BA6: Game Research

I started with researching the Exteriors of factories in the steampunk game Dishonored.

Most striking about the images is the extensive use of pipes on the buildings, as well as the painted advertisements on their walls. Decay and evidence of the factories being used is also an important detail. The shape of each of the buildings is tall and gives the impression of power and stability, most remain intact after flooding and neglect.

BA6: Introduction

I decided to continue with the theme of steampunk for the next project, however I wished to focus more on the architecture of Victorian factories. With this in mind I decided to make the exterior of a Steampunk inspired Victorian factory.

Reference images

Reference images for the game assets.

Photo Research

I took these images on a trip Cornwall of a mine. The machinery was relevant for the project so included it.

Essay

With my presentation being on mobile gaming I decided to continue with this theme and title my essay as follows: How has mobile gaming affected the games industry in the last twenty years?


This will be continuing on the theme of the history of mobile gaming, starting with Tetris for the Hagenuk MT-2000, moving on to the Japanese gaming market in 2003. Ending with the creation of app stores and subsequent industry reactions to this inovation.

Research articles:

http://www.newzoo.com/infographics/mobile-gaming-graphs-2012/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2010/jan/21/games-casual-gaming
http://www.newzoo.com/infographics/infographic-2012-uk/
http://www.superdataresearch.com/f2p-mobile-gamers-spend-between-8-and-15-per-month/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_game
http://www.theesa.com/games-improving-what-matters/mobile-games.asp
http://forum2.mobile-review.com/showthread.php?103855-The-evolution-of-mobile-phone-gaming
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3186345.stm
http://web.archive.org/web/20071012194600/http://gamepro.com/gamepro/domestic/games/features/125748.shtml
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2003/12/08/355130/
http://uk.gamespot.com/news/electronic-arts-buys-jamdat-6140935
http://www.edge-online.com/news/ea-set-to-reveal-next-gen-fifa-and-battlefield/
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=7452#.URf-Y2dw7ud
http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/A+Brief+History+of+Mobile+Games/feature.asp?c=10719

Light!

With the light analysis needed to be included within the blog I thought it would be best to write up the notes on the lecture on here as well!

Light is electromagnetic radiation, though that does not affect our work too much.

They are linear parallel rays which can either be absorbed reflected or refracted by a surface.

Another interesting bit of information, a red ball absorbs every colour apart from red! The same goes for any colour object.

When a surface is bumpy the light is scattered in all directions and is less reflective than smooth surfaces, this is diffused reflection.

Sub-surface scattering is where light passed into an object however gets scattered inside, resulting in the object appearing to glow slightly.


Analysis of images:

 In this photograph the light is reflecting off the surface of the water, however some is being absorbed due to being able to see the bottom. When light hits the surface of water it is refracted slightly so underwater objects appear slightly further away than they actually are. Since the surface is smooth there is little to no diffused reflection.

http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/glossary/refraction.html

In this example light is passing through the banner, however sub-surface scattering is taking place, giving it that slight glow. The glass is smooth so the light is being reflected into the camera. This is the same for the wood of the cabinet, due to the varnish which is reflecting the light. The walls however are rough so diffused reflection is taking place. The lower part of the Tyrannosaurus Rex sign is black and so is absorbing light which hits it.

Creating a demo of the level

I have had quite a bit of difficulty so far recording video for the game demo, with the record feature within UDK being rather jittery and fast for some reason.


After experimenting with multiple video recording software I found one which works, time to try yet again!

The scene was created by moving, scaling and rotating the pipes and barrels to give it a more varied feel.

Factory Interior

I seem to be getting somewhere now! Adding pipes to the scene really helped with the feel of the factory.