HCI Technology task (Assiment 1)

  

  HCI stands for Human Computer Interface this can be designed to be as intuitive as the game player wants.

Screens are used to display the game and there are many ways to display the game such as computer screen this type of screen is usually used for pc games and that’s it and then you have got TV screens these are usually used for xbox, ps3 and any other games console. A phone screen is used in two different ways you have touch screen phones where you can interact with the game instead of just using buttons or keys and then you have got a non touch screen phone where the phone just displays the game you are playing. There are such handheld consoles like the Nintendo DS where they have 2 screens one screen to display the game and another ‘touch’ screen where you control the game. Recently 3D gaming has fell into the mainstream and there are such games as Batman that can be played on a 3D TV these TV’S display a game in 3D by using special effects where the TV Produces 2 images and puts them together to show the game in 3D, a good design is key for the user s experience just like the 3D TV lets the user feel like they are in the game.

Keyboards are used to play a game but they can be used to type text as well, keyboards are usually used to play pc games but they can also be used to play Xbox and ps3 etc but you can also Get keyboards for the ps3 and Xbox that can be used for text such as names or saving the game. There are such games as world of war craft that need a keyboard to be played. A good design would help the user play better in a text based game. Also the user would enjoy the experience more with a more high quality key board

Motion detectors is where the gamer is the controller, the game console sends of inferred signals to the gamers body to detect there movement. This has become very popular these days with such things as kinect, kinect was the first ever motion detector device and has now made other companies like Nintendo and Play station think about their technology. On the right are some pictures of motion detector devices. A good design for a motion detector would be something that can fit ether onto of a TV or on a table because if the motion device didn’t the user would find it very difficult to place the device somewhere so they can play it

Headsets are used to communicate with other gamers when you are playing online, but in recent years there have been such headsets called turtle beaches where you can hear the game through your headset and be able to pick up enemy footsteps and gunfire from a far distance. On the right are some pictures of headsets. A good design for a headset would be something that could fit on the users head no matter what size it is, the headset has to be not too bulky or the user would find it very uncomfortable to wear so this is key for the headset design   to be good.

A Camera can be used in different ways, if you are using a camera on a Pc then you will usually use it for things like msn or Skype but if you are using one on a gaming console you usually use it for the gaming needs even though you can use it for things like msn and Skype on the gaming console. The first ever gaming camera was the I toy and that was for the Ps2 this camera meant the gamer could see them self in the game and interact with the game in many ways. But in recent years the gaming camera has changed and the technology has improved like the kinect this is a camera but it is also a controller as well. On the right are some pictures of cameras. A good design for a camera would be something that is small but powerful also the design has to be something that could fit onto a TV or a table if this does not succeed this then the user would not be able to use the camera

A GPS can be used in different ways such as a GPS can be used to help people get around places also a GPS could be used to power phones, but there is a game called geocash a gps is used to find a box of something and when the user finds the box they can take the thing out of the box a replaces it with something else, a good design for a GPS would be something that is small so the user could carry it about and something that works fast  and has a clear screen so the user can see it clearly when they are using it

A compass is generally used to guide people round places by using north, south, east and west, but a compass can be used in a game such as a game on a ds where you move the ds around and on the bottom screen there is a compass and on the top there is a environment where if you find a monster you have to kill it but to move you have to use the compass. A good design for a compass would be something that is small so the user can carry it around also it has to be basic so the user can read it

Joy sticks are used on pc games, they are used to control such things as (planes). The joystick works on a ball joint and can move left to right up and down and can go round in a full 360⁰, the joy stick also has a trigger button on the back of it this is for if you are playing a game like Flight Gear and you need to use guns. You can also get special joysticks that are made for games like Flight Simulator these joysticks are special because they have an accelerator attached to the side of it. On the right there are a few examples of joysticks, the better the quality of the joy stick the more enjoyment out of it this is because if the joystick was very basic and simple the user would feel that to play something would feel exactly the same as how the joy stick is designed simple and basic but if the joy stick was more high quality then the user would feel that the game that they would be playing would be exciting and challenging.

Pads are gaming peripheral used to control the player character in the gaming environment; pads respond to a pressured stimulus, they are created to the gamers comfet, they respond to analogue signals instead of digital and are now made wirelessly. Pads are used on such gaming consoles like the ps3 and Xbox. On the right there are some examples of pads. A good design for a controller would be a design that is simple because if a controller pad was full of lots of buttons and triggers then the user would find the game to be very hard and complicated to play.

Touch screens are interfaces used to make the gaming environment more realistic, it is used in IOS’s DS and Ps Vita. Touch screens can be used in many creative ways such as pens and your fingers. Touch screens are now becoming more popular within the mainstream of gaming. A good design for touch screen would be something that is big because generally a bigger touch screen works better than a smaller one and everything on the touch screen works because if the user found something to be wrong with the touch screen then the user would not enjoy the experience of the touch screen

 

Steering wheels are usually used in racing games, a steering wheel works on a pivot joint and can move from left to right just like a real car steering wheel. The steering wheel can be used in some games like need for speed and dirt 3. The steering wheel was made to make the gamer feel like he/she is in the car driving the car not just playing the game. On the right there are some pictures of steering wheels. A good design for a steering wheel would be something that the user would recognise to be a steering wheel if this doesn’t succeed to the user’s needs then the user would fine the steering wheel to be very annoying and hard to use

Pointing devices work by inferred signals sent from the gaming console. An example of a pointing device would be the wii the wii was designed for that the gamer to interact with the game in such ways as moving there are about or moving position. A good example of a game the uses this technology would be Mario and sonic at the Olympic Games. This technology is being used more now and becoming more popular with such company as Play station. On the right there are some pictures of pointing devices. A good design for a pointing device would be something that the user could fit in their hands the smaller the better because if the user had a big pointing device they might find it difficult to play with because of the size of it and the device could be too heavy

Art in games

Art In Games

Photorealism 

Photorealism is where they bace everything on the real world and try and make it as realistic as possible, it uses such things as reflections and shading to give the effect that someone is there in the game.

Grid Racedriver, In this game it allows the user to play the game like they are the driver of the car, This game uses shadeing and reflections e.g light or other cars, to give of the effect that the user is in the car and they can see the other cars see the light reflecting onto the car, also in the game when a car crashes or a other car hits the car they are driveing the car will be damaged depending on how hard or how serious the crash may be like if a other car hit there car from behind then the bumper may come of but say if there car hit a wall the front of the car will be very damaged compared to the back. Also the intearier of the car is very acurate and in such detail that you can see the stitching on the steering wheel This game will link in with the artist Edward Hopper because of the way they use colours and shadeing effects just like the artist.

Fifa 13, in this game it allows the user to play the game like they are watching a game of football or like they are the footballplayer, the footballplayers are seen in such detail that it looks like them in real life and each footballplayer has there own stats and there own style of play just like in the real world, and in this game the user can see the crowd jumping about chanting and when they score the crowd will jump up just like in the real world. also each of the characters have there own facial expreshions e.g shocked happy, angery. also the way they have there own look like stubble or the way there hair is styled.

Realism

Realism is the real world made into a painting or a game, it uses lighting and shadeing effects to show that the game or the painting is 3D and is in the real world, also realism uses facial expressions and movements to make the game or painting come to life a look like to user or observer is really there and is seeing the game or painting through there own eyes.

Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper is a very good painter, he uses shading and lighting effects to show his work, he mainly does pictures of buildings and people, he makes it look realistic because of the tones he uses and the shadeing he does. This compares to the photorealistic games because of the the lighting effetcs and the shading in most photorealistic games they uses lighting effects e.g sun on a car, to sypolise that the user is really there, just like what Edward Hopper does with his work.

 Cel Shadeing 

Cel shading is a form of art style similar to  comic books, It's similar to them because Cell shading is supposed to make a 3D model look exactly like the model was drawn by a hand or by a painting.

The only games i can think of that uses cell shading are borderlands and crackdown these two games are very similar to one another, borderlands users cell shading in every aspect of the game everything in the game looks like it was drawn up and painted or colored in and in crackdown the amount of detail that went into the landscape of the environment and the detail in the characters was unreal, if i had to choose i would choose crackdown due to its incredible looks and its outstanding design due to borderlands okay looks and great design but crack down just wins the vote from me.

Pop Art

Pop art is meant to look like the artist has drawn the work up and it naturally looks 3D, The artist will use bright and bold colours in there work because pop art is a very bold and very bright genre.

Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a postmodern siencefiction genre, it features mostly science fiction things like aliens and space but in its own way, cyberpunk is usually made to be put into a 3D concept but could be put into a 2D.

The two games i can think of that use the cyberpunk style would be final fantasy series Deus ex, these two games show a great style of cyberpunk and they both show off cyberpunk to the best of there ability, finial fantasy has changed the way cyberpunk has developed over the years, where Deus ex has been made to the modern standers, if i had too choose between the two games i would choose finial fantasy because i really like how it has helped changed the cyberpunk genre over the years and i feel it is one of the best games out there that shows of cyberpunk to its best. 

Art Deco

Art Deco is a very Artistic style it shows of the slightistic of details like shading and colours, this style is a very interesting one, i really like this style because it really shows of the shading and i feel that it is what art is all about and i feel that most games should be designed around this

Exaggeration 

Exaggeration is a game style that is baced around things being well to small or way too big for the world, also the game characters could be way to oversized or way too small also the games music or weapons could be over powerd or too loud.

The main game i can think about that involves exaggeration would have to be little big planet, this game has to be the best game the explains exaggeration to its best, little big planet shows puppets in a giant sized world with giant sized things, this game shows it off in a 3D concept and does it quite well if i had to rate this game i would rate this game a 10/10 because this game has to be one of the best games in it genre

Pixel

Pixel is mainly baced around 2D, pixel doesnt show much detail but the games are usesly quest games or text based games, each but of the games have there own pixels.

the two best games i can think of are super mario and mega man, these games are very good and where some of the earlyist video games that involved pixel, mario was one of the best selling games at its time and was one of the best loking games at its time it was one of the first games to involve colour and be pixel baced it showed facail features of the character and allowed the charatcer to shoot fireballs witch could also be seen, Mega man was a earlyier game that did involve colour but it wasent better than mario but it still was a very good game at its time. 

Gothic 

The gothic theme is a very dark and a very depressing theme, gothic is mainly very dark and very scary but it could also be used in a non scary game, in the gothic theme they use dark colours heavy shading and shadows to express what the theme is all about.

the two main games i can think about are deablo and the darkness, these to games show of gothic really well with deablo with its 2.5 grapics shows the user what gothic is all about with its dark shadows and coridors you can not see down this game was one of the best games out at its time, this game had alot of gothic characters like demons etc all of the charachters where wearing dark matairals or something gothic. where the darkness with its 3D grapics had a diffrent concept to deablo this game was very scary and very dark most of the game was set in the dark so this made the game very werid and very scary. there where lots of shadows used in this gaming style just like deablo.  

Timeline

Game Engines

Game engines

What is a game engine?

A game engine is usually used in the development of a game but a game engine is what powers the game without it a game can not run, A game engine plays a big part of the game development without it a games designer/developer can not come up with any ideas for the game without some help of a game engine.

2D Game Engines Examples

Adventure Game studio

Allegro library

Box2D

Cocos2D

Enigma

Exult

Flare

Flash Punk

JGame

3D Game Engines Examples

Flixel
Unity

3D Rad

Ardor3D

Blender

Crystal Space

Cube

Cube 2

Delta 3D

Env3D

Game Kit

Jake2

Rage

Source

RPG Engine  

Game Mods

Sandbox

Elevator Source

Roleplaying

DarkRP

Perp

HL2-RP

HarborRP

Flood Mod

Spacebuild

Jailbreak
Gary's Mod

How has 2D game engines developed over the years 

The 2D game engine has not really changed over the years apart from the graphics and the speed of the game, when the first 2D game engine was made the game play of the game would be very slow and  pixelated , but in recent years the 2D game engine has been very fast and the graphics of the game are much sharper, some examples of a early 2D games would be legend of zelda and space invaders these game would have used the early game engine witch was slow and pixelated rather than in recent years angry birds and worms would have used the updated engine witch would be fast and sharp.

How has the 3D game engine changed over the years 

The 3D game engine has changed alot over the years, when the first game engine came out the engine did not run very fast such games that used this would be taken, saber scope 3D and Rad race but in recent years the 3D game engine has been changed alot the quality of the engine has had a massive impact on how we look at games its not about how we play them its about how we see them such games that use this would be Call of Duty, Need for speed and GTA.

What is Graphic Rendering 

Rendering is done with special software. Objects are drawn using strokes, which are lines of varying lengths and widths. Rendering programs can then add color, which can be used in varying shades to give the illusion of depth. Shadows give a 3D appearance to the rendered image.

What is collision detection

collision detection is where objects intract with the player and the enviroment around them, most 3D shapes are typically in there own meshes or shapes. one of the meshes or shapes are highly complex and detailed that is visible to the player in the game, this is the shape or mesh that wil stop the player or envrioment going through it.

What is artificial intelligence 

Artificial Intelligence is where they try and bace what goes on in the real world and put it in a game, so if a human went to the inn at 2 oclock and stayed for an our and the went home they would put that in a game, an example of a game woud be skrim, in skyrim each character has there own AI and they all do diffrent things.

Sound

Sound is a big part of a game engine, sound allows the gamer to understand what they are doing or where they are, if a game dident have any sound then a gamer would soon get bored of the game, sound allows the game to have such features as somebody walking, running water, exploshions and so on also a great thing that is used in a game engine would be the direction of sound and as the user gets closer to the sound it gets louder and louder the game engine automaticly does this it is the purpose of the game engine, an example of a game that provides good sound quality would be assassins creed this game provides the gamer with sounds like running water, wildlife and footsteps this makes the overall gameing experience better although a example of a bad use of sound in a game would be a mobile game i feel that some of the games that are made for mobile have real anyoyying theme tunes or real bad sound effects this will put of the user of from playing the game.

Pysisics

In a game engine Pysisics is not included this is because a physisics engine can not make a game it can only make part of a game such as the gravaty or if the character shots a gun, so in a development of a game the developer would use a game engine and use a pysisics engine along side that, an exsample of a pysysics engine would be phys x.