Week 20 - Creativity

All about CREATIVITY!!!!

The topic of Creativity is so vast that you can write 10,000 page books on it just to get a real idea about it.........

The ability of creating is within all humans.............it is a part of our lives and the way we think.

Creativity means how one person can imagine somthing and bulid on it. For some people Creativity can be hindered by technical constraints but there are others that can always get around it. It is similay to making Movies. The Director has to come with new techniques to so certain special effects. For example, In the Matrix films, they (film crew) used the loads to cameras to do the to fighting sequences (like when the film pauses and the camera moves around the character while he/she is in mid-air).

I would say that creativity is used in all aspects of creating a game. Some examples would probably be:
- Designers - the idea of a game, and what it would look like
- Artists - create characters, environments, weapons
- Music composers - compose music and sounds to the requirements of the designer
- Programmers - write code, find solutions to problems ocurred while writing the code

I think that programmers have to find ways to implement certain aspects of games, such as AI, which can be seen in games like Half Life 2. For example, the enemies adapt to the way you play and they will move and react in a different way.

I think that it is creativity that what makes games so simulating. As games evolve, the way you play them changes, there are new types of games, better stories, better way of presenting stories, better visual effects and a overall better and a more complete game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity

Week 19 - Life Changing or Career Building?

This week is to write personal views on this Quote:

"Because your adverts always ask for experienced artists, never for Liberal Arts grads", came the reply from a beleaguered Canadian academic.

Well my frst thought on this matter is that all employers say that you need experience if they don't want to employ you. Or, if you have experience and no qualifications, they (employers) would say that you need qualifications. It's sad but true...........

One Reason for the above quote is that there are too many university graduates, and to say that they want expericence is the easiest way to filter applicants.

On the other hand, sooner or later we will run out of experienced artists and we will have to start bringing in some new blood (in the form of graduates).

To get accepeted by employers, its always best to do some homework first. This could inlcude a portfolio that shows all the main pieces of work you have done (be sure to show pieces that have not been done in univeristy time). This shows employers that you are passionate about art and you are not lazy person after all..........

Week 18 - Sound

You sometimes don't understand how important sound is in games..............

How is Sound used in games???
To cut it short
- Music
- Gun Sounds and other weapons
- Vehicles
- People and other characters
- Environment (Whistling wind, waterfalls............)

When games started out, the only sounds you heard were bleeps but in the 80's proper music and sounds were used. Examples of these games were Pacman, Donkey Kong, Super Mario, etc. In the 90's, proper sounds were used for example, Guile shouting 'SONIC BOOM' in Street Fighter II. And by the time the Sony Playstation came out, real music was being used.

Key Composers in games

- Nobuo Uematsu - for the famous final fantasy series
- Koji Kondo - for most of the Super Mario and Legend of Zelda games

My favorite musical moment in a game has to be the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Every Stage used the most unforgetable music in a game. The Music was so good that even Nintendo couldn't compose better music than this.......A real winner!!!!

Week 17 - Game Engines

WOW - SOMETHING MORE SUITED TO MY COURSE!!!!

Well to start off.........A game engine is an complex software package that allows certain types of games to be made from. It handles: the core source-code and its relationship with graphics, music, and especially hardware. Games like Unreal, Doom, Counterstrike source and Half life 2 are created using bespoke engines.

These engines are also good for creating additions to games that use the same engine. For example, many people create new maps for counterstrike, or people create new skins for half life 2. silimar games can also be created using an existing game engine.

Game developers can either use existing engines or they can make their own. The advantages of buying an existing engine are: Its cheaper, faster, easier to learn as some people would have used these engines before. The advantage of having custom made engines is thatthe engine has all the necessary features to make a certain game.

Subtractive and additive is all about the graphics (sigh!). It deals with colours and paints. Subtractive is when paints and other pigments mix together. Whereas additive is when differentt colours of light mix together.

I think that a key issue for next gen engines it the graphics. People are expecting too much out of next gen graphics and it will be essential for a engine to create powerful graphics within a smaller space of time. Otherwise it will cost companies too much money. in terms of the Nintendo Wii, game engines will have to accomodate the Wii controller (or Wii-mote and nunchuck).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_engine
http://www.edgelib.com/index.php?node=106