Game Play Log 2

11/3/2016

Game Play Log 2

Did linear storytelling in your chosen game(s) engage and excite you as a player? Explain why or why not.

Prince Of Persia

The game itself I found boring and hard to engage with even though I was watching someone else play. It was a very narrative based game with a story that the player followed closely while playing. During the game after completing a certain action a cutscene appeared to lead the player to the next move but I found the combination of visual clues and the cutscenes drew the player away from discovering things for themselves. In other words most things were spelled out to the player and lacked a sense of ‘exploration’. At certain points in the game the player was required to follow certain prompts otherwise they couldn't proceed to the next stage. The controls were also annoying and uncomfortable, possibly because I often don't play computer games but I felt it would be more comfortable using a ps3 remote or something of the like. For the camera, the control seemed simple enough, just use the mouse to move/ control the camera but during the games it would move itself to weird angles that did not benefit the player and ultimately drew the player out of their immersion of the gameplay. 

The game itself I felt followed a very ludus structure. A ludus game, as defined by Marie-Laure Ryan “are strictly controlled by pre-existing rules accepted by the participants as a part of basic game construct.” I felt that this was definitely the type of game ‘Prince of Persia’ was. There were pre-existing rules that the player was to follow and was accepted by player in order to proceed through the game. 

In conclusion, the game ‘Prince of Persia’ did not excite me and was hard to engage with during gameplay because of control factors and a controlling linear narrative that lacked any creative pleasure to the player. 

Character Profile

Character Profile of Butter

Written up with Mikayla

Production Cinematic-script

Production Script

Production Cinematic - Production Schedule

4/3/2016

Production Schedule

Above: Draft Production Schedule

Below: New Final Production Schedule

Changes: Michelle C became the new director and Myself and Mikayla swapped a tasks. She will now be doing the title and credits and I will do the editing. 

Game Play Blog 1

3/3/2016

Game Play Log

How does your game tell it's story? Is it successful?

Never Alone

The game tells it story through narrations at the start of each chapter and sometimes in between game play when the player has reached a certain 'checkpoint'. Along side the narration at the start of each chapter it has an animated part of the story in the traditional Inuit art style playing with it. The visual story telling establishes the story, character and it's setting. The controls so how you control the characters give it a different feeling when you're playing. Its realistic movements like how the character jumps and runs add to the experience of the game. When the player finishes a certain ‘chapter’ they are offered an option to watch an ‘insight’ or to continue with the game. The insights provide more information about the games background. Showing the viewer more about the people, their culture and where they live;lifestyle from where the game is based. 
   

I think the game is successful to an extent. When you start the game you are given the story, so what is happening in the current time line of the game. You know, after a bit into the game that as the character Nuna and her arctic fox, you are initially going out to search for something during a blizzard, but then as you go back to the village there is a man there that stands among burning remains of a village. He then proceeds to chase after Nuna. At that point as the player you know you have to run away from him but afterwards it becomes a puzzle adventure game. It’s more the game is giving you one mini puzzle after another until you reach a certain point on the game. It feels like a slow reveal of what’s happening. 

That's not to say I didn't enjoy the game. I found the visuals created an extra depth in the game and made for a good experience and enjoyable. 

Production Cinematic- Script, Roles, Feedback

29/2/2016

Monday

After pitching our ideas to the group, it was decided via, systematical voting. The script we went with was Mikayla's idea; 'Butter Up'

The Animation would be a hybrid of 2D and 3D. The animation would be 3D modeled and animated with a 2D facial expressions.

Major Roles:

Me - Producer

Mikayla - Director

Jerwin - Head of 3D

It was a group decision that everyone would end up helping each other to get what is done, but Sound and 2D would be primarily Jonathan' s area. Michelle. C would be assistant 3D animator and Zack would be assistant 2D animator. We tried to separate the roles so as to fit with others strong points. 

We filled out a production schedule and have yet to run it by lecturers/supervisors.

3/3/2016

Thursday

Butteam Feedback

Butter Puns worked stronger and made sense whereas if the butter was making puns about everything it became confusing as to what was happening.

The pun "you can't churn me down" was a strong pun that worked well and was well liked.

Keeping it within the 30-40 second length is going to be a challenge and will require a bit of trimming in the script. Some scenes may need removing/shortening.

The design of the butter is crucial and will need a lot of thought in terms of design and how it would move since it is an anthropomorphic character. Looking at 'Howl's Moving Castle's Calcifer would give good inspiration/reference to the butter character. 

It was suggested that we get butter and 'play' with it to research the properties of butter, so how it 'acts', it's texture, basically figuring out its aesthetic. 

Production Cinematic- Script

29/02/2016

Script

Above: A page of ideas I created with Mikayla. 

A break down of the idea "The Grape Escape" into more details. I made note of feedback I received from lecturers to help improve the idea and remember to to create a profile for the character. 

For the script I didn't focus much at all on camera shots during the more action oriented parts because I didn't know what type of shots would best portray the action scene.

A character profile of  the grape. 

He simply doesn't want to be eaten and decides to take fate into his own hands, but sometimes you just cant fight fate.