The document describes three experiments Jack conducted related to creating animated games. In the first experiment, Jack animated a character moving and a score changing colors. In the second, Jack animated a bike moving along a track and a star changing colors. Issues arose from flipping the bike. In the third, Jack animated moving clouds and a shark to practice background animation. Reflections note elements Jack may include in the final product like moving backgrounds and a shark game, and that the experiments helped develop skills but need improvement for the final product.

1. Experiments
Jack oyston

2. Process
I started by making a background for my game which I did by
using the pencil tool and combining layers such as adding
clouds and these drain shoots intended for the character to
jump in-between. I drew a basic video game background similar
to existing products. I added text and between frames I would
change the color to give the impression of flashing on the word
“start” this shows the start of the game.
Between frames I would ever so slightly move the character to
appear as though it was moving. I only moved the character
very slightly in each frame to make I appear as smooth as I
possibly could. As the character moved over the “100” which
was how to gain points within my game it would change to red
and quickly rise up and out of the frame.
I repeated the pervious step of ever so slightly moving the
character and changing the color of the score and making it rise up
over the course of several frames.

3. Reflection
• What elements of your experiments will you
include in your final product?
• This experiment was far from perfect, in hindsight there is so many tiny details I could've easily implemented into
my work, for example I could’ve added motion to the clouds, had little birds coming across the top of the screen
to add more detail and I really should’ve added a score board. These slight changes would’ve made my product a
lot better and I will keep this is mind when it comes to creating the real thing.
• This was my first time creating animation and I am far far from perfect. I am beginning to develop different skills
and techniques that will prove useful when it comes to the final product. Because this was my first time doing the
specific task I am interested to see how I will improve over the course of this project and intend to make my final
piece ten times better than the experiments which in my opinion were all awful and maybe if I was allowed
further time to add more elements perhaps I could create something better.
• In my final product I intend to create something of fairly good artistic and creative standard that will include
smooth, clean animations as well as sound effects to go along with it. As a whole I can already see myself not
enjoying this project as much as I did with the others, however I will ensure that I put 100% into this so I can get
the best outcome possible.
• In conclusion I believe this experiment was a huge learning curb for me as it enabled me to familiarize myself with
the software and am starting to draw numerous ideas towards my final product.

4. Process
I started by creating my background for my dirt bike game which in my honest
opinion isn’t of the highest standard purely because of lack of experience and
limited knowledge in animation terms. I then drew the bike with the pencil tool
however I later realized that the bike was facing the wrong way and I had to flip
it, by doing so the image became very blurred and I learnt that you were unable
to flip objects in Photoshop without losing the resolution. I copied the layer with
the bike on and made different positions for it as I learnt that this was the only
way you could turn and position the layer correctly without all of the frames
changing the position of the bike.
over the course of numerous frames I moved the bike along the
track smoothly and as the bike passes over the yellow star it
turns red and moves out of the clip over by slowly moving the
position over several layers. This is similar to what I did in my
first experiment however I would say the first experiment
worked out better than the second.
The bike continued smoothly along the track moving out of frame
at the end of the clip.

5. Reflection
• What elements of your experiments will you
include in your final product?
– the second experiment didn't really go to plan exactly as I encountered a problem with the bike
itself. I drew the bike facing to the left and had to flip it to fir the background. In hindsight I would’ve
changed a lot about this particular experiment for example I would've either drawn the background
the other way to fit the bike meaning I wouldn't’t of had to flip the layer, another way I could've
overcame this is by drawing the bike the right way round in the first place which would've made it
look a lot cleaner instead of the very pixelated product I produced.
– I think the experiments In general do need a lot of work as they are no where near the level they
need to be when it comes to creating my overall end product. The concept of the star rising and
changing colour as the bike passes over it works well and perhaps is one of the few elements I plan
to implement into my final piece.
– I need to also focus on creating cleaner backgrounds, for this I used shapes to create the sand
texture whilst I used the paint bucket to fill in the sky, I should've added clouds moving along to
create the idea that the background is moving something I experimented with in my final practise
attempt.

6. Process
For this experiment I purely wanted to develop my ability to
create moving backgrounds and you can see the stages of clouds
moving between the frames , I did this by slowly moving the
position of each individual cloud in each frame to give the
impression of movement within the clip along as moving the
position of the poorly made shark using the pencil tool to create
it.
I started by using pencil tool to create an outline of the sea using a dark blue color, I
then added light blue highlights to give the perception of movement in the water, now
looking back between frames I should've placed different highlighted lines within the
darker blue sea as it would give the perception of movement to a greater extent.
I moved the sharks position slowly between the frames to give the idea
that it was swimming along within the sea, I could've added more
animation the tail fin which really would've added more of a
movement aspect in the clip
As the clip goes on you can see the clear movement in the clouds along with the
shark, I really should of implemented more movement features as the end
product would look more like a video game

7. Reflection
• What elements of your experiments will you
include in your final product?
• In my final piece I am very likely to use the aspect of a moving background as it would make the scene look
more interesting and realistic as a whole. I think a potential shark game catching other fish and other sea
life creatures could make a good game with a score board in the top left perhaps. Different sized fish
would mean different points allocate. This in my opinion wouldn't’t be that hard to do as the only aspect
of movement I would need to do to the shark would be to set different tail positions alternating between
frames. This will be one of the three ideas i will put forward in my idea development along with a game
similar to flappy bird which is a similar style game as seen in my first experiment.
• I am still learning how to animate to a high standard and am looking forward to putting my ideas into
practise. I think that because I have not really had any prior experience In this area I can see myself
possibly struggling on this project as Photoshop is not exactly my strong point especially in terms on
animation.

8. Adding audio process
I used an internet website called beat box to create the sound track for my first experiment, I
got my head around the concept fairly quickly and completed the task very quickly, I tried to use
retro kind of sounding noises as it really suited the dynamic of my game I added drums and
sounds like flutes to create the soundtrack and you can see the general rhythm from these
screenshots below. I think the track suited my game perfectly and added a retro kind of vibe
which added to the game. Without the soundtrack the game was boring and drab however once
I added the track as a whole the experiment developed to the next level and I am happy with
the overall outcome in the end.

9. Adding audio process
I added the track in (bottom layer) after I
exported it from beat box and looped it so it
lasted the duration of the clip. I then added
jump effects and effects once the character
touches 100 score. I made these sound effects
also on beat box by selecting a retro sound and
extending it so I fades out.
You can clearly see how the sound effects link up with
the video in this screen shot.
I think the sound aspect as a whole really does add to the
feel of the game even though my animation isn't of the best
standard which is mainly down to the fact that I don’t really
have any experience in animation as a whole, by adding
sound and sound effects it took my experiment to the next
level.