Platformer Feedback

Graphics

Positives:

- looks good

- death screen is cool

- nice graphics x2

- graphics look good

- nice background

- good graphics

- the character & aesthetics look good

- I really like the death screen

Negatives:

- needs more animation/graphics

- it would be nice if the bees moved/were animated

- design more interesting platforms

- graphics could look better

Mechanics

Positives:

- cool way to restart the game

- nice restart

Negatives:

- sometimes you are unable to double jump

- if you fail, it breaks

- hit boxes are broken

- no barriers on lose screen meaning you can fall off

- hit boxes are terrible

- jumping not working correctly

- hit boxes are too big

- hit boxes could be better

- needs better collisions

- add a respawn button

- hit boxes need work

- collisions are bad, especially the bees

Gameplay

Positives:
- smooth gameplay
- character handles well
- nice level design
- nice concept
- good concept
- cool death level concept
- gameplay is fun

Negatives:

- needs more explanation 

- needs to be more accessible

- needs more levels

- add more difficult levels

Entertainment Factor

Positives:

- challenging

- fun

- nice mic Nic Cage reference

Negatives:

- too easy

- bees are annoying because of hit boxes

- very simple

- very easy

- easy to win

- quite easy

Overall, the response the graphic were really positive, most people liked the look of the background, character and the concept of the death screen. Most said the game ran smoothly and the concept was really cool. It was clear that a lot of people found it too easy and suggested to add other, more difficult levels. However, the biggest problem came down to the mechanics, at times the players could not double jump and would fail and it was clear that the hit boxes were a real issue, they were too large around the bees so it was unclear where you would actually die and this then took away from the enjoyment of the level.

Platformer Review

In my platformer I am most proud of the four images that join together to make the walking animation and they work really well and look fairly smooth, I also like the character I designed; the bright colours help stand out against the background. I'm also pleased with my bee image for the enemy, it works well, I just wish I'd inserted more images to make a simple animation. What I found most challenging was coding the movement and jumping, with the teachers help it made it easier but if there was just one small mistake it wouldn't work and it would be difficult to spot the problem. It was also a little complicated to make sure all the individual scenes linked up with the correct actor to make sure the game ran smoothly and the player could chose to restart.

Platformer 2.0

Character Walk Cycle

The first step to create the walk cycle is to create each frame in Adobe Illustrator using various shapes. There were four frames, the first and third frame had the opposite arm and leg swing forward or back and the second and fourth frame had the character still with one leg bent. Then I opened each image in Photoshop and created a frame animation, with only one layer visible in each frame.

3 Ways to Improve the Animation

Slow down the animation
Fix the last frame so the purple leg stays in front of the body
Add more features to the character

5 Ways to Improve My Platformer

1) Edit my second level so there is no way to skip past the last obstacle
2) Add an attribute that will allow my player to respawn when they die
3) Fix my wall jump in the first level
4) Make both the obstacles and goal look more interesting e.g fire and a finish flag
5) Add another harder level

GameSalad Platformer test

First I applied gravity to my Player, with the direction set to 270 degrees (down) and acceleration at 300, I also added a collide so it would stop falling once it hit the ground. In order to have it only bounce a little, the grounds bounciness is set to 0 and the actor at 0.3. In order to get the player to jump, I created a new attribute, a boolean, called "Is On Ground," then added a rule and told it that when both the space bar is pressed and "Is On Ground," is true it should change velocity to 200 and move 90 degrees (up). Finally I made the "Check for Ground" which consisted of the collide behaviour, so it collides with the "Ground" actor and means that the "Is On Ground" attribute is true. The next step is to add movement, but I've been having trouble allowing the actor to move left and right while on the ground but not in the air, yet still allowing it to jump and move realistically.

4 Sprite Ideas

Alien Girl

My first idea is for the player to control some kind of female alien based in a space environment. Preferably I'd like the creature to have antennae of some sort that will blow in the opposite direction to way in which she is moving to suggest speed, I also had the idea that instead of walking, this character will hover and bob up and down when stationary. Enemies for her will look like some kind of robots or other aliens.

Blob Boy

My second idea is a simple creature made up of a distorted circle and have 2-4 legs with no arms. This is my most simplistic idea as it only requires a walking animation and maybe blinking. Like the image on the right, I will make the character all one colour, with his mouth and eyes being the defining features, also, similar to the alien I may add 1 or 2 antennae to make him a little more unique and interesting. This character will exist in some sort of 'gloomy,' colourful world with blob-like enemies, just in a darker colour.


Hooded Boy (Ninja)

My third idea is to have a hooded boy as the protagonist, the image I have chosen isn't very accurate, as I don't want a typical ninja look, but rather just a male in some kind of cloak with his hood up, so his hair is covered and possibly wearing a belt or button to hold the clothing together. Also I am not planning on giving him a weapon as he will not use it in game so it'll be a waste of animation time. Most of the maps for this character will be fairly dark and he'll have evil animals as enemies, e.g. snakes and spiders.





Farmer/rural girl

For my final idea, I have decided to chose a rural-looking girl wearing typical "farm yard"clothing, such as dungarees and a checkered, button-up shirt. I either want this character to have curly, orange hair, that'll be much easier to draw and animate or blonde/brown pigtails that will look better when blown out behind her, much like the alien's antennae. Her world will consist of fields and scarecrows for enemies.

2-D Platformer characters

Ori (Ori and the Blind Forest)

Ori is a white guardian spirit who moves left and right throughout the various areas, including in water, he can also double jump, wall jump and shoot projectiles. As the player progresses and collects upgrades, Ori receives new, more advanced powers, such as dash.




Crash Bandicoot (Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced)

Crash Bandicoot is, of course, a bandicoot who can run left, right, jump, double jump and perform a tornado-like spin or body slam to smash boxes and defeat enemies. These abilities can be upgraded by destroying boss characters.






Meat Boy (Super Meat Boy)

Meat boy is a dark red, cube-shaped character who can walk or sprint either left or right, he can also jump off or slide down walls.

MoneySeize

MoneySeize is an 8-bit style platform game in which the player controls a man in a waistcoat and top hat, the aim is to collect coins and complete the levels to advance to higher, more difficult levels. It is similar to Donkey Kong as they both have a similar look about them and you control a small male character and there is an end goal in each, either a door or the top of the screen. Both games also contain enemies, whether that be barrels or flying insects and one hit will reset the level, although moneySquire has no set amount of lives. The progression through levels is similar and they both get progressively harder, but Donkey Kong contains just 4 maps that begin to loop and MoneySquire has 50 re-playable levels. However the games are also very different in many ways, in Donkey kong there is no specific collectable that is added up as you go and there is no home screen in which to choose and repeat levels. Also their is only really one direction in Donkey Kong, up, whereas in MoneySeize the goal is in a different place each time. Both protagonists can do the basics, run left, right and jump, but Sir Reginald MoneySeize, can double jump, wall jump and do an 'S jump' (where a sudden change of direction gave a more powerful jump). JumpMan on the other hand can climb up and down ladders and as you move through the levels there are a variety of power-ups he can acquire such as a hammer.

My Pong Game

Using GameSalad I have created my own version of Pong, with monster faces for paddle, an apple for a ball and grass in the background. As this was my first time using the software I would say my game is a success, all assets work smoothly and i have added appropriate sound effects, however there are a few problems that would need to be solved if I were to try it again. The ball moves fairly fast but does not gain speed like the original Pong, also there is a winning screen, but players can continue once someone has reached 10 points, so I would have needed to add a separate scene that restarted the game.

Play my Pong game here

GameSalad

Scenes

Scenes are fundamentally just levels or pages of the game/app and are where all the assets are placed. For my pong game I had one scene kept a plain black background.

Actors

The actors are all the assets added into the scene, including the players' avatars, background elements and collectables. The four actors seen in my version of pong are Player 1 (blue rectangle), Player 2 (purple rectangle), Ball (orange square) and Walls (not visible on the screen. These components can then be given a series of instructions as to how to react to the players actions and to other actors in the scene. For example the blue rectangle represents player 1 and moves up or down depending on the actions of player 1.

Rules

Once the actors have been created, they are then given a series of rules to determine what they should and shouldn't do. In my pong game the ball is given the rule as to not pass through either player or the walls at the top and bottom of the screen, however there are no rules against it passing through the left or right side, which is of course how a point is scored.

BehavioursOnce an actor has been assigned a rule, behaviours can then be selected from a library, these include, play music, collide and spawn actor. For example, my player 1 has been given several behaviours to abide by, these include, move up when W is held and down when S is held. It is also told that once it collides with a wall it must not move any more in either direction.

Attributes 

There are several attributes already set up within the program but you can also create your own, for example in my pong game, I made one called "Ball Exists," and this is a 'Boolean' meaning it can either be true or false. These attributes are used when assigning rules and behaviours to actors.

Flags

A flag is a term used to describe a boolean and how it interacts with the other actors within the game. For example the ball not existing means the flag is up and tells the player 1 paddle that they can spawn a ball once the player has pressed the specific key (in my game it is 'Q'), then now the ball is in play, the boolean is true, this puts the flag down and stops the player from spawning anymore balls.

Emotional response (+ emoticons)

The game starts up with a young girl lying on the ground, woken up by a ferocious storm complete with a tornado. It is unclear whether what is happening is real or fake so I felt very confused and also frightened for the safety of the girl. I began to ask the same questions as she was, "Where am I?" and "What is happening?"

The story then cuts to the girl waking up in a classroom filled with students, with a very teen movie vibe about it. I felt a little more informed as the game tells you the previous scene was merely a nightmare. The whole atmosphere of the game is very immersive and I began to feel more involved in the story and characters.

The next major event takes place in the bathroom, it all felt very ominous and I had a feeling something bad would happen. The build up felt very real and when the girl is shot I was really shocked but even more surprised once we see Max then reverse time.






Back to the classroom and I was even more puzzled, much like the antagonist. After learning I could rewind time I knew that this game had a lot in store. Once having saved the girl I felt relieved and excited for the adventure and story that would follow now Max knew the power she possessed.





Then came humiliating the 'bad guy', but this time you are given a choice and I am the worst at making decisions so this stressed me out a little bit, knowing that my choice would effect the story somehow. However it was really fun and satisfying choosing to pour paint on Victoria

Life is Strange Comparisons

Genre – crime, drama, sci-fi

Life is Strange features a variety of settings each creating a new and unique atmosphere, for example Blackwood Academy is busy and full of life yet comes across as a mundane, depressing place. In contrast, Chloe Price’s house, along with Max Caulfield’s dormitory feel much warmer and more friendly. Friendship and trust is present throughout the game and the use of the lighthouse and junkyard help to add to the intimate mood. These locations are also seen in the movie, Juno, with several scenes being just two characters sitting together either at home or on a park bench. Other similarities in areas include the high school and rich, suburban neighbourhood visited by Juno later on in the film.

The characters in LiS are mirrored in the novel, now a movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the

antagonist Max Caulfield and Charlie, is a shy introvert with minimal friends, their best friend is outgoing and wild, Chloe Price and Patrick, and the love interest is a little strange, but kind and sweet played by Warren in the game and Sam in the film.

Life is Strange follows the story of an 18 year old teenager who discovers she has the ability to rewind time and only reveals to her old friend and together they try to uncover the mystery behind what happened to Rachael Amber, a missing student, and who is behind it all. Similarly in the TV series, Smallville, Clark Kent, a young man, realises he has superhuman powers, but only shares his secret with a few people including his best friend Pete, and must stay hidden whilst trying to fight off his enemy Lex Luthor and stop him from harming anyone, much like David Madsen and Nathan in LiS.

Images common in both Life is Strange and the graphic novel, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, including a loud, crowded party, a diner and confrontations between 2 or more people. Costumes seen in the two media are also similar, with the antagonist usually wearing casual clothes such as jeans and a hoodie and the secondary character having coloured hair.

Themes present throughout Life is Strange and all these other media include ‘working together’ and ‘friendship conquers all’ as the main narrative in every story features at least 2 people helping each other to overcome an obstacle.

Life is Strange 2-Step Content Analysis (Connotation)

The titles sketchy font gives the overall atmosphere that this is a homemade, arty cover, and suggests a creative, rustic aesthetic will be present throughout the game.

The two images of the photographs imply that it will be heavily based around taking pictures or the idea of photography; perhaps the main character enjoys using a camera?

The young girl shown could be he protagonist or maybe just a main character, the player will interact with. Her being mid to late teens could mean the game may be set in a high school and feature the dramas of everyday life for a young adult.

Her pose, along with the title may be a clue to the fact that this girl could be special in some way, possessing some kind of ability. The close up gives an intense feeling and focuses the viewer on the girls emotion which could mean this game draws attention to the characters emotions, their individuality and how the player choses to interact with them.

The image is slightly blurred towards the edges and one corner seems to be disintegrating, suggesting a threat or even that this girl may be in danger.

The background also helps add to the idea of this cover being a page in some kind of sketch book as it looks damaged and marked like a piece of paper.

The drawings seen around the photo all represent and imply a variety of ideas. The lighthouse could be a landmark located in the hometown of this character, but it could also be a metaphor for guiding someone away from a hazard as a lighthouse does with boats on the water. The lighting and tornado, both natural disasters could be showing a literal event that occurs within the story or they could be a way of showing how this character is feeling emotional. The cliff could be another setting and the figure on top may be the girl in the photo or someone related to her.

“Episodes 1-5” indicates that, much like a TV show, the game is available in chapters, each containing the same story but each time something happens that must be resolved at the end by the player. This also links in with the idea of the game being very much like a teen drama.

The rating of the game is 16 meaning it will have adult themes and other ideas linked with teenagers e.g. alcohol and drug use.

Life is Strange 2-Step Content Analysis (Denotation)

The title is written in a maroon coloured, capitalised, sketchy font with the word “is,” written inside an old style photograph that has been taped the background.

The main image is a close up of a young girl with short, dark hair, looking with a fairly neutral, but slightly serious expression. She is holding her hand up, with the palm facing towards her as if she is looking into it. Similarly to part of the title, this image is placed inside an old fashioned photograph also attached to the background with strips of tape.

Neither the title nor photo are positioned straight on the page.

The photo contains fairly dark colours with harsh shadows being produced on the girls face, by her eyes, neck and cheeks. The light source is coming from the top right; where the photo is tearing and beginning to dissolve.

Drawn over the girls head are two birds flying to right, they are very faint and hard to notice.

The background is predominantly white with added crease marks, stains and coloured doodles, suggesting it is paper.

The sketches include:

• a lighthouse
• a cliff edge with trees and a figure at the edge
• lightning strikes
• a tornado
• water like marks 

All the drawings feature some sort of natural disaster or structure related to the ocean, suggesting the setting for the game.

Written beneath the image of the girl is “Episodes 1-5,” telling us that this game is split into 5 separate episodes.

The rating of “Pegi 16” is shown in the bottom left hand corner, the box has been given a roughly drawn, grey outline.

In the bottom right is the logo of the company “Square Enix,” the publishers of the video game.