Liam Sell Futureworks Year 2
Friday, 19 April 2013
Thursday, 18 April 2013
Mechanic Document
Game Mechanic Document
Capture and Hold Mechanic
- Skyrim
The capture and hold mechanic gives the player the ability
to capture cities, towns and settlements within Skyrim. This mechanic would
build upon the storyline in the Civil war quest line by making the civil war
between the Stormcloak Rebellion and the Imperial Legion affect the player more
while exploring. One of the major plots in Skyrim is the struggle for power
over the province of Skyrim, the player can choose to join either the
Stormcloak or Legion faction in game and begin the quest line. The quests are
the same on both sides and revolve around the player securing dominance over
Skyrim for their chosen faction. During this quest line there are a few
missions to capture and defend certain forts and cities. The only time that the
player is able to do this is when the quest is active, greatly reducing
immersion into the story line as it doesn’t ever feel that both sides are
struggling for power. The mechanic would allow players to capture locations
without certain quests being active, adding to the immersion of the story. One of
the biggest problems with Skyrim is the massive world to explore with seemingly
very little going on, it never gives the feeling that there’s a civil war going
on. To capture a location, the player must first of all speak to a high ranking
soldier of their faction where they can choose the date, time and location as
well as the number of soldiers to accompany them. This gives the player the
opportunity to capture a town with a group if they choose. The player captures
a location by killing all of the enemy soldiers there. Currently there are
campsites belonging to both factions scattered around the world and
occasionally the player may encounter soldiers of the opposing faction in the
wilderness but they aren’t often hostile towards the player unless attacked.
This mechanic makes the world more diverse and full of activity. If the player
decides to kill all the enemies in a camp this is how it will remain, they do
not respawn. The capture and hold mechanic will repopulate any camps with soldiers
when they are wiped out over a period of time alternatively new camps can arise
in the wilderness of Skyrim which the player can discover through exploration
or clues from neutral NPCs in settlements. The mechanic would add many more
patrolling Stormcloak and Imperial soldiers into the wilds of Skyrim,
presenting more danger to the player while they are exploring. Adding more
patrolling soldiers to the world of Skyrim will further add to the civil war
that is meant to be raging. Enemy soldiers encountered whilst exploring should
be more hostile than they are currently to further emphasise the feel of a
civil war.
Locations are captured or defended by defeating all of the
enemy soldiers in a location. When the player dies in Skyrim they must load a
previous saved game therefore any changes made to the game after the save will
be lost. This will cause problems to arise if a player is defending one of the
captured locations and dies in the process . The player can’t lose a location if they die in
the process of defending it as they have to reload a save . The
mechanic shouldn’t come into use until the player has started the quest line
relating to the civil war and has chosen which faction they want to join. The
player should require a faction to capture a location as this compliments the story.
Specifications
Ability to capture Cities, Towns and
settlements outside of storyline
Locations are captured by defeating all of
the soldiers and the leader of that location.
Capturing a city, town or settlement
makes buying items from shops cheaper. Items can also be sold to shops for a
higher price
Capturing a location will make the players
reputation in the town much higher and thus the player is treated better by the
inhabitants with lower shop prices.
Captured locations will be attacked by
the opposing faction.
The player must be able to lose locations to
give the sense of a struggle for power in a civil war. If
a player loses a location, their reputation will be much lower there making
shop prices higher with the player’s items being worth much less.
Have the ability to capture a town
alone. Player can speak to a friendly, high ranking
Solider to organise a raid on a town.
The player can set the time, date, and location of the raid and can choose how
many soldiers to bring along.
The player
should be able to orchestrate an attack on a location, but should also have the
choice of how to do it as to not take control away from the player.
Camps belonging to the opposing faction
will respawn over time, new camps can generate elsewhere when one has been
destroyed.
The player should feel like there is a civil
war going on, new campsites appearing will make the player feel like the world
is active.
Soldiers of the
opposing faction will roam Skyrim in larger and more hostile groups making
the game more challenging and interesting by adding another element of danger
to the wilds of Skyrim.
Job Roles
To make this mechanic a reality, a UI designer would be
needed to create an interface for when the player is organising a raid on a
town. A programmer would have the largest task. The programmer would be needed
to raise or lower the player’s reputation based on which faction is holding the
town. The programmer would be needed to make the organised raids work, camps
respawn, and new camps arising, making the opposing faction attack captured
towns and also the programmer would need to give the player the ability to
capture location. A sound designer would be needed to record new voice acting
for some of the new NPCs such as the high ranking soldiers of the faction. An
artist would not be required to create this mechanic, all of the models and
textures are already in the game. The pre-set models would suffice for this
mechanic
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
War Card Game
Rules:
Operational:
Operational:
- The Game must be played with a minimum of 2 players
- Deck is divided evenly between players
- Each player reveals top card
- The player with the highest value card takes both cards and places them on the bottom of their deck
- If cards are equal, players reveal their next card. The highest card takes all the cards.
- The first player to run out of cards is the loser.
Constituitive:
- Players must reveal cards at the same time
- If tied, war is active. The next card wins all
2=2
3=3
4=4
5=5
6=6
7=7
8=8
9=9
10=10
J=11
Q=12
K=13
A=14
If each card was given a numerical value, there is a total of 104 per suit and a total of 416 per deck. Therefore, the person to reach a numerical value of 416 is the winner.
Implied:
- Don't conceal cards form opponents
- Don't hit opponents
- Dont steal opponents cards
War Card Game Variants
My variants of War:
1:
- Deck is shuffled and divided evenly between players
- Players take top 5 cards from deck, these are in the players hand
- players have a choice of 5 cards to play each round
- The player with the highest value card wins and puts both cards on the bottom of their deck
-Each round the player takes a new card from the top of their deck so that they always have 5 cards in their hand. The exception being when a player does not have 5 cards, in which case all cards are held in hand
-The winner is the player to obtain all the cards
2:
-Deck is shuffled and split into multiple piles (2 or more)
-Each round players draw a card from whichever pile they want
-player with highest card wins, winner of round takes both cards and puts them in a "win" pile.
-First one to get all the cards wins
Constituative and Implicit rules remain the same.
Potential Problems: What happens if a player has one card remaining and "war"occurs? This goes for the standard version of war aswell.
1:
- Deck is shuffled and divided evenly between players
- Players take top 5 cards from deck, these are in the players hand
- players have a choice of 5 cards to play each round
- The player with the highest value card wins and puts both cards on the bottom of their deck
-Each round the player takes a new card from the top of their deck so that they always have 5 cards in their hand. The exception being when a player does not have 5 cards, in which case all cards are held in hand
-The winner is the player to obtain all the cards
2:
-Deck is shuffled and split into multiple piles (2 or more)
-Each round players draw a card from whichever pile they want
-player with highest card wins, winner of round takes both cards and puts them in a "win" pile.
-First one to get all the cards wins
Constituative and Implicit rules remain the same.
Potential Problems: What happens if a player has one card remaining and "war"occurs? This goes for the standard version of war aswell.
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
What does it take to get hired?
In the previous post I outlined the basic skills required to be an environment artist. Those skills as well as a strong portfolio and relevant experience are essential in getting hired. Environment art, along with every other role in the games industry is a competitive field. Instead of asking what does it take to get hired, more important questions are:
My research has shed some light into the steps i need to take in order to improve myself and make myself more attractive to an employer. Based on my research I have been able to formulate this list of goals I need to meet in order to move forward.
What does it take to be a good environment artist? and How can I make myself stand out from all the other wannabe artists?
Anyone can learn the skills required to be an environment artist, but in an an ever more competitive field, standing out from the competition is a must. While researching on the topic of standing out from the other artists, a few people mentioned the relationship between modelling and texturing and how these should be viewed as an equal partnership. Texturing is just as important as the modelling process and an equal amount of time and effort needs to be spent on it. Many junior artists are guilty of pouring all of their effort into modelling and slacking on the texture work.
I've done this... A lot.
As well as strong texture work, it is important to show diversity. Experience creating models photo real textures and hand painted textures will make me more desirable to a potential employer. Showing strong visual story telling and composition skills will also make work stand out.
It's important to show all of your work; finished model, wire frame, flat textures, normal maps, ambient occlusion maps, UV unwraps etc. This shows understanding and competence in creating models, someone looking at my portfolio will see that I understand how to do all of these things already and independently.
It is a good idea to show a broad range of knowledge and skills outside of those required to be a good environment artist. Showing an understanding of other areas within games design can make you more desirable especially to a small team.
Being active on social media and blogging regularly can help to get your work out there and get noticed.
What do I need to improve on to best myself as an environment artist?
My research has shed some light into the steps i need to take in order to improve myself and make myself more attractive to an employer. Based on my research I have been able to formulate this list of goals I need to meet in order to move forward.
- Give equal attention to both modelling and texturing when creating 3d models. This can be achieved by timing myself on how long it takes for me to complete a model and then dedicate an equal amount of time and effort to the texture sheet. Timing my work will also teach me to be more time effiecient when working, with more practice I should be able to achieve desired results within a minimal amount of time, skills which are desirable within the industry. Creating props is a good way to do this as most will not take that long to model but will help me practice both modelling and texturing.
- Create higher poly models. The models I create are typically very low poly. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, I can create models very efficiently because of this. The downside to this is that I feel that my models are lacking in detail. It is important for me to properly familiarise myself with using Mudbox and learn how to use it.
- Start thinking about my portfolio. While I am creating work constantly for university projects, it would be beneficial for my to work on a few personal projects outside of university with a strong emphasis on quality and efficiency.
- Time Management. Time management is currently the weakest aspect of my work. For as long as I can remember I have been horrible at doing this. Fortunately it is a relatively easy area to develop. Creating timetables focusing my day around working is the solution, providing I stick to the timetable of course.
Industry Research
Desired Role:
Environment Artist.
Role Description:
An Environment Artist specialises in the indoor and outdoor locations of a game. An Environment Artist is responsible for the overall visuals the player will encounter on screen. Environment artists may be required to build and texture anything from architecture, terrain, foliage and props.
The role of an environment artist is not black and white, however. The job description is likely to differ from studio to studio and knowledge in other areas of game design will be beneficial when applying for jobs.
Key Skills:
Environment Artist Job Roles and Progression
Junior Environment Artist
Salary: 18-20k
Environment Artist
Salary: 24-28k
Senior Environment Artist
Salary 34-37k
Environment Artist.
Role Description:
An Environment Artist specialises in the indoor and outdoor locations of a game. An Environment Artist is responsible for the overall visuals the player will encounter on screen. Environment artists may be required to build and texture anything from architecture, terrain, foliage and props.
The role of an environment artist is not black and white, however. The job description is likely to differ from studio to studio and knowledge in other areas of game design will be beneficial when applying for jobs.
Key Skills:
- Knowledge of 3d software such as 3ds Max and Mudbox
- 2d texture creation
- Drawing/ Painting
- Knowledge of Architecture
- Experience working with level editors such as UDK
- Time Management
- Teamwork and Communication skills
- Understanding of the latest techniques and trends
- Accepting of feedback/ open to new ideas and concepts
Environment Artist Job Roles and Progression
Junior Environment Artist
Salary: 18-20k
Environment Artist
Salary: 24-28k
Senior Environment Artist
Salary 34-37k
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