Overview:
Electronic games emerged in the 1970’s with Atari leading the way with the well known classic ‘pong’. Games platforms have been around for over 25 years. The first in the 1980’s included retro classics such as ‘Astro-Wars’ and ‘Pac-Man’. These games were simplistic but had great playability and were associated with rapid response reactions which kept that generation off the streets. Nintendo introduced the first games system during this decade. In the 1990’s computer games were becoming widely available as PC’s were quickly making their way into the home. Titles were emerging from a broad range of developers. Arcade games were also emerging as the 3D and multimedia age became mainstream. The first mobile game was Snake which was a 1970’s remake for the new mobile platform. There is a broad range of games and devices now available including Play Station, Nintendo, X-Box, PSP, mobile phones, PC games and so on. There are also add on devices to improve game-play. The technologies which power games from complex physics and rendering engines on PC’s to flash lite and java powered games for mobile are specific to each platform and the format of the screen is also varied.
Design Brief:
The challenge of this brief is to think of a new game concept which could be played in a number of ways and on various platforms by the same user at different times depending on where they are and what they are doing. Assume that the beck end technology can be solved by a team of programmers and concentrate on the game-play and changing formats that would be associated with different devices. A possible scenario might be that the gamer starts at home on the PC, but later must take a journey perhaps by car or bus and chooses to use the PSP to continue certain game tasks. Between lessons at school or at breaks from work they can use a mobile phone for another set of tasks but all relating to the same game. How might this type of system work? What technologies would the system use to communicate information on the move? Does the format of the screen automatically affect the virtual world format of the game?
The game idea should be kept simple so that the playability can be effectively communicated.
Deliverables
Your proposed solution should be developed either in part or completely using 3D computer graphics. The platform is for PS and will use the iToy or other proposed external devices.
Research
- Visual Research diary (Hard back filled with comments, Images and Journal extracts of characters / prop and / or environments which influence your design)
- A2 Mood Board (expressing the theme of the game, styling, type of example activities and platform screen formats)
- Filed research- State of the art technologies, journal publications
- Brief project report to include Journal / article summaries (fully referenced) and format dimensions in pixels. To include a design specification for the feasibility , functionality and physical parameters of the game.
- Power point presentations
Development
- Level design Concept sketch book illustrating the game-play concepts and a diagrammatic layout of the virtual world of the game (>30 pages A3 Format)
- Character / prop and / or environment design sketch book illustrating your original content development proposals (>30 pages A3 format)
Presentation
- Title and branding of the game
- Level walk through orthographic drawings - plan and side views (using a CAD package, freehand or Illustrator) includes scale bar - PDF and printed A2. This should also indicate various altitudes and split levels within the virtual world of the game. It provides an overall visual of the game world at a glance.
- Final renderings, A2 format- 3D visuals illustrating 3 key game-play scenarios. (Marker and pastels, Photoshop and/or 3DSMAX/ MAYA). These should illustrate how the game is played, illustrate how different technologies affect format or playability, demonstrate the on screen game achievements for a selected level of play.
- Moving image show-reel. This can be a mix of still and animated footage which communicates the concepts of the game, how t is played and an example of the on-screen experience.
If working in a group a separate combined presentation show-reel should be developed.
