Water on water work

These are the are observational drawings from a primary source(adjusted to fit) to go with the project we are doing.

This was based off of a piston from a car engine and a speaker. To draw it we used fine liners, and then inked it  as seen in the picture below.

Friday 11th of December 2015 lesson write up.

Write up for Friday the 11th of December 

This previous Friday's lesson was all about designing and building a physical platformer level. We did this to be able to gain a better understanding of how we would build a level, how it would work and to gain an overall better understanding of to create a platformer. This also allows us to gain a better understanding of how to create a level. We can also see how a character would navigate through a level and where objects/collectables/secrets would be hidden that you would be able to collect. It would also enable us to see the spatial dimensions and the rhythm of the game play.

Photoshop experiment (W.I.P)

 The picture above is my experimental painting, which I based on the picture below.
The main piece that inspired me is the wooden structure on top of the boxes. It reminded me of a castle and I decided to continue with it.

Peer sugestions

Controls of the game

Space Pirates in the media

Initial Idea reviews

These are what my peers have said about my initial ideas.

Pros:                                                                     Cons:
Good system design.                                            Research more about space pirates and space travel
Good character design.                                         Eg. Metroid                                    
Really good detail.                                               Story is not developed enough yet.
Well presented.                                                    Needs a time limit.
Unique.                                                                 Lack of possible collectables.
Good base idea.
Very detailed.
Thought out well.
Interesting weapon design.
Unique inspiration (UPS).
Enemy Design.


This is what I have said to others:

Initial sketches

These five pictures are my basic drawings and designs for my project.

1. Ships

The first sketch is the exterior of where the level will take place. The initial design for this ship was based on the real life company UPS. My reasoning for this was that even in the future big companies may still be around. Companies such as UPS and FedEx, which specialise in postal delivery, would require cargo vessels to have access customers that are not located on their planet.

The second vessel was designed to look like a pirate ship. I gave it the visible hull plating and oversized weapons to give the impression that this ship was thrown together in a rush from random pieces of scrap to allow the alien pirates to plunder bigger ships with more valuable cargo, much like pirates used to do.

2. Enemies

The Third sketch is my initial design for the main boss of my level. I gained inspiration for this design from a scyth. The legs are kind of bowed giving them a curve. This design also inspired one of the enemies main attacks, in which it will swipe at the player and cause damage.

Another main inspiration for this design is a reptile, which is the reason it has a reptile like pupil, it has green scaly skin and sharp teeth. Another main feature of this boss is its other main attack. It shoots a steady laser beam from its eye which tracks the character for two seconds. The bosses weak point is the eye, however to acsses the weakspot the play must shoot out the visible legs on the screen causing the boss to fall over stunned opening the weakness.

The fourth sketch is the basic enemy. For an example of the main boss is Bowser these guys are the goombas. These enemies are relatively weak and can be killed without requiring a specific area be hit. The main attacks of this creature are a laser beam and a melee. Unlike the boss the laser of this creature is not a steady beam, but rather one small bolt every second. The melee attack is different from the boss in the way that instead of swiping with its claws it jumps towards you and bites with its teeth to cause damage to the player.


3. Player and pick ups

This fifth sketch shows a very basic design that is no where close to being completed but gives a rundown of the player character and some, not all, of the pickups. The main character begins the game in a space suit. This suit will be in the same colours as the UPS uniform consisting of brown with small hints of gold.

As you take damage as well as the health indicator lowering the suit will become progressively more ruined. The suit can be be restored along with health by collecting the repair kits scattered through out the level. Another pickup that is obtainable is the rocket boots which unlocks the ability to double jump which will be nessecary to progress.

The other three pickups that I have drawn onto the sketch are weapon pickups which will replace your standard laser pistol which you start the game with. However whilst your pistol has unlimited ammo the weapon pickups do not.

The first of these is the laser rifle. This gun deals the same amount of damage as the pistol per hit, but fires three times as fast allowing more damage to be dealt in the same amount of time.

The second weapon design is a photon grenade. This has two effects. The first effect is that it will kill any enemies within range of the blast like a regular grenade. The secondary effect is that an enemy not killed will be stunned for a short period of time after detonation.

The third weapon pickup that I have considered is the railgun. This gun will one hit kill any enemy(aside from the boss) and the projectile will carry on after hitting until the end of the screen allowing a chance of hitting a second enemy. The down side to this weapon however is the low recharge time of four seconds.

I do have more weapons and enemy variations planned but have yet to design and will do so at a later date.

Mood Board

Images to inspire my designs

Two platform game reviews

Hello, whom ever is reading this post. As you may have guessed from the title I will be talking to you about two different 2D platform games.

The first game I shall be reviewing is an all time classic an personal favourite of many a gamer, Super Mario Bros!

Now to start off, why is this game so famous? At first sight this simple game seems to be nothing more than a traditional side scrolling platformer with some very pleasing, if simple, music tracks and graphics. The game utilises a very basic system of movement, left is left, right is right and A is jump. The basics. 

I believe that the success of this game is due to the experience and sense of satisfaction the player gains by completing each expansive level, exploring and finding all of the secrets of the level and advancing further and further into this large and mysterious world filled with mushrooms, pipes, dinosaurs and princess in need of rescuing. 

One final piece of gameplay that is crucial to the enjoyment of this particular game is the power ups you can find scattered throughout each and every level to help your little man in red progress. The three power ups you can find are; The red mushroom. These give Mario a growth spurt and the abilities to withstand two hits rather than one and also unlocks the option of gaining the second power up.

The second power up is the fire flower. This gives Mario the ability to withstand a third hit and be able to hit enemies further away by shooting a ball of fire making this power up the most powerful in the game.

The third and final power up is the green "One up" mushroom. The idea of this mushroom is that it does not give Mario and special powers. It does not give Mario the ability to take any extra damage. What this mushroom does is give you an extra chance, an extra life so if you run out you have an extra chance to make it through the level.

In my opinion Super Mario Bros. is definitely on of my favourite and one of the best games to ever be made and will always hold its place as Nintendo's crown jewel.

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Now, on the other end of the spectrum we have the shit-storm that is "Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde".

To explain what the game is about, the concept is to get Jekyll to his wedding, while trying to keep from changing to Hyde. My first problem with this game is that everybody in town wants you dead. I mean, I can understand that, with Mr. Hyde. But, who would want to kill the poor, innocent doctor? There are kids running around, shooting slingshots; there are pink-suited men that drop bombs when you walk up to them (and those bombs almost always turn you to Hyde, instantly, if not kill you); there are opera-singing ladies whose notes can kill you; and, people who run and bump into you are harmful.When it comes to defending yourself, you're pretty much hosed. Sure, you have that cane (or sword, or whatever it's supposed to be), but what good is it, if you can't really attack anyone (except for the occasional flies)? Kids are easy to dodge (you just duck when they shoot) and jump over pets (although you're not always successful). If you see one of those deadly bombs, you'd better get away from it, and fast!Speaking of fast, here's another problem: a microscopic snail could move faster! Jekyll is such a slowpoke that when you see one of those bombs, you gotta know when and where it will be planted, before you turn around. What's so annoying about this is that when you turn around, it takes seconds to go to the left side of the screen, then it takes more seconds to move on. You can't even do a running-jump! That would have been more helpful in dodging crazy cats, but NO!There are coins that you can get, but what's the point? I mean, I don't really know what coins are for, other than staying at inns to recover health and keep the Jekyll/Hyde bar light green. That's about it, as far as any sorts of items are concerned.When your Hyde meter is dark green, you change to Hyde, and the day instantly becomes night. As to why the latter happens, I have no clue. The angry mobsters are replaced with demons...or whatever the crap those are, and you can actually attack them. But, you're still sure to keep taking hits and die. So, expect to change into Hyde a million times (unless you're using an emulator).Overall, I think that this NES reenactment of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is an abomination. It shouldn't have been put on the market; it shouldn't have been made; and, it shouldn't have been conceived! So, just do yourself a favor and stay away from this game. Play it, and your own dark side will drag you into masochism. (Sourced from http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/563406-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde/reviews/133588)

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Codes and Conventions of platformers

Mind map

This is my mind map detailing my attempts to make as many basic game ideas as possible.

Basics

This blog is dedicated to my platform games project in level 2 games design. Enjoy reading!