digital gaming by luke barrier

21
1 Article By Luke Barrier

Upload: luke-barrier

Post on 23-Mar-2016

216 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

DESCRIPTION

college assignment based on the different areas of gaming and the concerns and benefits.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

1

Article By Luke Barrier

Page 2: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

2

Article By Luke Barrier

Contents

Main genres action games Page 3

Main genres Adventure games Page4

Simulation Page5

Combat Page6

Areas involved in development design side Page7

Computer side Page8

Gaming platforms and environment/platforms/PS3 Page9

Gaming platforms XBOX 360 Page10

Gaming platforms DS Page11

Environments 2D, 3D, 4D Page12

Environments Kinect Page13

Environments Si axis Page14

Influences of games concerns Page15

Influences of games benefits Page16

Psychological effects of games on individuals and society Page17

Evaluation of effects on individuals and society Page18

Bibliography Page19

Bibliography Page20

Bibliography Page21

Page 3: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

3

Article By Luke Barrier

Main genres of computer games

Action games

These are games in which the user has

to get involved in they are full

of fighting, war, adventure

and visual effects usually free

roam games with a small

storyline but huge maps and

levels. The games can vary in

what action is involved such as

shooters, racing. They are

designed to be physically

challenging testing hand eye co-

ordination and reactions. A good

example of an action game would

be Duke Nukem, this is a game that

the user controls the avatar and runs

around fighting enemies and

collecting items. Fig 1

Role-playing

This is a type of game where the user

controls an avatar and develops his/her

personality they often allow the user to

make the character look how they want

them too. These games are designed to

allow the user to lose their selves in a

world which they prefer to be in

where they can be someone else, like a

night elf or ogre etc... a good in fact

the best example of this would be

Wow (world of war craft)this is the

biggest online roll playing game in

the world it also falls into the

category of MMORPG (Massively

multiplayer online role playing

game) these types of game are

massively based on fantasy worlds

and characters. Fig 2

Page 4: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

4

Article By Luke Barrier

Adventure games

An adventure game consists of a

character usually on a quest which

follows a storyline, along the way

the character usually finds

themselves facing difficult puzzles

and problem solving, these types of

game are usually a single player

game and is often difficult to turn

into a multiplayer game a good

example of this would be the secret of

monkey island, this is a game where

the main character is a young teenage

boy named Guybrush Threepwood who

sets out to become a mighty pirate

solving mind boggling puzzles along the

way. Fig 3

Strategy games

A strategy game is a game which is a

mixture of adventure, puzzle and

action game that involves the user to

take strategic decisions and figure out

risks and routs, strategy games come

in many different styles such as

worms down to splinter cell one is a

team of little worms where you

have to make decisions to aim and

fire weapons and to figure out the

wind strength and the other is a

game based on a secret agent

having to sneak around and make

decisions which range from killing

enemies to evading them or

distracting them. Fig 4

Page 5: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

5

Article By Luke Barrier

Simulations

There are many different

simulation games

ranging from racing

games such as the

latest Gran Turismo

to flight simulators.

These are games that

are for fun but also

taken seriously by

enthusiasts especially

the latest golf games

whilst using gadgets

such as the play station

move as the golfers

swing has to be next to

perfect to hit the ball

straight. Fig 5

Sports games

These games are based on

all sorts of sports so the

user can play as his or hers

favourite athletes and

teams these games include

football, cricket, rugby,

golf, formula1, touring

cars and many others.

These games make good

multiplayer and online

games due to how

competitive they can

be. Fig 6

Page 6: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

6

Article By Luke Barrier

Combat games

These sorts of games are

usually arcade games

where you pick a player

and you have the choice

between 2 players vs.

mode or 1p vs. computer,

the aim of a combat game

is to be the victor by

beating your opponent by

using combinations and

other techniques. Examples

of combat games are street

fighter and Tekken. Fig 7

Educational games

An education game is

designed to train your brain

in a fun way by setting

challenges which include

language tests, mathematics

and puzzles, by doing this

it allows the player to

learn whilst entertaining

them. These games are

games like Brain Trainer

and art class for the

Nintendo DS. Fig 8

Page 7: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

7

Article By Luke Barrier

The areas which may be involved in games development

There are two sides of development which are design side and computer side so here are a list

of areas that are usually covered in development.

Design side

Story board - This is the general idea of

what the game is about and the different

movements the character makes and the

scenes where he/she will be in the order of

the game. Developers use this as a pre-

visualisation of the game sequence. Fig 9

Mood board -This is what developers use

to create the feel of the game, for example

if the game was a dark and scary game the

developers may include dark and gloomy

images and colours such as black dark red

and blue and may also include horror

images.

Brainstorm- This is where the whole team

will sit around a table with a large sheet of

paper and throw ideas around and picking

out the good and eliminating the bad this

is one of the first processes in development

and is a good way to gain the content for

a game.

Script-This is where the team develop a

script (the text for the characters to learn)

for the characters such as lines for the

characters to say during the game and for

the video content during the cut scenes.

Characters-This is where the team sit

around to develop the characters as far as

how they want them to look the names

and the personalities they want the

characters to have.

Genera’s- This is where the design team

decide what genre of game they want to

create.

Story line- This is the main storyline for the

character this will tell you who he is what

he is doing and where he wants to be and

the things he will be doing along the way

to achieve his/her goals.

Sound tracks- This is for the team to add

more effects to the game. Choosing the

right sound effects can make all the

difference, example if you had a children’s

game it would be happy music buy if you

had a horror you would want thrilling

music like a dark orchestra sound.

Artwork- This is where the team will be

dealing with what they want the scenes

and characters to look like they would

draw up a rough sketch and a detailed

sketch, another thing would be the

advertising posters the team would have

someone designing them.

Facts and history- Depending in the type of

game you are creating you would have to

make sure you know the facts unless it’s

complete fantasy for example if you are

doing a world war 2 game you need the

facts to put the content into your game so

it would require a little research to be

thrown into the brainstorm.

Page 8: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

8

Article By Luke Barrier

Computer side

AI (artificial intelligence) - This is where the

team develop the artificial intelligence that

needs to be included in the game (the

computer generated enemies/friends). This

will allow the user to fight battles in a

single player mode allowing the computer

to react to your decisions using a counter

attack or to help you if there on your

team.

Graphics Processing- This is where the team

decide what sort of graphics there going to

be using (shadows resolutions and water

reflections) to help know what sort of

hardware would be needed to run the

game also to check that it would run on

the latest consoles and that it does not use

too much of the graphical memory, they

would also cover putting the models into

the game and creating the movements for

the characters.

Consol Compatibility- This relates to the

graphics and the programming, the team

would have to make sure it is capable of

running on the graphics cards provided in

a consol and also that the consol can read

the coding as each consol can only read a

certain programming language, this

requires the whole game to be written in

several different languages so that the

consoles can recognise it.

Programming- There would be several

programmers each writing different code

for the game they would work together

and alone, another thing as mentioned

before they would be working to get the

game programmed to work and different

platforms e.g. ps3 or XBOX 360 this

require time and money.

Beta testing- This is where the developers

will test the game, employ game testers or

even release it to the public on a trial

period to test it for glitches or faults and to

gain positive and negative feedback. This is

a very good idea as it will keep the

customers happy and prevent recalls or

updates in the future.

Modelling- This is where the team will take

their artwork for the game and turn it into

a digital 3d model using modelling

software, in this step the team would also

create skins for the models such as face

skins and cloth skins.

2D, 3D, 4D- This is where the team will

either make the game 2 dimensional which

is flat or 3 dimensional which the character

appears to be viewable from all angles and

can move around the screen freely, also

the game designers may want to include

some sort of feel sensation (4D) this is like

a vibration on the pad when a gun is fired.

Collision detection- There will be a

dedicated team which will figure out all of

the collision detection. Collision detection

is when your character makes contact with

objects and other characters, this will allow

a series of different events to happen

during contact e.g. a new character is

spawned and old character dies.

Networking- The team will need to know

if the game is going to be online interactive

multiplayer. If the game is multiplayer the

team will need to set up networks and

servers which are powerful enough to

contain all of the users online. Fig10

Page 9: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

9

Article By Luke Barrier

The gaming platforms and environments

Platforms

Playstation 3- This is the latest version

of the Playstation consoles this is a

dedicated platform designed to work

specifically with Playstation products.

Playstation is designed by Sony and is

currently in a head to head

competition with the Xbox 360 by

Microsoft. The Playstation 3 is capable

of many different functions such as

being able to run the latest HD and 3D

games to watching Blu-ray movies in

1080p and 3D this console allows the

user to be completely up to date with

the latest products on the market as you

can access the internet via WIFI and

download the latest content. Fig11

PSP- The PSP is the Playstation

Portable which is absolutely

dedicated to the games. The PSP is

capable of DVD playback and can

also hook up to the internet it also

allows you to listen to your

favourite MP3 format music and

is pretty much a miniature PS3.

This hand held device has

stunning graphics and in my

opinion worth every penny.

Fig12

Page 10: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

10

Article By Luke Barrier

Xbox 360- This is the latest version

of the Xbox console, Xbox have

recently released a new version of

this console called the kinect which

they added a new port for the kinect

to plug in to, a better cooling system

and WIFI to connect wirelessly to the

internet. This is also a dedicated

console which is purely for gaming

and home entertainment. It has the

ability with an adapted player to run

HD movies however it cannot play

Blu-ray movies. It runs games in HD

and 3D and in personal opinion holds

the market for the best games. XBOX

360 is made by the Microsoft

Company. Microsoft released this

console to challenge Sony’s PS3. Fig13

PC- The PC is not a dedicated

console however it is still the best

platform to run a game on

providing your willing to put the

money into it. PCs can have all

of the latest hardware ploughed

into them allowing them to

constantly upgrade their

performance this means they

have the ability to run the best

games at the highest quality.

Most gamers prefer a PC

compared to any other

console as they appreciate its

capabilities to run their

favourite games to

perfection.

Fig14

Page 11: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

11

Article By Luke Barrier

Nintendo DS- The DS is a

hand held device created for

the gaming community on

their travels. The DS has fairly

good graphics and recently

they have released a HD

version compatible with 3D

games so they are crystal clear

and cool to play. The DS is a

dedicated console and also has

the capability to take photos.

Fig15

Nintendo Wii- This console

is designed not only to

entertain the user but to

help keep them active, it

has two wireless remotes

which are connected via

an infrared connection,

the Nintendo Wii

console picks up on the

movement of the

remote allowing the

user interact with the

games on a massive

physical level. This

console is capable of

standard definition

DVD playback and has an old Game cube

Graphics card which states that it’s not all about the graphics but

also about how much fun is involved it is one of the best party based consoles out

there. Fig 16

Page 12: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

12

Article By Luke Barrier

Environments

2D- This is the traditional type of computer

games based around vector images. Two

dimensional graphics are somewhat more

preferred than three dimensional as there is

much more control of 2D graphical models

than 3D.2D is usually HD and standard

definition such as 360p. Fig 17

3D-This is a three dimensional shape

which can be viewed from multiple

angles 3D is advancing more each

day because currently 3D have

advanced to defining the depth of

the characters and scenery. When

using 3D graphics in games the

graphics are based on Photographical

images rather than vector or rasterised

images (they lean more toward the

realism), again 3D graphics help keep

the user engrossed in the game as it feels

more realistic for them.

Fig18

4D- Game developers use 4D to create an

environment which helps make the user feel more

involved in a game, 4D is used especially in simulation

games to get the feeling of bumps, knocks and

vibrations such as turbulence in an airplane.

Fig19

Page 13: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

13

Article By Luke Barrier

Kinect- The Kinect for the XBOX 360 crates

a physical involvement in gaming this allows

the user to feel like they are actually there in

the game, to aid this Kinect takes photos of

you during the game which also make you

feel more involved. The Kinect is also good

in a party environment as it creates fun and

exiting challenges for you and your friends.

The Kinect also allows voice interaction so

that the user can give the console commands

such as turn on turn off or start game.

Fig20

Dance mats- Again great at parties creating a

fun and energetic environment for the user to

really get involved with. Whilst creating a fun

environment it also provides a good physical

work out which we don’t realise were doing

as you get engrossed in the game.

Fig21

Wii controller- The Wii controller is similar to the

other environments in the fact that they require the

user’s physical energy to control the avatar by

throwing the controller around like a mad man,

Fig22

Page 14: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

14

Article By Luke Barrier

SI Axis- This allows the user not only to use the

controllers buttons but also to move the controller

around to control the avatar and other in game motions

e.g. this is good with car games as you can use it for the

steering creating a feel factor which the user has to

physically pretend that they are steering a real car.

Fig23

Playstation Move- This is another

controller that requires the players

physical movements to control there

character, these sorts of pad create a very

energetic environment where a player can

lose himself in a game such as tennis or

golf.

Fig24

Eye toy-This is a camera which the

user has to move around in front

of to interact with the game this can

become humorous and physical

keeping the user involved. It works by

using gesture recognition to process the

images taken allowing the interaction.

Fig25

Page 15: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

15

Article By Luke Barrier

The influence of games including Concerns & Benefits

Concerns

Addiction- Games can become very

addictive this is becoming more and more

of a known addiction each day, though

game addiction is not actually a recognised

addiction it has the same effects on the

gamers as it does on people who get

addicted to gambling. It is a small yet

highly effective Psychological technique

which is implemented into the game to

keep you playing it, basically the

programmers give you unlocks and

experience points amongst other prizes

throughout the game, this triggers

something off in the human brain which

tells you to proceed until you achieve your

new goal.

Influence- Games can have influences on

people mainly in younger people who try

to re-enact there favourite characters and

games. Though this does not seem harmful

there have been cases where it has lead to

the death of someone, in this article

(http://www.geek.com/articles/games/8-

year-old-shot-killed-reenacting-ps2-game-

2001123/) I Read that a 12 year old boy

and his younger brother were re enacting a

PS2 game where the aim of the game was

anti terrorism, the boy accidentally shot his

8 year old brother which later lead to his

death. I do not blame the boy or the

game creators as this game is rated T for

teen content, This accident was due to lack

of responsibility by the parents.

Eye problems-Eye problems are a major

concern when it comes to gaming as

staring at a screen all day puts un-necessary

stress on the eyes and is becoming more

popular in children.

Lack of education-People are now saying

that there children are lacking in education

as they get in from school and go strait on

to there computers and play there games

all night. This could be a concern but again

could be prevented by better parenting.

Hacking-This is a huge concern as this can

lead to theft of your personal information

and even your money. Currently in the

news is the massive catastrophic mistake

about Sony’s lack of security which caused

one of the biggest hacks in history leading

to the theft of in excess of 77,000 of there

customers private details including home

addresses, telephone numbers and bank

details, this is living proof that how

perfectly possible it is and that it is of huge

concern.

Neglect-This may not seem likely but it

does happen, there was a case in the

Japanese news about a young Japanese

couple with a baby. The couple became

increasingly addicted to an online role

playing game where the task was to

protect your young offspring from

enemies, the couple was that addicted to

the game that they forgot about there own

daughter who was later found dead and

had starved to death, the baby girl died of

mal nutrition and the couple were jailed

for neglect to there daughter, the mum of

the baby is now undertaking heavy

psychiatric help.

Money-There is a high concern about

money issues as not only are games

expensive but there are cases where people

have quit there jobs and even dropped out

of education to play there games. Another

way money is a concern is there are

people who place real wagers online and

games like online poker and can end up

losing thousands of pounds.

Page 16: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

16

Article By Luke Barrier

Benefits

Healthy activities- Some games offer

healthy activity such as the Wii fit which is

a series of fun games designed to keep you

healthy by making you follow a step by

step exercise tutorial in the form of a

game, this has literally helped thousands of

people get into shape and to maintain a

healthy life style.

Work skills-During gaming there are skills

which can be obtained without even

realising it. An example of ways you gain

these skills are in games such as call of duty

where groups of online players form clans

where they make strategic decisions to

eliminate there opposition which shows

that they learn to work as a team even if it

is over a social network.

Socialising-Gaming is a really good way to

socialise with others, although most

conversations on the networks are full of

vulgarity and snide comments to each

other, researchers discovered after a long

study that the vulgarity and swearing to

each other was mainly between the people

that were friends and already knew each

other , in fact when an unknown person

joined in there games the language and

vulgarity became less or in cases stopped

all together.

Creativity-Games have influences on

people that are also good, Games create

an active imagination in youngsters and

can be beneficial towards there future,

people who have active imaginations are

generally good at writing and artwork and

could lead them to a successful career.

Entertainment- Games are a great way of

entertaining yourself, they let you lose

yourself in a fictional reality where you

become whoever you want to be and do

whatever you want to do. Studies show

that games are in fact more entertaining

than films and television, further more can

also create friendships when online and are

great at family parties.

Educational- There are certain games which

are designed to stimulate the brain and get

your mind thinking such as puzzle games

and word games, these games help keep

your mind active and can help kids learn

new words and languages whilst having

fun.

Careers-There are loads of job

opportunities out there yes but the more

we enjoy games the more demand there is

for them, the demand on games creates

more jobs in the industry, Games even

influence people to go to college and

study gaming to get a career in game

development. There is currently a game

called angry birds which was bought by EA

for approximately 13 million pounds the

game was developed by a bunch of

students for the apps industry created by

apple.

Page 17: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

17

Article By Luke Barrier

Psychological effects gaming has on individuals

There are many types of genres of video games as I have pointed out throughout the article,

however after doing a bit of research it seams as though the main effects are developing in

young adults and children mainly through violence in games. Scientific researchers say that the

main cause of the aggression in children who play these games is caused by the child losing or

being defeated, this shows that the children are completely involved in these games and take

them very seriously.

There was one case which I found a little disturbing and was posted all over YouTube. A

young teenage boy had been cut off from playing the online MMORPG game World of war

craft by his mother and the results of this were shocking, the boy flipped out and started

wishing he was dead and saying that he hated his family whilst punching and kicking in a

huge tantrum, this goes to show just how much these people are psychologically addicted to

these games. See for yourself (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YersIyzsOpc)

In another case there is one man who actually prefers world of Warcraft than his wife and

children he is so engrossed with his World of Warcraft game I would go as far as saying this

man had actually lost track of what was real and what was fantasy, his whole life evolves

around this game and it means more to him than his family. This article was posted on

yahoo answers.

Article

Why does my husband prefer to play

computer games over family, his home

responsibilities, etc?

I know they are addictive, but there is so much to do. I feel so embarrassed that these games

are more interesting than the kids and me. He was so excited to move into our first house, but

it's been 6 months now and he spends way more time on World or Warcraft than anything.

Over the past couple days he's been moping around the house. I asked why, he said he wanted

to play his game.

Any suggestions?

So in conclusion not only does gaming make people more aggressive but it can actually make

people feel down and depressed because they miss the game and can also make people lose

track of reality and there priorities. As mentioned previously this is due to the psychological

implementations in the game such as unlockable content and reaching new levels for

characters.

Page 18: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

18

Article By Luke Barrier

Evaluation of the influences on individuals and society and the rise in gaming

All in all from the research which I have done it has come to my attention that people who

are into games and people who let there children play games need to be aware of the risks,

they should keep a close eye out for signs of psychological attachment to games. I have come

to the conclusion that games are a massive influence in this day and age throwing out both

good and bad factors. Although games are addictive they can also be helpful if they are not

abused e.g. weight loss, learning and socializing. They are also brilliant for meeting new

people and making friends in a safe environment. I believe that gaming can be of good

benefit to the community if they use it right and follow the rules such as age restrictions and

only allowing a few hours of play each day.

I do think that the negative influences such as aggression and addiction should be taken more

seriously and should have more money put into the research on how we can resolve these

situations. I think that the aggressive side of things can be sorted out by parents just by

preventing there children from playing violent games whilst under age. I read about groups

that children can join to get them back to socialising with people in reality which I think is

really good idea and should be made more advertised to the public.

It seems that since the sudden rise in the gaming industry has hit that more and more cases of

addiction are developing across the world and that it could get worse, I think this point needs

to be shown and broadcast on television showing some of the cases such as the incident in

Japan with the baby girl, my reason for this is because that was such a serious incident I

would like to know that it is at least trying to be prevented from happening again.

Page 19: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

19

Article By Luke Barrier

Bibliography

Any images listed below do not belong to me and belong to the owner who published them

on the websites. I do not claim that any images are mine and are simply using them as

examples.

Image: Fig1

Duke Nukem time to kill

http://s.uvlist.net/l/y2005/7/2286.jpg

Image: Fig 2

World of Warcraft

http://guidesmedia.ign.com/guides/16985/images/wow_selection01.jpg

Image: Fig3

The Secret of Monkey Island

http://geekadelphia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/monkey_island_omg.jpg

Image: Fig4

Splinter Cell

http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/731/731810/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-double-agent-

tba-20060908025625635.jpg

Image: Fig5

Flight simulator

http://pcmedia.gamespy.com/pc/image/article/725/725926/flight-simulator-x-

20060816000035462_640w.jpg

Image: Fig6

Formula 1

http://www.3d-game.co/wp-content/thumbs/f11.jpg

Image: Fig7

Tekken vs. Street fighter

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs50/f/2009/277/0/e/Tekken_vs_Street_Fighter_by_lightwave12.jpg

Image: Fig8

Brain training

http://www.itreviews.co.uk/games/g262.htm

Image: Fig9

Development

http://www.psfk.com/2010/12/the-game-of-game-design.html

Image: Fig 10

Model

Page 20: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

20

Article By Luke Barrier

http://www.prlog.org/11450000-3d-modelling.jpg

Image: Fig11

PS3

http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/playstation_3_ps3.jpg

Image: Fig12

PSP

http://www.webtechgeek.com/NewYorkPics/Sony-PSP-front-back.jpg

Image: Fig13

Xbox360

http://www.coderetard.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/black-xbox-360.jpg

Image: Fig14

Alienware PC

http://regmedia.co.uk/2008/03/07/alienware_cfx_1.jpg

Image: Fig15

Nintendo DS

http://www.scenicreflections.com/ithumbs/Nintendo_DS_Wallpaper_18u69.jpg

Image: Fig16

Nintendo Wii

http://www.nintendo-wii-gameconsole.co.uk/assets/images/Nintendo_Wii_Console_Black.jpg

Image: Fig 17

2D game

http://www.yoyogames.com/extras/image/name/san2/2/418002/original/halozero.jpg

Image: Fig18

3D game

http://www.game-stuff.com/collection/fantasy_buildings_collection/04.jpg

Image: Fig19

4D duel shock mechanism

http://www.precisionmicrodrives.com/uploads/media_items/24mm-vibration-shaker-

motor.260.260.r.s.jpg

Image: Fig20

Kinect

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Z32m-

3q5XWc/TH4aw9VQBKI/AAAAAAAAAC0/dBro0kuqIMA/s1600/kinect-everything-01-top.jpg

Page 21: Digital Gaming By Luke barrier

21

Article By Luke Barrier

Image: Fig21

Dance mat

http://www.lygotech.com/products/PS2%208-WAY%20DANCE%20MAT.jpg

Image: Fig22

Wii remote

http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/system/files/sensor_modules/WiiRemote1.jpg

Image: Fig23

Si Axis

http://www.port-all.org/wp-content/uploads/Sony%20Sixaxis%20Playstation.jpg

Image: Fig24

PS3 Move

http://regmedia.co.uk/2010/09/10/move_1.jpg

Image: Fig25

Eye toy

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/EyeToy_camera_1.jpg