack and it is taken in turns this combat system requires more strategy from the player games similar that also have this design is Pokemon. Obviously this changes for it different design compared to an hack n slash games.

What games have been used as inspiration? inspirational game that have used the same design techniques in they games are dragon quest the RPG games as the based of this turn based genre and many games since them have used this turn base battle system or a different variation on the take of this system with game like X-com enemy unknown, dragon quest, Chrono trigger and earth bound , Pokemon are game that have taken inspiration for this type of design and used and manipulated the mechanics to make something  unique out of this type of game design genre. As for hack n slash game inspiration that games have been used in the other all design in that genre are games like devil may cry as mention in my discussion and  other inspirational games like Bayonetta , ninja gaiden are some inspirational and game that have also used this genre.

Mention what is good/ bad about these similar games?

• Good things about these similar games.

 

• Bad things about these similar games.

 

What software will use and why? Game engine- Unreal, Unity, 3D modelling Software-Maya, 3DS Max…

Evaluate your Game Design Document.

What game design theories will game incorporate to keep the player engaged? My game will keep the on their toes thought the platforming and combat of my game but while also rewarding the player in a way thought the experiences e.g. make the player better in a certain area of the game what they were weak weather that be the platforming, combat or the puzzles. and also rewarding them in game with an the occasional item which will further get the player engage by testing out they new ability on environment or enemy’s. The combat system will also help this level of player engagement as in the game will be fun to play and addictive at the same time as the play will want to try new thing out with it forces system e.g. gravity every death will be a fun learning experience for the player as the game design will encourage the play to try some new and death will also be fair as in due to the premising of my game fallen if the player let say falls of the platforming section instead of death and staring from the being the player might fallen into another level and taken only some damaged while letting the player explore their new surrounding cater the difficulty towards the player game play and who the player will do meaning it will change depending on player performance engaging the player in that aspect.

How will your game be fun? Making the mechanics easy to control but hard to master give any player no matter the skill level of games a fighting chance and a change to enjoy the game that with the dynamic difficulty set catered towards how the player is playing. Also the game will have other modes to enjoy like PVP and multiplayer and a puzzle mode if they re more of a social gamer and allowing the player to make they own level with all games function a bit like Mario maker 2 making if fun just to play around with the game force mechanics and levels design and enemy’s.

What will make your game unique form other similar games? My game will incorporate different ability allowing for different way to play throughout my games various modes e.g. single player/ story, PvP/ multiplayer, Puzzle mode. the game will have mixture of combat and platform to master and puzzles to solve and a create your own course mode similar to Mario maker 2 using all feature and tool found in the game e.g. forces ability’s enemy’s and level’s.

Why will players want to keep playing your game? To do all their is to do in my game fallen like secret bosses which will be hid at end game give re-play ability allowing the player to go back and discover these secret bosses and locations and also find new ability/ items that were not accessibly in the previous first player thought of the game. master of combat and platforming in single player then taking that knowledge into multiplayer or PvP to compete against other players. also they is a puzzle mode of the player to complete using the force ability’s to complete a variety of easy and progressive more challenging puzzles thought this mode may be get some thing out of it if you complete this mode as well as other good when playing thought this mode. Given the player a change to mess around with level enemy and force ability in a create your own level using all games tools and share your crazy levels to the world and other players.

Pre-production

 A Industry Stand Project Plan with work colleague.

Pre-production is a design phase in which planning different stages of a  game project. Pre-production mostly focus on original ideas and concept weather it be story,characters, setting, props etc. in a game production is the initial design phase of all ideas and concept some are rough to start off with and need fleshing out in further production.

Production is the main stage of development of a basic idea then putting it into Production, as assets are produced e.g. 3D models and source code is write for the game to function. Mainstream production is defined as a time when fully staff work around the clock and is the meat of the production, of all working of different gaming developing departments working collaboratively and in tandem.

Alpha is a stage where key game play element functionality is implemented and asset for game e.g. 3D assets are partially finished. a game in alpha is when feature are complete e.g. the game is playable and contains all major features for the game to initial function and to be a game. these feature may be further revised based on play testing and feedback. entreating

Beta is when a certain standard has been reach in a games production in which the game as functionality which included optimisation but may still have bugs the games content is finished but may have some implementation errors in which it considered almost complete.

Gold or going gold as it is refereed by game developers  is when a game reaches a point when they can press a master disc upon which all other discs are based on. meaning it is ready for release to the general public and the market.

Post production is after a game is release to the market then to the public game developer focus their asset on two main processes on evaluating fixing to the game via regular Updates after release and polishing the game prior to its release this could be frame rate improvements, graphic fidelity changes, very minor bugs fixes in game code, and adding post content such as DLC for the game which expands upon main game content or adds something new like additional story/ quest, items  characters setting etc. Or even aesthetic change to the game like cosmetics skins for character, location and items, Normal a few mouths after the game has been released these post production changes will be implement in to the game.

Giving my thoughts to the reason for this structure of production in the game industry.

The reason why that this is the industry standard and guideline/ structure for a video games production is that i believe that this structure informs different department and keep them on track, as industry in game company would have more that one project running at a time so this help the work flow of all department and collaborations between them. Another reason why that have this kind of structure is that an artist work or any role within the industry can just keep add to a game and its content with no end in sight.

This helps a game company finish a game up to very good stranded, as they will always be something that can be improve upon in the game weather that be cut scene, game play mechanics, or 3D assets it important to they to be an end of the production phases as the game would never get released. So this structure helps different department in games company make progress towards and final end product for then to be released that why they is a process of when a game goes gold meaning ready for release.

Without this structure held in place then a company would lose track of the project and its scale and what phase the game is suppose to be on pre-production, production, alpha, beta ect. This is why i think that is structure is implement within the industry and is a concrete structure for the games industry.

 The development process in a development of my game idea Fallen game. 

 Discussing My level out/design of level 2 or The jagged peaks for my tech demo of Fallen game. 

This is my level layout a basic structure of one. I started with a mountain using simple shapes cones to from the structure of the start of the level then i put platform the mountain so the player will have to work his way down the mountain thought the platforms provided.

After creating the mountain i stared spreading the level out a bit by using simple cones as the platforms areas, also made different path so the player can chosen which away they want to go.

I did included other path that lead to dead end due i want to add little rewards thought out the level as seen above but i don’t  think i have enough time to add such rewards due to time constraints on the project dead line is approaching and it driving from my must have list adding things like a reward system is a could have.

Here the third part of the level design i made more spared out that the previous part to make more challenging this apart of the level will incorporate move platforms  and falling ones this will be the most challenging part of the level for the player and their is a lot of room for error e.g. they is no platform below so the player will die.

This is the end level goal going thought the arching door way will end the game level demo for the game fallen. How i have set out my level you can see the goal from the start of the level so it is clear for the player where to go and what the end goal is. once the play crosses the arcing door way the level and demo will end.

 Discussing how i made my Start menu using blue prints in unreal for my tech demo of Fallen the game. 

This is the start menu for my game fallen. I started with an event which provides the power to the chain then i set the Boolean  which is a true or false factor in this case if the shows on interface then get player controller to the player can controller at displays the mouse cursor at target on Boolean or set, then set to input UI only this make that so the camera dose not fiction in game when the start menu come up and disable all player controllers. This is done by link with the executes on each event, cast, or Boolean true false value.

This blue print is for start menu this allow when clicked on start menu on designer of interface it cast to you third person charter by click on execute and typing in cast to third person character then you need to allow player to get the player console when he/she clicks on start menu given the player controller allow the player to move this is by click on the blue target execute.

Then set movement this allow the player to move after the button is click as is cast to the Playable character which is in target is the characters movement target to set movement for character this then enables the input on act actor which the target execute connect to cast to character  in the blue port as what i have called my character the execute for set movement and enable input to cast character in then to input to mode game only which allow to set to Boolean e.g. The target is get the player to crate hub widget which is the start screen menu of when player get controller with the blue owing player execute  connected to HUB widget the start screen then is add to the player view port with both blue and white executes connected to view port this allow the play to view the interface menu e.g. my start screen designer this is removed via blue print remove parent as we don’t what the menu to stay permanently on screen obstructing the players view while playing so this destroys the Widget of the start screen when on clicked the start game button on the start screen menu interface. As shown below in the three image of blue prints. 

 

As shown in the above Blue print with a difference as this blue print is a carbon copy of the other one but is checking to if click on start button is true or false as the branch blue print check constant until you press it then it dose allow player movement if the condition is meet get the blue print of space bar is press on key broad which is then target execute is connected to cast to player and your choose playable character. This constant being check if play press the space button if so it dose not get rid of the widget which is the start screen interface if the player dose then it will carry out the blue which i exampled above.

 

As you can see on the left had side is where you can customise menu with text boxes images etc by click on the icon then dragging it in to the grid on the right had side in the category detail you will see a drop down menu to anchor the font or image clicking this gives it an anchor to set from so the text or image if it is not anchored then the text will be out of layout in the design graph with out setting the correct anchor point. As you can see the start icon is the anchor point on the chosen text in the currently selected text, image, buttons. Any change or adjustment can be done in the detail menu on the selected interface design as you can see above with my simple menu you can give button which you will need for the player to navigate the win screen start screen and death screen of my game. to put text in the button click and drag until the button highlights blue with border indicate the text will fit in the button.

This is the design paper of the start mean the blue print are on the graph as show via the right hand side of the screen where it show a link to design which is what you see e.g. on the start screen  and the graph is the blue print that allow the menu to functions.  As show below screen shoot. With the button icon design and Graph links to blue prints of the chosen menu and the visuals of the menu.

 

Discussing how i made my Win screen using blue prints in unreal engine for my tech demo of Fallen the game. 

This in my win screen same thing with the start menu with a different layout in design for menu.

This is the same blue print for the menu and the start screen which disable input of player controller and movement of third person camera this prevents the player from moving around will the start menu is displayed to the player. As show below as it disable the in put of target actor which is camera movement.

this is each individuals button on the designer for the menu . this basically allow when player clicked on start button action it opens up level in this case it is level 2 as that is what i called my level design when creating this project.

same thing here, it is checking if the quit button is click on the designer for menu  if so it quit the game exiting out the player to home screen of your console or PC.

Same blue print except with a the button to retry the game and opens up level 2 in this case which bring the player back to the level starting point with every thing reset.

To get the clicked on button blue print you have to go to sub menu details which is located on the left hand side of the designer Menu in unreal the click blue prints that opens a sub menu on event graph  in variable drop down menu showing you button you have created as shown above. on click on you chosen button and event menu will open up at the bottom in an event sub menu with option of the chosen button click one of these like on clicked make on click button event appear in graph in blue prints. As shown below in the screen shoot.

This sub menu appear on designer for when creating a menu and drag text into the designer grid display in details allow you to change variable of the chosen text, image, button etc. like the anchor point of the text, potion on x,y,z axis the colour or back ground their are a lot of options to choose from can customise the design of the interface Menu.

 Discussing  how i made the Game over screen using blue prints in unreal engine for my tech demo of Fallen the game. 

The death screen is a similar process for the start menu and win screen. on being overlapping which trigger player death then cast to the character a with the white and blue executes to cast character e.g. when play dies cast to character with the white execute connected to create widget to death screen allowing to get player controller connect to the widget by the blue execute to owing player this displays the death screen when play death occurs this is then add to view port e.g. to display to the player connected to the widget e.g. the death screen with the blue and white execute connected to the widget. then need to disable input for play like third person camera or player moment connected to view port meaning when the view port is displayed the player will not bale able to used third person camera which is then connected to the playable character with the blue execute cast to as third person character, the player will not able to used the third person camera when the view port therefore the death screen is displayed to player on screen. As show in the above screen shoot.

 

This also goes for the d=death screen as well the process of the design of any menus are pretty much similar the only difference is the layout of the menus and if you have animation play within you menus or moving images this is the same as win screen, and start menu process or the design part of the menus for my game fallen.

On the event of a character e.g. the third person character death which is an event in red the white execute connects to do once event as the player dies one which will disable the input of the player controller as do once execute is connected to disable input then collision is set enable allowing the player to die by object in this case it would be a trigger box that is connected to the mesh of the character with a blue execute connected to target and set the simulate physics to enable physics allowing for character to fall. This is the blue print for player death  to get the menu put when player death occurs you connect create death widget screen to simulate physics with the execute get the player controller connected to the widget via the blue execute link up with widget in owning player, then add to view port by connecting both execute to the  on the widget to View port this will allow for when play death occurs the death screen will appear on the player interface.

 Discussing Gravity Mechanics blue prints in unreal for my tech demo of Fallen. 

This is the gravity scale set for the player make the event tick to link by execute to set Gravity which is the physics then connected the gravity execute to a scale then to the gravity target linked to the character movement. this is to set the scale in the interface of the force bar in the players/ character interface as it will be display in the form of a bar.

On clicking R on the key broad execute connected to do once only dose once set the gravity scale to 0.0 zero for the character movement which is connected by blue execute the connected with white execute to delay which delay  when clicked R on key broad take 5 second cool down rate prevent the play over using the mechanic then after the delay it set to 1 which is the stranded of the character gravity is set at this is linked to Character movement by an blue execute to the set blue print target. this event prevent the player from over using the gravity mechanic by set a timer so the player dose not skip level or break the game or make the player not be able to move due to gravity is heavy when on clicked with R key on key broad.

same process with this blue prinit by pressing Q key and connecting it to do once allowing it to be press only once set gravity to max scale 20 which will target the character movement then connecting the set with white execute to delay for the time of 5 second same with the other blue prinit allowing for a cool down rate before use again then it sets gravity scale to 1 which is linked to character movement with a blue execute. These blue prinit increase gravity at a scale allowing the play to float after fall back down again or press the other key to decrease gravity rapidly causing the third person character to fall quickly, with a 5 second delay prevent the player for over using this mechanic to completely skip the level.

 Discussing how i integrated the User Interface force bar/ health using blue prints in unreal engine for my tech demo of Fallen the game. 

The force bar for the interface menu these are the blue prints which link the gravity mechanical to a visual head up display so you can see it in the form of the force bar.

This is the same process as the other menus that i have done.  on event begin play link with an execute to create widget e.g. the on screen interface allowing for then link to player controller then linking the interface widget to add to view port. Allowing the force bar or gravity bar to be viewed by the player to see it as i planed to do more with the gravity mechanic and expand the gravity mechanic further.

This is to cast the gravity to the character by event trick connected and link to cast character e.g. you playable character then an execute linked to set cast character and gravity execute linked to gravity and it target execute liked to the cast to character. the cast to character is linked with the blue execute Object connected to get player controller. this allow the gravity to be get to player controller as well as character linking with the actually mechanic as exampled above.

This blue prinit is for the play to die on an object. first you need to drag a cube into the 3D space along with a trigger box and the trigger box is  the thing that will occur the player death. On component with begin overlap of the selected trigger box selected as the blue prinit. Right click then to open sub menu to search for on component begin over lap death trigger box making sure trigger box is selected link the begin overlap death box to cast of the playable character with white. Then link the blue execute to on other actor to cast character object then link the cast character to player death with both white and blue execute link to player death. this should when the player walks in to the cube  it will trigger the death of the character.

Highlighting my game development challenges i am likely to face during production. Linking my challenges thought discussion to the games industry’s methods of producing indie and AAA games.

The challenges i am likely to face during production of the creation of my game demo are that being able to put together the basic elements of game design e.g. the mechanics of game e.g. for me the first time in soft ware it was difficult to grasp how blue prints work within unreal engine and the most challenging part of the production is being introduced to a new software with very little experience or knowledge in, as i don’t think my skill are up to stranded and that i will struggle with the work load of build a level design and implement mechanics with in the game as well as other functions such as menus, power ups etc. and try to make them work to how i envision my game to play like.

Other possible development challenges i will also face is make mechanics in the game work to how they are suppose to and when i done that they still might need wicket so the feel of the game in maintained and dose not feel uncomfortable for the player to control i need to keep this in mind going forward with the production of this prototype game demo. Another challenge i might face is quality control make the level up to a certain quality that it is playable and the player will not break the game due to me as a design might have over look something that is imperative for the player experience that the design of the level and it design cannot be flawed and unusable or useless.

As this i would might what game company in industry takes in to consideration when production any game title weather it be an indie game or a big AAA game as quality insurance is a vial role in the industry as something during production can be overlooked by game developers and designers which can or might have an knock on effect on other stages in development like designing, coding, technical limitations or complete scraping the their idea or trying to find a solution around it meaning that the game could be delayed to fixes these issues thus delay the game further and set it back thought the game industry project plan structure to pre production or the production phases and the idea might change complete meaning that other elements with in the game might have to change to fix or suit that change made. this is especial true if you change the three main elements of the game character , controls, camera weather it be an indie game or a AAA game however it would take more time to produce a AAA title to due the size and scale of the project. This also can happen at and stage of development in the project.

How might it be possible to limit potential future issues? Make sure i have little knowledge in software’s like unreal engine so that production is less time consuming in try to figure out the basic functions of the software. Could as i go check and test the level design at regular checks to a dresses the issue of quality of my level and that it has structure to it.  i would go on about limiting the uncomfortable of a poorly design control system is that have a plan going in engine of the layout of control’s for my game both console controller and key broad and mouse making it fit these two formats which i could include in my game design document for my ten paper.

Evaluation self progress and parent on final version of the game demo.

Did you reach the key stages of development at an appropriate time? Some stages however i spend too much time on than others like doing my game design documents ten paper and one paper and the general idea of my game and what i should included in my game design as i negotiate with my partner/ colleague with my must haves, should haves, could haves.

Development time on the design of a game in unreal engine was a bit slow as this is my first experience doing a design and build a game prototype/ demo in unreal engine and i was not familiar with this software as i have not had any past experience with 3D engine software, so it was a struggle to get a grip with the software and start on development on my game demo at an appropriate time, which resulted in falling behind in some of the key stages of development on the project and getting court up in apart like level design without get the basics down first e.g. getting blue prints for start screen, game over screen, win screen, a simple level design, mechanics such as power up/ ability. this part of development in particular was slow and misjudged the amount of time we had before deadline when the game demo should be completed.

Discuss feedback from friends, family, peers and co-workers.

What did you and your partners do well vs what didn’t go as planned.

How did you use and record feedback during your project?

Reflecting on challenges i face during this project.

How did you limit potential problems? i first got my self familiar with the software by watch online videos on thing like how to do basic of blue printing in unreal engine to get a understand of how they work to get further in development in my prototype of my game demo. I also made an control layout of controllers and key broad top get a just of my controls for my game and how it will work and feel and test it with the implementation of my mechanics to find a way that the controls feel right for the player.

Why is play testing (Quality Assurance) a vital process in games development?  Quality assurance is an Essential part of a process of a games development due to its company need to do a quality test to see if the product e.g. the game is up to industry standards for consumers that means  it is important that a game is not trailed with bugs, glitches, or inclinations with game coding because if the game was released to the public and market without proper testing with its many bugs still their then that can lead to negative views on consumers of the game resulting given negative feedback from users of the game and ruin players experience which then could result in bad lose of sales and leave an bad reputation on the game developers.as leaving bugs in the game will leave a bad impression on player and That why it is necessary for play testing of the product to work out them bugs before it is released to it’s target audience and consumers on the market. 

Did you use any project management methodologies?

I have used the water fall methodologies in this project.

I have used project management methodologies like water take an idea and form a document around that idea i did this with my one paper and ten paper design document for my game Fallen as the waterfall methodologies suggested it is a list or a chart of actives which looks like a slopes i have done this in the form of my ten paper which example all about my game from it mechanics to the story and characters which is kind listing the requirement of making my game and its requirements.

I have used the Kanban methodologies in this project.

I have also used the kanban system as i have work with my partner and negotiated on hat idea we should go with for the game demo and discussed pans and goal that need to be meet with in the project as found and in the form of my negotiation with my colleague partner on this project.

I have used the Agile/Scrum methodologies in this project.

I have also used Agile/Scrum thought out the development of this project from Planning the project to designing, building, testing and deployment of my game demo of the game Fallen. As this is Software development life cycle of this type of methodology is can be related to game design very closely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Rule of Three

Character

Camera

Control

Do a video on camera.