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.
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2/7/2024 05:32:28 am
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