production pipeline
This is the production pipeline , it is the process taken to create a game. first stage of the pipeline is the ideas/concepts stage , in this stage the ideas of the game are being developed for example the potential art style, gameplay ideas , genre and more. preproduction is the stage where lots of research and experimentation happens , ideas for gameplay are tested , level design , art style and genre. this stage is also used for planning for production stage and a lot of prototyping is done in preproduction to test out ideas to see if they work well. the production stage is when preproduction ideas are developed further and polished. for example when Doom 2016 was revealed at e3 2015 it had a slower pace and the music was slower but when it was released in 2016 the gameplay was faster and the music was faster pace. a lot of changes can occur during development such as change in art direction , gameplay , music and story. another example of this is team fortress 2 which went from a realistic military shooter to an cartoon style alien vs humans to its current style. once production is completed the game is released post production begins , this stage involves bug fixing and continued polish of the game. For example if the game is multiplayer game new content would be added to help sustain its player base or add new gamemodes. for example dlc content for the game to add more content such as far harbor for Fallout 4 and free updates for the game such as Terraria 1.4.
preproduction
preproduction is the phase before full scale production of a product begins . this stage is the most important stage to effectively do as bad preproduction can lead to wasted time , assets , extensive crunch and polish. in addition bad preproduction can lead to art direction , story and gameplay mechanics being pushed to the side affecting the quality of the game. preproduction is where a lot of experimentation occurs for the art direction , gameplay mechanics , story , research and tech development for the various mechanics. the longer that a game is in preproduction usually the better. several examples of include: Bioshock , Fallout 3 and Portal.
job roles / hierarchies in the industry
lead producer(g ,v ,a) , lead gameplay designer (g), executive(g.v.a) , lead artist(g,v,a) , lead programmer(g.a), CEO(g,v,a) , writer(g.v.a) , project manager(g.v.a) , technician(g.v.a) , artist(g.v.a) , concept artist(g.v.a) , lead writer(g,a) , producer(g.v.a) , level designer(g) , environmental artist(g.v.a) ,
(games , vfx , animation)
job roles
game economy designer (games) , there role is to be in charge of constructing and maintaining the games balance mechanics inside a game.
generalist game designer(games) , there role is to tackle multiple features and design needs
production management
Production management is very important during development as it organizes the development of a game and there several things that help this for example: scrum meetings and sprints.
Scrum is an alternate to the waterfall technique of development the difference being scrum is smaller increments of plan , development and review which when completed will go into another scrum cycle , a scrum cycle is called a sprint. For comparison the waterfall method is one large plan , dev and review cycle which in comparison to scrum can run into delays as each stage lasts longer , which could mean if one stage is done wrong it could take months to reach a solution vs a scrum which could take a week at or 2 at most at each stage.
one of the main features of a scrum meeting is a daily meeting , the goal of the meeting is to address what each person is working on , issues they’re having and if they need help. The goal of this is to improve the workflow of the team and help organize what the team is working on.
overall the scrum method’s main advantage over the waterfall model is that the cycles are short allowing for the team to adapt to changes during development for example if a new technology is released the scrum model can adept to it quickly as the cycles are short term. In comparison the waterfall model is longer with each part of development , for example planning in the waterfall model can take months to complete. Another advantage with the scrum method over the waterfall method is that set backs during development is shorter in comparison to the waterfall method which could take months to fix a problem that is in the product . As a result scrum prevents as much time loss for production if an issue occurs in production. Another benefit with scrum vs waterfall is that helps keep the team focused and reduces the amount of feature creep that games can get. This is due to scrums being smaller focused , usually working on smaller mechanics in the game rather than the overall game.
There are also several other types of project management that are useful such as: production schedules , task management and bug tracking.
Production schedules is timetables for the use of resources and processes required by a business to produce goods or provide services.
task management is the process of managing a task through its life cycle. this involves planning , testing , tracking and reporting. this tool can used to either help individual people in a group achieve their goals or the group as a whole. It can also help the team as they can collaborate and share knowledge they may have easier.
Bug tracking is a tool that allows developers to track defects in their software.
These techniques are very important during development , especially during pressure points during development. Pressure points are key parts of development such as finale month before launch or the rush to crate a demo , its common for crunch to occur during pressure points in response to the amount of time left. pressure points can be avoided with a good workflow or by delaying a product’s launch.
Immersion
immersion is the act of making a player feel like they’re in the world that the games create.
There are several things that help keep players immersed in a game , Visuals and audio are some f the most important parts to make a player immersed. For example with audio non diegetic sounds ( such as atmospheric music ) and diegetic sounds( such as footsteps ) can all help to immerse the player. Another important aspect of immersing the player is being consistent with the world for example a serious moment in a game would be made worse with happy music , it’s important to match the required aspects such as audio and visuals when it’s needed( sad music for sad moment).
if immersion is done well it can make the player more invested with the game which can make it more fun and impactful. for example the music in doom eternal makes the combat more fun and exciting as it builds up as the amount of chaos increases. Immersion also links into game feel , game feel is how good a games feels while playing and this is important to do well or else a game becomes boring quite quickly. Immersion can help make the game feel good and memorable by increasing how invested the player is playing the game.
GAVFX as a whole use immersion to improve the quality of a product and there are several things that are done to do this that being visuals and audio. With visuals this can stuff such as realism which can help with immersion , this includes things such as lightning and animation/movement of things. With games visuals can be used to enhance the experience , for example particle effects from a gun shooting will make the action look more visually interesting. With audio this can be dialogue , diegetic/non diegetic sounds. For example atmospheric music can help make a scene more immersive or anticipation can make exciting moments more impactful. If both visuals and audio is done well it make the user more invested with the product , this can be things such as making a player scared in a horror game such as Phasmophobia with the atmosphere the game sets. This relates to games with game feel , for example doom eternal’s combat feels so great because both visuals and audio are immersing the player( for example the music building up in the background ). Overall immersion is an important aspect of GAVFX as it improves the quality of the product and makes the user more invested with the product.
Sounds in Games
Diegetic sounds are sounds that originate from the world for example the voices of characters and objects( thing’s that NPCs don’t hear)
non diegetic sounds are sounds that don’t originate from the world for example a narrator and music.
sounds are very important for GAVFX as they are the half the experience of the product , sounds gives life to a world and make it believable for example footsteps ground the player in the world. sounds make games more fun and memorable , most games would be unplayable without sounds as the experience is just boring.
In games , sound can be used to build anticipation , atmosphere , reward the player , feedback/recognition and informative audio.
atmosphere can be built through music and ambiance noise , for example ambiance noise is used in phasmophobia to scare the player. another example of atmosphere being built is the chanting in doom eternal , it makes the areas more creepy.
Anticipation can make large/small moments in the game more impactful , this usually tends to mix with atmosphere as atmosphere can build anticipation for the next thing , for example once again the chanting in doom eternal can help build anticipation for the next area. anticipation can also be for reward such as opening a chest in Zelda , it builds tension and excitement and as a makes the player recognize that it’s a reward.
This also links into feedback and recognition which are also very important. An example of Feedback and recognition is the headshot sound from doom eternal , it’s a diegetic sound and tells the player that the player has headshot a demon , it’s a strong almost cartoon like sound. This can also be heard from destroying weak points in doom eternal which is loud ping noise , it stands out from other noises and tells the player that a weak point has been destroyed . an example of a non-diegetic sound that provides feedback and recognition is completing a quest in Fallout or leveling up in Skyrim , it’s loud , stands out and informs the player quickly.
https://youtu.be/pFDOAn5YjeE – Skyrim level up sound
All these are important as they help immerse the player in the game , this is especially important as it can make games more enjoyable , increase the impact that certain moments have in a game for example obtaining the blades of chaos in god of war. immersion also makes games more memorable as it improves the experience the player has with the game.
Ethical issues in the GAVFX industry
Ethical issues in the GAVFX industry are content that influences a lot of people , examples of this are: violence , age restricted content , education . stereotyping , community , addiction , religious and other.
legal and regulatory issues in the GAVFX industry
there are several legal issues in the GAVFX industry such as: intellectual property , copyright laws , parody , software licenses , business contracts , non disclosure agreements , filming location/personal consent , GDPR/device permissions consent , microtransaction odds and regulatory issues.
Ethics in games
A large debate in videogames is if videogames cause violence in the real world , there are several arguments on if this is the case. People who believe that video games cause violence argue that it does influence violence in real life , and example being the El Paso shooter manifesto which briefly mentioned video games however people who are against the idea that videogames cause violence argue that they are other great causes than videogames such as psychological issues such as anxiety and depression. In my opinion videogames don’t cause violence in real life which is based of this study done by the oxford university which found no link that videogames cause violence in real life and based on my experiences in which I haven’t been influenced by videogames to more violent in real life ( in addition all my friends have never been influenced by games to be violent in real life).
Also not all games are violent , some of the largest game franchises are violent such as call of duty and GTA but there are also other large games that are large and not violent such as fall guys and a lot of indie games.
There is also a massive difference between real life violence and video game violence , one of the biggest ones being the stress that real life violence causes and trauma that they can cause. meanwhile violent video games are for the most part unrealistic and there is a level of detachment that players have when playing violent videogames as there are no consequences for the players actions for the most part which is massively different from real life where violent crime can send you to jail for the rest of your life.
In response to violence in videogames several organizations where formed such as PEGI and the ESRB which help provide age restrictions on games with graphic content such as violence.
another consideration when it comes to ethical issues in videogames is microtransactions and loot boxes in video games and are they exploitive.
Microtransactions is a business model in which in game items are paid for with micropayments and are often seen in free to play games and multiplayer games. Microtransactions can be considered unethical for several reasons , firstly the type is very important for example loot boxes. Microtransactions make since for free to play games such as TF2 and league of legends as they are free and require a source of income. However in non free to play games such as call of duty it becomes less justifiable as the player has already paid for the game. It’s also important the role they have in the game , for example if they affect gameplay( such as a weapon) or if they are just cosmetic , for example hats in TF2. I would argue that Microtransactions that give a player an edge over others ( such as a powerful weapon) is unethical as the players experience is reduced just to make more money.
![TF2 ] Mann Co. Supply Crate - Series #1 (Unboxing & Quick Look) - YouTube](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/II6HRXBaOw0/maxresdefault.jpg)
Loot boxes is in my opinion unethical as they give a player the chance to get an item at the cost of money , in addition they could be considered gambling as the player is paying for the chance to get something. This is especially apparent if people having gambling addiction issues and can become addicting to loot boxes. In addition loot boxes can be found in fifa games with is rated E for everyone , this means that children could by loot boxes. I would argue if loot boxes are to become acceptable that the age rating accounts for gambling laws which means that games such as fifa would become 18.
Other forms of microtransactions that differ from loot boxes have one major difference that become random chance to obtain items , for example battle passes give guaranteed items at certain tiers while loot boxes gives random items. I would argue that microtransactions such as battle passes are more reasonable than loot boxes as they are guaranteed to be obtained. I would also argue that microtransactions that give guaranteed items are better than random chance as they don’t exploit gambling addictions that players may have.
Store fronts that offer items for short duration of time could be argued to be exploitive as they give a since of urgency to the item and as a result the player may buy the item quicker.
on the brighter side video games as a whole can provide a lot of positive ethics , for example it can bring people together in the form of multiplayer which has been especially beneficial with the Covid lockdowns as players can play together form there homes. For example games such as Fall guys and Phasmophobia exploded in popularity even in the pandemic. Another positive ethic about videogames is they can help normalize minorities and people from the LGBTQ communities through characters in the game.
intellectual property
intellectual properties is something that has been created using your mind for example a story.
what makes Games successful beyond core gameplay (18/11/2020)
game mechanics are the players actions and their impact on the game , for example shooting in an fps. for example shooting in fps games such as call of duty and doom or happiness of colonists in Rimworld.
game features are more bullet points for a game that are used to describe the game to the customer and the it describes the games general overall experience while playing the game. for example , multiplayer , co-op , cross-play , soundtrack and more. for example Borderlands 1 was sold heavily on its unique art style.
there are several ways to keep a player engaged with a game such as multiplayer , alternate endings , achievements , alternate play styles , talent trees/ character progression , rogue likes and more.
alternate endings can add to the replayablility to a game for several reasons as they can lead to players playing the game again to achieve those other endings . for example in Dishonored depending on how the player plays it’ll change ending of the game.
rogue-likes usually have a lot of replayablility due to them having infinite generation that can help keep interest in the game as it can change the experience each time you play it. for example , enter the Gungeon levels change each time a player enters it and this can affect the weapons and gear the player gets.
alternate playstyles can also improve the replayablility of a game as they can change how the player plays the game and can allow the player to experiment with alternate playstyles. for example , Terraria has several classes that each have different playstyles , weapons and gear. in addition each class has different strengths and weaknesses that make them unique.
For example the melee class is tanky and deals high damage , it’s weapons are close range and there are severel types of melee weapons such as spears , yoyos and swords
and the mage is a glass cannon , it deals high dam but has low defense and uses mana.
each class in terraria( Mage , Melee, Summoner and Ranged) has a unique playstyle with strengths and weakness , unique gear and weapons. This improves the game replayablility as due to the several playstyles there’s a lot of stuff to do.
Achievements can also improve the replayablility of a game as players could return to the game to obtain all the achievements . and some achievements could have in game rewards such as skins for example the gold skin in doom eternal for beating the game on ultra-nightmare. These help brings player back into the game , this is due to achievements can be satisfying to complete and some achievements can give rewards such as doom eternal.
Challenges are another way to keep players interested in the game , they can promote players to play in other ways or experiment with the game. Also developers use daily / weekly challenges in multiplayer games. for example in call of duty daily changes can give players rewards such as xp and or unique loot. These help keep players engaged for several reasons , firstly they bring the player back to the game this is due to the fact in most cases there are rewards related such as collectables and cosmetics.
example
An example of several techniques that help keep me playing the game is doom eternal. doom eternal has great combat which is helped by it’s new game mechanics , the main two being increased mobility( dashes allowing players to dodge attacks , monkey bars allowing players to swing around and the meat hook, a grapple hook on the super shotgun) and weak points( points that can be destroyed). These three game mechanics make combat more interesting and fun , the increased mobility is required on higher difficulties such as nightmare to survive , weak points allow the player to weaken stronger units such as the Mancubus which lose their ability to shoot flames at the player or the Arachnotron turret which loses its ability to launch death balls at you.( these are very important to destroy on nightmare) The increase in mobility and weak points make the skill cap of the game higher which helps with replayability of the game for me. In addition the sound of a weak point being destroyed is amazing.
The third game feature that helps is the gore system , this systems makes it so demons visually see the demon you do to a demon , this is not only satisfying but show the health of the demon( the more destroyed they are the better). This feature loops back into gameplay as it shows the health of demons and allows the player to decide if they want to focus it and prioritize something else.
outside of combat there are challenges/achievements that the player can get and most provide an award in the form of a cosmetic for a gun or skins for player and demons. they are weekly challenges which feed into a battle pass which provides more cosmetics , this is one of the reasons I play doom eternal so often the cosmetics , they are cool looking and are fun to work towards.
There are several game features that also keep me playing , the main one for me is the music which makes the combat so much better and is great to listen to outside of the game. Another game feature is the battle mode , doom eternal’s multiplayer , which is a 2 demon players vs 1 slayer player. There are several types of demons and different types of weapons for the slayer which helps make the game mode not grow stale and allows for different playstyles and experimentation of weapons and abilities . In addition the multiplayer has upgrades which allows players to experiment more.
an example of a game which doesn’t keep my attention as long is Minecraft . Its game mechanics are very simple , which isn’t bad however it doesn’t do enough to spice up the combat which is very simplistic and there are very few alternate ways to play which are fun. personally combat keeps me playing a game and in Minecraft there it isn’t fun to play as it tends to be slow and boring. Another game mechanic that doesn’t keep me playing is the building ( the main part of Minecraft). It’s fun and the player can build amazing things but there isn’t much reason to build massive things as they can get tedious. However, Minecraft has great game features such as a great soundtrack , various game modes such as Creative mode , multiplayer and custom servers. But for me the game features matter more which doesn’t keep me playing. If building had more use I would probably play it more, for example Terraria has NPCs which provide stuff the player needs which gives reasons for players to build.
exam techniques (18/11/2020)
for the exam there are several strategies that I will most likely use to help improve my performance in the exam. At the start of the exam I will look at the marks each question provides. I personally would do the hardest question first as it provides the most marks them do the smaller ones afterwards. Also I will want to give myself some leeway time when doing a question. for example spend 20 minutes doing the question then use 5 minutes leeway time to either read over it or move on.
planning my answers will also be important , this includes paragraph structure and overall how much time I’ll spend on each question. the benefits of doing this is it will make my answer more organized and improves it’s structure which’ll help to read over it and help make it make sense.
paragraph structure for my questions will most likely be the burger model which is:
this model will help make my arguments structured well and organized. I will try to bring up evidence to support my points as much as possible to not only improve the quality of my answer but to add show examples of higher level paragraphs. this is important as high level paragraphs show a greater understanding of the topic. Higher level paragraphs will require me to use show advantages and disadvantages which’ll help my arguments look unbiased and be as academic as possible . this will involve explaining both sides talking points.
overall in a question my structure will most likely be intro to topic 1/2/3 then conclude( 5 in total). for example , target audience , introduction to topic then target audience to market research to impact on game design and the finish with conclusion of topic.
I think these strategies will help improve the structure of my answers , this is good as I personally can get stuck very easily if I don’t know what I’m doing so hopefully this help prevent that happening. The burger structure of paragraphs will help my paragraphs make sense and also improve the structure which help me read over it when I’m finished and also when the my answer makes sense to the reader.
I think this will improve my focus as well due to the fact I’ll be in a better work flow due to the structure my paragraphs and response will follow . this is due to the fact I can get stuck on a question if I don’t know what to do so this will hopefully prevent that from happening.
I think I will use the paragraph technique in the exam as it could help improve the quality of my answers. I will also bring up the advantages and disadvantages to help improve the quality of arguments and make me look unbiased.
how to pitch your idea/game
pitching in the game industry is when you propose your/your teams idea/ game to a publisher. The goal of the pitch is to ask for the publisher to help make a game a success , this can include stuff such as advertising a game and development of the game.
A pitch deck is a quick overview of the plan of your game to a publisher. During the pitch the developer will show: their team , what they’ve worked on/ experience , development timeline , concept art and a playable demo of the game. The goal of a pitch deck is to show to a publisher the game and ask them for assistance. Publishers will be more likely to consider working with a studio if the dev team is experienced , the game suits the publishers audience and style and projected sales of the game.
There are several reasons for a dev to work with a publisher for example the publisher can provide marketing , help in game development and help the distribution of the game/ product, These can all help in making the game successful.
after a pitch occurs the publisher will decide is they will work with the developer or not , this is based on risk involved with helping the developer, for example how experienced the dev team are can affect the risk for a publisher.
pressure points
Genres/Trends(02/12/2020)
Game genres
RTS( real time strategy)
FPS(first person shooter)
platformer
multiplayer
racing
party
First person shooters accuracy is important
Building a business and company types (09 / 12 / 2020)
Nextgen Jak 