Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Week 3: The New Tamagotchi?
MILO FAKE OR REAL?
I don't know if this will work. The size of the game would be enormous because of the amount of content involved. It might end up requiring weekly updates. It does sound interesting, though.
I wonder how much maintenance Milo will require. I remember my Tamagotchi required me to wake up early each day to feed it... It died D:
Eagle Eyed Spong has posted an in-depth analysis of the E3 Milo demo for Microsoft's Natal. Their conclusion is that it is fake. What do you think?
Week 3: “Sorry Mario, but the Princess is in another castle!"
Realistic NPCs (Active vs Reactive)
by Dan Shiovitz
http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article249.asp
Ok, so this is an old post from 1995 but it got me thinking about just what is an NPCs’ roll in gamming. For most of my life all I’ve seen them as is “The place to get quests from” and while that is true, surely they provide something extra to the game. Why have them otherwise.
NPC behaviour in video games is generally automated. There are some examples where the NPC is controlled by another player or a Game Master but in this post I want to focus on the scripted ones.
An NPC is just like any other character you would insert into a story, they’re there to further the storyline. They introduce a player into a new world through the direction and information they provide.
They give information on what to do but not the motivation to do it. Most of the time they don't give their back-story or provide the emotional resonse you expect people to have in certain circumstances. If you can relate to a person you can begin to understand their circumstances. Take for instance Princess Peach, I just can’t feel for her (Seriously, I don’t understand why a giant turtle would want to kidnap her in the first place). Her personality still isn't as strongly defined as the ‘others' (not that ‘short, Italian-American plumber’ gives you much of a clue either) but then who tells complete randoms their whole life story?
I guess what dissapoints me about NPCs is that they don’t have a big enough role in the game. Why aren’t they developing with the story, as the gamer interacts with it. Fable 2 allows you to spawn children for your character… Um? What exactly do they do other than get themselves captured? And what about the Alliance in WOW. Well, they want to stop the Horde but they don’t really do anything about it. They just stand there like set peices… Come on, do something already! Well no, I’m wrong, there are AIs that do seem to run off on their own automated path. That’s fine but if you try to interact with them, they have a very brief response or none at all. NPCs are not the smartest, but I guess if they were smart the game would be too easy.
So how do you humanise a AI without it seeming too scripted? There are games that have started to deepen the NPC and Player relationship such as Mass Effect and Fable but they are still restricted to a script. The unpredictability of human nature is just to complex to replicate and I guess that is the reason why we are goning back to RPGing (ie. Dungeons and Dragons. Where the NPCs are played by the Game Master.)
by Dan Shiovitz
http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article249.asp
Ok, so this is an old post from 1995 but it got me thinking about just what is an NPCs’ roll in gamming. For most of my life all I’ve seen them as is “The place to get quests from” and while that is true, surely they provide something extra to the game. Why have them otherwise.
NPC behaviour in video games is generally automated. There are some examples where the NPC is controlled by another player or a Game Master but in this post I want to focus on the scripted ones.
An NPC is just like any other character you would insert into a story, they’re there to further the storyline. They introduce a player into a new world through the direction and information they provide.
They give information on what to do but not the motivation to do it. Most of the time they don't give their back-story or provide the emotional resonse you expect people to have in certain circumstances. If you can relate to a person you can begin to understand their circumstances. Take for instance Princess Peach, I just can’t feel for her (Seriously, I don’t understand why a giant turtle would want to kidnap her in the first place). Her personality still isn't as strongly defined as the ‘others' (not that ‘short, Italian-American plumber’ gives you much of a clue either) but then who tells complete randoms their whole life story?
I guess what dissapoints me about NPCs is that they don’t have a big enough role in the game. Why aren’t they developing with the story, as the gamer interacts with it. Fable 2 allows you to spawn children for your character… Um? What exactly do they do other than get themselves captured? And what about the Alliance in WOW. Well, they want to stop the Horde but they don’t really do anything about it. They just stand there like set peices… Come on, do something already! Well no, I’m wrong, there are AIs that do seem to run off on their own automated path. That’s fine but if you try to interact with them, they have a very brief response or none at all. NPCs are not the smartest, but I guess if they were smart the game would be too easy.
So how do you humanise a AI without it seeming too scripted? There are games that have started to deepen the NPC and Player relationship such as Mass Effect and Fable but they are still restricted to a script. The unpredictability of human nature is just to complex to replicate and I guess that is the reason why we are goning back to RPGing (ie. Dungeons and Dragons. Where the NPCs are played by the Game Master.)
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Week 2: How are characters in films different to characters in games?
The main difference between game and film character is control. When we watch a good film we feel like we’re watching real people as they tackle the consequences of their actions and continue on their journey. However in games you are put in the shoes of the main character and it becomes obvious you are not truly in control. For example the game will order you to enter the next room, in a movie a character could walk in theory leave the entire building but in the games the story will not progress until you have complied. A player can stand in the first room as long as he wants but nothing will happen until he heads into this new room.
This inability to direct your control takes you out of the fantasy that this nothing than a virtual world. Films don’t usually suffer from this problem mainly because films don’t generally put you in the shoes of the protagonist; they just try to make you empathize with him or her. As long as the script gives the character a plausible reason or personality for entering the room, we do not question why. Games expect to be the character while films movies merely expect us to follow the characters. Until game give more options or more reasons beyond character yelling at you over the radio to enter the room they will lack the impact.
The simulated world, unlike a movie, as well as removing you from reality can become part of your reality so that a person is unable to distinguish between the two.
_______________________________________________________
i
http://web.archive.org/web/20050307095559/http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=502424, “Suit: Video Game Sparked Police Shootings”, ABC News, Archived on 2005 – 03 – 07
This inability to direct your control takes you out of the fantasy that this nothing than a virtual world. Films don’t usually suffer from this problem mainly because films don’t generally put you in the shoes of the protagonist; they just try to make you empathize with him or her. As long as the script gives the character a plausible reason or personality for entering the room, we do not question why. Games expect to be the character while films movies merely expect us to follow the characters. Until game give more options or more reasons beyond character yelling at you over the radio to enter the room they will lack the impact.
The simulated world, unlike a movie, as well as removing you from reality can become part of your reality so that a person is unable to distinguish between the two.
“A lawsuit claims the video game "Grand Theft Auto" led a teenager to shoot two police officers and a dispatcher to death in 2003, mirroring violent acts depicted in the popular game… At a December hearing, authorities said Devin Thompson, when he was apprehended, told officers, "Life is a video game. You've got to die sometime."[i]
_______________________________________________________
i
http://web.archive.org/web/20050307095559/http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=502424, “Suit: Video Game Sparked Police Shootings”, ABC News, Archived on 2005 – 03 – 07
Week 2: How are characters defined in Web 2.0 (eg. avatars)
A person’s comprehension of themself is not always how others see them. External perceptions of our own identity can sometimes distort how we see our selves. This is why the Internet is a popular medium of portraying and developing our identities.
Anonymity online allows a user to explore their identity in full, without the pressures of society. You can be what/who you want to be. You can change your identity completely or express it to the extent you want. A user is also not confined to a current body and can explore their own self through an avatar. They allow a person to act out what they’ve always wanted or never though of doing without repercussion.
The Internet is a form of Virtual Reality. It lets a user to escape the Real World. It allows you to forget about your troubles at work, your relationships, what bills you have to pay…it basically removes you from reality and immerses you in an alternate environment. It is ‘the experience of being inside the world of a constructed image… the experience of the user of certain new media technologies (particular VR, but also video games) in which the subject loses any sense of themselves as separate from the medium or its simulated world.’[i]
But does the Internet really separate us from society? In a sense it removes us from one community and places us into another. Community usually refers to a sociological group sharing an environment. In communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks and a number of other conditions may affect the identity of the participants and their degree of adhesion. A sense of community is important in society as it provides us with a base to grow as a race. Our relationships help guide us in decisions and remove the factors that isolate us as individuals.
Social Networking sites such, as Twitter and YouTube are just that, online communities. Our online characters still contain most of our personalities; after all we are the ones controlling them. It is just that we omit a lot of facts, that is until someone from a rival band decides to he wants to make a rude comment. All of a sudden, we drop this external façade and reveal our true emotions. BOXXY is an example of this.[ii] The repercussions can spread not only throughout the online world but into reality.
_____________________________________________________
i
Lister, Martin et al. New Media: A Critical Introduction, London and New York: Routledge, 2003, 387.
ii
BOXXY ← Ummm yeah…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcydqSpYN00&feature=channel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yavx9yxTrsw&feature=channel
Anonymity online allows a user to explore their identity in full, without the pressures of society. You can be what/who you want to be. You can change your identity completely or express it to the extent you want. A user is also not confined to a current body and can explore their own self through an avatar. They allow a person to act out what they’ve always wanted or never though of doing without repercussion.
The Internet is a form of Virtual Reality. It lets a user to escape the Real World. It allows you to forget about your troubles at work, your relationships, what bills you have to pay…it basically removes you from reality and immerses you in an alternate environment. It is ‘the experience of being inside the world of a constructed image… the experience of the user of certain new media technologies (particular VR, but also video games) in which the subject loses any sense of themselves as separate from the medium or its simulated world.’[i]
But does the Internet really separate us from society? In a sense it removes us from one community and places us into another. Community usually refers to a sociological group sharing an environment. In communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks and a number of other conditions may affect the identity of the participants and their degree of adhesion. A sense of community is important in society as it provides us with a base to grow as a race. Our relationships help guide us in decisions and remove the factors that isolate us as individuals.
Social Networking sites such, as Twitter and YouTube are just that, online communities. Our online characters still contain most of our personalities; after all we are the ones controlling them. It is just that we omit a lot of facts, that is until someone from a rival band decides to he wants to make a rude comment. All of a sudden, we drop this external façade and reveal our true emotions. BOXXY is an example of this.[ii] The repercussions can spread not only throughout the online world but into reality.
I know what's she's going through. She's made vapid, privileged egotistical friends who enjoy shallow partying and no real thought. Yet this is what she must endure, and even emulate. She can't go back to the fantasyland of the Internet. Her online friends, entertainment, and communities cannot be leaned on any more. Partly because she doesn't want to feel like a loser, but also intensely because of the brutal unending onslaught of her 'fans', who like so many rabid subject tore down the castle of her free and easy internet life. Now she hangs out with these kids, the people she's supposed to be friends with doing the things they're supposed to do - drinking, fucking, facebooking, listening to pop indie bands and rap (they think it's funny because they're so white). Before she was the girl in the corner, enjoying a world delivered through the web. Now she's been pushed into the social crowd and she doesn't like it but there's nothing else to do.
—The philosophical and eloquently introspective Anonymous
_____________________________________________________
i
Lister, Martin et al. New Media: A Critical Introduction, London and New York: Routledge, 2003, 387.
ii
BOXXY ← Ummm yeah…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcydqSpYN00&feature=channel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yavx9yxTrsw&feature=channel
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Week 1: Games, Trains and Movie Deals
Infamous Gets Movie Deal
by Leigh Alexander
Infamous was release earlier this year and despite being a wholly unremarkable game Hollywood has already purchased the movie rights. Before doing a little research on this article, I never knew that so many films based on games have been produced over the years. I had heard of a couple, such as Super Mario Bros. and Postal but this many...?
This bothered me. If so many movies based on games have been release, why haven't I ever heard about them? Well' the truth is they just weren't successful enough to stand out in the public eye.
^Super Marios Bros. the movie
Despite the lack of acceptance for the films the original games were popular. Most of them are still well loved classics. Maybe the reason the films were not so well received was because they tried to change something that already worked. The games have such a large fan base, who already have set perceptions on the characters and plot. The game characters have a look, and players were already familiar with voice talent portraying them. So it's easy to understand that if bad acting choices are made when recasting a loved character the fans are not going to like it.
This doesn't necessarily mean that sticking close to the original always works. If the game doesn't have a decent storyline and characters in the first place it is already going to be difficult to achieve that in the film, without alienating the loyal fan-base. I guess the only solution would be to market the movie to a wider audience and away from the gaming community.
Games today have about 10-30 hours of game-time. The majority of that is spent developing the storyline through cut-scenes, and character interaction during play. Considering the length of an average movie today, it would be difficult to fit all of that content into the required time frame. This is one of the reasons why it is difficult to produce a film with the same level of depth as the original game. The amount of content you would have to strip away would mean you were left with a very disjointed plot and nobody wants that.
by Leigh Alexander
Infamous was release earlier this year and despite being a wholly unremarkable game Hollywood has already purchased the movie rights. Before doing a little research on this article, I never knew that so many films based on games have been produced over the years. I had heard of a couple, such as Super Mario Bros. and Postal but this many...?
This bothered me. If so many movies based on games have been release, why haven't I ever heard about them? Well' the truth is they just weren't successful enough to stand out in the public eye.
Despite the lack of acceptance for the films the original games were popular. Most of them are still well loved classics. Maybe the reason the films were not so well received was because they tried to change something that already worked. The games have such a large fan base, who already have set perceptions on the characters and plot. The game characters have a look, and players were already familiar with voice talent portraying them. So it's easy to understand that if bad acting choices are made when recasting a loved character the fans are not going to like it.
This doesn't necessarily mean that sticking close to the original always works. If the game doesn't have a decent storyline and characters in the first place it is already going to be difficult to achieve that in the film, without alienating the loyal fan-base. I guess the only solution would be to market the movie to a wider audience and away from the gaming community.
Games today have about 10-30 hours of game-time. The majority of that is spent developing the storyline through cut-scenes, and character interaction during play. Considering the length of an average movie today, it would be difficult to fit all of that content into the required time frame. This is one of the reasons why it is difficult to produce a film with the same level of depth as the original game. The amount of content you would have to strip away would mean you were left with a very disjointed plot and nobody wants that.
Week 1: It Seemed So Real..Too Real Maybe
The Necessity of Interactive Animation For Games
by Christiaan Moleman
[In this in-depth article, Arkane and Streamline Studios animator Moleman discusses why he believes that body language and facial expression are the keys to making our games feel more vibrant.]
The development of animation as a communication tool has allowed games to open up their storylines. It allows users the choice of how a particular game’s plot will progress. An example of this would be in the video game Mass Effect, where the future of the player’s race is determined by what choices they make throughout the story. Of course, this means that the player is no longer following a storyline set by a narrator but exploring different scenarios through in-game interactions and development. An important part of game interaction is how the characters respond to the user. For this reason, game developers are working on improving animation and graphics to assist in this area.
Body language is vital in portraying emotion. It aids in storyline development by communicating a line of script with a simple gesture. With out it a performance can appear silted and life less. Mimicking this in games would be a new step in the development of the virtual world.
If game developers did manage to accurately mimic human and animal visual responses, I can’t imagine some types of gamers would really care. We already miss so much of this interaction in day-to-day life. It will be even more difficult to pick up on these subtle expressions while you’re trying to fight off hordes of bloodthirsty zombies.
However, one area of gaming that would improve from this are those built on social networking. Thi include games such as Second Life, where all characters are human controlled. This would revolutionize how we would respond to online avatars and change the nature of social interactivity within games.
by Christiaan Moleman
[In this in-depth article, Arkane and Streamline Studios animator Moleman discusses why he believes that body language and facial expression are the keys to making our games feel more vibrant.]
The development of animation as a communication tool has allowed games to open up their storylines. It allows users the choice of how a particular game’s plot will progress. An example of this would be in the video game Mass Effect, where the future of the player’s race is determined by what choices they make throughout the story. Of course, this means that the player is no longer following a storyline set by a narrator but exploring different scenarios through in-game interactions and development. An important part of game interaction is how the characters respond to the user. For this reason, game developers are working on improving animation and graphics to assist in this area.
Body language is vital in portraying emotion. It aids in storyline development by communicating a line of script with a simple gesture. With out it a performance can appear silted and life less. Mimicking this in games would be a new step in the development of the virtual world.
If game developers did manage to accurately mimic human and animal visual responses, I can’t imagine some types of gamers would really care. We already miss so much of this interaction in day-to-day life. It will be even more difficult to pick up on these subtle expressions while you’re trying to fight off hordes of bloodthirsty zombies.
However, one area of gaming that would improve from this are those built on social networking. Thi include games such as Second Life, where all characters are human controlled. This would revolutionize how we would respond to online avatars and change the nature of social interactivity within games.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)