Pros and cons for the whole industry
Examples of AAA studios is Nintendo, Sega, EA and Capcom. And in turn AAA studios games consist of the sonic and Mario franchises, sims, red dead redemption and more.
However, even though they are successful that doesn’t mean they are liked. This is due to AAA’s biggest con micro-transactions. Companies like EA have a notorious reputation for there scummy practice of making an unfinished game, which would cost at least 40 pounds, then ask to pay for dlc to fix it. One well knows example of this is the Sims. Until 2 years ago the Sims was around 50 pounds for the base game yet due to peoples angry about how lack luster it was it changed to be a free download, yet the free base game was seen as unfinished and boring basic elements from the older sims games were missing. Then EA announced their new bundles which include some fair stuff to pay extra like vampires and Stranger vile, but many people are upset that basic stuff like pets, schools, work and even weather are put behind a 40 pound pay wall. Not to mention these packs are known not to work as well
Another con of AAA companies is their inability to take criticism from fans. Many people think the head director of triple A companies have big egos since there has been many cases where they have gone against fans wishes souring the relationship with consumer and producer. AAA games have been faced with increasing criticism for launching highly anticipated games with many glitches and technical issues. This is often attributed to games having rushed development cycles, which results in gamers encountering bugs that ruin their experience with the game, and sometimes making it unplayable.
Indie Developers
AAA Develpoers
One big pro for these studios is that they have a lot of funding, most AAA studios are in the billions with there net worth. Example Microsoft at 21 billion after buying Blizzard and Activision. Another pro is that everyone knows of at least one AAA company or brand meaning they will get more sales.
The term AAA Games is used within the video gaming industry to signify high-budget and or high-profile games that are typically produced and distributed by large, well-known publishers. These games are more well known due to their extreme popularity. AAA is also known to be the main publisher for Ip’s and first party companies. Like Nintendo, they are more so a publishing company rather than a game studio.
Another con of being an indie developer is that you have to have good luck and a good game. Creators like Toby Fox and Scott coffin got lucky that huge youtubers saw the small game can showed it to millions giving Undertale and FNAF a space to improve and be played. Both not them are wealthy because of this but there only the 2 %. Many indie games go under the radar and the games that don’t might not see the same success as the others. On the other hand. If your indie game gets spotted by a big youtuber and isn’t near completion or has weird mechanics that might be distasteful that can lead a negative view of the indie game and creator, this is shown by the case of YandereDev and Yandere Simulator.
Another pro is that the creator has more creativity with the game. AAA games are known to have tight schedules meaning game easter eggs are very rare since they take up a lot of time and since this production is heavily directed things like memes and jokes or normally cut.However, since the game is only run by a couple of people there’s more of a chance that easter eggs are snuck in or even core parts of the games. An example of this is the Roblox game Dress to impress, one famous streamer recently played the game giving it a lot more traction and as a nod to him they realised a code were once typed in you can equip his cat as an item. These little things help build more love to the game by the consumer seeing that the developers are thankful to more well-known people playing their games.
However, one Con of being an indie developer is, lack of money or time. Most indie games are run by a small team meaning funds are low if it’s not volunteer work. Some games never come in floriation due to money issues, this I why most indie projects are funded by Kick-starter money. However, many kick-starters fail for many of reasons. Examples such as, a small fan-base, fear that game might be a scam and poor money management.
One Pro with an indie developed game is that the creator has a more human connection to their fans, this can lead to many new suggestions and changes. Unlike AAA games indie developers are more respected and liked. One example Toby Fox creator of Undertale. This connection makes the consumer feel more trusting with them since they know what the product is and how it’s being made.
An indie developer is someone who develops games independently or is part of a small development team that produces video games without the financial support of large companies. At most they are either a team of 30 or occasionally a team of one.
Many loved games are products of indie developers, examples such as Five Nights At Freddys, Undertale and Stardew Vally. Examples of indie companies are as such, ConcernedApe, House House and Re-Logic.
The games industry (specialist roles)
A Level Designer's role is to keep the player focused on moving through the game and achieving their goal or mission while reducing the potential for confusion. The sequence of levels is also taken into consideration by Level Designers. The first level of a game will introduce the player to the game. It will establish characters, explain the story-line, instruct the player on the objectives of the game, and generally initiate the player into the world of the game. Each level that follows will then act to further the story, develop characters, increase the level of complexity, up the stakes, and draw the player further into the game. They are basically the story tellers of the game.
They map out the important locations and plot points to the team
They create the story and dialogue for the voice actors to say
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To be able to be a level designer you must learn how game levels, level layouts, drawing maps, architecture, and other design areas work and improve a game
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Ability to use puzzles and game-play to create interesting narratives
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Have a good understanding of scripting languages and other basic programming concepts
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Basic to advanced drawing skills to communicate ideas visually
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Basic understanding of 3D art, modelling, texturing, rigging, animation, and other areas of 3D art creation,
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Basic to advanced knowledge of Interface design system
Music composer
Music composers add mood and excitement to a game. They write the game’s theme tune. They add depth by composing the music which signals impending danger, celebrates the end of a stage or indicates that a certain character is approaching. As well as being good musicians, music composers understand gameplay. They have to ‘spot’ a game, which means going through a game noting the points at which music will enhance the experience of the player. One example can be the iconic song megalomania from Undertale.
They create catchy tunes to keep the listener hooked and think about the game when they hear it
They add emotion to a scene
To be able to be a good music composer you have to compose and perform music
Understand sound engineering
Have communication and work well with game designers and other audio artists
Game Tester
They test specific aspects of a game; write detailed reports of each bug they find and then re-test when the development team has fixed it. They look for program bugs, spelling mistakes, graphical or audio and in general glitches. They must be able to document their findings accurately and fully.
They replay the game over and over to check that any bugs are found
They try to see if there’s any way to break the game so it can be reported to the developers.
To be a good game developer you have to play games be an avid game player and understand what makes for a good gameplay experience
Follow instructions to be able to follow the test brief accurately
Communication to explain the quality of the gaming experience
Attention to detail be precise about a bug and record it accurately
Patience not getting bored when you must play the same aspects of a game repeatedly
Games Animator
Animators take the objects created by 2D and 3D artists and breathe life into them by making them move. Working from the storyboard, they create the movements for characters and vehicles. They add personality, emotion and realism to the game.
Concept artists are responsible for the style and look of a game. Could be heavily detailed like Doom or a simple but recognisable style like Terraria. They are the first to draw the environments, enemies and player characters. Working with a brief from the producer, their sketches are used to help 3D artists, producers, programmers and publishers understand how the game will look. The drawings of the concept artist are a vital part of the game’s development as they are the starting point of all the artwork and an important part of the marketing plans.
They create a sense of life in a character or object
They can animate body language to help the story
To be a good animator in the games industry you have to be able to draw and reveal attitude, emotions and mood through a character’s movement,
Knowledge of gameplay understanding how movements will appear when played within the context of the game
Organisation work within the production schedule, manage files and meet deadlines and have good time management.
Game Publisher
Publishers help the studio with support with the development of the game. They help with marketing and quality of the game to be sold. And they deal with the complexities of selling games in other countries, such as translation and localisation. Games publishers give developers the money upfront to make a game. They strike up a deal with a game studio to make a game according to an agreed brief. The publisher then works closely with the game producer at the studio to make sure the game’s being made as agreed, to budget and on time.
To be a good game publisher you have to be good at money management
And understand the gaming world to make sure they are making to correct decision to help that game.
Knowledge of rights and licensing: being aware of the law about copyright and the licensing of games, negotiate deals
They create the art style and vibe of the game
They create the art style and vibe of the game
They are to direct other artist on what the characters features look like and do
They are to direct other artist on what the characters features look like and do
To be a good concept artiest you must be very good at drawing by understand of composition, draw in a way that matches genre styles such as fantasy, sci-fi or cartoon
Have creativity imagine how a character will look, starting from a written brief
Using art software to create 2D and 3D art using a range of programmes, know the latest technologies and techniques
Have good communication work with the other artists and in the team,
To be a good concept artiest you must be very good at drawing by understand of composition, draw in a way that matches genre styles such as fantasy, sci-fi or cartoon
Have creativity imagine how a character will look, starting from a written brief
Using art software to create 2D and 3D art using a range of programmes, know the latest technologies and techniques
Have good communication work with the other artists and in the team,
Sprite Sheets
Firstly I created a concept on graph paper on what my characters looks like , key elements to keep ( her protruding hair, yellow jacket and red circle hair pin) how she carry's herself and how to animate the walking sprites. I then used Pixel-art to sketch out her basic features using my paper as a reference for how many pixels to use. After creating the main frames (standing still and putting one foot out) I added inbetweens to make it more smooth and bouncy and then flipped it for the left side.By doing this I have given a personality to the character, by them having bouncy movement I have given the impression that they have a persevering and bubbly attitude. I repeated this stage for the behind and side view of the character. After the line work was done I chose colours out of a saturated colour pallet to give a more grunge and darker vibe. Finally, I finished with shading (adding blush and shade were she moves her body) to give the illusion of depth. I used the software called Pixel Art , which not only is used for the drawing aspect but the animation aspect.After everything on the model was done i exported it as a .GIF file. To make the sprite sheet i used Photoshop. I imported the sprite sheet with all my models angles (front , side and back) and placed it on a blank canvas ,lined them all up neatly and exported it. One thing i liked about it was the whole animation process , it was easy yet fun for me and seeing my character come to life by adding the frames together made it worth all the time i spent. Things to improve for next time would be , one add more inbetweens to make the animation smoother and have more dynamic movement in the hair. This can be done by mapping out the hair movement in a sketch to make sure i know were it would go.
This was my concept art of my characters movements.This helped in the process because it gave a base line on were to map out the character key frames in the software. It also help to make sure I created the silhouette I wanted.
Research and planning in the Creative Process
What is the purpose of research?
The reason for research in the creative process is crucial in the pre productive phase due to its ability to see things from your different perspectives, avoid making mistakes by looking at trends and other games, and to fully explore ideas so you mitigate the risk of having better ideas later on when it is too late to implement them.
What things do we look at when we research? What benefit does this give us?
We look at other successful games to see how the gained a following, we look at what trends are popular to create hype for a game, we look at game polls and reviews to see what the public thinks about certain games (positively and negatively) and we look at which games have sold more to see the correct price range and which game type is in demand. This benefits us by showing what is received well in the gaming market and learn to not make the same mistakes as failed games.
Primary research –research involves gathering data that has not been collected before. Methods to collect it can include interviews, surveys, observations or any type of research that you go out and collect yourself.
Secondary research- is based on already published data and information gathered from other conducted studies. It is a common practice by researchers to conduct secondary research before primary research in order to determine what information is not already available.
Similar games – what is popular, what is the USP (unique selling point) of that game? Why did they fail?
By researching other games in the same genre (example shooter games) you see what does well, what story is praise, what mechanics are liked and audience opinions. On the flip side you also see, what story is disliked, what mechanics are disliked and how the audience view it negatively. This can be found in videos, reviews and if their game has won awards. Contrarily we can also see if the game has a negative reputation or see if the media has positive or negative reactions to the game. An example on what not to do is concord. That game to way to long, was quite pricy and had sub-par graphics. But their media is what brought the game down in only a week concord was canned permanently due to outrage of the consumers and mockery of the internet.
Audience? How do you appeal to certain demographics?
Demographics are a wide range of traits and characteristics that some people have, this includes age, geographical location, gender, wealth and religion. This means that different games will have different attributes. An example Leage Of Legens recently increased their game currency points in HIC (high income country’s) yet decreased it for LIC (low-income country’s). Certain styles of games will attract different audiences, Like hyper realistic games will attract older one whilst cute simple graphics will attract younger audience. Demographics are important since you have to navigate to different markets. Games for young children are bought by parents who would want a happy, simple and educational game. Teens will want to explore different genres to shooters to simulators and adults know their market, so they want to find the best of the best in their genre
Ethics
In
Video
Games
Addiction and Compulsion
Some games have a gambling system put in them (gachas) where you can use in game currency to might be able to get a certain item or character. This becomes a problem when people start paying to get that item and since it still random luck the chances of them getting it are only slightly higher. This causes an addition to want to get the best items and means they spend more money than they should. Following nearly two decades of research, the American Psychiatric Association has now officially recognized Internet Gaming Disorder as a condition that requires consideration by clinicians and researchers. For instance, games that involve prominent gambling, such as slot games, digital poker, or blackjack, and the recently more famous “gacha” games, have players that spend large sums of money called “whales” Many countries have banned games that use gachas or loot boxes, this impacts the industry due to them losing a whole country of sales so they might get an extra 1000 pounds a month
Diversity and Representation
Historically, video games were designed by men for men. This resulted in a lack of representation for women, both in terms of characters and design. Women were often portrayed as sexualised objects, with little agency or personality of their own. This lack of representation resulted in a toxic gaming culture where women are often harassed and excluded from the gaming community . Issues of toxic behavior in online games and the negative impacts on the video game industry and its players. This has resulted in a lack of representation, exclusion and discrimination towards those who do not fit into the traditional mould of a gamer.Additionally, there have been movements to create safe spaces for marginalized communities within the gaming community, such as women-only gaming groups, gaming spaces for people with disabilities and gaming events.
What could happen when u don't follow ethic codes in games / how do i avoid these pitfalls:
Addressing issues such as addiction, representation, violence, mental health, and ethical monetization will ensure that developers can create games that are entertaining, but also responsible and respectful of players and society. The way I will combat this is by providing context for violent actions in the game and exploring their consequences. Offering players choices that reflect real-world moral complexities. Implementing non-violent alternatives to conflict resolution. Using age-appropriate content and ratings systems.
I will research what people feel about certain subjects so i don't make any negative impacts with my game.
What are Ethical issues:
Ethical issues are defined as situations that occur as a result of a moral conflict that must be addressed. Thus, ethical issues tend to interfere with a society's principles.An ethical game design takes the player seriously as an individual with an ethical reasoning developed appropriate to their age, leaving it up to them to make a decision.For this reason, an ethical game is also in no way a game that treats its players like children they assume they are of mental age to play their game.
Violence in games
Violence in games have been an issue due to it exposing children to gore and graphic death at a young age. People worry that this will desensitize a child when older or even stunt their empathy. Once it is revealed that the two students who opened fire at Columbine were fans of violent games, Doom in particular, people begin to blame the games for the tragedy. Several families of Columbine victims file a federal lawsuit against 25 entertainment companies for allegedly causing the deaths. The suit is dismissed in 2002. Jack Thompson files a lawsuit against several video game companies claiming Grand Theft Auto: Vice City caused a teenager in New Mexico to “act out, copycat, replicate and emulate the violence” when he murdered his father, stepmother and stepsister. Thompson also files suit in Florida to have the video game bully removed from store shelves. US Senator Hillary Clinton advocates for new regulations on video game sales after controversy over the sexually explicit modifications made available online for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Online Behavior and Toxicity
Destructive or “toxic” behaviors in online gaming have received increased attention in recent years. These are forms of verbal harassment or behavioral misconduct which disrupt another's experience of the game.Swatting entails generating an emergency law enforcement response against a target victim under false pretenses. Swatters do this by making phone calls to emergency lines like 911 and falsely reporting a violent emergency situation, such as a shooting or hostage situation.Over the past decade, the gaming industry has taken steps to address the issue of toxicity in gaming. Game developers have implemented various measures, such as chat filters, reporting systems, and player behavior tracking, to combat toxicity in their games.
