Room2

Room 2

The bedroom
This room needs a few more models I feel. I am yet to implement the ball in these pictures. That is my next task but the lighting and current sound is set up. The textures are also in place for the next weeks tasks. I managed to get them done this week to save time and maybe come up with more tasks for the coming weeks. I will create some more models as I have a bit of free time.

Pictures

Creating rooms

Having gotten the main hallway working to a decent standard with lighting and pick ups I moved onto the next room.

A basic long room with an added divider, so that the player doesn't just walk in and see everything instantly.
I have set up so the player picks up the torch and is moved into the next room as the lock and key mechanism is in a few weeks time.
I have also now created another player controller which always starts with the torch available so that switching between scenes doesn't change the players progress. I may need to change the code to this slightly later but for now it works.

This room is going to be the sitting room with tv, sofa and coffee table. I will also add magazines to the list for this week so the coffee table isn't bare! The key will be hidden in the room somewhere so the player can progress.

Coding

Yesturday I spoke to one of my specialist tutors about my dissertation project.
We bot agreed the game is headed in the correct direction and that what I have managed to complete so far is satisfactory.
We discussed my next steps and went through some of the code that goes with it. I have been looking into making the transitions between rooms smoother, so that instead of just an attached room in the same scene, the game in fact sends you to another scene in the project.
We discussed how this is possible and how it will be done in the game using a ray cast to tell if the player is looking at the door or not etc.
I also got the lighting in the first scene up to scratch.
I am now in the process of the second room build. The scene transition isn't implemented yet but I will get some screen shots up of the room before the week is out.

Week 2

I have now completed two weeks of my dissertation. The first few stages are just building up the environment piece by piece. I have also implemented the torch at this stage.
I have created the ground floor, desk, lamp doors and torch models.

Here are some screenshots

House Planning

The first stage of creating a house environment which the player can creep around is planning the room layout. I have looked at various house designs from the 1960's and found a generic main hall with joining rooms to be a nice effective layout. This will also allow the player the feeling of progress through the game as they work their way through each room.

The measurements are roughly what I hope to achieve, converting from 3ds max measurements to unity measurements is pretty simple and I am already working on getting the hallway into my unity file.

Textures

I have created the textures for all the rooms that I have so far - Main room, Lounge and Bedroom
That is the walls floors and ceilings of each of these.

Currently the bedroom has the same floor and ceiling as the lounge. and the pictures are in last weeks post.

6 Week Planning

The first few weeks of a project are the most important, getting the game under way is always a tough thing to do. Over the next 6 weeks I will be focussing on getting the project started, to a stage where I can visually see a house environment, 1^st floor with a main hall way and 4 joining rooms. I will also implement the first locked door and key.

The style of the house will be 60's however it will be a dark, not looked after, abandoned house.

I will be sourcing free sounds from the internet and adding them incrementally as the project goes on and as assets are created and implemented into the game file.

I have created and implemented sounds in previous projects so this shouldn’t be too difficult for each asset that requires sounds. By week 6 I hope to have all the sounds of all the assets I have created in the game for vertical slice.

As making models is not my main aim, I will be looking to create assets to the standard of Slender. The models are basic, to the point and I believe if I can manage this standard of modelling and texturing, they will be easy to quickly create and manipulate. The models also don't stand out. The focus of the game is the objective and AI. The models are merely a way to represent the environment the player is in, much like most shooters. Call of Duty, a first person shooter focuses a lot of attention into the guns and character models. The level designs and models within are simple but effective, the effect here is that players are meant to be running through the levels paying little attention to the scenery.

I will first create a grey box level that has all the components in place but by week 13 this will be a textured level. I will create textures in the set weeks as the project progresses. I have filled in an asset list, as shown below which I can use to focus each weeks tasks on what assets I need and which I will make next. This isn't set in stone and so can be added to if needed. As said this isn't a modelling project so I shouldn’t need too many extra models.

Assets throughout the entire house include –

Furniture: Bed x 2, Cot, Sofa, Sitting Chair, Rocking Chair, Coffee table, Desk, Filing cabinet, Chest of Draws, Bath, Sink, Toilet, TV + Stand, book shelf

Interactive assets – Doors, keys, torch, light switch

Standard Assets – Radio, photo frames, magazines, Lamp,

Bed Room: teddy, ball, truck, music box, rubber duck

Project timeline

W1/3-7 December -

'Grey Box Stage'

Assets Complete – Door, key

Floor Plan detailing the first floor. Consisting of 1 Hallway, 4 rooms.

Create the hallway in 3DS Max and import into Unity. Hallway containing one staircase and 4 spaces for doors to the joining rooms.

W2/10-14 December -

'Grey Box Stage'

Assets complete – Torch, desk, lamp

Ability to pick up and use the torch, including lighting.

Compile into Unity

W3/17-21 December -

'Grey Box Stage'

Assets complete – Tv and Stand, Sofa, Coffee table

Create room 1 in 3DS Max – Walls, floor and ceiling. Bedroom.

Compile into Unity

W4/24-28 December -

'Grey Box Stage'

Assets complete -Music Box, Teddy, Bed

Create room 2 in 3DS Max – Walls floor and ceiling. Sitting Room

Compile into Unity

W5/31-4 January -

Assets complete – Cot, Ball

Set up Toon Shaders in unity

Create textures for room tiles (Walls, floors, ceilings)

Compile into unity giving the ball realistic physics

W6/7-11 January -

Assets complete –  Radio

Code Lock and Key for the first room. Key to be found next to torch on a desk in the main hall way.

Calm before the storm

Having had my dissertation project given the go ahead I decided to give myself this week to continue in the test file with some of the newer code I have either been taught or gotten to grips with through the internet.
Firstly I decided to make multiple door types. One which upon going near shuts in the players face and secondly one which swings open upon key press. Both set up with triggers one is just an animation with a key locking sound and the other with a trigger which the player stands near and then uses 'E' to open.
These are both going to be usefull for the final project as I will be creating a house where the player goes from room to room finding keys to open the next door. Making sure I know how to use these techniques is important for the final project. Once I begin making the file for the final project having these techniques ready to impliment will make development alot quicker.

I have begun looking at the key mechanism for these doors. As it stands I have the key on the table and the player is able to pick it up however I have not yet been able to make the key directly relatable to the doors. I will be working on this in the coming weeks alongside the other tasks I have set aside for myself to do. Obviously this isnt perfect however I feel the test file is something I can continuously work on without it affecting my general performance as the processes will help me in the final project anyway!

The test file I have also played around with 3D sounds, the player could be able to hear a sound from afar and not know where its coming from, they then have a reason to explore the house further looking for the source. This at the moment is in the form of a music box.

The last test I have done is for the AI.
I am yet to fully and extensively test the full possibilities however I am quite happy with the results so far. I have basically taken the code from one of our lectures to create a player following capsule, however I looked to change the code so it triggered when a player walked so close to it. This I beleive will be good s it adds a threat to the player that adds a little extra tension while they walk around the house. Initially the player will just be able to see animations which fire off as they walk around the house of the 'enemy' showing himself, then hiding in the different rooms or through windows etc. Until finally he comes running at the player through a door that the player opens. So the trigger for the ai will be the door opening, I am looking to hook this up in the coming weeks.

Ross, out.

Dissertation Project Proposal

Dissertation Title - Creating an Immersive experience through the use of lighting, sound and environment.

Brief Outline of Work
An experimentation with various mechanics and methods to create tense, atmospheric environments which directly affect the way the player feels.
This will lead to a final product created in unity using the various successful methods of tension creation.

Rationale
I have decided upon this dissertation for multiple reasons.

 1. At a basic level I feel that exploring immersion will be useful for most working areas of games design. A company creating a game will want a game that draws the player in, makes them forget they are playing a game and thus leaves the player having had a good experience. This is true with all types of games and so knowing ways to engage a player is a large portion of the games industry.
There is currently a job going in Cambridge - Frontier Developments LTD
They have a description of what they desire on GamesJobsDirect.com

 - Successful applicants must have a broad experience of playing games, and be able to demonstrate a good understanding of player mentality / psychology and gameplay mechanisms
- We are looking for designers who are full of creative flare and enthusiasm and have a passion for, and extensive knowledge of, games and gameplay

(http://www.gamesjobsdirect.com/jobs/1221765/game-designers.asp) 

I believe by undertaking this project I should be successfully proving I can achieve the requirements the company are after.

2. Software Knowledge. Throughout university I have worked in many different software. I wish to use my dissertation to better learn Unity. This covers the basic software to create a game and also to learn code to a better level. I currently only know basic code and even still I couldn't do too much more advanced scripts however I would like to try and change this.

 

 I would also like to learn more advanced effects in unity. A professional looking final product would be advantageous to me acquiring a job in the field I desire.

Annotated Bibliography

 

James Newman (2008) Playing with Videogames, London : Routledge.

 

 This book has a lot of information in it covering a wide aspect of games and player experiences. Newman talks of the gaming world both inside the games and outside. Specifically he talks about cut scenes, giving the player the ability to act out the story rather than take away from the action with pre rendered cut scenes. This is quite an interesting page (52), players may often skip cut scenes to jump straight into the action.

James Newman (2004) Videogames, London : Routledge.




Another Newman, in this book he goes into a little more detail as to 'why do players play'and he discusses the use of an invisible HUD as to not intrude a players experience. All in all this book looks like it will be an interesting read in regards to my project. He also looks into the various ways in which cut scenes can be used effectively to destroy the immersive experience and make it better.













Marie-Laure Ryan (2001) Narrative as Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electronic Media, The Johns Hopkins University Press.


This book is exactly what I was looking for. Literally filled from cover to cover with information on Spatial presence, immersion and one particularly interesting section on Spatio-Temporal Immersion. Ryan goes into great detail about various methods which writers use to put the reader 'into' the scene. (after a short extract)  'The reader does not watch the narrator watching Eveline watch the street through the window, but by virtue of the transitivity of the representation of mental processes, she directly perceives Eveline's perception'.







Barry Atkins (2003) More Than A Game: The computer game as a fictional form, Manchester University Press.


I picked this book up to find how the fictional narrative effects the way the player would experience the game itself. I found a really good quote which describes immersion perfectly - 'The conceit that one might somehow 'forget' that one is playing because there is no collapse into illogical lack of cause and effect'
Atkins talks of Half Lifes 'deformable environment' and how this helps create an immersive experience.

Michelle Menard (2012) Game Development With Unity, Course Technology PTR

This book I have been using mainly to gather research on Unity scripting and use of the software. I can imagine myself dipping in and out of this book to get a little more knowledge on various tools.
The tutorials in this book are extensive and extremely helpful.

Project Timeline

Milestone Deliverables

Both of the above subjects will be updated in the near future when i have a better grip on how the project will be set out.

Bibliography

http://www.gamesjobsdirect.com/jobs/1221765/game-designers.asp - Last accessed 05/11/12

Unity

So for my project I have been playing in Unity, mainly to get to grips again with the software but mostly to try new things (even if they are simple!)

In a previous Unity project I spent the time importing square planes with textures to create a simple world to explore, however this was very modular and in no way natural.
( Link to that game here: http://www.waterfrontgames.com/game/index/34 )
So instead I tried something new with the Terrain tool.
Following a few tutorials and a really helpful book - Game Development with Unity by Michelle Menard -  I began playing around with the tools available and sculpted a simple landscape.
I am quite happy with the results. The actual size of this map wasn't an issue as I was just testing and the textures again are all basic images painted on to the land.

After I had created the landscape I began considering features in the final game. The first, and easiest was water. With the software providing a  prefab I just needed to experiment with the basic settings. Nothing interesting here.

The next feature was a torch which the player can pick up. This was done by a short amount of code, initially fr the player to be able to pick up the object and secondly to make it so the player can turn it on and off.

I wont bore you with the code, but I will upload the test level as it stands at the moment.
http://www.kongregate.com/games/Vodier/spookytest

As I described in an earlier post, a game can be immersive even with basic models. My example being 'Slender'. I will be working towards a standard of 3D model which represents how I can create models which are to the point with as few polys as possible. This will give my entire work a fluid feel. The textures on my test are not final, the torch for example needs more shadowing and materials!

To add that creepy feel I considered what is considered freaky if you were to be wandering around a haunted mansion. I came to the conclusion, music boxes or dolls. So I created a music box with a ballerina doll. Initially this was meant to be a final texture however I added a toon shader to the models and the original texture didnt look right, so I edited it and continued, not wanting to be bogged down on something that will inevitably change!
More on toon shaders after this.

As the doll thing stands now there is no music box per say but with a small animation the doll does rotate.
Add in a 'creepy' sound effect that as you get closer gets louder.
The final touch to this small creepy scene was a particle effect to make the air around look dusty and lonesome. This is the effect I was going for, un-nerving surroundings, a dark area and nothing can be seen but what you light up with your torch.
Using Game development with Unity I have looked into AI, I will be studying it a bit closer trying to get my head around the code so that the player has something to run from. But for now I am happy with my test results.

Toon shaders

I have added in a toon shader to all models and scenery (terrain) this gives the outlines of all the models a thicker black line. I really like this effect and if I can master the style in this game project I will be very happy.
So all in all I see this project boosting my unity coding skills, modelling skills and my abilities in Unity. Hopefully I will get a lot out of this project!!

Ross, Out.

Out there games

To get a better idea of the game which I will be trying to create for my final dissertation project I will use some already existing products. The genre, theme or even mechanics that I explore here will hopefully lead to a better understanding as to what I will be creating in the near future.

Slender
'Slenderman' is a legend created on a forum and brought to life by Parsec Productions in their free to play game 'Slender'. The aim is to wander a forest finding landmarks dotted around the place which may or may not have manuscripts or pages attached to them. There are 8 pages in total around the map.

Slender - In game snapshot

As you pick up pages the Slender man becomes more agitated with the player and the AI becomes more aggressive. The basic AI 'follows' the player, occasionally appearing in front of the camera either from afar or close depending on the pages and how obvious the players movements have been. Your view point is fitted with a flash light and you have the ability to sprint. The more you sprint and have the flash light on the more attention you get from Slender man.
As you pick up each page a new sound effect initiates, the tension in this game is therefore heightened as you play.
The game uses very simple models but creates a very tense atmosphere, having played the game I can say it is slightly horrible. Especially at night with headphones on!
There are a few interesting ideas to take from this game.
The use of sound effects to create a very tense atmosphere.
The basic models throughout the whole game which never throw the illusion of the game.
The AI, following the player seems simple but is very effective for drawing the player in. The constant fear of death. Instigating the human survival instinct.
An equally simple victory condition is paramount to the game. Seems easy? Get to 4 pages and then tell me its easy!!

http://slendergame.com/game.php

Amnesia

Amnesia - The Dark Decent

Another game which draws off of tension to hook the player, Amnesia uses a lot of effects such as heavy breathing, creaky doors and various lighting manipulations. The effectiveness of these mechanics is evident especially when watching players in game. 'Lets play' is a very popular video form on youtube, watching some of the people jumping out of their skins.
I wont go into too much detail of the game here however, its definatly a chilling experience to play with headphones on!

There are many other games out there with similar spooky themes however these two would be good games to base my final piece off. I believe with basic models creating a consistent world and the correct effects I can easily manage an immersive experience.

I will begin production of the final piece soon, I have a few tests in mind to begin with which I have began work on.

I am away this weekend but I will fill you in on these tests when I get back!

Ross, Out.

Bibliography Books

I have assembled some initial research books which will be quoted in the future to help hold my dissertation together with the theory behind Video Games (and some of the psychology as I have found out so far!!)

----------------

James Newman (2008) Playing with Videogames, London : Routledge.

James Newman (2004) Videogames, London : Routledge.


Marie-Laure Ryan (2001) Narrative as Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electronic Media, The Johns Hopkins University Press.


Barry Atkins (2003) More Than A Game: The computer game as a fictional form, Manchester University Press.


Michelle Menard (2012) Game Development With Unity, Course Technology PTR

----------------

(The last one there, I am unsure of the exact publisher, from what I can find I am led to believe this is them.)

I will go into more detail as to why these books will come in helpful in the near future.

Ross, Out.

Learning New Things

Throughout the year I will be looking into various ways which designers and developers consider drawing players into their games. However during this research I am going to attempt to create my own Immersive experience.
On my first research encounter I found an interview with Bioshock's Ken Levine. Being a fan of the series I read through the article and straight away found some very interesting points.
The interviewer from 'Industry Gamer' asks Levine 'is first person tantamount to immersion?'
In which his response is
' I think it’s obviously, for me, the most direct way to engage. It’s one less barrier to the experience'
This bought on a few questions, what other games are considered immersive and can a 3rd person or even a 2D game create this experience?
I found an article on little-players.com listing 5 of the most immersive games (by the opinion of the author Pojut)
'9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors' claims 5th place, a game on the Nintendo DS. He doesn't go into massive detail as to why this is on his list he does however mention the story, the 'interactive novel'. 'when you consider the minimal visuals presented throughout the experience', its clear to see that a simple element such as tense story can draw a player in. I will mention now the story is very 'SAW' based (Horror, Gore Etc).
I have never considered visuals to be a massive thing, in most games its not what it looks like but how it plays that counts.  Having looked at 999 its clear that the player is led through the story making critical decisions for the main character by giving the various progression options the player becomes part of the story (999 is a game much like 'the walking dead game').

Another game to take a spot is 'Clive Barkers Undying'. Taking the 'adrenaline rush' theory or as Pojut describes it 'the "Something's gotta be around this corner. Wait, nope, nothings there" feeling'. The game waits until the player is comfortable and then puts something around that corner. Once again the player is pushed into a first person view point, again enforcing the whole 1st person being more immersive theory.

One thing that stays strong throughout all the examples that are given here is the genre. With a horror or 'spooky' theme, the games provoke the players survival instinct, the need to continue pushing through levels. In the instance of bioshock you are put into the shoes of a character with no real personality. Ken Levine says 'We were sort of not developing the character. It was about you experiencing things more than the character experiencing things'. The idea being that the player can feel as though it is them running around Rapture (the games environment), with no un-likable character standing in the way players can imagine they are the ones in danger not just the virtual character in the game, thus leading to a much more immersive experience.

I found an interesting topic on the Steam forums about immersive and (as they described)  'shallow' games. All of the commenters here described alot of the 1st person shooter games to be shallow, they descirbe them to be pickup and play mindless fun.
JBarrios - a member of gamedev.net - 'In my opinion the opposite of immersion is cinematic', again he mentions shooters as a more 'Cinematic' experience. A game which prefers cut scenes to actual gameplay experiences, a game which doesnt give the player as much input on the outcome of various situations.

After this research spanning some websites around the internet I have come to conclude that a First Person point of view is best to truly give the player the feeling they are 'in' the game. With a horror/eerie theme the player must be aware of surroundings to 'survive' (or at least get from level to level).

Below is a list of all the websites I gathered some research from to come to a conclusion on where my dissertation project should go.
I will most likely be pushing myself to complete a Unity game. A software I have had some experience with in the past but never worked on completly by myself. I wish to gain a better experience with working in Unity, especially with coding either set pieces (But not cinematics!) or just letting a player experience an immersive environment. 

Ross, Out.

Bibliography

Industry Gamers, 2011, Be Yourself (Or Not): BioShock [online] Available at - http://www.industrygamers.com/news/be-yourself-or-not-bioshock/ - Last Accessed 18/10/2012

Pojut, 2011, Top 5 Most Immersive Games [online] Available at - http://www.little-players.com/blog/2011/05/top-5-most-immersive-games/ - Last Accessed 19/10/2012

Steam Forums, 2012, Most immersive games and most shallow games [online] Available at - http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2848369 - Last Accessed 19/10/2012

JBarrios, 2011, Immersion [online] Available at - http://www.gamedev.net/topic/612293-immersion/ - Last Accessed 19/10/2012

the “something’s gotta be around this corner. Wait, nope, nothing’s there” feeling

Read more at little-players.com : Top 5 Most Immersive Games http://wp.me/p1hNPs-tQ

specially when you consider the minimal visuals presented throughout the experience

Read more at little-players.com : Top 5 Most Immersive Games http://wp.me/p1hNPs-tQ

especially when you consider the minimal visuals presented throughout the experience

Read more at little-players.com : Top 5 Most Immersive Games http://wp.me/p1hNPs-tQ

especially when you consider the minimal visuals presented throughout the experience

Read more at little-players.com : Top 5 Most Immersive Games http://wp.me/p1hNPs-tQ

when you consider the minimal visuals presented throughout the experience

Read more at little-players.com : Top 5 Most Immersive Games http://wp.me/p1hNPs-tQ

when you consider the minimal visuals presented throughout the experience

Read more at little-players.com : Top 5 Most Immersive Games http://wp.me/p1hNPs-tQ

Massively Cliched 'First Post' Title

So this is the final year of my university life. The year where I am tasked with creating a dissertation.

Initial thoughts on the topic of my dissertaton took alot of deliberation. What would I find interesting? What would be useful for future use? What would I get out of the whole year? What qualities and expertise can I showcase?

I have always been interested in the actual design aspects of games, coding is often beyond me and my art is increasingly getting better as the weeks go on. However the area that excites me most is the inner workings when designing games and concepts. What makes the game good, how is it fun, why does it engage the player and so on.

Creating a dissertation based on these questions led me in one distinct direction.

Immersion.

How do games immerse players?

There is various terms we can use instead of 'immersion', 'presence' for example or further still 'spacial presence', either way I first need to understand exactly what immersion means.

Jamie Madigan talks about how "a game creates spatial presence when the user starts to feel like he is “there” in the world that the game creates", he goes on to discuss, when the player is truly immersed he may make different decisions to not 'break the illusion'.

"Someone immersed in Red Dead Redemption, for example, might be more likely to use travel methods that make sense within the game" (The Psychology of Immersion in Video Games). Many gamers will often say that they can lose themselves within games. After telling themselves 'Just an hour before bed' the statement will quickly turn into 'Well its too early in the morning to sleep now'. Being a victim of this situation myself I am excited to search further into the psychology of gaming and how to create immersive play.

With a vast area of study and multiple examples to draw off I will end my initial research thoughts here.

Ross, Out.

Bibliography

Jamie Madigan, 2010,The Psychology of Immersion in Video Games Available at: http://www.psychologyofgames.com/2010/07/the-psychology-of-immersion-in-video-games/, Last accessed - 10/12