Game Player/Buyer types

In this blog post i will discuss the various types of games and the buyers associated with them. So for this i will be discussing various game categories and the buyers associated to them.

First/Third person shooters 
The average age of players who participate in these games are approximately 18-40 year old. I believe this is the case because because the games tend to contain games which have graphic content which could be distressing for a younger audience. This is also down to the PEGI rating system giving games like 'Call of duty' a 18+ rating because it is widely agreed that it is too mature for kids which is why i have given an appropriate age range for this genre. The class most associated with the genre is middle-lower class. I think this because  lower classes may struggle to provide financial stability therefore may not be able to provide themselves with the hefty fees of consoles and their games. Middle class is the best associated class because these are the people who work lots which leads to the average person immersing themselves within the games to escape from reality. Traditionally males are seen as the larger group within the FPS/TPS community. This is because on average men produce more testosterone than women so playing these games provides them to live their violent fantasies.

Sports
Sports related games have the widest and most diverse target market within the industry because anyone can participate in a array of different sports with few limitations. I see the age range being from 8-60.  This is because of the many variations of sports with children being able to participate virtually and in real life. As well as this older generations have created variations which means they can still play like with walking football. All together sport is cherished worldwide therefore it effects and involves the most people. In addition to this it represents all classes with specific sports appealing to different classes due to equipment prices. Furthermore sports also represent and appeal to both genders as well all ethnicity's.

Fantasy
The age demographic for fantasy games is ages 12-30. This is because these games use violence but some usually contain less because the PEGI rating system is more lenient on fantasy violence. In addition to this the imaginative aspect appeals itself more to the younger audience with the game play and fighting aspect linking to the older part of the age range. Similar to action games i see a similar representation of class shown through the target market. This is because most fantasy games go against any realistic aspects in the worlds they create and can be as creative as they want when developing their games, and for a lack of realism i believe these games are so valuable to these classes and people because it gives them the best place where they can escape to.  I don't believe specific genders and ethnicity's can be associated with fantasy games as their main appeal is the escapism aspect of it.

Overall to an extent i agree that categorization and stereotyping are useful and serve a purpose when creating a target market. They are purposeful in the marketing industry because it associates a vague group of people who are most likely to want a specific product and from there it can be made to that group so it appeals to them so they will buy it. A key point about that is being vague about an target audience because if it was over developed and too specific it will lower the amount of people interested as specifics can exclude many types of people. However the use of categorizing audiences is a gray area because making assumptions about people and stereotyping them can be insensitive which could lead to back lash from the target market themselves, so overall  this can be good and effective provided those doing the market categorizing are careful creating a group who seem interested in a product.

Next gen year 1 week 20

hello blog

In the previous week we continued to develop our knowledge of the core principles of game design. For this we looked further into additional rules of game development. these are known as the formal and dramatic elements. To help us we were given the task of innovating a game with a simple game and rule sets. In addition to this we also learnt about player interaction and the 6 types of player interactions. These are the type of game types you experience whether they're player vs player or something versus the computer.

Also, that week I began to develop a robot in MAYA which would be used in my VFX project. For this I had to create a robot that was simplistic in its design because we are to animate it therefore giving it legs would make it all the more difficult. For this i based the design off the training bot from 'Overwatch'. This robot was very easy to produce and all that is currently left to do is texture it to give it a lifelike look.

Art fundamentals: bouncy ball

In this weeks task we were given the task of animating a ball which bounces. For this i was introduced to a new piece of software, being Adobe animator. So far i am doing satisfactory in using and my first attempt was okay.

Firstly i needed to create a pathway in which the ball would follow by bouncing. The next thing i had to do was add in the key poses for the ball. From there i needed to add in circles which where stretched and squashed and then filled in the rest of the movement.

Overall i am fine with the resulting product. It clearly demonstrates 1 of the 12 core principles of animation. In addition to this it demonstrates a ball bouncing across the screen with physics being equated in the animation as the bounces get smaller and smaller. Despite this I think I need to take the speed of the ball more into account and that is something i could improve on.

Next gen year 1 week 19

Hello blog

This week we continued to develop our knowledge of the VFX industry  by having a lesson based on cameras. From this we learnt about lighting temperature as well as other things like tools used to focus the cameras. In addition to this we learnt about lens aperture and how it is a factor which affects the depth of field and works like an eye. In addition to this we also took into perspective the lens focal length.

As well as this in art we also learnt about the old processes that Walt Disney used to animate his originals by separating parts of the scene to help move them. In addition to this we also learnt the basics in using a camera to create stop motion animation. The process is called cell animation and consists of a background plate  .Moreover i also learnt the 12 core principles of animation.

Current software technologies.

In this blog post i will be discussing various pieces of software i have encountered providing facts and my thoughts and opinions about them.

The first piece of software i will be discussing is Photoshop. This is one of the biggest and most well known software which acts as both a place to design and create digital art as well as a picture editing software. With Photoshop it is extremely hard to use without experience and newcomers can seem very complicated, and that is the case because it is very advanced but if used in the right hands it can produce fine works of art. Whilst it takes time to use those who do use it notice there is a tool and feature for every occasion. Despite this though many would argue a big push factor is having to pay a big portion of money to use as well as buy. In my opinion Photoshop is only worth what you pay if it is to be used as an image editor because of it being the best option. However those who intend on using it for making digital drawings shouldn't waste their money for it and should focus on using something like 'firealpaca'. This is a free to use drawing software which comes equipped with sophisticated features like creating brushes and correction tools.

In addition to this another piece of software i have grown accustomed to is the game developing software 'unity'. Overall i find this to be a mediocre software. This mainly down to a large fault in the software where if you don't have it installed properly it will delete parts of your work. Overall i may be biased towards it as this is the software i currently have to use and i have found it to be nothing but excruciatingly painful as it has never ran properly whilst I've been using it. Despite this good things can come from this as it gives people who use it the chance to make a profit off of selling assets and games as well as being an engine that some game developers currently use to date. Another thing is they have strict policies that isn't to favorable with the community. But again with this i feel it is only suitable to use by professionals.

Finally the last piece of software i shall be discussing is Adobe after effects. This is a software used to edit videos. My use of it has been minimal but when i have used it i have gotten on well with it. Adobe personally offer support and tutorials to new comers to help adjust them to it making them comfortable in their creations. Whilst using it editing videos can be a delight and is the easiest part of it to use. However the difficulty lies within placing everything together as well as rendering it being a long and tedious task. Overall i do like it its just the case of it being a time consuming software.

A good feature with most current software technologies is that they work hand in hand with others. for example the 3D modeler software MAYA works well with Photoshop to design textures for items by having the ability to create nets which you can open within the program and create textures from. This compatibility with others makes it extremely convenient to switch between software's cutting down usage time and overall more efficient. 

 With all of these software's there are many benefits as they all go hand in hand and link up perfectly. For example if I had a sketch of an object i wanted to create I would go into MAYA to design it. I would then need to texture it, so for that i would need to create a texture in Photoshop of what it would look like by taking a UV snapshot on MAYA and loading it on Photoshop. Afterwards I would then go back on to MAYA to load in the texture to make the object whole. The last step would be to import it into Unity to make it a game object with the potential to be used in games.

Next gen year 1 week 18

Hi again its me

This is the week where we began the next set of topics. Firstly we began the new topic of the core principles of game design. For this we went over the eight core principles required in order to make a game. These 8 are;Boundaries, Conflict, Resources, Rules, Procedures, Outcomes, Players and Objectives. In addition to this we also learned about the history of gaming consoles and the innovations of it before given an assignment of blogging about the history.

I have also moved on from all GAVI work to work on the VFX industry. Currently we are yet to to much as for now all we have done is create a Gantt chart.

Another topic we have moved onto is learning about animation. From that we have looked at the pioneers of its creation as well as a brief history on it with an assignment to review a form of animation.

Animation review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahObgDYU58E

In this blog post i will be analyzing an animation in which i will be discussing what i like about it. The animation i have chosen is FXX's 'Archer'.

The style of the animation is what i am the most fond of as it is very distinctive and separates it from others. The style it chooses is it places broad outlines on all of the characters. I think it works best for the show because the outlined characters add further depth and detail to the people really making them stand out whilst your watching it. In addition to this it means whilst watching it your less likely to focus on the background environment and and more on the characters and plot.

The character animation is amazing for me because the creators clearly show they put detail and effort when designing characters. This is shown by cheekbones being visible on the title characters face. Another thing is that all characters are shaded brilliantly with there always being shadowed parts on characters.

The narrative shown in the clip is the first scene ever in the shows run. In this it shows what to expect whilst giving small pieces of information about the character. The characters show their relationship with one another in this piece showing you their personality and clearly establishing their problems.

One noticeable thing about the movement shown in this clip is that it is very slow and rigid. Whilst the movement isn't as fluid as other shows it has gone on to improve since what was shown. I'd say it may be down to the creators focusing on other elements like choosing comedy over action resulting in finer humor than flowing action set pieces, as whilst it isn't something to put you off from watching it is noticeable when viewing.

Past, present and future of gaming platforms

In this blog post i will be discussing gaming platforms, specifically the past, present and future of them. Currently in the history of  gaming platforms there have been 8 generations of platforms so i will be discussing them and what is to come in this blog post.

Generation 1

The first generation of gaming platforms occurred from 1972-1980. In 1972 the company Magnavox  released the first home console in the form of the 'Magnavox Odyssey'. Upon its release the Odyssey sold around 100000. Until then video games were rare and not popular. It wasn't until Atari came about with the infamous pong that video games started to become seen more in the public eye. After this the market saw many company's producing simple consoles all producing very similar products.

Generation 2

Generation 2 of gaming console occurred within the years 1976-1996. The biggest innovation of that generation was the change of cartridges used within the consoles. These consoles were empty with all the information being stored on the cartridge.  The biggest selling console of the time was the Atari 2600 which sold 30000000 units.

Generation 3
The 3rd generation of consoles lasted from 1983-2003. The biggest changes came in 1983 with the release of the Famicom or NES. This console sold around 62 million units. The NES was all together a stronger console providing longer lasting games with higher resolution graphics providing more detail. In an attempt to differentiate itself from older consoles they moved the cartridge port to the front. This generation also started the feud between SEGA as they attempted to rival the NES in the market with the master system but only massed 13 million units.

Generation 4
The 4th generation showed itself to last from 1987-2004. This generation saw NEC release their first console the PC engine. This released first in 1987 to sell 10 million units. Then they were approached to create consoles with graphical displays twice the amount of the previous generation with this going on to be known as the 16 bit generation. Whilst that was happening the market rivalry continued with SEGA and Nintendo with the SEGA genesis releasing selling 40 million units closing the gap on the Nintendo. Despite this they were still  unsuccessful in leading the market as the super  NES selling 49 million units defining them as the biggest console sellers. What else backed up Nintendo financially as well as that was the biggest innovation so far in the form of the game boy. This showed itself to be an innovation of the 2nd generation hands held console microvision. This of course was the game boy which owned the market and the pop culture of the time.

Generation 5
Generation 5 took place between the years 1993-2005. The console industry continued to thrive due to their cheap prices. Whilst hand held consoles dominated the previous generation nothing could stop the release of SONY's PlayStation. This console defined the generation selling over 100 million units. It showed to be the best in the market. Its popularity entitled it to being the biggest computer entertainment platform. They were shown to have multiple uses as they could also play CD'S. Another key feature that defined the console was the controllers. These added hand grips for the player to hold whilst playing and shows to be different from the generic oblong shape.

Generation 6
The sixth generation occurred from 1998-2013. The handheld market continued to expand but still with Nintendo being the top dog of the market with the Game Boy advance. In terms of home consoles Sony refused to back down with the release of the PlayStation 2 which outsold the original on 155 million units. The biggest feature to entice customers was backwards comparability allowing those who own PlayStation games to play them on the PlayStation 2. This generation saw Microsoft introduce itself with its XBOX. Whilst it was marginally successful nothing at the time topped PlayStation.

Generation 7
The seventh generation lasted from 2005-2017. This showed itself to be very competitive with the  3 big companies emerging to be Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. The industry was showing itself to be stronger than ever as in 2007 1/4 of the worlds computing power was from gaming consoles. The innovations of this generation showed consoles capable of playing Blu-ray discs as well as all consoles supporting wireless controllers. A 1.2 million unit difference showed a split race with Microsoft and SONY with the PlayStation being the victor of the two. Despite this the Nintendo Wii became the most sold home console. This may be down to it being seen as a family console as well as being able to exercise as well as play normally redesigning the classic oblong controller shape. In terms of handheld consoles Nintendo saw itself come out on top due to the success of the DS. This console was vastly changed from the game boy as it saw new features like the touch screen and wireless connection. This was shown to be a phenomenal success as it even outsold Wii.

Generation 8
The eighth generation began in 2011 and as it is stands it is still continuing. A big improvement shown was the graphical capacities of the consoles becoming all the outstanding. XBOX and PlayStation both showed interest into making them more social by making it easier to record and live stream games. Another improvement shown in both consoles is introducing more forms of media platforms as websites like Netflix had began to significantly rise.

Future of gaming
Whilst VR  is something that is recently being sought out after many developers are looking into the new tomorrow of augmented reality. This unlike VR will allow users to interact in real time with your simulated surroundings. Another thing developers aim to achieve soon is the idea of cloud gaming. This is where all information is stored within the cloud making downloading them far easier as all that is required is a stable internet connection.