Monday, 18 June 2012

Film quotes and research in to conversations


Inception – Molly and Cobb on window ledge

"Those kids, your grandchildren, they're waiting for their father to come back home - that's their reality. This job, this last job, that's how I get there."

Ariadne asks what happened with cobs wife

Cobb: "They think I killed her."
Ariadne: [silence]
Cobb: "Thank you."
Ariadne: "For what?"
Cobb: "For not asking whether or not I did."


 Saving private Ryan –

Private Reiben: You want to explain the math of this to me? I mean, where's the sense in risking the lives of the eight of us to save one guy?

Captain Miller: Anyone wanna answer that?

Medic Wade: Reiben, think about the poor bastard's mother.

Private Reiben: Hey, Doc, I got a mother, you got a mother, the sarge has got a mother. I'm willing to bet that even the Captain's got a mother. Well, maybe not the Captain, but the rest of us have got mothers.

Newpaper task


I was only born because my mother was raped
Ego only followed the dark and evil past after understanding the sickening information about his mother and how he came to being draught into this world, his mother was also killed when he was born which also leads to more of a corrupt path in life, Ego has spend his life trying to find the being who raped and killed his mother for many years, he now knows the name of the person and has trained for years to finally confront him but what will happen once he has met this person as he will also be his father…….

Character Profile



Character Profile Sheet

Character Name:
Humphrey (Ego)

Full Name: Humphrey Freedore  (Ego Shadowborn)

Nick Name(s): Humpy (Death Lord, Ego)

Gender: Male

Age: n/a

Birthday/year: 25 Dec 0000

Marital Status: Playa

Spouse: Female clan members

Hair: Unknown

Eyes: Red

Origin: Human/Beast (Created in the fiery depths of Humphrey’s bed room)

Language(s): English

Height: 7”10 (including horns)
Weight: Unknown
Body Structure: Large Beast like, heavy build
Distinguishing Marks: Beneath the armour the body has never been seen
Traits: Smug movement, always online, feared by everyone, Godlike, envied by fellow hordes
Ethnicity: Horde Beastlike

Parents /Guardians: Killed at birth

Siblings: Only child

Friends/Allies: Fellow Guild members, the Horde race
Enemies: The Human race
Beliefs/Religion: Does not believe in religion as he believes there is no one more godlike as himself

Career/Past Careers: Raised by demons

Dreams/Life Goals: Dreams of removing the humans from existents

Hobbies: Slaying noobs, slow walking thru towns, posing and Grinding bosses

Likes: Death to others

Loves: Has no heart to love

Dislikes: Everyone who isn’t him

Loathes: New people asking for gold or equips

Fears: Internet connection to be pulled out in the middle of an EPIC battle

Strengths: +200

Weaknesses: Bedtime and washing

Good Qualities: ……

Bad Habits: n/a (as far as he is concerned)

Turn Ons: Female game characters

Turn Offs: low level people

Talents: 2handed sword skills, dark magic, flying dragons and dancing in town centres

Special Skills: Debuff and sacrificing of follows

Temperament: Aggressive, evil, acts like a God, cocky and ignorant 

Background
Humphrey comes from a fantasy world that has been created thru the world of online gaming he becomes the person he has always wanted to be but only in the online world where he spends all of this time.
He takes on the role of a godlike character that he has created and trained and levelled from day one, he believes that he is famous when playing this role which is the complete opposite to him in real life, from being bullied in real life Humphrey takes on this role with his online character Ego (his in game name) he is a high level demon Beast like race and the controller of the dark side (Horde) who thrives on bringing pain to others and feeling above and beyond any other Race in the game world.
When humpy plays Ego he plays as if he has become ego in the world and talks in such ways that he believes he has really become ego.

Exercise 1



25 Adjectives:

Black
White
Horrific
Strange
Scary
Old
Hot
Fiery
Fake
Contrast
Tragic
Furious
Crowded
Clean-shaven
Smokey
Urban
Environmental
Hectic
Calm
Shiny

25 Adverbs:

Sat Calmly
Looking Strangely
Sat Peacefully
Sat miserably
Looking Happy
Thinking Indefinitely
Smiling Happily
Sitting Casually

Monday, 14 May 2012

non linear chat within my game


Creating a non linear story guildlines


Basic Story



Elysium

Main character wakes up in a world controlled by evil and is greeted by a talking creature he hasn’t ever seen before

The boy (main character) is lead to a village by the creature where is greeted by a weird leaf tribe of people

The boy finds out that he has fallen thru a magical portal that links worlds together which can only be open with a certain life crystal that lifted up and shattered when the portal appeared and the tribe tried to harvest it.

The boy also finds out that before he was seen flying thru the portal in a ball of light evil poured in to every corner of the lands and that it was no longer safe to leave there village

The people believe the Boy was sent to them by fate and that he must help to restore the crystal to its full form so they can uses its power to banish the creatures back thru the portal and seal it once more
Main character meets Layfiee the daughter of the tribe’s leader Oakliee who is shy around him and is amazed by his look, as she has never seen anyone like him before who wants to help him to retrieve the crystals shards

Main character is given a sword that was once used before to banish evil from their lands

Layfiee and the boy head of on there quest to restore the crystals form which will protect the lands once more and help him to return to his own world
Main character and layfiee fight there way thru evil to get to the first location of the shards

They are confronted by a huge boss who is protecting the shard from being taken and being controlled by a greater evil
Together they defeat the boss and collect the first piece of the shard
The shard glows and a light form surrounds the boy lifting him from the ground giving him extra strong and skills

Together they continue to collect up the shards meeting new people along the way and helping protect other villages from evil
They are ambushed on there way to one of the shards by what can open be seen as the controller of all the evil

The evil being laughs at them and tells them they have come far enough with restoring the crystal and that they must stop as he has the final piece
The boy attempts to attack the evil being and is struck down in one hit being knocked out

The boy wakes in a different village where he is told the Leafiee was kidnapped by the evil and taken to the darkest part of there lands where no one dare enter
The boy is disappointed in himself for not being able to protect Leafiee who he is starting to fall for.

The boy sets out in haste to find Leafiee in the dark side of the lands where he is confronted with evil everywhere he turns
The boy reaches the gates to the evil beings kingdom where a boss protecting the gates jumps him

After defeating the boss he continues up to wards where the evil being is to free Leafiee and get the entire shard back
The Evil being asks the boy which its going to be the girl or the crystal which will return him to his own world

The boy attacks the evil being once again showing him that he picks the girl fighting in a long battle

Stage one of end boss: normal form

Stage two of end boss: The crystals power is absorbed in to him creating an even more powerful being

The power of the crystal being absorbs releases the magically hold over Leafiee and she runs to the boys side and grabs his hand * till the end *

They both fight a long battle against the evil formed being
In the final moments of the fight the boy is knocked back on to the floor defenceless dropping this weapons

The evil being jumps to deliver the final blow to the boy when Leafiee jumps in front of his path taking the full force of the attack which also causes a backwards explosion of light removing the crystal from the being and sending him flying in to the fiery depths of his own layer

The boy runs over to Leafiee asking her why she did that and in her last breaths she tells him that she really likes him and wants him to be able to return to his on world and make hers safe at the cost of her life

The boy carries Leafiee by to her village with the crystal also
The portal is reopened for his return using the crystal but he wont go
The boy lifts the crystal out of its place closing the portal and starts to charge its energy saying, “if this thing can take lives then why cant it return them!”
Oakliee tell him to stop that it will destroy the crystal stopping him from ever returning home

The boy continues to charge the Life crystal and channels it towards Leafiees lifeless body

The Crystal and Leafiee’s body are lifted up in to the air and a ball of light fills the skies destroying the crystal and floating Leafiee’s back down to a soft landing on the ground

Leafiees eyes reopen and she is returned to life using the power of the crystal
The boy runs to her side and comforts her saying, “ my world is where ever you are”







The END 

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

Story Writing help



This is a really good source of information written by Seifer Tim on the major building of a games story from telling you the relevancy of PCs ( player controlled characters ) and the whole flow of your story keeping the user interested from start to finish.


Game Play Driven

Gameplay Driven



On the other hand there is the gameplay driven design which will be probably a light engaging game.  This means that the game will motivate the player to play the game for the fun itself.  If the player ever gets tired (which will probably happen) then the game will be over. 
The design of a gameplay driven game is somehow faster than a story driven game: the designer must only think about the main game mechanic (the initial idea) and develop it in order to adjust it to some difficulty management along the game experience.  Some designers prefer not leaving everything to just some difficulty tweaks and create a simple story ocurring along with the evolution of the main game mechanics.
Assuming the gameplay idea is very good (and is more probable for this to happen than in a story driven game) then there is a great advantage that can be taken into account for games developed with a game mechanic in mind from the start: it is easier to create a story that matches a game mechanic than creating a game mechanic which matches a story.  It is also easier to adding the fun factor to a game when the gameplay is being thought from the start.

Story Driven


Story Driven


So depending on the starting idea for a game there are differences in the outcome according to the features each paradigm adds to the game.  If the game is story driven then it will probably have a strong initiative factor for the player to start playing the game (if the story has a good start) and also a strong motivational factor to keep the player playing until the end (if the plot is interesting).  At the end of the story, the game may also have a strong publicity because the player will be recommending the game to his friends for its really great ending. 
On the disadvantages of making a story driven game you will find that there are some problems if the designer can't match the story to an original game mechanic.  Story driven games are characterized for its dynamic change in its game mechanics so they can add to the story plot. 
Examples of this are games where you find items, unlock special skills and abilities, find special enemies, meet special allies (and maybe they can join you).  If you limit the game to a game mechanic with few or no evolution at all then it would be probably better to just make a movie or write a book about it. 
Another disadvantage of story driven games is that there are some players that just like to play for the sake of doing something fun (casual gamers).  Some of these players are very religious about making the game experience casual and prefer not to get involved in the long term intentions of the game itself (the story). 
A game designer must therefore be careful about choosing the pace of the story to match the target player, it is better not to leave the player waiting for special events in story to happen in order to motivate him to play more.

Story basics

Storyworks
The mechanics of storycraft for Designer's and GM's are fashioned from various "storytelling devices" to communicate their story. Mechanics may be enacted both in-game and out-of-game before, between and after gameplay sessions. Any method that conveys information about the game has the potential to be a part of storyworks.
    In-game
    • Visual, Text
    • Instructions or story
    • Hints or notes
    • Visual, Graphic
    • Images, still
    • Images, dynamic
    • Audial
    • Narration
    • Dialogue
    • SFX and BGM
    • Combinations and Hybrids
    • Gameworld Setting
    • Cut-Scenes (Cinematic)
    • Overlays (Map-Text, Map-Narration)
    • Complex Objects Signboards, Books, Graffiti (Image-Text)
    • NPC behavior
    • Technical
    • Difficulty or Level settings
    Out-of-Game
    • Visual, Text
    • Articles, stories
    • Manual, strategy book
    • Visual, Graphic
    • Cut Scenes
    • Images
    • Audial
    • Narration
    • Dialogue
    • Combinations and Hybrids
    • Advertisments (still or cut-scenes)
    • Info-sites
    • Testimonials
    • Events
    • Physical
    • Paraphernalia (regalia, trinkets, swank)
    A Player's Stories could arguably have both in-game and out-of-game facets, particularly if one includes participating in game-related events or conventions as an extension of the player experience. A case could even be made for costume-play to represent a fusion of the Player and Avatar type stories. A less dramatic example could be daydreaming of gameplay, recalling memorable gameplay moments or planning new ones, while involved with activities away from the game.
    • For consideration:
    • What does a story determine for the game being designed?
    • Are player actions and choices able to influence the direction or outcome of the game?
    • If play can effect the game, to what degree?
    • What scope (in-game, out-of-game) will benefit the game design?

Ref > http://www.gamegrene.com/node/820

Activity one

Activity 1 - Research different ways in which game designers use story to enhance a player's gameplay experience

In this task you will document your ongoing research in a new blog for this unit on how game designers use story to enhance a player's gameplay experience. You should complete this research throughout the project and develop it as your knowledge grows each week. We will discuss the elements that make up this research below. The details are added in each section as a guide to help your research.

  • Forms of storytelling, i.e. cave painting; oral traditions (fable, myth, legend); theatre; text; film; television
  • Game genres, i.e. platforms, first-person shooter (FPS), third-person shooter (TPS), racing, fighting; adventure; puzzle; role-play; simulation and sports eg turn-based strategy (TBS), real time strategy (RTS)
  • Approaches, i.e. location; conditions; actions; symbolism; three-act structure (beginning, middle, end); hero's journey (12 steps); episodic
  • Representation, i.e. emotions; characterisation; stereotypes e.g. gender, ethnicity
  • Emotional themes, i.e. vengeance; happiness; fear; anger; perseverance; heroism; valour; hope; competitiveness
  • Interactive story, i.e. embedded; emergent; cinematics; cut-scenes; triggered events; player control; character customisation
  • Writing strategies - : pre-writing phase eg brainstorm, research, storyboard, list, sketch, outlining, freewriting; drafting (working title, write content); revision eg add, rearrange, remove, replace, evaluate
What you must submit
A blog entry in a new blog for this unit on how game designers use
story to enhance a player's gameplay experience


Assessment Criteria for this activity

P1. summarise accurately the elements of storytelling for games using
 some subject terminology appropriately

M1. explain the elements of storytelling for games with reference to
detailed illustrative examples and with generally correct use of subject terminology

D1. comprehensively explain the elements of storytelling for games with elucidated
examples and consistently using subject terminology correctly