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!!)

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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

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(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