Weekly Development Diaries

1. Production Reflection
Abbie

2. Process-Week 1
This week we began our new rotation on video games. Firstly, we learned new terminology such as the game perspectives and game
play so that we could understand all the elements in a video game. I decided to research a video game called Cuphead. I researched
information about the developers as well as the production of the game. Initially, I thought this task was going to be difficult and
uninteresting, however the game I chose was interesting because it was released in 2017 but was in an artistic style of hand drawn
animation like the 1930s. I analysed the audio, effects, game perspectives as well as the genre. I used the terminology I had learned
previously and incorporated this into my written work. I analysed the box graphics as well as the background graphics to help develop
my knowledge and understanding on video games. A specific task we were given was to research about video game addiction. I
enjoyed reading articles on the addiction, however the task seemed to be time consuming and was taking up time that could be used
to develop my ideas. I also created a bibliography including all the websites that I would be using throughout this project such as
Wikipedia and YouGov. I liked this task because it helped me come up with ideas and techniques I would like to use in my video game
to make it look better. However, this task was extremely rushed because we were only give one day to complete the pro forma. In the
future I would feel more comfortable if we had more time on the task so I could take my time researching. After this, I began writing
my initial plans. I had to write down my initial ideas for my video game such as what the aim of the game is as well as the narrative,
game perspective, interface feedback etc… Firstly I created a mood board of 3 different ideas. My first idea was a game where an
unknown disease was spreading across your neighbourhood and you had to kill it before it spreads and kills more people. Another
idea I created was a game where you play a murderer on the run. The aim of the game is to still to steal food and escape from the
police chasing you. I decided to not develop this game because the graphics would be too difficult to create on Pixel Art. My final idea
was a game where you play a rabbit that has escaped from its cage. You must escape from hunters and survive in the wild. I did not
pursue this idea either because I thought it seemed childish and not appropriate for the target audience. My initial thoughts on this
task was worry because I did not think I would be able to create a good enough idea as I do not play any video games. However, I
thought about a game idea that I would like to play and would interest me which influenced the idea generation stage to not be as
difficult as expected. After this, I developed my final idea of the disease game in more depth. I designed another mood board
revolving around this final idea. I discussed what the avatars would look like as well as the graphics and how my game would appeal
to the target audience of 16-19 year olds. Once I had my ideas written down on the page, I felt much more comfortable with the
discuss as I had created a game idea which would interest me to play the game. To progress my ideas, I created a mood board with
images from games such as ‘Plague Inc’ to help my understanding and knowledge of how my game would look. In the future, I would
like to be given more time to complete this task which would allow me to begin generating ideas of the name of the game, avatars,
diseases etc.

3. Process- Week 1
After this, I completed another pro forma where we had to research 4 video games that were similar to
what we wanted to create. I researched Plague Inc, Tom Clancy’s The Division, Ninja Blade and Zombies
Ate My Neighbours. Plague Inc has a similar narrative to the game that I would like to create, however it
is in reverse. In Plague you have to spread different diseases and kill as many people as possible. The
aim of my game is to defeat the diseases before they kill the entire population. The graphics in this
game are photo realistic which is not going to be achievable for me, however the narrative is. I like how
the game has different game perspectives such as ariel views to see a map of the world. Tom Clancy's
video game is where terrorists have spread bacteria on money so that it spreads dramatically. Once
again, the graphics are photo realistic which is not the artistic style I am using, however the narrative is
similar. Ninja Blade is a game where you play a warrior that must defeat unknown creatures. Zombies
Ate My Neighbour's is a game where you have to save your neighbours from various classic horror
movie monsters. The graphics are cell shading which is the artistic style I will use when creating my
video game. In the pro forma, I had to discuss information about the developers and post production as
well as the mise en scene, lighting, composition and the audience. Once again, this task was time
consuming because there was lots of information to research. I had to incorporate game play videos and
images so that I understood the aim of the game and what the graphics looked like. In the future, I
would like to be given more time on this task so that it did not feel so rushed. Overall, I have enjoyed
researching different video games because it has expanded my knowledge as well as introducing me to
new creative ideas for my own video game. Initially, I was worried about this rotation because I have a
created a video game before and I did not enjoy it because I could not think of an idea or create it
successfully on Pixel Art and Photoshop. This means that I am stressed about the production process.

4. Process- Week 2
This week, I only attended college for one day due to
bad weather conditions. On Tuesday, I began creating
my experiments. I firstly created a run and gun game
which is the same genre as my final video game. I
created a basic design where the game is set in a
forest. After this, I copied an image from google to
help give me an outline. I made the background
move by creating a timeline and moving the
background on each frame. I then copied and pasted
the area that was no longer visible and pasted it at
the end of the image. I enjoyed this task because it
allowed me to practice moving the background
smoothly in a full circle, however I did find it
challenging. After this I made a more simple, basic
design to practice moving the background smoothly
and in a full circle.

5. Process- Week 3
This week I began production on my final video game. I used the program Photoshop with various
different tools to make my video game look as good as possible. An example of some tools I used were
the pencil tool and a rubber tool both in the block setting. I firstly began with drawing the background. I
wanted the game to be set in a forest therefore I copied an image from Google and tried to recreate this
in my work. I incorporated shading and highlighting so that the mountains and trees looked more 3D and
realistic. After this, I copied another image from Google to create my avatar. Whilst drawing new things, I
created them on new layers so that I could move them later on in production. I found this task very time
consuming where lots of patience is needed because you have to work with lots of small pixels. During
the Irn Bru project I found that the video game was the most difficult to create because I experienced
several technical difficulties, which made me feel nervous to begin this project. However, this time it was
not as difficult. For example, previously I struggled to draw the background and characters whereas I was
used to using Photoshop and specifically pixels so I knew what to do to make the drawings look the best
of my ability. To improve the quality, I included shading so that the character appeared more 3-
dimensional. Even though I was sceptical about the task at the beginning of the rotation and I needed
help, I feel better at approaching the criteria and creating a game at the best of my ability.
In the future, I would like to create multiple characters so that the
player understands that the game can be played in a multi-player
version as my results from my survey highlighted to me that
players in the target audience would enjoy my game whilst
playing with friends. Another improvement would be to create a
more detailed background with other nature elements than just
trees and mountains.

6. Process- Week 3
On Wednesday, I carried on creating my video game. Even though y drawings are
complete, I decided to add more detail and techniques to my work to improve the
quality. For example, at the beginning of the game I have included a home screen
where the mouse moves and clicks on ‘play’ to begin the game. To influence the click
to be more prominent, I changed the colour of ‘play’ from red to black; insinuating a
click. I like this subtle effect because it makes the game make more sense rather than
just heading straight into the game. Another technique I used was having a flashing
countdown into the game. I did this because I thought that it moved very quickly into
game play which could confuse potential players. I used the pencil tool to include a
countdown from 3 to 1 when it then says start. I like this technique because it slows
down the game play and makes it less confusing. The final technique that I edited was
to remove the hearts at the top right of the screen to insinuate that the player is losing
lives. This influences the game to be more realistic. Overall, I think that this editing has
improved my game and influenced it to look more realistic. I was not satisfied with
what I had created up to this point, therefore I wanted to push myself to do as much
editing as possible.

7. Process- Week 3
On Thursday, I completed my video game by adding in extra frames and drawings to improve the
quality. Firstly, I created a character page where the player can decide which avatar they want to be.
I included this because the results from my survey highlighted to me that people want to play the
game as multiplayer so that it is more fun and competitive. Therefore this selection of characters
allows the player to be who they want and their friend to be the other avatar. I struggled drawing
the female character because I found it hard deciding on what image to copy and attempt to
recreate from Google Images. I tried several different images to copy, however I was not happy with
any of them. I then copied my first male character and changed the colour on the clothes and added
hair. I am still not happy with the drawing but I found this method the easiest way to draw the
avatar. In the future, I would like to add more detail to the female avatar to make it look better than
it does currently. After this, I created the level 2 page where the video game will end. I incorporated
images of syringes to highlight the medical, disease element to the game. I enjoyed this task
because I had enough time to improve my work and incorporate more frames to increase the
quality. I began to get worried that I could not have a character selection page because of struggling
to draw the avatar, however this was quickly resolved.
First
attempt at
the female
avatar
Actual female
avatar

8. Process- Week 3
After exporting my video game on Photoshop, I imported the video game into Adobe Premiere.
On Adobe Premiere, I incorporated music and sound effects to the game to make it more realistic
and improve the quality. Using the websites suggested on Blackboard, I downloaded different
sound effects. For example, the background music that features in the video game is from
bensound.com. Other websites I used were soungle.com, YouTube Audio Library, soundjay.com,
soundbible.com and zapsplat.com. I found these websites the most easy to navigate and find the
correct sounds for my game. I also added a video transition where the game fades in and fades
out so that there is a smooth introduction to the game. I also used this technique with the
background music so that it did not start loudly whilst the game is still fading in. The final editing
I did to the audio was changing the volume so that you could still hear the background music. I
included a mouse click sound effect as the mouse starts the game and selects an avatar. Another
side effect, I included was gun shots, springs, fire and coins jingling. Because I have used Premiere
previously, I found this task simple. However, I did struggle to make the gun shots sound the same
as each other because on some clips the volume would keep changing. In the future, I would not
cut the audio clip and instead I would keep it how it is but crop certain areas. Overall, the video
game has been difficult to create. I experienced lots of difficulties creating the game and drawing
it, however the practice games were good experience. I felt nervous to begin this rotation,
although towards the end I became much more comfortable. I enjoyed creating the video game
more than whilst I was creating the Irn Bru video game because I had a better idea of what to do
and how to make the video game look quite good.

9. Process- Week 4
This was the final week on the video game rotation. All week I have written my evaluation. I
discussed what the strengths and weaknesses were of my product as well as what I would
improve if I had more time. I also talked about the audio and graphics and whether they appealed
to the target audience of 16-19 year olds. I then uploaded all my completed pro formas to Slide
share then onto Blogger. Overall, I am happy with my work and I am proud as I have made an
improvement from my Irn Bru video game. The end product is not that good because the
graphics are poor, however I am happy with the background cycle as well as the walk cycle. I am
happy that this rotation is now over so that I can do my FMP of what I am interested in which is
photography and print.