SUMMER PROJECT

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Over the summer I researched three different subjects I am interested in using for my FMP. as i want to create a game based on adventure and be in a pixel art style perhaps mixed with some 3d elements researched TOP DOWN VIDEO GAMES, 3D MODELS & NARRATIVE.

I began by researching and playing 2d top-down games such as ‘The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening’ (1993), ‘Pokemon Red (1996) and also some more recent top downs like ‘Stardew Valley'(2012) and ‘Pokemon Platinum’ (2008). What i was looking for were similarities within each game and elements i could use and perhaps create uniquely. 

I noticed that from the older titles from the 80s and 90s have a birds-eye view feeling however characters are flat to the screen of sometimes at a 45-degree angle to the camera to give the sense of space and awareness in a game. As these titles are exploration-based, this is a useful mechanic. Moving into the later top-down titles, however, we receive a more true 45 – 70-degree camera view from the help of 3d environments. 

As i will most likely be using Unity software to create my FMP, i read up on some unity forums with regards to top-down RPGs (Role Playing Games) and found a Unity 3d Reddit thread where it had answers to the question of ‘Should Top-Down Games be 3d of 2d?'(Should top down games be 2D or 3D? : Unity3D, 2020). I found a response that states ‘In my personal opinion, the 2.5D where you have models on top of a top-down 3D terrain, looks pretty bad in most scenarios. Don’t get me wrong, it’s possible to do it right, but it’s harder than just doing flat out 2D or flat out 3D’ This Had received a lot of upvotes and positive feedback, so creating a 2.5 world would be a no go for the time being.

With the idea in mind, this game would have to be strictly one of the other; I began practising 3d modelling within MAYA. (attached to this blog are some renders i made of original art and recreations of scenes or vintage pokemon cards and sprites.

Researching narrative consisted of reading comic books and playing games while also researching tips on how to create a good story. FreelanceWriting.com has an article on ‘Top 5 Tips to Write An Interesting Narrative’. in which it states ‘you can subtly introduce elements of the background without the reader knowing it. You do this by knowing your story thoroughly and telling it straightforwardly, injecting incidentally whatever explanations that your story needs to make each bit of action clear.’.(Jobs et al., 2020) Now although this is targeted at writers this sentence can be used in a video game, this made me think how we can have objects in the game react and animate with the story being told on screen.

Overall work in summer was fairly limited due to freelance projects however my research will continue to develop as I enter through the testing workshops and thesis which is titles ‘Pixel Art: The Point of Understanding’ This question will explore the ins and outs of where the threshold for understanding a pixelated image lies. I am still in the early stages of this idea, so i have gathered a few resources to help research this topic. 

  • The Perception of Pixelated by Talis Bachmann
  • Pixel Art for Game Developers by Daniel Silber
  • Learning Pixel Art by Max Hervieux 

Bibliography:

Jobs, W. et al. (2020) Top 5 Tips to Write An Interesting Narrative for Any Story | FreelanceWriting, FreelanceWriting. Available at: https://www.freelancewriting.com/creative-writing/write-an-interesting-narrative/ (Accessed: 10 November 2020).