3 FMP Ideas:
Idea 1:
For my first idea, it will consist of a Sci-Fi genre with a stealth theme. It will be produced by creating a game in Unity and creating a game is something that interests me the most and something I know I will do very well in which is why I'll be choosing this path. For this idea it will consist of a controllable protagonist character which will be playable in birds eye view but 3D. The main objective is to find the key-card and then head to the exit door however, there are robot AI's with guns roaming around the map with additional cameras, laser doors which can be switched off and also alarms. I'll be also having two scenes where the second scene is where a mini boss will be and your job is to eliminate him with a trap in order to get the key card from him to exit out of the place. Making the place a hostile place. Ways I'll be implementing it are the use of tutorials that I'll be watching on YouTube and could also ask questions in the comment section if I have an issue with something. This will be implemented towards my research tab.
Inspiration:
My inspiration for this idea comes from a first person shooter game called "Prey" which consists of objectives, stealth and also enemies scattered around the map. It is a Sci-Fi genre game that is set at a space station called "Talos 1" in orbit around Earth-Moon. There are hostile alien force with forms of both physical and psychic powers, such as shapeshifting into a clone of any imamate object. The players objective is to look for an escape however, the player has access to weapons where as with my idea 1, the character will be unarmed. The player gains access to stations by acquiring key items and abilities however, with my idea the player has to acquire a key card in order to exit the area.
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Idea 2:
Idea 3:
For my second idea, it will consist of a Sci-Fi genre which will also be a stealth theme. The idea of this game is to have the game set in a spaceship which is infested with creatures outside of this Earth and there aren't many survivors left and one of the survivors is the protagonist which the player controls. It will be in first person and you'll be able to collect weapons to get passed certain enemies to reach your goal which is to find the escape pods without getting killed. It will be built in Unity and will also be 3D. Ways I'll be implementing it are the use of tutorials that I'll be watching on YouTube and could also ask questions in the comment section if I have an issue with something. This will be implemented towards my research tab.
Inspiration:
My inspiration for this idea comes from a first person shooter game called "Alien Isolation" which is a survival horror game and also an emphasis of stealth. In this game the player is required to avoid and outsmart a single Alien creature with tools such as a motion tracker and flamethrower whilst exploring the space station and completing objectives. The objectives consists of activating computers to collecting certain items or reaching a specific area in the game. The game however is a first-person game to create a more intense experience. This links well to my idea because, both have objectives in which they both have infested creatures in their way and the only possible way is to be stealthy or by using your weapon.
For my third idea, it will consist of a horror genre which will also be a stealth theme. For this idea it will be based in a abandoned building which consists of valuable supplies however, in that location it is infested with zombies roaming around the building. It will be third-person and will also be in 3D. What you have to do is to sneakily pass the zombies without alarming them unless if you do alarm the zombies then the zombies will start coming towards your location. You'll only have a torch and your objective will be to collect the supplies and return back out of the building. Ways I'll be implementing it are the use of tutorials that I'll be watching on YouTube and could also ask questions in the comment section if I have an issue with something. This will be implemented towards my research tab.
Inspiration:
For my last inspiration for this idea, it is a horror survival game which is called "Outlast" which is a first-person survival game that is set in a remote psychiatric hospital named as "Mount Massive Asylum". The game revolves around a freelance investigative journalist who decides to investigate the hospital. There are enemies roaming around and if they spot you, you'll be hunted down whilst the only object the character has is a night vision camcorder. His objective is to basically find a way out of the place as he was knocked out. This game overall links similar to my idea 3 is because, the use on environment of where these two take place are similar to one another as both buildings are abended and all that is left are enemies roaming around the place.
Reason why I've chosen this theme:
Reason why I feel like I can produce a solid game of the chosen theme which is "Stealth" is because, I've experienced many stealth games and I've watched many stealth games that people have played on YouTube and not only in games but also in movies and films. So I've decided to put it to the test to challenge myself into creating a stealth game of my own by watching many tutorials in ways I can implement and draw attention towards the player with the level of detail I'll produce and engagement of the game. This is also a way to show of my skills. I'm also very confident with the choice as I already know what I would to create and have already started to plan it out just so that I don't run into any problems like last time.
The idea I've chosen to go with:
The idea I've decided to go with is idea 1. Reason being is that I've already planned it ahead as creating games take a while to produce and I am also learning from my mistakes from last year. The mistakes I did was by having the idea ready to be made and without further research of tutorials and ways I can implement it, I ran into allot of problems in which made me change up my idea drastically. Therefore, the idea I'm going for will not fall into the same problem I had like last year. This is also something that I know will turn out really nicely and will for sure be an achievement for my self. For this idea it will consist of Blender work and also Unity 3D work.
Proposal:
Rationale:
Throughout this course I’ve achieved many new skills when it comes to editing clips with effects or creating figures in Adobe Illustrator. This has allowed me to improve my knowledge even further in the media industry. When it comes to editing videos, we used a software called Adobe Premier Pro which allows us to trim down unwanted parts in the clips and making the video’s snappier when finished. We also created our very own title sequence in which I used both Adobe Premier Pro and Adobe After Effects where I gave it my all to make it as good as I hoped it would look which turned out very detailed and engaging. Whereas when it comes to creating objects for gaming, we used a software called Adobe Illustrator where we got to create many things for instance a self-portrait of ourselves, Objects such as shoes, computer, trophy, ect... We also then started to create character figures on Illustrator and a pickup item for our unity project which we only did this last year in this course. As of my strengths for my ideas, they each give their similarities from one another on how this is relevant within Media/ Gaming terms. For the first idea, its purpose is to make the player to think carefully on where and when to go to a specific location on the map. The use of small puzzle around the map also helps the player to contribute deeper within the game whilst still being stealthy. The use of detail will also help to make the game succeed to make the player feel more interested of the surroundings also. My second idea, its more of an intense gameplay which will have creatures attacking the player but the player will have weapons to fight back if necessary. I feel like with this idea the part that could fail about this game is by using guns but using melee could make it more intense and to make the player think more on what they want to do as they would be limited by reach. Again the use of detail will also help achieve interest when playing the game by not only the gameplay but also its surroundings. My third idea is based on more of a horror genre where a player is in an abandoned building which has supplies but is also infested with zombies. Stealth is a major part in nearly allot of the zombie games because, you're limited to what you have to fight against all of them. This is something that could succeed also but more so wont succeed as well as my first idea. Reason being is that its too simple and the only way to possibly make it interesting is by making the place really detailed to make sure it sticks with the horror genre. Development on the course for each of these ideas have given me the ability to self-reflect, learn new software such as Maya and research theories to successfully produce good work of my choice idea of Sci-Fi genre of my first idea of choice.
In order to create a good stealth game there is a few ways in order to successfully create a stealth game with its key fundamentals. For instance one of those is the detection system. If the game features sound, there will need some kind of action to create noise. Another is the quicker the player is spotted, the less chance they have to react. If being detected is immediate, it can lead to trial and error design. If a stealth game features animals then there could be a detection system for scent detections. In games that feature special detection rules similar to my first idea, this can create an element of puzzle design of how to get around the detector.
Players have options on ways to sneak around whether it is to crouch, to stealth camouflage and cloaking fields. More tools lead to more options for the player to have to deal with bad situations. No options for avoiding detection for the player results in not having a stealth game. Another option is dealing with the enemies. What’s important about this group is that its not always required by the design. If you’re designing a horror game where the player is supposed to avoid combat, giving them the ability to fight back would be counter intuitive. Depending on the game, you can have lethal and/or non-lethal options.
As of enemies, their objective is to find the player. The enemies can be as complicated as can be. Some games even have creatures that walk around the levels, aerial drones, enemies that crawl on the ceiling, ghosts and much more. In order to have successful enemies , you'll have to include options for the enemies to compensate for the players abilities. The enemy's behaviour will vary depending if it will hunt the player down upon detection, raise an alarm, investigate and so on.
The players strengths will impacts the difficulty and pacing of the game. Strong characters like Batman are more about presenting a sandbox of stealth tactics. Weaker characters that we see in horror/puzzle games are more about a fixed number of viable options. You can have a weak character who has tons of stealth options, just as you can have someone strong who can only hide or kill. It’s very important that the power of the player is tied to the genre or situation you’re designing.
Stealth games have to be designed and made 100% clear to the player in order for them to know what's going on with their situation. You should never have a player confused about why they were caught by the enemy.
Project concept:
For my project concept, I am aiming to produce a game that will show the fundamentals of what stealth games look into such as the use of puzzle. Not only this but the way I'm hoping to accomplish and portray this towards my target audience and how it successfully shows a Sci-Fi theme. As of the research I've currently done for my case study regarding gaming, players, Sci-Fi, ect... by showing what is needed to be done in a stealth game and what's vital to make sure it is a Sci-Fi stealth game. Starting off with Sci-Fi games. When movies or books tackle the sci-fi genre, much of the entertainment is focused around the characters' quest for knowledge, and presenting abstract, futuristic settings where viewers are left to fill in the blanks, but in many video games, these core ideas are not replicated properly. Games like Mass Effect, Halo and Dead Space bill themselves as science fiction experiences. Another research example is the use of stealth in games and what is important to be added when creating a game and how it should be like.
An article that I've researched and found goes and talk in depth in what is needed and what doesn't need to be added or what needs adjusting.
Article link: Click Here
In this article we see that the article explaining certain parts of stealth games in depth. Detection is one of the most important elements in a stealth game and is something that need to function correctly. If it isn't functioning correctly, then the player wont be able to plan around it which results inbeing detected by the enemy. A good example that this article found that has this problem is a game called Styx: Master of Shadows. In this game the players uses shadows to conceal themselves. However, there are some guards that wont see the player with the shadow and some that do see and the only way to find out is through trial and error. This is something that is necessary for a good stealth game for an enemy to call in reinforcements.
Another way which makes a good stealth game is by when you get detected what happens from there. Well according to this article its explains how many games tend to make the player run and hide for a while till the AI's stop looking. This is something that makes sense as allot of people would do the same thing. This however, isn't a great idea as this can lead to making the player bored of the game by having to do the same old thing over and over again which isn't a great idea. A good way to resolve this kind of issue is by adding and making sure the AI runs and looks around where the player was last seen and also making sure looking around nearby.
Whenever the player fails, it is best to have checkpoints in order to recover from your mistakes easier. This can also help the player to not get very annoyed and also result the player in a putting the game down out of rage instead of satisfaction as satisfying your target audience is something you would hope to achieve. Overall the game must be clear and consistent detection so that the player can plan ahead of the guards by sneaking around the AI that wont end up resulting the player to die or get caught.
As of my own feedback, I think stealth games is a very chilled but also enjoyable way to get your head thinking on ways to do certain parts of your objective and how to overcome the situation by also figuring out a way in and out.
As of my target audience, it will include a mixture of both primary and secondary audiences.
For my primary audiences it would be appealing mainly towards 13-18 year olds as its a game that has some sort of violence but its not extreme. The primary audience would appeal to those who are interested in Sci-Fi genres that also consists of stealth. Allot of people leaving secondary to then going into college would have a better understanding than to those who are in secondary but the more experienced they are with stealth themed games, the better their knowledge will be in stealth games. This can also show inspiration of when they were younger playing hide and seek or any other interactive fun hobbies.
My primary audience will also consist of people who not only into Sci-Fi but also other type genre games that could consist of first person shooter games and from those games, they would also have some sort of stealth gameplay at some point.
Lastly as of genders, the most dominant gender would be male. Reason being is that the gameplay and atmosphere feels more targeted towards male audiences rather than female. Not only that but male gamers as a whole are more dominant than females and females tend to enjoy more story based adventure games unlike male gamers, they tend to play any genres. The detail and gameplay will always catch the male audiences attention more than the females would however, there isn't a specific target audience when it comes to gender but more male audiences would enjoy these types of games than females.
As of my secondary audiences, these would heavily draw attention towards adults at 19-30. Reasoning to why it appeals to that age group is because, older ages would have the most experience when playing games and it is something that can also be nostalgic and more specifically, towards the interest of the genre and theme. They may have also grew up playing certain hobbies when they were younger such as hide and seek which consists of being stealthy and trying to not get caught from the seeker which can give them a nostalgic feeling. They may also think back to other stealth games they've played and enjoyed and would like to play another similar stealth game also.
Overall I intend to attract the audiences to those who are heavily into games that have puzzle games and also makes them think but also making it intense if possible. Reason why I think making it intense can make it more appealing is that they will set themselves to complete a game that seems easy but allot is going on at once so allot of thinking must be done. An example of a different range of target audience is another game called "Outlast". It compares very similarly to my concept game when being stealthy as in that game, the protagonist must find a way out of the place same as with my game but mine is more to do with Sci-Fi whereas with "Outlast" it is a horror game mainly focusing on more mature audiences and to those who can take jump scares or would like to experience a scary and intense game. Overall the target audience would be similar.
Another article I have found which talks about what makes a game a true Sci-fi experience:
Article link: Click Here
In this article we see that in the article there are different point of views on how it can be presented. There are differences when comparing Sci-Fi games towards movies or books. Movies or books focuses more on the entertainment around the characters' quest for knowledge, as well as presenting abstract, futuristic settings where the viewers are left to fill in the blanks. Whereas in many video games, the articles mentions that the "core ideas are not replicated properly". Reason being is that Sci-Fi games are more of a role-playing game such as Mass Effect where it involves shooting which is set in a futuristic world.
Sci-Fi games are more focused in gameplay itself by telling the Sci-fi and making it interactive for the player. A quote from Rive in this article says that "Sci-fi offers the perfect setting to put in relation human beings as explorers, and the human being as the ultimate territory to explore." Which links similarly to my idea of the game where the player that controls the character is human whilst stuck in a futuristic hostile environment with armed robots scattered around the place.
Evaluation:
For my evaluation, it will be used to reflect on what I have managed to do successfully such as how I've managed to create certain objects and then implementing them into my game project. Not only objects but also the whole programming side on how certain parts of the map will functions for instance the doors opening and close when you get close to it and go further away from it. Not just doors but how the AI's functions, how the alarms trigger ect. When certain parts of the process isn't going as planned, it is something to show evidence that I've managed to come across that I had problems with and then after this I would show an updated version of it as the fixed version and how I managed to overcome the problem. This will help aid me constantly talking about my development and growing skills to recognise it. In order I present my evaluation work throughout my FMP, I must include the whole process of what I did and what went well and what didn't. This is also a way of looking back to see what I managed to produce and how my skills have improved overtime in the media industry with my creativity.
Strategies:
For my strategies, in order to develop to be successful of my work, I'll have to spend more time into carefully making the finished product to what I wanted to look like. Without having mistakes in the finished product will show that I've carefully constructed a game from nothing to something. Problems will happen during the making which is understandable which is where I'll also learn from my mistakes. This can also be used for my problem solving section for more evidence that I realised the mistake and that I have fixed the problem ect. Working during lockdown for me personally doesn't effect me by one bit, in fact it feels easier as it makes it less of a hassle and all of my would be stored on my computer especially for making a game. Transferring it to College on the other hand will have to see how that will work. Creating packages is mostly the only way to transfer projects to another computer.
Action plan and timetable:
Week - 1
Date week beginning - 8th February 2021
For this week, I'm intending to create my Wix, link it up to my hub blog and start brainstorming some ideas for my future FMP game project.
Week - 2
Date week beginning - 15th February 2021
For this week, I'm intending to start choosing my top 3 ideas and start to talk about the idea of those 3 ideas and what was I inspired by having those choices. I also will make a start on my proposal draft and finishing my proposal draft and then get feedback from one of the teachers to see what else I should add.
Week - 3
Date week beginning - 22nd February 2021
For this week, I should have my proposal finished and then start to think of ways I'll be using to present my research with as many ideas as possible to show my understanding and that I've spent time on it.
Week - 4
Date week beginning - 1st March 2021
For this week, I should be getting feedback on my finished proposal and should be carrying on with my research and development. I also should have my presentation finished to show what I'm hoping to achieve.
Week - 5
Date week beginning - 8th March 2021
For this week, I should be making a start on my FMP but only small thing such as what I need to get and do in my game, start to practice the tools and start creating the layout. I should also be finishing off with my research and development.
Week - 6
Date week beginning - 15th March 2021
For this week, I'll be starting to enhance a bit more on the game project so that I achieve it to the best as I want it to be. For instance, rough game design of a rough layout idea of what I might achieve with additional tests of textures and materials.
Week - 7
Date week beginning - 22nd March 2021
For this week, I'll be carrying on working with my FMP work on Unity. The FMP work I'll be doing in Unity is a game over screen, particle effect for the players death, AI line of sight and player detection system from objects such as cameras and laser doors.
Additional feedback if required.
Week - 8
Date week beginning - 29th March 2021
For this week, I'll be carrying on working on my FMP work on Unity. The FMP work I'll be doing in Unity is finish up any of the mechanisms that were not finished done this week. Additional mechanics that I'll be completing also are the additional music added into the game, pick able card, player parkour death trigger, trap, boss death, and pause menu.
Additional Feedback if required.
Week - 9
Date week beginning - 5th April 2021
For this week, I'll be carrying on working on my FMP work on Unity. Start re designing the game map with additional objects implemented, textures and particle effect, and finishing it with a main menu.
Additional feedback if required.
Week - 10
Date week beginning - 12th April 2021
For this week, I'll be carrying on working on my FMP work on Unity. I'll be carrying on creating my FMP map design. I'll also be doing some planning and production written work.
Additional feedback if required.
(Update 13th April 2021)
What I'll be doing for this week, I am going to carry on finishing the starting section of my map design in Unity and also make a start on developing further for my main section of the map. This will be done at home but during in lesson, I am going to carry on writing what I've managed to create in my planning and production section.
Week - 11
Date week beginning - 19th April 2021
For this week, I'll carry on on designing my game map and should be finishing this week.
Week - 12
Date week beginning - 26th April 2021
For this week, I should have completed the game and should then be adding more information to my written work such as the production and any more additional information for my research.
(Update 27th April 2021)
What I'll be doing for this week is updating my games visual look and improvising it by adding more detail to make sure the game stands out such as use of more objects, lighting, and effects.
Week - 13
Date week beginning - 3rd May 2021
For this week, I'll be making a start on my evaluation and also finishing it up this week.
(Update 4th May 2021)
After having a major issue by not able to build the game, I am having to restart and need to try and get back up to speed by next week unless I figure out the problem throughout the days.
Week -14
Date week beginning - 10th May 2021
For this week, I should have finished everything and handed in all my FMP work.
(Update 9th May 2021)
For this week, I am going to finish my planning and production and then make a start on my evaluation and finish it by the end of the week day.
Feedback
Tuesday 9th February 2021 - Rob:
"Section 1 Rationale- Explain more about the strengths and weaknesses of your proposal ideas. What will make them succeed? What could make them fail? Why are they relevant to be made within Media/Gaming terms. You have done these things to a point but I feel the idea write up needs just a tad more information analysis. Also talk about each idea and how your development on the course has given you the ability to self-reflect, learn new software and research theories to successfully produce good work in any of your ideas, but particularly in your idea one sci-fi genre choice. Remember the operative word is DEVELOPMENT! That's what the course wants to see. Also the stealth theme is a good one, especially for gaming, just be sure to reference theories and research that have been done around making good stealth games and note the successful ones and least successful."
"Section 2 Project Concept - Needs a theoretical connection. So just add in research you did for the case study regarding gaming, players, sci-fi, etc. Remember to connect your ideas to academic research and sources to show you have successfully done research to understand your ideas and the for and against arguments or issues around them that will be present in your narrative (what do you as the creator want to say about stealth games?). Explain about the target audience for your ideas and why it will be interesting to them. Use the audience theory I taught you. Briefly add a timeline about what are the first things to get done to create this stealth game, this will aid in explaining how the development of it will be carried out. You must reference texts to prove you have researched and understood the core issues that are key to the themes and story you want to portray in your case (the stealth game). You do not have to make referencing a massive thing like the research project but it would aid if you cited them as you go through your write-up."
"Section 3 Evaluation - Write more about how your evaluation plan/diary/notes will be used for you to reflect on what you have done and analyse what is going right and what is going wrong when making the FMP. This will aid in you constantly talking about your development and growing skill to recognise it. Also add how you are going to present your evaluation work throughout your FMP. Good so far. Just needs some more detail here and there as stated above."
"It's good Alexej. Keep going and just add the core stuff noted above. Well done."
^^^^^^^^^
My work has been updated now from the feedback I received from Rob.