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LIL’ TOMMY - EVALUATION 05/06/2017

Reviewing My Game

The part of Suvive/Thrive that has inspired me would be the survive theme. I created a top-down 2D shooter game where you had to kill hordes of un-dead skeletons, and the key of the game was survival. This correlated with the overall project as I had linked the survive project with the concept of my game.

My original target audience was aimed at children the ages of 12+; however, I decided to create a game that appealed to teenagers the ages of 16+ because then I could make my game a lot more detailed in terms of gore, while still keeping it’s pixel-art styled theme.

The type of games teenagers the ages of 16+ consume on a regular basis would be Cannon Fodder, The Chaos Engine, I MAED A S0NG W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1. These games have all been analyized in detailed blog posts which you can find here:

The Chaos Engine: https://ryanimglv3.tumblr.com/post/160946784339/top-down-perspectives

Cannon Fodder: https://ryanimglv3.tumblr.com/post/160943599294/comparative-product-cannon-fodder

I MAED A S0NG W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1: https://ryanimglv3.tumblr.com/post/158667945144/analyzing-a-media-product-that-is-similar-to-my

The majority of the feedback I was given from my audience was positive, things like the art style and concept was liked, if you are interested and want to find out more about the feedback then check out these posts because I have gathered feedback from my audience in several in-depth play test blog posts that you can find here: 

Play-test #1: https://ryanimglv3.tumblr.com/post/161461314704/play-test-1

Play-test #2: https://ryanimglv3.tumblr.com/post/161467382604/play-test-2 

I feel like my product is fit for my target audience because I have reviewed games and movies that my target audience enjoys, and have d one this by originally asking my target audience during my focus group what films and games they personally enjoy, and why. This information allowed me to improve Lil’ Tommy and make sure that my game consists of certain things they would enjoy, or find interesting in order for them to stay interested when playing my game and not become bored easily. I feel like adding the sound effects into my game such as the rain sound effects really made my game special, and it was said by Tom - a teenager who took part in my original playtest that the sounds, especially raindrop sounds really make the game immersive, and makes you want to keep playing.

I made some changes to my final product in order to improve it. Firstly, I felt that my storyline wasn’t that well developed originally and needed to change it as it didn’t really link together with the levels in my game. This was an issue as if the storyline didn’t show the background as to how Lil’ Tommy actually arrived on No Man’s Land, then the story obviously hasn’t been developed well enough. Changing the storyline was important as developing it would make more sense and link together with the actual background. The majority of my target audience enjoys a good and well-developed storyline to correlate with a game, as it then makes the game more enjoyable to complete due to the journey you endure with that character. The changes I had made to the  narrative side of my game were certainly positive and allowed my game to be developed further. In my focus group, my audience thought that the changing of the storyline was a good idea because in my one sheet and G.D.D the outline of the game wasn’t clear - due to it not really working and linking with the game’s concept - which is why they felt it would be better to improve Lil’ Tommy’s background and overall his reason for being on the battle field at such a young age.

Reviewing The Original Ideas

My original product was supposed to be a top-down 2D shooter game, and as a final product still is, but includes a developed story as to how Lil’ Tommy actually ended up as a boy soldier on no man’s land.

I chose to create a top-down 2D shooter game as from previous development and knowledge into how these games work and the concept of them I felt like I could create a well-developed game that my target audience would enjoy because of the selected features and assets implemented in order to make it unique.

Originally, the intended target audience I was aiming to reach out to was 12+., children, as my game is pixel-art themed; therefore, it would be appropriate due to the limited amount of gore I would be able to include; however, after a talk with my mentor I decided to up the target audience age rating to 16+, and this was because then I could make the more realistic, and immersive for that age group. As without the aspects of rain, blood, gore, they would easily become bored and stop playing my game.

I feel like my finished product matches is close to my original product, but not the same as it has been improved significantly due to the storyline and target audience being changed. The storyline line in my game was changed in order for it to make the game stronger, in terms of background and concept, and I decided it would be a good idea to change this as not only did I feel, but members of my target audience agreed and in the feedback mentioned it could be improved, and if done correctly make the game even more appealing to the age rating of 16+. The target audience was changed as I didn’t want to have to limit myself towards having less of a gore-filled game due to the age, and I felt that the majority of 12-year-olds - the age rating my target audience was being promoted to - wouldn’t even understand or be educated about WW1 and WW2; therefore, the storyline and overall background of Lil’ Tommy would be ignored - as they wouldn’t care about that, and just want to play the game.

Technical and aesthetic, style and content

My finished game is up to a standard of where there is a concept, you have health, and eliminate enemies in order to survive. The art-style is pixel-art themed, and suites the game’s concept, which is why I have kept it that way. A benefit of having a pixel-art theme allows you to implement gore, while it still looking cartoon-like.

The intended look for my product was supposed to be pixel-art themed, and the current look is pixel art-themed, the overall graphics look high-quality due to the pixels being 64x64.

The technical qualities of my finished game would be the mechanics, and also start screen. I have put a lot of work into coding my game so that things such as start menu screens and sound effects are executed when you click play and start the game. Coding in GameMaker has been a challenge, but I have managed to progress and develop my skill; therefore, I have been able to implement more complex aspects into my game making it more technical.

I feel that when it come to designing my game I wasn’t able to complete it to the standard I expected it to be completed at. The game is playable and there is a concept, it’s just I feel that I wasn’t able to add the extra levels due to me being over-ambitious. This is because the current game I have and overall work for this project has been done at a high standard; therefore, if I was to make the extra levels I intended to make, I don’t feel like the work completed to as high of a standard as I would have been stressed and most likely rushed designing and developing the additional levels.

The effect that these changes have had on the product would be that my product doesn’t consist of the three levels I planned out to create; therefore, the duration of the game won’t last as long because if you survive the first level, you would transition to the next; however, the current stage my game is at doesn’t allow you to move to a different level I feel like overall the effect that these changes have had were negative, and effected the quality of my game.

Your Strengths And Weaknesses And How You Made The Most Of These

I believe that my skills have certainly developed through this project, and especially when it comes to GameMaker. I feel that I have progressed in my knowledge of coding in GML, and am capable of understanding and writing code fluently. I also feel that I have developed my skills in the research department, and this is all down to the fact I have had to constantly create varied research on aspects that relate to my project.

I encountered problems such as bugs, and these were discovered through feedback from my play-tests, as well as playing and testing the game myself. I solved these bugs by testing and re-writing the certain variables that were buggy or causing errors. I also encountered problems with my story, as it was undeveloped. I solved this problem I encountered by altering my storyline for the better, and this was done by thinking as well as re-planning the background as to how Lil’ Tommy arrives in No Man’s Land.

When solving problems my strengths helped when actually fixing the bugs, and writing up the re-worked storyline. I feel that I could have used my strengths in the production stage of my product, and for my weaknesses were apparent in stages such as the production, when it come to creating a well-developed story, as I had to come to back to my storyline before development because it didn’t link with the concept of my game. On the plus side, I do feel that I have done extremely well with coping with this project, and completing certain tasks before set deadlines on my gantt chart. As well as I have been able to remain calm and not stress, due to being used to completing my work on time while following the criteria.

I have learned how to carryout in-depth research as well as develop games in GameMaker to a high standard. I have also learnt how to schedule and remain on time with certain deadlines in order to ensure certain aspects of my work is complete on time. Referencing in harvard format has also been very successful as I have educated myself on how to stick to the format and guidelines. I will certainly take the research aspects as well as development aspects into next year, as I know they will be vital.

Over the course of this unit, I have really learnt to handle my time. Not only when it comes to certain stages of design, but also in development. I have realised that it is an extremely hard skill to multi-task, especially when making sure that you can develop and organise at the same time. I have struggled in the past with muti-tasking when it comes to the development side of the project, but have overcome this weakness in the recent months. I have managed to stay organised when writing code for certain assets, so that if I get errors, I can easily identify what is causing the problem. I feel like this is a very useful skill in the industry, which is why I have been trying to better my organisation with my work as well as code.

We have also learned how to research. Research is one thing, but in order to achieve higher grades it must be at a high standard, and to do this you would need to research in-depth, and you can do this by linking back to your target audience. When creating research posts we always link back towards our target audience, so that it shows that we are thinking about them the whole time whether that be when getting inspiration from certain games or designs, or actual developers/designers. We are creating a product for an audience, and should listen to them as well as think as to if they would enjoy something like a certain feature implemented. When doing research for this project it was important to make sure we noted down what games/developers had inspired us when creating assets - if we had taken any inspiration.

In conclusion, I feel that this project has been extremely successful in terms of learning as well as creating. I have managed to create a game that operates and has a concept. The game hasn’t been finished to the standard I aimed for, due to me being over-ambitious; however, I am still pleased with what I have achieved. I managed to overcome problems such as bugs, as well as errors, and have also made sure my game was exactly what my target audience would enjoy.

#colchins #colchester institute #Evaluation #lil' tommy

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Trip to First Site For Eliza

So today in Rachel’s lesson we took a trip down to First Site to see a game the second years of our course had been working on. The project had some cool aspects, especially in the room where the project was being displayed. Things such as sound effects from the game were being played and sounded extremely realistic and high quality. We also got the play a demo of Eliza that was created in Unity, and I can say that for a demo it was well-developed and had been worked hard on.

#colchins #colchester #Eliza #Eliza Project

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Completing My Little Big Planet 3 Game Analysis

Today In Carlie’s lesson I have managed to finish off the last part of my Little Big Planet game analysis.

In this analysis I played Little Big Planet 3 and after, gave my opinion and the positive as well as negative aspects of it. I also talked about the graphics as well as sound, and certain aspects such as the HUD - why I liked it or disliked it. As well as thought about my target audience, and if they would enjoy the game due to the assets and features the game includes, which would make the audience want to continue playing. An example of this would be things such as power-ups and un-lockables. If done correctly, these can be placed in order to make the player move around the map and explore, without even intending to do so... And this idea is usually planned and set in pre-production documents such as map blueprints. I did this because it is very important to analyse a variety of games, and pick out features as well as certain assets that you feel would operate well in your game as well as be suitable for your target audience. And since my project is to make a game, what better way to gain inspiration from other games that have been produced by professional companies in the industry today.

I did this by playing the game on the PS4 in Rachel’s group tutorial lesson, and each of us had the opportunity to play the game and get a feel for the mechanics and overall concept.

I have decided to not add power-ups into my game as I will have things such as weapons for the players to collect, which will be spaced around the map for them to locate and be lured towards as they will gain an advantage against the horde of skeles.

I feel like this change has actually been successful, and the play testers  - who are the same age rating for my game (16+) gave me feedback and agreed, as well as saying it would make more sense to have weapon pick-ups in a game such as Lil’ Tommy due to it making more sense in terms of realism, as soldiers in WW1 didn’t have power-ups floating around certain areas of the trenches for them to obtain.

I do believe this action has been positive and overall made a large difference towards the actual.

I have learnt that sometimes a change in a game isn’t exactly what you agree with, but it can be for the better and actually improve your game. Next lesson I will be working on my evaluation, as this document needs to be completed in order to pass this final unit. 

#colchins #colchester institute #production diary #little big planet 3

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Little Big Planet 3 - Game Analysis

(igromania.ru, 2016)

Graphics: I noticed when playing Little Big Planet 3 that they graphics were extremely high-quality, and you could easily tell that they had been focused on a lot in the development stage of this game. The assets as well as general props and backgrounds were rendered in crisp quality, and in a game like this... The visuals are crucial, especially when the age rating for it is aimed at a younger audience.

Audio: The audio and overall sounds used in the game were extremely enjoyable, and I like that the sounds were created for a younger audience as you could tell by listening to them that they didn’t sound realistic. In a game like this reality isn’t what you’re aiming for anyway; therefore, the game’s sounds can be fictional and non-realistic, as children of that age would enjoy them.

Concept: The concept of this game appeared very unclear when I was playing it. I feel like when I started it was unclear whether or not I was playing a tutorial level or not. It was hard to discover the controls as no tool-tips assisted you in this aspect. And I feel that as this game was aimed for children it should have been easier to understand the controls without having to fiddle around in the game for 5-10 minutes before gaining an understanding of them. This is why I have put a lot of thought into the game mechanics of Lil’ Tommy. As although I want it to be a challenging game, how are they going to attempt to survive a virtual horde of flesh-eating skeletons without knowing the keys to press in order to move/attack?

Art style: The art style in this game was colourful and vibrant, and for the ESRB rating of “E” I feel like it needed to include a large variety of colours that were noticeable for players of younger ages. In previous research on semiotics I discovered that vibrant colours are what children are visually attracted to. And for my own game, I have considered this although I have done the complete oposite and made the colours in my game dull - so the target audience can experience the immersion that you get when playing Lil’ Tommy.

HUD: The hud in this game was extremely simple and bubbly, and I think it was because of the fact that this game is orientated towards children of younger ages; however, In my game I will have a semi-noticeable HUD, and this is because I don’t want to overly draw attention towards it when playing my game, but I still want it to be payed attention to so they player knows when he has lost health or gained it.

#colchins #colchester institute #little big planet 3 #Lil' Tommy

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Creating my play tests

Today in Danni’s lesson I have written up both of the feedback I received, as well as bugs that were identified and fixed.

I did this because it was extremely important for my final project deadline, and shows proof of development, as well as listening to my target audience. I did this by creating a questionnaire in Microsoft Word and creating questions that would be good for feedback from the testers’ POV. I also was able to fix any bugs noted, and that was needed in order to create play test #2 - which was supposed to be created after the first play test where the bugs were spotted, and then fixed in the second one.

I feel likethe decisions and choices I had been done for a reason, as well as the fact that I made changes to better Lil’ Tommy and the overall project. Judging by the feedback from my play testers, I can see that it has worked out well and been successful. Despite the game not being fully finished to the standard I expected, at it’s current stage it is playable and functioning - as well as it has a purpose.

I feel like these two play-tests were successful and worked out exactly how I planned it. I was able to have the feedback from the questionnaires I created and collate them into pie charts, then analyse what if certain aspects of my game was enjoyed by the target audience I had chose.

My actions today have assisted my overall project in a positive manor, and visually show that I have been very busy with research towards what my target audience look for in games at their age.

Tomorrow I will aim to complete the research on a game analysis post I have been working on.

#colchins #colchester institute #play tests #play-testing

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Play TEST #2 - FINAL

FIXING BUGS:

So after the first play test I set hard at work to fix the bugs noticed. In total, I fixed 4 bugs that were causing problems with the flow of game-play during Lil’ Tommy, or causing problems visually at the beginning of the game.

Healthbar bug

In order to fix this bug, I had to add variables for the healthbar to be subtracted when you take damage from spr_enemy.

Rain bug

Before I changed the room resolution, the rain would only cover a certain aspect ratio; however, once I fixed the sizes, the rain was now able to cover all of the background and add immersion for my target audience.

After: I am extremely happy with myself, and have managed to overcome a very annoying bug to fix. The worst bugs in games are the ones that are the easiest to fix, but the most incognito. For instance, you could have a bug with the enemy where your game closes once you make contact, and that could be due to a script you created where the game spawns enemies - it doesn’t even have to be related, and can cause the problem.

Opaque player bug

Fixed by deleting this code in my obj_player > create > variables > //Player Death > deleted this line of code: image_alpha = hp/100; I am extremely happy that I have gotten to the bottom of solving this bug as it was such an annoying one to fix, and this isn’t because of the difficulty of fixing it. It was because it was hard to locate in which variable it was created in. For some reason I had difficulty finding it, as I feel that I may have been rushing, but it just goes to show that organisation can save you a lot of time because if I organised my variables with titles in each object, I wouldn’t have to search through them all to find them - time is precious in development and I can certainly agree with this, as it really is. It’s hard to not rush when the lesson is nearly finished and you are so close to implementing a certain asset into your game - which will improve it massively - and then act calm and collective when you can’t find what piece of code seems to exactly be causing the error.

So after fixing my bugs in this play test, I totalled all of the answers for this question and collated them into a pie chart. You can see that all 6 of my testers said that the game does in fact run smoother after the bug fixes from play-test #1. This is very good because the rest of my target audience should most likely notice that the game runs smoother now, than before - if they had the chance to play before.

The data I collated from the questionnaire and then assorted into a pie chart showed an extremely positive result. People haven’t noticed any of the bugs I didn’t disclaim in the first play test, and have just now noticed the bug with the outside walls. This has now been fixed, but during the play test you were able to glitch through a certain area around the map - which was a problem. 90% of my target audience that play-tested on the bug fix, haven’t noticed any new bugs - this is great news as it means I have successfully fixed all of the bugs noted in the first play test.

After the bugs fixes that have been carried out, I asked again on the questionnaire if the tester of my game would recommend my game to a fellow family member or friend, and 60% said yes, they would. 20% said possibly, and another 20% said they would not. I am happy with the results as this has stayed the same and not changed, the bug tests if anything have assisted the experience you get when playing the game; however, my target audience audience doesn’t feel like they would recommend any more people Lil’ Tommy most likely because they feel that their friends won’t enjoy this type of game.

#colchins #colchester institute #pie charts #play test

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Play TEST #1

BUG #1 Player turning opaque when losing health bug. This was also the first bug picked up, alongside the health-bar not reducing when health was being lost.

BUG #2 Rain not following camera and stopping once out of spawn area. A slight bug, but it needs to be fixed as when you move out of the original camera angle, the rain doesn’t follow which it should do and was coded with the intention of it following raining all the way throughout the level.

BUG #3 Health-bar not draining when damaged. This bug was noted during by someone and it was a large issue; therefore, this bug needed to be fixed immediately as it was could be discovered visually at the beginning of the game. The health bar is an important aspect for my game as it displays the amount of health for Lil’ Tommy in my game.

So after collating the data from the completed questionnaires that the testers of Lil’ Tommy had filled out, I started to analyse their answers and opinions that were noted.

I created a questionaire using Microsoft Word so that the users could fill these out, and after they had been used, I collated all of the answers and displayed them using pie charts. I did this because it shows the answers in a simple, as well as understandable form.

Question #1 was actually very important, and I wasn’t surprised at all that that the 5 out of the 6 testers had noticed these bugs since they were extremely obvious and needed fixing; however, there was one or two bugs discreet bugs that managed to not get noticed, which I guess was just a bug I noticed and was not extremely easy to spot when focused on trying to avoid these skeletons.

Question #2 I wanted to make sure the testers (Who share the same interests and are the appropriate age equal to my target audience) Enjoyed the concept of my game, and I was extremely happy with the results. The majority of the male/female testers that played my game enjoyed the concept, and this was good as I knew I had chosen the right genre and concept for my game to be successful. From this it also made me feel that I had made the right choice in selecting the appropriate target audience.

For Question #3, I wasn’t shocked at all... And this was because of the fact that I had tried hard to make my game challenging, by making enemies do more damage, and their speed increasing the longer you survive. I didn’t want my game to be easy for my target audience, as if it was, it would become boring for them. Not one of the testers circled the “Too Easy”  text and that allows me to know that I have at least done my job in that area.

I wanted to implement this question because I felt that it was needed, and from the feedback I received I knew that the testers felt that my game was at least appropriate for my target audience, which is great because of the effort I had gone to try and make it immersive and difficult to survive in Lil’ Tommy, despite all of the features I didn’t get to add.

On Question #5, I was extremely surprised that the majority of my target audience actually enjoyed the appearance of the art style used in my game, and this is actually very shocking for my because I never really believed that everyone would like the art style selected as it may ruin the immersive experience I was aiming for when playing my game

During Question #6, I asked if the testers would recommend my game to a friend, and the answers surprised me - as it it’s not fully finished to the standard I am aiming for.

In conclusion, I feel that I feel that this play-test has been extremely successful in discovering the bugs that the testers had found, and receiving important feedback as to whether my game is appropriate for the target audience it is aimed for.

#playtest #gamemaker #lil' tommy #bug fix #colchins #colchester institute

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Research Into Top-Down Perspectives

(Emuparadise, 2017)

A top-down perspective is a view at which every object is presented from a bird’s eye view. This perspective was often used in game genres such as shoot-em-up, and this is because it is simple to make now - due to our advanced engines - however, at the time it was considerably harder due to the engines not being as advanced as they are to this day. 

It is extremely common for games (Especially top-down 2D shooters) To be developed now, although I feel like there is a niche market - since only a selected amount of people would want to play them. This is usually down to nostalgia, and mostly just the genre being nostalgic; people used to play these top-down games when they were younger; therefore, it reminds them of their past, and triggers memories from when they were young.

The Chaos Engine

(Pinterest, 2017)

This game was originally released on the Amiga 500 - Amiga’s best selling PC at the time. 

This game was a top-down 2D shoot-em-up game, that at the time, was extremely popular and one of the best sellers in its category. I feel like it’s because of the graphics and overall art... The visuals in this game are amazing, especially for the time it was created.

The Chaos Engine was played using a top-down perspective, which is exactly the perspective I will be using in the development of Lil’ Tommy. This game, as well as a lot of others that share the same genre, are appropriate for the ages of 16+, and this is because they can still be detailed and gore-filled - the perspective doesn’t ruin gorey games because you can still display violence or gore from the perspective. For lil’ Tommy, my target audience age rating is rated 16+ due to it consisting of gore, and overall violence; however, the art style in my game is pixel-art. I wanted my game to have that retro-feel, but also be able to display violence and gore in detailed way.

I feel like Lil’ Tommy is going to work with the genre and art style I have chosen, and this is because of the game’s storyline, as well as the features included in it. Things such as the score system, in-game shop, and various weapons will keep the player enticed into my game, and make them want to play. My target audience will also enjoy these assets, because it will keep them occupied; therefore, they will continue to play the game and not just lose interest in it after playing it for a short amount of time. In my focus group, I was provided feedback by gamers the age of 16+ - they helped me make my game entertaining by giving me suggestions on how to better it and add features which will keep the audience enticed and occupied.

#colchins #colchester institute #top-down #the chaos engine #perspectives

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So today in Danni’s lesson I finally got round to collating the data of my focus group. I managed to ask Liam, Tom, Jake, Ocsar, and Jordan a series of questions about topics related towards my game.

I did this by creating a questionnaire in Microsoft Word, and I used this to refer back to when stuck of in need of another question. 

The questions I asked allowed me to better my game by getting the opinions of gamers the same age as my target audience.

Creating a focus group is extremely key for the research side of things, and a focus group covers primary research - which is key in order to pass this unit.

This worked extremely well and there was no problems when collecting the data. I can use this collated data in order to improve Lil’ Tommy. 

Creating this focus group has given me an insight on the best methods to collate data for primary research. I have also realised that doing this has given a positive impact on the project.

#colchins #colchester institute #PEGI #focus groups

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LIL’ TOMMY - DEVELOPMENT #5

Creating a start menu

So to implement a button, I had to create a new room called rm_menu. This was so that I could visually implement the buttons to a menu before my game starts, and then from that I would have various scripts to tell the button once pressed to skip to the rm_game room. The objects I needed to implement were... Obj_button_parent, obj_button_start, obj_button_end. In these I would add the events: Create, draw, when pressed; therefore, I could add code to them in order for them to operate when pressed with the mouse, and the draw event was added in order for the button to be named “Start”.

I created this start screen because for my storyline, I need an intro where a gunshot is heard and a heart beating - as after the gunshot Tommy starts to fade into a dream, and the dream being the game. I decided to create the start screen, and once the “Play” button is pressed a gunshot goes off and a heart-beating sound starts to play. Shortly after, you are greeted inside of the game and the skeles spawn around you.

I decided to create a button this way, rather than creating them in Photoshop because it was convenient, as well as simple. I created a simple gradiented button - that would fit the theme of my game.

Personally, I feel like the outcome of this has been successful, and overall assisted me in moving closer towards my game level being finished.

Next lesson I aim to start my first play-test, and this is so that I can then fix any bugs that are reported by the testers, as well as make improvements to better my game. The testers will be the ages 16+, and when they play my game I will be able to gather feedback verbally, asking if they felt like the game was challenging enough, and kept their attention.

#lil' tommy #start menu #button #play #colchins #colchester institute

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Comparative Product - Cannon Fodder

Cannon Fodder is a WW2 themed shoot-em-up game, where your objective is to defeat the enemy and proceed onto the next mission. 

(gameguru, 2006)

Art style: The original Cannon Fodder was made for the Amiga; therefore, the resolution is lower than you would expect due to this game being an old game and art style is pixel-art based. Cannon Fodder and my game share the same art style, and the overall look and concept of the game is extremely similar to Lil’ Tommy.

(Softonic, 2012)

Graphics: The graphics in this game aren’t exactly spectacular, but at the time this game was published, it was extremely popular due to it being so advanced during its release. For Lil’ Tommy, I aim to make the game look aesthetically pleasing, while keeping to that 32x32 resolution size. I want my game to be authentic, and want it to be retro-styled.

HUD: I really like the HUD in this game, as it correlates with the theme of the game. I will be using this as inspiration when creating my HUD; however, I will be tweaking the layout in order for it to suite Lil’ Tommy. As you can see, there currently is no health-bar being displayed, and that’s because there is no health displayed. I want to design a health-bar for Lil’ Tommy that will correlate with the WW1 theme, but visually show a health-bar unlike in Cannon Fodder. This HUD style will be appropriate for my target audience because the HUD won’t exactly visually interfere with the gameplay, due to it being considerably smaller than other games. I have decided to make a smaller HUD because I feel like 16-year-olds will focus on the gameplay, and not fixate themselves on the health bar.

Audio: The audio and overall sound effects used in this game are good, but not exactly amazing - due to technology back then. In Lil’ Tommy, there is going to be a handful of sound effects, as I don’t want the audio to over-power the visuals when playing my game. I also feel like this will benefit my target audience, as they will concentrate on the killing and escaping the skeles, and not fully pay attention to the gunshot sound effects, or footsteps.

Lil’ Tommy and Cannon Fodder do have a lot of similarities when comparing them, and I think this is mostly down to the similar art style, as well as the genre of both games. Cannon Fodder’s art style has given me inspiration due to how perfect it is. I really like the vibrance, and overall look of the assets. The target audience for Cannon Fodder 

#colchins #colchester institute #cannon fodder #shoot-em-up

[ryanimglv3-blog]

LIL’ TOMMY - DEVELOPMENT #4

Gun spawn

Pistol speed

So originally the speed of the pistol was extremely fast, and the bullet velocity was so quick a line of bullets would appear to form a linear sort of line anywhere the character looked. I needed to fix this in order to make my game challenging - as for my target audience, if the game is too easy... They will be come bored extremely fast. 

Errors

After writing the script for the Pistol’s firing speed, I encountered an error. The error was because I hadn’t used the correct symbol when needed. This error was a major issue in the sense that it would stop the game-play just after a few seconds of you clicking “Start Game”. To fix this, I needed to add a ); onto the end of the second-to-last line of code so that it wouldn’t loop. I did this by creating the variable PistolSpeed. After this, I then added a create event - this along with a mouse-clicked event. I also added a timer to control how many times a bullet could be fired when holding down the mouse button, and this was halved the original value, which seemed to do the trick in making it more of a challenge to kill the on-going horde, due to it taking more shots to kill.

So after adding the spawning of the pistol, I was greeted with an error. The error seemed to be triggering when I actually shot the weapon, and instantly I knew this was related towards the weapon spawn variable I was implementing. The problem with this error is that it is game-breaking and needs to be fixed. After testing different things I discovered the source of the problem...

I feel like I have made a good decision in making my game more challenging, as it will benefit my target audience and also just make the game more enjoyable. This worked out extremely well as the game now feels more fair, and that’s not just my opinion... I have asked various people of my target audience who have tested my game and they feel the same way. My actions have helped make the game more enjoyable for me, as well as the overall project as I have been able to set certain goals in which I aim to complete and am completing them with no issue.

Today I have learnt to be careful when writing code, especially in scripts as the smallest mistake can cause a massive error and a large amount of stress. These things can be avoided when remaining calm and taking your time. I have also learn’t how to create scripts and link the to alarm events in order for them to communicate with eachother. 

Tomorrow I will set the goal of adding a start menu with sound effects and a “Start” button.

#colchins #colchester institute #development #lil' tommy

[ryanimglv3-blog]

Comparing Similar Games To My Game

So in Rachel’s lesson today I created a post on a game that I came across a couple weeks ago. I finally got around to creating a comparative product post on Canon Fodder, and decided to do this because I feel that it’s good research for my up-coming game... Lil’ Tommy. 

I did this all by researching for top-down shooter games, and when I stumbled across Cannon Fodder, I saw the similarities that it shared with my game. I then created a post on Tumblr and referenced all images I had used on my reference list, as well as in-text.

This worked out very well as there was a fair amount of similarities my game shared with Cannon Fodder, which is why I made a comparative products post on it; therefore, I could compare it with my game.

Creating this post has impacted on my final project because it will assist me in getting a higher grade. This is because I am showing variations of types of research and am also taking my target audience into consideration when creating these posts - such as noting down how the HUD is approriate for my target audience since it is minimal and won’t annoy 16-year-olds who are trying o focus on the actual game, and not fixate themselves on the health bar.

#colchins #colchester institute #comparitive products #lil' tommy #cannon fodder #shoot-em-up

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LIL’ TOMMY DEVELOPMENT #3

So Rachel’s lesson today was extremely productive! I have managed to complete all of the tasks I aspired to complete in yesterday’s development post - which I am really please about. 

Score

Firstly, I started off writing code for the score to be displayed on-screen in my game. This gave me a reason to implement the coins into Lil’ Tommy - as they actually have a purpose now. I wanted to add a collectable such as coins so I could create flow around my map, when creating my map blueprints, I realised how important it was to keep the player entertained, and to keep them occupied; therefore, I spaced out the placing of the coin drops around the map in order to let them explore it. This will also cure boredom, as without any collectables or power-ups there is no real reason to move around, other than dodging enemies. I wanted my target audience (aged 16+) to find this game fun and enjoyable, but also a challenge... Since otherwise they would become bored extremely quickly.

Healthbar

So creating the health bar was fairly tricky, it doesn’t look perfect but functions at least - and at this stage that’s what matters. I created two individual strips one red, the other green - these are to show the degrading of health when attacked, for example, when health is lost... The red bar is revealed to give the indication that you are losing health. The health is experiencing some small visual glitches; however, this can easily be fixed when next lesson. The healthbar’s colours were fairly tricky, this is because I wanted to make it vibrant so that the player can see when he is losing health, but not too vibrant for my target audience to think this game is for children.

Coin

Surprisingly, writing the code for this collectable was extremely easy. The green highlights are organisation sub titles, just so things are kept nice and tidy. The main task is to set the image index to random; therefore, when you kill and enemy, and a certain amount is dropped. I wanted to make this interesting and add a variable where when coins are dropped from the dead, you can be greeted with either 1 coin, or up to 5! 

As you can see in this image, I also wrote a small amount of code to allow the coins to move towards my player when near. This gives my player a magnet effect, and overall just makes it a little easier when being crowded by zombies to get the chance to actually gain some score.

Camera Angle

In order to make my camera angle sync with the player - so he in always central in the game required only two lines of code telling the camera to focus on my player. I also had to divide the total room resolution by the size of my character, in order to make sure that my player would be centred. when moving.

Rain

Ok, so out of everything completed this session, this was definitely the most time consuming thing during the three hour session I had encountered. I didn’t expect creating a particle effect for my game would be so time-consuming - I was clearly wrong. I set up variables and organised the layout before actually writing the spawn of each particle drop. After actually managing to calculate the correct spawning of the rain so that it would appear when the game begun was difficult; however, I managed to push through and do it with a bit of concentration. The next instances were really just about the amount of rain I wanted to be displayed, opacity, and direction. I really wanted to implement rain into my game because it would immerse the player. For my target audience, I felt like this was a must, as without it... The game would feel like a children’s game - and that wasn’t what I was aiming to promote.

Next lesson, I aim to fix the projectiles. The problem with the projectile system currently is that they don’t actually fire from the weapon, and instead fire from the character’s head. This is a minor issue but needs sorting before play testing as it’s something that will be mentioned repeatedly.

#colchins #colchester institute #gamemaker #rain #lil' tommy #60FPS

[ryanimglv3-blog]

Creating My Focus Group Questionnaire

So today in Carlie’s lesson I created the questionnaire I will be handing out for when I do my focus group. I will be recording the answers I get from this, and then collating the data I gain in order to better certain aspects of my game. I created this using Microsoft Word, and did this because I need to create a questionnaire in order to actually form a focus group; since without them being asked questions, how am I going to be able to collate data without their answers to the questions?

Creating a focus group will really help with the audience research side of this project, and it will show a lot of thought and research process that will be potentially implemented in my game.

I decided to change the order of questions, since I feel like it would be better to start with the rhetorical questions first, since it would then get the reader thinking of games in general - as well as refresh them on the games they’ve played. This worked out fairly well because I am still including a variety of questions, although, they are shuffled to my liking, I didn’t want to make my questionnaire seem original, and I mean this by starting with the yes/no questions seems original - at least that’s what I’ve noticed.

From today I have learnt how to create a questionnaire about my game, as well as types of games and genres people aged 16+ enjoy playing the most. Next lesson, I will be start to work on the enemy movement mechanics, and maybe get round to coding the projectiles for when my character fires his weapon.

#colchins #colchester institute #focus group #questionnaire

[ryanimglv3-blog]

So in Lizzie’s lesson today I’ve managed to finish my Dark Souls 3 analysis post, the software I will be using for this project, and also create the last remaining sprites for my game.

I have really focused on specific things done today, and I feel like it’s because I am relieved from the stress of the pre-production deadline.

I created these blog posts because they are necessary in relation to my project, as well as class as research, which is vital for this project. Both of these posts worked out well because they include visuals; therefore, this helps the reader to grasp an idea on the topic I am a talking about.

#colchins #colchester institute #software #analysis

[ryanimglv3-blog]

LIL’ TOMMY DEVELOPMENT #2

So in Carlie’s lesson today, I decided to dedicate some more time towards the production side of this project and focus on actually developing my game. Over the three hours I spent, I managed to get a lot of things done, and I am very happy with the outcome.

Firstly, I started to create the health menu. I will soon create an actual health bar, but for now an on screen draw event will work. I did this because it was necessary to know what health I am at when testing, but easier than taking the time in making the health bar way before I actually have enemy AI movement, and what would be the point in that, because without movement from my enemies my character won’t take damage anyway. I did this by creating a step event that included 2 lines of code. The first line is for the colour of the text (Black). The second line is for the display... The display part was the hardest as I had to create views that display the score and global string.

I dedicated this lesson towards the development side because I have finished the production side of the project, and the task for this week according to my gantt chart is production.

Enemy Spawn

Next, I created the enemy spawning variables, I started off doing this by adding an alarm for my enemies when spawning. I wanted to originally make a separate variable for enemy movement and direction; however, for efficiency, I decided to combine both into one in a single alarm event.

Lastly, the AI movement... This was fairly easy, as I didn’t need to write a lot of code. These two lines of code communicate with my obj_enemy, allowing my enemy to move towards the player when near. This is all done by x and y variables, and this is what controls the movement in the room.

Today’s developing lesson has been extremely productive as I have managed to code two of the hardest variables when it comes to implementing an enemy in your game, In tomorrow’s lesson, I strive to add a 60FPS view camera - making the game feel smooth. I also aim to add rain particles, to add  game immersive elements for my target audience when playing. If I get time, it would be great to add a coin drop feature that adds to your score when picked up; coins will be dropped by enemies and once picked up add towards count towards your score - allowing you to purchase other weapons and power-ups.

#colchins #colchester institute #gamemaker #lil'tommy #60FPS #camera angle