In this blog post I am going to evaluate my test level that I made for unit 49 with the use of controllers and camera systems, I have broken this down into four categories; positive and negative points, issues and changes along the way and a conclusion.
Positives Task 1: for this take I had to research into the genre that I am creating in unit 75 and talk about the camera and control systems used in the games from that genre and how the evolved. I also had to create pre-production research such as mind maps and mood board about what I wanted to create in these areas for my game next year. I found this task enjoyable, I learned a lot about how my genre started and how it evolved multiple times over the decades and how technology changed it, the mind maps and mood board was quite each to produce as I knew what camera effects and style of controller I was aiming for and from this I was able to produce a concept of three different types of controllers and my camera system. Task 2: I found this task the most enjoyable out of the whole unit, I learned a lot about how to make post processing effects that pushed me to learn more about the blueprinting side of unreal engine and how materials work, my first attempt at making a scan system wasn’t to great but after research I made huge improvements on it and it is one of my favourite post processing other than the cel shading. The camera system I made I like it feels quite fluid changing between all the several types of camera I have on my character. Task 3: there wasn’t much to do for the controls, I created inputs for all my actions we were extremely helpful when I added the Xbox controllers to the game. adding function to those controls was a great learning process, learning how to make guns’ fire, adding crouch to the game and adding interactions as well. Negatives Task 1: even thou I enjoyed researching my genre that I am using in unit 75 I found the amount of games for this genre over whelming and had to do a lot of research and narrowing down games I wanted to place in to the list, and forcing myself to stop adding to the list as I found a game I thought was popular or change the genre after I researched that year. Task 2: my first attempted at doing cel shading didn’t go to well and when I placed it onto the model it looked completed wrong to the task images I was given but after looking into how to create it I was able to remake a new version and it looked the same as what was given in the task. Task 3: I found this take quite difficult I couldn’t think of much to place in my test environment to show off controls other than how they would affect game place, such as crouching and shooting. I added vibrating to the controller so when the gun shoots or the player enter a portal it would vibrate. I also found it quite hard to figure out how to get the quick time events working correctly, I got them working but It just doesn’t feel right. Changes and issues along the way For this unit, I started off my research around horror survival games as the brief was originally to work around the unit 18 project, after getting most of the research done for this the brief change to what we are creating in unit 75 and had to start most of my research again, I decided to leave it in my blog and edit it slight talking about camera styles. I found a few issues when creating the portal system in unreal engine I eventually got it working but I noticed it was very temperamental and I only could really use the portal when the camera is in first person perspective. I also had issues when creating a Gameboy styled post processing effect I could not get the line effect to work even after researching and trying numerous of ways of trying to create it I still haven’t been able to create it. I also found after creating an AFK camera it kept interfering with the camera system I created when the player was in first person perspective it would cancel it out and revert to third person when the player wasn’t selecting any keys. The quick time event still has lots of issues around them I tried making a sequence event with them but it doesn’t flow correctly and I would need to do a lot more code with Booleans and events dispatchers to get the code to work correctly to have it as a sequence. Conclusion Overall I have enjoyed this unit it has helped me understand how the material blueprints work and how I can add distinctive styles of camera in my level than just using the default first and third person camera. There was a lot of issues along the way but most of them I have overcome and improved on after looking at research and taking advice of other people. I found the controller task quite hard as I felt there wasn’t much I could do in this task but I think I have done enough in this task and I have learned about how I can bring controllers into the game and use the features of the controller to enhance gameplay. Overall I has helped my understanding of how games are made and how camera and controllers can influence game play and the style of the game.
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I wanted to get feedback on my camera and control systems that I created for unit 49, I used the videos that I took after creating the controller effect or camera effect and placed them all into a video as submitted it to the peer review forums to get feedback. Here is the video I created: With the video i also asked a set of 5 questions for the people who reviewed my work to answer, these questions are: What did you think of the player camera system? What did you think of the player controls / layout? What do you think of the camera effects? (post processing, portals, etc.) What do you think of the control effects? (QTE, slow time, etc.) Any recommendations for improvements? Results: I only got one feedback to my video of the camera and control system. the feedback helped me understand what was noticed the most and it looks like the fluid movement of the cameras on the character and the fixed camera in the level as well.
conclusion The only downside to this is the feedback is only by one person so I cannot compare it against other peoples opinions and I wasn't recommended any improvements for camera or control system. But overall I am feeling positive about the feedback I have received up to now and how I have used the systems in my game as seem to go down well. Since there were no recommendations to improve my systems I have left them how they are till I receive more feedback. After I created my level I wanted to make a small obstacle course that combined the two together. I used a fixed camera for the player to view from while using the jump and crouch, then I turned the camera back to the player so they can fire the weapon and use the quick time events before going though the portal. For the game I am planning for unit 75 I need to decide how my character will move, look and interact with the game. I have to come up with a system than having a limited number of controls so it is easy to config for other controllers other than the mouse and keyboard. I have decided I need controls for the following categories, Movement, actions, Weapon, camera and GUI Movement: Forward Backwards Right Left Actions: Jump Crouch Interactions Weapons: Weapon - Primary fire Weapon - Secondary fire Weapon Draw / sheath Weapon Change Reload Camera: Camera toggle for first person perspective and third person perspective Camera toggle to change shoulder view Look turn GUI: pause menu I did research on popular first person shoots and third person shooters at how the game uses the keys and what keys are popular for the keyboard. I looked at Doom 2016 and Counterstrike, both of them popular first person style shooters. I noticed straight away when doing the research that they use similar keys for some of the actions such as, movement used the W, A, S and D key to move forwards, backwards and left and right. E was used as an interaction/use, R was reloaded, Jump was space-bar, C was crouched and the mouse buttons where primary and secondary attack From doing the research I have decided to keep these buttons identical as it will be easier for users to adapt to the game and get used to game play quicker. In the image below is the keyboard and mouse controls I have decided to give to my game, I have highlighted the keys to the corresponding control action. I did not include the look and turn control in this diagram as it will be bound to the mouse axis After I figured out what keys I wanted to use for the game in unit 75, I added the names in the action mapping section by pressing the + button. Unreal engine came with some action and axis maps already mapped so I did not need to set up any keys for movement, jump and the camera movement for everything else I added an action map. I added the keys to the maps that were empty as shown in the picture below I can now use the actions in the blueprints. I can search for the node in the blueprints and add it to that blueprint Then I select which action event, I want and I can tell what the button to do like with my camera system changing between first and third person camera Conclusion Using the action inputs is very handy for creating my game as if I decided to change a key mapping later on in the game development I don't have to go though all my code changing the button, all I would have to do is go to the input settings and changing the key for that input and it will change all the blueprints bound to that input action to use that key. It is also handy for adding other controllers to the actions for when want to convert my game to work on other platforms such as Playstion 4 or Xbox one, possibly going into VR controllers and the new switch controllers. I can simpler, just added these to each input and it will use those buttons on those controllers to do the function its told to do. Adding function to the keys some of their keys in unreal engine are already set up by default and I have added the camera function to some keys from the previous task. I wanted to add a couple more of the key actions to the game, although I don't have any animations or weapon systems set up I get get the basic input set up. Crouch I started to crouch, I went to the character blueprints and selected character movement in the component window. Once the details were loaded up on the right hand side, I scrolled down to Nov movement and check the can crouch button. Then in the event graph i added a flipflop to the input crouch key so the player will crouch. As you can see in the video the camera moves down when the button is pressed and up when unpressed. There is no animation for visual the character is crouching as of yet and will be added at a later date. The Collison box for the character compressed and has the ability to move through smaller gaps in the wall Weapon fire After I set up the crouch I wanted to make a basic aim and fire function for the weapon that will use the mouse. I created a blueprint and added a collision box within and enabled player controller when entered. After this I added the mouse buttons and coasted to the third person that uses the arrow component to to spawn the line trace from with an offset. I connected the line trace to a meter and sound and when the line traces hits a cube it destroys the cube. This gives the basic weapon firing system. Interactions I want to add different types of interactions in my level. I have made them in the previous unit 18, and I used something similar to that by using a button with a trigger box to open a door via a matinee. I class the tutor gave us a small task to figure out how to slow down time when using movement keys and then speed back up when the key is reused. I went in a slightly different route by using a trigger box and when the player presses E it slows down time around then. I added a sphere to all show it isn't the player slowing down, but time itself and if the sphere is moving when activated it slows down as well. I could implement this into my game next year. I was thinking about adding it to the teleportion system so it seems like it slows down a little and on exit it speeds back up again. Also, I could add it as an effect if the player gets disseminated by e.g a grenade I could use this effect to change the gameplay style for a small duration. AFK Camera In lesson today we were shown how making a camera change to a rotating camera when there has been no key input for more than 3 seconds. The camera is based on register input from the keyboard and mouse, if there is no input a timer will start and once the timer hits the limit it changes to a new camera till the player's inputs in the game again. We started off by adding movement keys to the input key actions, these keys are the ones the player would use the most during game play. Then in the character blueprints we made an alternative tick using event timers and then used balloons and floats to determine if there is any key inputs. then we added a new camera and sprint arm and connected it to a cube, but removed the static mesh and then added a timeline with a ratator to make the camera spin and active and detective camera when there is an input or no input. Basic quick time events In todays lesson we were given the task of creating quick time events. These are events that display on the screen and the play has to copy the message on the screen. popularly used in music games such as guitar hero, also popular with dance arcade games as well. We started off by adding event dispatchers with the balance in the character blueprints and then created a new widget. in the widget I used a size box, background colour and text. I made the background and text an variable so they could be changed. Running off and event tick I used to player controller to see if a key had been pressed then another one to see what key had been pressed. from there I cast for the third person and called the event dispatchers. after this I set the background colour and copied the code to do the same if the player pressed the wrong key. After this i created another blueprint actor and placed a trigger box in it, when the player walks over it brings up the widget which looks for key input. then tested it out After getting it to work I looked how I could improve it, the task we followed used a custom event to change the colours, time and keys I looked at casting from the widget to see if I could get more control over the customization of the quick time events. I cast from the widget and set all variables and nodes I wanted to customise. I could of added more to the set list like, font, size of the text. I could also look at adding sound particle emitter and being able to change the what is played to completion. But i decided it looked messy compared to the one we made in class and it was easier to use. After that I looked at how I could improve the quick time events them selves so I made a chain of three numbers for the player to press, freezing movement so it doesn't effect the game and adding sound and particles on completion. I got the sequence of quick time events to work, but it is still very buggy. I could improve this sequence by using plans to check if all 3 numbers were correct as at the moment it will just play keep playing the sequence if the wrong number is pressed. Adding a controller After creating my level I wanted to adapt my game to be used with other controllers I mapped out the layout of the controls I wanted to use like I did with the pc Then like with the keyboard i added the buttons to the input actions in the project settings I decided to test if the keys worked by plugging in an xbox controller After this I added vibrations to the controller when the player shoots or goes thought the portal
For camera systems, there are many ways I can use these in my games I will look at as many ways possible using: Camera, Render targets, post processing effects on the camera and scene captures. As I am researching my camera and control system for unit 75 I will be looking into camera systems that I could use for my sci-fi game. Scene captures and render targets I started off taking inspiration from my research and Moodboards of portal the game, it makes it possible to see through walls using portals that would then teleport the player to the area in the portal. I found a few ways how I could do this, using a screen capture in my level in an area and placing the feed from that onto a texture in another part of my level, or building a similar function in the blueprints. I found a tutorial guide on how to create door portals and follow it along. After following the results I found that mine was quite buggy the portal never always renders correctly, would reflect my character and cause performance issues. After doing some research on how I could make the portals more effective, I found out a few important things about scene captures and render targets:
I then went back to the portal system and changed where my camera was on my player, moved my portals away from each other and I found I got better results but still get the clipping issues. After this I tried to replace the event tick with a timer, but found the portal render to be lagged and not as smooth as I would like, and only a slight improvement in the FPS The portal idea is interesting and I am glad I got it to work, but it is something I might use in my game, but very sparingly due to the fact there is a lot of errors involving this in unreal engine. Live Feeds After trying out the portals I used the same technique using screen captures and render targets, I started off using the BSP box and placing that in the world, then I placed a scene capture camera in my game and then created a render target adding that to the camera and then I turned the render target into a material and added it to the BSP block and I had an instance live feed. After this I duplicated the system and applied post processing effects to the camera by playing around with the settings on the camera, I am ending up adding a glittering grain and changed the temp colour of the feed. Player camera Even thou i created a camera system in unit 18 for first and third person view i wanted to improve on that so i draw a basic concept of what camera i wanted for my game. I wanted the third and first person perspective to stay and want an option so when i pulled out the weapon it would go to a view of over the shoulder. i started of by creating the unit 18 first to third person view After creating this camera system I wanted to improve the system and add more features, I started looking for tutorials about camera systems and the styles I found in my research in previous tasks. i found this video, that showed me there was a way to place the camera behind each shoulder, which was better than what i orignal concepted as i planed to have two camera but this uses the third person camera and uses it with an off set. After watching the tutorial i was able to resemble the same results Post Processing For this part of post processing I wanted to look into to blendables, using a material array to change the world when the player enters a post processing volume or uses a button to trigger the post processing. I did some research on the unreal forums and technical guides provided by unreal engine and I found a guide how to create Nightvision using materials and post processing https://forums.unrealengine.com/showthread.php?26829-Porting-Night-Vision-PP-Effect-from-UDK I was able to make something similar to the project, changing it slightly so it wasn't affected by light. The night vision I like and I plan to use this in my unit 75 project, when the player character is wearing the bio-suit it can use a button to toggle the night vision on and off as I plan to have some dark areas in my game. When looking for post processing material effects i also found another tutorial on the forums. https://forums.unrealengine.com/showthread.php?51685-Radar-Sonar-Pulse-Post-Processing-Material&highlight=sonar this tutorial shows how a material can move over objects in the level and lighting up each object in the light when it reaches it. I was able to replicate it but i was not happy with the results from it. After creating this I felt that the scan was too large and ruins the level, I looked at the technical guide on the unreal engine website and read about nodes I could use. I ended up using a vector length and using powers, divides and clamps to make a fake mask, so it turns the scallion into a circle that flies out from the player. The results are better from the original design and I feel it looks cleaner than the other scan. it is something I could use in my unit 75 game, the player could have it connected to its biosuit and use a button to scan the area for secrets / items that would a appear via a line trace. Or I can use it as part of a model that when the player activates it, it scans the area producing a map for the player. Class lesson - Cell shading in todays lesson we looked at materials and how they could influence the game, we followed the instructions on how to change the light the player sees and turn it into flat colours. this is known as cell shading. after following a tutorial given by the tutor which involved creating images inside of photoshop and then creating a material to cast this onto the object by using masks. in the photo below is the results I got: After creating this and liking the two toned effect I could cast on to objects I started researching if I could apply this to a post processing effect after finding the information on the unreal websits I used the same material I created in Photoshop and turned it into a post processing effect. After this I looked at other ways I can use cell shading and found a tutorial about how to make a Gameboy style cell shading using colour grading and changing the screen resolution. I was able to replicate the effects on my own level, minus the boarders I tried many ways to get a black boarder around the assets in unreal engine, but was unsuccessful I tried many tutorials but could not pull off the effect. the overall effect still works, but I felt it would of been better with a thin black line going around the assets. after failing many times I left it at the last working position shown above as it still looks like a Gameboy with the basic green colours and low resolution.
Conclusion I have learned a lot about camera in this task and the potential that can have on my game I am designing for next year. I think I will use the camera system that I designed works really well and like the over the shoulder look when the weapon is out. The AFK is good, but it is something I don't think I would use in my game and I think it could cause too many errors with my keys and camera system. The camera feed is simple, but works and could turn it into a CCTV system. The post processing is where I learned the most, my first attempt at making the scan effect wasn't the greatest, but after research I was able to improve it and I am planning on using it in my game next year to scan the environment. I would like to use the cell shading I think it's a cool effect and could use in a dream world or on the holodeck simulation.
This is the mind map I created when researching controllers and camera systems for my game.
This is the mood board I created for unit 49 looking into camera system styles and effects on the camera and possible controllers.
After doing my research I came to the conclusion that I will be using a third person camera that can be toggled into first person view, I will make the game for the PC with limited buttons so it will be easier in the future to convert onto other platforms.
In my umbrella brief for unit 75 I have chosen to do my theme based on sci-fi genre, since there is many sub categories that fall under sci-fi I am mainly going to research the games that were influenced by space, spaceships and aliens. I am going to research how these genres developed over the generations, looking at PC/Console hardware, camera systems and controllers. Space invaders (1978) This game was developed by tatio, it was one of the first space theme games realised, and it was made for arcade machines. It is a space shooter where the player takes control of a spaceship and must shoot at aliens that are in rows, once the aliens have gone a ship would attack. The aliens would get faster when they got closer to the character. The graphics were simple block colours with a solid black background this was due to the hardware at the time and only simple images could be processed. The camera is a front-view perspective and the controls were simple where the character is moved by the joystick and the player can shoot by using a button. Asteroids (1979) This game was developed by Atari and was one of the first space theme games released. It was intentionally made for arcades. It is a space shooter, where the player takes control of a space ship and must shoot and destroy asteroids. Due to the technology at the time the graphics were just black and white, the background was a solid black colour and the space ship and asteroids were just white lines. The camera is top-down perspective and the player controller the spaceship by using the joystick on the arcade. The player would shoot by pressing a button on the arcade machine. Elite (1984) This game was developed for Acornsoft to be released on their BBC micro and Acorn electron computers, the graphics were improved in later version taking advantaged of VGA and then released on to different platforms. The game is a space trading and combat simulator, the player must earn credits for upgrades to the ship. The camera is a front facing view and is locked to that position, the background would move depending on the movement of the joystick giving the illusion of it moving that way. They player could also change to the rear view to look behind. The controls were quite complex, using the joystick to move in any direction, space to increase speed. ? to decease, the F1 – F9 for maps, ship information, etc. Starflight (1986) This game was developed by binary systems for the IBM compatible and Tandy systems, then adapted and realised to other platforms. The game is a space exploration role-playing adventure game. The player must explore space looking to collect lifeforms and minerals, find habitable colony worlds. With a mission of find out why the stars flaring dangerously and how to stop it. The camera is a front view camera and is fixed to that position. R-Type (1987) This game was developed by irem for arcade machines. It is a side scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game. Towards the later 80s the advancement of processing the graphics and improved and could have up to 16 bits of colour. The game is set in space and the player controls a spaceship, the game scrolls to the right and the player must defeat NPC and dodge the environment along the way. At the end of each level there is a boss for the player to defeat. The camera stops moving when the player gets to this point. The player controlled the space ship but the joy stick and used buttons to fire its weapons. Xenon 2 megablast (1989) This game was developed by the assembly line orignally produced for the Amiga and atari ST. the game is a virtiual scrooling shoot-em-up game. The play has to defeat minon NPC before getting to the boss. Once the boss is defeated the player goes onto the next level. The player can collect powerups to improve the ship. The camera was a top view and only stopped moving when the player got to the boss. The controls were simple the player moved the ship by using the joystick and fiire the weapons by pressing the button. Duke Nukem (1991) & Duke Nukem II (1993) These games we developed by apogee software (3D realms) original made for DOS but adapted for other platforms. It was one of the first sci-fi games not to be based around a spaceship. The player had to kill robots or aliens to get points. It aside scrolling game, the player could go left or right. And the camera was fixed to a side view. The controls for Duke Nukem were the arrow keys and space for jump and enter to shoot. Doom (1993) & Doom II (1994) These games were developed by ID software for DOS. They were one of the first games to be three dimensional. The advancement of technology in the early 1990’s helped games go from solid colours to 32-bit texture maps and render static lighting. The player took control of an unnamed space marine known as Doomguy on the planet Mars. The player must kill demons/aliens that are on the planet. The camera for these games were first person and the player could turn around 360 degrees in the levels. There were limitations the player could not look up or down. The controls were used on the keyboard and the player could move by using the arrow keys, fire the weapon using ctrl, action key was space bar and run was shift. System shock (1994) This game was developed by looking glass technologies made for Dos and the adapted for release onto other platforms. The game is first person action roleplaying game in 3D environment and It was one of the first games to be set aboard a space ship. The player must explore the space ship, combat enemies and solve puzzles. The camera is first person perspective and the player can look 360 degrees. The camera is controlled by the mouse which moves it up and down and left and right and can aim weapons and interact with objects with in the environment. Star Wars: Dark forces (1995) This is a game developed by LucasArts made for DOS, apple Macintosh and PlayStation, the game is set in the Star Wars universe and follows mercenary working for the rebel alliance. The camera is in first person perspective. Quake (1996) & Quake II (1997) This game was developed by Id software for Dos and later adapted for different platforms. These games are first person shoot-em-up. Quake is also classed as the first game to offer full real-time 3D rendering using OpenGL, the engine also pre-calculated lighting and shadows. Quake is based around the development of a teleportation system into an alien dimension and must stop aliens from taking over. The camera is in first person perspective and the camera could be moved around via the mouse. The controls where simple of either using WASD or arrow keys to move the mouse button to shoot, space jump and enter was action button. The player could also crouch and run. Half-life (1998) This game was developed by Valve, for Microsoft windows. It is a first-person shooter. The player took control of a scientist who must escape a research facility after a teleportation experiment goes wrong. The game had no cuts cense and the story was told though scripted sequences. The camera was first person perspective and was controlled by the mouse. The controls were similar to a lot of first person games at the time using the WASD keys, space to jump, E for interaction and mouse buttons to fire, Numbers to change the weapons. Star Trek: Elite force (2000) This game was developed by raven software for Microsoft windows. It was one of the first games of that era to be continuously update by the developer via patches, additional content, and expansion packs. It was based on the TV series Star Trek: Voyager, it was a first-person shooter focused on story driven combat with interactions. The player did missions thought linear levels and at the end of the mission would be a boss. The camera is first person perspective. The controls for this game were the same for similar first person shoots at the time; using the WASD keys, space to jump, E for interaction and mouse buttons to fire, Numbers to change the weapons. Halo (2001) This game was developed by bungie for the Xbox and then brought out later for PC and Mac. It is a military sci-fi first-person shooter game. the player takes control of a cybernetically enhanced super solider. The game involved vehicles. The camera is in first person perspective but when the player enters vehicles it changes to a third-person perspective when piloting / using the gun. Passengers stay in first-person perspective. The controls were based around combats and each button was assigned to weapon usage, secondary weapons, firing, reloading and melee attack. The directional buttons were used to move and use the camera. Anarchy Online (2001) This game was developed by Funcom for windows. It was the first Mass multiplayer online role playing game in the genre to use sci-fi as a setting. The game focus around a desert planet and its valuable mineral notum. The game has dynamic questing, instances, free trails and in game advertising, the first of its kind. Anarchy is the old MMO around and still going strong. The camera is first/ third person base / top down view which is scrollable and the player can choose how close to the character they want the camera. The controls for anarchy are quite complex they player has movement controls along with the mouse moving the camera, Action keys which attack, pick up, use look at, run/walk, etc. Window keys to toggle windows in the game like inventory system, skill system, maps etc. Special actions, which are attack keys. Chat buttons for different types of chats. Also, got player and pet targeting keys and camera keys Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi outcast (2002) This is a game developed by raven software and LucasArts, realised for Windows, OS, GameCube and Xbox. The player is in the Star Wars universe and can take advantage of force abilities and equip guns and a lightsabre. The game is classed as a first and third person action shooter with puzzles for the player solve. The polygon count was double to what was used in Quake 3 and soldier of fortune II due to improvement to the ID tech engine. The player could choose between third and first person camera which became popular at the start of the 00. The controls for this game were the same as a lot of first person shooters at the time movement controlled by mouse and WASD and the mouse buttons to attack. If the player wanted to use the force abilities it was blinded to the F1-9 keys. The player could customise their own keys. Eve Online (2003) This game was developed by CCP games for Windows and Mac OS. It came out at the start of the mass multiplayer online boom, and it one of the first and still popular MMO out there. With advancement in broadband connections and better computers game companies could start making massive online games. Eve is a space based mass multiplayer online role playing game (MMORGP). The player can explore the universe in their space ship and undertake in-game professions and actives like mining, piracy, manufacturing, trading, etc. The game is massive and has 7,800 solar systems. The player can between first and third person cameras. The keys for Eve are quite complex the player has movement keys, camera controls key via buttons and mouse, combat keys, window keys, general, navigation keys and combat keys. Using all the keyboard keys and multiple keys at one. The keys can be customized to suit the players need. Entropia Universe (2003) This game was developed by MindArk and is an MMORPG. It is different to other games of the same genre as players can buy in game currency and redeem the currency back into US dollars at a fixed rate making virtual items acquire with in the universe having a real cash value, some planets and weapons selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The camera for this game are first and third person. The controls for this game like most MMO are quite complex but are customable for the player’s needs. Half-life 2 (2004) This game was developed by Valve, for Microsoft windows. It is a first-person shooter. It the sequel to the original and you must way to free humanity from an alien combine. The game uses the same game play, camera and controls as the first half life but with a new story line, new graphics and engine. Portal (2007) This game was developed by Valve, for Microsoft windows. It is a first-person shooter. It is a first person sci-fi puzzle game. the player takes control of an aperture science handheld portal device to teleport in the room and solve puzzles. The camera is in first person perspective, when the portal is opened the player can see though the portal and can have a mirror effect. The controls were simple and used WASD to move and mouse to move the camera and the space/alt key to jump and crouch. The mouse buttons fired blue and orange portals. Mass effect (2007) This is a game developed by BioWare originally made for the Xbox 360 it was later released on other platforms and the new generation on consoles. It a sci-fi action role playing game. the game is base in the milky way and the player encounters diverse types of species. The camera is in a third person perspective and used an over the should view. Dead space (2008) This game is developed by EA Redwood shores for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is a sci-fi survival horror based on a spaceship infested with an alien scourge. The camera in game is in a third person perspective and is unique by using an over the shoulder view. Star trek online (2010) This game was developed by cryptic studios and is an MMORPG game, which is based on the star trek series. The game was made for the Pc and then later released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox one. The player own their own ship and can beam down to a planet and take control of the character. The camera is in third person mode in space and when on the planet can be changed from third to first person view. The controls for this game a very complex like with all MMO, the game has different keys depending which mode you are in between ground RPG, Shooter and space. Between the modes only a few keys are used for the same function such as missions, inventory, people, captains log, map etc. Doom (2016) This game was developed by ID software for Windows, PS4 and Xbox one. It is a reboot of the doom franchises, and uses a new engine and uses Vulkan API rendering technology. Also screen space reflections, accelerated particles and HDR blooms were some of the new features found within the engine. The game is the same as the first one as a Sci-Fi first person shooter and rebooting the storyline. The Camera is first person perspectives and uses post processing effects for weather and other scenes in the game. The controls are like other first person shooter games. No Mans Sky (2016) This Game was developed by Hello Games and was made for the PC and PS4, it an open universe which has over 18 quintillion plants that are all unique. The game engine has code to randomize planets look. The camera is set in first person perspective. The controls for the game use the same as most first-person games.
Conclusion From researching the history of my genre; sci-fi, space and aliens I have found the task very interesting it has shown me how technology for the 1970 has evolved over the years to what we use today. The graphics going from 2D images moving across the screen, the 2D textures getting more advanced by VGA technology and the introduction of graphics cards making 3D environments possible, then over the remaining years with better processors and graphics cards the improvements of graphics and visual effects. The cameras have changed a lot over the years going from a fixed front and side position, then a camera that a player could move up and down but was still in a fixed location, moving on to the side and top view scrolling camera that dominated the late 80’s. With the birth of 3D environments first person camera took off with most games between the early 90’s to now been in first person, with the possibility of changing to third person perspective once the engine became more advanced. Game companies tried to do game play based in third person perspective but from the timeline it was unique and a lot of games fell back into using first person view with the possibility of using third. First person perspective seems quite popular in this genre and I think it’s based down the games companies wanted the player to feel like they are part of the game they are playing. There was a lot of change for the controls of the years from my research the early games going from using joysticks and using one or two buttons, to using the arrow keys on the keyboard till the mouse became popular and the user changing to use the WASD keys and the mouse for the movement of the camera. In the MMO games the controls were complex but needed many key binds for distinctive styles of play and to bring up different windows for the player. Towards the end of my research for controls I found most games seemed to follow the same pattern found in other games because it is easier for the player to pick up the controls if it is like another popular game they enjoy. The gameplay has change a lot, with the advancement of technology and camera systems I found in the 1970 to 1993 before the 3D environments was created all the sci-fi games seemed to be based around space and spaceships that the player would take control of, apart from some games in these time frame. I found out when 3D environments were created and first person perspective boomed, the games seemed to take a different direction by the player taking control of a character and be on a spaceship, a planet, in the future, etc. Then when online gameplay became better with the improvements of broadband mass multiplayer online games took over, bringing back taking control of spaceships but also keeping the element taking control of the character. Some of these MMO have millions of players each month and are still publishing content. This boom lasted for a few years before first person sci-fi games became popular again and game companies trying out third person perspective games as well. From my research towards the end of the 00’s there wasn’t many new game titles coming out in this genre it seemed to be a lot of focus on reboots and sequels, as noted in my research for doom. New engines are coming out where it is possible to randomise the environments, it worked in No mans sky but the game struggled to keep players attracted after a few hours players as the novelty wore off. I also considered future games that are coming out between 2017 and 2020 and I get the impression game companies are looking to reboot sci-fi titles such as quake and mass effects and a lot of companies are going back at games from the 1970 – 1993 era where you controlled a spaceship and looks like that is going to be popular again. From my research it has game me a good understanding of what made games popular in my genre and how I should have my controls and cameras for the project I am planning in unit 75. For this blog post I am going to research previous games, mainly looking at the history of the genre I have chosen for my umbrella brief in unit 75. I am also going to consider different types of controls camera set up that have been used since the 1980’s. Earlier games used a click and move system where the camera would be from above or from point of view, this advanced with consoles and the user could move the character by using joysticks and control panels by using the same camera. these were norm before a first-person view became popular, I will also research into at a third person camera view like dead space where their camera is behind the player. Top Down Top down was a popular camera view for the 1980 as it easier for the user to move around on a console as point and click was more based for the PC and mac, it used a 2D image and the user can move around the image using the movement controls on the pad. The most popular game to use this technique is Pokémon Sweet home (1989) This is a game made by Capcom for the NES, it was a puzzle-solving game based in a mansion it set the foundations for resident evil. Camera The camera was set above the game and the player looks downs into the mansion and can look into the room that the character is in. when the player walks into a new room the old room would vanish and the new room would appear. When the player encounter a boss or npc also enter through a door it would change to a first-person view. Controls The game used two sets of controls, as it was originally designed for the NES, the first set of controls moved the characters and interact and the second set of controls brought up a menu system that the player could use the movement keypad to scroll though the menu options and inventory and select options and move items in the inventory system. Point and click Point and click games usually used a 2D image and the user controls a player by pointing and clicking on the 2D image to move and interact this was a very popular game style for horror games in the 1980’s and early 1900. The camera was usually fixed and did not move, the level would change by removing the current 2D image and replacing it with another 2D image. Information was mainly giving by text and sound when a player interacted with an item. Sanitarium (1998) This game was made by Dream forge interainment made for the pc, it is a puzzle solving horror, interaction based. At the end of the chapter is the player must avoid obstacles. Camera The camera for this game is based on a top down view and side scrolling view, when the player moves to the left or the right move of the level appears and onto the screen removing the level that has gone of the screen. The camera would change to view person view when interacting with puzzles Controls The game is based on point and click making the keyboard for this game irreverent. The mouse controls interaction, movement, menus and talking to npc. This gave the game a unique game play style combined with the top down side scrolling view. I have no mouth, and I must scream (1995) This game was made by the dream guilds made for windows and mac, it is a choice based and interaction game. Camera The camera is fixed on a horizontal plane, it displays only one room at a time, when the player walks thought a new door a new level loads up. The levels are made from a 2D texture to look 3D, the character can move around the level but is still a 2D sprite. Controls The controls are point and click based, the player only can move by having the option ‘walk to’ selected and the user clicks to a place on the level. The user has other commands to use that they can use to interact within the level by selecting on an option and pointing and clicking on the level. The user also gets information when the cursor highlights an item via text. 3rd person view View person view is where the camera is behind the character and the user can see the character and the environment around them. This can only be used in a 3D generated world. The player can control the camera by using the mouse or using the directional axis. Siren (2003) This game was made by Sony PlayStation japan studio, it was made for the PlayStation only. The game is an objectivise based game and the user must complete a primary mission to complete a stage. Camera The camera is 3rd person and the character is centred in the middle of the screen so the user can see the character and the surrounding environment. The user also can toggle first person view by holding the R2 button on the controller or toggle the view by pressing the R3 button. The camera moved about by using the right directional axis. The L2 button moved the position of the character so it was positioned to the side and not in the centre of the screen. Controls For this game, the controls were mapped to the PS2 controller, the player could move around using the left stick, the directional buttons were used to navigated the sub command menu in the game. The button X was used as the action/interaction button, O button was used to crouch/stand Square and R1 button was the attack function and holding the triangle button braced the door. The L2, R2 and R3 changed the players’ camera. Alan wake (2010) This game was designed by remedy entertainment and designed for the Xbox and PC. The game is an action-adventure psychological horror game. Camera The camera is 3rd person base in the game with the character centred in the middle of the screen, the user can see the character full body. When the player aims the character camera zooms in, the character moves to the right-hand corner Controls The controls were adapted for the Xbox controller and mouse and keyboard, they both have the same functions but the Xbox controller has buttons doubling up with actions. The user controls the player via WASD or left directional stick and move the camera by using the mouse or the right directional stick. The user has choice of two weapons a gun/twohanded weapon and a flashlight, both these can be executed but using the mouse buttons and the L2 and R2 buttons. The user can sprint and dodge but holding down the corresponding button and use a directional button to move in the direction. There are also buttons to reload the batteries and weapons and an interaction button. Fixed camera The games were usually based in a 3D environment and in a third person point of view, but due to the hardware at the time the cameras had to be fixed as the processor could only render so much of the game at one time. The player could move freely around the levels and the camera would change to display a new part of the room when the user enter that area. When computers hardware became better the camera became unfixed and 3rd person view became popular with a camera that moves with the character. Resident evil (1996) This game was by Capcom for the PlayStation it was a remake of the previous game sweet home, it was dubbed as the first survival horror game. The game was a puzzle, interaction and survival game. Camera The camera in resident evil was a fixed camera in third person view, so the player could see the whole room or parts of the room like in a point and click game but could free move around the level using the control pad. Each room could have two or three cameras to see different parts of the room when the player was in a certain area of that room. When the player walk thought a door to a new room the camera would change to a first-person view of a 2D door opening and then the user would appear in the new room, the room were classed as levels. Controls The controls were based on the PlayStation controller as the PlayStation one did not have a directional axis stick the player had to move around using the directional buttons. The player had to aim with the R1 button and shoot using the X button which was also the action/interaction button. Square was run and tringle was the cancel button. Alone in the dark (1992) This game was designed by infogrames, designed for DOS it is a survival horror games with puzzle solving and slaying monsters, it is based in a mansion and Capcom used the template of this game to influence its blockbuster resident evil. Camera The cameras are fixed and cannot be moved, and enable the player to explore partially nonlinear map, the camera change to a new fixed location when the player moves to a different area of a room or a different level. Controls The game was designed before the popular use of mice on the computer, the user directional arrow to move forward, backwards and left/right arrows make the character rotate, to make the character run the user has to press the up arrow up twice. The enter button was used for to access the menu and inventory system, push twice to choose between in game option such as fight, close, push etc. The spacebar is used to open, close and search items and doubles up as an attack button if held and used with the directional arrows. First person view First person camera is set in a 3D environment and gives the user the experience of point of view and makes the player feel like they are in the game. Usually the player can only see the arms of the character and the weapon / items the character has equipped. Quake (1996) Is a game made by Id software, originally made for the pc then adapted for other platforms, this game created its own style of gameplay, a fast paced first person shooter. The game wasn’t one of the first games to use first person camera view but it mass popularity set a whole new genre of games. Camera The camera is in first person perspective, the player can only see the gun, and they can also see a basic HUD system of health, ammo, Armor and type of gun. The player can change the field of view by either making it wider or closer. Controls The controls for quake were mainly keyboard based as mice were only becoming popular. The arrow keys moved the character while the page down, delete and end button moved the camera up and down. The player could move with the mouse alone by holding the right mouse button down and moving the mouse to turn and move the camera about by using the scroll button. The player could attack by pressing left mouse button or by hitting ctrl. The player can also jump by using space and also swim by using the D and C key. In quake 2 and 3 the controls changed and moved over to the WASD and mouse as mice became more main stream. These games also had unique game play styles that can be seen in modern games such a strafe jumping, double jumping, rocket jumping, jump and crouch jumps. Outlast (2013) Is a game made by red barrels originally made for the PC and then later converted over to other platforms, the game is an investigative game. The game became popular for many reasons one of them the character not having a weapon and only a camcorder and had to hide from NPC. Camera The camera is in first person perspective, the user can not see any of the character till the player interacts with doors and objects and can see a hand and arm come and interact with it. The camera is the camcorder and the user can toggle the light and night mode. These are post possessing effects on the camera to give the impressing of the camera recording and changing into night mode. Controls The controls for outlast have a different set up to your traditional layout. The WASD keys are still the movement keys and the user can still look around with the mouse, the interaction button is the left mouse button and the use of the camcorder is the right mouse button. The scroll button zoom in and out of the camera and the batteries are reloaded by pressing R. The player can also run, jump and crouch. Side-scrollers Side scrolling games are two dimensional games that use a side-view camera perspective. The character usually moves from the left to the right, the games take advantage of scrolling computer display technology. There were many different types of genres these included shooters games, racing games, and scrolling platform games and beat ‘em ups. Super Mario bros (1985) Is a game designed by Nintendo and was made for their console the NES. Super Mario bros is a side scrolling platform and one of the most famous side scrolling game ever made. The game was made up of 2D textures. Camera The camera is side-view perspective, it follows the player when they move forwards or backwards. The background was a solid blue colour to make it easier for the console to render the game. The game would have clouds and bushes on top of these in another layer then in the foreground it would be the floor and bricks/pipes the player can interact with. Controls The controller for the NES was simple by only having a control panel and two buttons. The user could only controller the character by using the left or right arrows. The A button was used to jump and the B button was used to run. Limbo (2010) Is a game designed by playdead, It was originally made for the Xbox 360 and then later adapted for other platforms. It is a puzzle based side scroller and loops the game once the player completes the game. Camera The game uses a side-view perspective, the player cannot go backwards once the camera has moved to the right. The game uses multiple 2D layers to make the background look more depth, all the textures are black and white further away it goes down the greyscale, while the foreground images are black. The game uses a lot of post processing effects on the camera, to add a mist and weather effects, the only images not effect by this is the character, NPC and ground. Controls
The controls for limbo were very simple, on the Xbox controller the player can move the character by using the left directional stick and then using the A key to jump and the B key as the action / interaction key. |
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