Unit 22 - Wayne unit 78 Wayne Assignment 1

Assessment 1 : Researching games

Genre Name	Genre Description	Genre Example
RTS	RTS stands for real time strategy, where the player controls their character/s to complete certain tasks without being the character.	Total War is an RTS game developed by Creative Assembly that relies heavily on a player’s ability to make real time decisions in order to win. Set after the 2nd Punic war in 272 bc, you have the option of playing as any of the ancient civilizations ranging from Iceni (Britain) to Rome. Using the Total war 3 engine (war scape engine) it is graphically intense being photo realistic. Players have the choice of a single or multiplayer campaign completing battles in order to gain settlements, or online multiplayer battles that skip the need to capture settlements for a fight. Another example of an RTS game would be Age of Empires 2, a game based around the choices and actions of the player. Set in the medieval times at the wars of William Wallace you have a variety of choice of playable nations, and in this game you start with villagers who are then used to gather resources, build houses/buildings and eventually create an army in order to defeat your opponent. Age of Empires 2 uses whats called the Genie Engine, which is used commonly amongst the Age of Empires series, with the aim of the game to be photo realistic in artistic style, however it is now an out dated game being created in 1999. When at the main menu screen, you are given the option to choose campaign (varying from William Wallace's stand against England to the wars of Genghis khan)or to choose to play a multiplayer battle against either AI or international players. Although for a few years the game was hard to come by, and multiplayer was scarce until its later re-release on the Steam market, making it quickly rise to fame.
FPS/3PS	FPS stands for First person shooter or 3rd person shooter, where the aim is to kill or wipe out the enemy team/hostiles. This is where the player gets to witness the game from the viewpoint of the character, or if you have the option to change the viewpoint to 3rd person you view it from just behind the character you are playing as.	Day Z is a standalone game that was created after a mass success with a mod on Arma 2. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic zombie filled world where you play as a lone survivor, with the choice to try make friends and survive, or kill everyone and anything you see. Created originally by Dean Hall, the game rose to fame and was then picked up by Bohemia. As an early access game updates are still being released, however its ability to change perspective from 1st to 3rd person allows players to have an experience which is different to many games, using this perspective change to their advantage in many of the situations that may occur to the player. Battlefield 3 is also what is known as an FPS/3PS game, being one of the iconic games of this genre you are thrown into modern warfare as a soldier fighting as either the US military, or the Russian military on the brink of war. It uses EA's Frostbite engine and even has a web app which comes attached with the game, allowing players to view their online stats and statistics on the game. When playing online you have various load outs that you can choose from, these being unlocked as your progress through the multiplayer portion of the game, in order to change these most players look on battle-log where they have the option to show to their friends what they have accomplished on the game throughout their various hours of playing it. Battlefield 3 has won various awards in this genre of gaming, and is also rivaled a lot with large names such as Call of duty for the best FPS game, it is argued to be the most realistic war simulator on the market, and uses such intense graphics that the scenery, characters and the actions look highly realistic. This is due to the photo realistic style that is used for the game, one of its most appealing aspects.
Simulation	Simulation games allow the player to simulate real life activities from the comfort of their computer. In this instance the player could use the perspective of a character or watch over them in extended 3rd person.	Sims is a simulation game created by EA where the player creates a family/group of people that they will watch over/control. The aim of the game is to create a ‘sim’ or ‘Sims’ for you to look after and take control of. Once created you have to undergo the challenges of the real world, such as jobs education and kids. The Sims is very popular due to its realistic element, as the hardships and events that occur in this sim are so realistic that people almost bond with their Sims and care what happens to them in the world. Farming simulator is a game based around the player having an experience of being the farmer on your own hand built farm. As the farmer the player must carry out the given tasks in which a farmer would have to do, in order to get the best most efficient farm possible, upgrading equipment and abilities as you go. The option for the game to be multiplayer has recently been added, making it so you can join up with friends in order to farm together and create the best farm for the both of you. Accompanied with its slow pace and relaxing music, farm simulator is the perfect game for a relaxed gaming session for those who wish to run a farm.
Racing	Racing games consist of a race between players or AI driving a range of cars on a range of tracks. When playing you are given the choice of either 1st or 3rd person, and can even play in some real life tracks.	Forza Motorsport 6 is a new racing game that uses real world cars and tracks to put the player into a realistic driving environment. Created by Microsoft using the DX12 engine, still exclusive to the XBOX one, however it is rumored to be released on PC. The aim of the game is to race either the AI or online players in an assortment of game types ranging from just a simple race, to an elimination race where slowly players are eliminated who are last. Need for speed, created by EA, has always been the close rival to Forza, and with its new release around the corner it is supposedly going to be the leading racing game of this year. Using the graphic intensive Frostbite engine the graphics are as photo realistic in style as possible for games. Being released on next gen also in order to allow the graphics to be fully appreciated. Need for speed has multiple features that entice you as the player to play the game, one of them being its customization of cars, and the ability to roam around the area freely in a somewhat sandbox mode. By competing in races either online or single player you win not only money in which to buy more cars or parts, but also street cred which acts as sort of a leveling system, where certain cars and races need a certain street cred in order to be unlocked. The game aims to provide the player with a realistic experience of driving, with the odd element of racing and chases thrown in. The attention to detail not only with the graphics of the car but also the UI which is on screen to simulate the real dashboard and dials seen in a real car, adding to its realism state.
Sports	Sports games emulate real life sports, ranging from football to racing. Normally sports games contain real ‘players’ or ‘teams’, however the odd game does not.	Rocket League is a game found on steam where the player controls a ‘beefed’ up car that you drive around to hit a giant football into the opposing team’s goal. At the end of the 5 minutes the team with the most goals, like football, is crowned the winner. With rocket league there are various game modes: 3v3, 2v2 and 1v1. Each has the option to be ranked or unranked, and in some cases even a 4v4 unranked game can take place. This game falls under the sport category as it imitates the game of football, however using cars that can jump high in the air and accelerate quickly as the ‘players’. Fifa is a vastly popular sporting game which follows the world of football. Created by EA and using the ignite engine, Fifa 16 provides the public with a realistic football experience, using real players and teams, even real stadiums and conditions. Fifa is a also classed as a multiplayer game, as well as having the normal single player features there is also a large multiplayer element to the game where the player will face off against online players from around the globe, in game modes such as a simple match or to a customized team match called ultimate team.
Sandbox	Sandbox is a genre that is quite popular, which is where the user can do whatever they want to in the world they are given. When playing in this ‘world’ various options and activities are presented, and in most cases the outcomes from one players experience to another’s is very different.	Minecraft is a pure sandbox game created by a Swedish man named notch, which was then taken over by Mojang to then be bought by Microsoft. The aim of the game is to survive, as you are placed into a randomly generated world of cubes (blocks) where you have to build a house to survive. The fun element of the game is that everyone player has a different world, with different challenges such as night time when the dangerous monsters come out to find you. When building a house or castle you have a choice of hundreds of blocks, and even have the choice of hundreds of things to build in order to help you survive. The game is vastly popular, and has also got a multiplayer element where players can join up together to survive the nights and build. Grand Theft Auto is a photo realistic sandbox game following the story of a man called Franklin, a ghetto gang member wanting more out of life. The game works based off of the choices in which you make, the world is pre-built unlike minecraft however alongside the optional campaign players can decide to perform any real life activity, legal or not and carry it out on GTA. This can range from stealing a car to killing people. This optional choice is what places this game into a sandbox genre, being heavily reliant on the players choices. ROCKSTAR (the creators of GTA) used their own engine which has not yet been named, however it differs from their previous RAGE engine which did not allow them to have as smooth animations, and was more of a rendering tool than a powerful engine like the one in GTA 5. This new powerful engine provides the player with a realistic experience and the ability to perform acts that would be illegal in the real world.
MMO	MMO stands for massively multiplayer online, games which are purely online based. This genre is good for people who do not like to play single player and instead want to play alongside players internationally.	Ark Survival evolved is an MMO that has recently become popular, starting off as a lone survivor on an odd island populated by dinosaurs you have to fight your way through various creatures and level up, creating your own tools and bases. Once this has been done you can also tame some of the dinosaurs and use them as your modes of transport. The creators of Ark (Studio Wildcard) used unreal engine, however the game is yet to be optimized. This being one of the things that the developers are yet to do, as it is an early access game. World of Warcraft is one of the most popular MMO's out there, being played by over 7 million people, and being purely online. The game works off your own character that you create, and level up in this mystical world, doing either quests or exploring with other online players. Its appeal is the ability to interact socially, with other players throughout the world, and even in some cases have relationships with players, or even pvp with people. It has an exaggerated/cel shaded artistic style, as the game is based off of fantasy and mythological creatures that are not real, any of the creatures can be playable when creating your character, adding a variety of changeable features.
Adventure	Adventure games are normally campaign based, allowing the player to immerse themselves into the game through activities that are needed to be completed. Adventure games are popular as you feel connected to the character, making decisions and actions for them you are immersed into the world you are playing.	Lara Croft is considered one of the leading adventure games, created by square enix, being remastered from the 'conventional' girl that Lara has been known to be over the years. The artistic style is photo realistic, with attention to detail on characters facial features and even the dirt on the body of Lara. The game works by giving subtle backstory through cut scenes to a young Lara where you learn her story, while simultaneously completing challenging activities such as climbing a mountain or fighting off foes. Its lack of multiplayer does not make it as popular as some games, however it follows its adventure genre by having a thick storyline, that follows with the need for the player to explore a world and also a characters life, endulging in all elements of the game.
Horror	A horror game can have a variant of sub genres involved, either being puzzle, fps or even just a simulator. However the true beauty of a horror game is the fact that it is created purely to scare you as the player. This can be either creepy quick games, or jumpscares over a long adventure based game, either are classed as a horror/scary game.	Five Nights At freddy's 4 is the 4th installment of the horror game created by Scott Cawthon. The aim of the game is to survive from 12am - 6am without being caught by freddy the bear or his comrades. The twist, is that you can only close the door you are next to, so you have to rely on sight, sound and instinct in order to anticipate their moves, and stop them killing you. The game works on fast paced decisions and click based movement, building up tension with also a thick backstory that is only revealed through tiny cut-games inside the game. Each night gets harder until the final night, where you really have a challenge. Alongside the possible jumpscares and physical challenge the game has become quite tricky, being very enjoyable for its fear factor. Even though its graphics seem basic or cel shaded.
Puzzle	A puzzle game is normally 2D, however there has been 3D games that are classed as puzzles. Puzzle games can vary in difficulty, and do not always require a large amount of time or dedication to complete, mostly played on platforms such as a mobile phone in a players spare time.	Candy Crush is one of the leading puzzle games on the market, with its aim to complete various levels by matching 3 sweets in a row. Each level increases in difficulty with varients such as amount of moves, time you have to do the moves and the amount of squares you must clear, making the game strategic. It has a simple look, being cel shaded which is enticing to some people who do not like overwhelming graphics. This is also good for the game, which is platformed on PC, XBOX, PS4 and even android and iphone, making it very accessible, and also very simple to get to grips with. Being a simple click move format, and also having pop up instructions to aid players on what to do. Its feature to share scores with friends, or ask for lives adds the social aspect to the game, something which many users may enjoy.

Task 2 - Psychological Effects of games 

Bad effects

- Can cause repetitive strain injure after excessive gaming, where a body part such as your wrist which is over worked starts to hurt.

- They can cause violence, something which video games are accused of a lot, but also unproved. "Most of the bad effects of video games are blamed on the violence they contain.  Children who play more violent video games are more likely to have increased aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and decreased prosocial helping, according to a scientific study (Anderson & Bushman, 2001).  The effect of video game violence in kids is worsened by the games’ interactive nature.  In many games, kids are rewarded for being more violent.  The act of violence is done repeatedly.  The child is in control of the violence and experiences the violence in his own eyes (killings, kicking, stabbing and shooting).  This active participation, repetition and reward are effective tools for learning behavior.  Indeed, many studies seem to indicate that violent video games may be related to aggressive behavior (such as Anderson & Dill, 2000; Gentile, Lynch & Walsh, 2004).  However, the evidence is not consistent and this issue is far from settled."

http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video-games

- Games can get confused between fantasy, and reality. After playing on a game some players find it hard to distinguish between the game and reality, this being a bad effect as some people will take game elements and carry them out in real life, and in some cases this can be harmful to the player.

- Playing games too much as a teenager may effect your grades, as instead of working at school to get a higher grade you will be more focused on beating the next level of a game. "Academic achievement may be negatively related to over-all time spent playing video games. Studies have shown that the more time a kid spends playing video games, the poorer is his performance in school."

http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video-games

- Too much time playing video games can cause social isolation, where a person would not want to interact with people in the real world face to face, and therefore prefer to sit playing games, missing out on outdoor activities or other opportunities.

- Following on from social isolation, playing too many video games to the point you are socially isolated can result in a loss of functional skills such as social skills. You will not learn to speak to people properly or hold a conversation which in life can cause a multitude of problems for you.

- Video gaming can become an addiction, this addiction therefore can control not only your life but your income/parents income. When the game creates a need for new maps or levels at a price, an addicted player must have this content and therefore will have to pay whatever the costs however he/she can. This is sort of like a drug addict who needs his 'fix'.

- Playing video games at a young age can teach them the wrong moral values, for example if a younger teenager say 12 got his or her hands on GTA then they would be learning the wrong values expressed in this 18 game. However this does not always carry over to the older generations, who already know the moral values and what is wrong or right being able to distinguish between.

- Excessive playing can have an effect on a childs attention span, causing it to be only concentrated in short bursts. "Although some studies suggest that playing video games enhances a child’s concentration, other studies, such as a 2012 paper published in Psychology of Popular Media Culture, have found that games can hurt and help children’s attention issues — improving the ability to concentrate in short bursts but damaging long-term concentration."

http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video-games

- Online players are open to an abusive world, for the younger players it can become quick to be bullied online in the gaming world if you are not good at the game, or for your age. This is something which is hard to safeguard against, and occurs often in the online gaming world.

Good effects of video games:

- Improves a players strategic skill, this is done through the strategic elements of games being solved. 

- Video games can also improve your situational awareness, something which is key for soldiers to have. "Defense News reported that the Army include video games to train soldiers to improve their situational awareness in combat. Many strategy games also require the player to become mindful of sudden situational changes in the game and adapt accordingly." http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video-games
- Some players are able to learn pattern recognition, for example the early gaming champions of games like pacman and space invaders would learn how the pattern on the game works and use that in order to beat it, this becoming handy to those who would further go on to a job using this skill.
- Video games have been known to improve peoples memories, when people play on a game and remember that a boss or character will enter at a certain time over an extended period of time their brains remember that information, improving their memory capabilities.
- They can improve your concentration, cases where ADD sufferers have played video games helping them to concentrate.
- video games further a persons ability to problem solve, this being useful for surgeons who will have to undertake various challenging tasks. "They’re Producing Better Surgeons. While you may think you want your surgeon reading up on the latest medical research instead of playing games, you might want to reconsider: a study of laparoscopic (small incision) specialists found that those who played for more than three hours per week made 32 percent fewer errors during practice procedures compared to their non-gaming counterparts."

http://mentalfloss.com/article/65008/15-surprising-benefits-playing-video-games

- playing video games can increase your decision making ability, as most games require you to choose an option quickly before a timer runs out, making it paramount that the player chooses the right choice. This over time becomes a natural thing to the player, increasing the speed of their decision making.
- Games do have a social element, being that in games such as World of Warcraft players are likely to form alliances with other people, and make friends online in order to complete missions or quests.
- following on from the social aspect, players also interact with various nationalities and cultures, therefore learning new languages and understand new cultures making them more diverse.
- The main benefit of games is that it can stop people doing drugs, as this drug is replaced by the games and therefore is not harming the player badly.

Psychological effects

Games do take a toll on peoples mental health, one thing that can become an issue is the sound reliance that people have in games. For example one sound may mean a reward and another could mean a bad thing happening, when carrying this into real life there is an issue that comes apparent that players may react oddly to a situation based upon the music that they have memorized from the games they have played. "Use of sound: The use of sound in video games does a lot to immerse the player in the gameplay. Sounds within the game are used to re-enforce the players positive and negative thoughts about their performance in the game. According to technopedia, “game designers strive to create a complete environment using audio and visuals”. They state that sounds are embedded into the game to “match the motion” of the surrounding weather conditions and moving clouds. Using sounds like this makes the player become more immersed as the sounds and visuals work together to make the game seem as realistic as possible. When we look at how the use of sounds in games over time from simple beeps in early games to provide the player with auditory feedback to today’s soundtracks and totally immersive sound you can see how much effort has gone into using sound to make players become more immersed in the gameplay. Sounds provide a better experience for the gamer and is used to enhance the emotional experience during gameplay. Mark Grimshaw from the University of Bolton states that games use music “to function as a reward mechanism in game design and possibly allowing for reinforcement learning” in his article on “Game Sound Technology and Player Interaction: Concepts and Developments”. These studies show that the use of sound is used to make the player think both positively and negatively during gameplay depending on their experience. The audio then allows players to learn what they have done well and not so well in a game." http://www.contentedwriter.com/psychological-effects-of-computer-gaming-on-individuals-and-society/

However there is always the argument that they do not effect you in a bad way, which is also true that games can have both negative and positive health effects, and they can effect your psychological state also. There has been cases where a child has raised his hand to his mother because she threatened to take away his console, which is morally wrong but also an extreme case, which seems to be the normal thing to see. One odd case happens in a year, which is then emphasized and blamed on the whole game industry for that event, without consideration to the child's mental health or welfare. This image demonstrates the good elements of gaming, and gives a few statistics on some of the key things i have mentioned.

Task 3/4
The Final Two: The Rebirth Of Phantasia

The Story

My game takes place in the current year, located in the Nevada desert at a military base, however this information is only found out at the end of the game upon completion. The game follows the story of an 18 year old boy and girl. Devan, a strong willed leader, and Lara, an intelligent lover who are believed to be the sole survivors of a planet in another solar system called phantasia. Sent to earth as babies, their true form was hidden so that they could blend in to the human race. On their 17th birthdays they awoke with what is known as burning eyes, where the eye turns completely fluorescent gold, glowing in the dark. They also found that their hair had a streak of white/silver running through it, startled and fearful of what people would think of them they went into hiding, where they learnt the full extent to their true alien nature. Both showed special capabilities, such as producing a golden form of energy from their bodies and using it to fire out of their hands/feet. Along with this, they could also teleport a short distance, making them very elusive. Strength, stamina and intelligence was also above the normal human average, making them keen targets for the military.

A year since their "first incident" as they called it and they had control of their abilities, until they were taken from hiding and placed into a military test facility. Once there, they quickly learned that humans could never be an ally, and that all they wanted was to use them for military projects across the globe. In an act of rebellion Devan, the older of the two attempted to fight his way out, before both were restrained and held for sedated experiments. The bond of love between the two was strong, and therefore kept them alive throughout the brutal and horrifying tests that were carried out on them while comatose.

Game play

Upon the start of the game you awake as Devan, and immediately notice in the bed beside you Lara, however she is still in her comatose state and cannot awake, while avoiding the military guards and finding out clues, the aim is to find a serum made in the military facility that will not only wake her up, but restore your memory through flashbacks. Along the way you will bump into helpful characters, and those such as  Cpt. Titan who wish to lock you away and experiment on you, being a boss character he is harder to kill with higher health and attack damage. Using W,A,S,D to navigate, with your special attack being an energy ball firing out of your fist at the press of spacebar you are positioned into the characters life almost, making it much more personal if you as Devan gets caught or dies.
The visual style will be cel shaded, and will look familiar to the pokemon games. so they wont be so graphic intensive and will have a ui pop up at the bottom of the screen for help when a player is stuck on what to do. The main goal is to escape, however side missions will be present such as to rescue your allies who help you.