Stories are such an amazing and powerful thing from the first tale to sci-fi futuristic films which no one can comprehend at the time. In a game I much prefer to have a story. I enjoy being Lara Croft crawling up a side of a cliff hoping to stop the evil Jacqueline Natla from making a race of mutants or even Cloud travelling around hoping to stop Sephiroth destroying the world.
I don’t think it is necessary for a game to have a storyline. Some games like The Sims, World of Warcraft and Second Life don’t have a definite story but they are incredibly popular and are just as good as any other games which have a story. In the games which don’t have a definite storyline there is usually a goal. While a player goes through the game trying to reach the goal they make their own decisions, meaning the player must make the story. This is different in games like Tomb Raider where the storyline is set and the player must follow it.
In the game Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne there is a story present. As there is a story within the game more is known about the character. When there is a storyline in a game I feel that there is a greater emotional tie to the characters in the game. This is much useful for a game franchise with a well known character rather then a Sims game, imagine the horror of little kids bawling their eyes out because their favourite Sim just died of old age.
Thursday 27 November 2008
Wednesday 19 November 2008
check your links!!!!!
Firstly all that information from the first link (http://www.bioware.com/bioware_info/jobs/positions/art_director.html) wasn’t that useful considering the page could not be found…anyway onto the blog.
After reading a few of the other links it seems the art director is just like Captain Kirk of Starship Enterprise. They’re responsible for quite a few things it seems. They are important for such things as game style, visual tones and so many other things as well as being indirectly responsible for objects, characters, textures and the list continues. Art Directors oversees what goes on in the art department.
When Art Directors get to draw things or create something it’s going to be creative but there would also be like an overseers role. Artists that work underneath the director will have to be watched so they keep on topic. It will be the overseeing part of the Art Director’s role that will be similar through other Directors roles. An Art Director would be focused solely on the art side of game design, this would be considered quite different to a film Director who focuses on the whole film.
To become an Art Director a key qualities must include being able the work in a team, leadership qualities, good communication skills and preferably being able to draw and use the correct equipment needed. As an Art Director oversees the team communication skills would definitely be needed and leadership skills would be needed to lead the team. Being able to work in a team would be useful as an Art Director works with other people.
After reading a few of the other links it seems the art director is just like Captain Kirk of Starship Enterprise. They’re responsible for quite a few things it seems. They are important for such things as game style, visual tones and so many other things as well as being indirectly responsible for objects, characters, textures and the list continues. Art Directors oversees what goes on in the art department.
When Art Directors get to draw things or create something it’s going to be creative but there would also be like an overseers role. Artists that work underneath the director will have to be watched so they keep on topic. It will be the overseeing part of the Art Director’s role that will be similar through other Directors roles. An Art Director would be focused solely on the art side of game design, this would be considered quite different to a film Director who focuses on the whole film.
To become an Art Director a key qualities must include being able the work in a team, leadership qualities, good communication skills and preferably being able to draw and use the correct equipment needed. As an Art Director oversees the team communication skills would definitely be needed and leadership skills would be needed to lead the team. Being able to work in a team would be useful as an Art Director works with other people.
game design yay!
Gameplay:
Something that seems to be difficult to define. After having a gander over a few sites and trying to find a suitable definition to mutate into my own it seems all I can make of the word “gameplay” is gamer interaction with elements in a game. An appalling attempt at a definition on my behalf but I found a much better attempt which I liked:
“A general term that's difficult to define, but on the whole relates to the way a game responds to a player's control, and how enjoyable the overall experience proves as a result.” (http://www.game.co.uk/lowdown.aspx?lid=7771&cm_sp=contenthub-_-topnav-_-jargon)
The leading lights in game design could be anyone in the game design world. Surely every company has made a brilliant game in the eyes of at least one person. But within the companies an artist would be key in design but not the only component. They would need to design characters, and places but another person would be needed for plot. This means game design is not just a single persons responsibility.
Game design takes place after preparation. Much like how Chris Crawford lays it out. A goal must be chosen first and the correct research carried out before the game is actually designed. The designing of the game is just one of the many phases there is in creating a complete game. Different genres may have different goals and different research would be needed.
When I play a game I want a game that will grip me from the beginning to the end. Though I like graphics, it’s not important. The environments have to be imaginative and the characters have to be original. A key importance is the plot. It has to twist and turn in unexpected ways to keep me hooked.
Something that seems to be difficult to define. After having a gander over a few sites and trying to find a suitable definition to mutate into my own it seems all I can make of the word “gameplay” is gamer interaction with elements in a game. An appalling attempt at a definition on my behalf but I found a much better attempt which I liked:
“A general term that's difficult to define, but on the whole relates to the way a game responds to a player's control, and how enjoyable the overall experience proves as a result.” (http://www.game.co.uk/lowdown.aspx?lid=7771&cm_sp=contenthub-_-topnav-_-jargon)
The leading lights in game design could be anyone in the game design world. Surely every company has made a brilliant game in the eyes of at least one person. But within the companies an artist would be key in design but not the only component. They would need to design characters, and places but another person would be needed for plot. This means game design is not just a single persons responsibility.
Game design takes place after preparation. Much like how Chris Crawford lays it out. A goal must be chosen first and the correct research carried out before the game is actually designed. The designing of the game is just one of the many phases there is in creating a complete game. Different genres may have different goals and different research would be needed.
When I play a game I want a game that will grip me from the beginning to the end. Though I like graphics, it’s not important. The environments have to be imaginative and the characters have to be original. A key importance is the plot. It has to twist and turn in unexpected ways to keep me hooked.
Wednesday 12 November 2008
Review Ramble
NGJ? What’s that?
Well when it came to reading reviews in magazines I hardly ever bothered, I preferred the pretty pictures and the summaries but now reading through a few of the reviews and Wikipedia I’m beginning to understand New Games Journalism. I noticed that they are less of a straight to the point review. The writer seems to be more involved and tends to go back on past experiences. They seem to lack a definite scoring of the game, giving a more personal opinion. I much prefer this way of reviewing since it lacks a definite ranking for the game and gives a more general over view of the game.
I feel an objective ranking systems is not necessary for gaming sales. This is because there must be people out there who either ignore ranking or know their tastes well enough to pick a game without taking a second glance at ranking. Also if a game has a good design and is advertised well enough there will be atleast one person wanting it.
Finally I would like to touch up on other reviews and reviewers. I hardly buy magazines or reading a text so I’m terrible for finding game writing but I do have a liking for many video reviews of games. I tend to watch a lot of Zero Punctuation. It puts games through the ringer and is rather humorous.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation
He likes his swearing but none-the-less puts together humour and reviews ever so well.
Now I’m hoping this blog makes sense because I hated this and the last blog since my brain had become all clogged with junk and kept wandering off.
Well when it came to reading reviews in magazines I hardly ever bothered, I preferred the pretty pictures and the summaries but now reading through a few of the reviews and Wikipedia I’m beginning to understand New Games Journalism. I noticed that they are less of a straight to the point review. The writer seems to be more involved and tends to go back on past experiences. They seem to lack a definite scoring of the game, giving a more personal opinion. I much prefer this way of reviewing since it lacks a definite ranking for the game and gives a more general over view of the game.
I feel an objective ranking systems is not necessary for gaming sales. This is because there must be people out there who either ignore ranking or know their tastes well enough to pick a game without taking a second glance at ranking. Also if a game has a good design and is advertised well enough there will be atleast one person wanting it.
Finally I would like to touch up on other reviews and reviewers. I hardly buy magazines or reading a text so I’m terrible for finding game writing but I do have a liking for many video reviews of games. I tend to watch a lot of Zero Punctuation. It puts games through the ringer and is rather humorous.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation
He likes his swearing but none-the-less puts together humour and reviews ever so well.
Now I’m hoping this blog makes sense because I hated this and the last blog since my brain had become all clogged with junk and kept wandering off.
Errmmmmm....
I’m not too sure where to start with this blog. Though I love gaming I have never really been one for reading reviews or magazines.
I looked over Kieron Gillen’s blog and I just love how he engages the reader. A small chunk of his review goes over how limitations affect the game journalists. He picks up about timing from the start of making a magazine to finish, meaning journalists have a only a short amount of time for contemplation. I feel personally time is a huge deal. Without deadlines the writing could be continually refined and more thought could be put into it. He wrote through past experiences rather then straight to the point.
After looking over Kieron Gillen’s review I looked over a review for Project Gotham Racing 3. As I read it I felt it was written less formally as the previous piece of text. I felt they had written it more as a fan then a reviewer. The text was much shorter and didn’t engage the reader as much as Kieron Gillen but it was right to the point.
When it comes to writing I myself am not comfortable. I much prefer trying to relay messages through drawings much like the next artist does. When it comes to writing I find myself prefer subjectivity to objectivity.
I looked over Kieron Gillen’s blog and I just love how he engages the reader. A small chunk of his review goes over how limitations affect the game journalists. He picks up about timing from the start of making a magazine to finish, meaning journalists have a only a short amount of time for contemplation. I feel personally time is a huge deal. Without deadlines the writing could be continually refined and more thought could be put into it. He wrote through past experiences rather then straight to the point.
After looking over Kieron Gillen’s review I looked over a review for Project Gotham Racing 3. As I read it I felt it was written less formally as the previous piece of text. I felt they had written it more as a fan then a reviewer. The text was much shorter and didn’t engage the reader as much as Kieron Gillen but it was right to the point.
When it comes to writing I myself am not comfortable. I much prefer trying to relay messages through drawings much like the next artist does. When it comes to writing I find myself prefer subjectivity to objectivity.
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