Nicola Owen: February 2005

blue

blue
Originally uploaded by nic6.

poss character

poss character
Originally uploaded by nic6.

Names for my game.

As my games is mainly aimed at children i wanted the names to be simple and maybe a bit childlike.
Here are a few i ave come up with:

Trivnic
Nakman
Pikman
Trivquest
Gun of Knowledge
Blob attack
City trvia
Factfind
Facthunt
Fact finder
Calsins
red blob creatures!
Pintax
Duramite
miteman

These names are a bit crap, so if anyone has any other cool names they want to suggest for my game then post a comment on my blog and let me know, coz i am all out of ideas!

catnewace

catnewace
Originally uploaded by nic6.

This is a picture of my caterpillar which i have modelled as part of my 3d project. I just thought i would blog it as it is more interesting that the toy project!!!

16 x 16

I have finally finished my 16 x 16 animations and they are ok but not great but as we only had a canvas of 16 x 16 pixels what do they expect!
I had a lot of trouble trying to create my website in Dreamweaver, its like the most confusing program ever its easier to code by hand in notepad! So I decided to produce my website using flash then I could get some animation in the actual website, so It was similar to my animations. I then published it in html, so it fits the brief. Its just a simple website but it shows you the animations so I suppose it will do.

First direct adverts - typography

I couple of weeks ago we where looking at typography, and how it can be used in an expressive way, such as the typography reflects the music in the background. I have just seen a really cool example of this in an advert for first direct, the text in the advert reflects the way and things the person is saying.

You can view one of the adverts at: see advert

See the tv for the other adverts!

These icons below are the outcome of this design exercise. My creative director went thought each of my original icons and told me the best way to change them so are better.

Creative director's input into my work:

Health symbol

– colours need to be more distinctive because it’s small so it will be difficult to tell when a life has been lost.

Heart

- should be made up of layers using 2 colours that alternate so it stands out more.

Map
- Needs to be clearer so the user can see exactly where each icon is without having to look too close. Zoom in on the map slightly and use brighter, contrasting colours for the icons on the map.
- An outline around the map would make it stand out more.

Cross
- To improve health – show symbol on the map.

Gun
- Too much detail needs to be made simple, because the screen is small.

Me as Creative Director:

Health symbol
- Text doesn’t fit in with the icon, the icon is very simple childlike.
- Text needs to reflect this as well
- Change font to comic sans – more rounded childlike lettering

Bone
- Needs to be similar style to health icon
- Black outline
- Need to make icon bigger, so more obvious to the user.

Dog

- I really like the dog, think the style of the dog fits really well with the rest of the game and the other icons.
- Although I like the dog I think the edges are too sharp and need to be blurred at bit.
- The only other problem with the dog is that when the dog is made smaller, you will lose most of the detail, so need to re-think the character design. Is difficult to illustrate dog when small, and get a lot of detail into the character as well.

For this design exercise I decide to do a bit of research into what kind of navigation and buttons are used on games. I think it is important to look at how other game overcome the problem of trying to convey what the button does without using too much detail. I also wanted to look at some game screens to see how they get put the information on the game screen, such as health information or lap information.Below are some examples from existing games:

ImageSite118
Originally uploaded by nic6.

These are icons which are available to use on websites.
Information from: www.profitpages.com/ catalogs/

jicontemp_7
Originally uploaded by nic6.

I really like the icons in the corner of this image, although what the controls do is not really clear.

These images are typically icons which could be used in a game, they are simple and easily to understand, these are the sort of icons which i need to have on my game. The 'back' icon is a very common icon, it is normally used on web pages but a similar icon could be used in a game.

rsbs5
Originally uploaded by nic6.

I posted these images because they show the sort of information, which is displayed on the screen of a game, such as lap number, time and position. The size of the game screen is important because that specifies what size and sorts of information and icons you can display on the screen. The information displayed on the bottom screen is not that clear, mainly because of the colours used, they are too bright and they seem to blend into the background.

controls
Originally uploaded by nic6.

This image is from the box of a game and it explains to the user what each of the controls do, this is not really to do with the design exercise but I felt it was good to include as it shows what the game pad controls could be used for.

pikachart1
Originally uploaded by nic6.

This image also shows the functions of the buttons rather than the icons of the game.

Image from: www.bookmice.net/ fleur/pikadirect.html

Design exercise - week 6

In studio this week (6) we were given a design exercise to design small collection of navigation icons and control buttons to be used in our games. But instead of just having our own input into the design process, the brief requires us to work in pairs; we are all designers of our own work but the other person act as a creative director of the other persons work.

Designers task:

You are encouraged to concentrate on your 'toy' project and develop the visual identity towards your initial game style.
Do not include a descriptive text; your icons alone should be enough to convey the correct message. However, you may use a symbolic word or a command ( up to two words) as part of the icon.
Be consistent in your design; work efficently with the various elements of form, line, texture, colour and type.
Pay attention to usebility of the interface.
Discuss your ideas with the creative director.

Creative Director's task:

You are to support, advise and strategize the other group member's work in terms of the creative process.
Evaluate the ideas that are proposed by the designer.
Present the designer's artwork to the rest of the class on behalf of your team.

Storyboard for my game

The image below is one of my storyboards for my game, as my game is based around different towns/cities around England, I decided to storyboard the game using Huddersfield as the background as an example.The storyboard shows a section of the game, the map in the corner shows the user where the little characters are that the user has to kill, to find the clues, they can also view this map large if the want to make it easier for them.

storyboard of game
Originally uploaded by nic6.

Basic principles of my game

For this exercise I decided to create a set of instructions of my game.

Here are the basic principles of my game:

Number of players – 1, (there is also a option to connect to the internet and play online.)

Game controls
Arrows – move the character around
X – makes the character jump
Square – can be used to shoot things
Triangle – can be used to jump
Circle – collect an object
Start – can be used to pause the game and to view the map

The goal of the game is to complete all the missions in each city or town and solve the clues to collect the facts.

The user controls the character; he roams around the city/town completing the missions. Once the user has completed the mission they then get a clue, these clues when solved lead the user to a certain place in the city/town where they can learn interesting facts about the place.

Tips for the player
As the user moves around the places he will see that there are symbols, which the user can collect. There are symbols, which give the character more health, and also ones, which help the user, solve the game.

(Storyboards to follow)

Design exercise week 3

Also in studio we were given a design exercise, we were required to produce a complete set of instructions from an existing screen based game or for our game, and represent this information typographically by producing a sequential piece. We could either create storyboard ideas or short animations in flash.

Size requirement: 500 (width) x 300 (height) pixels.

Consider the following aspects:

Number of players
Game controls
Goal of the game
Game play in general
Tips for the play

The aim of the project was to explore type as a design element and convey a typographic message that emphasises the key issues in your chosen text.
The design should reflect the style of the game and aim at the correct target audience. We had to pay special attention to readability, legibility and visual quality.

Typography

In studio this week we looked at typography, here are the basic principles and some websites we looked at:

Definition
- The designated setting of the type.

‘Typography exists to honour content’
(Robert bringhurst, the elements of typographic style.)

Typography is the backbone of graphic design

Font
- Complete set of characters in a particular size and style.

Typeface
- Contains a series of fonts – a font family

Serif
- d
Sans serif

- d

-X-height – Height of the letters, determines the height of all the letters in the font.
-Baseline – imaginary line –, which lines everything up.
-Descanter – lower part of the letter, which falls below the baseline.
-Ascender – the upper part of the letter, such as an h, which is usually higher than the others.
-Stoke – any line of the shape used to create the typeface.
-Stem – up-right element of the character.
-Counter – white space around and inside the characters.

Typography clarity

Legibility
- function of typeface design
- how easy it is to distinguish from one letters to another

Readability
-how the typeface is used, this determines whether it is readable or not.

“ the right typeface can encourage people to read your message. The wrong typeface or bad typography can make your message go un-read.”
(http://www.will-harris.com/)

Topics to read
-Grid, Pantograph, and the Rouler.
-Kerning, Tracking, and Leading.
-Orthography.
-Semiotics, Semantics and Linguistics.

Pioneers
- Eric Gill
- Jan Tschrchold
- John Baskerville
- Neville Brody

Websites

- http://www.designingwithtype.com/
- http://www.creativebehaviour.com/
- http://www.kinetictypography.com/
- http://www.typorganism.com/
- http://www.letterror.com/

Miniclip.com

I wasn't in on Wednesday because I overslept but I heard that in the lesson, Dave told people to look at miniclip.com and play some of the game on there. I have played some of the games on this website before, and I think it is a class website. I like the Bullseye game and the table tennis game; this game is cool because you use the mouse to move the bat around. On the website there are all different types of games from puzzle to shooting games.

These screen shots below are from a kids game called the adventure of Cookie and Cream, I like the simple graphics that the game has. I think some of the colours in the game are a bit too bright, but this gives me so ideas of what a kid’s game looks like and the sort of graphics, which are used.

cookieandcream -screenshot

cookieandcream -screenshot
Originally uploaded by nic6.

cookieandcream -screenshot

cookieandcream -screenshot
Originally uploaded by nic6.

klonoa2

klonoa2
Originally uploaded by nic6.

crazy computer

crazy computer
Originally uploaded by nic6.

I saw this and thought I would blog it, as it’s the craziest thing I have ever seen!

Game characters

For the game I want a character, which is interesting yet not too complex, I think it is important that the character is original and that it looks good. I think it is important to do research about the characters, so I no how the characters are created and what sorts of characters appeal to children. Below are a few examples of game characters:

dragon

guadiandragonpurple
Originally uploaded by nic6.

sim-catwoman-006

sim-catwoman-006
Originally uploaded by nic6.

81

81
Originally uploaded by nic6.

pikmin_wp2_800

pikmin_wp2_800
Originally uploaded by nic6.

apple

apple
Originally uploaded by nic6.

playstation with game image
Originally uploaded by nic6.

This is a mock-up of what the game would look like when it is on my chosen mobile device, Sony Playstation Portable.

england

england

I am thinking of using a map like this at the beginning of the game. I want the map to show the main cities from this distance, and then when the user zooms in they can see the city/towns more clearly.
Originally uploaded by nic6.

My Learning Game -

The idea for my game is based on the fact that most people like strategy games, and that not a lot of people no much about England and their hometowns.
So I thought I would invent a game, which combined both of these elements.

The game opens with a map, where you can choose which town/city you want to explore first, certain controls on the device allow the user to zoom in on sections of the map.

Once the user has picked the place they want to explore, they can then pick which character they want to be, there are different characters each with different profiles and skills.

Once the user has picked a character, the screen changes to the character in the place they have choose, then a mission appears on screen, such as they have to kill some little creatures which are hidden around the town.

The user is given a clue at the end of each mission, the user has to complete a few mission to collect more clues, which will lead him or her to a certain place, which tells them facts about their city/town.

Once the user has solved the clues and got the facts, the user can then decide whether to complete another mission in the same city or go back to the map and pick another place.

To help the user no which missions they have completed and how much of the game they have played, once a mission is completed it is indicated on the map. If every mission in a town/city has been completed then that area turns purple. If only certain areas have been completed the specific area turns green until all of the mission in that place have been completed.

Also as the user moves around the town/city there are certain items that they can collect to help them complete the game. The user can collect food from the shops to keep the character healthy, as well as other symbols.

Nicola Owen

Sunday, February 27, 2005

blue

poss character

Names for my game.

catnewace

16 x 16

First direct adverts - typography

Saturday, February 19, 2005

Design exercise - week 6

Sunday, February 13, 2005

Storyboard for my game

Basic principles of my game

Design exercise week 3

Typography

Friday, February 11, 2005

Miniclip.com

Sunday, February 06, 2005

cookieandcream -screenshot

cookieandcream -screenshot

klonoa2

crazy computer

Game characters

dragon

sim-catwoman-006

81

pikmin_wp2_800

apple

england

Saturday, February 05, 2005

My Learning Game -

About Me

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