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Showing posts with the label game dev

Reasons to Make Games

To me, games are the one of the most creatively expressive art media out there. The industry offers are variety of roles in which artists across multiple disciplines can contribute to this ever changing-medium with an audience of nearly two billion gamers worldwide. The gamer demographic is a passionate community; many of whom are not simply passive consumers of media entertainment products, but devoted fans whose lives may have been affected by their experience of a game - as with any powerful artform. I aim to play a role in delivering such an experience, while being a part of a team that’s committed to realizing that vision through this medium. I would like to instill and communicate that meaning through creating immersive 3D environments, that complement the game-play and narrative put forth in a game. I tend to gravitate toward AAA development studios like Ubisoft. While the projects are not as likely to take the innovative risks of many indie games, it’s if I were to...

The Art of Heavy Rain (Part 4)

Player Choices Bear Consequence There are multiple ways a scene can play out depending on the player’s past choices and those specifically made in that scene. storytelling, branching structure, dramatic tension, the hero’s journey (heroic quest) Players can get answers through dialogue choices and explore observations (and objectives) through a character’s thoughts. There is direct player control — with no specific run action. Most of the time, players won’t run indoors. Running is automatic during gameplay, to fit the emotional direction of the scene. Win or Lose There is no way to “lose” the game per se; only unfavorable events unfold, (i.e. characters die) or the player’s search is impeded (evidence is lost, players never meet important characters or situations to gather evidence.) There are many scenes where the main characters can die in different ways at several points in the game; the game continues, but circumstances are heavily affected. For exa...

Designing a Level In God of War (Part 2)

Building a Level Levels are blocked out in basic shapes and spacing by the level designers. Anything built can be sent over to the team’s development kit -- be it the whole levels or pieces, to view a specific section of the level. After the block-out and collisions are built, the level is now in a playable state. Environment artists can lay the assets down in the place of the blocks. The level in progress will then be iteratively tested with both block-out and any placeholder/completed assets. Kratos’ model is also used to test and navigate around the level in development; Kratos' model is also used to measure the scale of level assets and height of walls by stacking one model above the other. Deleted Levels In God of War there are a variety of level types, including underwater and desert levels, but most center around the marvels of ancient Greek architecture. There were also many partially-complete levels that were cut during production, due to time constraints...

Level Design in God of War (Part 1)

Becoming the God of War God of War is one of the most-critically acclaimed franchises to ever hit the Playstation market. In this pipeline deconstruction, I will refer to elements of the series as a whole. Dominus the main character in concept, needed to be summed up in a single word -- wrath . Covered in the ash of his wife and child, the character is a demigod who seeks revenge on the gods who betrayed him. Once the artists stripped away his armor and shield, the character’s true raw, animalistic side was exposed. Tall with upper-body musculature, covered in ashes and hunched over with his signature Blades of Chaos, Dominus was a force to be reckoned with. Dominus set the stage for the today’s Playstation mascot -- Kratos. Level Design Mood and exploration is a staple part of level design in God of War . Areas that are more open are also relatively barren; while many objects are placed around smaller areas like rooms. I think this encourages the player’s sense o...