Saturday, 29 November 2008

Atmosphere

The next thing that I have been looking into in alot of detail has been atmosphere within games and it is created with the environments and the other elements that are present within that particular part of the game. For example the camera angle, the music and the ambient noises that we can hear.
A perfect example of this is Silent Hill, in every way all the games in this series create a deep and engaging atmosphere, this is made up of many different elements as well as those that i have stated above.
The atmosphere is clear even in these two screenshots of parts in the game and this is without any sound at all. In my research document I go into more detail about how this is effective and the way in which it enriches the gamplay to make the game much more enjoyable.

Thursday, 27 November 2008

Levels and Design

Here are some screen shots of parts of levels that I have been paying particular attention to. The focus of some of these is the level itself where as in others it is more of the atmosphere created within that part of the game that I want to show. Although it will be hard to describe what is going on with the sound other atmosphere creating noises and changes hopefully the screen shots will illustrate some of what i am researching and trying to achieve in my games creation.

1. Level Design research: Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider has been my main line of research into the interactivity and level design that I want to have in my game. It has very interactive environment elements where the whole focus of that game is to navigate the main character, Lara Croft, through the tombs and ancient ruins that lay in her way.The combat within Tomb Raider is also built in to the exploration of the environments, i would like to try to incorporate this element into my game as well. This shows the combat style of the game as well as the setting of the Egyptian level that is in the game.

Again from Tomb Raider: Anniversary this screen shot shows one of the integrated puzzles within the environment with the solution. This is also from the Egyptian environment level and the way that the authentic art of the Ancient Egyptians has also been integrated within it.



In this picture we can see some of the way that the environments work. Ledges that can be climbed and shimmied along are all around the map. As well as the route that the player is meant to progress in there are also other route which may lead to secrets for hidden items. This makes game play much less linear. I have gone into all of the aspects of the Tomb Raider series in much more depth in my research document.


Next after environment navigation and design needs to come atmosphere. My games survival horror atmosphere will differ a lot from that of the Tomb Raider series.

The World of Games...

Over the past couple of weeks I have been looking at films and playing games that relate to the theme of my game. As well as this I have looked at games from the same genre. The main focus of my research and game play has been on the Tomb Raider series and I am conducting an in depth analysis of the elements that make the game interesting for us to play. In short the main point of the games focusing is on navigating the environment and getting Lara to her goal, what she is searching for. Although the main focus of the game remains to navigate the puzzles and the environment in Lara's way it is the search that keeps us engaged. A simple story with a simple goal yet with intriguing and engaging levels and environments. This is what I need to develop in my games concept.