GDD update

Recently I've been working on fleshing out the sections for the GDD and solidifying the game idea even more and expanding on other areas such as game modes and sounds for the game concept. Now i have a strong idea of how i want the game to be and look i began modelling some characters to set the visual style for the rest of the concepts.

Here is an example of the Witch and Hunter.

Now i will began fleshing out the visuals for other sections of the GDD such as environments then i can play out a level design and show how the game will play.

Presentation Skills

In today lecture we looked at presentation skills and what makes a good professional looking presentation. Professional is the key word here, presentations are usually when an idea is being pitched for some kind of help weather that's financial help or something else it needs to be professional so anyone viewing your pitch will know your serious about what your pitching and you know what your talking about.  If your not serious about your pitch or even know what your talking about then why would anyone else be interested in what you have to say.

Here are a few important points for a Proffesional presentation:

• Dress smart, look presentable not scruffy, makes you look like you make an effort instead of being lazy.
• Body language, be engaging and interested in what you do and what your talking about! again if you don't seem interested and have you hands in your pocket all the way throught then why will anyone else be interested.
• Be realistic, do your research. Make sure your product or idea is realistic, if its new and groundbreaking then do your research and show how its realistic. If you don't do your research people will pick your idea apart.
• Be concise, dont overcomplicate things or dont fill the viewer with too much information at once. Break up the presentation into more slides and less information and have that information stored in your head so you can verbally explain your idea. You may only have 5 minuets to pitch an idea so make sure everything your saying is relevant and will help get your ideas across.
• Less is more, use bullet points if neccasary to jog your memory on points then expand on these points and explain why the viewer needs to know this information.
• An image paints a thousand words, use image for every point you talk about to back up what your saying, this way it makes people understand more what your talking about and helps visualise any ideas and what your wanting to do.
• Prototype your ideas, if your pitching an idea its best to show prototypes of your product or idea, this helps the viewer to understand what exactly your wanting to acomplish, even if its just images to show the visual style or mocks ups to show how things will look.
• Be consistant, make sure your text and layout is consistant and tidy, this puts an idea in the viewers mind about the presenter and the person if they them selveves will be consistant and has a high level of presentation in the work they do.
• Know your audience, make sure you know who your pitching two or what your aiming your idea for. This way you know what they want, what theyve done and why your idea will interest them.

Game idea 3

Here's is my 3rd game concept i developed, a RTS with action and adventure elements. I had a real struggle with trying to get it fit on 2 pages, i couldn't cut anymore down so i had to add a small bit of information onto a 3rd page, hopefully it will be ok as the game would miss some vital information without it.

Referances

1. Wallpapers (n/a) Space craft’s in the city. Retrieved from http://wallpapers.androlib.com/android.wallpaper.space-crafts-in-the-city-qpx.aspx

2. Videojug (n/a) The planets explained. Retrieved from http://www.videojug.com/film/the-planets-explained

3. Planets for kids (n/a) Welcome. Retrieved from http://www.planetsforkids.org/

4. G4TV (2010) Morning Hangover: Good Times For Real Time Strategy Games. Retrieved from http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/702647/morning-hangover-good-times-for-real-time-strategy-games/

5. Brothersoft (n/a) Strategy Games - 2008 Top Five. Retrieved from http://blog.brothersoft.com/tag/pc-strategy-game/
6. EA.com (n/a) BattleForge. Retrieved from http://www.ea.com/battleforge 

Game idea 2

Here is the second game idea that i have developed into a short concept document. A near future FPS action game.

Referances

1. TMCnet (2007) Inventor creates Halo exo-skeleton armor suit for military use. Retrieved from http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/inventor-creates-halo-exoskeleton-armor-suit-for-military-use.asp

2. BBC (2007) Super-strong body armour in sight. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7038686.stm

3.  G4TV (2013) 2013 Movie Preview: Elysium. Retrieved from http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/729963/2013-movie-preview-elysium/

4. Trekearth (2009) overpopulated. Retrieved from http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/Philippines/NCR/Manila/Mandaluyong_City/photo1080966.htm

5. Bumsonwheels (2010) the Many Faces of Panama City. Retrieved from http://www.bumsonwheels.com/2010/09/many-faces-of-panama-city.html

6. Nextbigfuture ( 2012) China Sky Cities Trying for Clean and Safe Versions of Judge Dredd's Stratoscapers and Megacities. Retrieved from http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/06/china-sky-cities-trying-for-clean-and.html

7. Deviantart (2005) Environment: POST-APOCALYPSE. Retrieved from http://inetgrafx.deviantart.com/art/Environment-POST-APOCALYPSE-20125872

8. Pinintrest.com (n/a) cybercity. Retrieved from http://pinterest.com/SDDavis3/cybercity/   

9. Planetside-universe (2009) PS: Next - Art Direction/Style (image intensive). Retrieved from http://www.planetside-universe.com/showthread.php?t=35584    

10. Purerlyreview (n/a) Bioshock. Retrieved from http://purelyreview.com/blog/?p=111
11. Eurogamer.net (2011) Rage: The return of id software. Retrieved from http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-the-return-of-id-software?page=2

Game idea 1

My first game idea is a fairly simple game about Witches and Witch hunters, a fun straight forward online multiplayer game involving detective work and find and seek gameplay.
Are limits with creating a basic concept document was to keep each idea to a maximum of 2 pages... which is really difficult to try and get a game idea across clearly.

Referances

1. West Karana (2008) Straight Talk Warhammer: The Witch Hunter. Retrieved from http://westkarana.com/index.php/2008/10/01/straight-talk-warhammer-the-witch-hunter/

2. 123rf.com (n/a) Illustration - Wicked Halloween Witch And Cat Flying On A Broom Stick. Retrieved from http://www.123rf.com/photo_6906464_wicked-halloween-witch-and-cat-flying-on-a-broom-stick.html

3. Massively (2013) Massively. Retrieved from http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/rts/rss.xml

4. Weebly.com (n/a) Tower wars. Retrieved from http://dbview.weebly.com/tower-wars-review-steam-game.html

5. Toucharcade (2010) 'Dungeon Defenders: First Wave' Review - You'll Want A Controller. Retrieved from http://toucharcade.com/2010/12/20/dungeon-defenders-review/

6. Grannysuenews (2012) X-tra Scary Halloween: A Ghostly Tale. Retrieved from http://grannysuesnews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/x-tra-scary-halloween-ghostly-tale.html

7. FlickR (2008) Old Creepy Cemetery Angels. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwparenteau/2196372185/

8. Tote bags 'n' blogs (2010) Bubble,bubble, toil and trouble. Retrieved from http://authorsoundrelations.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/bubble-bubble-toil-trouble-anne.html
9. Unseen64 (2009) Evil Genious. Retrieved from http://www.unseen64.net/2009/03/10/evil-genius-xboxps2-cancelled/
10. Clipartof (n/a) Poster, Art Print: Ugly Witch Stirring Brew In A Cauldron by yayayoyo. retrieved from http://www.clipartof.com/interior_wall_decor/details/Ugly-Witch-Stirring-Brew-In-A-Cauldron-Poster-Art-Print-1079901

Research and looking for gaps in the market

I will look into the current market to find trends and gaps in genres and the market as a whole, this way I can identify what games are doing well but also find genres that there is possibly room for that have a large potential audience.

Here are the top 20 selling games on steam at this moment in time. I will now list the genres that are in the top sellers. 

-Action, RPG =6

-Action, Adventure=3

-FPS, Action =3

-Strategy =2

-Action, Strategy, simulation =4

From looking at the top 20 its clear to see that Action,RPG’s or RPG games are in their numbers, although this shows that this genre sells well, again this shows that there is a lot of well selling competition. Action,strategy or Action,strategy and simulation games are also doing well in the market having 4 games in the top 20. FPS genre is a very competitive genre with call of duty franchise so this would not be a good genre to go for as there is a large audience that would prefer to buy the new call of duty to most other games. One gap I can see in the market here is the lack of RTS games, there are a few Strategy and Action, Strategy games but not many of the RTS genre that are up in the top 20, even though games in the past such as Command and Conquer and Halo wars did really well, so there is a possible window to bring a new RTS game to the market. There is also Action, Adventure games which generally do quite well, although there is usually always competition as new company's bring out new games with gripping story lines and interesting characters so its good to change the genre up by adding in new elements such as puzzles or even new mechanics such as stealth, it could also be a good move to look at genres that even in the top 20, and completely redo a genre to make it interesting and unique combining elements that do well such as action or adventure.

Game Concepts

Here are some of my notes from what i jotted down on paper and put together into a small mind map. Hopefully i can get a better understanding of what needs to be achieved next in lesson and get some valuable feedback to move forward.