BA4 - Game Design Document - entry 7

I've been considering what we are going to have as box art, or a 'front cover'. Obviously, this is a very important aspect of how the game is finally presented to an audience. Generally, box art can be changed right up until a release date. Personally, I think good cover art is; bold, simple, striking, clearly communicating the idea of the game straight away. Cover art can be iconic and eye-opening, or it can me mundane, generic and uninspired. For our game, I created a couple of example of possible box art, very early in the game's development.

These examples above were completed within the first week of the project. At that time, we knew we wanted to create a cavalry-centric game, in World War One, but not much else. We also were looking at the 2010 'Medal of Honor' game, which resulted in our artwork being heavily influenced by it.The top example, with the German lancer, was very similar to the actual cover from the 2010 game. Looking back, I feel it would be unsuitable now, as our ideas have grown so much since then. Also, I feel that this piece was simply too closely related to its original. The piece below it, shows a British cap badge, fallen in the wet mud. I think that it just looks to boring now. It's just too grey and flat. Also, the composition isn't perfect, with the two black shapes outlining the image, not being of any use.


Later in the project, I sketched up these three ideas for box art, as shown below.

I thought that this image was too violent, even when the game itself is very violent. The depiction of a German soldier being run through with a lance may show what a player will get to do in our game, but it would be too graphic I think. Also, what would German audiences think?! Not very good as a multinational hook.

 

 

 

This image shows the player galloping through a battle, shells exploding all, the ground rushing by them. A metaphor for how the warhorse is only a creature within the war, rather than something directly involved, like a human officer. The player's presence in the war is not wholly attached, after all, they are simply a beast of burden, being lead about by their human masters.

This image both me and my partner like the most. It shows the player, the horse, with a human rider. Fittingly, the focus is more on the horse, rather than the soldier. Obviously, this is a rough sketch, but it is just a simple, straight view of what the game is about, playing as a warhorse.

BA4 Game Design Document - entry 6

It's important to have characters in a single player 'campaign-mode'. In our game, there will be a small circle of characters, that surround the player character of 'Dirt Rust'. These additional characters add flavour and diversity to the game. If the were absent, the player would be alone, fighting alongside an army of faceless NPC's, which wouldn't be very interesting. I aim to create a small selection of characters, that will in turn, epitomise some aspect of the British Army in the First World War.

Some of these characters will be heavily developed, interacting with the player often throughout the campaign, others may simply appear in a single level, acting only as a disposable device relevant to the mission. It is important to differentiate these characters from their other nameless NPC counter-parts.


In brief, this is a list of the characters I propose to devise;

-An old, pompous General, detached from the realities of a modern war in 1914. He will act as somewhat of an antagonist to the player, albiet one that is on the player's own side.

-An obidient, courageous Platoon commander, someone who will be with the player on the frontline for most of the campaign. His feelings on his often suicidal orders will reflect the player's.

-A farmhand. This character will be found in the 'tutorial level' he will be a guide and supervizor to the player whilst they learn the basic controls of the game.

-A dashing RAF pilot. In one mission, the player must rescue a downed pilot. He will be aloof, aristocratic and dissmisive towards the player. He will be somewhat of a coward whilst on foot.

-A kindly private. He will be with the player when they are back behind their own trenches. In the game, this will be the 'hub' or main menu section of the game. He will be a welcome respite in a hostile world, offering advice and guidance to the player.

Ideally, I would produce a portrait of each of these characters, so to give an idea of what they will look like in game. In other words, a peice of concept art for each one, derived from a handful of 'buzzwords'.

BA4 Game Design Document - entry 5

I had the idea of representing the overall structure of our game in the form of a flow chart, as this would give a simple, visual breakdown of our game, as a whole. Firstly, I looked at a game that already exists, and that I know well, and attempted to do a flowchart for it. I chose 'Call of Duty: Black Ops' (2010). I broke the game down into it's main constituent parts; single-player campaign, multiplayer, and Zombies. I also went into each major 'artery' to a small degree. For example, with multiplayer, I expressed that you can choose from offline splitscreen mode, wager matches, creating custom classes, view past games in 'Theatre mode' etc.

'Black Ops flow chart'

My next step is to create a flowchart for our own game, illustrating it's framework. I feel that this will be a good way to summarise our game to people .

BA4 - Game Design Document - entry 4

Studying films for research and inspiration

'Warhorse' - Steven Spielberg (2011)

Our game is based upon the 'Medal of Honor' series of video games, and is set during the First World War, where the player assumes the role of a warhorse, rather than simply a soldier. As such, I thought it would be an excellent idea to watch the film, 'Warhorse'. Of all the WW1 films I could get hold of, 'Warhorse' had the strongest connection to our game, and it is also the most recent (2011) which means it was intended for an audience closely matched to our intended game's. 

'Warhorse' is the story of a life of a single horse, born and raised by a boy called Albert Narracott. The horse, Joey faces trouble and many trials before and during the first world war. The film describes how Joey encounters several different characters throughout his perilous travels, and is eventually reunited with Albert on the frontline. The film finishes with the war ending, and Albert and Joey returning home. Surprisingly, the 'Medal of Honor' series has often been directed by Steven Spielberg, who was the director for this movie. The main reason we decided to watch this film, was to try and get ideas on how to create an effective, emotional relationship between a human audience and a horse. I feel that it is very difficult to characterise a horse for either a game or a movie. Although Steven Spielberg is doubtlessly a brilliant film director, with decades of experience, I felt after the film was over, he had struggled to create that connection between the audience and Joey. I realise now that it is genuinely a difficult task to accomplish. With that thought in my mind, I am at a loss on how we will fare when we make our own attempt at the same thing.


My Boy Jack - BBC TV Drama (2007)

'My Boy jack' is the personal tale of Rudyard Kipling and his only son, Jack, as he sends him off to fight in the 'Great War'. Jack firstly attempts to join the Navy, but is deemed unfit to fight, as he needs his spectacles to see. Clouded by his own fevourous patriotism, Rudyard is adamant that Jack gets to fight, and so with the help of an old friend, Jack is surreptitiously accepted into the Army. Jack is a very young man, only 18, who then trains to become an officer and is asked to be a leader of men. He is suddenly sent off to the front, where he goes missing in action. Back at home, Rudyard and his wife launch a massive campaign to try and find out what happened to their son. In the end, they find an injured soldier who served under Jack, who tells them the truth, that their son was killed in battle.

The drama was an intimate look into the life of one of histories greatest writers, Rudyard Kipling, and the sad story of loss he experienced with his son, Jack. It is a tale of prematurity, where a young boy rushes off to fight in a war that his own country is unprepared for. This is referred to at various points in the film, for example, when it is stated that the old, and outmoded British artillery gun's shells, fall short of the enemy trenches, killing their own infantry as they advanced. Or that Britain has only a tiny professional army, which now must face a German army many times greater than itself. The film did a good job of creating effective relationships between characters, something vital for any game narrative. It also helped to build up a picture of how bad Britain's military situation was before and during the war.

'Joyeux Noel' - Christian Carion (2005)

This film is about the famous truce that took place over christmas, 1914, where French, British and German soldiers emerged from their trenches and showed compassion, friendship and humanity towards one another, whilst their comrades elsewhere were trying to kill each other. The film divides itself between three viewpoints. It tells of the personal stories from each the German, Scottish and French sides. I enjoyed the film, I thought it was done well. I empathised with the some of the characters, and thought the film told a remarkable story. 

BA4 - Game Design Document - entry 3

When I get a spare moment, I dedicate my time to constructing 3D models in Maya. I haven't thought of a specific place in my submission that they can go, but my hope is that the models I am creating are so ubiquitous, that I will be able to find a place for them somewhere.

So far, I have modelled a 1907 pattern British bayonet, a Mill's bomb, (the grandfather of the modern hand grenade) and started working on a SMLE rifle, or 'Lee-enfeild'. I have also modelled the .303 bullet for the rifle, as well as a 'stripper clip'. All of these I expect the players of our game to utilise at some point during their gameplay.

SMLE 'stripper clip'

SMLE 'stripper clip'

The beginnings of the SMLE rifle

British bayonet circa 1907

British bayonet circa 1907

The Mill's Bomb