Thursday, 17 November 2011
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Limbo
Limbo is a game available over xbox live arcade. Well recorded in the press its received lots of critical acclaim and for good reason.
A 2D side scroller, Limbo fuses together the fantasy, childish storyline with dark, gruesome gameplay to create and charming puzzle game that continues to impress.
I really like the way in which Limbo creates such a dark atmosphere that is constantly thrilling and horrific. This is definiatly something I want to try and include in my game. I also really like he artistic style of Limbo and the way it re-vamps the 2D side scroller. I really want to use the tonal range like that of Limbo in my own game.
that games company
ThatGamesCompany is one of my favourite games producing games at the moment. All of their games have been released on the PS3 for download. Their most famous game is arguabley ‘flower’ and their most recent release would be ‘the journey’. I really like the way in which thatgamescompany goes about the design process. I really like the protagonist in ‘the journey’ and think its a really good concept for a game.
Skyward Sword
I really like the artistic style of this new Zelda. I like the way that the scenery looks like an endless flowing watercolour, whilst Link, although designed in the same style, stands proud and heroic. Its something I really want to try and recreate in my own game. I really want to use this watercolour style to create an almost dream like world.
From Dust
From Dust is an interesting little game available for download on xbox live. This God game sees the player
control a simplistic tribe through a number of worlds, just by manpulating the world around them. The thing I really like about this game is that the player has no real control over the tribe, and because of this has no real objectives within the game apart from the need to continue the story line.
My Protagonist
You play as a character who’s name isn’t mentioned, but is often refered to as the wanderer. The story is based around the fact that you want to marry the chiefs daughter and to do this the chief of the tribe sends you off into the wilderness to find a flower as pretty as his daughter.
This is where the design process really started. I need to design a character that the player would be interested in but also that the player would want to be. I also need to think about the fact that the character will be traversing a number of different terrains so they would need to be able to survive in different climates. This will affect the physical appearance of the character as well as the aesthetical appearance such as clothes and hair.
I need to start the process by firstly looking at other well known main characters from exploration and adventure games, to help influence the style of my character.
character inspirations
Aragorn
Described as a Ranger, Aragorn is one of the main characters from The Lord Of The Rings books. One of the two main storylines in the books and films are based around him being King of the men of middle earth, and his return to the throne.
I really like the style of Aragorn, and the feelings his image creates. The use of big woolen cloaks in dark browns and greens create a mysterious body shape, whilst his sunken face and long dark hair create a sense of darkness and foreboding.
By looking at Aragorn, I’ve realised I really need to think about how my character looks and how this will affect the way in which people percieve him and the atmosphere he creates.
Link
Link is the first main character I’m going to look at to influence my design for my
protagonist.
I started by looking back how Link started and how his image has evolved over time. I really like the way in which the image has stayed the same for decades.
Leonidas
Leonidas is the protagonist from the 300 graphic noval and film. He’s easily recognisable as the hero of the story but also has a mysterious undertone which is something I really like about his image.
Dragon Born
Dragon Born is how the protagonist in the new Skyrim is refered to. This is another really good character design which can also be easily recognised from his silhouette. This is mainly due to the style of his armour especially his helmet.
I really like this highly detailed and historically accurate style, but for my project I dnt think its the right artstic style direction to go in. I think I want something a lot closer to that of Link or Mario.
Another big area that looking at Skyrim has done for my design is that I need to start thinking about how my character is going to look using weapons, or if he actually needs a weapon at all.
story
You will catch a glimpse of beauty that stops you in your tracks, but moments later you are not even sure you saw anything at all...Then, quite unexpectedly the magnificent
animal stalks oit into full view for a few, fleeting seconds....
And as the chief of your tribe finish his tale, your adventure begins. As a warrior of the tribe you are sent out into the wilderness to collect a rare flower from the far reaches of the land in order to have the chiefs daughters hand in marriage. However the chief tells tales of the dangers that await you in the wild andthe traps it has to offer. As you begin to leave the village the chief gives one last warning, of a fearsome animal that lives deep within the
wilderness.....
The Wumpus
To me the original pixel image of the Wumpus looks a lot like a frog from the front, also saying Wumpus, the sound gives me the image of a frogs foot splashing in a puddle and pulling away. This is where my design process began.
Hunt the Wumpus
Hunt the Wumpus is an early game, based on a simple hide and seek format featuring a mysterious monster (the Wumpus) that lurks deep inside a network of rooms. It was originally a text-based game written in BASIC. The most well known version of this style of game is probably Minesweeper which is available of most PC's.
The player is set with the task of entering the cave and working their way through the tunnels to eventually shoot the Wumpus with an arrow. However within the cave their are a number of difficulties including bats, pits and the Wumpus,
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