Now the Games design document and pitch presentation has been done and finished i will now talk about how i felt the project went what was successful and what wasn't if any.
At the start of the project we were tasked to create mini concept documents no more than two pages, this way we could quickly get game ideas down but also flesh them out within the limitations of two pages so we had to think about the core mechanics of the game mainly, this was challenging but definitely worked well in getting the core game idea down as its the most important foundations for a game.
We then chose the game idea that seemed to work the most and could easily be fleshed out into a full game idea. This is where 'Witch Hunt' developed from a concept document to a full game design document. This process was done easier because of the prep work, coming up with the concept document thinking of just the core ideas of the game, this then enabled everything else to fit around the concept document following the same theme and the aesthetics.
This way of working seemed much more beneficial and productive, it gives a way for game concepts to almost be prototyped and tested to see if they would stand as up as an interesting game before much time has gone into fleshing the game out fully. I would definitely use this process again if i was to come up with a game concept in the future that i wanted to developed.
Monday 22 April 2013
Saturday 20 April 2013
New Online portfolios
After creating two CV's i looked for websites to make an online portfolio to present my work as i needed to make two for this project, one aimed towards an AAA company, so it should mainly contain work that you specialised in, then another portfolio aimed towards at indie companies where you can show of more work instead of just the specialised.
There are two free website builders that i found the most useful,
www.wix.com
www.weebly.com
In the end i decided to go with weebly as it has some nice features and fairly cheap to upgrade the site to a pro account which is what i want to eventually do to make it look more professional.
I started off adding lots of stuff to the websites but then i cut lots out as i decided it started to look messy, so i took it back to the basics and made it much simpler but i think it looks more professional.
Here is how the two portfolios turned out, i hopefully will add, and improve some of the work on there shortly....
There are two free website builders that i found the most useful,
www.wix.com
www.weebly.com
In the end i decided to go with weebly as it has some nice features and fairly cheap to upgrade the site to a pro account which is what i want to eventually do to make it look more professional.
I started off adding lots of stuff to the websites but then i cut lots out as i decided it started to look messy, so i took it back to the basics and made it much simpler but i think it looks more professional.
Here is how the two portfolios turned out, i hopefully will add, and improve some of the work on there shortly....
Wednesday 10 April 2013
CV research
In today lecture we looked at creating a CV and the do's and donts. Here i have made a template to what is needed in a cover letter and CV. For each job application there should be a separate CV tailored to suit that jobs specific needs so each CV may differ slightly.
Cover Letter
Header/Title
some personal details such as name of document, name, contact info, mobile number, email, link to portfolio
Short Paragraph
Tag line, something short a brief version of the cover letter in 3rd person.
Qualifications/education
Any qualifications and main subjects that are relevant to job application
Work experience
any previous work experience from the past 5 years, paid or unpaid ( doesn't need to be stated)
explain what role you had and the skills you learnt.
Relevant practical experience
any projects that have helped in learning new software or gaining practical experience, list what you did and the skills and knowledge learnt such as improved workflow.
Software
any software you are proficient with and what you've used it for
Personal details
Name, DOB, Address, nationality, full driving licence.
References
Available on request.
Cover Letter
- Less one page
- quick intro about yourself
- any relevant work experience or personal projects
- eager to learn and develop skills
- career goals
- sell yourself to to the role
- show interests in the job
- purpose of cover letter is to compliment to the CV
- in 1st person
Header/Title
some personal details such as name of document, name, contact info, mobile number, email, link to portfolio
Short Paragraph
Tag line, something short a brief version of the cover letter in 3rd person.
Qualifications/education
Any qualifications and main subjects that are relevant to job application
Work experience
any previous work experience from the past 5 years, paid or unpaid ( doesn't need to be stated)
explain what role you had and the skills you learnt.
Relevant practical experience
any projects that have helped in learning new software or gaining practical experience, list what you did and the skills and knowledge learnt such as improved workflow.
Software
any software you are proficient with and what you've used it for
Personal details
Name, DOB, Address, nationality, full driving licence.
References
Available on request.
Tuesday 26 March 2013
AAA Studio: Company analysis
AAA Studio:Irrational Games
About
Irrational Games was founded in 1997 by three former
employees of another studio called Looking glass studios. In 2006 Take-Two
Interactive announced that they had purchased Irrational and plan to publish their
games on the 2K games label. Currently the Main studio is situated just outside
Boston in the USA.
Games
Irrational have worked on many games but the most successful
is the Bioshock Franchise.
-Bioshock
-Swat 4
-Freedom Force vs. the 3rd Reich
-Tribes: Vengeance
-Freedom force
-System shock 2
-Bioshock Infinite
There latest and most anticipated Release Bioshock Infinite takes
place in a steampunk city of Columbia, a floating city. The game is an intense 1st
person shooter that combines rich narrative and storytelling with unique and
interesting mechanics.
Company attitude
Although Irrational games is a large, successful and very professional
game studio the company likes to showcase their employees and takes into account
their achievements. They have a section on there website dedicated to featuring
employees that work at the company.
As a successful company they are also always on the lookout
for new talent, here is a quote from their jobs page “We will seriously consider your application even if we don’t have a
specific vacancy in your area of expertise listed” This shows that they understand
that it’s the employees talent that truly makes their games what they are.
Here is another quote to show a little more of what he
company is about,
“Irrational Games
offers generous salary packages and relocation within the US or
internationally. So if you’re interested in working at a studio that is at the
cutting edge of the industry, that makes awesome games, and that fosters
creativity and a sense of fun, then Irrational Games may just be the place for
you!”
Links
Gamefront.com (2013) Irrational games announces vita Bioshock project. Retrieved from http://cdn2.gamefront.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/irrationallogo.jpg?cda6c1
Ethungup.com (2013) Bioshock infinite. Retrieved from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibiya-uG17_Y_reGkrn-7cDCE77dxEojEL3iuayMWAOXBhiTXgvzebEGkjG9PVCC3i-s3UufYMxPSRnLmE-ytjlXJr19_BX88Mb4VZ3MEdfm0Qc1audpJov80P54KyXt12fxpCFYt4MAA/s1600/bioshock_infinite_2.jpg
Irrationalgames.com (2013) Retrieved from http://irrationalgames.com/studio/careers-at-irrational/
Indie Studio: Company analysis
Indie Studio:
Supergiant Games
About
Supergiant
games is an independent game company that was founded in 2009, the company was
based in the living room of a house San Jose California. After the critical
success of their first title Bastion they have now moved to a studio in San
Francisco and are now currently a team of 9.
Games
Bastion- The
first title by the company, Bastion is an action role-playing game that has
been released on multiple platforms and received more than 100 awards. Here is
a quote from Game pro,
"Bastion isn't
just one of the year's best titles. It's also one of the best stories you'll
see in an indie game." - (5 / 5)
Transistor- Is
due to be released in 2014, not too much is released yet but the game focuses
around the same game play as Bastion but in a futuristic cyberpunk city and focuses
around turn base combat.
Company attitude
Supergiant
games are a small development team that seem extremely passionate about games
and even more making them. A quote from the company website,
“Supergiant
Games is a small developer with big ambitions: to make games that spark your
imagination like the games you played as a kid.”
Although the
company seem hardworking and dedicated they also seem to be relaxed and don’t take
themselves too seriously. Looking through one of the companies job openings
these are some of the Plus requirements for a job,
“· Skill in traditional and
digital art
· Skill in 2D animation
· Experience scripting in the above-mentioned 3D modeling packages
· Experience with Illustrator, Flash, or other vector graphics software
· Experience with UI design and implementation
· You like otters”
· Skill in 2D animation
· Experience scripting in the above-mentioned 3D modeling packages
· Experience with Illustrator, Flash, or other vector graphics software
· Experience with UI design and implementation
· You like otters”
Links:
Supergiantgames.com (2011) Bastion bulletin, april 201. Retrieved from http://supergiantgames.com/site/wp-content/uploads/SGLogo.jpg
Supergiantgames.com (2013) Bastion. Retrieved from http://supergiantgames.com/site/wp-content/uploads/Bastion_PC_0001.jpg
Supergiantgames.com (2013) First look at our next game: Transistor. Retrieved from http://supergiantgames.com/site/wp-content/uploads/Transistor_19-mar-2013_01.jpg
Supergiantgames (2012) 3D Artist @ Supergiant games. Retrieved from http://supergiantgames.com/site/wp-content/uploads/otter.jpg
Market research and analysis
Looking at the market and recent trends there seems to be a rise of Free to play games, that offer in game purchases.. upgrades that the player can get playing the game, but is quicker and takes less time to purchase. Because Witch Hunt is an online multiplayer game this option would be a great opportunity.
Here is some research i came across while looking on Steam which is one of the biggest online game distribution sites.
These are just some of the most popular free to play game, what I've found is that these game have a lot of replay value and don't exactly have and end game state, Witch Hunt fits nicely in with this as its all about online gameplay and rounds instead of a storyline. In this list of games there are some old and some new that are still the most popular, for example Team fortress 2 the most popular free to play game on steam was released in 2007! so a good think with free to play game is that they keep there value for a long time especially if there is new content, maps, equipment etc updating.
Witch Hunt would be a great free to play casual game because players can experience short bursts of gameplay with friends but also get immersed in the game and play games back to back.
How would the game make money?
Because Witch Hunt has customisable characters, upgrades, pick ups and different maps all of these things could come in DLC packs or in game content that can be bought, nothing that would hinder gameplay but purely to make a players character more unique for example. Theres a lot that could be done with this method, even something simple like the player has 5 slots in witch they can customise characters, if they want to create more characters then they would have to purchase 5 more slots for example.
Here is some research i came across while looking on Steam which is one of the biggest online game distribution sites.
Witch Hunt would be a great free to play casual game because players can experience short bursts of gameplay with friends but also get immersed in the game and play games back to back.
How would the game make money?
Because Witch Hunt has customisable characters, upgrades, pick ups and different maps all of these things could come in DLC packs or in game content that can be bought, nothing that would hinder gameplay but purely to make a players character more unique for example. Theres a lot that could be done with this method, even something simple like the player has 5 slots in witch they can customise characters, if they want to create more characters then they would have to purchase 5 more slots for example.
GDD update
Below of the Pages for the GDD of the game idea i have created called 'Witch Hunt' I will next talk about how this game idea concept would fit in the market.
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