Unit 12: Gamemaker
Genre research
RPG
Role-playing video games use much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics as early tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons. Players control a central game character, or multiple game characters, usually called a party, and attain victory by completing a series of quests or reaching the conclusion of a central storyline. Players explore a game world, while solving puzzles and engaging in combat. A key feature of the genre is that characters grow in power and abilities, and characters are typically designed by the player. RPGs rarely challenge a player's physical coordination or reaction time, with the exception of action role-playing games.
Role-playing video games typically rely on a highly developed story and setting, which is divided into a number of quests. Players control one or several characters by issuing commands, which are performed by the character at an effectiveness determined by that character's numeric attributes. Often these attributes increase each time a character gains a level, and a character's level goes up each time the player accumulates a certain amount of experience.
Role-playing video games also typically attempt to offer more complex and dynamic character interaction than what is found in other video game genres. This usually involves additional focus on the artificial intelligence and scripted behavior of computer-controlled non-player characters.
Examples:
Final Fantasy XV (ARPG)
I chose Final Fantasy XV as an example for the RPG genre because it is a modern game and it is different from classic, turn-based RPG's that aims at a similar yet slightly different audience from classic RPG's. This game's main audience would mostly be 16+ and fans of the franchise as well as newcomers that like action games and RPG games, as this is essentially a mix of both, due to it being a sub-genre of RPG named ARPG (Action Role Playing Game)
World of Warcraft (MMORPG)
World of Warcraft has been around for many years and has been the most successful MMORPG since its release, making it an example of how to make a successful game of this genre. The game's age rating is 12+ but, despite this, is more targeted at an older audience, mostly adults or teenagers from 17-18 on-wards due to most of the themes being of a mature and darker nature. When it comes to gameplay, it is more similar to classic RPG's. However, it is not action and you have more skills than in your typical RPG as there is an auto attack and you base your damage on buffing and debuffing as well as using the right skills.
X-COM (Tactical RPG)
X-COM is one of the most recent Tactical RPG's and was successful as it was loved by many fans of this genre. The game's age rating is 18+, which also represents the audience this game is targeted at as it is mostly targeted at more old school gamers or tactical gamers that enjoy this type of RPG, which is unlike the more modern ones being released.
Action
The action genre includes any game where the player overcomes challenges by physical means such as precise aim and quick response times. Action games can sometimes incorporate other challenges such as races, puzzles, or collecting objects, but they are not central to the genre. Players may also encounter tactical and exploration challenges, but these games first-and-foremost require high reaction speed and good hand–eye coordination. The player is often under time pressure, and there is not enough time for complex strategic planning. In general, faster action games are more challenging. Action games may sometimes involve puzzle solving, but they are usually quite simple because the player is under immense time pressure.
Examples:
Devil May Cry (Action-adventure)
I chose Devil May Cry as an example of an Action-Adventure game as it is an extremely successful franchises with four games and a reboot released. Its age rating is 18+, this also being the target audience due to the story and type of humor that is included as well as the gameplay. The gamepay is purely action based and is mostly based on skill and knowing what to do. There are also puzzles and level navigation, which adds to the adventure section of the game.
Dragon Ball FighterZ (Fighting)
Dragon Ball FIghterZ was my example for a fighting game due to it being released the same year this project was going on (2018) as well as being developed by one of the most loved fighting game developers and being based on a very successful franchise. It is given an age rating of 12+, but is realistically aimed at people of all ages that are fans of the franchise this is based on as well as fans of this type of fighting game.
Crash Bandicoot (Platform)
For my example of a platform game I decided to go with Crash Bandicoot, as it was the game that made the platforming genre what it is now and is likely the most popular platforming game. It is characterized by its difficulty and tricky level design and game mechanics. It is aimed at people of all ages and all types of gamers both casual and hardcore, which is represented by the art style as well as the general theme of the game. However, the gameplay is aimed at more experienced gamers.
Adventure
The term "Adventure game" originated from the 1970s text computer game Colossal Cave Adventure, often referred to simply as Adventure, which pioneered a style of gameplay that was widely imitated and became a genre in its own right. The video game genre is therefore defined by its gameplay, unlike the literary genre, which is defined by the subject it addresses, the activity of adventure.
Essential elements of the genre include storytelling, exploration, and puzzle solving. Adventure games have been described as puzzles embedded in a narrative framework, where games involve narrative content that a player unlocks piece by piece over time. While the puzzles that players encounter through the story can be arbitrary, those that do not pull the player out of the narrative are considered examples of good design.
The Secret of Monkey Island (Graphic Adventure)
For my graphic adventure example I chose to go with The Secret of Monkey Island, which is one of the more popular and successful games of this genre as well as one of the oldest ones. Its age rating is 12+, but is aimed at more mature audiences with mature jokes and story-line. It stays simple when it comes to gameplay. However, the captivating part of this game is the story and characters, which are what made this game a success.
Heavy Rain (Narrative game)
I chose Heavy Rain as my narrative game example. This game is characterized by its incredibly lifelike graphics and its movie style gameplay. The main attraction of the game is its narrative, and is aimed at everyone that likes a good storyline as well as movies. In my opinion, this is the best example for this type of game as of today as it was a success and gave this life to this subgenre.
The Stanley Parable (Exploration game)
When thinking about exploration games I chose The Stanley Parable because it has many endings and many routes that can be taken whilst being solely about exploration, which in my opinion makes it a good example for this sub-genre as it also became quite popular when it was released.
Moodboard
Idea
Adventure game
My first idea is a simple, peaceful adventure game based on the likes of Journey or Abzu. It would preferably have the same graphical style as Journey, and would focus on telling the narrative through the actions occurring in game and would be characterised by its art and scenery. I would like it to be in third person, however I would also consider doing it in first person as this would be much simpler and easier for me to achieve. It would have simple mechanics limited to moving, jumping and grabbing objects for puzzle-solving. Your character would be from a long gone species that is now alone in the world and is exploring to find out more about its civilisation and possibly find out if there are some more remaining members.
RPG Game
My second idea is a third person ARPG (Action Role Playing Game) which would use elements from various RPG's that I admire such as Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts, Skyrim, etc. The story would be about an undead skeleton that was betrayed when he was alive.
Experimenting with toon shader
I decided to do some experimentation with the toon shader in unity as I was considering using this style on the game that I will make. This is a shot of the character on its own without being in game. I used this colour as it is basic and it was suitable for testing.
This is an in game shot as I was also testing out character cameras and gameplay because I am considering making my game be third person. I also included the sample car that is given in unity and tested the toon shader on it too to see how it worked and looked on different models and not just a human character.
Here is a shot of the car without being in game, from a better and closer angle from which you can see more of it and more clearly.
These are some screenshots of the materials I created to apply the toon shader to the models. For the car I had to apply the model to different parts as the model was composed of different parts.
Initial character design
Models
Pillar
This is the base of the pillar. To create it made a cylinder and adjusted its size. After adjusting the size I used the bevel tool to create the shape that I wanted.
Once I got the shape that I wanted I selected the upper faces of the base of the pillar and extruded upwards until the pillar got to the size that I wanted it to be.
To create the top of the pillar I detached the base of the pillar from the body and used the fill hole tool. After this I duplicated the base of the pillar.
Lamp
This is the base of the lamp. To create this I created a cylinder and used the bevel and extrude tools to get the shape that I wanted as well as create the base of the lamp.
After this was modeled I created a cube and placed it correctly on top of the base. Once it was placed I started adjusting the size of it and grouped them together.
Once I got the size that I was looking for I used the bevel tool on certain faces to create the shape on the image.
After using the bevel tool and getting the shape, I decided to use the extrude tool to extrude some faces in a way that would resemble the shape of a lamp, more specifically some types of lanterns found in medieval eras and fantasy games.
This is another view from a different angle.
After creating the shape of the lamp top I extruded on the top of it to create a type of shape that would resemble a handle, which would suggest that it can be picked up and taken out of the base.
This is a view of the entire lamp when I finished modeling it.
Target
I firstly created the base target shape by creating a cylinder and adjusting the size. I also selected some faces and moved them outwards to make it more similar to a target as these aren't flat.
Once I finished the target I used cubes to create the supports. The first one I created was the one that is attached to the target. I then mirrored this one to make two supports. After this I then used a cube to create the base support where the ones attached to the target would go.
I then created a cube and rotated it as well as adjusted its size so that it would connect to the base support. I also mirrored this one to create one that was the exact same on the opposite side of the support.
Tombstone
To create the base shape of a tombstone I used a cube and then used the bevel tool on the top face to create the shape shown on the image.
Once I created this shape I selected the front face and extruded it. I adjusted the size of the extrusion and then extruded slightly inwards to create an inner face of the tombstone.
When I finished extruding I decided to adjust the top of the tombstone. I did this simply by selecting these faces and slowly moving them upwards one by one.
Rendered models
Character animation experimentation
All Videos
All Videos
First
Second
Third
Environment Design
Game Design Document
Asset list
Demo
Evaluation
The goal of this project was to generate a game idea and then produce it into a game design document and demo/demonstration. The part that I enjoyed the most of this project was experimenting with rigging, creating the animations and testing the toon shader as I enjoyed animating and creating animations as well as figuring out what the toon shader did and how it worked. Throughout this project I learned about animation cycles and I learned about the toon shader, as well as learning what a basic game design document needs and what concept art should look like. I also learned how to use a free look camera on a third person controller to create a more modern third person game. I had some problems with the animation cycles and due to this I had to use the basic model that Unity provided as I didn't have time to make all the animations and correctly export them and create an animator inside Unity for the demo. If I could start over I would spend more time on creating a character and animations for it to include it in my demo, as I was looking forward to doing this but did not have enough time to successfully do this.