Level 3 Games Design

Unit 78:

Digital Graphics for Games Design

Pixel Art:
As pixel art in game design, illustration, and other media has made quite a comeback in recent years (likely due to nostalgia and an appreciation of a beautiful, if sometimes tedious, style of artwork), it's a great time to ask the question: “What's the deal with pixel art?". Considering that everything you are viewing on your monitor, tablet, or phone is comprised of many, many pixels, the often asked question is “how is this not pixel art?” It's art, it's made of pixels, so surely all digital art is pixel art. While technically correct, when talking about “pixel art”, we're focused on a specific style of artwork most often employed within the gaming industry.

The game world is fully 3D (objects can move in the x, y and z direction) how ever all sprites are created in a fixed isometric perspective, and the camera looks down at the game at a fixed angle.

Reference - Mary Winkler. (2016). What is Pixel Art?. Available: https://design.tutsplus.com/articles/what-is-pixel-art--cms-21759. Last accessed 28/09/17.



Concept Art:
Concept art is a illustrations used to convey ideas for games, movies, comic books and animations before it is set for a final product. What is concept art? Concept art, often referred to as visual development, is the initial design used to develop the look and feel of a project. The project can be anything from animated films to, in our case, video games. Visual development artists will use the story and characters to build a basic concept that is used as a guideline for an entire project. Most of the time a concept artist will make a rough sketch, and after given the okay by the project manager, will move onto a 3D modeller or illustrator to turn into an even more accurate visual representation. Not only do the concept artists take the story to create a model of interpretation for the game, often the concept art relates such a strong feeling of the world that some story elements are created based off the art itself.

The picture to the right is concept art from Assassins Creed. If you have played Assassins Creed you will recognise this hidden blade which is a common weapon the character uses. This is a perfect example of how important visual development is to the final project. It accomplishes many things with this simple graphic. It gives the feel for the time period or world, it shows how the weapon is deployed, and it gives a perfect guideline for the next phase of development to know exactly what they are creating.

Reference - Jon Raymond. (2014). CONCEPT ART: WHAT IS CONCEPT ART AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?. Available: http://artistryingames.com/concept-art-concept-art-important/. Last accessed 28/09/17.



Texture Art:
Texture art or texture mapping is usually a 2D digital painting which is overlayed onto a polygon mesh of a 3D sculpt to give to illusion of texture or surface quality. It's most common in the production of models for games or films. In the gaming industry, while it's important in the process of producing the initial game, they also play a big part in modifications (mods). Mods might be created by the same company who made the original game as 'addons' or 'extensions'. Otherwise they might be made by enthusiasts as an extra customisable option. An example of this is in 'minecraft' or 'zoo tycoon' and many other games, where anyone can take the texture files and edit them to change the textures.

Reference - Ellie. (2013). TASK 3 - GRAPHIC TYPES. Available: http://unit78ed.blogspot.co.uk/. Last accessed 28/09/17.



Background Graphics:


Background graphics are the part of a game we don't always dedicate much attention to, as they're exactly that. In the background. But this does not make them any less important. Background art needs to match the rest of the style of the game as to not look out of place, but it also needs to blend in and not be too distracting.There are many types of background art, and they have evolved along with games. Many 2D fighting games in the 90's had beautiful, detailed pixel backgrounds. They're not as common today but still appear every now and again.
As well as complete backgrounds to act as a backdrop, background graphics could also include 2D tiles, 3D building and prop/other assets, cut-scene backgrounds, environment art, and level backgrounds. Assets for the backgrounds could be made using either traditional or digital methods- though digital is usually the preferred method (Using programs such as Photoshop, corral painter, paint tool sai etc).

Although not exactly background artists, layout artists (in charge of the background, lighting and camera angles), and storyboard artists (who draw the panels that correspond to the script) all work in the same sector, are reliant on one another and their jobs may even overlap on occasion.

Reference - Ellie. (2013). TASK 3 - GRAPHIC TYPES. Available: http://unit78ed.blogspot.co.uk/. Last accessed 28/09/17.

HUD (Heads Up Display):
A heads up display or (HUD) is used in a lot of games and it is used to display certain things that your character has, for example, in Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2, there is an ammo count in the bottom right hand corner of the screen and there is also a score indicator, a kill feed and many more items on the screen to help you when you are in game. This is an annotation I did in Photoshop for the game Counter Strike : Global Offensive.

Print Media:
Print media in games are things like advertising posters you see on billboards and big banners in stores, and this can also be the game case cover, these can be vital in the game industry as they need to be popping with colours and have good art work so that the gamers will buy your game and you make good sales. It is also used for the booklet inside for the manual so players know how to play the game when they first start up the game, this art work is less detailed as it is on the front cover of the game case or an advertising poster as they don't need to be very detailed as they are only a manual.

My games system: Then and Now.

My first ever gaming system was a GameCube, it was a very simple game system compared to the one I have now and that is pretty beast. I now have a custom PC with a GTX 1070 with an AMD processor. It was expensive compared to the GameCube. ,My GameCube you wasn't able to go online and play with friends like you are with my PC and it was very small and compact compared to my PC. To play with friends on the GameCube, you'd have to have more controllers to come and play on the same console.

Old: 21 November 2001

New: 1st December 2015

The reason why I both like these games of because they are a very good game at first and still are when you play them a few months after not playing it for a few months. There are still a few pros and cons to both of the platforms, more on the GameCube than the PC but they are still pretty fair.

Pros: PC

1. It has a lot better specifications than the GameCube.
2. It has an internet connection to play online and to talk with friends over discord.
3. It is a lot faster and has better graphics than the GameCube.

Cons: PC

1. It can counter more problems than the GameCube.
2. It has more components you need to make the PC work compared to the GameCube.
3. You cannot download games if you do not have an internet connection
4. You have to have the right components to make your PC run all perfect.

Pros: GameCube

1. You didn't have to have a lot of ram to run the games you had to play unlike you do these days
2. It is a lot less expensive than my current gaming system.
3. Its smaller than a PC.

Cons: GameCube

1. It has a lot less games to play 
2. You have to have your friends over (If you have any) to play a game together
3. It has no online multiplayer to play with.
4. It has a lot less storage than a PC.

Favourite Games:
Some of my favourite games from the GameCube collection are (Listed in order)

1. Super Smash Bros
2. Super Mario Sunshine
3. Simpsons Hit and Run
4. Mario Kart : Double Dash
5. Luigi's Mansion

Some of my favourite games from the PC collection are (Listed in order)

1. Rainbow Six Siege
2. Fallout 4
3. Counter Strike : Global Offensive
4. Left 4 Dead 2
5. Dead By Daylight.

Specifications: GameCube

Brand: Nintendo
Media: Nintendo GAMECUBE disc
Processor: IBM PowerPC "Gekko" - 485 MHz
RAM: 24 KB 1T-SRAM
Graphics Processor: ATI Flipper
Sound: Stereo

Specifications: My PC

Brand: Fierce
Processor: 3.8GHz Quad Core AMD Athlon X4 845
RAM: 8 GB
Graphics Processor: GTX 1050 TI

Story

Beginning:

Alexis Texas, a highly known hacker for the Al-Qaeda, has hacked into the American government and retrieved all the files for the nuclear codes and have taken down our defensive system. We have deployed a highly train team of specialised men and women to take down their bases in different parts of the country and eliminating all of the Al-Qaeda henchmen and taking down their servers.

Middle:

As they enter all the buildings, the men and women have certain skills;
Glaz, a highly trained sniper ready to take targets out at any range in any type of biome.
Sledge, a LMG holding, hammer wielding boss ready to break through anything in his way.
Recruit, a newbie that's ready for action and ready to get stuck in anytime.
IQ, a very silent but deadly, with a heart beat sensor, that can see through walls and floors.
Fuze: a highly powerful cluster grenade that he can put through walls and clear rooms faster than you can blink.

End:
After the operators have cleared the building they will achieve a medal of honour for the heroic actions and will be rewarded highly with highest threat put in captivity.

Level 3 Games Design

Unit 78:

Digital Graphics for Computer Games:

Artistic Styles:

Photo realism:

Photo realism is where you make an image from scratch and make it look like a real photo that someone has took. This can be imported into games with the newer graphics and want to make them realistic as possible, for example, Battlefield 1, Call of duty World War 2 and many more games that are coming out this year or in the further year.

Here are 5 reasons why designers use photo realism:

 reference -Steve's Digicams. (2016). 5 USES OF PHOTOREALISTIC RENDERING.Available: http://www.steves-digicams.com/knowledge-center/how-tos/video-software/5-uses-of-photorealistic-rendering.html#b. Last accessed 28/09/17.

1. Architecture

In architecture, renderers were previously used to add the layers, to make a finished picture by hand. Now, it’s done on the computer, and generally it’s much more cost-efficient. Additionally, by building a 3D model and adding animation, clients have the opportunity to see their project from every angle, including overhead and inside. These ‘fly-by’s’ help visualize exactly what the client is in for, and it’s less expensive to make corrections on a rendering than an actual building.

2. Movie and Television Special Effects

There’s hardly a dramatic film or television show currently airing that doesn’t use some form of photorealistic rendering. Sometimes they’re more obvious, like scenes with cars that turn into gigantic robots or thousands of battling warriors. Other times, it’s more subtle, where the effects may simply add texture to the scene, like clouds and shadows. It’s also used for removing things from scenes that shouldn’t be there (like an airliner soaring through the sky behind a Roman period piece or an aluminum ladder from an ancient pirate ship).

3. Video Games

Rendering has made tremendous strides in the area of video gaming. In the last 10 years, the graphics in video games have gone from clunky and slow to smooth and extremely realistic. Driving emulates actual driving (only, generally faster.) The cars look much more like real cars, and the backgrounds often incorporate real backgrounds. Fantasy games display battles where characters and settings look real. Sports games, modeled after real moves and plays, look more and more starkly realistic.

4. Simulators

Flight time can be costly, as it involves expensive airplanes, but potential pilots have a new option in that they can use a less costly simulator. The risks are minimized, too. Simulators don’t have accidents or catch dangerous up-drafts. Another potentially risky area that simulators have helped newcomers is in driving, in particular race driving. The other cars are virtual, as are the threats, and to roll a simulator is far less likely.

5. Design Visualization

One realm where photorealistic rendering seems to be exploding is in design visualization. Just as it’s more cost effective to change a virtual building than an actual one, when companies seek to bring out a new product, it just makes more sense to utilize a computer artist or designer who can give a perfect visual model, available for market testing or in-house research-and-development. This applies to things as small as food packaging to cars, or as large as popular theme parks and their rides.

Anime:

Exaggeration is used in games, mostly in RPGs, this art style is used for anime and manga typically, this art style is where the artist exaggerates many things within the game, mostly games with a Japanese influence, for example, in the game "final fantasy 7" the character "cloud" has a huge sword.

Reference - http://ragingflame62.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/exaggeration.html

One of anime’s distinctive features is the type of plots in which it appears. These plots tend to be far more complex than the plots of regular animated cartoons or many other animated projects. For instance, an anime plot typically develops over the course of dozens of episodes, and a single storyline can take more than 50 episodes to fully develop. In addition to complex plots, anime characters are often complex themselves. Other types of animation allow for characters in which only one or two personality traits are developed and emphasized. Anime character design, however, frequently develops characters that possess many layers. This art form develops these layers and personality traits in order to present a multi-faceted person. In addition, there are also often many main characters in a storyline. The result of these features is a rich field of fascinating characters that interact to tell a lengthy story.


Reference - http://showmetheanimation.com/features/animation-styles-what-makes-anime-unique/






Cel Shading:

Cel Shading is a style of computer rendering that replaces the shading gradient of conventional rendering with flat colours and shadows (as seen at right). In layman's terms, it imitates the look of hand-drawn artwork and animation. The style was codified with the Sega Dreamcast game Jet Set Radio.

While the style is not exclusive to Video Games, it is often used there since this is the only way to produce a hand-drawn look via computer polygons. In other media, Cel Shading can be useful to render specific items in a hand-drawn production, if a given scene would be too difficult to animate by hand, such as a rotating object or an Epic Tracking Shot traveling down the length of a massive vehicle. There are also animated series produced exclusively via cel shading, usually for similar reasons. When mixing cel shading with traditional animation, it's important to calibrate the renderer to avoid visually clashing with the rest of the production (i.e. being too detailed or smoothly animated).

Reference - http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CelShading





Pixel:

Pixel art is a form of digital art, created through the use of software, where images are edited on the pixel level. The majority of graphics for 8-bit and 16-bit computers and video game consoles, as well as other limited systems like graphing calculators, is pixel art. Creating or modifying pixel art characters or objects for video games is sometimes called spriting, a term that arose from the hobbyist community. It was used a lot back in the day when video games were first being developed and they didn't have the technology to make 3D / photo-realistic games like we do today.

Hello, 

My name is Aaron, I am a 16 year old games designer, I enjoy playing every type of game and I want to create my own game in the two years of being in games design. My favourite game is got to be Fallout 4 because of the story line and I love the graphics.