Prissy Little Chloe

Time Manipulation in Games Introduction The gameplay mechanic that I wish I had come up with first, is Time Manipulation. This is includes the concept of time dilation and the reversal of time in games. Implementing the Manipulation of Time Time manipulation is a robust mechanic. It involves non-exploitable time manipulation, with the goal of being fast and smooth, while not computationally-taxing on memory or hardware resources. The best way to implement this mechanic can be seen in Braid - an indie platform and puzzle game, developed by Number None, Inc. In this game, the world state is recorded for every frame, where the data is stored and compressed. With the recorded frames, any changing entities are extracted and mixed into the final state, which can be manipulated or rewound by the player. The player’s position is recorded and other properties such as color and rotation are stored as an integer that can be reconstructed, along with time information taken fro...

UI Initially UI was displaced on the right-hand corner of the screen -– which in effect shifted the player’s focus from the task at hand to check the next action necessary. This was switched to the much more intuitive 3D icons we see in Quantic Dream games today. These icons are transparent, so they keep that unobtrusive element, while changing in movement and position within the context of the situation. For example, the icons pop up when the character moves and turns near an interactive object, such as to pick up a letter on the floor. This gives the player freedom to choose which actions to perform, while challenging them to have a keen eye for locating objects (e.g. evidence) in a scene. The button prompts also change order in a queue formation when buttons are held down in sequence and begin to jitter as the situations becomes more intense (like the characters’ thoughts when the left trigger is held down.) There is also not HUD, allowing for total player immersion. Co...

Cinematography Heavy Rain uses a character-based interaction model. The camera model is context-sensitive, but the angle is switchable by the player. The character is shown from the camera angle most appropriate for his or her current location in the world. Characters also look and move their head around, which adds more variety to their natural walk cycle. This lets the designer play the role of a cinematographer; and while this is often not a good model for fast-paced action games -- as it’s often disorienting to the player who needs to see obstacles and make educated inferences based on information presented -- this works well in Heavy Rain because of button mechanics involved in the action sequences. Different camera techniques are also used during scenes. For example in The Mall scene where Ethan is searching for his lost son Jason the camera changes from a calm, steady view to a shakier handheld one. The camera is also brought up to Ethan’s shoulder to allow the pl...

An Interactive Psychological Thriller  Heavy Rain is an award-winning Greatest Hits title for the Playstation 3 delivered by Quantic Dream, a studio based in Paris, France (known for Indigo Prophecy , Beyond Two Souls and the upcoming release Detroit: Become Human .) Heavy Rain is an interactive drama action-adventure game, delivering a cinematic experience where player choice dramatically alters the events that unfold in the narrative. Premise How Far Are You Willing to Go to Save Someone You Love? Each character no matter the role, has deep perspective on the situation and is connected to the investigation in some way -- either from the victim’s side, an informative side or directly connected to the case of the Origami Killer. The players take on the role of four characters; the family man Ethan Mars, the insomniac journalist Madison Paige, the FBI agent Norman Jayden and the private investigator Scott Shelby. Origami Killer - Modus Operandi The motiv...

An Interactive Psychological Thriller  Heavy Rain is an award-winning Greatest Hits title for the Playstation 3 delivered by Quantic Dream, a studio based in Paris, France (known for Indigo Prophecy , Beyond Two Souls and the upcoming release Detroit: Become Human .) Heavy Rain is an interactive drama action-adventure game, delivering a cinematic experience where player choice dramatically alters the events that unfold in the narrative. Premise How Far Are You Willing to Go to Save Someone You Love? Each character no matter the role, has deep perspective on the situation and is connected to the investigation in some way -- either from the victim’s side, an informative side or directly connected to the case of the Origami Killer. The players take on the role of four characters; the family man Ethan Mars, the insomniac journalist Madison Paige, the FBI agent Norman Jayden and the private investigator Scott Shelby. Origami Killer - Modus Operandi The motiv...

What to Watch Out For We all know of these scam school horror stories.  They can generally be some sort of how to obtain a useless diploma in five days or less. But, if you ask yourself these questions, you can find that there are some genuinely fantastic programs offered for game development out there! Not necessarily the ones online though. Linda.com and YouTube are great complementary resources, but it will take A LOT of personal commitment and accountability to break into the game industry in that way. Don't get me wrong, there are some great indie success stories--but success is just that and I'm going to use that cliche "when preparation meets opportunity." You need to know how you work. If you do well teaching yourself code you autodidact you, then by all means go for it! But if you feel that for a job like in game art and design, it's better to collaborate with other artists, then I suggest going to art school. If you're in the mi...