Storyboarding the lighting show

Storyboarding the 3-D lighting show: 

Today I began to storyboard the 3-D lighting show out as firstly, a draft then created a neat version. This version displayed notes on the actions taking place within the shot, the visual effects, sound effects and any possible dialogue. 

I added a light layer of colouring onto the drawings to give myself an idea of what colours would work well in the lighting show, how ever, once I get to the editing stages on the project I suspect that these colouring ideas may change. 

My next stages of work for this project, is to begin work on designing the 3-D model and creating some visual effects in video-editing software, such as Sony Vegas and Adobe After Effects.

I have noticed that this project is incredibly short as opposed to other projects we have been set in the past, which has made me realise that the amount of work to be done may not fit perfectly to the set deadline. Therefore, I may need to make cuts on my ideas for this project, for example, I may not be able to model one large building and a hand in Maya in time. Due to time constraints, I have decided to draw out the hands on paper and in Photoshop, rather than model them. I must note that if this project was not hypothetical, and was to actually take place, I would model the hands in Maya. 

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Creating and developing ideas for the lighting show

Ideas for the 3-D lighting show:

http://www.creativeguerrillamarketing.com/guerrilla-marketing/run-3d-projection-mapping-campaign/

http://www.projectorsuperstore.com/product_details.cfm?productid=2610

After carrying out a sufficient amount of research into other 3-D projection mapping light shows, projectors and the NUCA campus, I feel ready to start creating ideas for the lighting show. 

Above are some mind-maps I have written, exploring different possibilities for the 3-D projection mapping light show. I had to ensure ideas were realistic, but interesting enough to captivate a viewing audience and make them remember NUCA, in particular the Games Art and Design course.

I have decided to make use of the River Wensum that runs next to St George's Building, and project part of the lighting show into the river. 

Of course, this may have created several problems when finding a position for the projector, if sufficient research hadn't been made. How ever, I have found a way to overcome this problem by exploring the area of St George's Building. I noticed that there is a platform lower than the public walkway, that is positioned only inches above the waterline. Placing a projector on this platform would be perfect for the projections that would be used on the river and bottom half of St George's Building. 

How ever, if this projector was to be aimed higher, so that the projection would hit the top half of the building, it could possible create distortion as the viewing audience would not be level with where the projector was positioned. Therefore, I have decided to add another projector that would be positioned so that it could project the top half of the projection light show. 

During the research stages, I discovered that projectors that emit 20,000 lumens would be best for projecting onto large buildings such as St George's. 

The show would start with movement under the water, then suddenly hands would rise quickly out of the water, making water spray everywhere. In the real-world, this effect could made using a high pressure spray cleaning machine, which would be placed in the windows of the building. How ever, virtually, this effect could be made on software. 

The hands will then move upwards across the building, trying to get inside of it by knocking on the wall, trying to open windows and bend the columns. After trying to bend a column, the hands break off one of the columns and drops it into the water. This effect would be made using software such as Maya and Adobe After Effects, coupled with a water rippling sound effect and possibly the use of a high pressure spray clean machine to add mist. 

The hand then punches the middle of the St George Building wall, thus creating a hole in the wall. The sheer pressure of the hand's punch makes pieces of paper fly out of the building. Each with a picture of students' work on. The hand then proceeds to pick up pieces of paper that have fallen into the river, one at a time. Holding the work up, in order to let the viewing audience see students' pieces. After looking at the piece of work, the hands hang the piece of work up by folding it across the roof of St George's. After showing the audience each piece of work, the hands proceed to break off the decor on top of the building, breaks it into pieces in it's hands and then push the pieces into the broken hole, to fill it up. 

Interactivity:

http://doc-10-8g-3dwarehouse.googleusercontent.com/3dwarehouse/secure/hhulr73hmmak89paul31eote4ben7ngk/ctn2vb876d3kk266gefc0up7oshpqk59/1322827200000/lt/*/d58ef2d21b126ea87827edf8f3dcefd5?ts=1202488410000&ctyp=other

To incorporate interactivity into this lighting show, I have decided that a motion sensor could be placed near the path the audience would walk across. Once a member of the audience would walk past this sensor, movement would be seen in the River, in order to look like the creature is following the audience member. This creature would be the hands later to be seen in the lighting show. 

Above: Here are some animations I made to show how movement underneath the river would be made as the viewing audience walked past the sensors. The direction the creature would make, would depend on what direction the audience member walked past the sensor. I made the second animation before I made the final windows on St George's Building, so please ignore them!

4-D Experience:

http://www.londoneye.com/Static/TheNew4DExperience.htm

Despite being expensive, another idea I came up with is the incorporation of the "4-D experience", which has been used at important events and places like the London Eye. After reading many positive reviews praising the 4-D experience, I feel that the use of the 4-D experience in our projection show could reinforce how special NUCA is,as it would add another element to the show that would make the audiences remember us. 

I feel that the use of water spraying and wind blowing could be used in shots when the hands raise out of the water. To add another feature that would heap originality onto our show, would be to add smells to different shots by using aroma machines, in order to achieve the 4-D experience. Smells such as the 'sea' or a subtle smell of 'fish' could be used when the hands make their present, in order to reinforce how the hands live in the river. These machines could be placed on the floor of the walkway, aiming up towards the audiences' faces. 

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Finding a suitable building to project onto

Finding a suitable building on the NUCA campus:

I decided to walk around the NUCA campus, in order to establish which building has the most interesting architectural features, yet wasn't located in a place that could cause difficulties for crowds gathering (e.g. near a busy road.) 
After looking closely at the Media Lab, Duke Street Building and Gunton's Building, St George's Building interested me most, due to it's various amount of different-sized windows, it's location, it's intricacy in architectural features and also because it overlooks the River Wensum. I feel that this building would work well with a 3-D projection mapping show because of these features, combined with it's large, long walls.
Below are some pictures I took of the building, in order to start 3-D modelling the building on Maya.

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A history of visual effects

A history of visual effects:

I decided that I should research the history and progression of visual effects, in order to establish popular effects in the media and what ones could be used in my sequence.

I watched a video on YouTube that showed different clips of visual effects (e.g. green screen chroma keying) that changed technology, the way movies were made and how they made a statement to society.



This research into the history of visual effects has helped me learn the possibilities of augmenting reality in my sequence and how it could advertise, emphasise and draw attention to certain features in a sequence.

I recognised a lot of visual effects in the clips through seeing the clips myself during my childhood/recently, and have learnt how to create various visual effects in Sony Vegas and Adobe After Effects, due to studying Media Studies for four years. How ever, I have decided to re-acquaint myself with tutorials on-line, in order to learn how to combine these effects with 3-d models/2-d photographs.

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3-D projections that have been used by companies...

3-D projections that have been used: 

Some examples of companies use of projections are below:



Notes about the above video: I believe that the artist's incorporation of the building's architectural structure with the visual effects fascinating. I particularly enjoyed how the artist used explosions and cracks as visual effects (coupled with strong use of sound effects), in order to add drama to the sequence e.g. 0:24-0:31 seconds. Also, the opening of the building (0:46 seconds) added a real sense of 3-D elements to the sequence and I realised that this effect could be used in my own projection. For example, the building could be opened and could show what's inside of the building.



Notes about the above video: The first thing that struck me about this video was the time-lapse at the start of the video, showing the building from early evening to night. I found this personalised the video, as it allowed the audience to gain an insight into the work being done in order to set up the projectors. This video highlighted the artist's use of combining sound effects and music to the lighting of the projection. For instance, fast-pitch sound effects would fit to lighting that flashed quickly to the beat e.g. 0:30 seconds. Also, another effect that stood out well to me in this video, was the way that the building's columns augmented and changed their structure to the music. I feel that this effect could work really well in my sequence, if the building I select has columns, barriers, slabs, etc.



Notes about the video: I loved the artist's use of lighting within this video, and I feel it could work really well in my own projection sequence alongside architectural features such as columns, windows, tiling/slabs on walls or on the floor. I feel the lighting that followed a specific path to highlight the outline of the shoe (0:26-0:40 seconds) worked well in emphasising certain features on the shoe that might be unique selling points of the shoe e.g. the Nike brand logo adds status to the wearer. Therefore, I feel this effect works well in advertising the product incredibly well

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Research into the process of 3-D projection mapping

Research into the process of 3-D projection mapping:

http://videomapping.tumblr.com/
http://de-war.de/eurekacarpark.html

In order to understand the possibilities and limitations (at this moment of time), I feel that it is incredibly important to research the process of 3-D projection mapping. This research will help allow me to understand what I could use to reach an optimum level of quality for the lighting show and it's efficiency in relation to production and costs. 

The projection target I will be using is the wall of St George's Building, and is a flat, arbitrary surface. Therefore, I have to make sure that the projector will be positioned well enough to stop distortion from different viewing angles. 

An example of how an image can be distorted from a certain viewing angle, yet perfect from another viewing angle is artist Axel Peemoeller's paintings in the Eureka Car Park, Melbourne.

Whilst researching, I discovered that by rendering the 3-D model of St George's Building from the same viewpoint as a projector would see, the image should fit to the projected surface, rather than distort. 
Fortunately, I am projecting onto just one wall surface, rather than having two walls, as this would complicate matters a little more because this would require two render passes. 

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A new project begins...

Today was our hand-in day for four projects: Board Game project, Apple Interactive Concept project, Archant's live brief and our Contextual Studies 1,000 word Written Report. To say I am relieved to have handed in these projects is a complete understatement, how ever, much to our surprise, the tutors gave us a new brief to do before our Christmas break.

Mark has informed us that a formalised brief will be posted onto the VLE tomorrow, but to sum up our new project briefly:
We were shown various videos from YouTube that highlighted how companies are starting to use 3-D projections to advertise their products, company, etc.
Our brief is to make our own presentation on a 3-D projection that could be used for NUCA, in terms of advertising the university or the course, within the NUCA grounds - therefore, I will have to inspect various buildings' architecture around NUCA to see which building I would like my projection to be set on.

More blog posts to follow on this brief from tomorrow onwards, the brief seems a little vague at the moment but I am sure that the posting of the formalised brief will solve any confusion.

Above: I have outlined key words in the new brief for quick reference when I come back to this post.

Some examples of companies use of projections are below:

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Studio work: Winning and Losing menu screens

When playing the game, the further the player progresses into the level, the more difficult the game becomes. The higher the honey pot gets filled, the quicker the shooter begins to fire, ranging from the shooter firing every three seconds at the start of the game, then shortening down to one second at level three and four.

This means that there are high chances of a build-up of pellets on the display. If the pellets build-up higher than the honeycomb shooter or hits the borders of the hive, the player loses the game.

Also, another way that the player can lose the game is if the comb of honey has been emptied, but the player has failed to fill the honey pot. An example of how this problem could arise is if the player makes the honey spill on the floor rather than position the comb so that the honey lands into the honey pot.  

After completing level four, players will be greeted with this window popup. This window congratulates them on winning the game, and offers them to go back to the main menu screen where they can play the game again or try a different, harder mode. 

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Studio work: Digital form - Instructional help menu

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Studio work: Digital form - Pause menu and Options Window

Today I managed to develop the Pause Window and the Options Window of the app on Adobe Photoshop.
I've kept the designs fairly simple, in order to allow any user to understand how to use the app, no matter what age they are.
I have used bright colouring and a bubble-style font, and used a yellow and orange gradient ontop of the text in order to remind the player of the game's main theme - bees and honey. Progress into the app so far seems to be steady and consistent, luckily this week I can focus on the project even more as we have Independent Study Week.

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Studio work: Digital form - Game window development

By using Maya and Adobe Photoshop, I have managed to create the display screen for when the player is playing the game. I rendered Bumblee, the hive, the honey pot and it's surroundings in Maya and then added the hexagonal honeycombs, the gigantic comb, the honey-o-meter and the pause/mute buttons with Photoshop.
I decided that bright colouring would be key in this app, so I stuck with bright colours and added gradients to the buttons, honey-o-meter and the honey for aesthetic purposes.

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Studio work: Digital form - Start menu development

After completing the models in Maya, I rendered the scene and opened the file into Photoshop to add the mountains, sky and the character as a separate layer and to add titles in the options box. My next plans is to begin compiling together models needed for the display the player sees when playing the app.

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Written Report and Contextual Studies: BA1 P3

NOTE: For an optimum viewing experience, please click on the images to view.


1000 word written report:

We have been set a project to write a report on video games that must be 1000 words long (how ever we are allowed a 10% extra/under word boundary.)

Having touched on this topic of video games during my A-level Media Studies lessons and finding it incredibly interesting, I have decided to choose a 'Society and Culture' theme for my written report.

After creating a mind-map of possible questions, I chose to discuss the effects video games have on society.



Columbine Massacre documentary - sums up what happened:



Do video games make a person violent? - Links to Columbine Massacre

One can infer that the notion suggested by in the Anderson and Bush report may hold some accuracy upon analysis of the Columbine Massacre of 1999, in which lawyers stated that had the murderers involvement in extremely violent video games been absent “these murders and this massacre would not have occurred."

A news report to suggest that video games are not the reason for violent behaviour, mental health issues and a bad home-life are:
This television news broadcast fits well into US General's report that school shootings centre on mental stability and home-life, rather than media exposure.



Video game addiction - is it a good or bad thing?









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In this lesson, I had to write about certain emotions I get when playing a certain game. I chose to think about a game that I had played longest in my 'gaming history' - the world's most popular free MMORPG "RuneScape".

Our task was to think about the game 'start to finish', different paths you can take, and the emotions you feel whilst taking these pathways.

Start ->
Player has to choose their character design ->
Player has to follow a tutorial on how to play RuneScape ->
- this feature made me excited due to the variety of clothing and character themes e.g. woodcutter, runecrafter, miner, etc.
Your decision what to do ->
a) Quests
- feelings of boredom, due to the quest length e.g. Desert Treasure lasted hours
- feelings of excitement, due to the reward at the end of the quest e.g. dragon piece
b) Combat: PvM or PvP
- feelings of excitement and happiness, due to drop rewards or combat level-ups
- feelings of sadness, anxious, due to the potential loss of your weaponry if you die
c) Skilling
- feelings of boredom, due to the slow experience rates per hour for training skills
- feelings of happiness, due to finding the game fun when levelling-up
->
Leading to the outcome/'end' of the game - desired goal fulfilled, e.g. money goal reached, a level 99/skill cape, or certain total level
- feelings of fulfilment
- feelings of happiness
- feelings of relief


For homework, we were asked to write up these feelings into a paragraph:

As I scrolled through various customisable features - gender, outfits and possible player names, that oh-so-familiar feeling of playing a new game began to set in.
What way should I go?
What path should I take? Quester, PvP, PvM or skilling? All of them?
Each choice I made breathed an air of exhilaration.
Each drop, each level-up, each quest complete bought feelings of fulfillment.
The freedom to roam and choose my own objectives accross a virtual world made each experience different to the last, and for that reason I didn't want to stop playing.
After five years, each time I log into the game, I still feel that same feeling of excitement as I did when I first started playing, many memories ago.


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In this lesson, we were introduced to a French individual whose work bought together literary criticism, sociology and philosophy on subjects such as games, namely, Robert Caillois. Caillois' intention was to work towards a systematic classification of games.


Fundamental categories set out by Caillois:
Caillois defines two 'attitudes of play':

Paedia - describes a 'power of improvisation and joy'
Ludus - describes the rule-bound nature of games


Definitions of games:

Agon (a conflict between main characters) - This is a category of competitive games, based on rivalry.
Alea (chance) - These are games of chance. Examples of such games include dominoes and backgammon.
Mimicry (imitation of other people) - Mimicry games only have one rule - the player must 'fascinate the spectator' and not fall into a behaviour that will break the spell.
Ilinx (vertigo) - Games in which the player deliberately brings on a sense of vertigo - where they attempt to momentarily destory the stability of perception and inflict a kind of panic upon the mind.



For homework, we have been asked to write up around 20 lines, arguing against Caillois' statement:

As an avid gamer, one would query upon what evidential basis Robert Caillois holds that would allow him to construe such a notion to suggest that playing games is a waste of time, skill and energy. As there appears to be a wide variety of factors to suggest otherwise.
One can infer that Jane McGonigal's research and recognition of games such as 'World of Warcraft' giving players an incentive to learn the habits of heroes, might infact allow us to harness this game power to solve real-world problems. Therefore, this research reflects how Caillois may have been wrong in making the statement that gaming is a waste of energy.
One can reinforce Caillois' inaccuracy in stating gaming is a waste, through taking note of many industries such as the military, healthcare and scientific exploration's use of "serious games". As it appears apparent that "serious games"' educational purposes constitutes to an essential element of human development through allowing the user to stretch their practices in tactical-decision making. For instance, during the 19th century, the military's use of the video game 'Kriegsspiel' reminds us that playing games is not a waste of skill, but a way of gaining skill instead.
Furthermore, one can argue against Caillois' statement with a quote taken from Confucius - "find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life" - with many job positions opening across the gaming industry, such as players gaining 'Machinima' contracts, 'YouTube' partnerships or becoming play-testers, it is arguable that when combined with Confucius' quote, work can in fact be 'play' and capital can be accrued from playing games.
To conclude, with technological advancements running alongside to social development, Caillois' statement that playing games is a waste is entirely debatable in today's modern society.

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Studio work: Digital form - 3-D

Recently, I have been concentrating on creating the digital 3-D models for my game, the Archant project and writing up my 1000 word report for project 3.
After deciding to take a 3-D approach, I have been trying to learn how to use Maya, through use of the books in the library, tutorials on YouTube, along with trial-and-error too.

A particularly interesting book I took out for a loan from the University library was a character modelling book written by digital artists: Jan-Bart Van Beek, Cesar Dacol Jr and Giovanni Nakpil. Reading about their digital art form history truly inspired me to learn more about 3-D modelling and texturing.

I have finally finished modelling parts of my game, and I have made a collage below of the models that I have made during these past couple of weeks. My next plans are to compile the models into a scene that I can use for a menu screen for the app, I'm planning to add effects using Adobe Photoshop.

I have used textures such as the honey bee's fur from the Maya paint box.

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Studio work: Traditional form - Concept drawings

Now that I have created an app idea, I have decided to draw some concept work for possible props in the game. Below are some drawings of shapes for possible bee hives, which will act as the setting of the game. I also sketched out some ideas for ways in which the bee can shoot at the honeycomb crust - from weapons such as slingshots, to larger machniery such as cannons. I decided that these weapons may be too realistic, considering the storyline is based around a honeybee, so I opted for basic-style 'pointer' shooters, which are easy to recognise and simple to create. 

Below are some quick sketches of possible shapes the main character could have for a body, head and it's wings. After researching similar games on the market, I discovered that the most common designs for bees in games were a simple sphere body and sphere head. I feel that this shape could work well as a design because it will allow the consumer to instantly recognise the character.

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Research: The honey bee

Before I started to draw and design my main character (Bumblee the bee) I decided to research bees, in particular, the honey bee. I thought this research would prove invaluable, as it would allow me to understand bees' lifestyles and different characteristics across the various species. 
I have underlined certain sentences because whilst researching about the honey bee, these sentences gave me ideas about my future concept. 


The honey bee: 

Honey bees are a subset of bees in the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of colonial nests out of wax. 
Honey bees represent only a small fraction of the approximately 20,000 known species of bees. Some other types of related bees produce and store honey, but only members of the genus Apis are true honey bees.


Bees' jobs:

The only bees most people ever see are worker honeybees and they are all females. They forage for food, build and protect the hive. These bees are females that are not sexually developed. Workers forage for food (pollen and nectar from flowers), build and protect the hive, clean and circulate air by beating their wings.

Male bees are called 'drones'. Several hundred drones live in each hive during the spring and summer, but they are expelled for the winter months when the hive goes into a lean survival mode.

Bees live on stored honey and pollen all winter, and cluster into a ball to conserve warmth. Larvae are fed from the stores during this season and, by spring, the hive is swarming with a new generation of bees.

A healthy colony may contain 80,000 worker bees or more at its peak growth in early summer. 

Workers build and maintain the nest and care for the brood. 

The hexagonal cells constructed by the workers are arranged in a latticework known as the comb. The cells of the comb provide the internal structure of the nest and are used for storage of the developing young bees and all the provisions used by the colony. 

Comb used for storage of honey is called honeycomb. 

Workers leave the hive to gather nectar, pollen, water, and propolis, a gummy substance used to seal and caulk the exterior of the nest. They convert the nectar to honey, clean the comb, and feed the larvae, drones, and the queen. They also ventilate the nest and when necessary, defend the colony with their stings. Workers do not mate and therefore can not produce fertile eggs. They occasionally lay infertile eggs, which give rise to drones.

The anatomy of the honey bee:

For the anatomy of the bee, I found this image and an incredibly helpful website which details what parts of the bee help with in their day-to-day life. 


http://www.cyberbee.net/kids/bee.html#leg




Research taken from:
http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/insects/bees/honey_bee/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_bee

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Research: Similar themed games on the market

Bumble Tumble:

Bumble Tumble is a physics-based game, in which the main player wants to collect money. Players have to turn the wheel and use the gears in order to make the honeycombs bash against each other and make the honey explode.

The graphics and bright use of colour work extremely well on this app, and has inspired me to use bright colouring in order to attract players' attention and add an element of 'fun' to the app.

Bumblebee Touchbook:

Bumblebee Touchpad is a great educational app that inspires young children to read more. Users can learn in a fun way by touching the words on the screen, then the app will say the word for the user. This game is definitely aimed at younger audiences, how ever a slight concern of mine is that this app suits a niche market and would have to be owned by a parent, as the chances of a toddler/young child owning an iPad is extremely slim. 

BumbleBomber:

BumbleBomber involves character 'Bumble' having to save the flowers from extinction by helping them through their pollen shortage. Players have to travel as far as possible (objective fits to my common convention game research in an earlier blog post: last the longest) and pollinate as many flowers as possible, whilst steering clear of obstacles such as 'bad flowers'. 

A strong point of this game is that it is simple, easy to use and has different game modes to suit many players' tastes. Using interactivity modes such as online highscores, and the option to beat your own best score, this app could be suggested as a strong game on the market in terms of 'bumble bee' themes.

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Conceptual work: Developing chosen idea for an app

After many thoughts about different themes, I felt most happy with my honey bee idea. I decided to brainstorm different jobs a honey bee might have to endure and ticked the ideas I had come up with that interested me the most.

The pages above are notes on different ideas I developed after choosing the honey bee theme. The iterative process took a while, as different problems arose with various ideas. For example, during my research I discovered a game on the market that was incredibly similar to mine, so I had to change my ideas again.

How ever, I feel that I have finally reached a conclusion to what game I shall be creating and how it will work. Below is a picture of a mindmap of my game app idea:

The story:

You play as young 'Bumblee' a honey bee that is keen to impress the rest of her hive. As Winter is fast approaching, the hive needs their supply of honey to live! Thankfully, a gigantic comb full of honey that was collected during the Spring is available for the hive, but a thick crust has formed around it! It is Bumblee's job to break the crust by firing honeycomb pellets from her shooter and store the honey that seeps out in her pot. 

How to win:

In order to fill the honey pot to the top (thus winning the game), players have to get to the middle of the gigantic comb, where the honey is stored. To get to the middle of the gigantic comb, players have to use Bumblee's honeycomb shooter, which fires small hexagonal honeycombs at the gigantic comb. 

The crust acts as a border that circles around the hole of the gigantic comb. The crust is made out of smaller hexagonal honeycombs that are in the following colours:

- Red

- Yellow

- Green

- Blue

In order to create a hole in the crust, where the honey can seep out of, players have to aim the honeycomb pellets (that are fired from the shooter) at the crust. The pellets that are fired from the gun are also in the same colours as above. If a red pellet is fired from the shooter, and ends up hitting two other red small honeycombs in the crust, the three red pellets will cancel each other out and begin to form a hole in the crust. How ever, if a red pellet is fired and hits a different coloured honeycomb, the pellet will fall onto the crust and stay there. 

Once the player forms holes around the gigantic comb, they can rotate the comb using their fingers and line the hole up with the honey pot, and let the honey fall into their pot, thus slowly filling the honey pot up higher and higher.

P.S - the gigantic comb is split into four sections of honey, so that if a player forms a hole in the crust, only that section will seep out, rather than the whole comb.

Obstacles:

Players have no control over when Bumblee's shooter fires, and as more and more honey is collected in the pot, the quicker the shooter fires. The problem with this is that, the honeycomb pellets Bumblee fires stack up against each other, so if the whole screen backs up with honeycomb pellets, it's game over! This will add a significant amount of pressure onto the player because as the game goes on, each level will require more and more quick-thinking, in order to collect as much honey as possible.

Interactivity/use of iOS device features:

Players will use their fingers to rotate the gigantic comb, in order to choose where the honeycomb pellets land on the crust.

Once creating a hole in the crust of the gigantic comb, players will take advantage of the gyroscope feature on the iOS device, and tilt the device so that the honey will fall into the pot.

Game style:

Characters - 1 character in the game, which is 'Bumblee' the honey bee. She is a young, fun bee looking to impress the rest of her hive.

Audio description - SFX are chirpy, fun and become quicker as players progress further into the game, in order to add extra pressure onto the player and emphasise quick-thinking. 

An example of a piece that would suit my game is Korsakoff's 'Flight of the Bumblebee': 

Game sequence:
The game holds aspects of a hyper storyline, for example, the longer the player survives, the quicker the honeycomb shooter fires. How ever, the game also follows a linear storyline, as this will allow the player to understand the game easily and not become disorientated as they could quite possibly if the game storyline was non-linear.

Style:
Cartoon.

Player:
1 player game.

Game elements:
- Shooting
- Collecting
- Alignment
- Timing

Genre: 
Strategy - relies on players' tactical positioning of honeycomb pellets to break the gigantic comb crust.
Casual game - the game is simple and requires no long-term commitment for playing.

Theme:
Animals, the honey bee in particular.

Player type:
The storyline is aimed for all players, as it is a tactical game. The graphics could appeal to a younger audience, as it is commonly known that most children have watched cartoons during their younger stages of life.

Player immersion:
This game brings forth aspects of mental enjoyment for the player because their tactical positioning of honeycomb pellets will either win them the game or lose.

Game modes:
"Quick Fire" - a fast-paced game mode where the honeycomb shooter fires pellets every second. This mode is for experts that enjoy quick-thinking strategic games.
"Normal mode" - the default mode for all players.

Technical form:
Form: 2D and 3D graphics - a combination of both across the game.
View: During gameplay, the view will be a midshot.
Language: Objective-C.
Device: Mobile - iOS devices.

Game elements:
Number of levels: 4.
Number of characters: 1.
Time of gameplay: Dependent on which mode is being played. How ever, this game has been designed for players that just want a quick game to pass the time, so roughly five minutes maximum.
Replay ability: Yes, players can aim to beat their quickest time in filling up their honey pot.
Audio specification (taken from the Apple website, audio specification for iPhone 4):

• Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
• Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV

Graphics specification (taken from the Apple website, graphics specification for iPhone 4):

• Retina display
• 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
• 960-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi
• 800:1 contrast ratio (typical)
• 500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical)
• Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on front and back
• Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Device compatibility: iOS devices.

Number of players: 1.

Online activities: Online highscores (options of: world highscores and phone contacts highscores.)

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Conceptual work: Creating ideas for an app

After completing sufficient research, I've decided to start inventing different ideas for possible apps. My research into existing apps on the market, coupled with my knowledge of common conventions in games (such as objectives and obstacles) definitely helped when coming up with these ideas below.

I decided to start off with simple ideas and build around them to create a structure that could fit well into the App store if developed.

My research into distinguishable features on the iOS devices helped me develop ideas that would work well on the iPhone and/or the iPad. In this idea above, I designed a possible app idea based around the iOS devices' 'push notifications' feature. I feel that there could be a gap in the market for "come-back" games, with the use of this notifications feature. Games such as Farmville or Tamagotchi-style games would work well in combination with this feature.

During the research period of this project, I noticed most players preferred games that they could use just to pass a brief amount of time.
So I decided to create a game that could be played in a short space of time, yet players could still have fun with.
I feel that a pressurising environment in a game for a player could work well, as it will hold their concentration, rather than bore them. How ever, I would have to make sure there was a right balance between the 'pressure' and 'fun' elements, otherwise players could become stressed whilst playing and consequently, quit the game.

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