Like the previous projects, Ba6 focus 1 has been very
beneficial and I feel I’ve grown in a number of different ways. At the
beginning of the project I had not really used Stencyl much, having hoped to
use it last term but in the end not having enough time. However after having
worked with the software for that past two months, I have begun to understand
how to achieve not only sidescroller genres but the creation of other games
which is something I am going to explore further in my free time. Of course,
Stencyl is not entirely perfect as I discovered with the error that appeared
when my game became too big so this has made me doubtful of whether I shall use
it next year.
That error with the software also leads to one of my biggest
frustrations with the project – that I couldn’t create more levels, add enemy
characters and debug the small non crucial issues with the game (Wall jumping
for example does not run as smoothly as I would like at times) because I spent
that planned time in fact rebuilding all of the previous months work.Nevertheless though despite not having enough
time to achieve more than I would have liked, I certainly feel as if I have
created all that I wanted to, in a high enough standard.
Furthermore I feel as if I’ve grown as an artist and
designer by applying my art in a physical sense rather than just as concepts.
Despite this though I did create a singular piece of concept art just to round
of the project and add to my portfolio.
Finally as the project has been about specialism, I think
that at heart I would like to remain a 2D artist, which is a broad statement as
the industry is built upon a number of distinct roles be it environment,
character design, assets, commercial artwork, etc. However ultimately something
which I have felt at the end of each project is a sense of enjoyment and growth
no matter how I’m creating art – be it the silhouettes and iterations of BA4:
Focus 2 or creating assets using a fast workflow so I would be happy in any
role involving 2D art. If I have those kinds of feelings all that I need to
work on is advancing my core skillset because I still think my artwork has a
long way to go before I’ll be ready for the industry so this will be my next
step over the coming year.
Unlike my last posts which have been slow due to maximising
progress on the game, this has been down to a huge issue that has reared its
head in the last week in that the game that I’ve created refuses to export to a
format which could be handed in. This is immensely frustrating as I had
completed my tutorial level, and was a cutscene away from completion.
The issue is stated down as a problem with incompatible
sound files but after they were removed the problem remained. In the end I had
to amputate most of the assets and levels for it to disappear but soon it
became apparent that the game itself somehow had become fundamentally broken,
meaning I had to remake it from scratch.
Some example screens of the tutorial cutscene
Full Tutorial Level
This has been beyond frustrating but now I completed a
Tutorial segment (with an additional cutscene) in addition to the first level.
I have re-made Mira and altered the way she moved so that it looks like she is
learning to walk as this wasn’t apparent in my previous game versions and my
next step is to update her Indian form to be distinctly different from her base
form – something which wasn’t apparent in the peer group session I had. The
Updated design plays upon the clichés of ‘Cowboys and Indians’ with the
headdress and poncho being key icons in the design. She also is red and bright
meaning that it would be impossible not to see the difference. I simply need to
resize the images and place them into the game to finalise Mira.
The last touches that need to be done to the game is the
complete rebuilding of level 2 – which will have to be done in a new file,
meaning that the first and second level segments will be separate. This is not
ideal but I discovered that after a certain amount of assets are inputted into
the game the deadly issue that destroyed my previous work appears so this has
now became unavoidable. However, with this though the internal workings of the
game have become much more fluid and streamlined and the game does not lag or
struggle as much as it did previously.
I felt restrained by Mira’s movement as she wasn’t able
crouch and the bow issue was really bugging me so I made a conscious decision
to change all of her movements – removing her training wheels as such. With
this change she can now crouch, and with all that I learnt with behaviours I
finally got Mira to draw out her Bow and put it back again, which for me felt
like a mountain overcome. There were slight issues with the newest movements as
Mira would start moving…and not slow down, in addition to struggling to move
left. However by taking the working walking behaviour that I had always been
using and moving it across into the new system this cleared up all of the
issues.
----------------------------
Level 2
This was a bigger undertaking than level 1 because I wanted
to expand and add to my gameplay using what I now know as a basis. Furthermore
I was going for a completely different feel to the first level. I wanted it to
be rainy as the easy animation from Stencyl excited me. Gameplay-wis, I added
turrets (which took a long time to calculate and get to work) a different form
of moving block (which oddly proved much more difficult than the spikey block –
in fact this caused debugging issues for both of them) in addition to expanding
Mira’s Base form’s abilities by creating specialist objects.
Because this post is after the whole process of building the
level it is harder to describe the tweaks and debugging issues I had, but there
were many. For example as previously mentioned the construction of one moving
block that kills Mira on Collision actually somehow disabled the spiked block
that had worked before. I chose now to debug the crow dynamite because I was
constructing a timed turret which took tweaking to work (I even constructed a ‘testing
ground’ to quickly test alterations). The Complete Level is as follows:
Tweaks I still need to make:
- - I need to make a tutorial page to explain Mira
specific objects, things I’ve implemented now
Again like last week there was a huge gap in posts, but as
the level has progressed my balance has freely had to switch between the creations
of assets, their placement in the level and Debugging – in addition to work on
other projects so I haven’t had much time to blog. Although the result is that
I have since done much work:
Created a working cutscene
that is sparked by pressing the X button (This was to introduce the Indian form
to the player, in addition to state the scenario):
Self-Reflection Moment:
Frustratingly I learnt about
Stencyl attributes after creating this cutscene. My workflow before attributes
meant that I had to make 17 different behaviours that were specifically
tailored to the page they move to. An example being:
For Dialogue A -
Always
If X was Pressed:
-Switch Scenes to Dialogue B and Crossfade for 1 second
However Attributes mean you
can create a universal behaviour that runs like so:
Always
If X was Pressed:
-Switch Scenes to NEXT SCENE (Attribute) and Crossfade
for 1 second
This
means that this attribute can be applied to all of the scenes and an option appears
where you can specify which scene is meant by the statement ‘NEXT SCENE’
(example for Dialogue A, you’d apply the behaviour and set ‘NEXT SCENE’ as
Dialogue B). Knowing this before making the level would have reduced my
behaviour count by 16 in addition to taking much less time. However now that I
know about attributes I’ve been able to create better behaviours that are more
applicable to other objects.
Updated Border
Graphic:
One thing that really bugged me about my game was how bad
the border graphic was. I wanted it to look like it was coming out of a book
and this just wasn’t being achieved by what I had quickly made last week so I
scanned in an actual book to make the border as to enhance the quality of the
visuals:
Dangers:
I added two types of dangers to the level; a large spikey
block that travels up and down very quickly and a crow that drops explosives. Currently
both need debugging as the crow does not drop dynamite as it should, while the
spikey blocks move too fast.
Other Assets Added:
Disappearing Blocks (This needs to be debugged though as a
friend play testing revealed that they switch too fast and are almost
impossible to time. They also move when they switch which is problematic)
A Broken Rope Bridge
Other Pieces of Terrain
Reflection:All of these need more detail in my
opinion but with a second level to produce this is something that will be
placed on the ‘if I have time list’ as they are not essential issues like
debugging or level construction.
Final Level 1 View:
Other Work Done:
The Title Page:
Whilst remaking my
border graphic I decided to add a simple title page that by clicking on the
title, the player would be taken to the level. I also just placed the
protagonist here so that people could mess around with the character on this
screen (it also worked well should I need to very quickly playtest the
character on a screen that loads quickly in Stencyl).
Design Document Pages:
Just some of the Design pages made
As I’ve been making assets and gameplay decisions, I’ve been
writing and constructing my design document pages. Currently it covers all
elements of gameplay although it still needs a little expansion on the platform,
target audience and competitive analysis.
It’s been a while since my last post largely as I have
thrown myself into the creation of my level and Assets. From the mock
screenshot I built last post, I expanded out, creating a level plan in the
process:
I’ve also spent the week learning new things on Stencyl such
as setting behaviours for the ‘actors’ (assets) in my level. Using useful
behaviours obtained through ‘Stencylforge’, a large community area where people
upload custom behaviours for things like walking, jumping, health, horizontal
platform movement, etc, I’ve also managed to get Mira to walk left and right,
in addition to jumping. These might seem like simple things but I’ve found it
very difficult as it has required me to change my way of thinking to that of
the computer. For example, a unique gameplay element of Page Turners (the name I’ve
given my game) is the whole concept of freely switching characters. No
behaviour for this exists so I had to construct this from scratch using simple
statements;
(The general behaviour)
ALWAYS
If The Down Arrow Key was pressed:
-Create Mira Indian Form/ Mira Base Form at X of
Self and Y of Self
-Kill Self
The behaviour then at the press of the down arrow key,
instantly kills Mira and creates the Indian form – translating to an instant
change on screen.
However certain other actions have been harder to grasp and
still elude me. These include: Crouching and using her bow and arrow. For the
crouching, I thought I had solved the issue when I found a behaviour for
platforming movements that included crouch and wall jumping (which did work!).
Unfortunately the crouch did not work through and with the bow and arrow, once
she switches the animation she does not switch back which is a huge problem.
As a general update though, in addition to all of the above,
at the end of this week I decided to not to go with the level plan but used the
assets made (in addition to others) to create a different looking level:
Sprite Sheets:
(Iteration on the Hare:)
The First Hare...I wasnt impressed with the outcome so this was quickly changed
Updated Hare (given a cowboy hat and sheriffs badge to fit the theme of the story)
Task List for next
week:
-I would like to add some enemies or dangers for Mira to
either avoid or attack
-A dialogue cutscene with the Hare introducing the Indian
Form
-Get Mira to use her Bow and Arrow (and actually fire arrows
out)
-Add Health
-Complete the level chunk and maybe start on level 2?
While I’m constructing a game at heart, I wanted to focus
largely on creating a very strong style that is recognisable as I am actually
specialising in 2D artwork. I looked at two games that achieved this task
successfully:
Outland
Outland is an Xbox Live Arcade title where you play as a man
guidedby visions of an ancient hero who
had mastered the power of light and dark to seal away two warring sisters. The
gameplay itself is akin to that which I want my game to create with platforming,
dodging and occasional battle taking place across 2D environments.
The Visual style is exceptional, with the character,
platforms and creatures themselves being largely just a black figures, that as
the game progresses get influenced by either blue or red lines that form
intricate designs. These designs are like ancient drawings or patterns but also
on close inspection form things like belt buckles and trouser detail of the
protagonist.
The backgrounds are another area where this game’s visual
style shines through. Actually constructed from flowing silhouettes layered
atop each other, the background colour slowly pulsates and changes, affecting
the basic silhouettes. The way they are layered and how they scroll through
with the player works – and because of the simple base and focus around
colours, it means that much contrasted moods can be created just by a simple
hot/ cold switch.
Playing this has made me consider actions like Wall Jumping
being included in the game in addition to the types of adversity the player
might face – in addition to of course using simple silhouetted shapes as an integral
part of the style.
This was very much down the other end of the spectrum as far
as style was concerned – but not meaning it wasn’t as equally pleasing aesthetically
as Outland. In Bastion you play as a character dubbed ‘The Kid’ by the narrator
as he traverses various areas of the world that have been ruined by an event
known as ‘The Calamity’. The gameplay is
an isometric action game with no platforming (so did not hold any research purpose
as far as that was concerned) but one of the things that I wanted to look at
was the visual style. Bastion is a vibrant game that is crystal clear but yet
has a hand painted look to it. The world is constructed from a number of
destroyable pots, caravans, boxes and walls – all of which are very well
coloured. But one thing I noticed from the game was the heavy reuse of gaming assets
but with slight hue changes and rotations. However in saying this, it took
looking at the game from the design perspective to notice this, making me
mentally note that this is a technique I could implement in my game should I
want to quickly construct levels. However unlike bastion which has a faux 3D
isometric view which it would be easy to do this, a sidescroller would be a
little harder – especially if I tried the hand painted look.
Because of the narrative of my idea in that you play as a
girl moving through books, I tried to think of ways to make that more interesting,
fun and vibrant – finally coming to the idea of looking at children’s picture
books as inspiration, as they tell their stories largely though the visuals.
Searching for different picture books lead to loads of different styles but one
I settled on for how I envisioned the Tortoise and the Hare level colours would
look was Anita Jeram’s: ‘’Bunny My Honey’’.
(Just some research and source material that went into the creation of my Protagonists name. As her power came from Imagination and the focus was on story worlds, I looked heavily at the two words for inspiration:)
Imagination Usually the making of mental pictures; but this is actually merely fancy; imagination is "one of the plastic powers of the higher Soul, the memory of preceding incarnations, which, however, disfigured by the lower Manas, yet rests always on a ground of truth" (TG 153). Imagination is therefore a creative power which, used in conjunction with will, calls forth not only creative forces, but likewise their productions. Thus it can be used for spiritualization and also for the materialization of images conceived in the mind; to bring about the results we desire, whether good or evil. It may become our master, chaining us to the illusions we have created; when, however, we can direct this power and resist its suggestions of fancy, it becomes a powerful instrument in shaping our lives and destiny. http://www.inspirational-quotes.info/imagination.html
Fabula - Latin for play/story
fabula mirabilis - wonderful story
imagination\im*ag`i*na"tion\ (?), n. [oe. imaginacionum, f. imagination, fr. l. imaginatio. see imagine.] 1. the imagine-making power of the mind; the power to create or reproduce ideally an object of sense previously perceived; the power to call up mental imagines. our simple apprehension of corporeal objects, if present, is sense; if absent, is imagination. imagination is of three kinds: joined with belief of that which is to come; joined with memory of that which is past; and of things present, or as if they were present. 2. the representative power; the power to reconstruct or recombine the materials furnished by direct apprehension; the complex faculty usually termed the plastic or creative power; the fancy. the imagination of common language -- the productive imagination of philosophers -- is nothing but the representative process plus the process to which i would give the name of the "comparative." w. hamilton. the power of the mind to decompose its conceptions, and to recombine the elements of them at its pleasure, is called its faculty of imagination. taylor. the business of conception is to present us with an exact transcript of what we have felt or perceived. but we have moreover a power of modifying our conceptions, by combining the parts of different ones together, so as to form new wholes of our creation. i shall employ the word imagination to express this power. 3. the power to recombine the materials furnished by experience or memory, for the accomplishment of an elevated purpose; the power of conceiving and expressing the ideal. the lunatic, the lover, and the poet are of imagination all compact the poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven, and as imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown, the poet's pen turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing a local habitation and a name. 4. a mental image formed by the action of the imagination as a faculty; a conception; a notion.
For the next project I will be finally focusing on stencyl in the creation of a 2D Sidescroller Action adventure platformer. For the first week of this project I spent a large period of time working out what I was going to do for the plot and how to approach the learning agreement. After some thought and inspiration I found my idea, and completed the learning agreement so I can begin on work for good.
The Idea:
You play as Mira Fabula – a young girl with an incredible imagination who works for a small group known as ‘Editors’. Editors are in charge of looking after the living universes within books and films. When a young and talented apprentice decides to use the power over these worlds to take command and rule them– Mira is asked to use her imagination to enter the worlds and save them from the perils that shouldn’t exist: Spaceships disturbing the rest of a medieval world, Dragons attacking pirate ships, etc. and bring the troublesome apprentice back into the real world. To do this she must take command of her imagination and wield fantastic powers straight from these worlds – swords and shields, capes, guns, and even a mermaid’s body.
Genre:
Action/ Adventure with possible Platforming elements
The narrative is very reminiscent of old games like Spyro the Dragon or Crash Bandicoot whereby the player traversed varied and fantastic worlds, speaking to their inhabitants before solving their problems. At the end of the level they would be given a reward before progressing onwards. A grand evil genius or Tyrant was the Antagonist. Other games like Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank also emulate this narrative.
Kingdom Hearts is another game like this – where a protagonist would enter worlds unlike his own and form friendships and work with its inhabitants. These worlds were Disney based so were vibrant and friendly. Outside elements were the ‘Heartless’ and ‘Nobodies’, while the Antagonists were relative to the protagonists world – yet threatened others.
*Honourable Mention: I feel I ought to mention a concept created by a friend on the course, Jessica Betts, when talking about my idea. While it wasn’t an influence, her concept 'Zork' involved traveling into books and abiding by each worlds conventions (having swords and shields in a medieval world, etc.) The game was a first person and after I formulated my idea, I realised the similarities between to two. However I feel that both our ideas are striving for completely different things but I thought her idea should be brought up, in case it had been a subconscious influence on the narrative.
(Style, feel and Mood)
–These are a few of the different points of reference that I am going to look at to get ideas about how to present my game, or things that are relative to the ideas I have:
When you think of silhouettes in a fluid sidescroller, the first game that normally comes to mind is the world of Limbo, where a young silhouetted child traverses a world made of simple silhouette objects, with dark but excellently lit areas. One thing that I might take from Limbo is how exceptionally simple the game objects are in comparison to the environment – perhaps a hint at how I could make mine look as smooth
Little Big Planet is a staple example of a fluid platformer, and why I am looking at it is largely in relation to the unique ‘handmade’ style of the objects. You climb over platforms of cardboard, sponge, metal, ice and swing on string. It feels very Organic – like the Eden of East ending below. Maybe I could scan in various materials to use as in game items to replicate this with the ‘out of place’ elements in the world?
An excellent sidescroller that is bright and colourful on the Xbox live ‘indie marketplace’. This game makes use of the techniques used in limbo but is much brighter in colour and has an excellent ‘mood’. The soundtrack for this game really suits it, and after researching the artist behind this game I discovered that his music is available to share and use in projects. I might email him and use his tracks in my demo.
Children’s Picture books/ Pop up books
I haven’t looked at many as of yet, but I will research and look at picture books or adaptations as inspiration for the backgrounds
Hotel Dusk
I look at hotel dusk very often for inspiration – normally when relating to narrative, but this time I am looking at it from an aesthetic perspective and this proves to be a perfect example of how I could implement the silhouetted characters into the book worlds.
In Hotel Dusk the sprites look like cut outs hastily placed onto the screen. They are fluidly animated, yet the changing edges really feel like someone is placing several images, one on top of another, to create a flick book style animation. I think this is a really nice style and might be how the protagonist character could be animated
This ending really was another inspiration for me with possible styles as it is an excellently made animation that makes use of plain paper silhouettes and really plays with shadows taking the form of a real object, etc. Also making reference to the content of the anime, the character destroys missiles by pointing at them and pretending to fire a pistol using their hands. In the animation the missile is replaced by a pencil and instead of an explosion, it turns into a crumpled up piece of paper (Possible idea for how things could be destroyed in my work?)
Either way I can see this animation really influencing the execution of my concept
Outland
In a talk with tutors this game was brought up as a possible example to look at so I shall play some of it this evening to see if it could be a possible influence, posting up my thoughts afterwards.
What Next?
In the learning agreement I stated that I had planned to create a design document with characters, gameplay mechanics and narrative in the first week to accompany my demo so I will focus on working out the gameplay mechanics tomorrow, generating ideas for characters, enemies, assets and scenarios Thursday and onwards. I aim to keep to the target of completing a first draft design document before the week is out so that I can spend next week focus on teaching myself Stencyl.
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