the sell sheet

I created a sell sheet for the pitch which contained all the relevant information about mmy game idea. I wanted to incorporate the narrative into the aesthetic of the sell sheet. I decided to base it on a newspaper which had statements and images that relate to the narrative of the game. I wanted the paper to include the idea of film noir in its look.

My newspaper sell sheet

After reviewing the sell sheet I now see weaknesses in its appeal. In all honesty it was rushed and I think that is evident in its finish. I like the art work that I created for the sell sheet. The Font of the newpaper is the same as the presentation which I think was important to make it connect with the presentation. I think the general layout could have been improved although it was hard to create anyway because the statements about the game had to be a clear focal point. At the top I created three extra signs which originally I liked because it made it look like a newspaper, however I have realised the one in the centre makes the newspaper look like 'the extra' suggesting its name which is misleading. Realising these mistakes now is good because I can create a better sell sheet when I made another speech.

The pitch: take 2

I thought there was not quite enough for the background of the presentation so I added the logo and brought the opacity down.

Finished slide

The Name

I have been thinking about the name so I can create a logo for the pitch. I have come to the conclusion of using FATE. I chose this name because it fits with the narrative and well it sounds cooool. I used a font from 1001fonts.com for the logo and edited it in photoshop.

I wanted the font to have a futuristic feel to it and almost seem mechanical. I think this font conveys this idea quite well. The shape around the E is from the first concept I created of the eye.

The pitch

This project has been leading towards the dreaded pitch at the end of it. I recently saw the last years pitches that were caught on camera. I think overall they were quite good but they all had their weaknesses. I think the one thing I am worried about is getting nervous and forgetting my words. Maybe a slight bit of irony getting nervous about becoming nervous. I have used the concept work that I have so far to create a background/border for my powerpoint presentation. I am quite happy with the results so far even though I have been told by a tutor not to use a black and white presentation. I think it was better to do this because it fits nicely with the narrative.

Concepts

Robotic eye

This the first concept I created when I was thinking about time travel. There is a subtlety in the suggestion of the person having robotic characters which I like but I think the skin could have been utilisied better. The red cirle in the centre of the eye is a nice characteristic I think.

I began to create character sketches using photoshop and came up with these two images. I like the hoodie on the character making him appear quite dark although it would make it hard to show emotions while in control of the character.

Noir is the new black

I want the visual style to be different for the second segment of the game. I have been influenced heavily by film noir recently and I think the visual style is suitable for an action adventure game. I started by looking at traditional noir films.

I dont want to use the style of clothes that have become so famous from the genre. I like the idea of high contrast images with large shadows that these images show. 

I found this image from google images, I dont know what it is from but it interested me. It seems to be film noir with a modern gritty feel to it. Also reminds me of the aesthetic of Sin City. 

To start creating concept work I need a context to put it in so I will start to create a basic narrative and the setting for the three different stages.

Narritive

Basic idea:

The game will be split into three parts; the past, present and the future. Each part will adopt a different artistic direction which will influence the interactivity of the game. I thought the film noir style would work well with a stealth segment of the game. For the past a 50's cell shading work work well, and then film noir for the present and a combination of the two for the future  to create a gritty heavily contrasted neon scene with deep shadows much like blade runner. The basis of the narrative must fit to this description.

The narrative:

The game world is much liek our own with the sense that it seems familiar but has clear differences such as city buildings, names of places, cars ect. The president of the country makes a speech to the capital city stating the country will be going to war. Also men aged 10-40 will be called upon to go to war. The citizens of the city begin to riot. 

The main character in the game is called Aaron. He loses his family in the riots that occur due to the presidents speech. Aaron gains the ability to travel in time. He decides to travel to the day of the speech and try to stop the president. 


This sequence will be shown as an animation at the start of the game to give the player the basic information they need to know to start the game. 

This narrative could also be told via different medias such as comics or graphic novels that could be released with the game if it is pre-ordered. 

Visual influence

I have now decided that I want to create three different stages for the game, and I also want each stage to have a different aesthetic style. I have come to this conclusion because I played Uncharted 2 recently and I liked the way the environment would change throughout the game because it almost felt like a new game when it did change. My idea would take this basic concept but develop it to the extreme.

I will start to research visual styles that interest me and try to create some game concepts using the images as references.

When I was slightly younger I loved the game Thirteen. It was a first person action adventure game with cell shaded graphics. The interactivity is not what I remember from this game but the graphics are. This style has been adopted in different medias since with 'A scanner darkly' and 'prince of persia'.

screenshot: Thirteen

Prince of Persia

Screenshot: A scanner darkly

Research; Genre

I wanted to look into different genres of games and see which genre I want to adopt.

  

Stealth games are a somewhat recent sub-genre, sometimes referred to as "sneakers" or "creepers" to contrast with the action-oriented "shooter" sub-genre. These games tend to emphasize subterfuge and precision strikes over the more overt mayhem of shooters. Most have first- or third-person shooter elements.

A shooter game focuses primarily on combat involving projectile weapons, such as guns and missiles. They can be divided into first-person and third-person shooters, depending on the camera perspective.

An action game requires players to use quick reflexes, accuracy, and timing to overcome obstacles. It is perhaps the most basic of gaming genres, and certainly one of the broadest. Action games tend to have gameplay with emphasis on combat.

Adventure games were some of the earliest games created, beginning with the text adventure collosal cave adventure in the 1970s. That game was originally titled simply "Adventure," and is the namesake of the genre. Over time, graphics have been introduced to the genre and the interface has evolved.

Action adventure games combine elements of their two component genres, typically featuring long-term obstacles that must be overcome using a tool or item as leverage (which is collected earlier), as well as many smaller obstacles almost constantly in the way, that require elements of action games to overcome. Action-adventure games tend to focus on exploration and usually involve item gathering, simple puzzle solving, and combat.

Considering these genres I want to adopt different elements from all of them. I have decided to create a third person action adventure game with elements of a shooter and stealth. I thought that the genre of gameplay could change depending on the part of the game. For example the past could be an action adventure game and the present could be a stealth game. This would combine a variety of genres and allow for gameplay changes without becoming confusing.

Initial Idea

I started to consider how I could incorporate the idea of time travel into a game and also fuse it with the gameplay. The first thing I thought was that I dont want the player to have the choice in when they travel through time because creating a narrative that would work with this would be almost impossible, and also the design process would be harder.

I have decided to split the game into three parts. the past, present, future. The narrative will take the character through each stage. I thought to incorporate the idea of time travel the style of game play could change as well as the visual style. I will look into both of these ideas and develop them further.

TimeSplitters

I began to research into games that have been created based around the idea of time travel. TimeSplitters was one of the only games that I could find.

'TimeSplitters is a first person shooter by free radical design and published by Eidos, and the first game in the Timesplitter series. It was released 26 October 2000 as a Playstation 2 launch game. The game revolves around the concept of travelling through time in a story mode spanning 100 years. The game features a story mode, arcade mode, unlockable challenge mode, and map maker'

For my own idea I am already considering a third person action adventure game because I think the idea of a first person shooter game has been exhausted.

Ideas

I have just started the project and I need to get some ideas for my game concept. I think I will start by looking for some inspiration.

I was watching the film back to the future and I thought the concept of time travel in games would be a cool idea.

Welcome

This is my blog for the unit BA4: focus 1. For this unit I have to create a game concept and then pitch it to a group of individuals.