Animation Studies: Art Games and the Art of Games

Introduction

This essay is about the abstraction in video game and how abstraction relates to the experimental art game FlOw.

An Artistic Form of Expression

Artists are using the medium of video games to produce art games (Silfer, 2007). In recent years, video games have become raw material for art (Silfer, 2007). Some artists have taken cartridges and modified them to create art, an example of this is Cory Arcangel’s Super Mario Clouds (Silfer, 2007). His cartridge hack removed all elements of the original game of Super Mario Brothers and left only the scrolling clouds. Many other artists have followed with this technique and have created art.

FlOw

(Chen,2006)

(Chen, 2006)

I have chosen to discuss the art game FlOw in relation to Mark Wolf’s article about abstraction in games. That Game Company produced the game called FlOw and describes the games it creates as emotionally rich and powerful interactive experiences (Chen,2006).

FlOw has a simple aquatic creature that eats other organisms and evolves into a more complex creature the more it eats (Chen, 2006). The controls of this game involve using the mouse cursor to guide the creature and the left mouse button to accelerate (Chen, 2006). These controls are very simple and players can adjust their difficulty levels to enjoy the game at their own pace (Chen, 2006). The theory behind the game, explained by Chen is about challenge and abilities (Waugh, 2006). Many games test the player but this game give the player freedom to ‘tinker about’(Waugh, 2006). “Challenge” and “abilities” are put on the two axis of a graph and instead of a linear path which most games take, FlOw followed a web-like path moving back and forth between the axis.

Video games are different from other games as they use an audio-visual medium and take place on an image (Wolf, 2003:49). For video games, the player’s interaction has an end goal, for interactive art the experience is the goal (Wolf, 2003:49). FlOw is similar to the game Snake because both player-surrogates grow longer when they eat food; the main difference is in Snake the player dies when it touches the wall (Neave, 2007). For FlOw, the experience is the goal because there are no threats or loss of life or different levels.

Abstraction

In art the word ‘Abstraction’ means to portray the essence of something rather than realistically represent it (H.T Dance, 2006). From Wolf, to abstract something means to simplify it and reduce it to its essentials (Wolf, 2006:48). The most representational games available will always have some degree of abstraction of the things or situations they are representing or simulating (Wolf, 2003:64). FlOw is abstracted because of the simplicity of the environment and therefore the game. The aquatic organisms are similar to real-life microorganisms, but they do not look or work exactly like them, they are just graphics on a screen. The body of liquid that the organisms are in is also very simplified, not every atom or all the micro organisms are drawn, just what is relevant to what is happening in the game.

Abstraction allows the player to imagine game details to engage them and involve them more in the game (Wolf, 2003). All the details of a game are unnecessary, games do not have to be completely realistic because it complicates the game-play and the design of the game when too much details are packed into a game. It is difficult to create a completely realistic game and unfeasible. Therefore, it is a necessity for the video game-playing experience to have some level of abstraction and all video games have abstraction (Wolf, 2003:64).

Conclusion

Video games have been used to produce art by many artists. Artists have created their own games or deconstructed existing games to express meaning. This is how art games were born. Art games do not require interaction, however many do allow the players to interact.

In order to create a game, be it a videogame or just a game in general, abstraction is needed. Abstraction occurs in video games. Abstraction can expand and explore greater potential that the video game medium has to offer and it has become a key design element which many artists take into account (Wolf, 2003:64).

References

Chen, J. “FlOw”. That Game Company. 2006. Available: http://intihuatani.usc.edu/cloud/FlOwing/ . Accessed: 27 April 2008.

(author unknown)H.T Dance Company. “Glossary”. 2006. Available: http://www.htchendance.org/glossary.html . Accessed: 28 April 2008.

Neave, P .”Snake”. 2007. available: http://www.neave.com/games/snake/. Accessed: 27 April 2008.

Silfer, K. “Aplied Ludology: Art games and Game art” 2007. Available: http://www.alibi.com/index.php?scn=feature&story=19721. Accessed: 27 April 2008

Wolf, M. Abstraction in video games. 2003. The Video Game Theory Reader. Routledge.

Waugh, E. “GDC: Experimental GamePlay”. 2006.

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060330/waugh_02.shtml. Accessed: 28 April 2008.

Research Assignment: Bouncing Ball

Research Assignment: Bouncing Ball

Introduction

This assignment looks at how a ball bounces, what techniques are used to make it look realistic and how different weights affect the movement. Below illustrates the path a ball should follow. Each frame has a different shape:

(Idleworm, 2008)

Timing for the Weight
“The timing of the movement of an object defines the weight of the object” (Lasseter, 1987).

This quote means that the way that an object is animated is what provides the illusion of its physical properties. Two objects that are identical in size and shape can have completely different weights by manipulating the timing (Lasseter, 1987).

For heavy objects, the mass is greater and more force is required to act on its movement (Lasseter, 1987). The heavy is slower to accelerate than a light object. For example, a bowling ball requires a large force to get it moving but once moving it tends to keep on moving at the same speed until some force stops it (Lasseter, 1987).

Where the ball makes contact with the ground, there is a 'squash' drawing and it creates the sense of weight (Lauria, 1999). The faster the object moves, the more 'squash' there is (Lauria, 1999).

Volume

The volume of the shape should remain consistent (Lauria, 1999). If the object were to squash or stretch too much it would seem to be growing bigger or smaller. This is a very noticeable effect (Idleworm 2008).

Squash and Stretch

For a falling object such as a ball, the path it moves is in an arc (Lauria, 1999).
At the top of the arc there is a 'slo-in' and at the bottom is the 'slo-out'. There are tick marks on the arc. At the top of the arc, tick marks are close together, at the bottom, they are further apart. Once the ball hits the ground it loses momentum and slows down (Lauria, 1999). The ball then has the 'squash' principle applied to it.

The in-between or break-down drawings create the sense of speed (Lauria, 1999). They use the principle of 'stretch'. At impact the ball goes from 'stretch' to squash' and directly to 'stretch' again. There are no in-between drawings (Lauria, 1999).

Bouncing Ball Animation

I chose a tennis ball for my animation. A tennis ball should usually bounce at least to a height of 50% from where it was dropped originally (About, 2008). The bounce depends on the surface the ball lands on. The surface is partly responsible for he ball’s rebound (About, 2008).

Conclusion

These basic animation principles can be used in other areas of animation. Squash and stretch are quite common.

References

• (Author unknown) About.com. “How can you tell whether a tennis ball is good?”. 2008. Available: http://tennis.about.com/od/tennisballfaq/f/faqballs024.htm . Accessed: 24 April 2008.

• (Author unknown) Idleworm. “Lesson 1: The Infernal Bouncing Ball”. Available: http://www.idleworm.com/how/anm/01b/bball.shtml . Accessed: 24 April 2008.

• Lasseter, J. “Tricks to Animating Characters with a Computer”. Available: http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm. Accessed: 21 April 2008
• Lauria, L. 1999. “Larry’s Toon Institute”. Available: http://www.awn.com/tooninstitute/lessonplan/bounceball.htm#bounce. Accessed: 24 April 2008.
  

Animation Studies: Are Games a Waste of Time?

**note: this essay was edited after our class on Tuesday

Animation Studies: Video Games- Time Wastage Phenomena?

Introduction
This essay addresses not only video game play, but game play in general. I first define the statement 'waste of time'. I ask and answer the question “are video games a waste of time?” and explore reason as to why they are or are not a waste of time.

What Video Games and Time Wasting

I will start by defining a ‘waste of time’. According to WordNet, a waste of time is a devotion of time to a useless activity (WordNet, 2008). To some people a waste of time may be a positive thing because it gives them a chance to recharge or get their mind off the real world. However, from the definition, the waste of time is from a useless activity, so the activity has no usefulness at all. Video games as a waste of time would have absolutely no usefulness to anyone who plays them and because of this logic, I will disagree and say that video games do serve some purpose.

Gee’s stand is that if video games are played actively and critically then they are not a waste of time (Gee, 2006:1). This has to do with his definition of active and critical learning which affirms that players learn to experience the world I new ways, players join affinity groups, develop resources for future learning and problem solving within and out of the game being played (Gee, 2006:6).

This argument is different to my own, although I agree with the statement that games are not a waste of time, a player can be playing the game but unaware of their complete actions. They do not have to be critical of what they are doing.

I think that video games are not a waste of time. There are many advantages available from playing video games. Creativity, confidence, strategy and innovation can be stimulated (MSU, 2008). Hand-eye coordination and various social skills have the potential to be developed (Gee, 2006). Life-skills such as competitive play and cooperative play are promoted (MSU, 2006).

Literacy

On the other hand, I do tend to disagree because how useful are the skills developed by video games in real life? What about people that don’t have access to video games, are they missing out on an important part of life if they don’t play video games? “When people learn to play video games, they are learning a new literacy” (Gee, 2006).

Although learning a new literacy is useful to some, can learning a new literacy be a waste of time to others? It depends on the player and of course the game.

When playing a video game, there is only a certain amount that can be learned from the experience. There are plenty of skills to be developed but there is a limit to how many there are. A player can play a stage in a video game and get the highest score and the best time, but they cannot go further than that. This is due to the way a game is designed unless the game uses some kind of AI that ‘learns’ from the player (This shall not be discussed). When a player has reached its best and continues playing, after a while it is a waste of time, because no additional knowledge or skills are developed. No new improvements are made, because there are not any. If the new literacy is valuable to he player then it is very useful to learn. It could be a large part of their culture.

Looking at what video games have done for society, they have created a rapidly growing industry providing jobs and skills for may people. And most importantly, they present a challenge to many and at the same time entertain.

Conclusion

For games in general, digital and non-digital media, they are not a waste of time. I agree that active and critical learning are important for videogames because games that do this are not a waste of time. I do think that not all games need to embody active and critical learning because when looking at games in general for example soccer, monopoly, chess, children school games, they are played for a variety of purposes. Some of those reasons could be just to pass the time. Games do not necessarily have to be about learning.

References

• Gee, J. Semiotic Domains: Is Playing Videogames a ‘Waste of Time?’. The Game Design Reader. 2006. MIT Press.

• (advertisement)MSU. “Meaningful Play: Conference Overview”. 2008. Available: http://meaningfulplay.msu.edu/. Accessed: 17 April 2008

• WordNet Dictionary Online. 2008. Available: http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=waste%20of%20time. Accessed: 17 April 2008

Research Assignment: Take(surprise)

Research Assignment: The Importance of Secondary Animation

Introduction

For a believable character, the audience has to understand what it is doing before, during and after the action (Brebru, 2008). This can be done by putting emphasis on anticipation, action and overshoot.

Anticipation

“More anticipation means less suspense”

(Kerlow, 2004)

Anticipation sets up the audience to let them know something is going to happen (Lauria, 1999). It helps the character build momentum (Lauria, 1999). If a character is going up, it must first move down (Lauria, 1999). The anticipation should match the action, for example, a big anticipation should have a big action and a small anticipation should have a small action (Lauria, 1999).

The thought process must be connected to the action because the character thinks before doing the action (Lasseter, 1987). The eyes should move first, then the head, then the body and then finally the main action (Lasseter, 1987). My character does not have animated eyes, and so the leading movement is the head. However the object making the sound is the driving force of the character’s reaction and so since it is looking in the other direction, the body will be the leading movement. The head snaps back and it’s dragged by the main action of the body (Lasseter, 1987).

Anticipation works well with exaggeration. Exaggeration helps characters to deliver the “essence” of the action (Kerlow, 2004).

Action

What creates the action, or driving forces behind the action are the mood, personality ad attitude of the character (Lasseter, 1987). As stated before, all movements of the character are a result of a thought-process (Lasseter, 1987).

Timing

Timing is important as it makes the action much more readable (Lasseter, 1987). The audience has to be prepared for the the anticipation, action and overshoot. If too much timing is spent on one part, the audience's eyes may wonder, if too little timing is spent on one then the event may be too fast for them to see (Lasseter, 1987).

Overshoot

In animation overshoot is the motion that is a direct result of an action (Brebru, 2008). If there is no overshoot, an action can occur too quickly and the audience will not be able to see everything (Brebru, 2008). Strong poses will also be effective for overshoot.

Conclusion

For an animation to work well, anticipation, action and overshoot are very important as elements of secondary animation. All movements are part of a thought processes taking place in the character’s head and it is shown by using secondary animation.

References

Lauria, L. 1999. “Larry’s Toon Institute”.

http://www.awn.com/tooninstitute/lessonplan/anticipation.htm

Accessed: 21 April 2008

Kerlow, I. 2004. “A Few New Principles for Computer Animation”.
Available: http://www.artof3d.com/feature.htm Accessed: 21 April 2008

Lasseter, J. “Tricks to Animating Characters with a Computer”. 1987.

Available: http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm

Accessed: 21 April 2008

Brebru. "Animation Tip: Before and after actions". 2008.

Available: http://brebru.com/graphicinfo/anticipationanimationtip.html Accessed: 4 May 2008.

Research Assignment: Texturing

Research Assignment: Texturing

Introduction

When texturing an object, the object has to have a material on it's surface. The material properties define the appearance of the object and has parameters which are for example, diffuse colour, specularity, transparency, reflectivity and many more (JuniperMedia, 2008). By setting these parameters in certain combinations, a rendered object becomes a recognizable material such as plastic metal or glass. These parameters apply uniformly to the entire surface (JuniperMedia, 2008). To create variation on a surface, a “map” or “texture” needs to be placed on top of the material (JuniperMedia, 2008). The texture and underlying material are able to blend together even though it seems as though the texture covers the material (JuniperMedia, 2008).

2d texture and 3d Texture Mapping Techniques
“3D maps” refers to procedural textures (JuniperMedia, 2008). 3D procedure texture mapping maps the object’s 3D location in space directly into colour using a C language procedure. A single point can be mapped to millions of different colours (Whitepaper, 2008). By using 3D procedures, playing with the panels in SoftImage creates variations in materials (JuniperMedia, 2008).

“2D maps” refers to 2D image mapping which applies bitmap images to a surface using (u,v) texture coordinates (Whitepaper, 2008). The bitmap acts like a rubber sheet that stretches over a surface (Whitepaper, 2008).

Default Mapping Procedures
Texture projection is a method that “maps” a bitmap to the surface of an object (JuniperMedia, 2008). The image is mathematically projected on the object and assigns mapping coordinates (JuniperMedia, 2008). A planar projection is the same as a texture projection (JuniperMedia, 2008).

Reflective Qualities

The reflective qualities for a material depend on ambience, diffuse and specular (Segal, 2008). Ambience fills in shadows that are too dark. When used with diffuse, it controls the contrast of an object (Segal, 2008). Diffuse controls the intensity of reflected light on an object. Specular controls the intensity and colour of reflected light. When specular is white, it reflects all the light hitting it and when it is any other colour, it changes the colour of the light hitting it (Segal, 2008).

Conclusion

What makes a model appear realistic or just visually interesting is a combination of textures, how they are placed, use of reflective qualities, the level of transparency and whether bump maps are used or not (Segal, 2008). Depending on the objects surface, there are limitless options for creating textures with 2D mapping, 3D procedural mapping and bump maps.

References

(Author Unknown) JuniperMedia. 2008. “Texture Mapping basics”.

Available: http://www.webreference.com/3d/lesson54/

Accessed: 23 April 2008

Segal, N. “3D in depth: Materials, Pt 1”

Available: http://www.webreference.com/3d/column9/

Accessed: 23 April 2008

(Author Unknown) Whitepaper. 2008. “2D and 3D Texture Mapping Support”

Available: http://www.okino.com/new/toolkit/1-11.htm

Accessed: 23 April 2008

Research Assignment: Lighting

Research Assignment: Lighting

Introduction

This assignment looks at the importance of good lighting techniques. The impact of lighting on a scene is addressed and I discuss how to set up a 3-point lighting rig and the method is compared to another lighting rig, a 4-point lighting rig.

The Importance of Good Lighting Techniques
Lighting plays an important role in a scene because it can set the mood, emotion and overall conditions. Small adjustments in lighting can make large effects. Using too much ambient light can wash out a scene for example (Segal, 2008). In a natural scene, such as daylight or a night sky, there is only one light source (Segal, 2008). In 3D, lights don’t actually exist as they do in the real world, even though they simulate the real world, a number of settings need to be tweaked such as lighting settings as well as texturing settings (Segal, 2008).

Discussion of a 3-point lighting system

The3-point lighting system starts with having a key light to create the subjects main illumination (Birn, 2008). It defines the most visible lighting and shadows and is the dominant light source (Birn, 2008). It basically sets the lighting of the scene (DIY photography, 2007). A spot light can serve as a key light. It should be between 15-45 degrees above the subject (Birn, 2008). The key light is the brightest light and the main shadow-caster of the scene.

A fill light softens the illumination of the key light and makes more of the subject visible (Birn, 2008). Point lights or spot lights can be used as a fill light and several can be used (Birn, 2008). The fill light is usually half as bright as the key light (Birn, 2008).

The rim light, or back light, creates a bright line around the edge of the subject. It comes from the back (DIYphoto, 2007). It separates the object from the background.

Below is an image that illustrates the 3-point lighting technique:

(DIYphoto, 2007).

Discussion of a 4-point Lighting Rig

A 4-point lighting rig has 4 lights. The fourth light is a sun lamp (Blender, 2008). This rig is used to even out the lighting on a subject (Blender, 2008). The sun lamp provides back lighting and brightens the top of the subject. The sun lamp and key light are both above the scene and if there are two lights above, the shadows will be much more sharper. This technique is used when filming behind characters or looking over their shoulders (Blender, 2008). The fill light can be a spotlight and is used to remove shadows on a subjects face.

Conclusion

Different rig setups have different purposes and create different moods. There are many types of rigs, for example, a standard rig, a 2-point rig, a single rig and a studio rig (Blender, 2008). I discussed the difference between a 3-point lighting rig and a 4-point lighting rig. The placement of a single light can have a dramatic effect on the appearance of an object (Segal, 2008).

References

Birn, J. Three point lighting for 3d renderings. Available:
http://www.3drender.com/light/3point.html Accessed: 20 April 2008.

(Author unknown) Blender. “Manual/Lighting Rigs”. 2008. Available: http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Manual/Lighting_Rigs Accessed: 08 May 2008.

DIYphotograph. “The Standard 3-point Lighting Technique.” 2007. Available:
http://www.diyphotography.net/3-point-lighting-technique Accessed: 25 April 2008.

Segal, N. “3D in depth: Lighting, Part 1” 2008. Available: http://www.webreference.com/3d/column14/index.html Accessed: 25 April 2008.

Research Assignment: Texturing Motivation

Motivation for Texturing Assignment

The theme for my texturing assignment is based on a design from a magazine.

The wall has shiny paint, so there is a slight reflection of the room objects. The table has a glass section and a frosted glass section. The rest of the table is made of a dark black plastic. There is a mirror on the wall. The material used is a Blinn because it makes it look like a real mirror compared to the others. The floor has a cow skin rug. It is a mixture of a cow skin image and a fabric material.

The bean bag has a green and brown thread fabric. The material is a Phong. The lamp uses the same material for it's stand as the glass table. The surface is black and shiny. The Lampshade is green and shiny as well.

The frame for the painting is a texture made with wood, as are the shelves. The floor is an image of a wooden floor.

References:

home. May 2008. Vol 38.

Animation Research Essay: The Walk Cycle and Walk Variations

Deadline: 21 April 2008

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The Normal Walk Cycle and Emotive Walk Cycle

Personality and the mood of the character can affect the stride and pace and posture of a walk cycle (Blair, 2008). A walk cycle is full of exaggerations to emphasize personality, thought, emotions, actions and mood. It is up to the animator and what they want to portray as the walk cycle basic rules are allowed to be broken. This allows for interesting walks.

For my emotive walk, I chose a sad walk to express a sad, depressed mood. The character’s body is slumped with its head facing down more often than up. The head hangs slightly and follows the movement of the body. The body leans forward with the shoulders slouched. The arms swing from side to side, but they swing lower than the normal walk. On the down position the arms are furthest apart. On the passing position the arms meet on the sides.

The feet are reluctant to leave the ground. The pace of the walk is slower than a normal walk cycle. Sad walks have more time spent on the ground than in the air, dragging feet and never lifting them high (Blair, 2008). There is less exaggeration for the feet unless the character is dragging them then the toes being bend over can be exaggerated. A tired walk can also follow these guidelines. My emotive walk had 6 steps and each one was different because when walking we don't walk exactly the same for each sep. This added some variation to the movement which is usually looped.

The arc paths in SoftImage should be kept smooth, curved and natural to give the walk cycle less jerk. Every joint of the body has an arc path (Idleworm, 2008).

Walk Variations

Happy Walk

Happy walk cycles are usually light-footed, bouncy and spend more time up in the air than down on the floor (Blair, 2008). The character has an upright posture with the shoulders back. The head follows the movement of the body and tends to bob up ad down. The pace is quicker than the regular walk. The stride is large and the arms swing freely from side to side.

Walk in the Wind

A character walking and facing strong wind would have to have a lot of contact with the ground and only have quick momentary lifts of the foot to take a step (Blair, 2008). The posture for this walk can have the body leaning forward to maintain its balance. The toes can flop below. This type of walk cycle also works well if the character is pulling something heavy. The pace for this walk requires a slow movement because it gives it a greater sense of the force it is pushing or pulling. A twist of the pelvis makes it more believable (Blair, 2008). The stride can be wide or small for this walk because both work well.

Angry Walk

This walk requires a fast pace. The character is stomping its feet on the ground and almost kicking the air. The arms are swinging in a way that makes it look like it is punching the air. The elbows should be at right angles to the body. The arms still meet on the passing position. Because the arms are swinging briskly, the body should twist. The up position has the knees very far from the ground. On the contact position, he toes can be pointing upwards or quite far from the ground. The posture for this walk is leaning forward and head jutting out. The nose should be pointing upwards.

Conclusion

As stated before a walk cycle expresses personality and mood. There are many things happening all at once and each adjustment can make a walk believable or unbelievable (Idleworm, 2008).

References

Blair, P. “Animation Studies”. 2008.

http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/04_walkcycle_project.html

Accessed: 16 April 2008.

Idleworm: Walk Cycle. 2008.

http://www.idleworm.com/how/anm/02w/walk1.shtml

Accessed: 16 April 2008.

Animation Studies: Character Identification

Identification in Video games

Introduction
I will be discussing the creation of and identification of a character that I have designed in the role-playing games Oblivion and Never Winter Nights 2.In a character-based game, the three elements which are linked are game-play, character and environment (Gard, 2000). For these two games I made the characters link to the environment. I felt that since they are in a mystical world, I should have mystical characters. Since I created the characters before playing the games I did not link them to the game-play element however I did realize that the viewing options of the game were adjustable and so I could play in first person or third person viewing.

Race and gender determine the character's appearance and affect the social interactions in the game. I chose the female gender because I relate more to female characters as I am a female and because most games I’ve played have only had males.

Oblivion



The character I designed is a dark elf. It is a female. I chose the dark elf race because it had blue skin and I found that interesting. I usually play the Sims 2 and the skin tones are more human tones and I usually stick to those, whereas in this game since it is a fantasy I thought it would be more interesting to have a fantasy styled character. I did find out later that the skin colors can be different. When reading about the different races I read that the dark elf race is "noted for their skilled and balanced integration of the sword, bow and destruction magic".The hair I chose is orange which clashes with the skin colour. The style is braided with sticks and short.The eyes are red. I had no control over them but if I did I would have changed them.The character is very young and I chose this age because I prefer younger characters or anything close to my age. The other reason is because I’m allowed to be superficial in a game and the older version of the character looked unappealing to me. I think that the “halo effect” applies here. The “halo effect” suggests that we treat attractive people better than unattractive people and many subconscious assumptions are based on looks (Gard, 2000). Even though many games have been criticized that attractive characters are not good role-models for children and this distortion on sexiness(for female characters) and exaggerated strength (for male characters) (Gard, 2000), I would still go for the attractive looking character. According to Gard, a good visual impression means game players are more likely to stay focused on it and I agree with this statement because it does keep me interested in the game on some level. Rehak states that “Avatars differ from us through their ability to live, die and live again” (Rehak, 203:107). If I was playing the Sims 1 my character would have lived and then got older and eventually died. When I played the Sims 2 my character would have been young and as soon as it’s age progressed I would have given it a potion to make it stay the same age for longer. This character is very different to me. The similarities with my own appearance are that it is female, has a dark tone skin and is young. The facial structure did not matter to me because the aim was not to make it look exactly like me and I am fine with it being a fantasy character.

NeverWinter Nights 2




I chose the dark elf character for this game. I chose this character because of the length of the ears and the height compared to the other characters. I was then persuaded by the information in the right panel which said the dark elf enjoys natural and simple beauty then decided to choose the drow sub-race mainly because of the colours they consist of. I also noticed that they have darkvision where they can see up to 120 feet and thought that it would help me in the game.

My character’s skin is black. I liked the contrast created with the dark skin and light hair. The hairstyle is short, pixie-like and aesthetically pleasing. Its hair is yellow and eyes are pink. I chose pink eyes mainly because from my previous experience in gaming, it’s rare to have a character with pink eyes.

The class I chose is rogue which interested me because it is a class that has stealth evasion and the character is “highly skilled” as stated in the information panel. Rogues can also cast spells from scrolls and can use any magic item in the game. The costume worn by a rogue is also what attracted me because it was less excessive and complex compared to the others such as sorcerer and wizard.

The deity I chose is Akadi which relates to queen of air, has a portfolio of flying creatures and speed. In real life I do not follow a deity. There is an option in the game of choosing no deity, but I chose this one because it made no difference on the character during game play and therefore made no difference to me.

I chose chaotic/neutral alignment because it has freedom from society restrictions and do-gooder’s zeal. I found this attribute compelling because in my everyday I find myself being a good-doer and in a game like this it is more fun to have some kind of conflict within the character.

Conclusion
I designed these characters in the way described above because I didn’t feel they need to look like me. This is mainly because I felt that the game was a fantasy genre and it would be interesting to try something unusual to what I normally do. I’ve played many video/PC games in the past and have made previous characters that look like me. The technology in both games is quite advanced and I would have been able to create some kind of resemblance to my own face but it did not seem necessary.

For NeverWinter Nights the manual says that during character creation the decisions made earlier on are able to be modified for example if I chose a barbarian it could later be changed into a bard.

All of these choices in the character design relate to my own personality, sense of style, background and culture. I agree with Rehak where he states that “video games ‘reflect’ players back to themselves” (Rehak, 2003). I impose parts of myself into the character design.
However, I do realize though that in the end most of these choices are just superficial personality traits for the character and I can’t inject a personality into the character only a personality limited by the game creators (Gard, 2000).

References
Gard, T. 2000. “Character Identification”. Gamesutra. Available: http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20000720/gard_01.htm . Accessed: 13 April 2008.

Rehak, B. 2003. “Playing at being: Psycoanalysis and the Avatar”. The Video Game Theory Reader, Routledge.

Animation Studies: Narratology versus Ludology

Introduction
From the readings “Simulation versus Narrative” by Gonzolo Frasca and “Game Design as narrative architecture” by Henry Jenkins I would follow the direction of Henry Jenkins.

The word “narrative” links with story-telling and conveying certain information through a story. Ludology is a discipline that studies games in general and a ludologist, according to Frasca, is “against the common assumption that video games should be viewed as extensions of narrative” (Frasca, 2003).




A compromise
Henry Jenkins tries to find a compromise with the clash between Ludology and Narratology even though he is on the narratologist side. He states that not all games have to tell a story and a gaming experience can’t just be reduced to the experience of a story(Jenkins, 2006). I agree that not all games tell stories. They may just be laying down some background information, but that does not necessarily make it a story.

I agree that the experience of playing games can never be simply reduced to the experience of telling a story. From Frasca’s example, he points out that the feeling of playing soccer cannot be compared to watching a soccer match (Frasca, 2003). I agree with this because even though in both instances soccer is taking place but each experience is completely different. One is about a story of a match and the other is the player in the story.

In the example about a film about a plane landing is a narrative and a flight simulator allows the player to perform actions to manipulate or modify behaviors of the system is simulation , Frasca indicates that the simulation is just simulation with no story attached. I disagree with Frasca because both instances are a narrative as in there is a story attached to what is happening but there is a big difference because the person in the flight simulator is a part of the narrative and performs a role in it.



Conclusion
I favor the compromised approach of Jenkins, but Frasca did have some good points. However I don’t see how video games can be pushed in to only one category such as simulation or narrative when they could be both at the same time. There are just so many different types of games and why do we need to be exhaustive in defining where they should be? Both arguments rely on the author’s definitions and understanding of words which may be completely different to my own and anyone else’s.


I think that if the story is bad but the game play is good, then I would favor being a ludologist because if the game play was bad but the story was good then I doubt that the game would be of interest to me. It’s not like one would buy a game where the story takes precedence over the game play. I think that a game should be about the game play experience and the story or narrative should be secondary. Look at the game Pong- the user did not have to have any understanding of what the objects in it were (a ball and bats) only the concept of not missing the moving object was required for it to function. It was the first successful video game.

References
Frasca, G. "Simulation versus Narrative: An introductuion to ludology". The video Game Theory Reader, 32003, Routledge.
Jenkins, H. "Game Design as Narrative Architecture", The Game Design Reader, 2006, MIT Press.

Research Assignment: Modelling Assignment

The Importance of Constructing Sound Models with Edge Loops

Deadline: 07 April 2008

Edge looping is a method of laying out the polygon quads so that they form loops. Edge loops mimic how real muscles work and give more control over the contours of any position (Raitt, 1998). Edge loops are mostly important for the face of the model. They can go around the eyes, mouth, nose and ears and can interlink or not. It is also best to plan the edge loops before creating the model.

Too many triangles or 5 sided shapes are going to make texturing difficult. They can also complicate the shape of the model when animating by forming strange folds or dents during movement. The are a problem when deforming the model. It is therefore best to have as few as possible.

Below is a picture illustrating how edge loops can be drawn on the face:

(Bayramoglu, 2008 ).

References:

Bayramoglu, H. 2008. "Edge Loop Head Modeling".

http://www.3dtotal.com/team/Tutorials_3/head_modeling_3dsmax/head_modeling_3dsmax_01.asp

Accessed: 05 April 2008.

Raitt, B. 1998. “Character Modeling”.

http://cube.phlatt.net/home/spiraloid/tutorial/modeling.html

Accessed: 05 April 2008.

Animation Studies: The Role of Thresholds as applied to Loco Roco

Introduction

This essay is going to discuss the role of thresholds and then an analysis of the strategy video game Loco Roco and the thresholds specific to the game. The visual components used in film and comic books will also be discussed.

Re-Tracing in Video Games, Comic Books, Novels and Film
Video games require players to re-cover/re-trace certain spaces in order to continue the game narrative. Players can also better their game by collecting new objects or finding secret areas.

Comic books have re-tracing to some extent. The reader may want to go over something they have just read and therefore reread it (Taylor, 2004). It is rare that a comic purposely makes the reader reread, but it does occur.

Comic books allow for readers to view panels in a non-sequential way- even though it is not required when following a story (Taylor, 2004). Video games can also allow a player to follow a non-sequential path. For both mediums there is a set start and finish even though the player or reader can choose different routes to get there.

Viewing a film means the viewer has to follow the set path of the narrative (Taylor, 2004). This is truer for a film played in a cinema than a home-viewing as viewers are forced to follow the set path. I think that some viewers may have to re-trace or re-view what they have watched because they automatically overlooked important aspects of the story. An example of this is the film Pulp Fiction where the story is broken up and is portrayed non-sequentially. Reading a novel has re-reading as human eyes tend to skip “across and over” words. Some readers might race to the end of a paragraph to see the end and then go back to read where they were. As with film, a novel can also be written out of sequence and many readers would go back and re-read passages to get a clearer idea of the overall story.


Moving Across Thresholds
According to Taylor, navigating across thresholds in video games and comics allow the player/reader to construct a mental “map” or an abstraction of relationships in space between objects in space.
I think that a comic book space where the reader imagines is limited because they can only see some parts of the world. The reader will not be able to experience the exact space or world because only some parts of it are drawn on paper whereas with video games, and this is depending on how advanced or primitive the game design is, the player can rotate 360o, and a virtual reality is formed. The comic book reader has to use their imagination to create their own virtual reality.


Analysis of Loco Roco
Loco Roco is a game for a Sony PSP console about a blob that rolls along a planet to save it. To navigate, the player moves the planet in a tilting motion and so it is the planet that moves, not the actual characters. The main character is a Loco Roco blob, but it can be split into several blobs at the push of a button where they roll and jump together (unless one rolls out of the view and gets eaten by something else) and the player has some control over them, but so does gravity and other forces.

For this video game, the frame or panel would be the physical screen. Within the game, the blob stays in the centre of the screen and is not really framed by anything other than when in secret passages or moving through different shaped areas. I think the environment does frame the character as it can be in different worlds and some worlds are another animal’s body.

There are secret passages which contain fruit and bugs to feed the blob. On some stages, once a secret passage is passed then the player can not go back to it unless they restart the stage. The game allows the player to go back to a certain extent, but not all the way to the beginning of the stage and this is done by limiting the player with high walls or areas of water that prevent re-entry. The game has a set path from start to finish but it is up to the player to get better scores, timing and game play if they can find a secret passage. Looking at the threshold aspect, when entering a passage, because it is secret, the wall fades open as the character rolls across the space and then fades closed even though it is still in the passage.

When the player gets to a certain part of the stage and crosses a specific threshold point, the game becomes automated and a predetermined animation or sequence occurs for example carrying the blob along a path of bubbles or pushing the blob through stylized tunnels. Another automation the takes place when a threshold is crossed is the view of the blob which is zoomed in or out depending on specific areas. Sound plays an important part for game play because when crossing a threshold, a sound can indicate hidden food for the blob.

As stated by Taylor “video games generally focus on the centre of the screen: yet, video games also play in the periphery”. With Loco Roco peripheral vision is essential as the enemy can appear very quickly from the side.

There is no time limit, but the player is timed and encouraged to get better times. Movement through space is directly proportional to time in this game and time is still running when predetermined sequences or animation take place.

Conclusion
This essay has briefly skimmed the surface of thresholds and the role they play in video games, film and comic books. It then went over the game Loco Roco and how thresholds, set-paths, timing, and framing contribute to the game play. Although the game Loco Roco is not derived from a comic book or film, it shares similarities with the other mediums when analyzing the visual components.

Fig 1.

Loco Roco Blob splitting into multiple blobs

References
Games Toaster. LocoRoco Review. Available: http://www.gamestoaster.com/games_toaster/2006/06/review_locoroco.html [Accessed: 31 March 2008]

Taylor, L. “Compromised Divisions: Thresholds in Comic Books and Video Games”. ImageText: Interdisciplinary Comic Studies, 1:1. Spring 2004.

Animation Studies: Summary of “Nature and Significance of Play as a Cultural Phenomenon”

• Play can be in simple forms or highly developed forms. Play has a meaning and is not just psychological, biological or physiological. Play is not trivial, but a significant function of life. Psychological and physical explain and describe play of animals, children and grown-ups.
• For young creatures play can be regarded as training for the future life experiences. It is also an outlet for natural impulses, tension release, pure leisure and relaxation. Interestingly the suggestions of reasons for play are not actually play but other purposes.
• The article suggests that play is the opposite of seriousness. However later on it says that play can be serious and laughter is the opposite of serious.
• Play in higher forms is easier to analyse.
• Play is a voluntary activity. It is never a physical necessity or moral duty. It is also never a task. The characteristics of pay include that it is not “real life”, it is limited and it is freedom.
• Play has rules. There are “spoilt-sports” who don’t follow the rules and false players.
• Play and rituals are similar. The question is if rituals are serious, can it be called play?
• They both have a spatial separation from life and closed spaces are marked out. They both have sacred dances, performances, collective rejoicing.

References
Huizinga, J. “Nature and significance of Play as a Cultural Phenomenon”. The Game Design Reader, 2006, MIT Press