Apple Interactive Concept: Game Research 5

Eversion

Eversion is a simple platform game for PC created by Zaratustra Productions. The player must jump over obstacles and on top of monsters to complete the levels. At the start everything is bright and friendly, but as the game progresses it starts to take on a much more sinister approach. The player must use an "evert" option in certain locations to change the appearance of the monsters, and map, as well as passing certain scenery which will disappear during the certain eversion modes. These start to introduce bizarre and spooky features into the game and show what the landscape is really like, and to show that not everything is as it seems.

 

The start of Eversion is nice and friendly, but it soon changes.

After progressing through the game it starts to become sinister.

The further into the eversion modes you experience the more corrupted the game becomes, the obstacles are not as they seem, the score starts to randomly fluctuate in quick succession and monsters start becoming more dangerous. One stage of Eversion includes a void cloud which chases you through an obstacle course. This is reminiscent of my idea of corrupted game data, and could be an interesting aspect to include within my game.

The player is chased by a black cloud.

It is a similar idea to what I wish to create in my game, however there will not be an option to change what mode you are in, due to the game becoming corrupted due to a virus, which would not give the player any choice as to how they see the game.

iPad Specs

As I am making my game for the iPad I needed to find the screen size and features this platform has. All specifications are quoted from http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/.

Screen Size: 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)

Display: 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology

Sensors: Three-axis gyro, Accelerometer and Ambient light sensor

Wireless: Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Input: 30-pin dock connector port, Microphone

Output: 3.5-mm stereo headphone minijack, Built-in speaker

Power: Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music

Size and Weight:
Height: 9.50 inches (241.2 mm)
Width: 7.31 inches (185.7 mm)
Depth: 0.34 inch (8.8 mm)
Weight: 1.33 pounds (601 g)

Storage: 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB

Apple Interactive Concept: Game Research 4

Known Game Glitches

I have decided to include game corruption and glitches within my game as a different theme to most other apps on the market. Here I am going to research already existing real glitches within games and how they can create havoc with the player.

Missingno.

Missingno. from the Pokemon games.

The Pokemon games Red and Blue have a glitch which can occur when traveling within a certain part of the game. The player will encounter a Pokemon called Missingno., it appears as a pixelated backwards L. Encountering and capturing this Glitched Pokemon would cause parts of the game to visually and audibly become corrupted. Music would start to change and the "Hall of Fame" would appear pixelated, similar to the Pokemon itself. Certain items in your inventory would become duplicated which proved popular for many players, as certain rare items could become unlimited. There was however a chance the game could totally become unplayable and the publisher of the game, Nintendo, warned not to replicate this glitch or make any contact with it. This proved to hype up the glitch as well as giving it increased fame and infamy to more players making it one of the iconic and popular glitches within a game.

Irregular Physics

A corrupted horse in Sims 3 after downloading custom made content.

Another aspect of glitches which occur commonly in recent games is distorted physics, this mostly affects the limbs of a NPC, causing them to be stretched and twisted. Other features include a character spinning or moving erratically which can have add a creepy aspect to a game without even meaning to. This could be an interesting idea to play upon while designing the corrupted monsters in my game.

Floating Body Parts

Floating body in Fallout 3: New Vegas.

In Fallout New Vegas after killing some characters they will remain as body parts, in an upright position as if they were still standing up. This glitch is sometimes caused by saving and closing the game, then coming back to the location where the person was killed. It is highly creepy, especially if the NPC is still moving around. A fairly disgusting aspect of the game, while being unintentional could be modified and used for my game. For example, when a player thinks they have killed a boss character it will rise once again but in a more corrupted form.

Other Graphics Glitches

This is a graphical glitch from Left For Dead 2.

Other glitches within games include, loading glitches, incorrect textures, flickering imagery, being able to pass through scenery, and many different variants. Many of these features I plan to use within the game, especially in the later stages when the game becomes seemingly more corrupted.

Overall researching many glitches over different game platforms has revealed the potentially unlimited ideas which have been created without the game developers actively creating them. They are often fairly randomly generated due to the nature of their accidental creation which is a highly interesting concept to work on and develop. While changing some of the themes slightly any of the glitches could be incorporated into my game design. The only main change would be these "glitches" would be controlled and not damage any part of the device that the game is running on.

Apple Interactive Concept: Game Research 3

The Great Siege

The title screen for The Great Siege.

This is a castle defence game with a fantasy medieval setting. The game information sets the scene by telling the player that "The Dark Lord" has sent his minions to attack your city, to save humanity you must not let the city fall! This game encourages the player to protect the castle walls using a catapult and troops, against the hordes of evil creatures which come from the right side of the screen. At the end of each level is a boss monster which must be defeated, or hold the walls for a limited time to win the level.

The main menu screen within the campaign mode.

The colours in the game are vibrant and bold, there is limited detail within the designs of the buildings and landscapes making it clear to see. Resources and city information is shown at the top of the screen, as well as the building, battling, settings and market menus. The city can be improved as the player progresses through the game, as well as strengthening defences and troops.

The map design for The Great Siege.

The map is less colourful than the main city menu due to it showing all the different factions which are going to attack the city, however it is still clear and simplistic in design. Many aspects of the landscape's features are repeated in different areas, for example the forests and cliffs. The locations are written on a scroll to enhance the medieval theme, including the overall map name. The bird design is featured within the title screen, the loading screen and as a statue in the main city. This all adds to the continuity of the game and may be worth incorporating into my game design.

The game runs as a campaign, however has a save feature which helps split the game play up into segments. This is because the whole game takes easily over an hour and a half to complete which is too long for most players to finish in one session.

Apple Interactive Concept: Game Research 2

GemCraft (Chapter 0)

GemCraft is a tower defence game for the computer made by gameInABottle.com. It is based in a fantasy medieval world where the aim is to search for the "Gem of Eternity". The player is given few reasons what is so powerful about the gem, but no other reason as to why to get it. This information is given in atmospheric scenes relating to the storyline.

This is a scene in the first part of the storyline in GemCraft.

The imagery is simple, yet dark and sinister, showing clearly what it is within a potentially small space. The atmosphere is enhanced by the lack of colour in the imagery. The textures on the background is basic yet accompany the overall theme of the game.

Loading bar for GemCraft.

While the game is loading an animation is played with a figure moving from right to left on the screen. This frequently shifts out of focus and when the figure reappears it distorted from it's original form giving a very eery feel to the game before it even starts.

The skills menu within GemCraft.

I like the simple design of the different skills available for the game. Each representing a positive aspect which the player can unlock. All have the same backgrounds, with black used for the icon. To signify that a skill is available the background is a lighter colour.
  

While a tower defence game is not what I wish to design, the theme and atmosphere of this game is possibly how I want my game to feel like. The stark cold and dangerous colours mixed with black also add danger and a potential threat, which can be relevant to part of my design.

Apple Interactive Concept: Game Research 1

Monday 24th October

After receiving the Apple app brief I started my research. As I wanted to create a Medieval game I chose to look at existing app games on the market.

Exitium

Title Screen

This is a hack and slash type of game, with an interesting back story about two kingdoms at war. The overall goal of the game seems to be to save your land from destruction of the other forces.

Game features include:

• Quests and side stories.
• A large number of items, armor and weapons.
• A way of trading with other players.
• 4 classes of charterers you can be.

These features enhance the game by adding a way of customizing your character by buying items in the market, choosing what quests you do as well as what combat you specialize in. Trading with other players helps increase the feeling of being part of the fantasy world, making it feel more life like and real. All these let the player choose what they want to do as well as how they play the game. I like this freedom to choose where you go in the game world as well as the items you can buy to wear and use. Premium items are also available for purchase for real money, a useful feature in any app game to generate more income.

Controls:

The player moves around by touching the arrows on the bottom left of the screen. On the bottom right of the screen is a button used to attack.

A screenshot of the interface used to move around in the game.

 While this is a simple concept it is far more interesting than a flat world with only forward and backwards movement. However it can be difficult to move when relying on pressing these buttons with one finger. A possible way to combat this is to have the character move to where you touch and hold on the screen.

Mage Gauntlet

Another game I researched was Mage Gauntlet. This was another RPG however was inspired by 1990s games for the Super Nintendo. This meant the graphics were much more pixellated and simple. This can appeal to a slightly older generation who were brought up around such games consoles and may buy the game out of nostalgia.

Screenshot of the character interface.

An in game view of the stats and controls.

Game features include:

• Pets which give bonuses when following you.
• 86 Achievements.
• A stats system to customize your character.
• Hats for your character to use.
• A leveling system.

Once again there are customizable options with types of pets, items and what stats you pick. This is a very important part of a game, to help immerse the player in the game, as well as making the player feel more empathy for the character (A dinosaur in a top hat and monocle is much cuter than just a plain old dinosaur). Achievements can be used to great effect within games to make the player collect them all, while being forced to explore all the content. This is feeding on peoples natural obsession of completing a collection of something and can be exploited to great effect (See Pokemon, "Gotta catch 'em all!").

Controls:

This game uses an attack button like Exitium, however the movement is controlled by holding your touch on where you want to go, exactly like the idea I had trying to combat the arrow buttons. After seeing how well this movement method works in the game I have decided that I will probable use this feature in my game. As it is a constant input the character does not stop then move, but smoothly moves around the landscape exactly where the player wants it to go.