Construct Test Game

Here's the link to the construct test

https://b21de66da5dc133ff04abdb369241d5025c5c459.googledrive.com/host/0B121AoDSaO3QcTZVQ1FSNzlGOUE/index.html

Research Into Job Roles in the Industry

Job applications

Senior Licensing Manager Softness

For a job like this, I imagine that the person who is applying for the job would have to have a lot of prior experience in the game industry. The person would need to have good leadership abilities to be able to communicate and instruct people on what to do. Good communication skills would also be vital due to the fact that the job requires you to talk to other people within the job, or to retailers. You must also be able to go into this job without any kind of hesitation due to the fact that you have to inspire the people around you.  Being adaptable is also a trait that is required for this due to the fact that you may be asked to go to live in a different location.  

Senior Artist

For this job, it requires a person who is extremely talented on the artistic side of things. The person must be able to envision what they want to make for the game, which requires both vision for what the final product would look like and the skill to execute the final design. Prior experience with both the game industry and being able to create art on a digital format is also required. Experience is needed due to the fact that the job wants for you to have experience in the industry, while being able to work in a team is required due to the fact that you will be a lead artist in a small team.  This requires skills with people so that there will be no conflict within the team. 

Lead System Gamer Designer 

For this job, the lead designer job, I feel that you will need quite a few things that most people won’t have. Unlike the other two, which are more on the technical side of things, such as the art, or the ability to write and communicate, this job requires a passion for making and playing games. That’s not to say that the other jobs don’t require a passion for games, because they obviously do, but this requires both a passion for making and playing games, which can only come with experience with games themselves. There also needs to be an understanding of game balancing and the mechanics in the game, which means that the person has to have had an understanding of both what makes a single player game and a multiplayer game. A lot of prior experience is required, which means that this isn’t a job for someone who is just starting in the business. Good communication skills are also required due to the fact that like the others, you’ll be working within a team.

Digital Store Games Editor

For this job, you will be working within a company where you would be involved in the maintenance of a digital store, which sells most forms of media. Unlike the requirements for the other jobs, this one is completely dependent on your ability to market something within the game industry, as opposed to creating something within the game industry. One of the requirements for this job would be to make sure that you’re aware of both the popular games that are coming out and the indie market. This would be needed to make sure that both the releases that are put onto the platform are the popular games that people will be expecting to be on there, while also introducing people to new games that aren't as popular, yet the platform would give them a pedestal to gain popularity. I would say that the most important thing about this job is the fact that you’d have to be in the know, when it comes to the current innovative games that are currently being released. Some games don’t get the spotlight that they deserve and you would be giving the games that truly deserve it a chance to shine. 

                                                          Artist - All Experience Levels

This job requires less than the last four jobs, due to the fact that the other four relied on prior experiences with other jobs that are similar in the field, but this is more focused on raw talent and a willingness to actually be creative. This doesn't mean that you’ll be able to go into the job without knowing what you’re doing, but they are willing to take you under their wing when it comes to getting a start. A lot of the jobs that I've shown require previous experience, but the problem with those jobs is the conundrum of “How are you supposed to get a job if all of the jobs require experience”? Well, this job breaks the trend, because they’re willing to give you the chance, but you must have experience with Photoshop and a good amount of experience with a 3D modelling program. High attention to detail is listed in the requirements, but that’s something that comes with being able to re-create something in any form of art. Good communication skills are listed, but this seems like it’s for being able to communicate within a team, unlike leading a team. This job is the least “statistical” of all of the jobs in a sense, because you can’t really teach someone to be creative, yet that’s obviously appealing to a lot of people, due to the fact that you would actually be able to throw ideas out to other people, in a creative collaborative process. 

Camera Angles / Lightning Plan

Because of the 2D nature of my game, I don't feel like a plan for this would be appropriate. The game is viewed with a question and answer based system that is not shrouded by any lighting to manipulate the angles or pictures.

Sprite Sheet

My Evaluation

The game that I am making for this project is a quiz based game that tests player knowledge on various things such as locations, famous people and events. The player must narrow down the options over time by answering questions. The more questions the player answers, the more tiles are revealed. With this, the player’s objective would be to answer more questions in a quick fashion so that they could get more pictures, thus upping their score.

Keeping this in mind, there are a few things that I have to remember to keep consistent.

For this project, I needed to get references from the various styles of games that are available, so that I could see the amount of different styles which games use for their heads up display so that I could create the design for the game. The HUD that is used during the games really varies, which is why we had to get research for the game. A game’s HUD can make the game feel drastically different, so it’s important to get it right. Especially when the game is a game that is completely question based, because you’ll be staring at it a lot.

Some games had very dark and gritty heads up displays, to mirror the game's atmosphere. This could include an attempt at an "immersive" HUD, where there would be no bars/indicators, but the HUD would be built into the game itself. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you had games that were very vibrant and colourful, and which wanted you to know that you were playing a game. For this project in particular, the game was a quiz show style game, so to fit with this style I tried to make it as colourful as possible.

I found the traditional drawings to be easy, simply because HUDS are composed of very simple shapes, and I feel that the more complicated that the design gets, the more the HUD can obstruct the player during the game. There have been a lot of games over the years, so having references to go by certainly helps when you're trying to make a HUD that both looks good, and is helpful to the player as they play. Every idea must come from somewhere, because every idea has probably been done before, so what better reference than the HUDs that have been made in the past. A HUD needs to be both informative and easy for the player to access, while also having a clean look, so that the player doesn't get confused. I feel that finding the middle ground between the two is very important due to the fact that you can overload the player with too much on screen.

For this project, I felt most comfortable using Photoshop out of all the things that we had done, simply because I already had my traditional work designs completed, which allowed me to try to re-create them, while also having room to experiment with them. I felt that I learnt a lot more about Photoshop in this section of the project than any of the other projects. This is probably because we had to use tools that we previously wouldn't have had to, such as the vector tool.

I found blogger very useful during this project as it allowed me to actually see how my progress was updated for the duration of the course as opposed to last project where I wasn’t sure what I had to do at times. If I had one complaint about blogger as opposed to Moodle, it’s the fact that it’s very hard to format things in a way that is actually useful from a navigational point of view. A lot of the things that are present in your work can easily get moved around without you meaning to, so the overall presentation of the work can be hard to figure out within the overall context of the work.

I thought it was important to distinguish the colours of my platform, to show that it is a raised area, instead of just one 2D solid shape. This allows it to stand out; compared to everything else that is 2D. I decided not to go with anything being 3D, as you can overcomplicate the look of the game, which can detract from the game’s actual challenge.

Part of my audience are younger people who can use this game as an fun, educational game which teaches them about the past. This would range from the 4-16 age where that part of my demographic may not know about things that involve the past. They're also much more likely to show currently play games because of their age. The older part of my audience may not play games as often, but I feel that this game would appeal to them because of the lack of twitch based skill you need to play this game. If you can point and click, then you can play a touch screen puzzle game. I feel my game appeals to both genders, as there is no entry barriers that would make it harder for a certain gender to enjoy the game.

I tried to make my game as bright as possible, without having the colours clash as a way to draw the audience in. I feel that the HUD of my game is very clean, which doesn't distract from the gameplay aspect.

Colour palette

Idea Development

Game Style Art Analysis

The HUD is used in games to constantly display information to the player without them having to stop by going into another menu. It overlaps the screen, while displaying things that may be situational to the game, which can include stats for the player, tracking of progression, the player’s health, the location of the player, what type of weapon the player has, how much ammo the player has left and the location of the objective which the player has to reach.

Most games overlap the HUD on the screen regardless of anything that is happening, while other games attempt to make the HUD realistic by including it into the player’s view (usually from a first person view). In some games, the HUD is included on to parts of the game such as the environment, or on to the person themselves.

Most games have a health bar, which is usually accompanied by another bar which is situational to the game that you are playing. If the game has weapons, there will usually be something to indicate which weapon you currently have equipped, while also having the amount of ammunition that you have left. Some games choose to implement a radar system, which shows the player’s current location, while also showing the current objective for the player. Sometimes, if the game feels that the player needs guiding, the game will have an on-screen arrow, to point the player in the right direction. If a game has as a timed sequence, the time will usually show up on the screen, to let the player know how much time they have left, without wasting the player’s time by pausing. 

A game will often give the player the option to have tutorial tips pop up on the screen, to help the player during the first time that they’re playing it, which will usually be displayed on the screen while a certain situation is happening. Something that is a bit less common in games is having an on-screen menu. Most games allow the player to get to the menu by pressing a certain button/key, but for the games that do have an on-screen menu, the game will usually show an overlay on screen, which will lead you to the options.

Single player games will usually never need any kind of communication feedback, due to the fact that the game is only for one player, yet online games will often have chat boxes and feedback which is displayed on screen. This allows people to easily communicate with eachother without the use of a device, such as a headset. This practice is usually only common on PC, because of the ease of typing with a mouse and keyboard, with messages usually appearing on screen by overlapping the actual gameplay. This allows people to see messages being sent without having to pause the game.

Glossary for Game Designers

Glossary for games designers

Write an explanation of the following frequently used game design words or phrases.

AAA list games – Triple A games that are the highest budget, highly anticipated games. Often times, these games will be attached to an existing franchise.

Abstract - Something that is not grounded in reality.

Adapter - Someone who is able to quickly settle into something, regardless of the changes that are thrown at them.

Analogue – Tabletop games that are not played with technology.

Asymmetric - When something within a game is not equal on both sides.

Atmosphere – Atmosphere is the feeling you get from the game, based on the things that can immerse you in the game, such as the soundtrack and visuals.

Auction or Bidding Game -  A game that is dependent on players trying to purchase something by putting money up for the item.

Avatar – Something that represents a player in game. This is usually a character that the player controls.

Bell Curve - Something that is used to measure the probability of something happening within a game.

Beta (beta-test) – A beta is a form of testing that a lot of game developers use. It allows you to play an early version of the game, with the intent often being to find out things that are wrong with the game so that it can be patched for the final release.

Blind-testing – When you test something without having any prior knowledge. Doing it this way allows you to have no bias.

Camping – When a person stays in a place for a long duration in order to gain an advantage over another person.

Casual game – A game that doesn’t require a lot of commitment towards it in order to get good.

Challenges – A part of the game that gives the player a chance to take part in a competitive situation where they must overcome something, usually based on a certain set of rules such as a time limit or a score requirement they must achieve.

Character class – The type of character that you pick. Depending on what you pick will often affect different attributes that are available t oyou

Cinematic – A game that presents its content in a very polished, almost movie-like fashion.

Cooperative Games – A game that allows two or more players to work together during the gameplay.

Copyright – Copyrighted games will have protection on certain parts of the media that is within that game so that another game cannot copy an idea. As an example, if a game had a character was obviously modelled on Mario without permission from Nintendo, then this could be a violation of Nintendo’s copyright protection.

Cut Scene – A pre rendered cinematic scene that is intended to show the audience part of the story.

Design Document - A description of the game that will allow the different sectors of people who are tasked with creating the game bring the final product to life.

Dice-fest - When a game is dominated by dice rolling.

Direct Conflict - Something that is in clear opposition of each other.

Downtime - The time when the player is not actually playing the game.

Drafting game - When a system is used to pick certain things depending on the mechanics of the game. As an example, in the NBA players are drafted depending on how poorly the teams finish in their league the previous year.

Education – When the player is taught something during the course of the game.

Filler game – A part of the game that isn’t necessary, and is only there to pad the length of the game.

Fluidity – How flexible and smooth something in a game is.

Genre – A category that you place a piece of work into.

Immersion – The ability to connect to the world of the game in a way that lets you forget about the technical details of the game because you connect to the experience instead.

Improviser - When something is not planned within a game.

Incremental - Something that is not consistent, as it is changed often.

Indirect Conflict - If a game has more than one player, a player may unintentionally affect something involving another player.

Leader Bashing - Ganging up on the leader in a game to prevent him from completing his objective.

Metagame – When player apply out-of-game information to gain an unfair advantage in a game when they otherwise would not have had that knowledge.

Milestone – When a player reaches a significant part of a game.

Patent - A form of protection that is taken to keep other people from copying or taking credit for your idea.

Pharming – A form of online fraud that is very similar to phishing. The information is often stolen from people through fake websites which will try to trick the user.

Platformer - A platformer where the art style is 2D. Often times the objective will be to move from side to side.

Play Balance - The fairness that is present in a game. Without balance, the game will often deemed to have problems because of how one sided certain things can be.

Player Interaction - Something that is present in the game that reacts to the player's input.

Playtest/Playtesting – When you play a game with the intent to see if it functions how you’ll want it to function for the official release.

Prototype – An earlier stage of something.

Sandbagging - When someone pretends to be in a worse position than they actually are.

Sandbox – An open world game, where the player can complete missions or objectives within the game without having any restrictions on the set missions that they must complete.

Self-published – A game that is published by the person who has created it.

Service Mark - Legal protection that helps protect a company's brand.

Simulation – Something that tries to recreate something based on certain factors.

Skirmish Games - A game that is not tied to a campaign or anything else, as they are singular games.

Social (Networking) Games - Games that are primarily based on Social Networking sites such as Facebook.

Strategic – A strategic game is a game that can be won through planning and thinking, rather than technical skill.

Symmetric - When something within a game is equal on both sides.

Techno-fetishism - Used to refer to when technology is the main focus in a game, the gameplay sometimes suffers.

Technological Immersion - When technology immerses the player in with the intent to connect the player to the game like they are actually there.

Theme – The theme is the subject matter and category that you can identify something by.

Trademark – An image that is recognisable as being signature to something and allows you to identify as it.

User Interface - The layout of the things that you see on the screen.

Virtual Reality – Something that allows you to enter an immersive environment that is simulated through a physical presence

Volatility - How wide ranging something can be, often used to describe something's value.

List of acronyms

AI – Artificial Intelligence

ARG – Alternate Reality Gaming

CCG – Collectible Card Game

CDG – Card Driven Game

FPS – First Person Shooter or Frames per Second

IP – Independent Project

LARP – Live Action Role Playing Game

MDA – Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics

MMO – Massive Multiplayer Online

MUD – Multi-User Dungeon

NPC – Non Playable Character

PBM/PBEM – Play by Mail/Play by E-Mail

PC – Player Character or Personal Computer

RPG – Role Playing Game

TCG – Trading Card Games

Game Mock Up

This is a rough mock up of my game. We have the level that is present in the top left corner to show how many different pictures the player has identified in a row. The timer below it signifies how much time the player has left. In my game the player will earn more time on the clock depending on how many tiles they can reveal. The bottom box has the question that is related to the picture, while the answers are present on the right. I tried to space out the design of everything that is pictured for functionality reasons, as this would be played on a touchscreen device.

Pie Chart

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

Do you play video games on a portable device, such as a phone or a handheld console?

1. Yes, 2. Yes, 3. Yes, 4. Yes, 5. Yes, 6. Yes

What device do you play on?

1. PS  Vita, 2. Mobile Device, 3. Mobile Device, 4. Nintendo 3DS, 5. PS Vita,       6. PS Vita

If so, do you have any favourite games?

1. Little Big Planet, 2. Clash of Clans, 3. Fallout Shelter, 4. Pokémon X and Y, 5. Metal Gear Solid 3, 6. Minecraft

How often do you find yourself playing?

1. Often, 2. Once a day, 3. Every Few Days, 4. Not very often, 5. Regularly, 6. Every day

Do you have  a favourite genre of games to play on your phone?

1. Puzzle, 2. Strategy, 3. Strategy, 4. RPG, 5. Shooter, 6. Puzzle

Mindmap

Construct Information

What is a tiled texture?

A tiled texture is a texture that is seamless and can be repeated over the background. Often times, these textures will be seamless as it allows you to make backgrounds that have a lot of detail in them without having to make unique textures for each part of the texture. This also adds to the consistency of the background, as you can have a background with similar colours, instead of backgrounds that don’t mesh well together.

How do you make a tiled texture?

You can make a tiled texture in Photoshop. There’s multiple ways to do this, but the easiest way is to create a layer with a blank texture. Then you apply a textured filter onto that layer, with the intention of creating a pattern that you can repeat.

How do you define a pattern in Photoshop?

A pattern in Photoshop is a texture that creates the effect of a repeated piece of colour that is often a simple repeated decorative design. Because of the nature of repeating textures, you do not need to create a lot of variants within the actual design.

How do you import a texture?

Once you’re in construct, double click in the layout section to bring up the insert object box. You then select tiled background from the menu. After this, a cross-hair will appear. Click where you want to place the object and the texture editor will open.

What does the Astrix mean next to your project title?

It means that you’re work isn’t saved.

What is a sprite?

An interactive object.

Explain two ways to import a sprite.

1.       Double click on your layout. One you’re on the main layer you should go Select Sprite > Click on your layout > Open Object > Close Texture Editor

2.       Drag and drop an image from Windows to your layout.

What does each 'behaviour' do?

1.       8 Direction – This lets you move an object around with the arrow keys.

2.       Bullet – This moves an object forwards at its current angle. This is most often used for the player’s bullets.

3.       Scroll To – This makes the screen follow an object as it moves around.

4.       Bound to Layout – This will stop an object leaving the layout area.

5.       Destroy Outside Layout – If an object leaves the layout area, this behaviour will destroy it.

6.       Fade – This gradually makes an object fade out.

Where do you change the properties of behaviour?

In the properties tab, you can change the properties values to edit the behaviour.

What is speed measured in?

Speed is measured in pixels per second.

How do you add more instances of an object?

If you hold down Crtl, click and drag from the object, it will create another instance of the same object.

Why would you use a 'Global Variance'?

A global variable is used to implement something such as score and to keep track of initial value.
 

What restrictions does Construct 2 have?
The type of games that you can make in Construct are limited due to the functionality of Construct. As an example, you wouldn't be able to make a First Person Shooter in Construct due to the camera angles that you can make games from. A side scrolling game, or a game from a top down perspective is what Construct is ideally designed for.

How would you make your game using Construct 2?
I'm not sure because my game is a puzzle game, so the game wouldn't be viewed from a top down perspective.

What backgrounds would you need?

I would need a repeating texture or a blank colour that would contrast with the grid that is in my game.

What sprites would you need?
I'm not sure because there is no player avatar that is present in the game.

What behaviours would you use?

I would be implementing the score and game over screen.

 

How to implement my score - System > Every Tick > Score > Set Text to "Score:" & Score

How to Implement my game over screen - System > On start of layout > Gamover > Set Invisible

 

Where can you share your game?

You can share it through Google Drive.

How do you upload and share your game through Google Drive?

You have to sign into your g-mail account. Then you go to drive > my drive > your name. Then you drag and drop it in to the folder.

Game Design Document

Game Design Document (GDD)

Game title - Guess the Picture!

Table of contents:

1: Project Overview

1.1               Summary – The game is set in a way that it’s almost like a quiz show. The player must answer questions relating to the picture, but the catch is that the picture is hidden by tiles. The more correct answers are given, the more tiles are revealed showing the picture behind the tiles. The more pictures that you can reveal within the given timeframe; the more points the player scores.

1.2               Basic Concept – A quiz show style game that is based on the player answering questions with the end goal being that they will end up revealing tiles with every right answer that they get. All of the questions are related to the picture that is hidden. Once all the tiles are revealed, the picture is shown.  

1.3               Core Gameplay – The gameplay consists of multiple choice questions that are set with the challenge stemming from a timer that is always present. Once more answers are correctly given; time is added to the clock. The end result is the player given a score depending on how well they performed for that duration. If the player can keep answering questions successfully, they will be given more time to play, thus getting a higher score.

1.4               Genre – Puzzle Game

1.5               Target Audience – My game is mostly aimed at younger audiences, as the game is an interactive way in which they can learn about things that may have been before their time.

2: Game Overview

2.1   Overview

2.2   Story – There is no story.

2.3   Character – There is no character, as the game is just between the player and the puzzles.

2.4   Environment – The environment is the setting of a quiz show.

2.5   Level Overview(s) - The game is played on a grid system where the picture is placed on. Tiles are then placed on top of the picture. The background is a different colour to what the grid is.

3         : Gameplay

3.1   Combat – There is no combat in the game.

3.2   Abilities - The player has no abilities.

3.3   Score – The more pictures that are guessed correctly will add to the player’s score.

3.4   Power-ups - There are no power-ups in the game.

4         : Menu Layout

4.1   Colour Scheme - Blue, Pink, Yellow

4.2   Title Screens - The main menu will have a blue background that has orange/gold sections that are embossed which allows the players to enter the game, settings menu and exit.

4.3   Tutorial screen - In the settings menu, there will be a part that gives an example of what the player needs to do. I didn’t think an active tutorial was necessary, because it’s a point and click game.

4.4   Credits Screen - There is no credits screen.

4.5   Game Win Screen – There isn’t one, as the game doesn’t end until the player runs out of time.

4.6   Game Over Screen - Once the timer runs out, the game is over and the player will be taken to the leaderboards screen.

4.7   High Score Table – This will be accessible both at the end of the game and from the main menu.

4.8   Level Select Screen - There is not a level select screen as such, but the player can choose from the start what type of genre of questions they want.

5         : Game Layout

5.1   Camera set up – The camera faces the grid, with the HUD being available to give the player information.

5.2   Game Controls- Point and click.

5.3   Game Mode(s) – From the main menu, the player can choose between genres such as music, sports, films etc...

5.4   Player Count – One player

5.5   Hours of Gameplay – The game wouldn’t have a limit, because there is no end due to the nature of the game.