tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29424792690563759042024-03-13T02:04:57.047-07:00Justin's Game BlogJustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-72066987073701137962009-04-13T15:47:00.000-07:002009-04-13T16:03:15.525-07:00Observations for each of the 5 guidelines1. "make the AI visible to the player"<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdmhkUg3IOYVgO225spLKZpT89r9A9fo13L6gQXZ_Xp3E7yYx_Fg0pJAPsickyqSyWpkcZiYCb5_5eiB4HOkHhNqemxOs345g44-EakgLmhNt09agpXyixgTYxT8rmWswSss6qeZLIfQ/s1600-h/Bioshock.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324313206676559170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdmhkUg3IOYVgO225spLKZpT89r9A9fo13L6gQXZ_Xp3E7yYx_Fg0pJAPsickyqSyWpkcZiYCb5_5eiB4HOkHhNqemxOs345g44-EakgLmhNt09agpXyixgTYxT8rmWswSss6qeZLIfQ/s200/Bioshock.jpg" /></a><br /><div><div><br /><div></div><div>In BioShock, the AI has a hard time seeing the player and appears to have to "think" about whether it should attack or not. This is how it appears, the real reason is the line of sight issue. This is a problem with the overall tuning of the visual cue system that was implemented by the designers. It would take into consideration the light, path of sight, sound, and some other neat features to determine where the player is. This is the reason that it "appeared" to see you, but did not act on it. It had to determine if the factors were great enough to approach.<br /><br />More information can be found here:<br /><a href="http://aigamedev.com/discussion/notice-intelligence-bioshock">http://aigamedev.com/discussion/notice-intelligence-bioshock</a><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>2. "only implement AI that the player can detect"<br /><br /><br />I have two points to this statement that I feel are critical. </div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>Programming- is a big part of AI optimization and Lua seems to be the language of choice. Lua is an extremely well versed program and if understood and used correctly, AI optimization is a fairly simple task.</div><div><br /></div><div>Design- is the other part of successful AI integration and optimization. When designing for AI Cooperative Integration, be careful to fully understand the benefits and disadvantages that come along with it. Fallout 3 did an okay job at bringing the CO-OP AI into the story, except for the fact that they get stuck in strange places and are extremely finicky when it comes to Karma and deciding to join or abandon you. (I think the threshold should have been set higher.)<br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>3. "avoid behaviors that appear mechanical"<br /><br /></div><div>The simple answer is do not make your AI act or look like a robot. Make it look, feel, and act like a human that you can easily interact and communicate with.<br /><br />More information can be found on Facial Expression Recognition here:<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley</a></div><div><br /></div><div>An interesting theory that I would like to pursue is a modified version of the Uncanny Valley theory. This would be beneficial in the design and development of AI. To avoid the appearance of mechanical structuring, one could use the simple concept of facial expression recognition. If the AI or player appears "mad," then increase attack rate. If player appears "happy," increase sneak or call in some other action related to attack - while also taking into account other body movements, actions, etc.<br /><strong><br />Example</strong>: If I am being attacked by the AI and start kicking its ass, then they are going to need help. The face of my character should reflect an intense, focused look, not the look like I'm skipping down a tree covered path. This face would be appropriate for when I find cover or am camping.<br /><br />More information can be found on Facial Expression Recognition here: </div><div><a href="http://phineasgage.wordpress.com/2007/09/07/ai-detection-of-facial-expressions/">http://phineasgage.wordpress.com/2007/09/07/ai-detection-of-facial-expressions/</a><br /><br /></div><div>4. "show the player AI that makes choices" </div><div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9K_1fqoZvR_C2mD2BouYQQo2qxKLMyxIaPhUCFHzYFPN9rlAUQg_iLmuF31Ozlc5AW4T-TPmkGHBvhEfN1b8d4GreNX092fkMWVscpF_A3k7s0rgGjEPqUbfAMJiSwkEtOiKOWOz6ig/s1600-h/wallpaper_killzone_06_1024.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324312747984451986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9K_1fqoZvR_C2mD2BouYQQo2qxKLMyxIaPhUCFHzYFPN9rlAUQg_iLmuF31Ozlc5AW4T-TPmkGHBvhEfN1b8d4GreNX092fkMWVscpF_A3k7s0rgGjEPqUbfAMJiSwkEtOiKOWOz6ig/s200/wallpaper_killzone_06_1024.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div>Killzone 2 does a good job at this. If any type of explosion is thrown at you and you are not on the ball, your AI counterparts will try to assist you in getting the explosive back at the enemies or at least out of the area. This is also true for the opposing AI. They do the same thing when an explosive is thrown at them. This is a fairly easy concept and fairly old one at this point. The first time I noticed this was COD:3. This is also easy to implement with code and correct path placement. Something I think that we will see more of in the future is a direct CO-OP AI becoming more useful. This is seen in Resident Evil 5 regarding how you get help going up ladders and over the walls. Army of Two tried, but did not really succeed. Still they gave it a great go. There are always other ways around in real life, as it should be in the video game world. But the most direct way is almost always going to be to get help from a friend. The AI has to be in the correct place and make the correct choice.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>5. "give the player reason to see more than is really there" </div></div><div><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRBGkMef_B4fNcp3Bjlnzel5kUfwDQw08IfjY1RQYCkA7KQVipdHmEciA2y11B71qHXQb5c0998g0Fb24mdLpRBvjL0HWbeQw61q9ZsSg2VipZMAH7G6TSzyXDCEQy8a9lXK3pT1akAI/s1600-h/fallout-3.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 112px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324314438170731666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRBGkMef_B4fNcp3Bjlnzel5kUfwDQw08IfjY1RQYCkA7KQVipdHmEciA2y11B71qHXQb5c0998g0Fb24mdLpRBvjL0HWbeQw61q9ZsSg2VipZMAH7G6TSzyXDCEQy8a9lXK3pT1akAI/s200/fallout-3.jpg" /></a><br /></div><div><br /><br />The trouble with Fallout 3 combat is that it changes from turned base to free fire (perfect intensions) but the communication about combat with the AI did not. This really hurt the game, I think the intentions and the overall AI were great but the execution in regards to the AI was just lacking that "something special." The reason I wanted to play this was for the AI and the "puzzles" that you had to overcome . I wanted to see if there really was more. There is part of the game that if you try to shoot at or kill one of the guards, the game would not allow this. It would knock him out, but you could never actually kill him. The only way to escape the situation was to flee. This is an overall flaw in the game design. If you are going to make a truly sandbox style of game, which Fallout 3 is, and do not want to limit the player in anyway (the ultimate goal of a video game, right?), then this should be your rule of thumb. "If your player can die, by good or bad hands, then your entire world and everything in it should also be able to die, good or bad." </div></div></div>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-70806063586294823232009-02-03T14:47:00.000-08:002009-02-03T14:51:44.281-08:00Resident Evil - Degeneration (Hero's Journey)<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;" ><img style="width: 303px; height: 185px;" src="http://mail.google.com/mail/?name=aa7157836c3bb312.jpg&attid=0.2&disp=vahi&view=att&th=11f3e277c40146c9" alt="Your browser may not support display of this image." /></span><br /></div><p><span style=";font-family:Arial Rounded MT Bold;font-size:85%;" ><b><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">1. Ordinary World</span></b><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> The ordinary world that I see in the beginning of the movie is in the airport were Clair Redfield (main character) introduces herself to Ronny (child), this is a world (setting) that does not contain the evil zombie bad guy, YET.</span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span style=";font-family:Arial Rounded MT Bold;font-size:85%;" ><br /><b>2. The Call to Adventure</b><br /><br />The call to adventure starts when Clair realizes that the airport is becoming over infested with zombies. She was asked by Ronny's Aunt to watch Ronny while she went to get the limo, so it is now her responsibility to care and protect.<br /><br /><b>3. Refusal of the Call</b></span><br /></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span style=";font-family:Arial Rounded MT Bold;font-size:85%;" >What I think was her refusal was either when she did not really want to help Sen. Ron Davis but in a way felt obligated because without her help the poor sap would have been killed almost instantaneously. She really didn't want to do it, and that is what makes this the refusal. </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span style=";font-family:Arial Rounded MT Bold;font-size:85%;" ><b>4. Meeting with the Mentor<br /></b></span><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial Rounded MT Bold;font-size:85%;" > When Clair is in the VIP room and hears something outside the room and goes to check the noise. It turns out to be Kennedy and his group, Clair is trapped and ducks to avoid getting bit, Kennedy fires and take the zombie out. She is kneeling down and looks up to see Leon Kennedy there and says.. "Leon, what are you doing...." let's get out of here responds Leon, implying that they have not only been around each other before but that it looks like Leon is who taught Clair what she knows about the zombies and guns.<br /><br /><b>5. Crossing the First Threshold<br /></b><br />The first threshold that Clair crossed was when Leon Kennedy was in the process of getting the group out of VIP room. They are surrounded by zombies and Leon just can't make it to save her. Clair so far had been very timid and laid back until she needed to get in there and save Ronny's life. Leon throws her the gun from across the room, Clair catches it and starts kicking ass. 4 or 5 zombies go down, she grabs the girl and they high tail out of there. This could also be Enemies, and I may add it there also but I felt this is an important stepping stone for Clair.<br /></span><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial Rounded MT Bold;font-size:85%;" > <b>6. Tests, Allies, Enemies</b></span></p> <span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-family:Arial Rounded MT Bold;font-size:85%;" >This being resident evil there were tones of fight scenes where it was human vs. zombie. The bigger scenes had help from supporting characters. The main character Clair was not the toughest of all of the allies so for the big acts it involved Leon and Angela doing most of the fighting. Resident Evil is good about that, they spread out the character development across three sometimes four different characters.</span><br /><p style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span style=";font-family:Arial Rounded MT Bold;font-size:85%;" ><b>7. Approach to the Inmost Cave<br /><br /></b>The approach to the inmost cave would have to be when Leon and Angela are in the middle of a virus transformation at the WilPharma facility. This is also part of the ordeal; please see below at the ordeal line.</span><span style=";font-family:Arial Rounded MT Bold;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /><b>8. Ordeal</b><br /><br />Angela’s brother has a strand of the G-Virus and transforms into a huge, big scary monster… (see above). Angel has to cross a bridge and realize that it is no longer her brother and she must shoot to kill him to save her own life. Leon comes to help rescue her because it takes her awhile to realize that he will kill her if she doesn’t kill him first.<br /><br /><b>9. The Road Back</b><br /><br />The road back started about 3/4 of the way into the movie. They first were trapped in the airport, then sent to the facility and then made there way home. This is shown in the very end when Leon asked if she need a ride and she says “I have a limo waiting on me”, if you recall back to the very beginning, the aunt says she is going to get the limo pulled up.<br /><br /><b>10. Resurrection</b></span><span style=";font-family:Calibri;font-size:85%;" > </span><span style=";font-family:Arial Rounded MT Bold;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br />Zombies are zombies… there were like 100 resurrections in this movie. The final fight scene between Angela w/ Leon and her brother, I counted the times he came back, he resurrected six, count ‘em SIX times. Every time he died there was more and more blood and guts, but he was a persistent monster. </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span style=";font-family:Arial Rounded MT Bold;font-size:85%;" >There is also a brief moment in the end that they are cleaning up the facility and one of the workers finds part of the brothers hand / claw, this means that there is now another trace of the G-Virus.<br /><br /><b>11. Return with the Elixir</b></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span style=";font-family:Arial Rounded MT Bold;font-size:85%;" >There was no elixir they found or returned with. Instead they captured the guy with the virus and brought him to justice. One other small part may have been when they captured all of it on video. This was the way of showing the world what existed and what had been done by the WilPharma company.</span></p>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-19187610130184519172009-01-19T21:10:00.000-08:002009-01-19T21:29:59.028-08:00Fallout 3 - A.I. Study (PS3)<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span></span></strong> </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZsZDKyPTBpEpx9tyz3S8fgj5CffiT2X-OWyroe3uWQktQv325i8RqkcBFfUrC9vUQ9x31h6FcmOrWv3T84EvuZLtJjXAP6NtYdMGTz86t3FNmHcsIKa8l1-NVGiKEaNVol2YEFCdRMXs/s1600-h/Fallout3_Picture1.bmp"><span style="color:#ffffff;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 225px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293242028521356930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZsZDKyPTBpEpx9tyz3S8fgj5CffiT2X-OWyroe3uWQktQv325i8RqkcBFfUrC9vUQ9x31h6FcmOrWv3T84EvuZLtJjXAP6NtYdMGTz86t3FNmHcsIKa8l1-NVGiKEaNVol2YEFCdRMXs/s400/Fallout3_Picture1.bmp" /></span></a><span style="color:#ffffff;"><br /><br /></span><div align="left"><span style="font-family:georgia;color:#ffffff;">The game I will be looking at is Fallout 3 for the PS3.<br /><br />So, Fallout 3 is a very complex game that has MANY elements of A.I., that would be very hard to cover in one paper. I will do my best to pick out the key elements and larger aspects of Fallout 3's A.I.<br /><br />The first thing you need to know about F3 is that it is fully customizable in just about every way. You start as a new born baby, this is where you pick your gender and body / face type (your father after you pick this, looks like you). As a child just learning to walk you get to pick what attributes you would like to have as your strong suite, you can later build upon other ones but you get three core ones. This is a very brief introduction of the intro and the massive customizing you can do.<br /><br />… i will jump right in to some of the elements of the A.I.<br /><br />One of the key elements introduced by Bethesda is something called the Radiant AI system. A very good way to put it is:<br /><br />“<em>Where other games’ NPCs require individual scripting, we can simply provide our NPC’s with goals and our system allows them to think on their own and complete the task.</em>”<br />-Gamespot<br /></span></div><br /><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#ffffff;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">One of the reasons I know about this is because I have loved all of the Oblivion titles and have been playing Fallout from the start (1 and 2). This Radiant AI system is something that Bethesda has developed in order to have the NPC's become more interactive (no, it does not work every time but for the most part this is a great system).<br /></span><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;color:#ffffff;">an example of The Radiant AI sytem glitching... just a little bit... :-)<br /><br /><object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/F8hetpJxXSw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/F8hetpJxXSw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;color:#ffffff;">-------------------------------------------------------------<br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">There is really no limit that can be placed on this system. I tested this system out by waiting, and waiting, and then waiting a little more until I found what I thought was a drunk NPC stubbing out of a bar in MegaTon. So, I don't think he was so much drunk as he was paranoid that someone was following so he would turn around and stubble on something while looking for me (hiding in the dark). As the light came up, we became less paranoid and more interactive with other NPC's, he would stop and pat kids on the head, talk to other NPC's and he even went in and made a transaction with one of the shop keeps before retiring to his shack on the out skirts of town. I tried to follow him into his house but he had locked the door... I decided I needed to take this one step further. I picked the lock on his door and quitly made my way around his house. He had a couple scraps of food, a book and a pistol. I tried to pick pocket him while he was asleep to see what he had as personal effects. This woke him up and startled him both you could see on his face. He looked over to see if the pistol was still in the correct place. I was NOT, this is when he began to panic and got up to head for the door. I shot him in the back, (I know, so mean) he went down with one blast to the head. This is only ONE NPC in the game and not a very important one at that.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#ffffff;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Another aspect that is improved upon with F3's Radiant AI system is this; instead of having what is called a pathnod, this tells an AI NPC to walk / run / flee to a particular POINT. F3 made advancements to Radiant AI and created something called a navmesh, allowing the charter to “look” more intelligent by running to a particular AREA, instead of a particular point. They will run behind rocks, buildings, cars, other people, they will do “almost” anything to protect themselves, including running away if you are about to kick the crap out of them. <strong>This is an important quality that A.I. No a days have to have or it is considered trash!</strong></span> </span></span></p>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-61927224618743333672008-12-03T02:40:00.000-08:002008-12-04T19:32:14.330-08:00Part 1 - Art Deco ProjectPart 1 of my End of Semester Project for SGD112_85<br /><br />Made with:<br /><br /><strong>Websites</strong><br /><br />google.maps.com<br />youtube.com<br />blogger.com<br /><br /><strong>Programs</strong><br /><br />Windows Movie Maker<br />Divx<br />Google Earth<br />Capture Wiz (Screen Capture)<br /><br />------------------------------<br /><br /><strong>Here is a direct link to the video on youtube.com, you can watch it in High Def if you would like.</strong> <br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2RLjN6UmQ - Part #1<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX7pjLL6XR8 - Part #2<br /><br /><br /><strong>Here is the embed copy, this is Low Def.</strong><br /><br />Part #1 - Deco<br /><br /><object width="340" height="285"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9n2RLjN6UmQ&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9n2RLjN6UmQ&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="340" height="285"></embed></object><br /><br />------------------------------<br /><br /><strong>Here is the embed copy, this is Low Def.</strong><br /><br />Part #2 - Cubism<br /><br /><object width="340" height="285"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vX7pjLL6XR8&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vX7pjLL6XR8&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="340" height="285"></embed></object>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-26198252385599796992008-10-29T18:46:00.000-07:002008-10-29T18:59:41.196-07:00The Future of Gameplay Mechanics…Thoughts on the future of gameplay mechanics… This is a VERY open ended question, so I will attempt to answer it with an open ended answer. My first thoughts on this question contain three elements.<br /><br />------------------------------------------<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZ_vpLEWxu6QFLFvOY34kqm3mXE0lzSqxKyuMevKiyAZZpRRGzZ8Be2uB0p2mF5-0VJZ2lxES-gCfnoHVoSmeiuuIDlW_5legfNX2_V37feKubjV3Rr-Dhs7hZKc9dTwzjEkz-d8jCBY/s1600-h/cod-4-halo-3-1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZ_vpLEWxu6QFLFvOY34kqm3mXE0lzSqxKyuMevKiyAZZpRRGzZ8Be2uB0p2mF5-0VJZ2lxES-gCfnoHVoSmeiuuIDlW_5legfNX2_V37feKubjV3Rr-Dhs7hZKc9dTwzjEkz-d8jCBY/s320/cod-4-halo-3-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262757953169482402" /></a><br /><br />The first and major change I think will occur with futuristic games will be with movement system and your combat abilities. Imagine this, Assassin’s Creed meets Call of Duty 4 with a splash of Halo 3… Assassin’s creed has some of the most powerful movement system ever brought to next generation consoles, being able to climb almost any wall you see, or being to find an alternate route. Now if you mixed this movement system in with a game like COD4 that has some of the most realistic graphics in relation to weaponry as well an extremely well polished combat system you would have an incredibly realistic game that would be able to successful cross genres. Then if you were able to bring in Halo’s approach to AI (flanking, waiting, stalking), you would only increase the overall realism and fun that is only possible with the use of resources given by next generation consoles. <br /><br />------------------------------------------<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBsiDw34157qHeEWbv7aBF6xDlcbrvxkrCCUQxGuYq8GhNz6Iks7VpttlCoJriwhZ4ZHFC8ssgVnBwR0yZnWHXJkOXevvzUTTDHohKVexYf4P-Zi-JQwXf-MrUNda75EfDGVPNtVYnWo/s1600-h/assacreed_01.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 161px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBsiDw34157qHeEWbv7aBF6xDlcbrvxkrCCUQxGuYq8GhNz6Iks7VpttlCoJriwhZ4ZHFC8ssgVnBwR0yZnWHXJkOXevvzUTTDHohKVexYf4P-Zi-JQwXf-MrUNda75EfDGVPNtVYnWo/s320/assacreed_01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262758892308094882" /></a><br /><br />The second change I think will take place with futuristic games is there approach to level design and sand box design. With most games there is some level of storyline, but I think most games we will take a less linear approach and a more open approach just like in real life. If I want to go to one part of the game and do a certain amount of jobs / quests and then come back and work on the main story line or do some other type of quest, I should not get penalized, but the main game should get harder as I do different quests, and should self adjust to what I have in my inventory.<br /><br />------------------------------------------<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuggovrqKgs9OQ1P1hvLNYPImfLw-4qjWEG5lTZrlS2t_aB1-GOZq3wYTYO8q3he4EwBri9LoVJqMOuesTefNqC0aXp8-JDNdjzCZSheqpEptCe7QPANdWHNCQCTRF1Fher-RvlCPDqNk/s1600-h/mp5_1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuggovrqKgs9OQ1P1hvLNYPImfLw-4qjWEG5lTZrlS2t_aB1-GOZq3wYTYO8q3he4EwBri9LoVJqMOuesTefNqC0aXp8-JDNdjzCZSheqpEptCe7QPANdWHNCQCTRF1Fher-RvlCPDqNk/s320/mp5_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262759611342360930" /></a><br /><br />The final difference I think we will see is the blurring of lines between mini-play and mega-play. This is not to say that they will go away totality but the “mini-games” will be required to enter a specific aspect of the game, going from mini to mega and opening some other part of the game. With games now a days there is just so much space to fill that unless you have mini-games the game will become boring quickly, but if you can step back and play a whole other type of game, this increases the playability factor substantially. You could also use the mini games to be the only way to reach some type of end goal of the mini games, increasing the ability to master a whole other set of skills that in turn could be used in the mega-play…Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-81671235239834057582008-10-27T19:19:00.000-07:002008-10-27T19:31:30.624-07:00Repetition regarding storyline, level and characters.The three games I will discuss repetition on are; Oblivion, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Need for Speed: Most Wanted.<br /><br />---------------------------<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx93mxZLRxzOQdwmHaWyay0F9vf-eV_Q9iItTXsPRlUiHV3bCFTrEnOUdAvhwf8dpj161hZErQseT3i2O1p_YCafMmB8g5MrZ-iE5pqmiuPrTals9GuaP6_LZKahNE0NFLmFsYo7kAvFE/s1600-h/TES4-SpellTomes02.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 112px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx93mxZLRxzOQdwmHaWyay0F9vf-eV_Q9iItTXsPRlUiHV3bCFTrEnOUdAvhwf8dpj161hZErQseT3i2O1p_YCafMmB8g5MrZ-iE5pqmiuPrTals9GuaP6_LZKahNE0NFLmFsYo7kAvFE/s200/TES4-SpellTomes02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262026471066156770" /></a><br />The first game I will discuss in regards to repetition is Oblivion. This is a massive story / quest driven game so there is of course going to be some needed repetition through out the game. A couple of examples of repetition nature of this game are; the people you encounter and or the people you are forced to battle with, the quests for the most part are go collect something and return it for some kind of reward, the final type of repetition I noticed was with Alchemy and mixing plants to create some type of new spell. Going out and collecting plant after plant was a bit tedious but all in all it wasn’t to bad. The only thing I would have changed would have been the way we were rewarded for doing something, why not upgrade our abilities instead of giving us something to put on that would increase that one specific ability. All in all the stated repetitions did not hurt the game play it just made some parts harder and longer to play then others. <br /><br />---------------------------<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChCsadsQ86pmbb8WnY9k4y6hYtecYlBHiCF0L6ZOdSgv4kLX16fUgsUjhJx5xNDTcmSR5VwXs1IAAdCMpmhO2uAlkhiDPL0ITw9yhnHivLJmyhoVrhNa3I4PajHg2QZsAJsI14DQEQLw/s1600-h/call_of_duty_4_modern_warfare__pc__.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 88px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChCsadsQ86pmbb8WnY9k4y6hYtecYlBHiCF0L6ZOdSgv4kLX16fUgsUjhJx5xNDTcmSR5VwXs1IAAdCMpmhO2uAlkhiDPL0ITw9yhnHivLJmyhoVrhNa3I4PajHg2QZsAJsI14DQEQLw/s200/call_of_duty_4_modern_warfare__pc__.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262026607588360978" /></a><br />The Second game I will touch on is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The repetition aspect I found in this game was the online part, the prestige levels (1-55) you have to progress from 1 to 55 all while getting new guns and perk upgrades. In a way this kind of fun, because you get to get better at the game and figure out which guns are better for different levels, but to truly beat the game you have to go and beat every level 55 times and as you progress 10 times it makes for it to be a bit repetitive. <br /><br />---------------------------<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wG3ZDaZCzKSS_XtYXMPpCADFURTWKiF3OO5ObaOc8U1OCJdUNzCAKGBulkhRbu5_3HQKo-Wbse_SLsTybbnehyO3aA70c2wbi8jVAeGaNa7ONIDBKYJ5kWDYGwWgwBmV53Be2AC7lss/s1600-h/fp-img-2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wG3ZDaZCzKSS_XtYXMPpCADFURTWKiF3OO5ObaOc8U1OCJdUNzCAKGBulkhRbu5_3HQKo-Wbse_SLsTybbnehyO3aA70c2wbi8jVAeGaNa7ONIDBKYJ5kWDYGwWgwBmV53Be2AC7lss/s200/fp-img-2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262026723703492258" /></a><br />The final game I will discuss is Need for Speed: Most Wanted. I found that your missions and boards were very repetitive. Your missions were 1 of 2 types, working for the mob (bad guys) or for the FBI(good guys). I wish there had been more options then just two. Also, there should have been as many levels as there were game types. This could have been fixed by spending a little bit more time on creating more levels nad not just flipping the levels around to run the course backwards. Gamers know when you take the easy way out and just change the boards by running the track backwards. <br /><strong></strong>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-76022012062044758512008-10-27T15:51:00.000-07:002008-10-27T16:00:29.504-07:00Progressions and Advancements in three gamesThe Three games I have decided to discuss progression on are; Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Socom: Confrontation and Grand Turismo 5: Prologue.<br /><br />---------------------------------<br /><BR><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDzE0Oh_Y6_urMfg6c6L_BWoPRMk8iDQk-TBdqUXeomzFxOHgtXieRFr8bjphV63ddiBaOPd-eUTiAv4yrbLOuP62Qqv3UALEJI4bc731RmxP0rQGghrzEPpKrisrHk5HPWJR968pYPa0/s1600-h/untitled.bmp"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 124px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDzE0Oh_Y6_urMfg6c6L_BWoPRMk8iDQk-TBdqUXeomzFxOHgtXieRFr8bjphV63ddiBaOPd-eUTiAv4yrbLOuP62Qqv3UALEJI4bc731RmxP0rQGghrzEPpKrisrHk5HPWJR968pYPa0/s320/untitled.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261972360206205058" /></a><br /><BR><br />The first game I will discuss (keeping to my normal pattern) is COD4. When I think about progression with COD4 I think about the different prestige levels and different aspects of weapon advancement. In my previous blog post I talked about prestige levels so please feel free to reference that. The weapon progression works like this; all three weapon classes have different upgrades you can attach to make your gun easier to use, there are different camouflage patterns you can unlock by achieving a certain amount of required head shoots, the final upgrade you can achieve are perk upgrades you can apply to certain classes that you as the user create. <br /><br />---------------------------------<br /><BR><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjh3QjI85VlYSRKWoJGrjkfh046kdhbJh7uDtiU5ooCbBbnMvcMvPq7GhmwpzAk3-9ys5zU35gDxyT8YsZhVqrmFPg4UbkcIMVPfL_IPU0nw_vrzHd8Y_iBiKwGuvMI3YaSgbep6joLA/s1600-h/wallpaper_socom_confrontation_01_1600.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjh3QjI85VlYSRKWoJGrjkfh046kdhbJh7uDtiU5ooCbBbnMvcMvPq7GhmwpzAk3-9ys5zU35gDxyT8YsZhVqrmFPg4UbkcIMVPfL_IPU0nw_vrzHd8Y_iBiKwGuvMI3YaSgbep6joLA/s320/wallpaper_socom_confrontation_01_1600.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261971693052315170" /></a><br /><BR><br />The second game I will review for progression aspects are, Socom: Confrontation. I have only recently bought this game so for the progression I have noticed so far are in rankings. This is typical for most military games. This consists of your rank, how long you have played, how many deaths you have caused, how many deaths you have received, headshots, time played, etc… This ranking system is a global one so all of the other players can compare how well they are doing against the world. <br /><br />---------------------------------<br /><BR><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGMqpBYszSku2WSuVromS5kynaoV3eiN_TZtRlpJMafUEPSgtnK0SQxkA-os62Hj3V6SfLm1Vmzcf1K-2Zat3eLdzXdBy1yWWeP_jlZz8SmGQMsZVAI3_idR_3Vcpg3V1VkE70L0oUlKI/s1600-h/GTPrologue.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 277px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGMqpBYszSku2WSuVromS5kynaoV3eiN_TZtRlpJMafUEPSgtnK0SQxkA-os62Hj3V6SfLm1Vmzcf1K-2Zat3eLdzXdBy1yWWeP_jlZz8SmGQMsZVAI3_idR_3Vcpg3V1VkE70L0oUlKI/s320/GTPrologue.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261971947717862274" /></a><br /><BR><br />The third and final game I will talk about is Grand Turismo 5: Prologue. This is a fantastic racing game exclusive for Play Station. Progression is measured in the form of unlocks. You have car unlocks and you also have car paraphernalia unlocks, these are different things you can add to your car like spoilers, mufflers, nitro, tires, rims, etc… In addition to all of these upgrades you can also view an online ranking system that other people can compare to your rank to see how they are doing against different friends and the world.Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-12105692584015653532008-10-22T14:16:00.000-07:002008-10-22T14:30:12.671-07:00Playability and Addiction Elements in Three GamesThe three games I have decided to review for playability and addiction element are: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, The Darkness, and Grand Theft Auto IV. <br /><br />--------------------------------------<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.product-reviews.net/wp-content/userimages/2007/12/prestige-call-of-duty-4.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.product-reviews.net/wp-content/userimages/2007/12/prestige-call-of-duty-4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The first game I will discuss is <strong><em>Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare</em></strong>. The main reason I play this game continuity is the online play / environment. It’s nice to step out of my body after a long day at the office, being on your best behavior, to talking smack and kicking the shit out of someone who things there better then you! I have (not that I’m proud of this) 28 days, 13 hours and 47 minutes invested in my top online account. I am also ranked 287th in the world with a top level prestige (gold cross), this game also sold 3,000,000 copies, so to be ranked in the top 500 is a accomplishment I am proud of. <br /><br />The other two main reasons I play this game religiously is graphics and realism. The graphics created for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare are top of the line. They are some of the best I feel, for any next generation console. The realism portrayed in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare online are by far the most realistic I have ever played. Its kind of funny, now when I see movies or military TV shows I’m like, “look, it’s a silenced MP5 with an ACOG scope”. Before playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, I never really knew anything about guns or weapons in general, but now I can almost name what type of gun is being used by the sound or how it looks. <br /><br />--------------------------------------<br /><br /><a href="http://www.games32.com/web4/games_catalog/games/The-Darkness-PS3/images/md_14576.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.games32.com/web4/games_catalog/games/The-Darkness-PS3/images/md_14576.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The second game I will review is <strong><em>The Darkness</em></strong>. This game lacks in multiple areas, but the largest area I identified is its linear approach to game play. There is only one way to play through this game and beat it. They do give you upgrades but only to help you complete the game as directed. The other two areas I noticed were graphics and game environment. The graphics are choppy at best, when you kill your enemy by ripping there heart out, sometimes you have no idea if you killed them or not, because most of the time you are forced to use your demons to kill, a major game mechanic, and a weak one at that. <br /><br />The environment is 100% played in darkness, hence the name “The Darkness”, this make the play extremely dark and very hard to play! One of the mechanics used to try and help this problem is also a failed attempt. The “heat sensor vision” is like seeing the world threw the eyes of your attached demons. As stated earlier there is a good chance you are going to run into the enemy you are stalking or be seen by them and this will make it much harder to sneak up on them. <br /><br />--------------------------------------<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gadgetreview.com/wp-content/gallery/grand-theft-auto-4-multiplayer-screenshots/Grandtheft4_Multiplayer-4.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.gadgetreview.com/wp-content/gallery/grand-theft-auto-4-multiplayer-screenshots/Grandtheft4_Multiplayer-4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The third and final game I will discuss the playability factor on is <strong><em>GTA IV</em></strong>. One of the reasons I have GTA IV is because of its sandbox style game play. This allows you to have as much freedom as you decided to use. There are hundreds of side missions you can decide to complete if you chose to, if not, the main story line is not effected either way. Another factor related to its playability is the online play. Rockstar did a great job in the design of the online element piece. There are over eight online modes that can be played with tones of customization options also, making online that much more fun. The final addiction element I’ll discuss is one of the larger mechanics GTA IV has worked on is it’s driving element. This is a much more specific topic that I personally find interesting and that others may not. Any car you decide to steal, buy or win have there own physics set associated with them, making different car brands more fun, hard, fast, slow, handle better, corner better, etc… increasing the need to spend more time trying to find and master all of the car types.Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-19713986263903663202008-10-15T16:35:00.000-07:002008-10-15T16:55:21.327-07:00Three breadths of choiceThe three game titles I have selected to analyze the choices that are given and discuses the outcome of the choices are;<BR> <strong>The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion</strong>:<BR> <strong>Grand Theft Auto IV</strong><BR> <strong>Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent</strong>.<br /><br /><br /><br />------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvGY6kbBWHLUxFnBxp9Nl9HWbnnQYUOZlOJptVtQmwZz80_1RHLeh75m3Ljo8jamLW_JAi11tRwiNamnamXMZAfumg1DBZe8MaxdrMKIjP1pr11eF2Pj8XzHmcfL9hjjYyffRpRQG9zQ/s1600-h/The-Elder-Scrolls-IV--Oblivion---Game-of-the-Year--3.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvGY6kbBWHLUxFnBxp9Nl9HWbnnQYUOZlOJptVtQmwZz80_1RHLeh75m3Ljo8jamLW_JAi11tRwiNamnamXMZAfumg1DBZe8MaxdrMKIjP1pr11eF2Pj8XzHmcfL9hjjYyffRpRQG9zQ/s320/The-Elder-Scrolls-IV--Oblivion---Game-of-the-Year--3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257530353998484770" /></a><br />The first game I would like to discuss is <strong>Oblivion</strong>. There are thousands of possible choices you can make in this sand box style RPG that will change little bits and pieces of the game. The part I am at in the game at the moment is dealing with Vampires. I have heard talk from friends about what the effects where but wanted to find out for myself for this assignment. I went and found the first vampire I could find. This is what happens...<br /><br /><strong>***Spoiler***</strong><br /><br />I have played the game as a non-vampire, very much enjoyed it and decided I wanted to try to finish it as a Vamp. It didn't take long for me to fight a vamp and get bit, it took three to four days for the effect to kick in, but once it did, trust me you know it! My skin begin to change and my eyes started turning dark red... this was not cool, people would not talk to me and I could not walk around in the day light. I decided I needed to start thinking like a vamp, I decided to try and attack someone for there blood, this didn't work very well, I was easily hurt by fire, but was VERRRRYYYY strong in other ways, this was good to know. Luckily one night I went to rob someone, while they were sleeping and the feed option was there in my dialog box. I decided to feed no matter what it did to the other person (NPC), I needed to get better, and better I got. I was able to rest and go out in the sun, not for long but it was better then before. My skin started to change back to normal, not 100% but at least some people would talk to me, and I could get some of my quests going again. I have been playing as a vamp for a good 2 weeks now, and it is very different then playing as a normal person but it does have some benefits; Night Eye, Vampire's Seduction, Reign of Terror and Embrace of Shadows to name a few. Some of the downfalls are; Weakness to Fire (you are always weak to fire, but even more so now!), Weakness to daylight (meaning you have to work in the night, hindering your ability to acquire missions), Character changes to look like a vamp (hindering your ability to talk to NPC and get missions). I have not finished the game yet but can tell you this, it is far more difficult to play as a vamp. There is a cure out there and I may just have to start looking for it...<br /><br /><br /><br />------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSG8wwIGnJjF61uqt2c3m7znKxtKe-6zhGo1Zo4D8CLhEmz9xjxIjAfz-uA0KNuN0QyEKg9cz8PQrM2GZuEqVPCatcamV1kCqTaKbVB7HEiaGuJNePvDzfW28Jn6CfJEi4FRkWEtiLwZE/s1600-h/grand-theft-auto-iv1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSG8wwIGnJjF61uqt2c3m7znKxtKe-6zhGo1Zo4D8CLhEmz9xjxIjAfz-uA0KNuN0QyEKg9cz8PQrM2GZuEqVPCatcamV1kCqTaKbVB7HEiaGuJNePvDzfW28Jn6CfJEi4FRkWEtiLwZE/s320/grand-theft-auto-iv1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257531180294721362" /></a><br />The second game I decide to play around with the choices is <strong>GTA IV</strong>. This is a classic final mission choice.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><strong>***Spoiler***</strong><br /><br />There are two choices at the end of the game you can decide from. We will call the first one Deal and the second one Revenge. <br /><br />If you decide to do Deal (take the money), Romen who is Nikos cousin dies at the wedding and you later find out that Romen was going to be a father. <br /><br />If you decide to seek Revenge then Kate who is Nikos love interest get shot by accident. At Romen's wedding they decide that if they have a girl they will name it Kate to honor her. <br /><br />I will be 100% honest with you. I really did not care for either of the ending. <br /><br />In Deal you have to make a deal with Dimitri, which is stupid because you know it's not going to work anyway. Of course, Dimitri betrays you and you end up with a weird and unsatisfactory $250,000 which just feels out of the blue. On the upside, Roman gets killed which makes for a "wow" moment and Dimitri becomes your "final enemy".<br /><br />In Revenge you get to kill Dimitri right then and there which feels much more satisfying. Unfortunately, Kate is the one who gets killed which feels very "so what" and Pegorino somehow becomes the "final enemy" which feels very anticlimactic. <br /><br /><br /><br />------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTrAVlcgYsfMfTemH1bo5YG5AQLVQscPnEhq8qwIkcudYNo8cjHTitTNcZ2_ZJ-E3lBqH1-v2Wo8aJhstVAZsvnf4u_clbwk8o5LRS8mupxPq4cjfJp97X0jxOKtGVsY-0xryYfYaf6bI/s1600-h/ICON0.PNG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTrAVlcgYsfMfTemH1bo5YG5AQLVQscPnEhq8qwIkcudYNo8cjHTitTNcZ2_ZJ-E3lBqH1-v2Wo8aJhstVAZsvnf4u_clbwk8o5LRS8mupxPq4cjfJp97X0jxOKtGVsY-0xryYfYaf6bI/s320/ICON0.PNG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257533041235015618" /></a><br />The final game I decide to make a choice in was <strong>Splinter Cell: Double Agent</strong>, this was by far the easiest choice for me to make. While yes, you have a trust meter that must be monitored by the player to see who's good graces you are currently on JBA = Bad Guy / NSA = Good Guy. There is a choice toward the middle of the game where Sam Fisher (the main character) must decide if he is going to kill his boss to get on the good side of the JBA. I decided to replay this part of the game but do it both ways to see if there were any effects that happened with this action. I had played the “good guy” way and taken the gun and turned on the JBA agent and rescued my boss the first go round, this made it harder to finish the level because I was in the JBA's headquarters, but I just thought it was the right thing to do. Now, that I have been asked to play the other way, it makes it that much more fun. I took the pistol in my hand given to me by the bad guys and aimed it at him, fired it once, it was over. My meter dropped down almost falling off the chart but leaving me just enough to not have the game end. Was this it? I had killed a good guy, shouldn't I be attacked by the good guys or something... nothing... It made it easier to finish the mission I must say because they all trust me now, but the NSA had now formed trust issues with me, rightfully so! I thought that there would be a big deal made about it but I guess the meter is more for me to keep myself in check and not necessarily help me go down a non linear path.Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-75730922288329027762008-10-14T08:45:00.000-07:002008-10-14T09:35:29.862-07:00Roles, Movement Systems, Objects, and Behavior Patterns with Three Characters.The three characters I have decided to discuss are; <strong>Master Chief</strong> (Halo 1- 3), <strong>Solid Snake</strong> (Metal Gear Solid 1 – 4) and <strong>Altair</strong> (Assassin's Creed). These are three strong characters that I play as on a fairly regular basis. <br /><br />------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6dgv2nDD4YKP4uo6cRkGtF47YKyNWtsdXAU2fUK2MASHhltjRe0uxb84OqUEu6QrDqreZfGFztiyL7IdRAwhh9Ke-uvE0BKMQLnWx5VPqs3Na37hxlqGUkd5WPTqa6G5UPsN_9YZsgDY/s1600-h/MasterChiefHalo.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6dgv2nDD4YKP4uo6cRkGtF47YKyNWtsdXAU2fUK2MASHhltjRe0uxb84OqUEu6QrDqreZfGFztiyL7IdRAwhh9Ke-uvE0BKMQLnWx5VPqs3Na37hxlqGUkd5WPTqa6G5UPsN_9YZsgDY/s320/MasterChiefHalo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257037411055910498" /></a><br /><br />Some of Master Chiefs <em>roles</em> in Halo would consist of:<br /><br /><strong>Leader</strong>: Lead other troops into battle, they will not start a battle until you are ready to do so.<br /><strong>Warrior</strong>: You fight to the death or until the level is finished<br /><br />Master Chief has four main <em>movement</em> sets to be discussed:<br /><br /><strong>Run</strong>: You have the ability to break out into a full sprint<br /><strong>Walk</strong>: This is the default movement, and what you do before you run<br /><strong>Punch</strong>: You can perform this action while walking or running (less realistic while running)<br /><strong>Climb</strong>: You have the ability to climb latter's but your jump is so high you can almost jump anywhere in this game <br /><br />Master Chief comes with the ability to carry <em>objects</em> that can be used later or to help defeat different enemies, listed below are a couple of items that are objects in the game:<br /><br /><strong>Assault Rifle</strong>: This is your default weapon that you start with<br /><strong>Plasma Grenades</strong>: These are the default grenades that you start the game with<br /><br />Some of the <em>behavior patterns</em> associated with Master Chief are:<br /><br /><strong>Invisibility</strong>: If you acquire the correct item, you can become invisible for a short period of time <br /><strong>Working in a Group</strong>: You are assigned soldiers you can lead into battle, but only when you engage the enemy<br /><strong>Strafing</strong>: You can move side to side while firing your weapon, to avoid enemy fire.<br /><br />------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigBDkFjPBhOWsFA4b9sLZH_s998-OBt48yEEtSAlm9MO60Hw1m-g1HI1QM3x8yyqYGiSRB3ZRA8xXgpsuaM0KzQe7D9y5DffrZ7dKSZRHe-YjDCp0O44p-_W36RFi3FuUgac25wssV-30/s1600-h/Konami_Revs_Metal_Gear_Solid_Silent_Hill-1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigBDkFjPBhOWsFA4b9sLZH_s998-OBt48yEEtSAlm9MO60Hw1m-g1HI1QM3x8yyqYGiSRB3ZRA8xXgpsuaM0KzQe7D9y5DffrZ7dKSZRHe-YjDCp0O44p-_W36RFi3FuUgac25wssV-30/s320/Konami_Revs_Metal_Gear_Solid_Silent_Hill-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257038953625305154" /></a><br /><br />The <em>roles</em> taken on my Solid Snake in metal gear solid are:<br /><br /><strong>Spy</strong>: You can attempt to finish the level without detection or sounding alarms. <br /><strong>Soldier</strong>: The object of the game is to fight your way throw, to the end of the board, you can pick sides and help them or you can hurt both sides <br /><br />Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid is better with movement then Master Chief is, here are some <em>movement</em> sets from Metal Gear Solid:<br /><br /><strong>Walk</strong>: When you walk you are harder to notice then when running or shooting.<br /><strong>Run</strong>: When you run if you are near an enemy they will hear you and it will make it harder to get away<br /><strong>Crawl</strong>: When you crawl one of the larger game play mechanics kick in. Your clothing change into the color of what ever you are crawling in to help you blend in better.<br /><strong>Jump</strong>: You do have the ability to jump, but it is not very high, it is used to try and pull yourself up to the next ledge or story level. <br /><strong>Climb</strong>: You can climb latter's and boxes to try and better your vantage point.<br /><br />When you start Metal Gear Solid you are not given any <em>objects</em> to help you, but as time goes on you acquire many objects, here are some of the objects you can acquire:<br /><br /><strong>Solid Eye</strong> (a MAJOR Mechanic): This is a unique way for Solid to turn on a off the HUD, it will also help you tell who is good and bad as well as find different objects. <br /><strong>Mark IV</strong> (a MAJOR Mechanic): This is a useful robot you are given to pick up objects in hard to reach areas as well as stun your enemy with out you having to move and put yourself in harms way. <br /><strong>Guns</strong>: You are able to buy or find guns around the level that have been dropped by dead NPC's.<br /><strong>Boxes / Barrels</strong>: A box can be a perfect way to move around a level unnoticed you can also get inside of a barrel and move around<br /><br />The <em>behavior patterns</em> found in MGS, by Snake are: <br /><br /><strong>attacking alone</strong>: There is only one part of the game that you work in a team environment, all other times you are solo.<br /><strong>invisibility</strong>: you are not truly invisible, but there is a meter in your HUD that shows how well hidden you are.<br /><strong>distance</strong>: you can decide how you want to play this game, getting close to the enemy or keeping your distance.<br /><br />------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3c9H7Cm7fql3m-GVAFAaKHvVeMErUGw8mEyAKm2eiRRfJqqQNMvr_xEyoKuD125CPZkUzT9NI2W1iDfaDMAZBvnAIcfpN2RMnKKXJeqROiS0tC9GU0M71xXgW9-akK4OqWaHuHAekudg/s1600-h/assassins-creed-20070710000750338.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3c9H7Cm7fql3m-GVAFAaKHvVeMErUGw8mEyAKm2eiRRfJqqQNMvr_xEyoKuD125CPZkUzT9NI2W1iDfaDMAZBvnAIcfpN2RMnKKXJeqROiS0tC9GU0M71xXgW9-akK4OqWaHuHAekudg/s320/assassins-creed-20070710000750338.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257039829110287362" /></a><br /><br />In assassin's creed, you play as Altair, some of the <em>roles</em> assumed by your character are:<br /><br /><strong>Assassin</strong>: You must assassinate enemies and help the innocent all while trying to stay undetected.<br /><strong>Student</strong>: As you progress level to level you learn different and better moves, as well as acquire bigger and better weapons. <br /><br />Assassin's Creed has one of the best <em>movement</em> systems ever created compared to other next gen video games:<br /><br /><strong>Walk</strong>: When walking you draw less attraction to yourself as in most games<br /><strong>Sneak</strong>: You go into a type of prayer stance allowing you to blend with your surroundings. <br /><strong>Run / Sprint</strong>: If you run into someone while you are in sprint mode you will trip and lose your balance, also if you hit a wall at full force it will damage you and make you lose your balance<br /><strong>Climb</strong> (a MAJOR Mechanic): You can climb almost anything in the game, if you can't climb it you can find your way around<br /><strong>Dive</strong>: aka “Leap of Faith” you get to the highest point and get a better vantage point, then dive from thousands of feet up into a hay cart allowing you to hide if need be<br /><strong>Hide</strong>: In rooms, hay carts, rooftop terraces as well as many other<br /><br />Altair caries a couple of <em>objects</em> from the beginning but also acquires some as you progress:<br /><br /><strong>Assassination Knife</strong>: This is your default knife you start the game with, can be brought out when needed without detection<br /><strong>Sword</strong>: You carry a sword on your back at all times, you can switch between this sword and you assassination knife with one button. <br /><br />Altair has a huge library of <em>behavior patterns</em>, I will attempt to name a few here:<br /><br /><strong>solo attack</strong>: you never fight with a group in assassin's creed, this is a strictly solo playing game.<br /><strong>blocking</strong>: when you are fighting enemy's you can use your knifes and swords to attack or to defend.<br /><strong>invisibility</strong>: when you hide in roof top terraces or hay carts no one can see or find you, this makes you some what invisible. The other instance of invisibility, is when you go into your prayer stance, you can walk right past guards if you are in a group of monks praying.Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-54253388233009837502008-10-01T10:10:00.000-07:002008-10-01T11:52:39.463-07:00Ray-Hound ReviewThe game I have chosen to review is call Ray-Hound. It was created by Hikoza T. Ohkubo and is a free game you can find here. The reason I chose to play this game and review it is because one of my other classes has it as a free play game of the week and decided that I was already going to play it, I might as well review it for 112-85 also.
<br />
<br />
<br /> <strong>Gameplay</strong><BR><embed src='http://www.gcast.com/go/gcastplayer?xmlurl=http://www.gcast.com/u/slacktivist/part1.xml&autoplay=no&repeat=no&colorChoice=3' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' quality='high' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer' width='145' height='155'></embed>The concepts and mechanics of Ray-Hound are extremely unique in that I have never had the opportunity to play a game with the emphasis placed on winning or succeeding by using physics and/or trajectories. When I say using physics and trajectories, I understand that all games are based off of that to some extent, but this game relies on it as one of it's main game play mechanics. The game starts in it's “paused” position (Fig 1)
<br />
<br />(Fig. 1)
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4SGUqCqSUo4RpRX9jJDaImomSWbrJz_1HFQ4EKPfP2AAHhMxn7AD9pHaynE5rpuGqZcO-oA6ML1dcHl_LM_3rJSY-E74svruiytSAlHyM6pP1o5TWZIz8zbCUICfm6Kl0Tg0dVPav8w4/s1600-h/Start+Screen.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4SGUqCqSUo4RpRX9jJDaImomSWbrJz_1HFQ4EKPfP2AAHhMxn7AD9pHaynE5rpuGqZcO-oA6ML1dcHl_LM_3rJSY-E74svruiytSAlHyM6pP1o5TWZIz8zbCUICfm6Kl0Tg0dVPav8w4/s200/Start+Screen.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252236546103651810" /></a>
<br />
<br />and after you click to start the game you are instantly transported to the beginning of the game (Fig 2)
<br />
<br />(Fig. 2)
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThQpo7qqGOW-IK0lw2HdXK81Z4I6jtr3_qgXcOFrEslKWe-DouY5PN1yAY17jtmtSSV_wiMB1SXHUP3pa12gzPcGD1xJl6nzoXahVc_vJtGK3ZKZWYP7-vpAHghQqSzM1jFmbpvxb-Do/s1600-h/Ready+Start.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThQpo7qqGOW-IK0lw2HdXK81Z4I6jtr3_qgXcOFrEslKWe-DouY5PN1yAY17jtmtSSV_wiMB1SXHUP3pa12gzPcGD1xJl6nzoXahVc_vJtGK3ZKZWYP7-vpAHghQqSzM1jFmbpvxb-Do/s200/Ready+Start.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252236724332044738" /></a>
<br />
<br />Almost immediately you understand how to move (not explained, but with experimentation), you use the mouse to control your direction & speed. If you build up enough speed by moving forward you begin to boost yourself, you can tell you are boosting because the front of your ship will change to a “boost” image (Fig. 3)
<br />
<br />(Fig. 3)
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHat-A_FOIskxPugZ72XYJK7WtP146tSsXr0JFGnd-LjBpCvWZoVldsjLgt4Rcfx0mvZ_g-hpvgJ2cpcZF3u7s9zfntwgmLUj6AF9bTp1AvbNj9VwXQhkE0dmOZZHOWrbrwJZ7QAiUn4Q/s1600-h/boost.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHat-A_FOIskxPugZ72XYJK7WtP146tSsXr0JFGnd-LjBpCvWZoVldsjLgt4Rcfx0mvZ_g-hpvgJ2cpcZF3u7s9zfntwgmLUj6AF9bTp1AvbNj9VwXQhkE0dmOZZHOWrbrwJZ7QAiUn4Q/s200/boost.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252237179340203714" /></a>
<br />
<br />this will also help you avoid and return fire from enemies, this will be expanded upon in detail later in the review. One of the other things you notice right off the gate is how to use your force field, this is accomplished by left mouse clicking, this is also the games other main game play mechanic. (Fig. 4)
<br />
<br />(Fig. 4)
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq8rfDbZQsJGWDxA_i5odrRmwdFB5fMloeQBNwmbfPmVonTvOICWtrIs8pjclmzr4UM6sGi5r6-nv-yrwmPLWaxOByZ4xprELQ9li2JkIKjmvUQbySJ_MBxIkmRTjG_g_QVsl50U_iWD4/s1600-h/Force_Field.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq8rfDbZQsJGWDxA_i5odrRmwdFB5fMloeQBNwmbfPmVonTvOICWtrIs8pjclmzr4UM6sGi5r6-nv-yrwmPLWaxOByZ4xprELQ9li2JkIKjmvUQbySJ_MBxIkmRTjG_g_QVsl50U_iWD4/s200/Force_Field.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252237544377270834" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<br />The final aspect I will talk about under Gameplay is how to return the rockets that have been fired at you. One thing that sets this game apart from other games is that you can't start firing rockets as soon as you start playing, in fact, you never fire your own rockets at any point in the game. Your enemies fire rockets at you (Fig. 5)
<br />
<br />(Fig. 5)
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8cDHMLhg3qnJC8GcbzDrGtCz2D4wTId0EnG87XAvCmvd_LNxZHlN6PjvhFvwfbE3sdiy6rA9MAoQy_mZI31G90SxZd6CkT6TOvLqX5J4iDCxP4mbbBp5r1IV-B5o0U1Nvn-eUYLtQGZY/s1600-h/Rocket.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8cDHMLhg3qnJC8GcbzDrGtCz2D4wTId0EnG87XAvCmvd_LNxZHlN6PjvhFvwfbE3sdiy6rA9MAoQy_mZI31G90SxZd6CkT6TOvLqX5J4iDCxP4mbbBp5r1IV-B5o0U1Nvn-eUYLtQGZY/s200/Rocket.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252238052412258866" /></a>
<br />
<br />and the object of this game is to return the rockets fired at you back at your enemy's using your force field. If you can do this successfully and complete the level, time is added to the timer and allows you to play longer, acquiring more points, increasing your score. If you are touched by one of the enemy rockets, -10 seconds is subtracted from your timer, your timer starts with 180 seconds.
<br />
<br />
<br /> <strong>Graphics</strong><BR><embed src='http://www.gcast.com/go/gcastplayer?xmlurl=http://www.gcast.com/u/slacktivist/Part2.xml&autoplay=no&repeat=no&colorChoice=3' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' quality='high' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer' width='145' height='155'></embed> The graphics in this game are unique and fitting for the game. They do not crowd the screen by being the wrong size or so small that you have a hard time seeing them. There are 5 major graphics I found. There where 2 minor graphics I also found.
<br />
<br /><strong>Major</strong>
<br />
<br />1. Your space ship – this is easily controlled by the mouse.
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipVnkxp0Vemc5jl0xUeFvNm3BRKnb9ceSLa7DAUUcUONAkGrf4X1XVjthP_cnd-18S2ft-_kes9gx97aoLQQ-GTZsdUjySUXFb8i47ZuIt7Y6kRANZOfJ9OmwrjHju6B3t7Yx71KO0fZE/s1600-h/space_craft.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipVnkxp0Vemc5jl0xUeFvNm3BRKnb9ceSLa7DAUUcUONAkGrf4X1XVjthP_cnd-18S2ft-_kes9gx97aoLQQ-GTZsdUjySUXFb8i47ZuIt7Y6kRANZOfJ9OmwrjHju6B3t7Yx71KO0fZE/s320/space_craft.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252238734714912434" /></a>
<br />
<br />2. Your space ship (boost) – this is a bit harder to control because you are going faster.
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF88Zfk6RDL0ZGnUi20Pc_DVk-aEqz0295dxdCk77DHRsTRvpl7nv0s3sxk6Oj8YapwA7uvhd6FNhFep1VKMgbARTuZA4cRuXnia_gNZeYFNhKgoLsfiC9K2TFI_ZbkgdjqkTp49JMNms/s1600-h/space_ship_boost.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF88Zfk6RDL0ZGnUi20Pc_DVk-aEqz0295dxdCk77DHRsTRvpl7nv0s3sxk6Oj8YapwA7uvhd6FNhFep1VKMgbARTuZA4cRuXnia_gNZeYFNhKgoLsfiC9K2TFI_ZbkgdjqkTp49JMNms/s320/space_ship_boost.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252239003599250658" /></a>
<br />
<br />3. Your space ship (Force Field) – you can stay still or move around with you FF active.
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ur3NQFwAyIkBAVpVXYcL_nK0VF3oaqms5xZPPwGCX5NUwS8z_cXZi-YKh6dOZaXtQQReB1ngsqxjH8cNlppz9btLk4pQt7zXAOxds0ewsmTaq4LVijYVCZdk4WPyDo39wGeMml7aJtk/s1600-h/Force_Field.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ur3NQFwAyIkBAVpVXYcL_nK0VF3oaqms5xZPPwGCX5NUwS8z_cXZi-YKh6dOZaXtQQReB1ngsqxjH8cNlppz9btLk4pQt7zXAOxds0ewsmTaq4LVijYVCZdk4WPyDo39wGeMml7aJtk/s200/Force_Field.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252243887239028402" /></a>
<br />
<br />4. Your enemy – you can't do anything directly to them, only send back the rockets fired at you with your force field.
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqed2xyOt3XXdEoB-mjzoMqx1hccFP43x2ACTNyD6XVWqPbFRhJj8vrXtv6v2kMwdWJDhYLCNV13pMhhdap26XU1CJSP2TMWdBxuXY9L0WvhNV6pGKlRg0CcueAgNnkLhFIBEDuS-rso/s1600-h/Enemy.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqed2xyOt3XXdEoB-mjzoMqx1hccFP43x2ACTNyD6XVWqPbFRhJj8vrXtv6v2kMwdWJDhYLCNV13pMhhdap26XU1CJSP2TMWdBxuXY9L0WvhNV6pGKlRg0CcueAgNnkLhFIBEDuS-rso/s320/Enemy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252239803404593090" /></a>
<br />
<br />5. Your enemy's rockets – you can avoid them or return them with your force field
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmW0sZV82K96RQFh2ME09qi7-gHNpq2QnjutP1xXL-kaKIHCtkkSAxOCQOQpfyhjbX_xgIfzrNivNQOBcpqLpw64X-HFuErVyptuzKiZgjDAZqNi0KeTFew4k81Shnm6sj-4E3fV82Jk/s1600-h/enemy+with+rockets.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmW0sZV82K96RQFh2ME09qi7-gHNpq2QnjutP1xXL-kaKIHCtkkSAxOCQOQpfyhjbX_xgIfzrNivNQOBcpqLpw64X-HFuErVyptuzKiZgjDAZqNi0KeTFew4k81Shnm6sj-4E3fV82Jk/s200/enemy+with+rockets.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252244055901966578" /></a>
<br />
<br /><strong>Minor</strong>
<br />
<br />1. Background
<br />2. Score / Timer / Enemy's remaining
<br />
<br />
<br /><strong>Sounds</strong><BR><embed src='http://www.gcast.com/go/gcastplayer?xmlurl=http://www.gcast.com/u/slacktivist/Part3.xml&autoplay=no&repeat=no&colorChoice=3' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' quality='high' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer' width='145' height='155'></embed>One of the major let downs of this game is that there are NO sounds at all. There is no background music either. It would have been easy to throw in a little .midi file for explosion of the enemy's and or the main space ship and or a small .midi file for the firing of rockets in addition to level changes, they should play some type of transition music.
<br /> Another small addition I think that could have made the game better is to have some kind of background track that is set to repeat, nothing to much or repetitive but just something that lets you know you are still alive.
<br />
<br />
<br /><strong>Story</strong><br><embed src='http://www.gcast.com/go/gcastplayer?xmlurl=http://www.gcast.com/u/slacktivist/Part4.xml&autoplay=no&repeat=no&colorChoice=3' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' quality='high' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer' width='145' height='155'></embed>This was another part of the game I thought was lacking. There is no story line what so ever! It would've been nice to know why it is that we are fighting those enemy's.
<br /> If I were to develop the story line it would go something like this; a cut scene that shows you running to your ship, I would keep the animation simple to go along with the game play graphics, and in the background you see missiles heading toward you. You are able to jump in your ship just in time to get away, but one of the rockets hits you and damages your shooting system leading to the reason you are having to use the enemy's rockets against him. It would be simple but it would also be a good way to start out the game instead of just setting you in the middle of all of those bad guys.
<br />
<br />
<br /><strong>Learning Curve / Control Scheme</strong><BR><embed src='http://www.gcast.com/go/gcastplayer?xmlurl=http://www.gcast.com/u/slacktivist/Part5.xml&autoplay=no&repeat=no&colorChoice=3' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' quality='high' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer' width='145' height='155'>I have decided to put the two of these concepts together because there is no tutorial or button break down that I could find and the readme.txt is in another language.
<br /> You are dropped into the middle of battle as soon as the game starts. Nothing telling you how to move or fire. My first (and I assume most people's) idea is to move the mouse and see what happens. It works! I was able to gather that you move the mouse to move around the map but still had no idea that you can bounce enemy's rockets off of a boosted rocket. The way I found this out was by trying to get away from one of the rockets and colliding head on with another rocket, it bounced it off of me and into the enemy.
<br /> The next idea I had was to right click and left click to see what they did. Right click paused the game, allowing you to adjust the boost speed and resume. The left mouse button created some type of force field, but I still could not figure out how to fire back at them. Only until I was ready to give up did I realize that by “catching” the rockets with your force field you could return them at the enemy by timing it correctly and letting go of the field to send it flying back at them.
<br /> There are three main buttons / controls that are used in this game and not one of them is explained to you. It would've been nice to have a break down of the controls on the first screen before it started, something simple would have been fine, but on the other hand it is kind of fun figuring out what is what, but for the mass population I would guess they do not find this fun and would have quit the game before they had a chance to understand it.
<br /> To sum it up, the learning curve for such a simple, unique game was extremely high.
<br />
<br />
<br /><strong>Point Scale</strong><br><embed src='http://www.gcast.com/go/gcastplayer?xmlurl=http://www.gcast.com/u/slacktivist/Part6.xml&autoplay=no&repeat=no&colorChoice=3' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' quality='high' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer' width='145' height='155'></embed><BR><BR>+5 of 5 for original content and cutting edge concepts
<br />+3 of 5 for graphics, HUD, animations, background, sound
<br />+3 of 5 for playability
<br />+5 of 5 for portability, meaning that this would be a good choice to put on a phone, PDA, etc...
<br />+1 of 5 for instructions, learning curve
<br />+0 of 5 for story line
<br />
<br /><strong>I would would give this game 17 points out of 30.</strong>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-5892396196215307242008-09-24T13:20:00.000-07:002008-09-24T13:55:35.313-07:00Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in 3rd person!!?The game I have chosen to redesign is “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare”. I do not necessarily feel that the camera system needs to, or should be redesigned but if I did this is how it would effect the game play.
<br />
<br />Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a classic first person shooter. The aiming / targeting system takes place through the eyes of your character. When you decide that it is time to aim the gun, it gets brought out of it's default position, chest level, raising it to your character's eye sight level to help you aim better as well as more accurately. If you were to change the camera system it would not only not allow you to see the enemy very well it would hinder your ability to focus in on your target.
<br />
<br />One of the other major problems that would be effected would be your ability to sneak. This is a key element in the success or the failure of finishing this game it also just makes it more fun. Your ability to sneak up on an enemy would be greatly hindered, also this would effect some of the larger game mechanics involved with the creation of “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare”. If this game were built in the 3rd person view it would be impossible to sneak up behind the enemy and knife them or get the critical head shot, because they would see you coming, turn around and kill you. There is a map system that is in the upper left hand corner that shows the enemy location. People that are good at this game know where the other team is and are able to move around enough to no get stabbed in the back. People that are new or like to “Camp” and stay in one position at all times are the easy targets for better players. When you throw in a UAV jammer (map blocker) it causes serious problems for people that only watch the map, making it a critical game mechanic.
<br />
<br />Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is one of the best first person shooter games I have ever played. It gives Halo 3 a serious run for it's money. I hope that the control system / button layout will be used for many years to come. It is a fantastic accomplishment for the the next gen consoles.
<br />
<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KCxrOeT8lCg&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KCxrOeT8lCg&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
<br />
<br />This is a PERFECT example of not watching out for other players. If this was in 3rd person they would know you were coming.
<br />
<br /><object width="480" height="387"><param name="movie" value="http://www.wegame.com/static/flash/player2.swf?tag=lol_UAV_Jammer"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.wegame.com/static/flash/player2.swf?tag=lol_UAV_Jammer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="480" height="387""></embed></object><div style="display: block; font-size: 11px">Watch more <a href="http://www.wegame.com/game/cod4/" target="_blank" title="CoD4 Videos">CoD4 Videos</a></div>
<br />
<br />This video is a good example of UAV Jammer as well as watching the map, notice the top left hand corner and the red dots.Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-577268516816687622008-09-03T01:53:00.000-07:002008-09-03T08:47:07.882-07:00Beta Version of Sci-Fi Pak!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd_D0EFKcyxkdqfSNsSJW_9SMeW0Lm7qRoflVdSbFsWw6l45HgTVHe8ulfC0S3i0snsuoo9zdaFQN6P9XgOxCTQWEs45A-GNzcQh_ba2fKOUizRmOH-pdND6GpHOnupqgSJ7xsyzlZDUk/s1600-h/Sci-Fi+Pak.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd_D0EFKcyxkdqfSNsSJW_9SMeW0Lm7qRoflVdSbFsWw6l45HgTVHe8ulfC0S3i0snsuoo9zdaFQN6P9XgOxCTQWEs45A-GNzcQh_ba2fKOUizRmOH-pdND6GpHOnupqgSJ7xsyzlZDUk/s320/Sci-Fi+Pak.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241730646036121106" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://ex1zgq.bay.livefilestore.com/y1p9T0vFPzKFHB0MO45YBWp0bTupT9wsc19IygXZdzVrmIcq9atnuZGAwZMDKRvZWcwPQAqSO_zd28/SciFi-Pak.zip?download"><strong>Download here</a></strong><br /><iframe scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" frameborder="0" style="width:240px;height:26px;margin:3px;padding:0;border:1px solid #dde5e9;background-color:#ffffff;" src="http://cid-a2aeaf29779f768e.skydrive.live.com/embedrow.aspx/School/SciFi-Pak.zip"></iframe><br /><br />"Left Button" - Move Left<br />"Right Button" - Move Right<br />"Up Button" - Move Up<br />"Down Button" - Move Down<br />"Space Bar" - Fire Lazar Ball<br />"F1" - <strong>Pause</strong> / This help file<br />"F4" - Full Screen<br />"Esc" - End the game<br /><br />This is the start of my midterm / final project. Its still very much in the beta version, but will update as it progresses. Please leave high score in comments, also if you reach lvl. 4 before update has been released comment me and I will get you the latest version. Thanks for the help! <strong>Any input is also much appreciated!</strong><br /><br /><iframe scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" frameborder="0" style="width:240px;height:26px;margin:3px;padding:0;border:1px solid #dde5e9;background-color:#ffffff;" src="http://cid-a2aeaf29779f768e.skydrive.live.com/embedrow.aspx/School/SciFi-Pak.zip"></iframe>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-37324289865749774132008-09-01T07:43:00.000-07:002008-09-03T08:42:18.598-07:00Three Electronic Games and Breakdown of Game Design<strong><em>Question:</em></strong><br /><em>Play three electronic games of different genres and discuss the most likely type of game design (art, gameplay, story, technology) that was emphasized in the creation of each game.</em><br /><br /><br /><br />The emphasis was placed on multiple element types for these three examples but I will try to discuss the most prevalent type.<br /><br />----------------------------<br /><strong>Metal Gear Solid 4</strong><br />----------------------------<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ViKDmA0ZnDAO9rsVnMa1zO2L1_OlVn0hy5QpL2f5D4QZuTW_mPEr07c3HVfpthPGpF4NIrnDWB5atuAqgPPeL27ksG2Xzg7y0LRwmL3bFM9DpbG7EQLc5V_wnrBrm4DYxKpLwlUCNi8/s1600-h/Metal_Gear_Solid_4_141.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ViKDmA0ZnDAO9rsVnMa1zO2L1_OlVn0hy5QpL2f5D4QZuTW_mPEr07c3HVfpthPGpF4NIrnDWB5atuAqgPPeL27ksG2Xzg7y0LRwmL3bFM9DpbG7EQLc5V_wnrBrm4DYxKpLwlUCNi8/s200/Metal_Gear_Solid_4_141.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241067894026414818" /></a><br /><br />The development of the story line in all four MGS titles is a large aspect of MGS. I found that there were more interludes and story line videos than actual gameplay. Not saying this is a bad thing, the gameplay was amazing but I'm only going to talk about one element. The story line also played a key role in the success or failure of the game through hints and strategy. Even as you die, it flashes back to previous cut screens.<br /> <br />-------------------<br /><strong>Motor Storm</strong><br />-------------------<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3szqiwXAwMbGi4UfrJOpUVCBmJKeq3wodoSQGF7UuzDqC25MZi2awNaXT6EGSkB_7w1Dq6R2ajGt1BwjQxxnzB986NtwXIaKZqSJLGxvuKkFa7VJHLVBJ8TWhQxBCiWKJctcVGME0jE/s1600-h/motorstorm3.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3szqiwXAwMbGi4UfrJOpUVCBmJKeq3wodoSQGF7UuzDqC25MZi2awNaXT6EGSkB_7w1Dq6R2ajGt1BwjQxxnzB986NtwXIaKZqSJLGxvuKkFa7VJHLVBJ8TWhQxBCiWKJctcVGME0jE/s200/motorstorm3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241067660987782578" /></a><br /><br />This is your classic dirt track racing game for the next generation consoles, not a new concept by any means. The technology that helps drive this design on the other hand is some of the best that the new consoles have ever seen. Given the amount of work and design that went into making Motor Storm, I would categorize this as a technology-driven game.<br /><br />--------------------<br /><strong>The Last Guy</strong><br />--------------------<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMVH305NN_lwo37QJUEFrM0abf2XuQ8NSixA5f-4k1dT3UnvYgnMvokdIlSD2Z6J_avuzUln3qyeplBQTlldFpgGUh94fMz_PmAcVqE24rV7wR9YtQET9HD4Kmz7jTcY7d2g7mVDRcy0/s1600-h/newfx5.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMVH305NN_lwo37QJUEFrM0abf2XuQ8NSixA5f-4k1dT3UnvYgnMvokdIlSD2Z6J_avuzUln3qyeplBQTlldFpgGUh94fMz_PmAcVqE24rV7wR9YtQET9HD4Kmz7jTcY7d2g7mVDRcy0/s200/newfx5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241067439377011186" /></a><br /><br />One of Sony's download only games, “The Last Guy”, has an additive playability value that always leaves the player wanting more. I would classify this game as a gameplay-driven design. In 1980, Eugene Jarvis created Defender. The “Last Guy” is similar to Defender in that both have massive flocks of people that need saving. Yes, a similar style has seen console before, but it's been at least ten years and never in a next generation environment.Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-78941673455853033482008-08-31T14:49:00.000-07:002008-08-31T21:30:47.839-07:00Mechanics of Grand Theft Auto<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDMnQRjBsS1jlt7WJbgf0pX1mJuCWXTk67rcj5H2VObedmFxZMTuQ8qmw1VLVeq3MOwo2qPW5c7ximx7QVjhtSxOtbjWyc-BUn6D3ISsQRiMb_093OJrYLNX4iiE_2AZzaQu-83IqJ5Q/s1600-h/GTAIV.bmp"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDMnQRjBsS1jlt7WJbgf0pX1mJuCWXTk67rcj5H2VObedmFxZMTuQ8qmw1VLVeq3MOwo2qPW5c7ximx7QVjhtSxOtbjWyc-BUn6D3ISsQRiMb_093OJrYLNX4iiE_2AZzaQu-83IqJ5Q/s320/GTAIV.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240905656545713666" /></a><br />On the most basic level of game play mechanics achieved by Grand Theft Auto is the art of theft with a good helping of mayhem and doom thrown in. You have your classic life meter with a twist: you can run faster and longer as you run across the map. You can add a bullet proof vest to add even more protection. Cars where another factor, rightfully so considering it was called Grand Theft “AUTO”.<br /><br />Some of the original mechanics used by GTA1 were unlike any other seen at the time, helping to define in part “sandbox” style of play; not to mention the idea of emergent game play mechanics, there are so many of these that it would be almost impossible to list them all. I am going to try and point out a select few. <br /><br />Sex, drugs and guns are very much at the heart of the GTA franchise. I intend to identify some of the mechanics that have advanced and point out a couple of examples of emergent game play mechanics, based around the driving and cars in GTA.<br /><br />----------------------------------<br />Example 1 - “The Driving Car Bomb”<br />----------------------------------<br /><br />First Mechanic is the driving of a car, seems somewhat simple but was done very well by GTA.<br />Second Mechanic receiving damage / dealing damage that would in turn set the vehicle ablaze.<br /><br />Creating the final mechanic of dealing someone a car bomb! You could drive these cars into buildings, other cars, road blocks, etc to try and escape the situation you were currently in or just blow things up for fun.<br /><br />------------------------------------------------<br />Example 2 - “The Classic Drive By, With a Twist”<br />------------------------------------------------<br /><br />First Mechanic being able to shot a gun... really?<br />Second Mechanic was being able to drive a car, again something GTA has been able to do a great job at.<br /><br />Coming up with the first game to ever have drive by shooting. I believe that it was GTA2 that sets some missions as being drive by shooting. As the game progressed, 3 and 4 make it a common occurrence in the world of GTA.<br /><br />-------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />Example 3 - “Car Manipulation... Radio, Making the Car Bounce, Wheelies!”<br />-------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />I feel that this is a more localized mechanic but nevertheless, the all important transportation factor. You're traveling thousands of miles (feels like it sometimes) and needed a way to keep the player interested with the game while this went on. Now there are tones of things to do while driving; mess with the radio, honk your horn at people (we know what else this can do for a pimp), flash your lights, bounce (with hydro), hit people wreck people, make other cars wreck people, run over fire hydrants, shoot people, make other people shoot people... shall I continue? <br /><br />GTA has changed the landscape for sandbox games forever! Not to mention the evolution of emergent game play mechanics!Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2942479269056375904.post-76302042464035435392008-08-22T13:13:00.000-07:002008-09-03T02:46:41.026-07:00Important aspects of game design<embed src='http://www.gcast.com/go/gcastplayer?xmlurl=http://www.gcast.com/u/slacktivist/Game_Development.xml&autoplay=no&repeat=no&colorChoice=3' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' quality='high' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer' width='145' height='155'></embed><br /><p><br />There are several aspects I believe to be critical for the development and deployment of a successful video game. The first being the ability to learn and grow while playing the video game including but not limited to; leveling up, health advancement, weapons / spell upgrades and just all around different ways to defeat your enemy in general. </p><p><br />When I play a game that does a good job in submersing me in my surroundings, making me feel more in touch with the game and the other aspects within the game, this increases my wanting to succeed. I also feel that a good tutorial / training level is important to the success of a game, if the player has no idea how to do something it is going to make it hard to keep their interest in the game longer, decreasing the re-playability value. </p><p><br />Some of the other aspects of game development that are critical: high quality graphics, large levels that are free roaming, ability to differentiate between other games, online and multi-player playability. Storyline and character development are also important. This can help to maintain a strong fan base. </p>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615844550224378028noreply@blogger.com0