Monday, 4 March 2013

educational game research


this is the mathematics game from the bbc bitesize website called adventure sequences, this gameis based around the age range of 7-8, you can tell this as the numbers are startimg to get higher, the character used in the game is starting to get more complex, and the colours are more toned and not as basic. I can see this game being entertaining for this age range, as you are constantly doing something.




this is another game from the bbc website, this time it is a literacy game that is aimed at the age range of 5-6, this is because although the character is the same just a different colour and it has the same colour scheme, it is based on the alphabet and you have to put the words in order, this game also has the same features as the last as you are always doing something and would keep children of this age entertained.

Wednesday, 27 February 2013

understanding fuctions of game engines unit 67 P2

graphic rendering:
rendering is used in games for the lighting and textures that we see whilst we are playing the game. the way that the texture wraps the model can then create shadows and also its form. there is also stand alone software that will render models and fabrics for use in the game that you are playing.
anti aliasing:
this is a form of graphical rendering in game engines where it smooths out the rough edges of the models to create a much better feel to the game you are playing and also a much better look. although this makes the game look better it can ruin the performance of the game by lowering the frame rate. this especially makes the game look better during cut scenes where you can see the models up close.
shadowing:
this is where the game engine analyses where the light source hits an object and will the create a shadow in a realistic way by judging the light source. this can also ruin the performance of a game again by lowering th frame rate. but shadowing does make the game look a lot better and is extremely effective in horror games or thrillers.
level of detail:
this describes the amount of detail that i put into a game and how the design is. for instance a game like boarderlands does not look 'real' compared to a game like battlefield 3. because more modern games put higher detail into textures, models and lighting this can also lower the games performance by lowering frame rate. to avoid this games do little things to lower the loading time or make the game look better. for instance on battlefield 3, if you are using a sniper across the map it will not load all of the detail on the other side of the map until you look through the scope.
ray tracing:
this is the way that the game calibrates the way that the rays of light reflects and affects the objects that it hits. light reflects off a surface and then off another. this would only be faint but it would make the game look a lot more realistic.
radiosity:
this is when the game engine looks at light sources and ambient light sources and how they effect objects. this can effect the shadows and how well lighted a certain object is. this makes the game a lot better and make it look a lot better. but in a game more than one light source could be hitting an object.
depth testing:
this is when a player cant see an object because of the distance or positioning of the player. this could be the object that is behind you. this can also include the fog that is in a game as this may be affecting what you can see. the better game objects have became the more you can see this in games.
the graphics pipeline:
this is how the software turns a 3D game to a 2D image that can be viewed on a 2D pixel screen. it does this by going through many different stages of flattening the image and creating a real representation without the extra dimensions.
pixel and vertex shaders:
this is what creates a more real sence of light and mapping in a game because because it is done a pixel basis, a vertex shader can also be programmed but this works with the geometry of the models and different parts of the scene. this creates more art style games like borderlands.
fogging:
this hides objects that are further away from the player and it can also create an eary and scary game scene by doing this. this can make the game a lot more interesting and may make the player hesitate and gamble on wether to go into a foggy area to attempt to find something that may be imporant to the game.
texture:
this is what is applied to the models and different dwellings in games in order to make them look real and make them look like what they are supposed to be. they are also used on models to make you be able to extinguish what they look like, for example a character could be an alien so this is how you would texture it, not texturing it like a human.

Animation systems:

path based:  this is when an animation uses a fixed background and frames to make it look like there is movement. the main aim is that the object moves along a certain path, it is then found out how much time it takes to get from one point to the other and how many frames it needs to get there.
hinematics:  this is the motion of bodies no taking into cinderation the force or the movement, there are two different spaces used in kinematics; cartesion spac and quaternion space. the transformation between them both can be decomposed into a rotation. 
forward kinematics:  singularities and nonlinearities can make the problem more difficult to solve, a manipulator is composed of serial links that are affixed to each other, or primatic joints from the base frame through the end effector calculating the position and orientation of the end effector in terms of the joint variables. 
particle systems: particles in a game are what creates things like smoke and the density of it obviously there would be more particles. this is also, fire, rain, explosions, water splashes, muzzle flash, snow, dust and stars. particles are created using sprite sheets and which are a frame by frame graphic played constant without any delays to create a fluid motion, this simulates the effect like the fire and smoke etc.
middleware: In its most general sense, middleware is computer software that provides services to software applications beyond those available from the operating system. Middleware can be described as software glue. middleware is not obviously part of a operating system,  not a part of one software application. Middleware makes it easier for software developers to perform communication and input/output, so they can focus on the purpose of their application.

systems:

physics: a physics engine is a piece of software that provides relations to the laws of physics. game developers use these engines in there games to create realism into it. but they can also make the physics as unrealistic as they want. this depends on the environment that the developers are creating. for example if the game is on a different planet or in a completely different universe, hen this would mean there is no gravity so it does not need to be in it.
effects: Subsurface scattering is included in a few game engines and some examples that have subsurface scattering are; Unreal Engine 3 CryEngine 3 and Confetti RawK. The last two engines have used Screen-Space Subsurface Scattering.  SSS is a mechanism of the light transport that make the light travel inside objects. However for translucent objects, which affected by SSS a lot enters the surface and then scatters inside of the object. The light is blurred which gives a soft look to he object.
networking: Networking is a collection of computers and other hardware interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information. Through networking you can send information through one device to one process. Sound is also very important within a game engine because it can be used in many different ways. It can be used for a certain effect or it can also be used to deliver a message. The sound can help the player identify what is happening in a game and also the music will give us an idea of what is about to happen or what is happening in a game. for example if the music is eary and spooky, you may find something horrific or jumpy. Game engines include sound because it is important for games. Without sound games wouldn’t be as good and the user wouldn’t enjoy playing the game as much.

artificial intelegence:

AI Agents: artificial intellegence is used in most of the games tha are out now and can be really important, theses could be characters in a village like on skyrim, or enemies that attack you on call of duty campaign or in black ops combat training. in skyrim each of the AI's has its own life, for example there will be AI's that you see going to work ecery day and leaving the same house and following the same path, but at night or if they are not working they could be hunting or they could be farming this depends on there cycle.

AI behaviours: these are things like when they rest or sleep in a game, slow down after running a certain distance or sitting down at work, if a bodily behaviour fails i the AI it will return to what it was peviously doing and start againas a fall back or plan B in the AI.

world navigation:  Game world navigation is when you try to move from one place in a game world to another when the obvious way is not possible. Besides the presence of these environments, this also requires that Movement in possible and that it is possible to get lost or take unnecessarily long routes. World navigation is most common in games with large worlds. Mini-maps can make Game World Navigation easier by not only indicating where players are and what direction they are moving, but also where the goal location is (the Mini-maps in both the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series are example of this) but this is a risky design strategy since it can become too easy. Splitting game worlds up into levels where the use can complete puzzles makes game navigation easier for players.


 

Monday, 14 January 2013

Character background

"claws" is a robotic based creation made for war by the german government that was created to brutaly murder any opponents, this went wildely wrong and got too out of control. when it was finaly captured by the british governent it was re-programmed and configured to bring justice and be able to track down criminals. "claws" is now well known around the world for tracking kidnappings and murderers but eevry now and then the robot has random outbirst of anger which may attack anyone in directly sight. claws was also given a new body. he stands on 2 feet when charging but when running all 4 and is ran by solar panels that are attached to his back. he is made completely out of carbon fibre and steel. whilst all his inside is basic and advanced wiring and tubing to stop him from over heating. his eyes are usualyy an electric blue but when angered or goes into rage they turn blood red. claws is designed to have the body shape of a panther so he is fast, agile. his main downfall is that he runs out of power easily. because the carbon fibre painting is black he operates during night. the solar panel is possitioned on his back and only charges during the day. if possible claws will find a different electricity and will wait to be fully re-charged but this is a rare occasion. his creator is still unknow but it is said that he is still alive and may be programing a counter to claws. the creators where abouts is unknown as is his identity. so this could be disastorous. Only claws knows were his creator is but since he has been re-programmed he has lost all data about him.

Friday, 11 January 2013

HCI technology task unit 57 P1

HCI technology task
HCI stand for human computer interaction, this is basically how we interact with computers in different ways, for example on computer games.
·        Screens are used in all modern day games whether it is on PC, Xbox or even DS, screens are vital for interacting with games, this is because there may be on screen tutorials but also because you need to be able too see what you are doing whilst playing so that you can move about. Screens are used by giving visible feedback of what you are doing on the game, for instance if you look right, the screen will show you this. For example when playing call of duty you need a screen to be able to see the enemy team and also which way that you are moving, if you did not have a screen for this you would not be able to show how you are interacting and what you need to do.





·       
Keyboards are used in many different games, mainly PC. A keyboard lets you control your player/characters movement jumping, reloading sprinting and many others, on PC mice are used with a keyboard, the mouse lets you look around and shoot/ interact as well. A game that requires a keyboard a lot is skyrim PC. A keyboard in this game is used for opening and closing doors, jumping, attacking, and opening your map, menu and inventory. The keyboard is used by either typing commands or pressing individual buttons for certain tasks. The keyboard is also vital for many other games like Minecraft awsesomenauts, call of duty and Sims.


·        A joystick is also mainly used on PC games and is quite a traditional type of HCI, one classic game that a joystick is used for is Pac-man, and the joystick in this game is used to move around the maze to collects the dots, whilst avoiding the ghosts. Also flight simulators need the joystick on computer a lot as well. In flight simulators the joystick is used for controlling the direction that the plane goes also the speed and weather you want to land or not.

·        Pads are used for computer interaction mainly for dance mats. Pads are used in dance games by the player stamping or pressing down on the direction they want or to pause or select something. Also a traditional game that uses pads is mole attack. This is where the mole pops up and you hit it, as you hit it, it goes back down, the higher the level you get the more that pop up at the same time and the shorter time you have to hit them.
 
·       
Touch screens are now being used a lot more in games, for example the apple and android products that are touch screens have game apps, al of these require touching the screen I some way, weather it be in the menu, or actually dragging something back with your finger. One of the most popular games for this is angry birds, in this game you have birds on a catapult that you have to use to pop the other green birds which get harder to get as you get into a higher level. To interact with this catapult you simply touch and hold the screen and dag back to the angle and power that you want. Steering wheels in games are getting more popular and more realistic. One of he most popular games for the steering wheel is gran turismo or need for speed. To interact with these games using the steering wheel kit you simply steer the wheel in the direction you would lie to turn, change gear and use the accelerator and brake to control the speed. The more that you turn the wheel the more you turn so you have to judge the turn that you are about to take.



·      
Motion sensors are now getting more advanced, and the Xbox 360 kinect is the perfect example, instead of motion sensors only working with the Nintendo Wii control or the play station move they can now sense human movements. A game that is on kinect is rise of nightmares, in this you have to move about and move your body as if you are swinging a sword or blocking in order to kill the zombies. Another game is kinect sports, in this you have sports like football, so you have to pretend to shoot.


·       
Headsets are used on all games if you have one, they let you communicate with team mates or friends over console or PC, but they are used for other reasons. For example there are many games that use voice control features, what this means is you speak into your headset and then the game functions this command, for example if you said “forward” your character would move forward. A game that uses this feature is Deka Voice. In this game you give voice commands through you headset to other characters to try and solve crimes.




·        Webcam games are not played as much as other types of games because you can go on things like kinect. Most webcam games are free, a good example a webcam game is flashmotion: bubble burst, in this you basically pop the bubble by pointing where it is through you webcam. They are mostly used for basic games that require little skill and can be boring.
 
·        GPS is a form of HCI, they are used for finding a device or a person. they are used in different location based games on things like phones and other handheld devices. many games on consoles use GPS by giving you the destination of the next objective but also like in skyrim having side quests along the way. the GPS can also measure speed, this is so that it does not ask you to do the objective before you get to the location because you are walking too slow.





·        Compasses in HCI are used for a method called augmented reality, this is a way of viewing things through a screen, the screen the shows a camera image with graphics. the Nintendo 3ds uses 3d reality. an example of this is placing down card that are interactive with a game like Pokemon and then watching this card appear on the screen in 3d.

Tuesday, 8 January 2013

javier salazar "the trickster"



basic statistics
Name: javier salazar
Alias: sal
heigh: roughly 6ft
weight: unknown
sex: male
race: unkown
eye colour: brown
hair colour: black
glasses/contact lenses: none
nationality: unknown
skin colour: tanned
shape of face: square

distinguishing features
clothing: the character is a soldier so cargos and military wear
mannerisms: he is an extremely skilled driver
habits: character as no habits
Health: characters has full health
hobbies: character has no hobbies
favourite sayings: unknown
voice: rough and deep
walking style: walks normaly but has a bit of a bounce
characters greatest flaw: can be vey aggresive
characters best quality: is an extremely good military drive and can deal with a lot of pressure during one situation

social characteristics
Hometown: unknown
current residence: america
occupation: military soldier
income: unknown
talents/skills: good driver
family status: unknown
character as a child: unknown
character as an adult: works for us army but is secretly works with the cordis die

social characteristics
educational background: unknown
intellegence levels: unknown but comes across as clever because of the ay he resolves situations
characters goal: to help menandez take over the us army
self esteem: extremely confident, thinks he will not fail anything.
confidence: high as he has never failed anything and rarely slips up with anything.
emotional state: unknown

social characteristics
introvert or extrovert: salazar in extremely extrovert the only thing he does is focuss on practical realities a lot more than thoughts and feelings.
motivation: to help menandez gain control with cordis die and get the us under menandez’s power
fear: he fears loss and failure with anything
happiness: victory and power over any situation
relationships: he takes friendship very close to himself, but he is not very loyal at all

spiritual characteristics
I do not know if javier salazar believes in any religeon.
archetype: javier salazars achitype is trickster, this is ecause he fools everyone in the us army to thik ha e is loal ad is not a part of cordis die and does not work for the us army.

character architypes

captain price:


capain prices architype for te game modern warfare 1/2/3 is "the hero". this is portraed through all of e games that e is i but mostly mw2 and mw3 this is because he constantly seems to et the iformation ha you  need through out these games and at the end of mw2 he save captain mactaviss life. and tries his hardes to do the same in mw3. also he appeas in both of te fial missions in the campaign in te killing of all 3 key enemies in mw mw2 and mw3 enemies. "sheperd", "makarov" and "zackaev". he finall gets revnge on makarov in mw3 by killing him.


captain mactavish:

captain mactavish is also one of the main characters in the call of duty: moxdern warfare franchise. mactavish is one of the main heroes in this game because in call of duty modern warfare he kills Zakhaev after captain price slides him a handgun along the floor. then in mw2 he gets stabbedc in the stomach crucially by former good and now evil shepherd he then takes this knife out of his chest throws it at shepherd and gets him in the eye saving captain prices life, this injury of him getting stabbed in the chest goes throught o mw3 as it is a direct sequal to mw2. he is also a hero in this as he helps toward the build up of killing makarov although he does die. he is a tall fast and stron scottish man that is close friends with captain price.
ezio auditor:



in assasains creed ezio auditiore is "the trickster". his is because through out the assains creeds that he appears in his stealth and quick thinking help him to escape in certain stuations and also remain "stealthy". because he is an assasain he is quick and agile helping him to be tricky and place things like traps and ambush's on key enimiens like army generals during he time. he can also blend in with templars and finish people off sealthily. he also finds man different was to be ricky by equiping new equiptment wether it is his hiden blade to a gun so he is always unpredictable.

agent 47:

agent 47 is a clone that was developed and raised to become a master is being a tricky silent assasain, if agent 47 is sent after you, there is no way out of it. he is strong agile and fast and is a master of disguise. this helps him get out of any situation undetected and safely making him tricky and hard to stop. you can never tell what is going to happen.

homer simpson (the simpsons game):


homer is definately a foolish character and is also one of the main characters, his special power ups are him turning into a "wrecking ball" and a gian green gummy ball type thing. to get these power ups you basically have to eat donuts hotdogs and any other fatty food that is found anywere on the mission map. homer is fat and slow and cant jump very high until power ups are used.

yoda:

yoda is possibly the most well know mentor. he is wise cunning and powerfull and trains many jedi's in the film and game, his padawan "luke skywalker" is known as the good guy for a while and yoda is the person that trainred him to get him to the level of skill that he is at.

general shepherd:

general shepherd is a friendly general, but is definately not. in mw2 he destroys a building with an airstrike that is range of friendly troops. and sends out a bfriendly soldier in disguise to makarov to help him kill thousands of civilians in a russian airport, at the end of the level makarove kills this character off and the war gets worse as the russians find this body and start to believe that it was americans that organised the brutal attack. he then later disavowes the task force 141 and gets the americans against them. price and mactavish later hunt down shepherd and kill him.

luke skywalker:



luke sywalker is found as a young child at a pod race, and is took infront of the jedi council and later becomes Yoda's padawan, what is unknown at this time is that darth vader is his father. anakin skywalker is darth vader as he changes to the darkside. later on ion the game, luke skywalker joins the darkside and starts fighting against what where his friendly allies.