Computer Game Graphics

Pixel Art

This art style is used in 2D sprites and is typically found in older games such as Mario, Tetris and track and field. It is a very simple and easy style to use and make a game from this style as it is just a flat image. 3D isometric is pixel art but with depth such as the later Mario games.

Concept art

Concept art is used to design a game and the characters, drawn by an artist an then used by the animators to create the character. They can go from a simple pencil sketch to a full on detailed picture and a story board. Like this concept art of big boss from the new metal gear solid 5 The Phantom Pain.

Texture art

Texture art is used to set the scene in a game, for example, if you are in a forest there wood be a lot of trees and bark texture. Also grass and light breaking through the trees creating shadow and individual rain droplets. If it is a photo realistic game the texture will be much more detailed and high resolution. In 2D games there is texture but it’s less detailed like the lines in the bricks. Like in this picture the trees are extremely detailed and it also uses a depth of field effect.

Background art
Background art is used to give an environment to the game. in games like super Mario it uses  a scrolling 2D background while you move along the level. 3D games like GTA use skybox backgrounds. 


In Game Interface
These are things in game like a HUD (heads up display). in games like Call Of Duty it displays how many bullets you have and a mini map. on 2D games such as Pac Man it tells you how many lives you have. this photo of a HUD in Battlefield 4 in which you can see there is a map and ammo.

Artistic styles within games.

Cel shading

Games such as the Borderlands series are a great example of cel shaded games.

The art style used stands out significantly and is easily one of the most prominent features in the game.

This picture of Borderlands 2’s main antagonist shows very clearly the cel shaded art style that has contributed to the feeling of the game. As you can see the lines in the hair and clothes are very bold and prominent, this makes the game feel less serious and more like a comic book, adding to its RPG fantasy like theme. It also makes the lighting more dramatic and plays heavily with depth of field, the character is much more focused than the blurry background.

Photo realistic

Games that use this style attempt to make their game look as realistic as possible. Games like this contain a lot of detail in the graphics.

 This example of Sgt Maj Johnson in the cut scenes of halo 2 remastered. It was made by 343 industries in 2014 and the halo series among other things. Other games such as GTA and metal gear solid the phantom pain. Most FPS games use this style such as halo and battlefield, also some RPGs like the Skyrim. As technologies in game engines advance, the depth and realism of the animations become a lot better. But games like this also take a long time to make.

Pixel

This style is used mainly In older games such as pacman and super Mario. It is a very simple style and is mostly to always in 2D. it does take long to create games like this because of the simplicity. It was mainly used because of the limitation of software. It is not a realistic style.

Exaggerated

Exaggeration is an art style most commonly found in JRPGs, with the style being used to reflect the popular Medias of manga and anime. As the name would suggest this art style consists of highly exaggerated objects and features with two popular examples being the Devil May Cry and Final Fantasy series with their oversized objects such as swords and their facial features like their eyes being quite sizable when the character is sad. The body types of the characters will follow a similar way with male characters being strong and muscular and female characters often being overly sexualized. This style is often used in japan but quite a lot other games like the darksiders series rely heavily on this style.

UNIT 1: PRE-PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES FOR THE CREATIVE MEDIA INDUSTRIES - FINANCE - TASK 1

- Hardware (Computers, Peripherals, Dev Kits)

Computers- 
You obviously need a computer of some form to make a game. it's where you make almost everything. a good one of these with the specifications you need will probably set you back anywhere between £300 and £1000. but it can go much higher.
the minimum specs you need to run development programs like UDK are Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista or Windows 7. A 2.0+ GHz processor. A 2.0 system RAM. SM3 compatible video card and 3.0 GB of hard drive space.

- Software

Game maker can cost between 100-300 pounds depending on the platform you want to export to.

Maya costs £180 a year.

UDK and UNITY are free to install but take royalty costs.

My 10 game review. 9 i like, 1 i hate.

Game 1:

RED DEAD REDEMPTION 

Red Dead is an open world action adventure game that was released in 2010 and made by Rockstar Games. The game's style is photo realistic.

SPOILER ALERT:

The goal of the game is to hunt down the main protagonist John Marstons old gang members since his family have been kidnapped by the government and he can only have them back when his old friends are either in prison or dead by his hand.

I like this game a lot, because it's done so well. the story is really well written and the voice acting compliments it really well. It mimics the feeling of the wild west brilliantly with the harsh terrain and lawless frontiers. the music also adds to the setting really well and sets the ambiance brilliantly. finally the open world setting is really well detailed with a ton of side challenges and objectives.

My only criticism for this game is the intro sequence does drag on abit and john's character could have been a bit better developed, the character development wasn't bad but it could have been better.

TRIVIA: contrary to popular belief Red Dead Redemption is actually the second game in the series, not the first like so many believe. It's predecessor, Red Dead Revolver was released a number of years prior.

Game 2:

THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM

Now anyone who knows me knows i am a bit too obsessed with this game. 

This game is an open world fantasy RPG which was made by Bethesda Game Studios and released in November 2011. The games art style is photo realistic but with exaggerated elements in the gameplay such as the orcs and dragons.

SPOILER ALERT:

The games main objective is to 

ETHICS : Impact of computer games on society.

games in society:

Concerns such as excess playing time

Playing on your Xbox, PlayStation or computer for extended periods of time can have an effect on a persons health and social life. Most of the time when playing that game you just got or if your battling through a dungeon on your Favorite RPG, it's way too easy to completely lose track of time and suddenly find yourself not eating and it's 2 in the morning! 
But all this gaming can damage your social life by spending all of your time on a game and next to none with your friends. It can make it harder to find and keep a job and you can lose all interest for the real world itself. If you would like to read more about this please follow this link. http://www.livescience.com/22281-teens-video-games-health-risks.html 

Social isolation

Playing too much on that game you love can seriously affect or even completely destroy your social life. If you are inside playing on your game then you're not out with your friends, this could mean that eventually they will leave you and when the time comes that you're bored of that game you will have nothing to do because your old friends are doing something without you. It can also effect your social skills, the ability to talk to new people confidently and make new friends, this also extends to your ability to get a job as you wont know how to talk to your would be boss because your social skills have degraded. 
There are however people, including me, who think the opposite of that, we think that it actually improves your social interaction, you can read more on that here. http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/104226/gaming/video_games_as_isolating_activities.html 

Cost

Probably the worst thing for any gamer is the money. Gaming ain't cheap, when we want that new console or that special edition of a game, it's our wallets that take the hit. An Xbox One at release was around £400, and that's just on it's own, then you've gotta buy the games, £50 at release, and that's just the standard edition. and most gamers have to buy subscriptions to Xbox live, true while PSN is free there's still a lot of money to pay, and after all this some game developers have the nerve to stick a subscription cost on a game. And it's not just the actual games that cost us either, you've got the electricity bills and internet plan to pay for. 
if you don't fully understand the struggle, check out this interesting article on the matter.   http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2013/09/hyper-mode-the-costs-of-being-a-real-gamer.html 

Separation from reality

A problem with gaming is that sometimes you can be detached from reality itself