An Introduction to the game industry

The game industry has many different roles for people to work in, but this varies a lot depending on the size of the project. Larger games will usually be developed by a developer and published by a publisher. The developers are responsible for actually creating everything which makes the game and the publishers mainly do all the advertising and manufacturing, they also usually fund the development.

Indie games are usually developed and published by the same small company. But as they are most commonly found on a digital format, they don’t need a publisher for manufacturing and will usually advertise for themselves. This is because most indie games are found on things like Itunes , Android market, Steam etc. They also finance their own development.

There are different roles in a development of a game. These include:

Game Designers

A game designer is someone who pretty much designs the core of the game. They will decide what kind of gameplay they want and how it is structured. They will try and make sure the game is engaging and will be enjoyable for the player.  The role of a gamer designer depends on the scale of the project. Bigger companies might have a lead designer who managers the rest of the team, there might also be different people working on specific aspects of the games design.

Artists

Game artists are responsible for how the game looks visually. They are usually overseen by a lead art director who manages the team. There are basically two different types, 2D artists, who will create all of the digital painting in the game, for things like concept art, textures, UI etc. 3D artists will create all the 3D meshes in the game. They might also do animation, or there will be an animators who do all the animation. Larger projects will probably have more specific roles for people, while smaller projects might have people working on multiple things.

Programmers

Programmers are responsible for all the coding in the game. They might be overseen by lead programmers. They will integrate all the coding for things like physics, AI, scripting, network, graphics etc.

Level Designers

Level designers will put together all the different parts of the game people have made. This is where the game actually becomes playable. They will use commercial game engines or ones created by the programmers.

Testers

Testers play through the game usually towards the end of the development. They will analyse the quality and try to find problems and glitches. This is so when the game is finished players should have fewer problems with it and it should feel pretty polished.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is usually used for parts of the development process which don’t take as much time as everything else and don’t need to go through iterations. These include things such as motion capture, voice acting, music and sometimes concept art. Outsourcing is cheaper for companies because they don’t have to pay as many people full time.

Elements Of Game Technology, Interaction Design

When game consoles where first being introduced the companies didn’t seem to put much effort into the way they looked. The casing and controller were just there to keep everything in place and allow the player to interact with it. The controllers were very simple and the consoles themselves where usually ugly looking shapes.

As video games became more popular and technology evolved over time, consoles started to get smaller and companies spent more time and money in making them look nicer and streamlined. It also started to matter how comfortable the controller was and how easy it was to use.

But through most of gaming history players either played on the PC using a keyboard and mouse or on a console using a controller. They have had many different designs and usability but have practically stayed the same. But quite recently companies have started introducing new ways to control games. The Wii started using motion controllers to detect where the player was holding the controller and use it in relation to the game. Microsoft made Kinect for the Xbox 360 which detects full body movements and the player’s voice. PlayStation also has the PlayStation move. I think at the moment these kind of game interactions are a bit gimmicky and are being advertised as something more amazing than what they actually are. They don’t seem to be too responsive or any better than using a controller. But they are aimed at a family’s and groups of people to play casually just for fun.

I think when this type of controlling is more advanced and responsive they will appeal to more gamers. But right now they aren’t actually any better than using a controller but just a different kind of gaming which will branch off in its own category. 

I also see 3D technology as a similar sort of thing. It feels more like a way for the console companies to make money on something which isn’t that great or any better than the standard way of controlling games. It’s also coming about the same time 3D films are a big thing, which makes people more interested. 3D glasses to me are more of another gimmick and a bit of a pain to deal with, they also don’t add much more to the experience. When the 3D technology gets better and game companies start making games with it in mind, it will probably become popular as long as it is affordable.

Elements of Game Technology, sound for games

Sound is one of the most important parts of video games, it needs to match up to the quality of the graphics and gameplay, and it’s needed to add to the immersion. Even small ambient sound effects which players might not pay too much attention too are still important and make the levels feel alive.

In the early stages of video games, the sound was limited by the technology and was often very simple. This changed when the CD Rom was introduced. Since then sounds in games have become more and more complex. The quality of video games has improved so much it could just as easily be compared to orchestral pieces used in films

In space invaders, when the alien ships came down the pace of the music got faster and faster. The game programmers studied the players heart rate and found they would panic more when the sounds where faster and would panic less without it. This still happens in games now, when parts of the game become more intense the music will usually speed up and become louder. I Always remember the way Sonic 2 on the Sega Megadrive had underwater drowning music. The closer you got to running out of breath the scarier it would get. It is common for games to change the way the player hears the world when they are low on health to help give the feeling of danger. In shooting games grenades usually deafen the player and simulate ear ringing, which also adds a gameplay element. 

Music is more restrictive in games than it is in films because it is up to the player to move at their own pace and do things in different ways. The music must change in relation to what the player is doing; this is why most of the music in games is limited to about 2 -3 minutes. This gives the composers less freedom. With single player levels which usually guide the player through a certain path and are more cinematic allow the developers to have the right sounds at the right places.

When I remember music in games a few stand out, Halo has a very recognisable sound track through the whole series and makes it stand out and work really well with the game. Mass Effect also had a good kind of old style sci fi style soundtrack. This also added to the whole feeling of the game which made it very unique much like the environments.

Elements of Game Technology, Game Engines

Game engines are used to basically put assets into a level and combine it with lighting and other effects. It’s what brings everything together and actually creates the game. Most editors work by allowing you to create simple walls, ground, terrain etc. and then populate the rest of the level with assets which have been made in another 3D program (like 3DS Max). Some game companies will create almost everything just using assets which have been built by the 3D artists. Game engines like UDK also allow you to create moving objects and scripts to make things more dynamic, you can make sequences and instructions of what object needs to do what at which time. This means you can do almost everything just using the game engine program. The lighting effects are also very powerful; in most programs you can see a preview of the lighting in real time.

UDK

UDK is quite a common game engine, different versions of it have been used for many different games throughout the years. It was first created in 1998. Anyone can download it for free if they use it for non-commercial use. Which means anyone can start creating a level if they want too, which makes it very accessible for people who are interested in game design. It is constantly updated by Epic who are the creators. They use it for their games like Unreal and Gears Of War, but it has also been used in different companies for games like Bioshock,Splinter Cell, Batman Arkham Asylum, Mass Effect etc.

Cry Engine

Cry engine is a game engine built by Crytek and was first used in the game Far Cry in 2004. It was also used for the first Crysis game and had the best graphics for it’s time. Cry engine is a bit unique in that it uses its own physics, sound and animations. It also doesn’t require assets to be light mapped like in UDK. It is also uses plugins to make exporting things from a 3D program into the engine easier.

Hammer Editor

Source SDK is a game engine made by Valve; it’s been used in games like the Half Life, Portal and the Left 4 Dead series. The level editor is called Hammer Editor. Although now it is quite outdated and not used by many games outside Valve.

Naughty Dog Game Engine

The Naughty dog game engine was developed for the PS3 and used in the Uncharted games. It Shows how powerful the PS3 can be with a good engine used to its potential.

IW Engine

The Infinity Ward Engine was used for the Call Of Duty games since Call Of Duty 2. Which is probably one of the most successful game series this generation. This engine works well over a network which is good for a game mainly played online. Although I don’t think there has been much of a noticeable change from one call of duty to the next for how many they have released in the amount of time. Compared to other companies who are making big improvements.

Level Design

Level design is a very important aspect of video games. It decides the core gameplay; a game with bad level design will be a bad game. The game needs to have good playability to keep the player interested, if it is enjoyable at the most basic stage before there’s lots of fancy assets and graphics it will always be. But if a game isn’t fun to play at its basic stage then it will probably never be no matter how much stuff is added. I think single player level design and multiplayer level design are different in many ways.

When creating a single level for a certain part in a game the designers must know where the environment is, what the objectives will be, how will they be completed and what are some interesting layouts. Single player levels are usually more linear because the player is being guided to a certain place, and the game designers want control over what they see. Although often there are spaces which might not necessarily have a purpose, but are there to add to the immersion.

Multiplayer levels tend to be more open and give the player more freedom with the environments. Some games tend to keep them relatively symmetric for balance. Because there isn’t a story or a set path,  they carefully thought out for all the different possibility’s and flow of the game. Balance is important so everyone starts equal. The designers will think about where players will clash, what areas could be important and how everyone will move around. 

Power ups/weapons are common with games like Unreal and Halo. This gives players ability to choose what to do and work as a team.  Often levels like this will have areas where players can defend/hold, which are strong positions to hold and give the players an advantage – offer a reward for taking control and working as a team.

Games like COD, battlefield, team fortress, will have pre chosen classes. This allows players to play with their chosen style with no weapon pickups. Games like this can afford to have less symmetrical levels/maps because weapon balancing is an issue outside the level. 

Lighting is probably the next most important thing. Especially for single player/co-op levels. This can guide the player to take the correct root. It is vital for setting the mood of areas. It’s also used as a gameplay element in many games, especially ones where the player is able to sneak around.

Almost all level designers will start out with blueprints and quick block outs. They will think about the player’s objective or goal and design the level with this in mind. The will think about scale, how big will buildings be if they are in the scene, can the player go into them. What is the playable area, where do we want the player to try and go and what don’t we want the player to try. Areas with little use we usually try to be obvious they aren’t too important, depending on the lighting and objects in the scene. If the level has inside areas they will have to think about what rooms are open, which corridors are blocked off etc. A lot of games block off doors and corridors and areas in a few different ways. The way they do this has changed over time, but the most common one is simply having locked doors. This can also add a gameplay element if the player has to progress through the level, but can’t get through the door, then maybe an idea would be to go back and find a key, or get something to blow open the door.  A lots of games will block off areas with rubble. This is common in shooting games, where there aren’t any civilians, NPCS would get in the way in some places, so there is usually a reason why they aren’t there. This can be because it is a war zone, in which case having a destroyed wall or blocked path is more believable.  Or if it’s a horror games places might be blocked off because npcs have barricaded places to protect themselves etc

As games and technology have become more sophisticated and there’s no longer simple rooms and corridors like games used to be. Player’s usually expect there to be open environments and more freedom. This provides more of a challenge when a game has a level which is quite linear, and is trying to guide the player through the level to a certain objective. But the environment could be a massive city, or a big building. This might mean the player wants to explore more, but can’t because they must follow a path. So making the player follow a path without realising it is a key point of level design and what a lot of level designers will try to do. Often things like explosions, power ups, enemies attacking etc. are used to give a reason for a new area to open up, when it wasn’t available before. This often changes the lighting in the scene so the player is guided that way.

Games will often try to have contrast in many different ways, this can be contrast will lighting, like cold blues and warm reds. Or I can be the contrast of a big open space into a closed confined space to give the game more variation.

Each level usually has a unique selling point, this is what the player will hopefully find interesting and want to explore. It could be at the end of a level, or to highlight a key part in the story.

Visual Composition

Composition is basically the way shapes come together in a piece. It’s the way in which the artist wants the viewer to see his work, it is usually something most people don’t actively think about too much, but it works without them really realising it. It’s all to do with the way the viewer’s eye travels across the piece and which elements they will focus on. Composition is just as important now as it was with all the great artists throughout history, the shapes but flow together, usually telling some sort of story. Bright, bold colours are used where the artist wants the viewer to look; red is used a lot for the main focus point because it is a strong colour which people tend to notice more. Less saturated colours are used in areas which aren’t of too much importance. There aren’t too many specific rules to composition because it depends entirely on what the image is, but here are some things which most artists take into account.

The priorities of the image are important, the key points where the viewer should look, the reason of the painting is to get across an idea, message or scene. So the important parts should draw the eye, lighting is very useful for this.

Value is used to show the distance, depth and lighting in a piece. It is very important to make the environment, character or vehicle look like it is in a 3D space. So paying attention to fog and atmosphere is important, as the further away something is from you, the more it looks less saturated and lighter. For environments, the type of weather makes a big difference in the way artists use value and volume, for instance a very rainy foggy day would have less visibility. So the background would be hard to see, the colours would not be as vibrant, edges won’t look as sharp etc. But a hot day with no clouds, would make everything look very crisp and clear, colours would be more saturated and you could see further in the distance. Blacks should be darker the closer they are to you and lighter the further away they get.

There are certain things which we are used to seeing every day in real life which we would notice when missing from a painting. Even people who don’t pay attention would be able to tell when looking at a piece if it is looks right or not. An important part to composition is making the painting look believable. So perspective is very important, when it is wrong, it is very easy to tell and instantly makes the work look worse. Having a good understanding of the way things work in the real world will make it easier for an artist to achieve something which the viewer will understand and recognise as being realistic.

Aside from making a piece look convincing, composition is used to create an interesting scene which explains everything the artists wants to show. Simple shapes with correct perspective and good use if value will make an image look instantly readable. The shapes should be as interesting as possible; this is why working with black and white thumbnails first is a good idea before starting the final piece. It allows you to experiment with different ideas using simple shapes, to create something which looks promising, without dedicating too much time. Then once you have a final idea you can work on having a correct perspective and adding detail. A bad composition will ruin a painting no matter how much detail it has, but a good composition with strong shapes and impressionistic brush strokes will create a working image earlier on. Composition is also important for setting the scale of a scene.

Elements of games design, part five: planning and concepting

 I find my understanding of developing ideas from my previous courses and things I have learnt last year have gotten better . I’ve never jumped straight into a final and always start with thumbnails and initial sketches for 2D, then develop them and decide what I want to do for my final. Last year I mainly worked with just traditional media to understand how to develop my ideas and know I can start properly working photoshop into my workflow. I’ve started to make my thumbnails smaller so I can concentrate more on composition before anything else, but also paying attention to separate elements from different angles which could be used. I’m starting to see how I should treat my 2D workflow the same as I would with graphic design. Especially for projects which involve vehicles and characters. I tend not to do this as much with 3D, which I should do; I need to have a good idea of what I am going to do before I start it. This will stop me getting too far along with a project when I realise a critical mistake which will make things harder and slow me down. For my character project I intend to draw exactly what I’m going to make beforehand and do this for every project.  I need to remember to go back to my design document every time I finish a big step, so I can really work out what to do, instead of just having rough ideas in my head and getting caught up with them.

I found that with my internship I plan more and make sure the simple things are correct before I move onto anything else and my boss checks it at each stage. I also find that because I know I need to have a deadline done to get paid I start things as soon as I get them. Even though I’ve always known I should do this with uni work I did used to get distracted, and now even after a bit of experience I feel more focused towards planning and time management. I think after my internship I will find it easier with less work and focus on improving rather than getting things done

Planning is very important in any kind of design work, I know how to do it and yet I don’t put as much focus on it as far as actually getting the ideas down somewhere. Sometimes when I’m at a location for 2D my work is kind of spread around my sketchbook as I’m moving location, wanting to get something down and a better understanding by drawing a few thumbnails at a certain place, then quickly do a development drawing and then moving to the next area. I need to do more thumbnails on photoshop afterwards using different elements from completely different areas. This will take practice because it can be hard to make some interesting elements look like they belong in different places and complement other ideas and certain perspectives.