Survey: Visual style

Just a short blog post here. I started doing my second experiment which is figuring out the visual style of my game. There's a digital survey that I've set up and sent to everyone in my class. However I'd also like to put the link to the survey right here in this blog. This way you can also be of some help to the development of my game. If you decide to fill in the survey, many thanks!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RBC92ZK

Searching for software

I've officially finished my first experiment and decided to put the results here on my blog. The experiment was about trying to find the best software that I would be able to make the game with. The first thing I did was to do a small research on existing game development software. After having filtered out some programs -that are just overly complicated- I managed to narrow the amount of programs to three. Next I set up an experiment in the form of an assignment. The experiment was that I had to develop a mini graphic adventure with a certain set of capabilities in a certain amount of time. So with those three programs I did just that. They were: Adobe Flash, GameMaker and Adventure Game Studio..

Without further ado

I present to you the name of the game: Smokehounds. It took me a long time coming up with a unique name that was fitting for the concept and feel that I'm going for. It's also very hard to try and not come up with just an uninspired cheesy title. It had to be something fresh and new but still touching on the game's theme and atmosphere. I believe this title does a good job of that. Next to conveying a feeling, the title also had to have a meaning. In this case the title itself has no definition, but the two words that it consists of do exist. This is where in my opinion the title succeeds because those two words give a hint of the game's atmosphere. Hopefully giving the sense of a smokey, film noir, detective feeling.

After the title I immediately began creating the logo of my game (as you've probably already seen, is in the header of my blog). I went for a text-logo instead of something symbolic. Experimenting with different font styles, I tried once again to convey a feeling. The big long letters of the title give it a somewhat futuristic (but not too much) feel and the subtitle written in calligraphy style gives it that old detective feel. Because the game takes place in Hong Kong, I thought it'd be fitting to also add Chinese characters (which stand for the words smoke and dogs). The background with the clouds, city lights, flying cars and searchlights is something extra to show that the story is taking place in a great big futuristic city. This imagery however is not part of the logo. Lastly I'd like to finish this update with a description of the game's story: 

Last call

Back again with a much-needed update. I haven't been able to post anything for a while now. The first couple of documents are really important so I had to get those out of the way. I'm glad to announce I've officially finished my first version of the analysis document and this finally means that this blog will be getting some life breathed into it. The plan from now on is to post lots of visuals surrounding my game. So hopefully I'll be able to do just that.

My first experiment is coming up and I'm glad to say it's visuals related. I'll be doing a user-experiment to see what graphical style fits best with the subject and tone of my game. Right now I'm halfway preparing the experiment, designing the possible graphical styles which could suit my game. The plan right now actually was to post some of the images, but it crossed my mind that I could mess up the experiment this way. So I'm not going to take any risks and show them. Sorry... I will however be posting new information very soon. I'm revealing the story of the game and hopefully the name and logo of the game.

The last thing I want to say is that from now on I'll be writing much less in each blogpost. I seem to have unconsciously hit a standard regarding the amount of text I'm typing for each blogpost (which is a freaking lot) and this takes up so much time. So from this moment on I will be typing less, blogging more and I'll bring along the visuals.

Paperwork. We meet again.

It's been a couple of days since I posted anything on the blog. I've been busy with some of the project documentation, since that plays an important part at HAN university. Right now I'm doing a start-up analysis of my project and at the same time thinking up the story for my game. After that you'll finally start to see some artwork show up on the blog.

Experiments are also something I'm having to figure out, it seems that everyone will have to do two of them in this minor. What this means is that we'll have to discover something new or something we aren't too sure of, and use that something in our project. It's mainly done by comparing, analysing and applying. For example, my first experiment will be to find out in which software it's best to make my game in. The best possible candidates for this are; Adobe Flash, Game Maker and Unity. And although I made my demo in Flash, I'm still not certain if that's absolutely the best program for me to work with. So I'll be asking myself: Which of these 3 programs is the fastest and easiest to learn? What program has the best functions to develop a point-and-click game in? Where can I get these programs? How much do they cost? Etc. After comparing the programs to each other I should end up with one program that suits my point-and-click needs the best. My second experiment planned will be to figure out the best suitable art-style for my game. Comparing different art-styles to each other and analysing the plus sides and the down sides. Brainstorming, sketching, playing games and watching movies for visual inspiration. Seeing what goes best with the tone and feel of my game and then actually applying that to my game. Hmm, this paperwork actually sounds like fun..

Seized by inspiration #1: Ken sent me

Now that the blog is up and running, I'd like to talk about things that inspired (and continues to inspire me) to make this point-and-click game. It's a mini blog series that I'm calling 'Seized by inspiration'.

When I think back to the first time a tiny seed of this project was implanted in my brain, I arrive at a game that was released in the year that I was born. Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards. This was my first experience with a graphic adventure. You play as Larry Laffer, a 40-year old virgin. Visiting the city of Lost Wages (a parody of Las Vegas), Larry sets out to find the woman of his dreams. As Larry you could visit many different locations like: a bar, a disco, a hotel and a casino. There was no mouse to click with. Instead, you walked with the arrow keys and typed in the commands that you wanted Larry to do. So I wrote: 'open door', 'pick up rose', 'order drink'. I was just a ten-year-old boy when I played this, but man was it ever exciting. In my opinion just as exciting as action games from back in the day like Commander Keen or Ski or Die. You watched a story unfold. This was a game where I could use my English vocabulary that I learned through watching movies and Cartoon Network. And it paid off, I got really far in the game (although I never beat it). Playing this game felt like the greatest feeling ever. A kid making it through a big city. It was an adventure..

A brief talk

A couple of days ago I had my first talk with the mentor that was assigned to me: Jeff Cook. Jeff knows his point-and-click games inside out. Luckily for me that means I'll be getting spot-on help and advice. So it's a good thing that I requested him specifically. We started off by me showing the mediaproduction demo that I had made. He let me know that he thought the demo succeeded in creating a film noir world. He found the visuals and sound creating a nice immersive feeling.

I told him that my love for point-and-click games mainly comes from the LucasArts games (I'll blog about this subject later) and that I noticed that the main characters in these games are always visible on the screen and the player can click wherever they want the character to go. My demo doesn't have this. Instead the player is looking through the eyes of the main character. I did this mainly for technical reasons because it would require advanced programming skills which I don't really have. Would this be okay, I asked him. He told me that it was fine and that I could play around with this. When interacting with another person, make him look at the camera, thus breaking the fourth wall. This way you let the player know he/she embodies the main character at that time. This is a great idea that I'll be sure to play around with.