Games Development and Architectures - Essay Example

? Games Development and Architectures Portfolio Word Count: 4,010 (16 pages) I. Game Design Documentation [10 pages] The famous game publisher UIIMAKEGAMEZ4U Inc. has commissioned me for this very project, the design of the sequel to a very popular arcade game (), and the development of a related prototype. ?The game must encompass at least two (2) strong structural and dynamic elements taken from another popular game of your choice (). The game will be aimed at a target audience mainly comprising female UK players, aged between 12 and 18. In order to succeed, I am going to submit to the publisher three deliverables. These include the following elements which are considered the linchpins of the game. These elements are part of the overall amount of deliverables that will be produced for the game publisher in the steps that here follow consequentially: [0.5 pages] 1) Analytical description of the aesthetics and context of the game, explaining why they should appeal to the target public (note: one can provide complementary materials such as rough sketches of one’s game graphics). [1 page] ? The aesthetics of the game are based on what girls might be interested in if they were to travel to Europe: how to order food; how to use public or other transportation; how to find shelter at a hotel or motel or boarding-house or hostel; and how to have a cultural experience in the country of their particular level. The context of the game is that Lupe and Lucky are two best friends going to Europe and so that is the reason why the game is called The Adventures of Lupe Vega (Western Europe Edition Part 1). Subsequent editions could be aptly named with Part 2 dealing with other Western European nations. However, for the first edition (part 1), it was thought that in order to introduce people to the arcade game that only 6 countries would be focused upon: Spain, France, Italy, Germany, the UK, and Ireland. This would definitely appeal to the targeted audience because a lot of young women like to travel and perhaps they might need the skills to go to such countries, but just haven’t learned much about the culture they are going to travel to, in essence. So this is a very educational game which will appeal to young women. This way, they cannot only have a formal experience which introduces them to the social elements of ordering food in a foreign country, but how to gain access to shelter, transportation, and a cultural experience while on a particular level or country they’re at. 2) Structure of the game system, including a description of all the game components, their interactions, and game mechanics. [1 page] ? The game components include the background setting for 24 different scenes. It also includes menus for each of the six countries’ food tasks, transportation information for six different transportation tasks, six shelter options for the different countries’ shelter tasks, and six different options for each of the countries’ cultural tasks. There may be multiple choices for each of the four tasks in each of the six countries—therefore, people may have choices as to what they would like to complete during their time playing the arcade game. This is a game at a much less speedy pace so people playing the game can take their time on a scene. It’s more of an educational game as well, so there is no time limit a person can spend on one scene. The interactions are usually between two people at a time—the person who the character is approaching and the character herself. Game mechanics are a little bit more complicated, but basically this can all be written in C# code if necessary on the technical end of things. In order to complete successful coding of the game, it is imperative that the coder know the intricacies of the game and what each interaction may consist of, in general. Thus, the coder and the person who developed the game would have to work together on the final coded prototype. This prototype presented here does not include code, rather it provides an overall scope for game design and development involving Chimera and Muse. 3) Description of the play experience. [2 pages]? The play experience begins with the opening screen. The characters Lupe Vega and Lucky Diaz are given as options for players, and players may choose to be either character of the game as Player 1 and Player 2 (very similar to how a normal arcade game would allow one to choose which character the player would like to be). Once the player chooses the character he or she wants to be (either Lupe or Lucky), we see the character flying on a plane to Europe. “I can’t wait to get to Spain!” the character says. The first task that the character will encounter is finishing her food task. Therefore, a screen will pop up with a variety of restaurants which the character can choose from. The character may choose to go to a cafe, a restaurant, or a party. The dining experience would be different for each type of setting. For example, in the cafe, the character could order coffee and smaller things to eat, whereas in a full-service restaurant, the menu is more extensive. At a party, some party food and drinks would be offered. After the character has finished the food task, the character then needs to move on to the transportation task. Is she going to take a plane, bus, train, or airplane? Basically the character needs to decide, and of course, in the corner of the screen is how many Euros (roughly equivalent to the U.S. dollar) than the character has left from her spending money. The character, upon choosing the mode of transportation and how much money she wants to spend, finally arrives at her destination and there is a screen where we see her traveling to her next destination before that occurs. After the food and transportation tasks have been completed, next it is time for the character to figure out what kind of shelter she wants to stay in. The character has choices of staying in a motel, a hotel, or a youth hostel. The order of cost would go from low to high with the hostel, motel, and then hotel. If the character stays in a youth hostel, obviously she will be able to save money for more purchases, and this is noted on the screen. After having navigated through the shelter task, the character then must complete a cultural task—basically the equivalent of having a cultural experience. There will be cultural experiences specific to all of the countries (such as the Prado Museum in Spain, a flamenco show in Spain, or a bullfighting show in Spain at the Spain location). There could also be day-trips to various parts of the country in lieu of a cultural experience, such as traveling to a major city (Toledo, Madrid, Seville, etc.). Much of this would have to be designed in detail by the people coding the project. After completing all four tasks, the character/player is allowed to go to the next country, which would be the next Level of the game, in essence. Based on the formal definition of the determinants of quality in games, analysis of the elements borrowed from the game should be elaborated upon, explaining the following: ? 1) Strengths based on which they have been chosen. [1 page] The strengths of the two elements of muse which I chose included the map of Europe and also the treasure chest. The map of Europe was chosen because I thought it would make a dynamic part of the presentation. Many girls and women dream of traveling to foreign places but simply don’t have the time, opportunity, or monetary support to be able to travel. So, that is where the idea of borrowing the European map came from with . Additionally, the treasure chest was chosen as an icon because I thought it could be a fun way to end the game—with the player’s character finding the “treasure” after she had completed all of the levels of the game successfully, kind of like a prize. The prize could be a fact, an object, or even a real prize which might be awarded to players of the game outside of the game in real life. Such as, “For every 100 wins the player wins a ________.” This would encourage girls and women to play the game as well as for marketing purposes. So, in many ways, this game could be highly educational and fun, but also rewarding on a very real level for people. Of course, there would have to be a database of some sort to see who had won the most times. It’s very possible that this could be great impetus and incentive for the players to continue playing. 2) Why they have been considered adequate for enhancing the original game, given the target audience. [1 page] Given the target audience, this game was considered to have enhanced the original chimera game by giving it social appeal. Girls and women are very social, and so it only made sense to make the new game based on Chimera into a game that had a social bent to it. As such, this is how the various tasks were developed, with the main focus being on a trip to Europe. In this manner, the Chimera template could be utilized without losing the original idea of ‘conquering’ territory. This takes place country by country through six (6) different countries with various problems set forth in the tasks, requiring a good amount of thought on the part of the users. The user interface would require a keyboard—different from the Chimera game in that respect—but it would be much more user-friendly. In order to attract male users, most likely the game would have to add male characters if necessary. However, since the target audience was girls and young women ages 12 through 18, it only made sense that the two main characters would be female protagonists—Lupe and Lucky. Another consideration that had to be taken into consideration was that we avoided making this game based on violence, since many girls are not in favor of violence nor the kinds of tasks in video games which male users prefer. Instead of preparing girls and women for war, this game prepares girls and women for social interactions in Europe—better serving them. 3) If they have been modified, how and why they have been changed to benefit the quality of the new game. [0.5 pages] ? was basically modified in order to take into account the presumptive idea that girls and young women would be less interested in war games than social games. Social gaming is becoming particularly popular, especially on sites like Facebook—which encourage the development of towns (in FarmVille) and the development of fashion-oriented and other social games oriented towards female players (like Sorority Life and It Girl). Social games are a way for girls and young women to express themselves without having to resort to violence in order to have a good time playing such games. These games are oriented to be social in nature versus violently anti-social—such as war games. In addition, using features of Europe and the treasure chest are added bonuses. II. Project Planning Documentation [2 pages] This includes: ? 1) Product backlog (covering all graphic, sound and code-related features of the game). [1 page] The graphics of the game The Adventures of Lupe Vega would probably all be completed on a storyboard first, with each of the 24 task experiences being drawn out on a storyboard in order to show the game developer what work was accomplished. The sound or background music for the game could be chosen based upon each country’s particular musical selections. Then, players could select which song they would like to listen to at each juncture of the game. For example, one might consider a song choice to be La Vie en Rose (a popular French song) at Level 2 in France, as background music. There could be a selection of several song so that the user would not have to play the same song at every juncture. Also, code-related features would have to include the inclusion of a dictionary translator similar to Google Translator in order to facilitate the player’s responses to be translated to and from the target language and the player’s native language—however, for purposes of brevity, one will presume that the player’s native language is English. But if that is not the case, obviously all of the materials could be available for players who speak one of the top 7 major world languages and translate to and from English and the other languages of the six countries, which would be Spanish, French, Italian, and German. Since the UK and Ireland both use English, there would be no translation necessary on those fronts in that regard. 2) Work breakdown structure (WBS). [1 page] The work breakdown structure is as follows: 1) Draw the design of the game [0.5 pages]. This was the hardest part of the entire game design process because it took a lot of thinking in order to figure out what kind of game might be most like Chimera but added in two elements from Muse. Instead of making a Chimera game that might be considered more “typical” of arcade games, it was decided that making a game that was more socially-inclined and which helped develop social skills might be more beneficial for girls aged 12 through 18, versus, say, a war game. So, basically it only made sense that this particular game addressed the social needs of young girls and women, thankfully without compromising anyone’s ideals here. 2) Write the report describing the game [0.5 pages]. This game, The Adventures of Lupe Vega, basically follows Lupe and her friend Lucky—a one- or two-player game which features the necessary social interactions to get around Europe. Four tasks apiece are completed in each of six European countries, which are all in Western Europe. This is, therefore, the Western European Edition Part I. Further European countries will be added to the Western European Edition Part II and in subsequent editions, but for now, the main focus was on the countries of Spain (red, Level 1), France (orange, Level 2), Italy (yellow, Level 3), Germany (green, Level 4), the UK (blue, Level 5), and Ireland (purple, Level 6). After completion of four tasks, player advances. III. Prototype Scene for the Game [2 pages] The prototype was developed using Photoshop. It clearly reflects the design documentation, and proves the feasibility and consistency of my design. Opening Screenshot [0.5 page]: The game itself is called The Adventures of Lupe Vega. Similar to Chimera, the game revolves around conquering various countries. However, the video game is not concerned with armies fighting each other as might be the case in a game geared towards males. In Adventures, girl gamers are focused upon completing a series of four tasks in each country—one task apiece regarding food, transportation, shelter, and cultural elements. For example, the chosen character (Lupe or Lucky) will have to go by the order of the colors (Spain would be first since it is red and the first color of the rainbow). Once the four tasks are completed in-country, the player moves on to the next country in the order of the color ranking. Characters [0.5 page]: The characters in this game are named Lupe Vega and Lucky Diaz. Lupe and Lucky are the main protagonist and her best friend, similar to Mario and Luigi from Super Mario Bros. (the Nintendo game). These characters were basically chosen in order to propagate the idea that this is an arcade game that is being designed to attract the 12-to-18 year-old female demographic in the UK. The names of the characters are Latina because it was thought that this might be a good way to introduce multiculturalism as well as demonstrate proper modes of dressing for young ladies. Lupe is obviously Latina. While Lucky has a Latina surname, she has a more Anglo/Caucasian look, which may help sales, because multiculturalism is popular, notwithstanding good business sense. Interactive Scene, Food Task in Italy [1 page]: Since this is Italy—because Italy is colored in yellow, this would be the third color of the rainbow, or Level 3. So, assuming that we are on Level 3, this means that the player has already completed 8 tasks—4 tasks in Spain, and 4 tasks in France. If one wanted to make the game more complicated, one could make more tasks necessary in each level. However, the point of the game is not to make it longer and boring, but short enough so that it will hold the player’s/players’ interest. The first task that is going to be taken on is the Food Task in Italy. Obviously there are “Menu” and “Order” buttons available. To get the Menu for the Italian restaurant, one presses the “Menu” button. When the player is ready to order (either in Italian or English), the player can enter in his or her sentence as to what she would like. The result will be translated into either Italian or English, whichever is the opposite of what was entered. Thus, this is an educational game in which girls will learn how to use basic useful phrases in the target language of the country being mastered. Once the food task is completed, obviously the player can be moved on to the next three tasks for that particular country, Italy. The two objects that were manipulated from Muse include the map of Europe as a place and the treasure chest icon. These will be explained more later. IV. Learning Journal [4.5 pages] Day 1 [0.5 pages]: The things that were most challenging about this project were definitely trying to first of all, come up with a good idea in terms of what would be beneficial for the demographic of young arcade game users that would be ranging from age 12 to 18. Once I was able to figure out what kind of game that I wanted to use which involved some type of world domination, I came to the conclusion that a game developed for girls and young women must be developed with cultural considerations and attitudes to be taken into consideration, as well as what needs are important for that demographic. A lot of this required serious, deep thinking about game design and how I would implement these cultural touches. Day 2 [0.5 pages]: Day 2 was frought with trying to figure out what kinds of cultural or verbal word challenges could be given to girls and young women, since this is the target demographic for which the arcade game was being built. The first thing that came to mind, when I was reviewing the Muse website, was that I thought I could incorporate one of its place names, Europe, into the game. That is where I got that idea. Next, I tried to figure out if there could be some sort of treasure chest at the end of the game (another tactic that Muse uses in its games). I wanted the game to be inspired by Chimera but not containing violence that one sees on other arcade games. Day 3 [0.5 pages]: This is the day that the arcade game seemed to take more shape. I came up with the characters of Lupe and Lucky, and the idea that a multicultural tag team of characters would probably be more appealing and attractive to younger players who were girls or women. This is the same day that I decided to make the six levels out of six countries, with four tasks in each country—thus giving the player 24 different tasks before the player would get the treasure chest and see what had been won. This game, in retrospect, could be added onto in so many different ways that the possibilities are endless. However, to keep it simple, I wanted the game focus to be on entering information. Day 4 [0.5 pages]: Today the game seemed to finally be coming together. I designed all of the necessary levels and showed a storyboard piece of an ideal screenshot where Lupe is completing a food task in Italy (Level 3). She orders a cup of tea in Italian, although the player could also enter the English as well. One component that could be used in the game is Google Translator, although, the arcade game would have to probably be either connected to the Internet to use this feature or already have a prototype where the translator could be installed into the arcade game so any words could be translated automatically from most major world languages. Not only was the opening screenshot taken, but also the character cast was developed. Day 5 [0.5 page]: On this day, the first scene was developed for Level 3 (Italy): a food task. It took a decent amount of preparation to decide how the page would look. I wanted to have the main character sitting at a table, with Menu and Order option buttons. At this stage, I was merely seeing what the scene would look like by drawing it out. So, I envisioned the character sitting on the left side of the screen. In the scene, she is holding a tea cup which has been given to her by the staff because she asked for a cup of tea. There is also a table on which she may place her beverage. She is dressed in the same outfit as in the beginning. Day 6 [0.5 page]: At this stage I developed the Menu button. The Menu button was available to show the character all of the Menu options, such as “Antipasti” for Appetizers, with the entire menu translated into English. Obviously, if the target user’s main language was a language other than English, the language selection could be translated into a different language, so long as it would be one of the top 7 major world languages. For the Menu button, it was important to include a variety of different foods, beverages, and desserts—combining all of these elements into a “pasto” (the word for “meal” in Italian) so that the character playing the game would be able to order from a variety of different foods. She could pay in Euros. Day 7 [1.5 page]: On the last day that it took me to finish this project, basically I finished designing the Order button and how the customer (the player) would have a conversation with the waiter in the foreign language. The player must enter a response to the question, “What would you like to order today?” The question would appear both in English and in the language of the country or Level. In this particular case, it would be in Italian, so the question would be “Che vuoi ordenare oggi?” The player can then type in a response either in English or Italian. After the interaction, the player automatically says, “Grazie, molto bene,” which is basically saying, “Thank you, very good.” The second portion of the day, basically I worked upon developing all of the other tasks in the other various countries, including Italy, which had not been taken care of yet. I had 23 other tasks to develop—as there were four tasks for each country before the player could get to the treasure chest awaiting the player at the end. In order to develop the other parts of the game, I had to work quickly and try to think of different cultural events that each country might have available for visitors and tourists to their countries. For example, in Italy the cultural tasks included: going on a Venetian boat ride; attending the opera; or viewing the inside of the Sistine Chapel. Of course, every specific country had special cultural features that would make beneficial cultural tasks. In France, the cultural tasks included: visiting the Louvre (the art museum where the Mona Lisa is housed); visiting the Eiffel Tower; and visiting the Royal Palace in France. In Germany, cultural tasks included: going to Oktoberfest; visiting a concentration camp; and going to a soccer game. In the United Kingdom, cultural tasks included: touring Big Ben; touring the London Bridge; and touring the Tower of London. In Ireland, the cultural tasks included: kissing the Blarney Stone; visiting a famous Irish castle; and attending a parade. The other more elaborate task was developing a menu for each individual country whereby the player could order from the different menus. Obviously, these six countries vary substantially in what they offer in terms of nourishment. The shelter and transportation options stayed relatively the same. BIBLIOGRAPHY Baer RH (2005). Videogames: in the beginning. US: Rolenta Press. Brathawait B & Schreiber I (2009). Challenges for game designers. US: Course Technology. Capron HL & Johnson JA (2002). Computers: tools for an information age. US: Prentice Hall. Cook D (2002). “Evolutionary design: a practical process for creating great game designs.” Available: . Cook D (2006). “What are game mechanics?” [Online]. Available: . 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