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Department of Media and Communication

EXTENDED PROJECT PORTFOLIO

Academic Year 2016/2017

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Callum HainesYear 2 – Operation Thursday

UAL Unit 13/14 – Extended Project

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS.........................................................................................................................................2

LIST OF FIGURES.............................................................................................................................5

LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................................5

DEFINITION OF TERMS...................................................................................................................5

Unit 13/14 - Project Proposal...............................................................................................................6

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Project Action Plan and Timetable.......................................................................................................9

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CHAPTER 1...........................................................................................................................................11

Introduction........................................................................................................................................11

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The Background of my Project........................................................................................................11

Who am I?...................................................................................................................................12

What did I learn on my course?..................................................................................................12

What is my project about?.............................................................................................................12

Why my project is important?........................................................................................................13

My Research Plan............................................................................................................................13

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CHAPTER 2...........................................................................................................................................15

Literature/Resources Review.............................................................................................................15

.........................................................................................15

Introduction....................................................................................................................................15

Practitioners Report........................................................................................................................15

CONCLUSION - Who/what was my inspiration? /Contextualisation of my study.....................16

CHAPTER 3...........................................................................................................................................17

Research Design..................................................................................................................................17

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....................................................................17

Introduction....................................................................................................................................17

Research Questions........................................................................................................................18

Research Design Evolution..............................................................................................................19

CHAPTER 4...........................................................................................................................................21

Research Findings...............................................................................................................................21

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Data analysis...................................................................................................................................21

Conclusion - How did the research help me with my project?......................................................21

CHAPTER 5...........................................................................................................................................22

My Project...........................................................................................................................................22

.....22

Introduction....................................................................................................................................22

Pre-Production................................................................................................................................22

Production.......................................................................................................................................22

Post-production..............................................................................................................................22

Presentation....................................................................................................................................22

CHAPTER 6...........................................................................................................................................23

MY EXTENDED PROJECT – FINAL PRODUCT........................................................................................23

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CHAPTER 7...........................................................................................................................................24

Project Evaluation...............................................................................................................................24

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APPENDICES........................................................................................................................................25

Extended project in creative media production Learning Outcomes and Assessment.................25

1. Be able to initiate and develop a creative media production project proposal.......................25

2. Be able to use research, analysis and evaluation to develop solutions for creative media production project.......................................................................................................................25

3. Be able to solve practical, theoretical and technical problems in a creative media production project.........................................................................................................................................25

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4. Be able to plan, organise and produce a creative media production project..........................25

5. Be able to use practical methods and skills in a creative media production project................25

6. Be able to use evaluative and reflective skills in the production of a creative media product.25

7. Be able to present a creative media production project..........................................................25

REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................26

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1- What is research...................................................................................................................17Figure 2- How to ask good questions...................................................................................................18Figure 3 - My exercise 1.......................................................................................................................18

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 - Project Proposal......................................................................................................................7Table 2 - Project Action Plan and Timetable........................................................................................10Table 3- My research Plan...................................................................................................................13

DEFINITION OF TERMS

EP – Extended ProjectUAL – University of the Arts London

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Unit 13/14 - Project Proposal

Candidate Name Callum HainesCandidate NumberPathway UAL

Project Title Operation Thursday

Section 1: Rationale (approx. 150 words)

When I first started this course I had no knowledge of how to do anything I had not taken much interest in the games industry before so I did not even understand the theory side of work at first because I had never taken a look into how games were made, therefore everything I know about the games industry has come from this course. What I have learnt from this course is how to do the practical work e.g. Sound, 3D modelling, Photo editing (Photoshop) and refining my artwork. I have also learnt what the industry would expect from me and what I would have to achieve if I wanted to take on a career with in this industry.I have decided to focus on level design as my discipline, the reason why I have chosen this is because I felt that previous projects have always fallen short of my expectations; I choose to do 3D modelling which meant that I would usually chose to focus on the models and ignore what the environment looked like for example my second project was essentially a few models in a box with textured walls and my first extended project did not even have a environment to sit in it was just

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the models on their own and a small cut out of a room for them to sit on. Another contributor to why my projects have fell short of expectations is my poor time management which leads to not having enough time to complete everything I wanted to.

Section 2: Project Concept (approx. 200 words)

For this project I will be focusing on is level design and how developers guide you through a level indirectly, what I mean by this is if a game is open world and the player can explore in any direction, how do developers guide the player to go in the directions that they want so that they do not miss content or skip straight to the end of the game. An example of this is Fallout 3 and New Vegas. In Fallout 3 when the player first comes out of the tutorial area (aka Vault 101) the first thing you will see is the town of Megaton because of the huge gates out front and this is a tactic to guide the player to the main quest straight away, there is also a similar feature in New Vegas from right at the beginning of the game the player can see the New Vegas strip and what this does is give the player a sense of direction but in this game they also put obstacles in your way so you cannot just run there from the get go you have to walk around and go through different areas which then leads you to the content the developer wanted you to explore. I want to base my project around WW2, specifically an event that took place in Burma, called Operation Thursday. To make the game more appealing to audiences I will create it as an alternative history meaning I could change events to making the gameplay more exciting, giving myself more freedom when creating the level.My inspiration for my project is Sniper Elite. The elements I want to use from this game is how they create an environment where it is open but it has its limits for example they create some maps on islands so that you cannot leave the main area or they place you on top of cliffs so there no way down. They also use an alternative history route to tell their story because of the freedom it allows when creating an environment for a video game.By doing another alternative history project I can use skills I learned the first time when doing the Napoleon project, such as how to gather useful research. Another point for doing an alternative history project again is that I can improve on what I miss the first time, an example of this is the technology was all from different periods in time and it lost the feeling of being in a specific time period.I will show my levels through creating graphs, floor plans (that will include enemies and their lines of sight) and I am also aiming to create a 3D environment. The level of detail in the environment will depend on how much time I can dedicate to the modelling and texturing.The audience that I would aim for is about 16 – 30 and more into storytelling, exploration, RPGs and third person shooters.

What I hope to learn through doing this project, is an understanding of how to create levels that have an element of exploration but also combine a guided path or story. I aim to achieve this by creating a level that will be mainly grey boxed to show off key ideas and concepts and if need be I will add areas in that have more detail if I need to show something for example in side of buildings and other key areas.Section 3: Evaluation (approx. 150 words)

I will measure the success of my project by comparing the finished product to my inspirations for example I will compare my map to Sniper Elite’s maps to gauge where my work would fit in the real world market/industry, Sniper Elite being the top standard because it is a triple A title developed by a successful studio.

I will also record my progress through the creation of my project, I will do this by writing reflections at the end of the week stating what I have done and what I hope to have achieved the following week, I can also record myself making the environment to reflect on later and

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document my progress.

When the project is in final I will get feedback from my peers either written or recorded and I will also allow them to play/look around the environment as part of some Q&A testing.

Proposed Research Sources and Bibliography (Harvard Format)Berry, N., 2015. The Guide to Open World Environment Design. Available at: https://80.lv/articles/skyrim-designer-on-building-virtual-worlds/ [Accessed April 27, 2017].

Wookhee Min, Bradford Mott, Jonathan Rowe, Barry Liu, James Lester. (). Player Goal Recognition in Open-World Digital Games with Long Short-Term Memory Networks. Available: https://www.intellimedia.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/min-ijcai-2016.pdf. Last accessed 27/04/2017.

(Burgess, n.d.)

(Anon., n.d.)

(Google, 2017)

https://chindits.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/chindit-map-operation-thursday-1944.jpg(Map of Burma landing sites during operation Thursday)

(www.burmastar.org.uk, n.d.)

(Hastings, 2015)

(Man in the high castle, 2015)

(Developments, 2017)

(Games, 2014)Table 1 - Project Proposal

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https://chindits.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/chindit-map-operation-thursday-1944.jpg

https://www.intellimedia.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/min-ijcai-2016.pdf.%20Last%20accessed%2027/04/2017

https://www.intellimedia.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/min-ijcai-2016.pdf.%20Last%20accessed%2027/04/2017

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Project Action Plan and Timetable

Project Action Plan and Timetable

Week Date WeekBeginning

Activity / What you are intending to do - including independent study

Resources / What you will need to do it - including access to workshops

Week 110/04/17

Taking pictures of Canterbury and the surrounding areas as primary research for level design (city layout).

Pen/pencilsNote padCamera

Week 217/04/17

Research planProject proposal

Word

Week 324/04/17

Research for presentation Research materials (books, internet, games)

Week 401/05/17

Project presentation Power point

Week 508/05/17

Researching and designing project Unreal engineNote pad/sketch pad 3ds maxResearch materials (books, internet, games)YouTube tutorials

Week 615/05/17

Creating landscape Unreal engine3ds max

Week 722/05/17

Create foliage Unreal engine3ds max

Week 829/05/17

Create structures Unreal engine3ds max

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Week 905/06/17

Create enemies Unreal engine3ds max

Week 1012/06/17

Create miscellaneous (cars, items, pickups, collectables)

Unreal engine3ds max

Week 1119/06/17

Evaluation Word

Table 2 - Project Action Plan and Timetable

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

This is my project proposal/portfolio for my Extended Project for UAL extended diploma in Level 3 games development. My project is about finding out what makes a successful stealth level, I have

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also chosen to set my project during World War 2 in Burma. I have chosen to set it here because of an operation that took place in Burma during World War 2 called Operation Thursday but instead of following exactly what happened I have chosen to make my project an alternative history so that I can have more creative freedom and make the game/level(s) more interesting. What my project will include is maps of the area(s) I will create and they will detail where enemies are and what they can see and other game mechanics like pick-ups (Health, weapons, power ups and ammo). I will also include a virtual version of my level(s) that can be explored and I will create these by grey boxing the area(s).

In this chapter you will find the background of my project where I will detail what is it that makes me do my project? My personal experiences that influence my choices (idea for the project, my role in the project, how it relates to my future career), what is the basic premise of my project? What do I seek to achieve and how it relates to my target audience? This chapter will also include my ‘Who am I Mind Map’ in which you will find out more about who I am. Another topic covered in this chapter is what I have learnt during my time on this course. Finally this chapter will contain a research plan.

The Background of my Project

I want to do this project because I think that other alternative history projects I have done have not been up to standard, I think this because the previous projects look as if they weren’t plan at all and that there was no communication between me and my team. With this project I want to get right what I got wrong within my last project. One of the Inspirations for my project is Sniper Elite, I like the way that they present there levels and I enjoy the gameplay but I could never spend a long amount of time on their games because there isn’t enough story to hold my interest. Which I understand that that is the purpose of the game to be a stealth, third person, shooter but I would still like there to be more story even if it is just in the environment or location which is what I am aiming for by using a real event and just changing a few details that will affect the outcome of the mission dramatically. The event that I will be basing my environment is the invasion of Burma by the British and India armies more specifically Operation Thursday.

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Who am I?

This was one of the first research projects I did in unit 12. The task was to create a mind map about myself. I now know why this was one of the first research project, doing this task helped us focused on what was important to us and what interested us so that we could come up with an idea for our extended project (EP) that would be focused which would lead to better ideas being formed meaning that our EP would be more solid.

I also took part in a Myers Briggs test, which is a test that takes your answers and categorises them to form a personality type. When I did mine I thought that is had a good part of it right but other things it got completely wrong and I think this is the result of having fixed questions in which I was maybe indifferent about the subject so it could get good data from me.

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What did I learn on my course?

To show what I have learn over my time on this course I have created a mind-map/timeline of the work that I have done.

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https://callumhainesgamesdevelopment.wordpress.com/2017/05/12/my-timeline/

(Link to an up-scaled version of timeline.)

When I first came to this course I had not researched into any of the games development industry, so when I arrived I did not know what kind of job were available or where this course could lead me and therefore I had no knowledge of the computer programs that I would be learning. In conclusion everything I know about the games development industry has come from this course I now know where I would want to go and I also know how to get there. I also would not know how to work any of the computer programs required for the games industry without this course teaching me so I have come a long way from where I started and where I am now.

What is my project about?

The topic of my project is level designs and how to create a stealth level that has some aspect of open world exploration. What I want from this is to create an environment that is open but guided so the player can explore a limited area but isn’t stuck on one set pathway and is free to choose how to complete the mission for example if they want to run straight to the end or explore and pick up all the collectables, if they want to run in and shoot everything and cause a lot of chaos and destruction or if they want to take a silent route and try and remain undetected.

The theme for my level will be World War 2 and it will be set in Burma, I have chosen this location because of a mission that took place there called Operation Thursday, from what I have found out about this operation it was an attack against the Japanese from British and Indian troops. The goal of this mission was to land 12,000 men and 1800 mules in Burma, they would do this by airlifting in the 77th and 111th brigades and the 16th would walk in through India. (www.burmastar.org.uk)

However, I want to do an alternative version of this event because when this really took place the mission was a success with only a few complications, what I want is to create a more exciting environment for a video game so I want to make the mission a failure and I want the player character to be stuck behind enemy lines without help (I made this choice because it would more emphasis on trying to be stealthy).

Why my project is important?

I want to do this project because I believe that it is important for us not to forget about these things like World War 1 & 2 and that by doing in this way, using a new and popular medium I can teach younger generations about what happened in this time period.

“Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors are destined to repeat them.” Or "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." - George Santayana

A game that is popular and has done a similar thing to what I want to achieve is Battlefield 1, before you enter a game it will give a quick summary of what has happened to get to this point, what is going to happen and once the game has been won they then summaries what might of happened or what did happen afterwards.

From doing this project I also hope to create a decent stealth level with an alternative history WW2 theme, the reason I want to do this is I have created an alternative history before and I thought it

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was lacking in direction, what is meant when I say it was lacking in direction was the objects that were in the project came from all different points in time and it ended up looking like it was not planned very well, so with project I want to prove I am capable of creating an alternative history that is coherent.

My Research Plan

Table 3- My Research Plan

EXTENDED PROJECT - RESEARCH PLAN No of WordsInterest/Topic/Theme150My interest is in level design and how level designers indirectly guide you through open world levels/games, for example Fallout: New Vegas the world is open but everyone is guided to the smaller towns around the main area first.My topic/theme is WW2. Stealth level design is going to be my focus. I want to explore the options level designers give when creating levels.

Why is it important? - Importance 100I want to prove that I can create at functioning stealth level in a games engine that accurately portrays the era I have selected, which is WW2. I also want show the improvement of my work since my last project because I have always felt that there is more I could have done to improve my environments. WW2 also had a historic impact on my area, as many remnants of WW2 still exist there today. Another point of doing WW2 is I know more about this world war than the first.

My research question(s) 100How to guide players through a level without being direct and what I mean by this is I want to be able to create an environment that gives the player directions in which to go that all will eventually lead to the same place.I also want to find out how level designers create stealth levels effectively where the player can remain completely hidden if they choose. (What I mean by this is I don’t want to create stealth levels where the player is being found unfairly’ which can ruin stealth games)

Research Design 100GoogleTV/Documentaries - World War II in HD ColourMuseums - Battle of Britain Museum - Imperial War MuseumBooks - The SAS in World War II - Level Design: Concept, Theory, and PracticeFootage/Photographs from the time periodHistorical sites - war time tunnels in Dover

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Blogs - both WW2 and level design related

Literature (Proposed Sources – Harvard Format)

ReferencesAnon., 2017. BBC News. [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/

Anon., n.d. www.chindits.info. [Online] Available at: http://www.chindits.info/Thursday/OperationThursday.htm[Accessed 03 05 2017].

Burgess, J., n.d. blog.joelburgess.com. [Online] Available at: http://blog.joelburgess.com/[Accessed 03 05 2017].

Developments, R., 2017. Sniper Elite 4. Oxford: Rebellion Developments.Games, M., 2014. Wolfenstein: The New Order. Sweden: Bethesda Softworks.

Google, 2017. Google maps. [Online] Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Myanmar+(Burma)[Accessed 03 05 2017].

Hastings, S. M., 2015. The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939-1945. s.l.:William Collins.

Man in the high castle. 2015. [Film] Directed by Frank Spotnitz. United States of America: Amazon Studios.

times, T., 2015. www.techtimes.com. [Online] Available at: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/103340/20151106/the-many-influences-of-fallout.htm[Accessed 22 02 2017].

www.burmastar.org.uk, n.d. http://www.burmastar.org.uk. [Online] Available at: http://www.burmastar.org.uk/stories/gliderborne-engineers-during-operation-thursday/[Accessed 03 05 2017].

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CHAPTER 2

Literature/Resources Review

Introduction This is the second chapter of my Extended Project on my level 3 games development course. This chapter will contain my practitioners’ report in which I have taken a look into Level design and similarities between different games. I have taken a look at Wasteland which is a post-apocalyptic RPG (Role Playing Game) and how that game worked (e.g. how levels are created, how players create characters, how levelling up and obtaining new skills work). I compared this game to Fallout 1 and 2 which were similar in design and made by the same company (Interplay), then I took a look at the sequels to these games Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, the difference between these games is they were made by a different company (Bethesda) and they took the franchise in a different direction choosing to go into 3D open world, action RPG. This brought different challenges, such as how to guide the pay to different areas that are necessarily major plot points in the main quest of the games.

Practitioners Report

For this case study I will be looking into fallout and what inspired them to create the game that they have, where the world has been stuck in the 1950's era for decades, nuclear war was a constantly looming threat much like the real world cold wars or missile crisis America faced during this time, it also includes what people from the 1950's thought the future might be like but it turns the setting of the bright and happy future of the 1950's science fiction into a dark and dismal place where people are trying desperately to survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

This article was very helpful when I was looking into the inspiration behind fallout.

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/103340/20151106/the-many-influences-of-fallout.htm

(times, 2015)

So what I am looking into is level design, atmosphere that games create and ascetics. I think that I should start by looking at what inspire the original fallout games, therefore I am going to look into the game Wasteland and what was taken for this game and put into the fallout series.

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www.chazin.net (no date) Available at: http://www.chazin.net/miscpics/Inlay_cover.jpg (Accessed: 23 February 2017).

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img3.wikia.nocookie.net (no date) Available at: http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120422132721/fallout/images/8/8d/Fallout1_cover_art.jpg (Accessed: 23 February 2017).

Both of these covers have some similarity and those would be they both show that you are within a wasteland or ruins of a city and they both show a character that could possibly be the main protagonist.

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photobucket.com (no date) Available at: http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj125/Gizmojunk/example1.jpg (Accessed: 23 February 2017).

In this picture you can see a side by side image of both games and there are some similarities between these two games for example level design and layout is quite similar even though fallout has better visuals and the camera is layout different you cans see that they have defiantly taken some inspiration and they have also taken some of the features in the dialog box and this would be mainly how you interact with NPCs.

The reason that there are differences between these games is because of two things largely in particular. One of these features in the levelling up system which is also linked to character customisation, the character customisation for wasteland can be seen in the video below as well as the character customisation for fallout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SZm49FJTAc

Papa Zito (2013) Let’s play wasteland! (1) - party creation. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SZm49FJTAc (Accessed: 1 March 2017).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t92ciYGrS98&feature=youtu.be

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Allaunira (2014) Let’s play fallout - episode 1 - character creation. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t92ciYGrS98 (Accessed: 1 March 2017).

(Please ignore the voice overs)

They differ here because of ethical issue at the time, the problem is that the character customisation and levelling up system was originally just going to use GURPS (The Generic Universal Role Playing System) to create characters and a levelling up scheme but the creators of this system thought that Fallout was too violent and therefore refused Interplay access of their system, so Interplay had to create their own system and that is where the S.P.E.C.I.A.L (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck) system came into play and these were that attributes that you could apply skill points to in order to level up your character.

Apart from these changes and some graphical upgrades these two games are still quite similar because they still work within the same kind of environment and with the same story but with teaks here and there to change the world a little, they also share a similar combat style which is turn based.

To give more context to the fallout franchise and Wasteland, I have linked an article down below that goes into detail about Fallout's in game timeline and this is about how events unfold in the Fallout universe. I have listed the main events of the games down below (Not in order of games release).

Everything up to the end of World War II: Business as usual.

2077: The Great War.

The Great War occurs. It lasts two hours. Everything is laid to waste

2161-2162: Fallout (West Coast).

2197: Fallout Tactics (Midwest, declared non-canon by Bethesda).

2208: Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (Texas, declared non-canon by Bethesda).

2241-2242: Fallout 2 (West Coast)

2277: Fallout 3 (East Coast, Capital Wasteland)

2281: Fallout: New Vegas (Southwest, Mojave Wasteland)

2287: Fallout 4 (New England, The Commonwealth)

http://www.geek.com/games/get-ready-for-fallout-4-with-this-fallout-timeline-1629887/

(Greenwald, 2015)

Below this is probably the best timeline/synopsis that I can find relating to the story of the orginal Wasteland game.

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“An abbreviated version:

The early parts of the game all funnel you towards Vegas. While in Vegas, you first encounter hordes of robotic death machines. You are eventually directed to the sewers beneath Vegas to find the only man who seems to know what the hell is going on. Once you do meet him, he unlocks two locations on the map; Sleeper One and Base Cochise. Sleeper One helps prep you for the final confrontation and also contains a wealth of lore and back story.

Regardless, the ultimate goal is Base Cochise, where you find the AI that's controlling and manufacturing the robots in an effort to "cleanse" the world of human life. Using special keys from the Guardian's Citadel, you can eventually trigger the base's self-destruct sequence, destroying the base and ending the robotic threat.

The Scorpitron was a very tough robot in Vegas. A mini-boss, if you will, it was just very evocative, quite tough, and had a unique image associated with it.”

(Drool, n.d.)

(There are quite a few similarities and references to the game Wasteland.)

I have made a timeline to explain the order in which these games came out and which developer made them so it makes more sense when I'm explaining the game's level design and how it has changed over time when it has been given to a different developer.

The next big change in level design for Fallout would be when the rights to the Fallout franchise was sold to Bethesda because instead of carrying on the turn based top down strategy type game Bethesda decided to go down a different route and make the games in 3D and to also make them a real time action RPG (Role Playing Game), which meant that the level design from this point onwards would be different in many ways but they would also try and keep the style of the original Fallout so that players coming from the old games wouldn't feel alienated.

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Here are some examples of differences and similarities between the new and old Fallout games level design in the vaults.

http://www.keywordsuggests.com/yemswLdbNBikixxcAExTxlxDb84w0%7CYr%7CM8IHyWe8es/

https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/120/images/19952-1-1386408271.jpg

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http://arwenevecom.ipage.com/Fallout/Images/FO04-guards.jpg

From what we can see here the vaults have kept a similar aesthetic to one another and they also keep the layout like the older titles. Some of the features that they have kept is the Vaults having a cave for an entrance and the big cog shaped door that slides to the side but there is a difference here and that is the mechanisms to open the Vault door in the games have been changed slightly and that is by there is no way of seeing how the door is opened in the first game it just rolls out of the way but in the newer games a big machine comes down and physically moves the door and this can be seen. But the differences can also be seen in these designs for example the layout and design has had some more thought to it such as the beds can be found just behind the Vault door in the first game and the floors are quite compact where as in the newer games the beds and levels are separated into specific areas to make it feel more realistic and well thought out.

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http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/koval321321/media/scr02_zpsazvyay2j.jpg.html

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http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/koval321321/media/scr01_zpsvibyo30x.jpg.html

Here are some images of Junktown in Fallout 2 and this can give an idea of layout and what the general aesthetics of the world outside of the vaults was supposed to look like. The blue container in the top picture can be used as a pathway when it is cleared and this reminds me of Fallout: New Vegas more specifically Freeside which is a town/area just outside of a big city and to gain entrance to more of this area you have to walk through a broken train car in the middle of the road to progress (as shown in the picture below), this area is also where the poor who have been kicked out of the city have to live and this is a similar storyline in Junktown in Fallout 2 and this story can been seen in the conditions of the environment that these two areas/towns are in.

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http://guidesmedia.ign.com/guides/14341977/images/590/newvegassq_0157.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa55/JediSoth/Fallout%20New%20Vegas/TheStripatNight.jpg

I have also been looking at some blogs about level design and what makes a good level. One of the blogs that I have looked at is Ten Principles of Good Level Design (Part 1) – (Taylor, 2013) and Ten Principles of Good Level Design (Part 2) – (Taylor, 2013). The key feature I am looking at for my project is how players navigate the environment which is taken into consideration in the first part of the blog, “Careful layout, lighting, signage and other visual cues should create a natural “flow” to the level that guides the player instinctively through it. From an aesthetic aspect, a game’s levels should

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all work together to create a consistent visual language, through the use of colour and form, that the player can learn, to progress intuitively through the level.” The pictures above demonstrate these properties using a tall structure in the background for the player to use as a reference and along the main street there are lights that lead to the main door to help the player find an entrance.

Level are also supposed to create a certain level of difficulty for the player to keep them playing and to make the game changing/interesting, this can also dependent on the players skill and abilities because some games will reward the player for having a higher skill level or for having unlocked certain abilities through playing the game. An example of these mechanics can be found in a few games such as Skyrim and Need for Speed: Carbon. In Need for Speed: Carbon the player can learn more about each track as they play them and depending on their skill within the game the player can choose to take a risk and drive down a narrow alley to cut a corner and gain some places in the race but if the player skill isn’t good enough they can overshoot the shortcut or could crash into a wall and slow them down so they end up losing places.

Need for Speed: Carbon – Shortcut 1:20

Where as in Skyrim the difficulty of the level and the rewards that the player can get from it depend on what skills and abilities they have unlock for example when the player is exploring dungeons some areas will be inaccessible to the player if they haven’t unlocked some abilities like the dragon shout whirlwind sprint which can move the player over small distances quickly even allowing the player to bridge caps they usually couldn’t get across by jumping, once the play has these abilities they are rewarded with higher level gear for their effort in the game. This mechanic/design choice also adds some level of replay ability to areas.

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Skyrim - Secret Chest in Reachwater Rock

As for my research into the theme and story around my idea I have been looking into an event that took place in Burma during 1944, the mission that took place was Operation Thursday and the goal of this mission was to place troops in occupied Burma so that the country could be taken back from the Japanese by the allies. “The aim was to fly in a force of 10,000 men, 1,000 mules, equipment and supplies into clearings in the heart of Burma behind enemy lines.” (chindits.info, ----). The information that I have acuminated shows that there were three areas which were considered to be acceptable for landing gliders and planes with men in them that could clear a bigger area for the main forces. These areas were called Piccadilly which turned out to be occupied by the Japanese and abandoned, Broadway which was the first site where gliders landed and Chowringhee.

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Map of where gliders landed in Burma

For my project I want to use an alternative history theme to make the story more interesting and to add playability to the game because it might be boring or predictable if I just follow the actually history of what happened, a game that demonstrates what I want to happen by using an alternative history is Wolfenstein: The New Order however in this game the outcome of the war is changed and the Nazi’s cease power over Europe and America.

Which can be seen in this launch trailer for the game.

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I want something similar to this but on a smaller scale, I don’t think that if this operation I am basing my project on had failed it would change the outcome of the war because the following year two Hydrogen bombs would be dropped on japan ensuring a Japanese surrender and an allied victory. In my story I want to change the initial success of the mission and change the parameters of the mission on the soldier(s) on the ground and change it from an invasion of Burma to a survival situation, where stealth and exploration is rewarded. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a good game to use as comparison because it open world and the story and missions adapt to the way you play them for example in one mission if you choose to be loud and use guns openly you will alert terrorists and civilians will die where as if you choose the silent approach you can save the hostages and disarm all the bombs without the terrorist noticing meaning no one dies and there is no damage done in the world as a result.

This is the best playthrough I could find of Deus Ex: Human Revolution to demonstrate my point.

CONCLUSION - Who/what was my inspiration? /Contextualisation of my study

As you can see from my report Fallout has been a big influence in my study of games development and one of the main reasons that I wanted to get into games development. This game has also influenced me into level design because I enjoy the open world feel of games like this but I like the way you are guided through and that is what I wanted to look at. What I have seen is that many games use this for example Skyrim, Sniper Elite, Far Cry 3, Assassins Creed, The Legend of Zelda:

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Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64. These games use makers on the land (reference points) to show the player where to go. In Skyrim as soon as you finish the tutorial the game actively directs your attention to an old temple that sits on top of a mountain (which in its self makes it obverse that it is important) but the game goes one step further and the NPC (Non-Playable Character) that you are with gives a speech about it to draw your attention even further. In other games like Sniper Elite and Far Cry 3 it sets out tall manmade objects to draw the players attention and to give them a reference point for example Sniper Elite uses radio towers or tall bunkers/watchtowers to guide the player and Far Cry uses the same type of method but once you have interacted with these waypoints it shows the player what objects are around them through a cut scene.

Assassin’s creed does a similar thing but it makes it compulsory to complete the mission. In these games they set up a city and put tall towers all around and climbing these towers gives you a more detailed map and also shows you were you next objective is.

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Finally The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64 both use a similar way of telling the player where to go without telling the player or giving directions. The way these games show the player to go is by making the key points on the map tall and recognizable from anywhere on the map. Ocarina of Time does this in the Hyrule field which is a big open plan where all objectives and towns/important places can be seen.

(Skip to 4:20 for view of the Hyrule field)

Super Mario 64 uses a similar feature but in smaller areas. An example of how Mario guides you is on the first level the first thing you will see is a big column in the centre of the map and this is the point you want to go to fight the boss and collect the star to progress.

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These examples are what I am working towards with my project and this is what I mean when I say I want an open but guided environment. In conclusion what my project will need to focus on is how to draw player’s attention (so maybe looking into player psychology and the psychology of levels) and it will also have to focus on land marks and visible waypoints for the player to use as reference points.

CHAPTER 3

Research Design

Introduction

In third chapter of my Extended Project you will find my research questions which will include the key goals for my project and what it is I hope to find out by doing this project. You will also find my research design and the method that I will use in my project.

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Research Questions

Start with stating the intent of your EXTENDED PROJECT. What are the key aims and objectives of your project? Outline the key characteristics of your project. Write about your questions? You have to base your research design on questions and interests. Ask yourself: “What do I want to find out?” Write to the reader clear research questions, what you wanted to find out?

Figure 1- How to ask good questions

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkcHstP6Ht0

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Figure 2 - My exercise 1

Research Design Evolution

In this chapter, you will expand on what you wrote in your project proposal. Write about what you researched and how you collected your data (research activities). Remember, in this chapter, you will only write what you have researched and what research activities you used. In the next chapter, you will write about your findings, analysis and conclusions. You can write following chapters about findings and analysis using same themes (see below) for the sub-titles.

You can use following research themes as separate sub-titles:

• Subject you are going to research (this will be primary research you conducted; the secondary research about subject will be in literature review)

o This is anything done by you, and it could be such:o Online questionnaire – you could ask your Facebook friends to comment on your

project idea and give you some additional ideas how you can make it better.o Get the feedback from your lecturers and comment on it. o You can contact companies, council, artist depending on what is your project about to

get their opinion on your project idea. o You can use your phone or tablet to research, take photos of possible locations and

places that you can use in your project.

• Target audience

Ask yourself questions: Who? What? Where?

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o Who is your target audience? Who are you aiming your product at?o What type of audience is it? Investigate the target demographic and record the type of

media or entertainment they consume. o Where can you find this out? You can use, ‘YouGov Profiles’ site to find out about your

target audience demographic. (secondary)o You can set up interviews or record a ‘Vox Pops’ (primary) to find information about

your audience.

• Skills and techniques

o Come up with the plan of what skills and techniques you will need to research to produce an effective, original and to near professional standard project.

o For example, you can watch tutorials or read about how to achieve specific skills and techniques that you will need for your project (secondary)

o Experiment with range of skills yourself (primary)

• Production research

o Explain what and how: o People needed for the production/availability (how: emails, Facebook, Skype

conversation, etc.) o Research production roles that you will need to carry out and how to do it successfully

(how: the internet, media books, etc.) o Production schedule (how: create your own) o Budget (How: secondary internet, primary ask yourself) o Recce research/location needed (how: take images, contact individuals for permission,

etc.) o Health and safety research ( How: take images, check locations yourself, ask for

permission) o Visual ideas (storyboard optional) (How: take images, create sketches, get inspired by

other people ideas, etc.) o Props (how: make a list, ask to borrow, make it, buy it, use what you have)o Production (techniques, hardware, workflow) ( how: research what you need / how:

try it yourself) o Post -production (Edit, colour correction, VFX, etc. ( how: read, watch how other

people/professionals do it, try it yourself)

List all research activities; what activities you conducted to answer your questions and collect the data? Write about the data you collected; your choice of data presentation and how you structured your data analysis.

The research activities should be identified e.g:-

Observations (observational drawings; using photography, video and audio to collect data)

Documents analysis (written, but also video and audio documents) Workshops

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Interviews Focus groups Surveys (visual, audio, etc.) Experiments Tests and measurements

CHAPTER 4

Research Findings

In this chapter, you will summarise the collected data and the statistical treatment, and/or mechanics, of analysis. You should start this paragraph by briefly restating the topic/theme of your project (take it from Chapter 1).

Explain the object of each question, research activity, point out results, and present those results in a chosen form of summarised data. Select method of presenting data carefully.

In a quantitative study, the results usually begin with a description of the sample (e.g., sample size, description of participants who were excluded and why, handling of missing data). Next, descriptive statistics (e.g., frequencies/percentages for categorical variables, means, standard deviations, and ranges for continuously measured variables) are presented.

In a qualitative study, the results often include many quotes from participants who were interviewed. Here you should also present your non-textual elements such as photos, videos, audio files, maps, tables, charts, mind maps, SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, etc.

Data analysis

What strategies did you use to analyse your data? What did you find out?

Conclusion - How did the research help me with my project?

What did you learn from your research and how it informed your project?

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Originate a range of ideas – list all ideas you had and explain how you chose the final idea Analyse each idea for viability - use focus groups and lecturer to support Fill out the project proposal form

CHAPTER 5

My Project

Introduction In this chapter you should present the level of self-direction, personal initiative and commitment necessary to progress ideas and find solutions, and the practical, theoretical and technical comprehension, appreciation, knowledge and proficiency necessary to achieve identified goals. The ability to plan and organise work within a given timeframe and the efficient production of outcomes both individually and collaboratively.

Pre-Production

Produce Pre-Production Portfolio which will formally define your project (location survey; risk assessment; treatment; script; budget; schedule etc.).

Pitch your proposal to the production board (video recording of your production board presentation)

Analyse your target audience. Investigate the target demographic and record the type of media or entertainment they consume

Production Project management techniques, (notes of team meetings; production and post-

production schedules; call sheets, etc.) Team and individual performance monitoring (weekly check against schedule) Development – Demonstrate development (photos from the shoot, screenshots from

computers). Keep daily production and post-production diary and reflect on your production process.

Post-production Describe post post-production of your project. Assess your production and post-production process. Describe, and critically analyses any

production problems and the solution you experienced.

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Presentation

In this chapter, you should demonstrate the degree of competence and proficiency shown in the organisation and presentation of yourself and your work to an audience. Your EXTENDED PROJECT has to be presented appropriately (effectively; imaginatively) presented with suitable (relevant; purposeful) media conventions to suit the target audience.

Write about what influenced your decision to present your work in a certain way.

CHAPTER 6

MY EXTENDED PROJECT – FINAL PRODUCT

Here present your final EXTENDED PROJECT media production.

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CHAPTER 7

Project Evaluation

Critically evaluating your final media project against the agreed requirements and parameters. Answer following questions:

Introduce the project in your words List five strengths and five weaknesses in your final design Was there a theme for the design ideas? Can you describe it? Can you reference any

influences here? - art movements, designers, media companies/campaigns, etc. What experiments and exploration did you do (what happens if). How did it affect your

development? Find a similar type of design publication - place it next to your own - what

comparisons/difference can you identify? What were the key areas of development in this project? - use your daily reflections to

help you with this Review your proposal - what changed, what developments did you make, did you manage

to complete everything you set out to achieve? What did the client think of your concept? How did that make you feel? What could you do to adapt the work produced to improve and develop it? Is the final work appropriate for the needs of the project? Does it sufficiently answer your

brief? Reflect on your pitch to the board; how did you feel about it before? Did it go better or

worse than you expected? What was the feedback from the client/lecturer? What do you think you could improve next time?

Did it go better or worse than you expected? What was the feedback from your lecturer? What do you think you could improve next time?

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APPENDICES

Extended project in creative media production Learning Outcomes and Assessment

1. Be able to initiate and develop a creative media production project proposal.

1.1. Use critical and contextual perspectives to initiate a creative media production project proposal.

1.2. Use analysis and evaluation to clarify and develop ideas for a creative media production project proposal.

2. Be able to use research, analysis and evaluation to develop solutions for creative media production project.

2.1. Use research to support the development of a creative media production project.

2.2. Use analytical and evaluative skills to develop creative solutions to realise a media production project.

3. Be able to solve practical, theoretical and technical problems in a creative media production project.

3.1. Solve practical and technical problems within a creative media production project. 3.2. Solve theoretical problems within a creative media production project.

4. Be able to plan, organise and produce a creative media production project.

4.1. Demonstrate the ability to plan, organise and produce a creative media production project within an agreed timeframe.

5. Be able to use practical methods and skills in a creative media production project.

5.1. Demonstrate the exploration, adaptation and application of practical methods and skills in the realisation of a creative media production project.

6. Be able to use evaluative and reflective skills in the production of a creative media product.

6.1. Maintain evaluative and reflective records of the development and production of a creative media project.

6.2. Use evaluative and reflective skills to make decisions for a creative media production project.

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7. Be able to present a creative media production project. 7.1. Explore strategies to present a creative media production project.

7.2. Present a creative media production project to a specified audience.

REFERENCES

Make sure you use Harvard referencing. The bibliography should be continuously updated as the project progresses.

Bibliography:

Times, T. (2015) The movies, literature and video games that influenced the ‘fallout’ series. Available at: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/103340/20151106/the-many-influences-of-fallout.htm (Accessed: 22 February 2017)

Drool (2012) Forums.Inxile-entertainment.Com. Available at: https://forums.inxile-entertainment.com/viewtopic.php?t=1537 (Accessed: 02 March 2017).

Greenwald, W. (2015) Get ready for fallout 4 with this fallout timeline. Available at: http://www.geek.com/games/get-ready-for-fallout-4-with-this-fallout-timeline-1629887/ (Accessed: 2 March 2017).

Images available:

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa55/JediSoth/Fallout%20New%20Vegas/TheStripatNight.jpg

http://guidesmedia.ign.com/guides/14341977/images/590/newvegassq_0157.jpg

http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/koval321321/media/scr01_zpsvibyo30x.jpg.html

http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/koval321321/media/scr02_zpsazvyay2j.jpg.html

http://arwenevecom.ipage.com/Fallout/Images/FO04-guards.jpg

https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/120/images/19952-1-1386408271.jpg

http://www.keywordsuggests.com/yemswLdbNBikixxcAExTxlxDb84w0%7CYr%7CM8IHyWe8es/

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj125/Gizmojunk/example1.jpg

http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120422132721/fallout/images/8/8d/Fallout1_cover_art.jpg

http://www.chazin.net/miscpics/Inlay_cover.jpg

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