This is a powerpoint created by me that gives a brief overview of the project.
Tuesday, 6 June 2017
Thursday, 20 April 2017
Unit 5 LO1 - Briefs
Briefs
Contracted brief - A contracted brief is a contract created by a client and given to a production company. The production company will have no say over the project and must follow the specific guidelines given that are written within the contract. With this contract there are both advantages and disadvantages, an advantage of a contracted brief is that the chosen company to manage the project are given clear cut instructions, they know what the finished project will look like and have detailed explanations of how to manage it.
A disadvantage is that if a company has an issue with the brief for any reason such as they don't believe some of it is right or they physically cannot complete a part of the contract then they may not be qualified for managing the project and could essentially lose out on money. If the company had chosen to accept the contract but, choose instead to not follow the guidelines and do not come out with the original project plan then the client has the right to sue or pull any legal action.
Example
An example of this would be like Microsoft (as the client) and epic games (as the production company), Microsoft could have wanted a good third person shooter to show off the Xbox 360 for release and so hired Epic games to create such a game. While the company will have some creativity over the game Microsoft would be the ones to say what they want to see in the game as to make sure they gain sales.
Negotiated brief - A negotiated brief is a contract that will usually be discussed between a client and a production company. It will usually be discussed at a client meeting where both the client and people (most likely the higher ups) of the company will discuss and negotiate the ideas, principles and how the product will be produced. An advantage of this negotiated brief is that the company can decide on whether any techniques or part of a product is appropriate enough to produce or not.
A disadvantage of a negotiated brief is that due to the negotiation part there will be disagreements between the client and production company, if too many disagreements occur between the two parties then the contract can be called off . In other circumstances the quarrelling over the disagreement can go on for too long leading to a less qualitatively produced product.
Example
The contract that will most likely be used in the video games industry is a negotiated brief, this is because say if Epic games were to have a negotiated contract with Microsoft it would allow them to be more free and open to what the game will be like from their perspective as well as Microsofts. They would be able to add more creative flair to the game whether it works or not and wouldn't get as much blame due to how they negotiated it.
Formal brief - A formal brief is contract that lays down the rules and regulations for the company to follow. Like a contracted brief it is created by a client and contains all information needed for the intended project. The contract doesn't always cover the legal operations which can make it a risky signing for a company to proceed with. Formal briefings can also be told to a large group of people as they are usually large projects to complete.
An advantage of this brief is that it can be read very easily, it is quite relaxed and is easily readable allowing for the job to be completed quickly and sufficiently. Another advantage is the contract cannot be changed, this means that no new ideas have to be read and completed, this leads to less distractions and adds to the sufficiently and quickness of the completing the project.
A disadvantage is that is the project needs more resources to get to the agreed final version then the company will have to pay for the resources themselves due to the agreement in the contract, this could lead to less profit and even more severe to losing out on money by the time the finished product is created.
Example
An example of a formal brief in industry use would be if Activision (the client) hired Treyarch (the production company) to create a call of duty, since this is a triple A game it would be a large project and considering Treyarch is a large company it would be a good choice to develop the game for them. The downside could be that because the legal operations are not covered then Treyarch could end up in some trouble far into the project which could lead to the company becoming bankrupt in an extreme case.
Informal brief - An informal brief is usually discussed between the client and the production company within a quick meeting to cover most topics about a project. The brief won't include a contract or any documents and is very limited on its detail. It is usually created for a small scale project and team to work on. An advantage of an informal brief is that as the project progresses then some ideas can be changed or improved allowing for a better outcome for the end of the project.
A disadvantage of a informal brief is that due to there being no contract then the chances of being paid are very sceptical since there is no written agreement between the two parties. This can cause multiple setbacks for the company especially wasting their time and money.
Example
An example of an informal brief would be like the game grow up. Ubisoft (the client) would come to Ubisoft reflections (the production company if they were separate companies) and task them with the job of creating grow up, this is because the game is a small project and so can be developed easy by a small production company such as Ubisoft reflection.
Commission brief - A commission brief is where a larger company will hire another separate independent company to create and produce the project for them. The large company will then give an external client the produced project and the contract between those two parties will be complete. Once the large company has been paid they will create a split sum of money to pay the independent company or give them rights to a portion of the royalties. This brief does not involve and is not negotiated with the client but between the two companies instead.
An advantage of this brief is that the large company do not have to work fully on the project meaning that they can have the second company use split up the work time allowing for more projects to be worked on within the larger company within a smaller time period, they will also earn money even for when the independent company work on the project too meaning both companies get paid for the job.
A disadvantage is because the commission brief is not consulted with the client it could lead to low quality finished project compared to if the large company put full time work into the project, there may also be conflict between both media companies about either the project at hand or the brief.
Example
An example of a commission brief is say if a big company like Activision hired a production company such as infinity ward to make modern warfare 3. Infinity ward could use a commission brief to hire a smaller company such as sledgehammer games to help them work on the project, this creates less work for infinity ward and once the project is complete and handed to Activision, infinity ward will split the sum of money with sledgehammer games
Tender brief - A tender brief is where a client can create a brief and send their idea to multiple companies, the companies will pitch their offers to the client about the project if they are interested. Once the client chooses the best proposal for their needs and suits their brief they will offer the job to the chosen production company.
An advantage of this brief is that the client can be freely choose a production company that they feel will produce their product at the highest quality, it will also allow them to see which companies would be best for future endeavours in areas of other projects.
A disadvantage of this brief is aimed more towards the production company, since there are multiple companies involved with this process the clients choice could potentially waste a rejected companies time. A rejected company could also have had an opportunity presented to them from a different client but may have rejected that project due to trying to get a deal with a tender brief client.
Example
An example of a tender brief in the industry would be like if a company such as Sony wanted to create a game like Bloodbourne they could send out a brief of the game to multiple companies such as Bungie, Treyarch, Naughty dog etc. The company who presents Sony with the best proposal that looks closer to there image of the game will be hired to develop the full game for release.
Co-operative brief - A co-operative brief is kind of like a commission brief but instead of a larger company employing an independent one, the client will employ two companies to work on the project. After both companies have received the brief they will decide on how to create the project and split the work between each other. If there is any quarrelling between the two companies about ideas then a negotiated brief can be used to resolve the issue.
An advantage of this brief can be that there are more people involved in the project allowing for more creative inclusion on the project and a higher quality version as long as both companies communicate and work together.
A disadvantage is like one said before where the two companies could be quarrelling with one another due to conflicts over creative ideas, this could halt the production of the project and waste time and money either resulting in the need for a negotiated brief or in severe cases the disbandment of a project.
Example
An example of a Co-operative brief would be like Activision employing Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer games to develop modern warfare 3 instead of infinity Ward asking Sledgehammer for help. This is more beneficial for Activision in regards that they know both the companies that they are asking for help and so hand over the brief to both companies for them to decide what the best way to create the game is.
Competition brief - A competition brief is where a client puts their brief out for multiple companies to participate in. It can be seen as a free competition of sorts, once the companies have finished on the project the client will decide which they believe is the best product and will publish it. An advantage of this is is that the client can get a range of products and thus get a higher chance of a better quality product.
The disadvantage of this links to the tender brief's as the companies who were not chosen will have wasted their time and money.
Example
An example of a competition brief is say that Sony did another competition where they advertise an idea for a game, multiple companies can participate but instead of developing a demo or creating a smaller version of the project, each production company will make the full game. Dependant on which company has the best version of the game will depend on who's game gets published, this could go either way for any company at hand and is completely down to hard work and luck.
Reading a brief - When a company or producer receives any brief they must read through it very carefully and is crucial that the content and context of the brief is fully understood. The product has to be fully understood because the producer needs to understand what the idea is and if the company has the resources to manage the project. Secondly, they need to make sure the factors that relate to the idea are researched properly and if not add their own input to them to make sure the product is produced to its highest quality. The factors included in this are:
It is crucial for someone such as a creator of a game product (such as myself) to understand these factors because if they are not understood then the final product may not be as effective for the clients use which could lead to things such as financial loss. Another important reason to read the brief carefully and understand the above factors is because then it allows for the producer to plan out several key factors of their own for the company to follow such as:
Legal, Ethical and regulatory constraints
With every brief there comes legal, ethical and regulatory constraints that the company have to think about and happens with every form of media. The things companies have to look out for when keeping these in mind are things like not trying to upset groups of people both physically or emotionally, this can involve things such as race, religion, sex etc. These problems would come under mainly ethical constraints but can become legal issues depending on how severe the harm to a individual or group is caused. To avoid legal constraints as much as possible the government created laws and regulations for companies to abide by.
An example of a law created is the data protection act which is a law that protects personal data stored on computers or in an organised paper filing system. Another example would be the copyright law which protects any originally created content produced so other people cannot steal your original ideas/creations and claim them as their own. Legal constraints are the hardest constraints to avoid as there is a huge amount of laws and regulations to understand with some being quite open to what their description says. Ethical issues are a lot easier to avoid as it is based more upon the logical thoughts of what will be upsetting for the public, while some products created can still go against ethics such as GTA which has huge controversial and ethical topics surrounding it, major companies will tend to try and avoid these at all costs and can have different ethnic groups working on a project to make sure that it stays very professional and has very little ethical backlash for the final product.
Amendments
As stated previously, such as during the explanation of the negotiated brief, some clients can have a change in idea of their products and if a severe case were to happen where the client wanted a projects final idea changing completely while half way through production could cost the company creating the product highly. To stop this companies will use sign off sheets to combat this from happening, these sheets are a form of security because once they are signed it means that the client cannot go back upon the idea and change anything about it, it creates a from of security for the company to finish the project without worry of wasting resources and time.
During production the budget that the company and client initially agreed to use can also change, this can happen if the project prices were underestimated, new costs have arisen or prices have changed to certain resources. If this happens then the company will have to discuss with the client about whether they are happy or not to pay for any extra amounts of funding for the project. This will lead to an updated of the pre-production that will have to state the price change, whether it has increased or decreased.
Just as the previous two amendments, conditions can also be changed which will once again lead to another change in the final product. An example of a condition change could be if the client wants to change the target demographic from being open to a certain group of people to now being less appealing to them, this will put the company at a disadvantage as they have to put extra work hours in to work around the change. The only solution is to have a detailed consultation that can be evidenced via meeting minutes (an instant written record or a meeting) or sign off sheets to conclude that a part of the product is complete and cannot be changed.
Negotiated currency
A main part of a negotiated brief (and one that can only be done in this type of brief) is the negotiated currency between the client and the production company. The negotiated currency is vital to be discussed to ensure the product is created accordingly and so will be discussed to a high and professional standard. It will start with the client running through all the costs that they are paying for and then the production company receiving a detailed list of all the costs involved.
Opportunities
As clients and production companies work with briefs they will pick up different skills that are involved getting used to them and improving upon them with each project. These skills can range from communication techniques, development skills in producing the product, time management skills including chunks of split schedules like multiple deadlines the company have to work towards and more. There can also come about opportunity for building up skills by multi-tasking, this will allow creators to get more skills and experience by working on two projects within a same time frame, it will also allow producers to get used to and compare things such as how negotiated and contracted briefs work, this could allow him to see which their company is best at working with to produce higher quality content for future endeavours. The producer will also be able to switch between two different projects effectively which is a very crucial skill in ay media industry.
Advantage of contributions
When a company is allowed to have creative input on a project it can both benefit the company and the client, it can benefit the client because there can be more creative thought put into the project as multiple creative minds are better than one. It can also solve any flaws within the product and produce one of much higher quality than the estimated version from the start. It is beneficial to the company because it could allow for them to be recommended by the client leading to more collaborations with known client or other clients who pay more money for their projects, it also allows the employees of the company to develop their creative skills more which could lead to even higher quality products in the future.
Contracted brief - A contracted brief is a contract created by a client and given to a production company. The production company will have no say over the project and must follow the specific guidelines given that are written within the contract. With this contract there are both advantages and disadvantages, an advantage of a contracted brief is that the chosen company to manage the project are given clear cut instructions, they know what the finished project will look like and have detailed explanations of how to manage it.
A disadvantage is that if a company has an issue with the brief for any reason such as they don't believe some of it is right or they physically cannot complete a part of the contract then they may not be qualified for managing the project and could essentially lose out on money. If the company had chosen to accept the contract but, choose instead to not follow the guidelines and do not come out with the original project plan then the client has the right to sue or pull any legal action.
Example
An example of this would be like Microsoft (as the client) and epic games (as the production company), Microsoft could have wanted a good third person shooter to show off the Xbox 360 for release and so hired Epic games to create such a game. While the company will have some creativity over the game Microsoft would be the ones to say what they want to see in the game as to make sure they gain sales.
Negotiated brief - A negotiated brief is a contract that will usually be discussed between a client and a production company. It will usually be discussed at a client meeting where both the client and people (most likely the higher ups) of the company will discuss and negotiate the ideas, principles and how the product will be produced. An advantage of this negotiated brief is that the company can decide on whether any techniques or part of a product is appropriate enough to produce or not.
A disadvantage of a negotiated brief is that due to the negotiation part there will be disagreements between the client and production company, if too many disagreements occur between the two parties then the contract can be called off . In other circumstances the quarrelling over the disagreement can go on for too long leading to a less qualitatively produced product.
Example
The contract that will most likely be used in the video games industry is a negotiated brief, this is because say if Epic games were to have a negotiated contract with Microsoft it would allow them to be more free and open to what the game will be like from their perspective as well as Microsofts. They would be able to add more creative flair to the game whether it works or not and wouldn't get as much blame due to how they negotiated it.
Formal brief - A formal brief is contract that lays down the rules and regulations for the company to follow. Like a contracted brief it is created by a client and contains all information needed for the intended project. The contract doesn't always cover the legal operations which can make it a risky signing for a company to proceed with. Formal briefings can also be told to a large group of people as they are usually large projects to complete.
An advantage of this brief is that it can be read very easily, it is quite relaxed and is easily readable allowing for the job to be completed quickly and sufficiently. Another advantage is the contract cannot be changed, this means that no new ideas have to be read and completed, this leads to less distractions and adds to the sufficiently and quickness of the completing the project.
A disadvantage is that is the project needs more resources to get to the agreed final version then the company will have to pay for the resources themselves due to the agreement in the contract, this could lead to less profit and even more severe to losing out on money by the time the finished product is created.
Example
An example of a formal brief in industry use would be if Activision (the client) hired Treyarch (the production company) to create a call of duty, since this is a triple A game it would be a large project and considering Treyarch is a large company it would be a good choice to develop the game for them. The downside could be that because the legal operations are not covered then Treyarch could end up in some trouble far into the project which could lead to the company becoming bankrupt in an extreme case.
Informal brief - An informal brief is usually discussed between the client and the production company within a quick meeting to cover most topics about a project. The brief won't include a contract or any documents and is very limited on its detail. It is usually created for a small scale project and team to work on. An advantage of an informal brief is that as the project progresses then some ideas can be changed or improved allowing for a better outcome for the end of the project.
A disadvantage of a informal brief is that due to there being no contract then the chances of being paid are very sceptical since there is no written agreement between the two parties. This can cause multiple setbacks for the company especially wasting their time and money.
Example
An example of an informal brief would be like the game grow up. Ubisoft (the client) would come to Ubisoft reflections (the production company if they were separate companies) and task them with the job of creating grow up, this is because the game is a small project and so can be developed easy by a small production company such as Ubisoft reflection.
Commission brief - A commission brief is where a larger company will hire another separate independent company to create and produce the project for them. The large company will then give an external client the produced project and the contract between those two parties will be complete. Once the large company has been paid they will create a split sum of money to pay the independent company or give them rights to a portion of the royalties. This brief does not involve and is not negotiated with the client but between the two companies instead.
An advantage of this brief is that the large company do not have to work fully on the project meaning that they can have the second company use split up the work time allowing for more projects to be worked on within the larger company within a smaller time period, they will also earn money even for when the independent company work on the project too meaning both companies get paid for the job.
A disadvantage is because the commission brief is not consulted with the client it could lead to low quality finished project compared to if the large company put full time work into the project, there may also be conflict between both media companies about either the project at hand or the brief.
Example
An example of a commission brief is say if a big company like Activision hired a production company such as infinity ward to make modern warfare 3. Infinity ward could use a commission brief to hire a smaller company such as sledgehammer games to help them work on the project, this creates less work for infinity ward and once the project is complete and handed to Activision, infinity ward will split the sum of money with sledgehammer games
Tender brief - A tender brief is where a client can create a brief and send their idea to multiple companies, the companies will pitch their offers to the client about the project if they are interested. Once the client chooses the best proposal for their needs and suits their brief they will offer the job to the chosen production company.
An advantage of this brief is that the client can be freely choose a production company that they feel will produce their product at the highest quality, it will also allow them to see which companies would be best for future endeavours in areas of other projects.
A disadvantage of this brief is aimed more towards the production company, since there are multiple companies involved with this process the clients choice could potentially waste a rejected companies time. A rejected company could also have had an opportunity presented to them from a different client but may have rejected that project due to trying to get a deal with a tender brief client.
Example
An example of a tender brief in the industry would be like if a company such as Sony wanted to create a game like Bloodbourne they could send out a brief of the game to multiple companies such as Bungie, Treyarch, Naughty dog etc. The company who presents Sony with the best proposal that looks closer to there image of the game will be hired to develop the full game for release.
Co-operative brief - A co-operative brief is kind of like a commission brief but instead of a larger company employing an independent one, the client will employ two companies to work on the project. After both companies have received the brief they will decide on how to create the project and split the work between each other. If there is any quarrelling between the two companies about ideas then a negotiated brief can be used to resolve the issue.
An advantage of this brief can be that there are more people involved in the project allowing for more creative inclusion on the project and a higher quality version as long as both companies communicate and work together.
A disadvantage is like one said before where the two companies could be quarrelling with one another due to conflicts over creative ideas, this could halt the production of the project and waste time and money either resulting in the need for a negotiated brief or in severe cases the disbandment of a project.
Example
An example of a Co-operative brief would be like Activision employing Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer games to develop modern warfare 3 instead of infinity Ward asking Sledgehammer for help. This is more beneficial for Activision in regards that they know both the companies that they are asking for help and so hand over the brief to both companies for them to decide what the best way to create the game is.
Competition brief - A competition brief is where a client puts their brief out for multiple companies to participate in. It can be seen as a free competition of sorts, once the companies have finished on the project the client will decide which they believe is the best product and will publish it. An advantage of this is is that the client can get a range of products and thus get a higher chance of a better quality product.
The disadvantage of this links to the tender brief's as the companies who were not chosen will have wasted their time and money.
Example
An example of a competition brief is say that Sony did another competition where they advertise an idea for a game, multiple companies can participate but instead of developing a demo or creating a smaller version of the project, each production company will make the full game. Dependant on which company has the best version of the game will depend on who's game gets published, this could go either way for any company at hand and is completely down to hard work and luck.
Reading a brief - When a company or producer receives any brief they must read through it very carefully and is crucial that the content and context of the brief is fully understood. The product has to be fully understood because the producer needs to understand what the idea is and if the company has the resources to manage the project. Secondly, they need to make sure the factors that relate to the idea are researched properly and if not add their own input to them to make sure the product is produced to its highest quality. The factors included in this are:
- Demographics
- Geographic’s
- Market Competition
- Use of the product (marketing/advertising etc.)
- Style of the product.
- Technical Specifications (FPS, Aspect Ratio, overall quality of final product).
It is crucial for someone such as a creator of a game product (such as myself) to understand these factors because if they are not understood then the final product may not be as effective for the clients use which could lead to things such as financial loss. Another important reason to read the brief carefully and understand the above factors is because then it allows for the producer to plan out several key factors of their own for the company to follow such as:
- Timescales
- Resources
- Locations
- Crew and Post Production/Production/Programming/Animating Time.
Legal, Ethical and regulatory constraints
With every brief there comes legal, ethical and regulatory constraints that the company have to think about and happens with every form of media. The things companies have to look out for when keeping these in mind are things like not trying to upset groups of people both physically or emotionally, this can involve things such as race, religion, sex etc. These problems would come under mainly ethical constraints but can become legal issues depending on how severe the harm to a individual or group is caused. To avoid legal constraints as much as possible the government created laws and regulations for companies to abide by.
An example of a law created is the data protection act which is a law that protects personal data stored on computers or in an organised paper filing system. Another example would be the copyright law which protects any originally created content produced so other people cannot steal your original ideas/creations and claim them as their own. Legal constraints are the hardest constraints to avoid as there is a huge amount of laws and regulations to understand with some being quite open to what their description says. Ethical issues are a lot easier to avoid as it is based more upon the logical thoughts of what will be upsetting for the public, while some products created can still go against ethics such as GTA which has huge controversial and ethical topics surrounding it, major companies will tend to try and avoid these at all costs and can have different ethnic groups working on a project to make sure that it stays very professional and has very little ethical backlash for the final product.
Amendments
As stated previously, such as during the explanation of the negotiated brief, some clients can have a change in idea of their products and if a severe case were to happen where the client wanted a projects final idea changing completely while half way through production could cost the company creating the product highly. To stop this companies will use sign off sheets to combat this from happening, these sheets are a form of security because once they are signed it means that the client cannot go back upon the idea and change anything about it, it creates a from of security for the company to finish the project without worry of wasting resources and time.
During production the budget that the company and client initially agreed to use can also change, this can happen if the project prices were underestimated, new costs have arisen or prices have changed to certain resources. If this happens then the company will have to discuss with the client about whether they are happy or not to pay for any extra amounts of funding for the project. This will lead to an updated of the pre-production that will have to state the price change, whether it has increased or decreased.
Just as the previous two amendments, conditions can also be changed which will once again lead to another change in the final product. An example of a condition change could be if the client wants to change the target demographic from being open to a certain group of people to now being less appealing to them, this will put the company at a disadvantage as they have to put extra work hours in to work around the change. The only solution is to have a detailed consultation that can be evidenced via meeting minutes (an instant written record or a meeting) or sign off sheets to conclude that a part of the product is complete and cannot be changed.
Negotiated currency
A main part of a negotiated brief (and one that can only be done in this type of brief) is the negotiated currency between the client and the production company. The negotiated currency is vital to be discussed to ensure the product is created accordingly and so will be discussed to a high and professional standard. It will start with the client running through all the costs that they are paying for and then the production company receiving a detailed list of all the costs involved.
Opportunities
As clients and production companies work with briefs they will pick up different skills that are involved getting used to them and improving upon them with each project. These skills can range from communication techniques, development skills in producing the product, time management skills including chunks of split schedules like multiple deadlines the company have to work towards and more. There can also come about opportunity for building up skills by multi-tasking, this will allow creators to get more skills and experience by working on two projects within a same time frame, it will also allow producers to get used to and compare things such as how negotiated and contracted briefs work, this could allow him to see which their company is best at working with to produce higher quality content for future endeavours. The producer will also be able to switch between two different projects effectively which is a very crucial skill in ay media industry.
Advantage of contributions
When a company is allowed to have creative input on a project it can both benefit the company and the client, it can benefit the client because there can be more creative thought put into the project as multiple creative minds are better than one. It can also solve any flaws within the product and produce one of much higher quality than the estimated version from the start. It is beneficial to the company because it could allow for them to be recommended by the client leading to more collaborations with known client or other clients who pay more money for their projects, it also allows the employees of the company to develop their creative skills more which could lead to even higher quality products in the future.
Wednesday, 19 April 2017
Proposal pitch
This is a pitch created by me and Alex that we created and presented in front of our peers.
Tuesday, 18 April 2017
Script/Story
Overall
My game is going to be set on an island in modern times, the game will feature a main character within the age range of 18-22 and being male. It will be set about him exploring an island that he has washed up on with very little memory of who he is, his previous life and where he is. The player will take control of the protagonist and will have to solve the story of why he is there and what has happened to the inhabitants of the island. Whilst exploring the character will interact with different objects, people and animals all of which will create mystery and add to the story and lore of the island. One character will be a woman who can be heard on the radio, she will talk to the player throughout the game giving hints and making conversation with him, either adding back story for the player or just comments for the player to listen to and reply back to.
The next character is a mysterious antagonist type character who will not speak to the player but will watch him from certain vantage points and disappear without saying anything but will leave markings on the wall that give hints towards the player. These characters will seem like polar opposites of each other and both will act suspiciously operating as a god vs devil personalities. The player will decide accordingly who is really good and evil. Two more interactions which are abnormal will be between the player and a cat who will speak as a voice of reason and give the player more sane and rational dialogue and the final encounter will be with spirits which will act out scenes of people who lived previously on the island.
As the player explores different environments of this island they will have to solve puzzles, read different forms of texts and listen to what each character has to say whilst piecing together the story of the island and why he is truly there. A final voice to be heard within game will be a babies cry which will offer the hugest mystery for the player to discover as the protagonist begins to go a little insane the longer he spends there.
The aim of the game is for the player to try and piece together what is going on with the island by reading into the lore of it and listening to a lot of offered dialogue. They must solve different puzzles and get to the end of the game coming to their own conclusion of what they feel the game is about and what happened.
This is a script of the prison level that I created.
Level prison script
Previous level synopsis
Dominic has just wandered through the forests of the island and uncovered the secrets of the forgotten ancients that inhabited the island thousands of years ago. The more he explores the island the more his mind slowly begins to deteriorate, he begins to question the actions he has committed thus far but still continues to listen to the three inhabitants that seem to have all been drawn towards his presence.
Cutscene
As the night begins to draw in close Dominic sees his only shelter, a maximum security prison, looming over the cliffs of the island. Dominic becomes more weary of the ground he is treading on as the prison is not a good sign for the island to have but decides to take a chance on his survival by braking in rather than staying in the forest. As Dominic looks around for a way across the chasm he notices a decrepit rope bridge that connects the cliff to the mainland. Dominic proceeds to walk towards the bridge anxiously as his fear of heights slowly creeps into his mind consuming all of his senses and leaving nothing but a chewed up ball of fear in its wake.
"Okay Dom, you've got this" he sighs in-between each passing word, trying to control the horrors that plague his mind, the worn down bridge seems to have been there for decades and has not been upgraded as splintered wood and frayed rope decorated the entirety of the bridge. He tries as nonchalantly as he can to take his first step onto the rickety singular piece of wood that is suspended in front of his eyes, the board made an eery drawn out creak sound as Dominic gradually applies pressure onto the bridge. Terrified by the sound he just heard his body comes to a halt, he begins to feel a clammy invisible sweat cloud his entire body, his nerves creating a small prick like sensation as though one thousand knives are being jabbed into his skin. His eyes locked shut and braced himself for any inevitable fatality that was about to follow the horrific mistake he just made.
"As they say faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase, except I can see this 'staircase' and I don't have much faith for it" Dominic whimpered as he lurked from one withered board to the next. His hands run over the tattered rope, from the feel of things it had seen better days. As he looked back his distance was further away from the mainland, closing the distance between him and the sinister prison. His mind couldn't distinguish which was better, to explore the insides of a murders household or to stay suspended in mid air with run down wood and rope being his only materials of support.
The resolution was almost near, Dominic felt contentment wash over his body as his fear dwindled away like a fire without fuel. However, his relaxed state caused him to misjudge the strength of his step, his foot fractured the next piece of rotted wood and his leg went clean through the middle. A shockwave ran through the bridge causing the frayed knots of rope to spring into action and take their course as they quickly began to become more loose. Dominic's fear resurrected slaughtering any sense of tranquility Dominic had in his mind and body, his panicked state caused him to rattle the bridge around more as he attempted to free his leg, these abrupt movements rippled through the bridge causing the threadbare pieces of string to come to their objectives end as they snapped. Dominic freed his now splintered leg causing him to make a break for the end, however, the bridge was like a relentless shark ravenous for a meal and Dominic was the prey swimming helpless in his line of sight. It was a make or break situation and as push came to shove Dominic dived towards the edge of the cliff, escaping the jaws of death and clawing for his life as he hoisted himself up. As he lay there panting, Dominic looked up at the dimly lit orange sky and thought to himself "I'm gonna have a nice relaxing bath after all of this, you know the one with the bothersome bubbles and meaningless rubber duck? Yeah I deserve a treat."
In game
The player will take control of Dominic at this point
Dominic stood up and looked at the prison wall as it towered over him, rusted barbed wire painted with dried up blood lined the top of the wall as spotlights with what looked like eyes of a cyclops sniping the ground below. The signs were as clear as the orange glow in the sky that they wanted to keep whoever was captured trapped inside this prison for a very long time.
The front entrance had been barricaded off from the known public leading Dominic to explore around the hell hole for a way in. As he walked along the perimeter the view was a sight to behold, the sea below glistened orange and white from the remaining sun and the skyline shot a multitude of colours along its horizon ranging from orange, red and purple all blending together to create a masterpiece that Bob Ross would shed a tear to. Continuing his journey he quickly found a blown open hole in the wall that had a cheap repair job using wire that looked like it had been cut by someone very recently. As he explored the desolated courtyard, dread lingered in the musty air, something bad occurred here and Dominic could feel something even worse was waiting in store for him.
As he entered the uninhabited penitentiary his eyes were met with nothing but sheer darkness that concealed Dominic's eyes, the only light to be seen was from cracks and holes that littered the walls and ceilings. As Dominic creeped inside, the door slammed shut behind him, no matter how much strength he put into opening it the door would not budge, it was shut tight as though it had been soldered together with a ginormous blowtorch. Dominic felt panic begin to arise as the hairs on his neck pricked up prepared for any dangers, his panic wasn't as extensive as previously but was enough for him to raise his guard. Inside his pocket sat a flashlight which Dominic whipped out, like a cowboy in a stand off, firing his beam of light to combat the protruding darkness. The now dimly lit black hole showed nothing but a typical barren corridor usually found in enormous eery architecture such as prisons.
Dominic shined the light to the wall looking for a light switch, as he found one he soon realised there was no power running through the prison and so he must find the generator room. Proceeding down the corridor he found a security room that had been ravaged and turned into a frat boys after party, with cabinets and chairs strewn throughout the room. Continuing forward he was met by a dinner hall which oddly shared its place with the cells that held the inmates. The benches that were once used for eating on were now scattered patternless with their own individualistic use of warning, one bench had even been used as a barricade for two of the cells in the prison, God knows if the stench was coming from left over food or maybe from two rotting corpses who got trapped during whatever prison break took place. On the turned over bench it said "find the power to reveal the secrets." Another cryptic message, along with a sign pointing him the correct direction, left by the mystery man who was watching over Dominic as he journeyed around the deserted island.
As he followed the arrow he stumbled into what appeared to be a power room, huge generators were rooted into the floor, powerless to do their jobs. On the wall sat a power box that appeared to need a handle, written to the side of that was "find the key that rejuvenates this sleeping beast!" Another cryptic message left by the island's lone enigma man.
"At least he's not attempting poetry" Dominic thought with a scowl on his face, he knew he was playing into some sort of game but to survive he needed to play along. Returning to the cafeteria he looked for a different hallway to roam down, eventually reaching a warden's office. This room felt quite different to the others, while they had a drafted chill and ghostly feel this room felt warm and inviting, sat in the middle was a big wooden table with the usual objects (pens, paper, name tag etc.) you'd find cluttering the space, behind that was a big leather chair that looked to be homey, fit for a highly paid warden slob. The two objects rested upon a nice wooly rug that spread out across the room, unlike the rest of the previously seen prison this room had been left untouched by the chaos and was well-kept making a huge contrast between the dreary and desolate insides of the eerie confinement that can be called a prison.
In the background were two bookcases filled to the brim with a range of books from literature, poetry, art and more. "The warden probably liked to keep themselves educated during their free time" Dominic thought "Or maybe he likes to keep them as an aesthetic" he thought again as he noticed a dart board made out of a literature novel. The page which had been distorted with tiny holes showed verses of the bible, especially lines citing from judgement day, talking about how God raptured the world and how those who had sinned were left behind, forgotten, having to fend off against the arising war between the heavens and hell. As Dominic searched the room he found the power switch needed to get the lights back on inside of the prison.
Cutscene
Back in the power room Dominic connected the power switch and pulled it down, fingers crossed that it would work and the whole place wasn't as dead as he believed it was. After 10 seconds the piercing sounds of old, metallic, generators began to roar into life and the heart of the prison began beating again. However, the sight of a few hanging bodies from the skylight wiped Dominic's smile from his face, turning around he retched regurgitating a little bit of sick in his mouth. Regaining his composure he spat the putrid seconds out of his mouth.
Dominic continued forward after the horrific scene he just witnessed, it was as though he had been inside of the giant sloths cage from house of the dead 3. He didn't know how old the bodies were from the glimpse he got but could tell from the smell of rotting corpses that it had been a while. At least now he knew it wasn't the cafeteria food the chef's conceived by slapping any old ingredients together. Remembering the security room and panels, Dominic made his way back to this room so he could overlook the entirety of the prison. Looking into each of the panels he could just see a normal desolate prison, nothing spoke out to him in a way that caught his attention except for one screen that was flickering in a retro fashion, upon closer inspection he found the previously seen spirits frantically running through the prison "what the hell were they doing in a place like this?" Dominic thought, their connection to this island and the meteorites that were rooted throughout had a definite relation to a past phenomenon, Dominic wanted to piece it together but he wanted off the damned island even more than that. As the camera turned to follow the spirits a message left on the wall by the mystery man read "And God said let there be light, but even the most powerful man can't help but let flaws seep in with his creations, and thus we were met with fright." Dominic chuckled "A God damn poem, well pal, don't quit your day job" Dominic thought, as he turned to leave he was met with a blow to the head and knocked unconscious.
Monday, 17 April 2017
3D assets
These were all the assets created in Blender, Alex was in charge of creating the assets, he tasked me with any that I could help with but the majority are created by him. We used the software blender. My task was to texture the assets, we chose to go with a cel shaded type of look but without the black lines as non of us knew how to fully create a cel shaded environment.
Alex's Assets
Production
As you can see he started off with the basic foundation of the prison by placing the 4 wall assets, prison building and floor.
With this foundation he began to add in the small details like the fences, towers and spotlights.
Alex then began to mould a prototype of the interior creating the walls and rooms for the prison.
He branched off a hallway and began construction of the warden's office.
He also added in small details such as the assets that fit into the cafeteria or the assets inside of the warden's office.
I then started to add textures to a lot of the objects.
I began to add paint to the terrain to make adding shading to the rocks underneath to make discolouring of real life rocks.
I also added in water effects to make it look like the edge of the cliff with the sea shimmering below it.
I also began to add my take onto the inside of the prison adding the walkway and prison rooms. While Alex added the roofing over the prison cells.
I also added minor details like where the assets should be positioned and how they should be to make the prison look more like there had been a ruckus of some kind.
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