Week Nine - A Controller To Play Computer Games With

Gaming technology, I’m not too sure this task is meant to be about just the controllers but I feel as if I could write a lot about them, so let’s start at the beginning shall we. Well I suppose the earliest forms were just dials you turned and a couple of buttons, but seeing as that was the birth of games ergonomics wasn’t the highest priority on the list. Then when arcade machines started getting popular the joystick was the main tool of the trade, but for some reason the joystick didn’t really move over to home consols. Right so now that’s out the way we can talk about one the greatest controllers ever, it is of course the NES controller. Okay so nothing too fancy, a rectangular box, 4 buttons and a d-pad, but really what else could you have asked for, it did the job, and it wasn’t uncomfortable, surprisingly. Okay I think one of the main reason I like it so much is the sentimental value, but I wouldn’t say there’s much wrong with it.

NES!

After this came the SNES, really the consol and controller were slightly more rounded versions of the NES, which was good no worries there. And also somewhere around that time Sega came out with mega drive and master systems, which in all honestly looked like black SNES’s, so not much to comment on them there.

Megadrive and SNES!

Not only did this next consol have probably the best name ever, and a logo that beats the rest, it also had a controller that could be used in more then one way…, it is of course the Nintendo 64, or N64 for short. I think this is the point at when ergonomics and style were first given a real consideration. Now as I’m typing this I can already hear people saying how can you say it actually looks good, well I am, I think it took a big step forward, I can remember taking the consol out of the box and just looking at it for a while taking in all the different parts (this may have also been because for the first 2 weeks of owning it I had no games). Aside from the consol the controller also took a drastic turn, implementing the analogue stick as the main tool, having a trigger button underneath, adding more buttons, and obviously having those three infamous prongs to latch onto to. The N64 controller opened a lot of scope for the future of gaming (the N64 was a pretty significant piece of kit in the gaming history), as well as the analogue it also had the expansion slot where rumble packs or memory card could be plugged in, as well as some other fun things.

N64!

To lead on from this is my personal favourite of all controllers, the Gamecube’s. Now firstly there was the Gamecube, which was, well a cube, not all that revolutionary I suppose, however it was small and used them tiny discs, and the best part was it hand a handle on the back of, which was actually fairly useful. But now the controller, to me this controller was the gold crown of all, it had a perfected analogue stick, easy to reach buttons all round, and was just so incredibly comfortable, it just seemed to mould to your hands. The problem I think a lot of people struggled with was the very small d-pad, which I think you do get use to after a while, but I must admit it could catch you out at crucial moments.

Gamecube!

Sony seem to think that the Playstation controller is bang on and have therefore not changed the overall design of it from PS2 to PS3, and a lot of people seem to like it and say they can play for hours without discomfort. But personally I loath it and think it’s one of the most uncomfortable controllers ever. The way the side parts stick out at some random angle does not fit in the hand what so ever, the buttons do not feel satisfying to press, the analogue sticks are made out of some cheap 1970’s rubber, and more than often they seem to break a lot, I bet you all know someone if not your own who has got a knackered controller. There was for a little while this new design for the PS3 controller, but because of little enthusiasm it got dropped, and personally I never really liked its look, but after reading how they got to the design I under stand why it ended up like that, they wanted it to fit more naturally and fit the hands shape better, but I think somewhere along the line they went a bit mental with this and lost track of the fact it was a controller to play computer games with.

Ps2 and Ps3!

And last but not least is the Xbox’s controllers, but first the lets talk about the architecture of the consoles. Yeah so the first one wasn’t the smallest and sleekest out of the bunch and was quite possible bigger than most of the TV’s it was played on, but it was their first attempt, and what came to follow impressed even the likes of me. The Xbox 360 is a very stylish machine that has been designed very well. The controller is actually very good, it looks very stylish and is also very comfortable.

Xbox and Xbox 360!

And finally there is the Wii, the consol it’s self has been designed to not look out of place in the home, and has a smooth sleek design all topped off with a shinny blue light. And then the conventional controller had been chucked out the window and a new way of playing games thought of. You could say not much has been designed for the Wii remote, as in essence it is just a remote but it’s hardly uncomfortable and has simple enough interface to use. The nun-chuck part I think is perfect, it fits into the palm of your hand so naturally, and I swear it’s one of the prongs from the N64 controller. One of the main things that has come from this generation of consol’s is wireless capabilities, it’s something that has bugged gamers for a long time, having to have wires draped along the floor, although I think it’s bugger parents more who have tripped over them as they walk past, but now wireless is a necessity and the only thing to improve it is the power in them, but batteries are getting all the more better now.

Wii!

So what’s held for the future of gaming, will the Wii’s new design catch on and the conventional controller fizzle out. Personally I think not, I think the two will somehow run along side each, it’s kind of already happened with the classic controller for the Wii, however I don’t think the classic controller looks very good at all, and even know I haven’t held one, it doesn’t look all that comfortable. But as I’ve said before, it will be very interesting to see what the next generation of gaming technology has to hold for us.

Week Eigth - Squares And Dots, Realistic Dragons And Aliens

So story telling in games; is it really all that necessary, does it make the game all that much better, or is it just extra padding to make a game sound better. Mike said he’s not looking for a definitive answer, but I don’t see how you could ever have a ‘correct’ answer to this, it all depends on what kind of game and how the game is going to play out. If it’s an arcade game then it’s not really going to need a gripping story line, if any at all. If you take space invaders for example, the story line is aliens come to earth and attack, you much then defend and save the day. Enough said and done because when you’re playing the game your only concern is stopping the top shapes form hitting the bottom shapes, you don’t need to even need to know that bit of story to enjoy the game. Whereas a game such as Zelda, which is meant to be a epic rpg, it really does need a good attention-grabbing story to get you immersed into the game. I’ve played games such as Zelda before and just completely forgot about where I am because I’m that into to the story. It’s pretty similar to film really, you’ve got your films that tell an amazing story and really get you into the atmosphere and feeling of the film, and then pure action packed fun to watch films. I suppose the really good films are a mix of this where there’s a well thought out plot and characters, but also has the drama and big events.

Zelda - Ocarina Of Time!

At the end of it a lot of it comes down to opinion, some people like to just pick up a game and play without having to worry too much about what’s going on, where as there’s the opposite where you have a gripping story line and play out a sequence of events.

Story telling also involves the characters, if a concept for a character is thought up it is often the way to think up a whole back story for the character. I know for some of the previous character projects we have had I’ve just sat there thinking about there entire back story, and although it may not be completely relevant and will probable bore people, it actually helps with the creation of the character, it gives it justification and therefore a purpose for the character to be there.

Okay as usual while I’ve wrote this I’ve come to realise a few things, I now in fact think all games probable should have to some extent and story line, even if it as simple at space invaders, I think it just helps justify to the player the point of the game and why certain event s are happening, again I think it comes down to personal opinion, I personally like my games to have huge epic story lines, this will in turn mean a professional writer is needed to get the best story, but I can happily play arcade games which are just fun to play. I suppose I’m the same with films, I like epic well thought out story lines such as Star Wars, Back To The Future, but I also like fun filled films that are just damn good fun and exciting to watch, such as Die Hard (although the Die Hard’s have pretty good story lines too).

Die Hard 4.0 - Live Free Or Die Hard!

So yeah no real answer there but I think I’ve realised why this topic is very debateable, problem is I think I’m for both sides which is why this post might not read all that well.

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20050707/chandler_01.shtml - I actually found this after I’d type this post, but it’s an interesting read, I especially like the part about older games with dots, and how when you see a cool box art of a wizard, dragon or alien, you think of these squares and dots of being realistic dragons and aliens. However a lot of it I do disagree with. I wont go into great depths as this post is long enough as it is, but the part about cut scenes and how he says he think’s they take away the gamers interactive experience, I disagree and think if anything make story telling in games more real and gets you more involved into the characters. Also there is this idea that people play game differently and especially with free roaming games where you can achieve goals in a number of different ways, but essentially games are just a series of events where the player activates trigger points to get further along in the story, and I know that’s a bad way of looking at games but when designing a game that’s how it’s looked at, I suppose as games are evolving they are trying to break away from this, but mostly games just put a cover over the trigger points to make your think that you made your own story in the game when in fact your just a puppet who’s told to press A B to get across the road.

Anyway that’s my bogging rage over, I’d like to go on more but as I’ve said before this is getting far too long now so I’ll stop, maybe come back to it one day, but for now I’ll leave you waiting for the next random dribblings.

Dungeons And Dragons!

Week Seven - Art Directors, yes they now use them in the game industry too

So this week’s task is about art directors and what effects they have on the final product. The art director is effectively in charge of the overall vision of the game, although they may not be directly involved in creating the graphics, it is them who will lay the law on the people below. The job role is the same as that in films, it’s the person who sits in that chair and shouts orders at people, while everyone whispers to each other, what exactly is his job again. Hmm, I’ll have to look into this, apparently it’s very important.

One of the links is a diary of events on an art director’s day, and all be it not the most interesting read in the world, it gives you an idea of a typical day. From the sounds of it I’m not too sure I would like to be an art director, apart from the fact all the pressure is placed upon you and if something’s wrong you're to blame, there doesn’t seem to be much chance for hands on crafts, but maybe after so many years in the industry it would be more desirable to boss people round, and I suppose the game will end up how you want it to look which is something most game artist don’t have any control over.

You can tell if a game has had a good art director, if you’re playing through a game and question the graphics, not just the whole game (although sometimes maybe the case), but certain areas that just don’t fit in at all, that’s where the art director probably had a day off and didn’t get his input in.

One of the questions to answer was ‘do you think it’s a creative role?’ and for some reason my first thought was no, as I said before, person sit in chair, shouts orders, whispering, etc... but after actually finding out about the game industry, and having the numerous lecturers come in and say how they hate the industry, but it’s the best thing ever (yes…) I’ve realised that art directors are the only one’s with the creativity, and the rest are just drones that do what the man in the chair wants. (Yet still I want to go into to industry, madness I tell you!).

Actually after writing this I think it would be a even harder job than I first imagined, I said earlier that there might not be enough hands on modelling, and at times this maybe true, but you have to ensure that everybody’s modelling is up to the same standard and style, and to do that you would have had to set the style and look and feel of most of the game, meaning you have loads of work to do and if you fell behind the whole department would, then the game gets delayed, and before I start thinking too much of oh god I don’t want to ever be that person, I’ll stop and just say well done to all the art directors, aww what a nice way to end this post.