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Video Games and Game Design

[FILM301]

Games have obviously been around for less time than cinema. But it’s scope and range of audience has grown exponentially in the past 20 years. As of recently, society has placed games on a higher pedestal of importance in comparison to Hollywood’s films. 

Due to the increase in people wishing for more individually stimulating experiences, services such as Netflix have become more popular. Cinema’s are absolutely not failing (not until COVID-19) but they are finding a decrease in the volume of moviegoers since such film and video streaming services have become more widely available and more attractive for the larger audience.

In more recent findings, games have out-earned films by plenty. With a gross global revenue of $159 Billion coming from the game industry, and $100 Billion in the film industry. Now, this money is usually from larger MMO’s and Triple A studio games. But the indie crowd of games is beginning to become more popular with time. Especially with audiences growing a newfound love for games such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons and the mobile game Among Us. Simple games with little to no actual plot or story have become important to people as there is an influx of people playing games for the sake of playing games for a sense of escapism. 

Video games are just as important to me, I have grown up playing all types of games and simulations for the fun of a new world to explore and a new set of characters or NPC’s to enjoy. These are a few of the games that have been most influential for me over my time.

BioShock / BioShock Infinite

Okami

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Death Stranding

In the idea phase of this project, I knew I wanted to make a game. What type of game or what story or the way it plays I did not know. I’ve always loved character and creature creation, so for me, this was going to be a good usage of my passion and skills, whilst also developing my level of knowledge of game design, game theory and bringing further insight into media-making for me and my art. 

Upon the initial idea stage, I knew that a game would require a lot of extra work compared to a film. Not saying that films aren’t a lot of effort to make, however games have proven time and time again to have a new level of world development and expectations. Games have to be enjoyed separately by a huge audience and have to be taken in at the players pace. Rather than the way a film is digested by the audience at the filmmakers pace.

I looked into the different types of game genres to begin with, listing which of them would be most ‘able’ for a small team on a shoestring budget. 

Then looking into the programming options available and their prices. It was brought forward that Blender would be needed for 3D modelling at any stage, it occurred to me that a mix of 3D and 2D art styles could be intriguing.

I knew from the beginning that the art style and concepts would be down to me. I thought about my personal preferences of art in game and what I thought I could try. 

At some point, the idea of a visual novel came into play. Now, visual novels have an awful name for themselves, as they are, usually awful. This depends on the creators of the game as visual novels are easy to be low-effort and easy to distribute even if they are horrible. A lot of modern visual novels take the form of a ‘dating simulator’ in which the player plays as a (usually male) main character who converses between multiple girls or women characters and they all fall to their knees at the thought of being able to ‘date’ the main character. They are gross representations of the way that people in general converse and an even worse attempt at showing how women think and act. 

The example below is probably the worst one I can think of. It has it all. Terrible, uncharacteristic writing that feels like a 13-year old’s wet dream. Atrocious character art that is borderline depressing...

I did warn you.

This will NOT be happening in the event I do make a visual novel.

A visual novel that pretty much parodies this trope of awful male-serving female characters is Doki Doki Literature Club, that is, on first glance, another gross example of women characters being simple objects for the male player’s fantasy. However, upon playinig further into the game. You realise that something is wrong, very wrong. One character ‘Sayori’ is absent from school, presumably ill, the player goes to visit her at home. Only to be visited with the sight of Sayori hung by her neck in her bedroom. It’s horrible and startling. But the game brings a great commentary to the way that mental health should be approached and that it is no joke. The game plays out as a horror after this point and the tables have been turned onto the player. As one of the girls in the plot decides that she ‘Monika’  wishes to have the main character ‘to herself’. She then refers to the player by their name (or at least the name that their PC is called). 

The main menu turns into this after Sayori’s death. Which shows a great usage of the game UI and a phobia of glitches called Verzephobia.

Other visual novels that have humble stories and characters can be very successful, such as Ghost Trick, which has visual novel elements with some gameplay attached.

The style of Ghost Trick’s art is extremely bold and cuboid too. For the character portraits they have used big blocks of bright colours and thick outlines. For the ‘models in the game. They were initially 3D models that have then been rotoscoped in a pixel style. It is a gorgeous example of experimentation with game style and it works beautifully in this game as the characters feel full of life and equally stylistic.

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Ideas and Inspiration [FILM301]

Unfortunately, the beginning stages of this module have become overwhelmed by a constant barrage of news and information regarding the recent outbreak of COVID-19. Most of which is highly necessary news, however it’s hard to decipher what the world is going through and how it is going to handle it. So far, many things have had to be postponed due to the lockdown in order for an effort to handle the outbreak. However, should these measures not bear fruit, it will be a good idea for me to think about coming up with some initial ideas that would likely follow all the necessary health and safety precautions that we currently have outlined. Better still, if the production could be fully remote from campus and other people, that would be the safest environment and outcome possible.

Although this distancing will mean a tough punch to the general idea of filmmaking and will definitely harbour some struggles later down the line regarding equipment and the like. I wish to take this as an opportunity to stretch myself further in subjects of art that I love and want to see myself grow in. For this reason amongst the current social climate, I hope to find a focus on my art, specifically drawing and digital art. Through film, I have found many ways to be able to communicate my ideas in different media, and also how to develop bridges between different crew roles. Though pen-to-paper creation hasn’t always been at the forefront of my mind, it does wriggle into my thoughts every so often as a path that I should be taking. I’ve always been passionate over creating weird creatures and art of the surreal variety, and though I definitely won’t say I’m a professional in the craft, I do feel comfortable in my skill and I know that with the right development and experimentation, I will come to learn the skill to a higher standard.

So far, the only ideas I have been able to muster that keep as close to the COVID-19 safety guidelines as humanly possible are as follows:

2-4 minute hand-drawn animation regarding real-life experiences that feel surreal or psychologically tormenting. (would require a change in the submission requirements).

A short documentary covering the effects of lockdown on certain members of society (disabled, children, mentally ill, elderly) - this however feels that it may be overdone by the end of lockdown.

A very short game? visual novel? RPG maker style game? focusing on escapism and fantasy. (might be too high-maintenance)

‘Telling Lies’ 2001 Short film - style short film. No camera visuals. Just audio and simple animation or subtitles that work with the plot.

As for inspirations. The only media I’ve been able to consume for the past month and a half is TV shows such as Futurama and video games such as The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, (and BoTW). I’ve a newfound love for the escapism that such media brings during this time. Being able to binge-watch all eight seasons at once is also great. Games have a profound effect of also being at the player’s own pace and the player usually digests story, characters and information dependent of the way that they interact with the game.

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Straight 8 Challenge Continued

Film 301 - Straight 8 Challenge Ideas and Inspiration

Initially, we were brought upon a table of images and still shots from well-loved horror films and games. We were asked to pick out a few images that we wished to use as an inspiration for our final films. We chose the up-the-stair silhouette shot in F.W. Murnah’s ‘Nosferatu’ (1922) and ‘Dracula’ (1931). The images of which were as shown below:

Nosferatu 1922 - F.W. Murnah

Dracula 1931 

Now, from these images, we gathered a sense of the dramatic. Obviously due to the stem from German Expressionism. We felt that by using harsh, super bright lights we could create contrasts similar to that of the lighting utilised in these two films.

We decided from the get-go that our film should be set within the confines of one room. One long take. In this way we could be pushing ourselves and keeping ourselves under a great deal of pressure to get the take correct.

UPDATE: The filming went smoothly. A quick story of a young child playing in their room, when they hear strange sounds from outside of their room, they leave and see the shadows of murder occuring in the bathroom, the child runs, scared, behind the stairs, the strange figure steps out of the bathroom. The child scarpers to their room and hides under their bed, seeing their beloved teddy left at the door. They hear sounds and look around under the bed, only to turn and find the teddy has now gone. A hand slowly curls under the bedframe.

Although the film went off without a hitch, it should be noted that we did about 43 takes on a phone prior. That and it has come to my knowledge that the actual film stock that we completed filming on was chewed up in development. So I cannot show the final film irritatingly. But the digital version is as close as its going to get.

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Straight 8 Halloween Horror!

Film 301 - Straight 8 Challenge and Elements of Horror

Straight 8 Challenge

Following official guidelines and rules, create a max 3 minute film shot on a super 8 camera. You cannot edit the film roll and can only use one roll of colour super 8 film. 

You must make an original soundtrack to play alongside your film reel. In order to plan and prepare, it is best to do digital takes of your film prior to using your film stock. 

Use a stopwatch as a means of delegating time to certain events in your film. Keep a steady eye on planning so that your sound may match up on final viewing. 

Elements of Horror

The 5 Elements of Horror according to C.M. Humphries - http://www.cmhumphries.com/blog/5-elements-of-a-good-horror-story

1. Fear - an obvious assumption is that horror films must use the fear of something against its viewer. Even if you don’t typically fear the certain something portrayed in the film, a good horror will make you feel endangered by the something. Especially if it utilises the fear of death.

2. Surprise - the notion of surprise can quite quickly tire for a film, especially in the form of jumpscares. It is always best to have a good understanding of tension and pacing with your film.

3. Suspense - leading on from tension, suspense takes the form of a suspended sense of dread or anxiety. In order for your viewer to feel these emotions, it’s likely that a period or two of building tension will be necessary, via imaginative means. 

4. Mystery -  considering the many horror films that have been produced, there must always be new ways of creating mystery and unknowing of the next thing to come. A lot of the time this may take shape in a creature or monster that is originally unknown to it’s audience. Keeping that mystery alive is important to keep the viewers at the edge of their seat, in fear of their own imaginative events.

5. Spoilers - to some viewers, the pleasure of watching a horror film is knowing that something exciting is going to happen, and therefore they enjoy the lead up to the events that bring them to a climax. Others may experience films without spoilers and it could be argued this is the better way to spectate. However upon noting the great influence of Ari Aster’s ‘Hereditary’ (2018) it’s hard to not recognize that the ever talked about decapitation scene is a brilliant reason as to why so many viewers actually went to watch the film, even if it was spoiled for the viewer, the events leading up to (and after) the death are still just as shocking.

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Universal Themes and Examples

[FILM301]

Most literature and media texts have some form of theme implanted within them. Of these themes, a few are very prevalent within our films. The theme dictates 

Love

Some films choose to show how love, and different types of love, conquers all. Some films focus rather on the dismal side of love and relationships for the purpose of giving a wider perspective of the realistic aspects of love.

Your Name (2016) Makoto Shinkai

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Michel Gondry

Leon: The Professional (2005) Luc Besson

Conflict between Good & Evil

Good vs Evil can also come in the form of conflict between the characters, or an individual characters conflict in their mind.

The Lord of the Rings (2001) Peter Jackson

Star Wars (1977) George Lucas

Dracula (1958) Terence Fisher

Coming of Age

Some stories are a little more about the innocence and learning of the younger generation. Sometimes that learning comes through showing education or relationships or family.

The Breakfast Club (1985) John Hughes

City of God (2002) Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund

Lady Bird (2017) Greta Gerwig

Death

Physical death or even the concept of death is a popular theme without being extremely prevalent as something miserable and inevitable.

A Ghost Story (2017) David Lowery

Stand By Me (1986) Rob Reiner

Ikiru (1952) Akira Kurosawa

Survival or Nature

Spirited Away (2001) Hayao Miyazaki

Moon (2009) Duncan Jones

Touching the Void (2003) Kevin Macdonald

Society

Children of Men (2006) Alfonso Cuarón

Blade Runner (1982) Ridley Scott

Fight Club (1999) David Fincher

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