Sketches for 3D idea

We started off thinking of the futuristic robotic idea, with cyborg fish and futuristic animals. This followed along with the Tron video I found in my research, and these are a few ideas I came up with.

 

After the penguin, my part of the storyboard was decided near the end, and the robotic penguin would appear and slide down an iceberg and into the water and out onto another building.

 

Research for 3D Projection project

After sorting out into our group, our first objective was to look at Youtube videos and see what had been done already and gain ideas. Here are the ones I looked at:

Fanta Chase (Dubai)
Dubai Mall Fanta Chase
This is an arcade themed 3d projection, that makes the building look as if it is an arcade game.

Sydney Game On
Game On
This was a projection on the inside of a building on a large wall which gave the look that the people were on a boat in the navy and were on a mission.

Hot Wheels Secret Race (Sydney)
Secret race battle
This projection was made to look as if the cars were racing through and around the building and also involve the viewer.

Tron Legacy Premiere (Tokyo)
Tron legacy world premiere
This projection gave the building the look of the film, creating a futuristic look to the buildings structure.

Call of Duty 3D projection
Black Ops 3D projection
This gives the look of the building being involved in a war, with guns appearing out of the building and missiles.

Ralph Lauren
The official Ralph Lauren 4D experience
This was good through its use of the architecture of the building as well as the windows

Team GB Winter olympics
Team GB winter olympic event
The use of music and the real footage made this projection unique and eye catching.

3D projection onto building
3D projection
This is unique as it looks incredibly realistic, and the use of hands could be something used to get the audience involved.

VIIX design document... Finished!

The design document is finished, all the information in there. Here is the front cover in all its glory.

I am very happy with how my project went, with my idea developing more and more every time I drew a new sketch and I really enjoyed seeing my ideas develop into a solid project. When first given the brief I had initial problems coming up with a good idea. After working with a group previously and having other peoples input, the start of this project was very daunting. After ruling out my initial thoughts of a horse racing game, this Idea suddenly came to me, while looking at apps. Why aren’t there any good narrative driven RPGs? After this my idea took off, and I did lots of sketches to help me picture the final product. If I did this again, and had more time I would have gone into much more detail with the story and art, as well as try some 3D character renders.

Art for design Document

This is some of the art being used for the design document. They are the rough concepts of characters and events, which will show roughly how the characters and scenes would look in the game.

This is the original concept for the front cover of the design document. I will attempt at colouring it, but I may leave it black and white, but create a strong lighting effect in it.

This is the concept for Jeremy's horse and cart used in the first quest.

First draft of 1000 word report

Could Games replace books as the conventional form of storytelling?

In modern society, games are now viewed as much more than merely time-killing entertainment, as with the advance in technology, narrative driven gameplay has risen. Modern games now have beautiful and entrancing stories that make games a much more powerful and immersive experience. Games such as this include the 'Fable' series, the 'Elder scrolls' series and even games such as 'Angry Birds' have an underlying narrative driving the gameplay along. As games are so interactive with their storytelling, there is an argument that there is a possibility that they could replace books as the conventional form of storytelling.

An argument for this statement is driven by the fact that games are a much more immersive experience than books. This new type of storytelling gives the player the opportunity to create their own story through the choices they make. This makes the narrative feel more individual, whereas with books the ending and story are fixed, and the same every time you read it. Also, with the emergence of open world games such as 'Fallout', the player can create a whole new story individual to them, and find new quests and places to explore. With open world games, the possibilities are endless, with the player always finding something new to experience. The is also more opportunity for the player to bond with fictional characters in games, as with books the people are basically given to you on a plate; interpret them as you will. But with games, players can interact with lots of different people throughout a long span of time, getting to know the person virtually and becoming attached. These attachments players make to virtual characters is very prevalent in society, with fan groups and cosplayers obsessing over characters and even crying at their death! This attachment is one that is very rare to make with characters from a book, as a book is someone else’s view of that character dictated to you, whereas in a game that character is given to you, and you create your view of them from the events in the game.

The argument for this could also be linked to the use of books and games in schools and in learning. Games could be used as a unique tool for learning, as a child would rather sit and play a game rather than read a book. Children will go out of their way to complete games and challenge themselves, and with books this is the opposite. A child would be inclined to virtually talk to a historic figure and find things out about them, rather than read about it in a book, and this is another reason why games could challenge the book in terms of learning. An article by Andrew Eisen claimed that 'trial runs at high schools and college universities have yielded positive results', which is expected from children and teenagers being brought up with games, however it also claimed that 'parents and teachers have been very receptive to the idea of educational game technology', which is surprising from a generation who seem to be against the benefits of game playing. (Eisen, 2006, Will Games replace text books?) However, the cognitive values of reading a book are far too valued in society in comparison to playing games, which is why children are encouraged to read from an early age. This is why, although games can and most likely will be used as an educational tool, the use of books in schools will never be replaced due to the cognitive skills they encourage and advance.

Steven Johnsons' book, 'Everything Bad is Good for You', explores narratives in games in comparison to books, and makes the argument that 'games are not novels, and the ways in which they harbour novelistic aspirations are invariably the least interesting thing about them.' (Johnson, 2005, pg 21) This argument is true, in some cases the story in a game is the least important part of it. This also sparks the debate as to whether the narrative of a game influences people to buy it, or whether it is purely the gameplay and content. It can be said that popular RPG's such as 'Mass Effect' rely heavily on their storyline to sell games, and this is why they bring out more to continue the story, as it was popular in the first game. However, games such as 'Call of Duty' do not really have strong narratives, and players mainly buy them for their gameplay and the experience.

Steven Johnson also makes the point that reading in itself has great virtues, such as the 'mental work you have to do to process and store that information', as well invoking 'the power of imagination; reading forces you to concoct entire worlds in your head'. (Johnson, 2005, pg 22) In comparison to playing games, these virtues are unique to books, as the worlds in games are given to you, whereas in books they really completely on the imagination of the individual reading.

Reading books requires knowledge and experience, as well as a vivid imagination for a person to become engaged totally in the story, but once a person is successfully immersed in a book, they become immersed in that world completely. In comparison to a game where in some cases while playing, people switch off, as if it is second nature, and this is most prevalent in first person shooters such as war games and zombie games. Games however, have their own individual intellectual and physical advantages, which cannot be compared to books. Games 'have intellectual or cognitive virtues of their own right- different from, but comparable to, the rewards of reading.' (Johnson, 2005, pg 22) This sums up the conclusion of the question, that games have the ability to tell stories well, or in some cases better than books, but the intellectual advantages of physically reading a book are too great to ever be replaced by games.

References:

Johnson, S (2005). Everything bad is good for you. London: Penguin Group. 21-22.

Eisen, A. (2006). Will games replace text books?. Available: http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/210133.html. Last accessed 17^th

Word Count: 994

Sophie Woollard

More concepts for VIIX

This is a rough concept for the combat in VIIX. The player swipes their finger to move each hand against the enemy, either high and low. The players health is conveyed through blood on the screen, and when the players health is very low the screen blurs and moves from side to side.

This is a concept of how the speech side of the game would look. The player can choose which option they want to reply with. This choice dictates how the person replies to them in future, and how their reputation is in the town.

These are the title concepts for VIIX. I decided to go for the top one as it is much more bold than the other one and also looks vintage.










This is the final concept for the title, which I will use for the background of my design document.

The Final bits for the board game

These are the final printed cards, printed on two pieces of thin card and stuck together. I also wrote the background story for the manual.

1867
The War of Totems and Towers

As the sun rose over the hills of Texas, a war was raging on. A war between Cowboys and Indians, an ancient tale of pride and brawn. In the midst of this great war were four brave soldiers, two Cowboys and two Indians who sought an end to this fight. Both brave groups had the same brilliant idea, to capture a member of the others group. The two brave Indians captured the Sheriff from the Cowboys, securing him in their land. The two brave Cowboys captured the chief of the Indian tribe, and secured him in their land. Thus beginning the final chapter of this epic battle. The Cowboys and Indians both began building their defences, in an attempt to defend their land against the opposing group. The Cowboys began building guard towers, to foresee attacking Indians. The Indians began building Totem poles, a symbol of peace and security to ask the Gods for help and strength. The four brave warriors who captured the enemies leader, all ventured out to save their group member, while sending back pieces for the defence. As the epic battle wages on, who will build up their defences first and save their groups captive?