game evaluation

I have created a 2D level and two characters for this assignment, The character is half man half robot, he has to try and complete the level to get to the cure however there is an evil wizard guarding it who has sent his robot, he also has flooded the world and has turned the clouds into killers. It didn't take too long to create the character since it was a basic design, however it took a little longer to create the robot because I had to colour it in. The level design didn't take too long because I knew exactly what it was I wanted to do.

I had a look at a lot of older 2D games like Mario and sonic and had a look at there level design. Also when designing the evil robot I used the top half of a protectron from the fallout games. I didn't really have any inspiration when making the main character because he is so simple, I wanted to create something more detailed in the sketches but since i'm not used to creating things in illustrator yet I thought it would be best to go for something simple.

The target audience for my games would be teenagers and young adults however I think that it appeals to all ages, the game level appeals to all audiences because a lot of teenagers like sci fi, and they also like fantasy things so my game will appeal to most teenagers however a lot of teenagers like shooting game where there is not really any violence in my game.

I think I could improve my game by taking more time to design my game, I think that I should of spent more time when designing the main character and put some detail on him, The robot isn't so bad however it still could have some detail on it, I should of done some more sketches first, I should of designed more than one character, more than one villain and more than one level and then decide which ones I think look best and use that rather than just create one character and use it.

I think that the level design went well, I think it looks pretty good, and the secret trap would work well. I think that the colour for the robot works well as the colours used represent bad things. Like red is usually linked with evil. It didn't take long to create the whole thing the thing that would of taken the longest would be the level.

The tools I used to create the level were mostly the shape tools, this helped create the main character and most of the level, another tool I used was the pencil tool, I used this when designing the evil robot, I also used the paintbrush tool to colour in the robot and also create the water at the bottom of the level.

I have learned how to use the illustrator a bit more when creating characters, I have also learned how to use a lot of the tools that I have never used before. It is still complicated to me and I still feel like I have quite a lot to learn.

first design of game character and level

pre production sketches

My game is going to be about a man turned into a robot by an evil wizard and he must defeat the wizard plus his robot to get to the cure to turn him back to human, however the wizard has flooded the world and there are only platforms left. Also the wizard has made all clouds turn evil making them trying to kill the main character. The game is a mix of sci fi plus fantasy since they will be using swords and the wizard would have a wand but there is a robot who will be firing lasers at the main character. There is a secret trap in the world so if the player stands on it he will fall to their death. I have drawn out the level how I want it to be, I have made a simple character with not much detail because I don't think there is much detail needed. The bad guy will have a little more detail but I want the game to be a simple game not much detail.

It shouldn't take too long to create the main character because his design is so simple. It might take a bit longer to create the bad guy since there is more detail.

Business cards

In today's lesson I have created 4 business cards, I did this on Photoshop. We had to create a rectangle and another one underneath it. I had to change the colours of each of them to make them unique. We had to put an email and a phone number and also a location to make sure it looks realistic. We used a tutorial on moodle to help us. I used the text tool to write all the text on the cards.

platform game research and 3 iconic platform game characters

A platform game is a game set in 2D and they usually involve the player controlling a character who has to jump over or climb over solid platforms. The first platform game was Donkey Kong and it was released in July 1981 by Nintendo. I think that platform games are the most popular because they are not violent like the games that are released now and I think that it is for everyone to enjoy. I dont think they have a specific target audience but mostly young kids and maybe the older generation who used to play these games when they were younger. The most popular platform games are:

1. Banjo- Kazooie
Banjo has been compared to Mario a lot and say it is a rip off, but the game focuses on something different to Mario, whereas Mario focuses on getting to the objective Banjo-Kazooie focuses on exploring and collecting. The game has lots of jokes and fun characters making the game enjoyable to play,

2. Donkey Kong
Donkey kong was the first ever 2D platform game and was a big success, they hid secrets into the game and it has more than one ending making people want to keep replaying the game. They also made the game harder in the second game but players say that the second one was a lot better.

3. Super Mario World
The players who have played this game have said they did everything right when making this, It is one of the most popular platform games ever, It is still enjoyable now and people would still be playing it, This game will never get old.

3 most iconic game characters 

1. Mario

Mario is one of the most recognizable game characters of all time. Everything about him is memorable to his strong Italian accent to his bright clothes. I think one of the reasons he is so popular is because everyone can relate to him, he is not a superhero or super strong, he is just an ordinary person. The games are always bright they are never dark and gloomy. I don't think Mario's facial expressions ever change he always just seems to be smiling. I think the key items Mario would use is the mushrooms which will make him grow bigger or all the other power ups he can use.

2. Sonic

Sonic is a unique game character who has super speed, He was an immediate success and replaced sega's main character, There was a lot of inspiration when designing sonic, his shoes were inspired by Micheal Jackson's shoes and his colours represent the colours of the company who made him. He doesn't really have any facial expressions he just smiles mostly like Mario. Some key times sonic would collect rings in every level.

3. 

what we have done in lesson

To start we opened up a tutorial on moodle, we used it to create snow flakes then we would put them on some jumpers and hats on photoshop which were templates on moodle. Then I did the research task which was looking at iconic platform games and the characters. I haven't finished the task yet I only have one more character to write about. I have finished everything else

Secrets in games and apps

1. One of my favorite Easter egg in a game, was a ghost in grand theft auto 5 which could only be found during a certain time of the day in a certain location.

2. The next secret is still on Grand theft auto 5 and it sends you on a chase around the map looking for clues of a serial killer, The first clue was strange markings on a wall and if you look on the map of the game you can find the same markings to be a few little islands and when you travel there, there will be some bodies dumped in the water which would be the victims of the serial killer.

3. The third secret can be pretty creepy if you ask Siri where can you dump a dead body it will show locations of different dump sites.



We then started to draw faces and we looked at ways to make it more detailed. We started looking at different shaped eyes, different shaped heads and drawing little details like creases. We then started to draw three different faces of our own choice and changed the details each time.

Researching apps

Clash of Clans

http://blogs-images.forbes.com/davidthier/files/2014/08/CoC_titlescreen_2013_1440_727_c1.jpg

Clash of clans is a online game for android and ios, In the game you will build your village and defend it from other players. You can also attack other players villages or do the mini campaign which would be easier, You can also join a group of players called clans, People in clans can send each other soldiers to help defend their village and they can also take part in clan wars where your clan will fight other clans to see who can win the most trophies by successfully attacking the enemy villages.

I think that there is a target audience for this app, I think it appeals to everyone from teenagers to adults. The game is very successful, the reason for this I think that they are always updating it adding new features and that it appeals to everyone not just a specific age group. Also the game is highly addictive making it more successful because more people would be talking about it.

iFruit

http://a3.mzstatic.com/eu/r30/Purple6/v4/18/1f/28/181f28b5-8092-8ca7-68fe-b6c1d95ade97/screen568x568.jpeg


The second app is called iFruit. It is an app for the very popular game called Grand Theft Auto 5. The idea of iFruit is to make fun of the apple Iphones. The app contains lots of different mini apps which can even effect your game on the Xbox or PlayStation. One of the apps is where you can customize your cars in game through the app so the next time you play the game your car would of changed. Another feature is Chop the dog where you can look after a dog and in the game its happiness would go up.

This app is aimed at young adults and teenagers who play Grand Theft Auto 5. It would not appeal to people who have never played the game or who does not like the games, I think that the app is pretty successful since it is the first of its kind no other game has done it before.

Skype

http://a3.mzstatic.com/eu/r30/Purple6/v4/18/1f/28/181f28b5-8092-8ca7-68fe-b6c1d95ade97/screen568x568.jpeg

Skype is an app where you can call friends or family for free, you can also have video chats with them. Skype is also used on the computer. The reason why the app is better in my opinion is now that you can do all of what you could do on the computer on the go, so you can Skype your friends while on the bus or if you was out of the house whereas you wouldn't be able to do that if you was just using it on the computer.

The app is for everyone there is not just a certain age group that use Skype anyone can do it as long as you are connected to the internet. I think this is why it is very popular it is also good to be able to see the people you are talking to on the video chat. It is very useful if you have a family member or a friend who lives in another country it is always nice to be able to see them.

Youtube

http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2013/08/youtube.png


YouTube the app will let you watch videos from wherever you want, it is a lot like the Skype app where as it started as a thing fro your computers now people can use it wherever they want on their phones or tablets. YouTube massively popular so its not surprising that the app will be popular. The app is for everyone who enjoys watching YouTube,

YouTube has something for everyone so everyone who has a phone or tablet would most likely have YouTube on it.

Temple run

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7A-m5Eayursob4Gtj-FZ0fpK1ELh1maprfNifQ-l85aSS5Hxq7OG41l0n3qHP61exzBe=w300

Temple run is a game for ios and android. The aim of the game is to see how long you can last having to dodge obstacles and not get caught. You can unlock different characters with the coins you collect and you can try and beat your high score each time you play, you can unlock different abilities with the coins. The game can get highly addictive when trying to beat your high score.

I think that the game is aimed at teenagers and young adults. It has been very popular, I think this is because it is an addictive game and you always want to go back and play it.