Elements of Game Design part one: Game Designers

Thinking back now, when I was younger I always used to chat about games to friends and we always say what is missing in games that were playing and why the 'game creators' don't put certain content obviously that another topic and to do with business.


 However we used to come up with good concepts and designs of the next game or new things that be cool on that title and even when I was in year Eight, we had to do this jobs thing on the computer back school (forgot what it was called, a lot of rubbish really) However I remember back then I wanted to do something with Games and it's funny from all the decisions and paths I have experience, I am now on the path of being a artist but more so an Game Artist and on a course called Game Art Design.

Before this course I didn't quite understand how much hard work, commitment, effort and the responsibilities in producing a game and from the subset game development, on the pre-production stage from certain individuals or teams that will create and design content and rules within gameplay, environment, storyline and characters.

It's funny really but game design has a massive impact on its consumers, especially from their childhood. Everyone who describes a 'game from the past' always describes and remembers the memory of the game, from its awesome design concept.

"Ah I remember that game, it had some awesome art style, or the design of the game was so scary and bloody"

and you feel empowered when you play an awesome game, it stays with you for life, it goes into your memory bank and even when you’re sleeping you have dreams of the games, that when you have been certainly inspired.

Many games I have played previously, still to this present day, still inspire me and in a weird way formed me and my ideas and who I am, in a direction because of being exposed to those designs elements when I was younger and even now, because of new technology that can pursuit more expansion of unique and original designs.

Here I like to introduce and talk about certain Game designers; from previous games I have experience that these guys forever deliver exciting games.

Hideo Kojima

Is one of my favourite game designer and many other occupation titles he holds.

His Japanese and was originally employed at Konami. He is currently the director of Kojima Productions and was promoted to Vice President of Konami Digital Entertainment in the early 2011

He is the creator and director of a number of successful video games and the most inspiring one are the Metal Gear Solid Series.

The if you never played the game, it's only a must' because the story, game-play, visuals and everything else, is so compelling and depth and a privilege of playing those games.

Here watch the trailer and even from this you would get shivers down your spine and obviously the music composer also bring the game more to life.

In the 1980's Kojima tried joining the game business but was unable to do so at first. His game design ideas were rejected but he never gave up and eventually he was accepted. Kojima's gameplay ideas were often overlooked initially and due to his lack of familiarity with programming was repeatedly snubbed for his failures in his initial years at Konami. At even one point  Kojima considered leaving the company, but like a true person he hung on.

The day he got asked to take over the project Metal Gear, that was a good day :)

The next designer I like to mention a bout is

Hideki Kamiya

Is a video game design formerly employed by Capcom and Clover Studio. Kamiya is currently working with former Clover Studio members at Platinum Games.

 Kamiya applied for jobs at various game developers. He was turned down by Sega but was accepted by Namco.
Strangely Namco wanted him to be an artist rather than his desire to be a game designer, Though he joined Capcom as a designer in 1994 and his early works such as Resident Evil 1 and 2 and then director of the both Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe and other titles after.

One of my favourite games is one of his that he directed which is Devil May Cry, which to me is just like how the Metal Gear Solid games appeal to me, inspiring, revolutionary type of game/ style and everything else in that package.

Which again must watch, still to this day the game has aged well and still better then most games to date. The design direction and most things, was obviously inspired from Resident Evil his previous games he had apart from, which really suited this Gothic, devilish, 3rd person hack and slash game, which was one of the first in this genre. The boss battles, game play, environment, cut scenes and even the design of the character, that Dante is one of the most famous game character to date.

People love the design of Dante that much, the series of Devil May Cry having a reboot by Ninja Theory and Capcom, that they totally changed pretty much  everything from it's original history, to something more up-to-date, yet thousands of fans are complaining of his new design and petition to boycott this reboot and stop it.

Yeah, I dislike the new Dante model and the new reboot, because the game got up to 4 sequels and had so much to offer, however this new direction of this reboot, I kinder started to like it now and getting over the fact of the new model and realise there so much more to look at from the 'design and art direction' of the new game really is something different and looks really awesome. 

Game designer, is a tough job and you really got not only have the ideas and talent, but the passion of keep on going and specially in this industry. Just like Kojima many times he felt like he wanted to quit but still 'hung in there' and so look where he is now by not giving up and how many people he had inspired.

It's a bit ironic that Kojima now is working on his new title and new direction spin-off from the Metal Gear Solid series called Metal Gear Rising, which goes into a storyline from one of the main characters in the series.

However, it's also being produce by the same team that created Bayonetta which is one of  Kamiya works. So this will be very terminating to see how this will work out.

A history of computer games, part four: my personal gaming history

It was September 13th 1990, two Super SaiYans was born with power levels over 9000s

Well I say 'two' because I am an Twin. So growing up with not only a brother but your other self, was fantastic. Yeah we had our moments of fighting, who's turn to play, but the best moments when we worked together in single-play or even in multi-play. Two heads better then one, they say, no? Yeah, being a twin, I must say is a privileged to experience in this reality, we do both have the same interests in pretty much everything, maybe one of us has slightly more in others, but over all, we respect each other and that.

 The best part is where one surpasses, in a humble way, you reflect that on ones self and think, how, what , where , he got or did this from? So this makes either one of us, want to reach beyond that, so it's an endless pulling along of each other, to the top and over. Even to this date, as we gone our separate ways and into more our chosen paths, when we unite and share our knowledge, wisdom and experience, we just evolve ever more.

Well I can really chat on a bout my history and be a book long, however this will be a 'lite' version, more of a linear pattern of myself growing up and certain things that even still this day, puts a good feeling in me, remembering those times.

So here is a  tale of my personal gaming history...

So far as I remember, I was quite young and was given my first console.

The Sega Megadrive
Must say my dad had used the force-well
on this one.

What I like to mention, in my experience growing up in the 1990's, people either prefered Nintendo with Mario or Sega with Sonic. I for one, was for Sonic.

Me and my brother was a big fan of Sonic, massive inspiration to us, we used to joke and say "which one of us was, Sonic or Tales", since I was the older, I did normally dominated slightly (this happened a lot in cartoon shows, characters or whatever).

 That said we had a nice collection of Sonic The Hedgehog games and even comics for that matter  (when we were around 11, we had a friend who was a pretty good drawer and so we always contently draw Sonic in that period) Fan art right there folks!!!

We had majority of the Sonic games, 1,2,3 SnK, S3D. The biggest one really that impacted us and the world for that matter, it was Sonic at his complete peak. 

Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles

This adapter cartrid was amazing, you was able to use this with Sonic 2 also and have knuckles play on that game. The massive thing a bout this, was the extended and contiunious play-through, Sonic 3 to Sonic and Knuckles and to the end. It wa a thrill adventure and the challenge was fair.

 The addition to having them connecting was like a little expansion, you had some soundtrack change, bonus modes, Knuckles levels and play through and others, but it had one great addition that were....

Hyper Sonic, Hyper Knuckles & Super Tails

This was beyond one of the coolest creation ever been put into thought and into a video game. So Sonic to me, really impacted a lot. It had it all. Speed, fun, challenge, depth, soundtrack, story, characters and overall, memorable forever.

To which I find it strange but people from an early age, grown up playing either The Nintendo Franchise or Sega, seem to differentiated the child in later life.

 (I don't know might be chatting rubbish) 

Though we had many other titles on the Megadrive and we even had an polish upgrade Megadrive 2. As far as I remember we had  like: Sonic games, Toe Jam, and Earl, Shinobi, Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombact, Streets of Rage, Zero Wing, Lemming, Micro Machines, Batman many others.

With that, I also had great memories as well playing the SNES, at my cousins house, just like in many house holds, the adults watch the television and the kids go play computer games it was a perfect recipe, It was great because since my cousin was a lot older they weren't much into video games like me and my brother. So we had great fun playing Super Mario Brothers and other titles.

As all gamers growing up, we always had a really good friend among many who was into the same thing. My friend Shaun always had pretty much every console, game and the lastest gadget. Yeah maybe, it was for showing off or something but that didn't matter to me, because it was always a pleasure to play different games / consoles and some one to have fun and play games with.

Through out my childhood 1990s, playing varied of games and consoles, like we had 

The Nintendo Gameboy, (the brick). The handheld that still even to this day is legendary. Many games and titles me and my brother had and (amount of batteries we used) it was also fun using the multi-link wire. Specially games like Warioblast and Pokemon. Pokemon and the games is another blog in it's own, like millions of children, we were sucked in it's franchise, however they always delivered really good quality games and specially on the handheld.

We also got an Phillips CD-i

Yeah not many people might have had a chance to own this console or even played it. It was CD base and had some nice touches to it and the little games, we had few games, but as far from I remember, we had Pinball, some action click games, Tetris but the main game me and my brother had differ cult with was Flashback: The quest for identity which was suppose to be an enhancement from the Amiga version, thought from what I read, It wasn't really enhanced or superior version. It was a slow pace game, but it was quite tactical. Does now, reminds me of the style-play of Abe's Odyssey. We didn't complete it, but it was one of those trouble games we had from our childhood.

Wish to know a bout the CD-i, The Nintendo Nerd, did a review of it, though his reviews are aimed on how bad it was, it's still interested to know the console.

There were many other consoles and games that I had the experience to play on, like The Sega Saturn, Sega Gamegear, Tiger Games.com, eventually leading to the next generation of consoles which I was given

 The Playstation.

To be fair, the Playstation was a great console it had a tight library of games and to me it really bridge that cap, that it was a correct step forward for CD base systems. The CD-i was a miserable failure but the Playstation got it right. It had memory card case system, simple effective controls, CD-player that was pretty useful.

Many great titles that even still this day has squeals years on. Tons of games I played on the Playstation, few I remember, were Final Fantasy, Tekken, Abes Oddessy, Crash Team Racing,  DragonBall Z, GTA and many more.

The game that really did Playstation proud, in my opinion, was

Metal Gear Solid, surely this image will bring nostalgic feelings.

Yeah this game was the bomb, truly was a step forward in video games. The style, storytelling, cinematic, music, characters, designs, dramas, visuals, blown people away back then. In that period game magazines was mainly your source of information, so it made going shopping with your parents, a pleasure not a chore.

 I feel the need of game magazines are lost these days, with the invention of the internet though they still have there values. I really can't fault this game, to me it had it all. I love all the bosses, characters, voice acting, the music, even sad moments like when  Meryl was snipe down. The "one on one, hand to hand combat" with Grey Fox and for his death, I did shear a tear and there is much more. There were only one thing that was frustrating, it's where on most games X is confirm and O is back. It's the other way round on this game. So when you finish the game, past the credits, right near the end, you get an option to 'Save Game' this will then allow you restart the game on new differculty etc. However many times, I fallen to self programming of pressing X instead of O, so I would painkillingly, have to redo all of the last boss fights with his twin brother Liquid and then wait for the cut scenes and that. I did this so many times it's so laughable.

So the playstation to me was getting a bit dull. I wasn't the kind of person who goes out buy and try, my friend Shaun was, though didn't really see the need, I only get other games if the ones I played at his was really appealing, or few ones that got drawn to me anyway.

To me, this is one of the best potential console and really evolutionary that ever hit the market and it was the 

Sega Dream Cast.

As from a young age and even to this day, my love for Sega, even after there history of trash games they have made. I do admire there will and power to carry on specially with the Sonic Franchise and they always deliver great art direction, soundtrack, visuals even if the games weren't that good. Again, first stumbled this playing at Shaun house (predicable)  He had some fantastic titles that to this day is one of my favorite games to me.

And many more.

 I did kinder missed out on Shenmue,  however I am glad I didn't miss out on a game.

PhantasystarOnline
(one of the best game existed)

Yeah, this game was fantastic, I would like to review this game in another blog, although I like to express a small passage here. I believe this was the first ever online game, that you had to use a phone line to connect to, through the dreamcast. My friend, ranked up a lot of cost to play this online, lol on that. I later played this game and got into it a lot more on the Gamecube/ PC version. 

However, this spun the interest to this game. To me this is truly is one of the best game ever existed. Offers great art direction, controls/ mechanics, soundtracks, classes, visuals, and even a addictive grind and hunt for the best assets. This game had offline solo/ multiplay, and then an online feature. The Dreamcast version had it's problems and really was a good beta for the game Gamecube version that was an dramatically good enhance version. New addition content etc. Playing online is where the long lasting play of this game lies at.

 Later on the Phantasy Star Franchise, has had it's up and downs mainly due to the support and added content towards the Europeans and the US, the Japanese after the Gamecube version wasn't linked with the rest of the world anymore. They had there own servers, so they always had everything first and better things more frequently or even some events/ missions that didn't come to us in the west. This also carried on through the next line up series. Phantasy Star Universe and so on. The game always had been PaytoPlay, which when your younger it was costly but it was worth your pocket money on. Though the addition of the game going from Dreamcast > Gamecube > PC. Which added more content and was generally better. Always been a delight from then and now, being a fan of the series. The game released new expansion and series of it self.  Phantasy star Universe, which went on to the PC and next generation consoles, though it was silly for them to put it on the Playstation 2 >.> Held it back. However, the game was kinder successful and lasted years and had expansions but the servers did come to the end in the west. Though the handheld versions are perfect.

So even from the 2000's and to now, I always still generally kept to playing games and getting consoles from Playstation 2, Gamecube, CBA, DS's, PSP, Wii, PS3 that over time be brought. Such games that really still stuck with like; Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, DragonBall Z, Tekken, Street Fighter, Final Fantasy, GTA and more others. I went from console gamer to a PC gamer was the best thing, because it got me playing more varied games/ online and learning keyskills and computer programms/ software, the internet, forums, communities, much more. This got me more so to label my self a 'gamer' kinder of person. Though obviously I did many others things in my childhood other then games but they were there as a sort of education, inspiration, morals, freedom, the dreams of wishing reality was just like this, in some way it can be, because look at where I am now, I can make it happen.

Strange though, when I was younger I used to draw now and again but took more interest, only since college and properly getting into practice now in University. So I am a late start, nether less, however I enjoy each experience of it, because I have  lot of material and imagenation to work off that has formed a good foundation for me that I just need to know how to work it.

Hope it been a educational and interesting read.

Thanks :D

A history of computer games, part three: 2000s

Which was one of the earlist magazine
that covered the 'mircocomputer
revolution. Published from 1974 untill
December 1985

Interesting to know that.

By the late 1970s to 1980s games were developed and distributed through hobbyist groups and gaming magazines, such as  'creative computing' and 'computer gaming world'

Founded in 1981 by Russell Sipes
as a bimonthly publication
and final issues 2006

Creative computing covered the whole spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing, while Computer Gaming introduced a quarterly newsletter that focused on topics like game design, game hints and scenarios and game developments. However, the newsletter never really took off and only two issues were publish in 1987 of autum and winter.

Nevertheless, in 1983 there was a serious event that brought an abrupt end, to what is considered the second generation of console video gaming. This crash happened in North America. This second generation were sometimes referred to as the early 8 bit era. So the crash almost destroyed the industry and led to bankruptcy of several companies producing home computers and video game consoles in North America.

A few years later the video-game industry was revitalized mostly due to the widespread success of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) which was released in North America in 1985.

The NES offered a bundle with SuperMario Brothers and was an instant success, for over 20 years. Super Mario Bros, was the best-selling video game of all time ( lol before it was outsold by Nintendo's own Wii Sports in 2009 )

Funny to know this was released
 on September the 13th 1985jp.
 It's the same month and
 day for my birthday, though
 I was born 5 years later lol.

The play controls Mario throughout
the Mushroom Kingdom.
Mario abilities can changed by
picking up certain items

So the NES dominated the Market in both North America and Japan until the rise of the next generation of the consoles in the early 1990s. Since other markets were not as heavily dominated, this allowed other consoles to find an audience.

October 1985 in Japan, Sega released Sega Mark III it was also released to North America in 1986 and 1987 in Europe, with the name Master System.

The Master System was released as a direct competitor to the Nintendo Entertainment System in the third video-game generation. Sega had it's consoles in European, Oceanic and Brazilian markets, this allowed Sega to outsell Nintendo, due to its wider availability.  However the NES sold by far the most units of any third generation consoles in North America and Japan. This was due to its earlier release, its strong lineup of first-party title. The Master Systrem was finally discontinued in the late 1990's, while Nintendo of Japan continued to repair Famicom systems untill October 31, 2007.

A history of computer games, part two: 1980s - 1990s

It is Interesting to investigate 1980's because only Ten years later, I existed in this 3rd dimension reality.

 Plenty of goodies in this era, so here's my little take...

In the 1980’s the gaming industry experienced it’s first major growing pains, because of the relatively low publishing costs for personal computer games which allowed for bold, unique games.

However some early 80’s games, were just clones of existing arcade titles. They say, that there is no consensus as to the exact time period, but based around the 1980 margin, “The Golden age of Video arcade games” was a peak era of video arcade games popularity, innovation and earning.

The Golden Age generated a lot of revenue, though in contrast the best-selling arcade games of the Golden Age, were space invaders and Pac-man. They both  sold over 360,000s and 350,000s copies, with each machine costing between $2000 and $3000.

Thought this image was interesting because it's the world smallest Space Invader, machine lol.

So it's a shooter game in which the player controls a Hyperlink laser cannon by moving it horizontally across the bottom of the screen and firing at descending Aliens. The player-controlled the laser cannon which shoots the aliens as they descend to the bottom of the screen.

This is an ipod docking station disguised as a Ms.Pacman Arcade machine.

Pac-man was developed by a nine-man team. It’s obvious but funny to think it was based on the concept of eating, which in Japanese terms was called “Pakkuman”. You find the Japanese always get their names from such things that exist in reality. So the Japanese onomatopoeic slang phrase Paku- Paku taberu, where the “sound of” the mouth movement when widely opened and then closed in succession.

There were  Genre innovations

When the Golden Age of video arcades games, reached its highest point in the 1980s, it brought with it many technical advances and genre-defining games.            

Action role playing games, Adventure games, Beat 'em up, and more Action adventure games like ...

That helped establish the action adventure genre, combining elements from different genres to create a compelling hybrid of a lot of genres.

Atari 5200

Atari 2600

New and better consoles from the 70's such as Atari 5200 that was introduced in 1982

That was a higher end complementary console for the popular Atari 2600 and the later one Atari 7800 that had origally been designed to replaced Atari 5200, but in 1984 was temporarily shelved due to the sales of the company after the video game crash. 

Atari 7800

In January 1986, the 7800 was again released and would compete that year with the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Master System. However the Atari 7800, had simple digital joysticks, also the main treat of this console was that it was almost fully backwards-compatible with the Atari 2600 and for that, it was the first console to have this with out additional modules.

A history of computer games, part one: 1950s - 1970s

Interesting enough what I believe is that, to know our answers now, we must search the past, that helps us figure out the present.

So the video game history started in an unusual and complicated way, so it’s apparent to avoid confusion with what happened in the 1950’s and 1960’s. 

It states that the real video game history started with Ralph Baer as early as 1951.  In the 1950’s and 1960’s, computers were not only exceedingly expensive, but the technology was lacking, because it could not allow integrating them into a video game system. Only mainframes could allow playing a few games. These games qualified as Computer games, not Video games.

In 1947, there were requests for an invention, that became known  as 'Cathode ray tube amusement device' which was the earliest known interactive electronic game,which any person using the knobs and buttons to manipulate a cathode ray tube beam, could simulate firing a 'airplane' target.

In 1949 -1950 Charley Adam, created a 'Bouncing Ball. However, the program was not yet interactive; it was a precursor for games in the future. In 1958, Tennis for Two was a game on an Analog, computer, which simulates a game of tennis or ping pong on an oscilloscope.

Tennis for Two was Exhibited for two seasons before it was dismantled in 1959

This was created by William Higinbotham, that Tennis for Two showed a simplified tennis court from the side, featuring a 'gravity-controlled ball that needed to be played over the net, unlike its successor Pong. Pong has a box shaped controller, that was  equipped with both a knob and a button for hitting the ball.

This is Spacewars! one of the earliest known digital computer games

It  is a two-player game, with each player taking control of a spaceship and attempting to destroy the other. Steve Russell, Martin Graetz and Wayne Witaenem from the fictitious Hingham Institute, conceived of the game in the 1961 which they implement  on 'DEC PDP-1' which is a programmed data processor, and was the first computer in digital equipment corporation. Amazing to think when Russell began finishing his first version, it took him approximately 200 hours of work to create the initial version.

As early as 1951, a young 29 year old TV engineer named Ralph Baer worked at Loral, a TV company. Amazing to see that his chief engineer, Sam Lackoff (haha jackoff) asked him to build the best television set in the world. Designing a TV set was child play for Ralph, however he wanted to add a new concept that his boss did not understand: playing games on the television set. The video game concept was born, but could not been implemented since the boss refused the idea. In 1966 Ralph Baer came back to his 1951 idea of playing games on TV sets and started to build the first video game prototypes.

Ralph Baer is accordingly, credited as the inventor of the video game

In 1966 Ralph Baer, had a co-worker called Bill Harrison that he engaged into the project. They created a simple video game 'Chase'. This was the first to display on a standard television set.

He designed a series of seven prototypes that played several video games. Chase consists of two squares chasing each other. The last prototype built in 1968 (also known as Brown Box) played Ball and Paddle games, Target Shooting games and more. After several demonstration to TV manufactures, Magnavox signed an agreement in 1971 and the first video game system was released in May 1972: Odyssey.

 The history of PONG games and derivates had just started, and would spread all over the globe and die in the early 1980s